Solo Appetit: Salad with Beets and Citrus

I got this month's Bon Appetit on Friday, and within 45 minutes I was already making the Brownies on the cover. Sooooo good! But thats besides the point. For dinner tonight, I modified the Beets and Citrus Salad from the magazine as well.

Beets are really messy! I made them once, roasted them with the skins on, peeled them and got ALL messy, but then I discovered packaged beets in the refrigerated section of the Vegetables at Trader Joe's. They were in a cleaned and in a vacuum sealed pouch, and they could be prepared cold or warm. For a vegetable that usually takes a long time to cook, this was a great solution. They were delicious and tasted very fresh and took 3 minutes instead of 60!

I changed the recipe for the salad dressing and cut it down to size for one. I was really pleased with it!

Salad with Beets and Citrus
For the Salad:
1 Grapefruit
1 Naval Orange
3 Small Beets
Herbed salad mix
1 Tbsp Chives

For the Vinaigrette:
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Honey
1/8 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Champagne Vinegar
Small squirt of Lemon Juice

- Whisk together all off the ingredients for the vinaigrette until combined and set aside.
- Cut the rind off of the Orange and Grapefruit until all of the pith and rind is removed and you can segment the fruit.
- Segment both of the fruits and place in a bowl with the beets. I chopped mine into 8 wedges.
- Add the chives and half of the vinaigrette, add salt pepper and mix.
- Put the Citrus and Beets mixture over the Salad Greens and add the remaining vinaigrette, or as much as you would like.

Hump-Day Dinner: Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Arugula

Making dinner on Wednesday (Hump-Day) is a big challenge to me. By this time of the week I feel like I would rather have some take-out or a personal chef, probably the latter, but making a good dinner is much more rewarding.

This dish is a light pasta dish with only a little bit of butter. I was inspired by a light pasta dish (Farfalle ai porri e salsicce) I made from the "The Essential New York Times Cookbook" by Amanda Hesser. I wanted to make a similarly light sauce but one with tomatoes. What I came up with is light, slightly sweet, a bit salty, and I love the bite the arugula adds.

ENJOY!

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Arugula
1 Sweet Italian Sausage (or if you can find sausage meat not in casings, about a 1/4-1/5 lb.
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Medium Sized Tomatoes (diced)
2-3 Cloves Garlic (minced)
1/2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
4 oz Farfalle
Small bunch Arugula

- Bring a pot of salted water to boil
- Add the olive oil to a non-stick pain and heat
- Add the Sausage and cook for about 3-4 minutes
- Add the Tomatoes and Garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes (add the pasta to the water about now)
- Add the Butter and Broth and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broth has reduced and thickenend.
- At the very end, add the arugula and stir for a few seconds
- Add the sauce to the drained pasta

approximate time - 25 mins

Gourmet for Me!: Herbed Roasted Salmon with Garlic Artichokes

Yum!

Last year I discovered that I REALLY like artichokes. After trying a few different ways of cooking them, I blended them together and came up with this recipe. It took me a while to figure out how to prepare the artichokes appropriately, so I have posted pictures of how to conquer a very difficult to prepare vegetable.

This Salmon recipe was inspired by a recipe for Salmon in Ina Garten's newest cookbook, "How Easy Is That." The Salmon is moist when done and I absolutely LOVE dill. I recommend pouring some of the juices that remain in the pan over the Salmon when finished.

When cooking for one, the usual sized pans (9x13, or 8x10) are too big and take up more time to clean. I have a Small Pyrex Glass Pan that I used for EVERYTHING (including this Salmon). I also have a small  3.5qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven that my mom gifted me because it hadn't been used in years. It is the perfect size for these artichokes.

Herbed Roasted Salmon

4-5oz Salmon Filet

3 Tbsp Lemon Juice

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Dill

2 Tbsp Chives

3 Tbsp Scallions

2 Tbsp Water

- Place the Salmon in a small glass pan and salt and pepper liberally.

- Mix Lemon Juice and Olive Oil in a small bowl and pour over the Salmon.

- Chop up the herbs and add to the bowl you used to mix the oil and lemon juice. Add a bit more lemon juice and a drizzle of oil and use your fingers to mix.

- Press the herb mix onto the top of the Salmon and then place 2 circles of Lemon on top.

- Pour a bit of water around the Salmon (I added 2 Tbsp because I used a Small Pan)

- Roast in a 425˚F oven for 15 mins.

Right before going into the oven

Artichokes with Garlic and Olives

2 Artichokes (see below for preparation)

1 Lemon

2 Cloves of Garlic (minced)

1/3 Cup of Olive Oil

1/4 cup Olives

Water

- Prepare the Artichokes as below.

- Rub them with a half of the cut lemon, squeezing some juice into the inner cavity. Then rub with garlic.

- Place cut end down in a pan or dutch oven and add 1/3 cup of olive oil around the artichokes.

- Add olives and enough water to cover 2/3 of the artichokes. (The water will boil off so check periodically to make sure there is enough water)

- Place the covered pan/dutch oven over medium heat and cook for 25 ~ 30 mins.

After cooking for 30 mins

ENJOY!

To Prepare the Artichokes:

1. Remove all of the leaves until the bottom third of the leaves are white.

2. Cut off the top of the artichoke down to the beginning of the white portion of the leaves

3. Using a spoon, melon baller, or measuring spoon with a strong handle remove the inner leaves including the hairy parts.  (I use a teaspoon)

4. Using a paring knife, peel the hard outer skin off of the stem of the artichoke and peel some of the rough leaves on the top of the artichokes. 

There will be a lot of waste!