Food goodness

In an effort to use up all the CSA veg before we leave for vacation, I had to find quick recipes for lots of greens. Once again, Smitten Kitchen to the rescue! 1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale 1 tablespoon olive oil Sea salt, to taste Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool. She also recommends turning the kale chips into a flavoring for popcorn (but I haven't tried this yet): Kale-Dusted Popcorn If you’re making the chips with the intention to grind them up for popcorn, I’d use less oil — perhaps half — so they grind without the “powder” clumping. I ground a handful of my chips (about half) in a mortar and pestle and sprinkled it over popcorn (1/4 cup popcorn kernels I’d cooked in a covered pot with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil ov

From: Smitten Kitchen Let zucchini season begin! I love galettes, but I usually use a store-bought crust. Use the recipe here for a flakier crust, but a store-bought crust will do in a pinch. Serves 6 For the pastry: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chill again 1/4 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup ice water Filling: 1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon) 1/2 cup ricotta cheese 1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded mozzarella 1 tablespoon slivered basil leaves Glaze: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water Make dough: Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest piece

My daughter asked for a chocolate cake for her third birthday, so I used this delicious recipe from Simply Recipes. I made this exactly as Elise directed and it turned out great. Ingredients * 2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted * 1/2 cup cocoa * 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder * 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda * 1 teaspoon salt * 1 teaspoon cinnamon * 3/4 cup soft butter * 2 cups sugar * 3 eggs * 2 teaspoons vanilla * 2 teaspoons grated orange peel * 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini * 1/2 cup milk * 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans * Glaze (directions follow) Method Preheat the oven to 350°F. 1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. 2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini. 3 Alternat

This is another Karen recipe (meaning it is deLiCious!) Apparently it was the cover recipe for Martha Stewart in Feb 2002. I can't find the recipe on Martha's site, but I did find someone who had posted the recipe elsewhere. Karen made this for another coworkers going-away party today, and it was the hit of the party. Like everything Karen makes. I swear, it drives me insane that I can't compete with her in the baking department, but I'll happily eat her delicious offerings any day. 1 (12 ounce) box chocolate wafers 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin 1 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons sugar 8 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 large egg whites Directions Place the chocolate wafers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add melted butter and stir until well combined. Press into the bottom and lower half of the sides of an 8"

I'm just starting to get zucchini in my farm share, but we got about 5 this week and we're leaving for vacation before I'm going to be able to use it all. I could give it away, but I thought I would see if I could freeze it to use in breads or muffins later. I searched and found different ways to prep it for freezing, but this way seems like it has the best potential. All of the other methods involved steaming it first, which seems like you would be freezing limp watery shreds that would get even worse with freezing. This is Julia Child's method for freezing, which is simply shredding, salting, draining and then freezing in 1-cup portions. I can't report back on the final verdict right now but I'll report back after I actually use the frozen product.

Adapted From: The Kitchn (originally from Serving Up the Harvest ) 1 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash, thinly sliced 1 tsp Salt 4-5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed 1 1/2 pounds waxy potatoes, thinly sliced 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced 1/4 pound smoked Canadian bacon or ham, diced (I used 2 roasted garlic chicken sausages) 6 eggs (I used a combination of whole eggs and bottled egg whites) Freshly ground black pepper (other seasoning to taste - I used a few dashes of Penzey's shallot-pepper mix) 1 cup grated Cheddar (I used fontina) 1. Combine the zucchini and 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and toss well. Set aside to drain for 30 minutes. 2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat in a large, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or ovenproof nonstick skillet. Add the potatoes and onion, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, flipping and stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft, about 20-30 minutes. Increase the heat to medi

And by biscuits I don't mean the kind that comes in a can. Not that my mom didn't do that growing up but they don't taste the same. Not bad, just different. And if your grandma is anything like mine, she's been making this "recipe" for like, 60 years and doesn't follow a recipe. She does it by feel. And that, my friends, is why it has taken so long for me to post this. I have watched her many times and taken notes and then gone home and tried it myself and...well, let's just say it took me a while to get it just right. Now that I have I happily share it with you. Admittedly, I did adapt the biscuit recipe slightly but otherwise, this is as close to replicating Grandma's recipe as I'm going to get. This is not a low-fat dish (duh) and I really only make it about 3 times a year. But it is so good that you'll be thinking about biscuits for the rest of the day. For the biscuits: 2 C self-rising flour (I happen to keep a sack in the fr

