Bruschetta

I love a recipe that is so easy to make! Oftentimes the best way to learn is to watch someone else do it.  In this case I watched my friend Lisa. She worked in a restaurant and has whipped this up many times.

Make the tomato dip:
Dice up 3 cloves of garlic, 4 plum tomatoes and half an onion.
Saute the onion then add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook down a bit.
Drizzle in some balsamic vinegar (white balsamic is also good and won't affect the color).
Remove from heat and mix in some chopped basil.
Drizzle olive oil over slices of baguette, rub with a cut piece of garlic, sprinkle of parmesan and toast them.
Serve with a dollop of goat cheese over the tomatoes and enjoy! 

Confetti Sandwiches

A great way to get some exciting veggie action into your kid's lunch! I had one too :)
Just spread some nice soft bread (in this case, scali) with mayo, grate some veggies of choice (carrots, zucchini, summer squash, etc.) over the bread, top with preferred cheese and voila! Colorful and fun/fast to prepare.

Baked Sole with Spinach, Olives and Tomatoes

This was a special dinner I made for my friend Kerri.
It is adapted from Jamie Oliver's "Happy Days With The Naked Chef."
I definitely give it a thumbs up! 

Here are the olive puree, rosemary skewers and tomato sauce, prepped ahead of time.

The final dish, ready to dig in!

Serves 4

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine
• 1 28oz can plum tomatoes
• Fine sea salt to taste
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 large handful fresh basil
• 2 anchovy fillets
• 4 (7-oz) sole fillets
• 5 oz baby spinach 

Make sauce:
Cook garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat (on stovetop), stirring until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice, breaking them up with a spoon, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Add sea salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
Prepare fish while sauce simmers:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Pulse olives, basil, and anchovies to a paste in a food processor (or chop finely). Add olive oil  to create a more spreadable paste.
Lay fish fillets, skinned sides down, on a work surface and season with pepper. Divide olive paste among fillets and spread evenly. Beginning at narrow end, roll up each fillet. Peel the leaves of the lower end of the rosemary and use to skewer the fillets closed.
Bake fish:
Arrange fish rolls on tomato sauce in baking dish. Drizzle lightly with oil and bake, uncovered, in middle of oven, until fish is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Transfer fish to 4 heated plates. Heat tomato sauce over medium heat, then add spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute. Spoon sauce with spinach alongside fish.


 

Broccoli Cole Slaw

 I first had this a few years ago at my friend Katie's baby shower. Her sister made it and I loved it! Was very surprised to learn that it is made with Ramen noodles! The taster didn't like it but I sure did. I halved the below recipe. It would be good to make for a party.

Ingredients

• 2 bags (3-ounce) Ramen Noodle Soup in Oriental (other flavors will work, too)
• 3/4 stick butter
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2 bags (12-ounce) bags broccoli cole slaw (in the bagged salad section of the grocery store)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• Chopped green onions, for garnish

Dressing Mix:

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup brown or white sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 ramen noodle seasoning packet

Directions

Put the ramen noodles in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin while melting butter in a large skillet over low/medium heat. Add the crushed noodles and slivered almonds to the skillet and saute, stirring occasionally (keep temperature at low/medium heat). Meanwhile, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Place the shredded broccoli into bowl and toss with the noodles, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Garnish with chopped green onions.