Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Pasta

One of my daughters is jump starting my blog for the new year.  I hope to share more great recipes this year, but Mary is going to get me started with a great recipe she tried.

Hi folks.  I'm Mary, one of Susan's daughters.  I like to cook about as much as she does, but have the fortunate advantage of having a husband who likes to cook as well!  A couple of days ago, he and I made this roasted vegetable pasta (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe) and it rocked our world.  I know, I know--it looks simple.  But roasted cauliflower and sweet potato are, as it turns out, a magical combination. 

As far as I can tell, there are two things that really make this dish.  The first is that you actually coat your vegetables in the bacon drippings before roasting them (as opposed to the more conventional olive oil).  The second is that you should spend the extra couple of dollars for really good Parmesan.  You'll thank me.  And then I'll get invited to guest post again.  Win-win for everyone.

Hope you enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Pasta

• 5 ounces bacon, preferably slab, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 head cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
• 1 pound orecchiette (or other shell pasta)
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to paper towels using a slotted spoon. Reserve drippings.
2. Toss sweet potato, onion, and cauliflower with reserved drippings. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until tender and caramelized, about 35 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot with cooking water, and toss with grated cheese.  Add vegetables. Sprinkle bacon, parsley, and more Parmesan over top.

Creamy Root Vegetable Soup

The weather here is starting to feel like fall--a bit of nip in the air.  While I can enjoy a good bowl of soup most any time of year, when the weather starts to get chilly soup just sounds good.  This soup uses 5 root vegetables--carrots, parsnips, leeks, garlic and potatoes.  I don't use leeks often and I don't think I have ever cooked a parsnip before. The soup goes together easily and doesn't take long to cook.  I found the recipe in Cook's Country magazine  I thought it was delicious and it even tastes good warmed up as leftovers.

Creamy Root Vegetable Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin and washed thoroughly
1 celery rib, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
salt and pepper
12 ounces russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add carrots, parsnips, leek, celery, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes.  Stir in potatoes and cook, stirring constantly, until starch begins to release and vegetables begin to stick together, about 2 minutes.  Add broth and bay leaf and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf.  Working in batches, process soup in blender until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Return soup to clean pot and stir in cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve. (Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

Sparkling Fruit

When I found this recipe I thought it sounded good but I underestimated how good.  The mixture of honey and balsamic vinegar brings out the natural sweetness of the fruit.  The lemon balm or lemon zest add a burst of brightness.  The first time I made this recipe I used the lemon balm since I have some growing in my yard. The second time I used the lemon zest.  The flavor is slightly different but I liked both of the variations.  Certainly lemon zest would probably be easier to find.  I also used a variety of berries and I liked all the combinations.  The first time I made it, local strawberries were in season so I used strawberries, blueberries , blackberries and red raspberries.  The second time I didn't have the strawberries.  Both times the dish was delicious but I think the strawberries made it better.

Sparkling  Fruit

1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons snipped fresh lemon balm or 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3 to 4 cups fresh berries (mix of red and golden raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries, cut into bite sized pieces)

In a small bowl stir honey and balsamic vinegar until combined.  Stir in snipped lemon balm or zest.  Pour mixture over fresh berries.  Toss gently.  Makes 4 servings.

Peach Crumble Dessert

It is nearing the end of peach season here and I wanted one more peach dessert before all the local peaches are gone for another year.  I got some really nice yellow peaches at the Farmer's Market.  Even though I have a really good peach cobbler recipe that I go to time after time, I'm always ready to try something new.  I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website.  It was delicious last night when I served it for supper topped with vanilla ice cream.  The lemon zest  and juice gave the peaches an extra brightness and the topping baked up crunchy which was a nice contrast to the soft peaches.  I'll be making this again. Maybe next time I'll adjust the spices a bit and try it with apples.

Peach Crumble Dessert

6 cups ripe peaches, sliced and peeled
1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Place peaches in a greased shallow 2-1/2 quart baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and cinnamon; sprinkle over the peaches.

For the topping:  Combine the 1 cup of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Stir in egg until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over the peaches.  Pour butter, evenly over topping.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.  Serve with ice cream if desired.  Makes 10-12 servings.  

Rustic French Toast

I recently was having brunch at a local restaurant and I ordered the menu item called Rustic French Toast.  It was absolutely delicious.  The French toast was made with a rustic bread, was a bit sweeter than most French toast and was topped with a berry compote and chocolate and nut shavings.  I immediately thought that I had to go home and try to duplicate it.  This recipe is what I came up with.  Obviously I haven't done a side by side comparison but I think I'm pretty close as best I remember.  I decided to use ciabatta as my rustic bread.  It seemed to work great.  I've served it topped with a berry compote, sliced and sugared strawberries and sliced and sugared peaches.  It's always delicious, no matter what I put on top.

Rustic French Toast
8 or 10 slices of ciabatta bread sliced 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all the ingredients together except the bread.  Heat a griddle greased with butter to 300 degrees.  Dip the slices of bread into the milk and egg mixture and cook on the hot griddle until golden brown.  Turn and cook until golden brown on the other side.  Serve hot.

Cornmeal Biscuits

Being a good Southern family we always enjoy biscuits.  I learned to make biscuits watching my mother, who learned from her mother.  Most of the time I make the simple, basic biscuits I had as a child made with self rising flour, shortening and milk.  But I am always eager to try a biscuit recipe that deviates from the basics.  This recipe adds cornmeal to the regular biscuit ingredients.  This gives it a slightly different texture.  I think this biscuit would be really good stuffed with ham.

Cornmeal Biscuits

4 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup butter, cut up

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

Combine flour and cornmeal in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.  Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 2 or 3 times.

Pat or roll dough to a 1/2 inch thickness, and cut with a 2 inch round cutter.  Place on lightly greased baking sheets.  Reroll remaining dough, and repeat procedure.  Brush tops with milk.

Bake at 425 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Fettuccine with Mushroom Alfredo Sauce

I had some leftover mushrooms that I needed to use so I was searching through my Southern Living annual recipes when I came across this recipe.  My husband loves Alfredo sauce so this seemed like the perfect recipe.  It was delicious.  The earthy flavor of the mushrooms came through as well as the richness of the cheese in the Alfredo sauce--a good balance of flavors.

Fettuccine with Mushroom Alfredo Sauce

1 (12 ounce) package fettuccine
1 (6 ounce) package cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain.

Chop mushrooms.  Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add mushrooms and garlic, and saute 5 to 6 minutes or until tender.  Stir in cream and milk.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat; reduce heat, and simmer, whisking constantly, 10 minutes.  Stir in cheese, pepper, and salt; stir constantly until cheese melts and mixture thickens.  Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley.  Serve over hot cooked pasta.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.