Well, close enough anyway. The Pine Club is probably Dayton's most famous restaraunt--not that Dayton is some culinary mecca or anything. This dressing is traditionally served on an iceberg lettuce salad with grated carrot (boring). It's a shame, really, since the dressing is so good but that's why it's better to eat it at home on the salad of your choice. I like it over a green salad with blue cheese, apples/pears and toasted walnuts/pecans, it's good with pasta salad and it's also good on Isaac's broccoli salad. Serves approximately 8. 1 C vegetable/canola oil 3/4 C cider vinegar 1/3 C white sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsp garlic powder 1 scant tsp red pepper flakes You can mix this one of two ways: either pour it all into a mason jar, put on the lid and shake the heck out of it or do it up with your stick blender. I recommend using the stick blender. Either way it's delicious. Refrigerate leftovers and note that it keeps pretty well. I think I had my

Also from the Donna Hay supplement from the June issue of Livingetc. 750ml rose champagne or sparkling wine 2 1/2 teaspoons gelatine powder 110g caster sugar 3 white peaches, sliced Place 2 tablespoons (probably closer to the equivalent of 3 American tablespoons) of the champagne in a bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and stir well to combine. Place the remaining champagne and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for one minute. Remove from the heat, add the gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved. The recipe says to place the peaches in a 1.25L jar and pour over the mixture, but whatever dish you usually use for jello would be fine, no doubt. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Serves 6.

In an effort to become a real human being again rather than a stressed out university student and trainee-priest, I have vowed to myself (and Justin) that I will spend the rest of the summer playing with new recipes. I tend to cook the same things over and over again throughout the academic year. Boring. Boring for me to cook. Boring for Justin to eat. This and a couple of other recipes I'll be posting are from a foody supplement by Donna Hay in this month's Livingetc . This looks lovely - fresh, seasonal, easy. Because the only thing that needs cooking is the pasta, it's the perfect dish to cook after a busy day. 400g fresh lasagne sheets, sliced (I'm guessing fettuccine will work just as well) 3 courgettes (zucchini) 2 green onions, sliced (lengthwise, and pretty fine) 200g ricotta sea salt and cracked black pepper shave parmesan and lemon wedges, to serve 60ml extra-virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, crushed First make garlic oil by placing the oil and garlic in a

For Christmas this past year, I gave my husband the book, Lidia's Italian American Kitchen , which is a collection of recipes by beloved restaurateur and PBS TV chef, Lidia Bastianich. I gave him 12 post-its and the promise that I'd make the recipes he marked, one for each month. These calzones were his Father's Day dinner along with stuffed zucchini, which I'll post later. My notes are in italics. I think filled foods are extremely festive. I love making potstickers, pupusas, samosas, and now these. I make recipes like these only for special occasions -- probably because of the time commitment -- because I think they say "I love you" in their own little pocket of delicious surprises way. I'll post the pupusa and samosa recipes soon too. Calzones Makes about 15 4” calzones ( at LEAST! ) 1 lb fresh ricotta or one 15 oz. container of whole-mild ricotta Pizza Dough ( see below ) 2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, trimmed and cleaned 3 T extra-v

How is it that we did not have a single recipe for sangria on here? Well, I am going to rectify that right now. Adapted from Sunset.com . 1 bottle (750 ml) Reisling (I recommend Fetzer--usually about $8) 2 firm white peaches or nectarines 1/2 C peach frozen juice concentrate (I used peach/orange/mango) 1 bottle (750 ml) chilled sparkling white wine, brut-style (I used Cook's--$5) handful of mint leaves Mix together reisling, juice concentrate, peaches and mint and chill in fridge for at least 2 hrs prior to serving. When guests arrive, add in bottle of sparkling wine, stir gently and serve immediately over ice. It's crisp and refreshing! Serves approx. 4-6 depending on how big your glasses are and how much ice you use. *Note: original recipe calls for peach schnapps but I don't keep that on hand and I think the drink was plenty alcoholic and fruity enough without it. If you prefer, add 1/2 C schnapps and omit juice concentrate.

