Gross Fast Food

Here is a funny link with pictures comparing the fast food you see in ads to the fast food you are actually being served. The Wendy's salad is pretty gross, as is the KFC Bowl, which is just plain gross no matter how you see it. http://www.thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm

Tomato Tart

My tomatoes are almost here! Sadly, this year I have only planted patio tomatoes. I gave up my vegetable garden this year because the last few seasons have been too hot and dry and the deer and squirrels felt the garden was grown for them. This year I will have to rely on the farmers market for my tomato needs, because the store bought ones lack the flavor of a good homegrown one. Here is a great tomato recipe that I adapted from one Martha made on her show. I use a refrigerated pie crust for mine, they taste good and are a lot less hassle. This makes a great dinner with a nice big green salad on the side.

Tomato Tart

1 head garlic
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 refrigerated pie crust, room temperature
1 cup smoked mozzarella, grated
1 1/2 pounds firm but ripe tomatoes (4 medium) cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt and pepper
fresh chives, chopped for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic in foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Wrap and place in oven. Bake about 45 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Raise oven temp to 450. When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves from their skins into a small bowl; mash with fork and set aside.
Roll out pie crust and place into 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom, press into sides. Trim dough to be flush with edges; transfer to refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Spread garlic evenly over crust. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Arrange tomatoes over cheese in overlapping circular pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil. Transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake until crust is golden, about 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Caprese

Ahh, summer is upon us and one of my favorite things to serve is a nice caprese salad. Even those these tomatoes were not home grown, they still tasted great. The first time I had a caprese salad was in Italy and it always takes me back when I serve it at dinner. While our tomatoes pale in comparison to what you eat over there, the addition of the oil and balsamic vinegar help with the flavor. I added a handful of mixed cherry tomatoes to the center of the plate, because I had them on hand and it made for a nice presentation.

Caprese

1 lb. tomatoes, sliced thin
8 oz fresh mozzarella sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Arrange tomatoes and cheese on plate, overlapping every other one. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and basil. Drizzle with oil and vinegar.

Grilled Polenta

This weekend I grilled out steaks. It gave me the perfect opportunity to use up the rest of the Creamy Polenta I made the other night. I had refrigerated it in a plastic container, so it had set up loaf style. I just took it out, sliced it about 1/2 inch thick, brushed it on both sides with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. I placed it on the grill and let it cook for about 5 minutes on each side. The polenta gets a nice and crispy outside, while maintaining a soft and creamy center. It made a great accompaniment to the grilled steaks.

Gabby in Pool

For all of you wondering "What does Gabby do while Daddy grills?", here is your answer. She hangs out in her pool for as much as she can when its open. She's so cute!

Creamy Polenta

I based this recipe on Giada DeLaurentiis' basic polenta from her Everyday Italian book. In the past I would buy the special box of polenta and follow the directions. I saw Giada make hers with regular ol' cornmeal and thought that's gotta be cheaper and better. Well, you know what, it is cheaper and better. I used the leftover beef broth from the brisket recipe and added water until I had 6 cups. I then topped the polenta with the tomato sauce from the beef.

Creamy Polenta

6 cups water
2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
4 or 5 grinds of black pepper
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt, then slowly whisk in cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in pepper, butter, cream and cheese. Serve.

Italian Beef Brisket

I have been going through my recipe cabinet (I have collected thousands of them over the last 25 years) and am really trying to make the effort to whittle them down some. Here is a recipe from Cooking Pleasures Magazine Oct/Nov '05 that I prepared last night. It's a great recipe, but maybe just a little heavy for a week night, more like a Sunday dinner kind of a thing, if people still do that. It is amazing to me how easy it is to turn out a great dinner in a couple of hours. I serve this with a salad and a nice creamy polenta that I will post after this. I changed the recipe up some and will post my version. The sauce is equally good over the beef and the polenta. This is very tasty!!.

Italian Beef Brisket

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lb) beef brisket (flat cut or first cut)
2 tsp. herbes de provence
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 onions, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 (20 oz) can dice tomatoes
3/4 cup reduced- sodium beef broth
Pinch saffron threads, crushed

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat heavy large pot over medium-high heat until hot, add oil. Add brisket; cook 5 to 7 minutes, until brown, turning once. Place on a plate, sprinkle both sides with herbes de provence, salt and pepper.
Add onions to pot; cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Increase heat to high. Add wine; bring to boil, scraping brown bits from bottom of pot. Boil 5 minutes or until reduced by half. Stir in tomatoes, broth and saffron. Return brisket to pot; spoon some tomatoes over the top.
Cover; bake 1 hour. Turn brisket; spoon some tomatoes on top. Bake, covered, an additional hour.
Place brisket on cutting board, cover loosely with foil. Let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile, crush tomatoes with potato masher. Slice beef and serve with sauce.