Roasted Tomato Salad Dressing with Iceberg Lettuce Wedges

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those of us who grew up in the Midwest are no strangers to the salad I'm featuring tonight.  It made regular appearances on our dinner tables despite the bad press it received from food writers, who I am now convinced were on the payroll of the Boston and leaf lettuce consortium. The salad was simplicity personified. Iceberg lettuce, cut into thick wedges, was topped with Thousand Island dressing that oozed downward, much like a lava flow on the slopes of a volcano. The salad was memorable because the lettuce never lost its crispness and it provided crunchy sound effects that endeared it to anyone under the age of ten. For years after I had been informed that iceberg lettuce was déclassé, I would thread more socially acceptable greens with the crunch that only iceberg lettuce could provide. It is yet another indication that I am not now, nor have I ever been a "foodie". I was really pleased to find a new take on a wedge salad  in the August issue of Food and Wine magazine. They gussied up the basic salad, but what really caught my eye was their recipe for roasted tomato dressing. It appeared to be a bit like the red French dressing of yesteryear, but having made it, I can tell you it is much sharper in taste. It actually was too sharp for my palate, so the next time I make it, I will cut back on the amount of mustard I use. Tomatoes come in with a vengeance at this time of year and the dressing is a great way to put some of them to use.  I think you will enjoy the salad, especially if you taste  the dressing as you assemble its elements. It will need salt and pepper, and I think you'll find 1 tablespoon of mustard will give it all the zip it needs. If you are looking for a new take on an old favorite you might want to give this recipe a try. Here is how the salad is made.

50 Women Game Changers in Food - #33 Christopher Hirscheimer and Melissa Hamilton - Canal House Roasted Tomatoes Studded with Garlic

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Canal House Cooking is a series of seasonal cookbooks created for the home cook by the food writing and photography team of Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton. In 2006, the two women opened Canal House as a photo and design studio for cookbooks and magazines. They had known each other for years before forming the partnership. Melissa Hamilton, a chef, had been the director of the test kitchen at Saveur magazine where Christopher Hirsheimer was a founding editor and photographer. Their food is a fusion of European country classics and American regional favorites which, while easy enough to do, is designed to be interesting and capture the eye and imaginations of their readers. Their recipes reflect Hamilton's French heritage and Hirsheimer's California background. Both women have traveled extensively and have impressive culinary backgrounds. Their vision includes three publications a year and they have been able to make their self-published concept work by doing most of the work themselves. Each of their publications contains about 75 recipes which they develop, test and photograph on their own. That has helped preserve the homespun but edgy quality they wanted their magazines to have. Together they share position 33 on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food.

I selected a really simple recipe to highlight the type of cooking that the women do. As you scan through the recipe, you'll see a fairly standard list of ingredients for a simple pasta sauce. What is different, however, is the way the dish is prepared and presented. The idea here is to give everyone a flavorful roasted tomato that can be mashed over a serving of pasta, effectively creating a sauce meant for one. It works fairly well, especially when first served and piping hot. I thought the crumbs became gummy and less pleasant as the sauce cooled. The recipe is novel, at least to me, and I think those of you who enjoy something different for a change, might really like this. Here's the recipe.

Canal House Roasted Tomatoes Studded with Garlic on a Bed of Pasta

Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced pancetta
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pasta
2 anchovy fillets
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
4 tomatoes, tops sliced off, seeds scooped out (use your fingers)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Small handful fresh thyme, parsley, or basil leaves, chopped (I used a combination of all 3)
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound spaghetti

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry pancetta in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp around edges. Use a slotted spatula to lift pancetta out of skillet to a plate. Leave rendered fat in skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and anchovies to skillet. Use a wooden spoon to mash anchovies until they dissolve. Add bread crumbs and cook, stirring often,until they are golden.
2) Put tomatoes, cut side up, in a baking dish and slip some garlic into each tomato. Mound some bread crumbs into each tomato and scatter pancetta and herbs on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle remaining 4 tablespoons of oil over all. Roast tomatoes in the oven until they have browned a bit and interior is supple but tomatoes have not collapsed, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
3) Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain. Return pasta to pot and stir in some olive oil and some of the oily tomato juices from the bottom of the tomato roasting dish.
4) Serve spaghetti with roasted tomatoes and their juices spooned on top. Yield: 4 servings.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton today. I hope you'll pay them all a visit. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden, Heather - girlichef, Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me, Sue - The View from Great Island Barbara - Movable Feasts , Linda A - There and Back Again, Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Most Lovely Things, Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce - More Time at the Table, Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Ella Brennan. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, February 6th.