Edited to add: Better now? A little plainer, but a little easier to read. And maybe we won't get sick of the forks and spoons quite as quickly. --- Forks and spoons and knives are falling on our heads! What do you think? The only part I'm not crazy about is the lack of a background on the title. You can put one on, but not a transparent one and not one with rounded corners, so it just looks like a huge ugly white square. Other than that, Mikey likes it!

From: Culinary in the Country Yum! This recipe has been on my menu plan for many weeks now, and always seemed to be the recipe we didn't get to. In fact, it was on my menu plan for tomorrow, but I just found out we're going to a movie and may not have time for a proper dinner, so I bumped it up to tonight so it wouldn't be the menu casualty once again. And it was really good. I used frozen spinach instead of fresh. The parmesan on top makes all the difference, I think. I used a package of TJ's potato gnocchi. If you see this on my menu plan again soon it will be because it was so tasty and easy to throw together. 1 pound prepared gnocchi 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons pine nuts 3 garlic cloves, minced 10 ounces torn fresh spinach (Or about 5 oz frozen) salt and fresh ground black pepper 1 ounce (about 1/4 cup) fresh grated Parmesan cheese In a large pot of boiling salted water, add gnocchi and cook according to package directions. Drain well. Meanwhile, in a la

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I made some changes to Gwen's original post . I subbed 1 C white whole wheat flour for the AP, increased the 1/3 C yogurt to 1/2 C and added 1/2 t espresso powder. If baking with whole grains, keep in mind that they absorb more liquid (hence the extra yogurt) but also you want to let the dough/batter sit a while before baking so that the flour can absorb all the liquid. It just makes for a better end product. I used a #18 cookie scoop and got 30 cookies (well, would have gotten 30 cookies except that I ate about 1.5 cookies worth of dough before baking. Ah, well, chef's treat, right?). I did not flatten mine (remember that these don't really spread unless you smoosh them like a peanut butter cookie) and baked for 9 min. Allow to cool on pan for 5 min before placing on a cooling rack. Each cookie is 72 kcals with .6 g fiber. And if you use dark or semi-sweet chips then you get all the health benefits of dark chocolate (pl

In an effort to reproduce the unusual and delightful muffin found at The Red Canoe, a beloved children's bookstore and cafe, I took a guess at the proportions and was fairly happy with the results. Peter's are of course much better than mine, but it was the combo of ingredients that made me unable to resist trying to make them. They are like a stack of baked fruit with a little batter to bind the sweet bits. Mmmmm...I made them February 4, 2010, right before the snows came and we ate them each morning toasted and buttered while contemplating how lucky we were to be snowed in. fruits, nuts & seeds 1 mango, hunked into pieces about 1" x 1/4" 3 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, wedged and sliced into 4-6 chunks 2/3 C pecan pieces 2 T poppyseeds batter 4 T butter, melted 2 C flour scant 1/4 C sugar 1 1/2 t baking powder 1 t vanilla 1 egg 1 C milk - Preheat oven to 400 degrees. - In two separate bowls, prepare mango hunks and apple chunks and set aside. - Make the batter

If you haven't caught this post at Simply Recipes, you'll enjoy your day that much more after you read it.

Oh yum. So good. So, so good. from Simply Recipes 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 1 cup of whole milk 3/4 cup of sugar 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 cups of heavy cream 6 egg yolks Warm the milk, sugar, salt and cinnamon and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat whisking to incorporate the cinnamon into the liquid. Place the remaining cup of cream into a bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to avoid the eggs scrambling. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir. When the custard becomes thick until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. Pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Chill the mixture thoroughly and then place in yo

My husband, he loves caramel. And he loves this sauce, which he made in practically no time at all. from Simply Recipes 1 cup of sugar 6 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for

Looks like Blogger has added a ton of new design options... anyone up for a makeover? Some of the backgrounds under the "food and drink" category have great photos -- big close-ups of tomatoes, colorful jellybeans, a retro spoon and fork pattern. I'm happy to mess with it a bit if anyone is interested. I like playing around with this stuff a little too much.

