A Great Hostess Gift to Easily Make and Take

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

Barefoot Conterssa

2003, Ina Garten, All rights reserved

This recipe is almost directly from the Bar Nuts at Union Square Cafe in New York City and their wonderful cookbook of the same name.

Prep Time:

5 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

10 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

approximately 3 cups

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

Crock Pot Corn Pudding

Be sure to read the entire BLOG for a fun ending.


I served a Corn Pudding at last night's dinner party as discussed in the BLOG: Bon Voyage Party.

The recipe was taken from: http://cookeatshare.com and I wanted to share this simple recipe with you. Everyone at the dinner raved about the pudding and voted it "Best of Show." I have had several requests for the recipe. 


CROCK POT CORN PUDDING RECIPE

1 can cream style corn

1 can whole kernel corn

8 ox low fat sour cream

1 stick butter, melted

2 large eggs, beaten

1 box Jiffy Corn Meal Mix

Spray crock pot with non-stick spray. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. You can cook on high for 4 to 5 hours if you want a crisp ring around the outside. Serves 8

I doubled the batch and for a little while was worried that it would crown up and over the top of the pot. But it didn’t. I kept the lid on the entire time even though at times the contents looked to have too much liquid. They say if you remove the lid (to check the cooking) you loose 45 minutes. Kind of like digging up a seed to see if it has sprouted yet. 

Also, I guess it could also be made in the oven in a pyrex "until done."

Check this out for details on making the pudding:

YouTube - I Love Lucy

Pesto

It is that time of the season when the Basil plants on the balcony are twice as large as they should be. So I decided to make Pesto Pasta With Meat Balls for dinner tonight. I harvested the top half of approximately fifteen plants, picked each leaf off its stem and washed and dried what amounted to approximately 10 cups packed or what was needed for a double bach of Pesto. 


Next I measured a double order of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (2 tsp each,) double the pignolis (pine nuts) and walnuts (½ cup each,) and cleaned 20 garlic cloves. Did I mention that yesterday I purchased a Cusinart Food Processor? NO? Well I did, having decided that I am doing enough cooking to DESERVE ONE!


I placed the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of my new food processor fitted with the steel blade and processed for 60 seconds (double the time for a double batch.) Next I added the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. Then with the processor running, I was next supposed to slowly pour the three cups of olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and then I was supposed to process until the pesto was thoroughly pureed. After that, I was supposed to add the two cups of Parmesan and puree for a few minutes. Finally I was supposed to serve or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.


Here comes the twist in the plot of the story. I had only one cup of olive oil (not three) with no backup in the pantry and only one cup (not two) of Parmesan cheese. So instead of an Italian dinner at home, we went to the theater to see "I Am Love," a beautiful, difficult movie that takes place in Italy, then on to BRAVO, an Italian restaurant in the neighborhood and had Italian Wedding Soup for dinner. Tomorrow come back and I'll let you know if we were able to create our own Italian dinner (Pesto Pasta with Meat Balls) at home.


(This recipe came from "Barefoot Contessa" 2000 and measurements as stated are for a double batch of Pesto.)

Sunday Night Dinner

Yesterday was a heavy on the cooking day. It began on Saturday with the measuring, slicing, dicing and mixing of the marinade. After close to 24 hours of swimming in “delicious,” the tenderloins were grilled along with mini-sweet peppers, pineapple, and sliced egg plant. We also added fresh corn on the cob to the menu. 

Below you will find the recipe and directions. It entails a lot of “potschkie” but is well worth it for the taste. One hint on the egg plant (if you don’t already know this:) slice, place in a colander, sprinkle liberally on all sides with salt, and let sit for 30 minutes. The salt removes the excess moisture in the eggplant and also neutralizes any bitter taste. Be sure to thoroughly rinse off the salt and pat dry before coating in olive oil and grilling. 

For dessert, we baked “Guilt Free Chocolate Brownies” from Trader Joes and topped them with walnuts and whipped cream.

Grilled Marinated Pork Tenderloin With Pineapple

(Serves 6 and maybe more)

For the pork marinade:

2 pork tenders +/- 1 lb ea

½ cup peanut oil (or any veg oil)

¼ cup hoisin sauce

¼ cup plum sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice-wine vinegar

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup dry sherry

1 jalapeño, seeded & minced

Dash of dark sesame oil

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced (I use more)

2 tbs ginger, peeled & finely chopped

1 tbs Dijon (or any strong mustard)

¼ cup plus 2 tbs cilantro

For the pineapple:

1 lg pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced

Salt & black pepper, to taste

Olive oil

(I like to double the marinade recipe so there is a lot available when you reduce it to use as a sauce at the meal. It is quite delicious!)

1. Make the marinade minus 2 tbs of cilantro. Place pork into a plastic container & pour marinade over the tenderloin to coat. Seal container and refrigerate between 4 hours & overnight, turning tenderloins twice or more.

2. Thirty to 60 minutes before grilling, set the loins at room temperature. Slice the pineapple into ¾ inch rounds. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat gas or charcoal grill (best if grill is fitted with a lid.)

3. Pour the marinade into a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, whisking often to prevent burning. Keep warm.

4. Cook the tenderloins on the hottest part of the grill for 90 seconds on each side. Turn grill down to medium, cover and cook until the internal temperature of the pork registers 145- 150 degrees for medium rare, (15 to 20 minutes more) turning every 4 minutes. Transfer the pork to a platter, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

5. Grill the pineapple at the same time. Remove from grill when tender (probably before pork is ready) and keep warm.

6. Slice the tenderloins on the bias into ½ inch thick pieces. Overlap slices on a warm platter. Surround with the grilled pineapple, drizzle with sauce and top with remaining cilantro. Serve with extra sauce on the side.

Taken from “The Way We Eat” in The New York Times and thanks to Joe Henderson