Pasta with Bread Crumbs and Herbed Tomatoes

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had more than a passing encounter with Mother Hubbard's dilemma today. I've been madly preparing for an extended trip to the coast and dinner time rolled around with packed suitcases but nothing more for dinner than a defrosted steak that desperately needed something to keep it company on the plate. The cupboard was, indeed, nearly bare and I wasn't up to a last-minute grocery shop. It was obviously going to be a make-do supper. That occasionally happens here, and, when it does, I have a handful of recipes that I fall back on. This is one of them. I make this dish once or twice a year when I have stale bread and ripe tomatoes that must be used. It's not my favorite recipe, but it is serviceable and makes a really nice accompaniment to plain grilled meat or chicken.I routinely use stale bread to make crumbs and usually have a supply in the pantry. Because I have them in ready status it takes only minutes for me to make this pasta. If you are going to make crumbs just for the pasta, it will take about an hour for them to properly dry and toast, so plan your time accordingly. I've included instructions for preparing crumbs in today's recipe. If you make the recipe from start to finish you will need a couple of hours to put everything together. An easy shortcut is the use of panko bread crumbs. If you use a gentle hand, panko has enough substance to stand in for homemade crumbs. If you use them, you would begin with step 3 in the recipe below. This is really easy to make, and, if ever you are in need of a quick go-with, you might want to try this pasta. Here's the recipe.

Pasta With Bread Crumbs and Herbed Tomatoes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1/2 large loaf country-style bread, crust removed
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves, chopped
6 large, ripe, Roma tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Balsamic or red wine vinegar to taste (optional)
12-ounces dried fusilli or other short tubular pasta

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2) Cut bread into pieces. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process bread, in batches, to coarse crumbs. There will be about 3 cups of crumbs. Spread in a shallow baking tray and toast in the oven for 1 hour, or until dry and crisp but not brown.
3) In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, or until crumbs are golden. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
4) In a glass or ceramic bowl, combine tomatoes and chopped herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar to intensify flavor of the tomatoes, if you desire.
5) In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook pasta per package directions until al dente. Drain well.
6) Transfer pasta to a warm, shallow serving bowl. Toss with reserved 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pour tomatoes over top and toss to combine. Add bread crumbs and toss again. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.







One Year Ago Today: Mexican Rice















Two Years Ago Today: Biscotti Regina










You might also enjoy these recipes:
Linguine with Heirloom Tomatoes - Life's Ambrosia
Best Summer Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - Stacey Snacks
Summer Sweet Corn Pasta - So Tasty, So Yummy
Caprese Pasta Salad - A Girl in Her Kitchen
Pasta Salad with Grape Tomatoes and Mozzarella - Alida's Kitchen
Fresh Tomato Pasta with Herbed Bread Crumbs Montreal - Savoring Time in the Kitchen

Baked Mostaccioli

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Have you ever noticed how young male appetites aren't affected by extremes of heat or cold? I must admit that baked mostaccioli is the last thing I'd normally think of serving on a hot summer night. This, however, is a dish that has a couple of things to commend it. It is, of course, delicious and quite filling. It's also easy to prepare and can be made by novice cooks. What I find most interesting about this version of the recipe, however, is its history. This is the recipe that was used to make the mostaccioli served to Mafia dons at, what the IRS came to call, "The Last Supper". The meal was held at the Sicily Restaurant in Chicago to announce the retirement of two mob bosses, only one one of whom was retiring voluntarily. Within five years most of the dons, seen in the picture to the left, would be dead, falling victim to old age rather than internecine warfare and this occasion was their last hurrah. I'm posting the recipe as it was written, but a jarred tomato sauce can certainly replace the one called for in the recipe. That puts the recipe within the realm of possibility even for young cooks. Here's how the mostaccioli served at that last supper is made.


Baked Mostaccioli...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
3 (8-oz.) cans unseasoned tomato sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound mostaccioli
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
2) Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Remove casing from Italian sausage. Add to skillet and brown.
3) Add tomato sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and black pepper to skillet. Stir to mix well. Bring contents of skillet to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
4) Meanwhile, cook mostaccioli according to package directions. Drain.
5) Place half of cooked pasta in baking pan, making sure bottom of pan is completely covered. Cover with half of tomato sauce and half of cheese. Create another layer using remaining mostaccioli, tomato sauce and cheese.
6) Bake, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top layer of cheese is completely melted. If desired, brown under broiler. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.






One Year Ago Today: Lamb Chops with Sizzled Garlic









You might also enjoy these recipes:
Baked Pasta with Summer Vegetables - Handle the Heat
Baked Spaghetti - Never Enough Thyme
Lightened-Up Johnnie Marzetti Pasta - My Kitchen Adventures
Baked Lemon Spaghetti - The Recipe Girl
Baked Rigatoni - Proud Italian Cook