Originally from The Dinner Files , although M. and I adapted quite a bit. I wish I'd had this recipe a year or two ago, when I had more mint in the garden than I knew what to do with, although it's kind of cool that we used some that M. found growing wild in the city. The flavors are actually pretty subtle -- you can taste the mint, for sure, but it doesn't whack you over the head. 2 medium zucchini (we used yellow squash) 10 – 12 sprigs of mint 1 small clove garlic 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup shelled pistachios (we used toasted pine nuts) 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino (we used some four-cheese blend of something from the back of the fridge) (we added a few squeezes of lemon juice too) Chop zucchini and put in a blender or food processor. Pick leaves off the sprigs of mint and add them to the zucchini, tearing any larger leaves into smaller pieces if you’re so inclined. Chop the garlic and throw it in al

Here is a handy chart from "The Joy of Baking" that tells you what you can substitute if you don't have a certain ingredient on hand: Substitution Chart

Ok, so this was almost the second epic cooking fail of the weekend, but I think I salvaged it. I don't usually post my cooking fails here, but this one actually tastes really good, even if it is not the most beautiful creation. What happened to me: I took the cake out after 60 minutes and the toothpick test told me it was still undercooked in the center. I put it back in for another 15 minutes, and when I took it out again the toothpick came out clean and it was firm to the touch. I let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and when I flipped it out onto a cooling rack, it split open and oozed its liquid center all over the place. Luckily I had the cooling rack over a cutting board, so I just scraped everything into a pie plate and put it back in the oven. In this format it was more spread out - less height meant it cooked more evenly, and then I just broke it up into pieces. I don't know what I would do differently next time - maybe even make it in a pie plate from the begi

From: The Pioneer Woman This salsa was very easy to make, and would be good for a variety of uses (with tortilla chips, used in recipes, etc). I think I will make this rather than buying jarred salsas in the future. Be warned, though - this makes a LOT of salsa. It might not even fit in your food processor unless you have a large capacity. You might also want to start with 1/2 a jalapeno if you are concerned about the heat - I used a whole jalapeno, and a large one to boot, and thought it was very hot when I first made it, though the heat did mellow somewhat by the second day. 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies) 1/4 cups Chopped Onion 1 clove Garlic, Minced 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin 1/4 teaspoons Sugar 1/4 teaspoons Salt 1/4 teaspoons Ground Cumin 1/2 cups Cilantro (or to taste!) Juice from 1/2 a lime Preparation Instructions Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumi

From: "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz 3/4 C. heavy cream 1/4 C. packed dark brown sugar 1/4 C. unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/2 C. light corn syrup 6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped 1 Tbsp. salted butter 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract Mix the cream, brown sugar, cocoa powder and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and butter, stirring until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla. Serve warm. Sauce can be store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm it gently in a microwave or by stirring in a saucepan over very low heat. Makes 2 cups.

For a Sweeter Sauce: Adapted from: All Recipes 1 pint strawberries, cleaned and stemmed 1/3 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Cut the strawberries in half. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a blender, puree about 1/3 of sauce, then mix back into remainder (or use an immersion blender and blend as much as you want to get the consistency you want). Store in refrigerator. No-Cook Strawberry Sauce: From: David Lebovitz 1 1/2 lbs. fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice Puree strawberries with sugar and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. Press puree through a strainer to remove seeds. Serve chilled or at room temperature. This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Adapted from KAF Whole Grain Baking and Cooking Light . I made the full fat/sugar version from KAF for Michael's friends to eat during their "Man Summit" this weekend and decided to tweak it a bit for a less caloric version. 1 3/4 C (about 7 oz) whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 1/4 C low-fat buttermilk 1/2 C peanut butter of your choice (I used chunky-style natural pb) 2 large eggs 2 T butter, melted 1 t vanilla extract Cooking spray 1/4 cup strawberry all-fruit (or jam of your choice) Preheat oven to 400 and place muffin liners in a muffin tin. Super helpful hint from KAF: spray the muffin liners with cooking spray and your muffins/cupcakes will not stick to the liner. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients including sugar and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients except jam and mix well. Pour wet into dry and fold gently until just combined. Just make s

