Recipe Roundup

Our first home cooked meal in the new house

It's been a while since I've posted any recipes to the blog so I wanted to gather a few of the things I've cooked up this summer in one place.

This mac and cheese via The Wednesday Chef is delish!

Loved this Rhubarb Snacking Cake.

I posted a link to this sweet pea bruschetta back in May, but only got around to trying it last month.  It was a hit!

And this pie really is as easy to make as it looks. I recommend serving very small slices...

Per usual, we cooked up a slew of things from the Barefoot Contessa including:

Corn Muffins

Plum Cake Tatin. One of my favorite summer cakes!

Herb-Roasted Fish. Really elegant, but super easy.

Italian Wedding Soup that I've made to freeze for meals once baby arrives.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi (Ian actually made this one).

Balsamic Roasted Beef. I couldn't find the recipe online, but it's in Ina's How Easy is That? cookbook. The recipe is simple enough to post right here:

2.5 lb filet of beef, trimmed and tied
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon coursely cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Place the beef on the sheet pan. Combine the mustard, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl. Spread the mixture on the filet and brush it evenly over the top and sides. Sprinkle the cracked pepper evenly all over the meat.

Roast the filet for 30 minutes exactly for medium-rare (25 minutes for rare and 35 minutes for medium). Remove the pan from the oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow beef to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve hot or warm.


And a couple of my own creations:

Couscous salad
(This makes quite a bit and is good for a party or for keeping as leftovers)
1 box Near East Pearled (Israeli) Couscous Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil flavor
1 Box Near East Pearled Couscous plain
1-1 1/2 cups coursely choppped feta cheese
Coursely chopped herbs of your choice (I like chives, parsley, thyme and oregano)
About 1/4 -1/2 cup good olive oil.

Follow directions on box to cook couscous, but substitute chicken stock for the water. Once the couscous has cooled add feta, herbs, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled


Chicken Salad (modified from America's Test Kitchen chicken salad recipe)

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts roasted in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Allow to cool then deskin and debone and cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes.
2 ribs of celery finely choppped
1/2-3/4 cup mayonnaise (depending on how mayonnaisey you like your chicken salad)
2 scallions minced
1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
1 tablespoon whole grained dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Combine all the ingredients.