Indian Butter Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I appreciate irony. We spent weeks in India, and while chicken stroganoff was featured every evening, we never once were served the famous Indian butter chicken, murgh makhani. The dish is popular in countries all over the world and its absence while we were in India was a bit strange and caused a giggle or two. I honestly believe it was absent from our menus because everyone assumed that someone else had served it and they were trying to please us by offering something new. The dish is made with chicken (murgh) that's marinated in a spicy yogurt sauce before being grilled or cooked in a clay oven, called a tandoor. The sauce (makhani) is made by combining butter, tomato puree and spices with fresh cream. It is my habit to prepare the most popular entrees of the countries we visit prior to an extended trip. It helps us to know what to expect and makes it much easier to adjust to a new cuisine. Butter chicken was one of the dishes I learned to make before we left for India. We have one small Indian restaurant in our community and I used their chicken as my point of comparison. I found an extremely simple recipe developed by Carla Fitzgerald Williams and used that as my base. Her recipe differs from most, in that it uses a deli rotisserie chicken to emulate the texture of the tandoor chicken used in more traditional recipes. I have three recipes for butter chicken. I use this one only when authenticity is not a concern. It's quick, easy and very flavorful. I offer it here for those of you who have never tried butter chicken. This is a wonderful introduction to Indian cuisine. It is much kinder to a beginner's palate than some of the other dishes you might be tempted to try. Garam masala, described here, is the dominant spice mix in this sauce. You should be able to find it in the spice aisle of any major grocery chain. This is a really nice recipe. You can find extensive reviews of it, here. Here's the recipe.

Indian Butter Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Carla Fitzgerald Williams

Ingredients:
Spice Blend
1 tablespoon garam masala seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 skinless rotisserie chicken, boned out and pulled into 1-1/2 by 1/2-inch chunks or shredded
1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas, placed in a colander and run under hot water to thaw
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Optional: Hot basmati rice, pita bread

Directions:
1) To make spice blend: Stir ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
2) To make sauce: Melt butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until pieces just begin to turn gold, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste and spice blend. Cook for 1 minute until spices are fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir will. Add chicken pieces, spoon sauce over the top and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover to keep warm.
3) To finish: Shake any excess water from peas. Add peas and cream to sauce in the pan, stir well and heat through. Do not boil. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with rice and warmed pita bread. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.

Your might also enjoy these recipes:
Murgh Makhani:Butter Chicken - eCurry
Butter Chicken - 2FrugalFoodies
Indian Butter Chicken - Mommy Cooks
Indian Butter Chicken - Life's Ambrosia
Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken) - What's Cookin', Chicago?
Indian Butter Chicken: Murgh Makhani - Sea Salt with Food
Crockpot Butter Chicken - Food and Whine
Butter Chicken - The English Kitchen
Grilled Indian Butter Chicken - The Parsley Thief

Hannibal's Roasted Tomato Pilaf

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While the rice and barley simmered, my mind wandered and Hannibal and the armies of Carthage came to mind. I think the color of the grains triggered my reverie. I was looking at a decidedly hot mess and needed some distraction until everything in that pot came together. I comforted myself with the knowledge that those armies, fueled by grains such as these, crossed the Alps and challenged the power of Rome. That they lost was beside the point. I was determined, at the very least, to tame the contents of my pot. As it turned out, I worried needlessly. My plan included the addition of roasted tomatoes, and a quick taste at the end of cooking revealed a pleasantly flavored, nutty surprise that was brightened by the flavor and color of the fruit. I'm still relatively new to meatless cooking and I'm always taken aback when dishes like this actually work. In order to assure the brown rice was cooked, I staggered the addition of the barley and orzo. I was afraid that if everything went into the pot at the same time the orzo and barley would become gummy before the rice was done. That meant one extra pan, but I'm glad I took the time to do it that way. The roasted tomatoes were great, but I think garlic sauteed zucchini would have worked as well. Even my committed carnivore enjoyed the dish, though he ate it with a chop on the side. Whether you have it as a main course or a side dish, I think you'll like this, too. Here's the recipe.

Hannibal's Roasted Tomato Pilaf...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup baby tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
2/3 cup brown rice
2/3 cup barley
2/3 cup orzo pasta
3-3/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
Optional: Basil leaves for garnish

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.
2) While tomatoes bake, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a skillet and heat until warm. Add brown rice and sauteed until grains are coated and lightly brown. Add salt and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
3) Add reserved 1 tablespoon olive oil to a second skillet and heat until warm. Add barley and orzo and cook until grains are coated and lightly brown.
4) Stir barley and orzo into brown rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed and mixture is tender, about 20 minutes longer.
5) Lightly toss pilaf mixture with roasted tomatoes. Season to taste. Garnish with basil if desired. Serve warm or cold. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Stuffed Bell Peppers with Moroccan Rice Pilaf - The Heritage Cook
Garlic Rice Pilaf - Christine's Cuisine
Dirty Rice - Simply Recipes
Mushroom Rice Pilaf - What's Cookin Chicago
Rice Pilaf with Spinach and Bacon - The Teacher Cooks
Bulgur Pilaf - Koko's Kitchen
Rice and Red Lentil Pilaf - One Perfect Bite