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen , who adapted from Bon Appetit I had intended to make a spinach/feta/pine nut tart on phyllo for our house guests last night. But then I forgot to take the phyllo out of the freezer in time, and needed to find an alternative. I made this recipe, and everyone loved it. You can use a 9-inch round pie dish or removable-bottom 9-inch round tart pan as the base. You can par bake this if you wish, though Smitten generally does not. The original recipe calls for a sheet of puff pastry as the shell but Smitten uses pie dough. I used a premade crust from TJ's. 1 3-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature (I used 4 wedges of original Laughing Cow Swiss cheese because I didn't have any cream cheese) 1/3 cup half and half (or milk) 3 eggs 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1/2 cup grated gruyere (or cheddar) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan 4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced (1/2 cup finely diced red or white onion or shallots work as

Adapted from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times (not yet available online). This recipe is so easy and so delicious and is perfect for lunches as you can eat it cold or room temp--ideal for those without microwaves at the office! 1 15 oz. can of hominy (white or yellow), drained and rinsed 1 small bell pepper (or a mix of red, yellow and green), medium dice 1 small red onion, minced 1 1/2 C lima beans or edamame (defrosted if frozen) 1 C prepared brown rice 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1/8 C EVOO 1/4 C red wine vinegar S&P 2 T chopped herbs (I used basil, oregano & garlic chives) generous 1/4 C reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled (I like TJs better than Athenos) In a large bowl, mix veg and grains. In a measuring cup, combine EVOO, vinegar, S&P, and herbs. Whisk to combine and pour over salad. Stir to coat veg mixture with dressing and add in feta. For best flavor, allow to sit 30 min before serving. 5 servings, 397 kcals, 8 grams dietary fiber

Ernie made this for dinner earlier this week, and it was fantastic. We made it with hickory smoked bacon, but I suppose you could use turkey bacon if you so desired. It made enough for all of us to have for dinner, and then leftovers for lunches for both girls. from Jamie Oliver (the instructions are all his) 1lb farfalle 1 egg 3½ oz heavy cream sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 12 rashers of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, roughly sliced 3 handfuls of fresh podded or frozen peas 2 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves picked 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese First of all, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the farfalle, and cook according to the packet instructions. Whisk the egg in a bowl with the cream, salt and pepper. Put your pancetta or bacon into a second pan and cook until crispy and golden. When the farfalle is nearly cooked, add the peas for the last minute and a half. This way they will burst in your mouth and be lovely and sweet. When cooked, dr

So, roasting saves the day again. I am not a radish lover, and we keep getting radishes in the CSA every week. I can force down a few sliced up in green salads, but beyond that... not so much. So, today I went looking for alternative ways to eat them, and found a bunch of people roasting them. The bitter flavor mellows a bit and they get all brown and flavorful. No real recipe - just roast as you would any other root vegetable. I cut the tops and bottoms off, halved them, tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roasted in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes or so. Or, rather, that's what you should do. I forgot about mine and cooked them a little too long, so mine are a little softer and darker than I'd like, but they're still good. Just keep an eye on yours - the cooking time will depend on how big your pieces are.

Adapted from epicurious.com I could have sworn that I posted this last spring when I first made it but apparently not. I love puttancesca and this is a great way to get it on the table quickly and using more veg than if you just made it with pasta. The original recipe calls for anchovy fillets but I don't keep those on hand; I prefer to use a tube of anchovy paste. Before you turn your nose up at it, it's a wonderful staple to have on hand as it melts rights into the dish giving it a wonderful flavor without being at all fishy. 1 1/2 T anchovy paste (found in the canned fish aisle at your local mega mart) 5 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less for kids or wussy fathers-in-law) 3-ish T extra-virgin olive oil 1 can diced tomatoes 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (good olives make all the difference here) 2 T drained capers, chopped if you like 1 (19-oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 1 large bag baby spinach (about 12 oz--I didn&

From: Alton Brown Hey, you can microwave-steam crab legs! Kelly told me about this, and I was totally skeptical and didn't want to ruin my expensive king crab legs. But, she convinced me to try it, and it totally worked. I really did not think microwaving seafood was a good idea - I thought it was going to turn out rubbery. It didn't! I put ours in for 1:45, because our microwave is really powerful and we always have to cut down on times in recipes. They were perfect. 6 Alaskan king crab claws, thawed 2 sprigs dill Directions If necessary in order to fit in microwave, cut claws at joints. Wrap 3 claws at a time in a damp paper towel, along with 1 sprig of dill, and then wrap in plastic wrap. Place wrapped claws in microwave 1 package at a time and cook on high for 2 minutes. Remove and unwrap carefully. Serve immediately.