Roasted Vegetables and Cheese Dip

I don't often cook with prepared ingredients, however, I found this awesome mix of roasted vegetables and I wanted to do something with it. It's a mixture of roasted peppers, onions, eggplant and garlic and it's a little strong on its own.

I love roasted vegetables but I really dislike the actual roasting. The pan gets all sticky and half the time I burn my hands on the peppers trying to peel them, so this mix looked like a welcome helping hand.

Along came a party for a friend and I immediately thought about using the mix for a nice creamy dip. Meredith suggested I add a bit of spice to it so I also threw in some red pepper flakes. My first test-run used pressed cottage cheese (because that's what we had), but for the final, I chose cream cheese and added some chopped olives.




Roasted Vegetables and Cheese Dip

• 1 package (250g) cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 3/4 cup roasted red pepper spread
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup sliced green olives
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Using a fork, fold cream cheese and red pepper spread together until thoroughly mixed.
2. Fold in remaining ingredients

Notes:

• roasted red pepper spread can be substituted for 1/2 cup pureed roasted red peppers, onion, garlic, salt and 1 tbsp tomato paste
• for a smoother dip, puree all ingredients in food processor

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen

Zeidy Sam's Lockshin Kugel

Back in university I had a great lockshin kugel recipe that I eventually lost. It was okay, and it had cottage cheese. When I asked mom about her recipe, she began describing the kugel that my Zeidy Sam used to make. It didn't have cottage cheese, but it was very sweet and apparently he liked it extra cripsy. Although I'm probably too young to remember it, I vaguely remember a similar kugel that Baba (my Bubbie) might have made when I was a child.

I switched around the recipe, including adding the cottage cheese and reducing the sugar and stuck to the crispy theme. It turned out right the first time. I'm very happy.

Zeidy Sam's Lockshin Kugel

• 1 package whole grain, no yolk egg noodles
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 3/4 cup raisins

1. Cook egg noodles according to package directions and preheat oven to 375-degrees.
2. Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and cottage cheese in a mixing bowl.
3. Fold in raisins and noodles.
4. Transfer to a large baking dish and bake for 45 minutes (Mom said that Zeidy liked the kugel really crispy).
5. Cool before serving.

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Part of the Real Food Holiday Blog Carnival: Rosh Hashanah 2010.

Guinness Gravy

We had a great St. Paddy's day in March. Dinner consisted of white kidney bean hummus with food colouring (using the red kidney bean hummus recipe), Irish soda bread, lamb sausages, baked beans and mashed potatoes with Guinness gravy.

I thought I was being original attempting to make gravy with beer, but it looks like several people thought of it before I did. I looked at a handful of recipes and took the best bits of each to make a great mixture.

Guinness Gravy

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 can mushrooms, drained
• 1 cup Guinness stout beer
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp rosemary or sage
• 1-1/2 cups beef or chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp flour

1. Melt butter on medium in a saucepan and fry onions until translucent.
2. Add mushrooms and continue to fry for another 30-60 seconds.
3. Whisk in Guinness, mustard, brown sugar and rosemary and simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Add broth, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Return to medium-low and sift in flour to thicken gravy.

Notes:

• you can add horseradish mustard for extra zest
• researching this recipe I read that it was recommended to pair the chicken stock with sage (for poultry) and the beef stock with the rosemary (for darker meats)

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen

Bow-tie Pasta with Sausages and Roasted Vegetables

• 3 roasted red peppers
• 1 eggplant, sliced and roasted
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 sausages (450g), grilled or baked and sliced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup pitted olives
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 box whole wheat bow-tie pasta
• Parmesan cheese

1. Slice eggplant and roast peppers and eggplant, removing skin from peppers when done.
2. Slice peppers and eggplant and set aside.
3. Partially roast sausages, slice and set aside.
4. Heat pan with 2 tbsp. olive oil and fry onions and garlic until soft.
5. Add back sausages and continue frying until browned.
6. Add crushed tomatoes, wine, olives, basil and parsley. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium-low for 15-20 minute, stirring frequently.
7. Boil the pasta, strain and set aside.
8. Add peppers and eggplant to the tomato sauce mix and simmer on low for another 5-10 minutes.
9. Add pasta to the tomato sauce.
10. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen

Home-made sausages

My mom and her former neighbour still continue to cook together. My mom will (have my father) drive to Brampton and the two friends will spend the afternoon in the kitchen baking cookies, making tomato sauce from scratch (using bushels of tomatoes), breading chicken fillets or pickling tomatoes.

Her friend's husband maintains a beautiful vegetable garden, roasts his own eggplants and grinds his own sausages. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some of those sausages and used them in a great pasta dish with roasted vegetables. I was quite impressed with myself since Italian isn't exactly my specialty.

Recipe: Bow-tie Pasta with Sausages and Roasted Vegetables

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
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Linked to Presto Pasta Nights : Presto Pasta Nights # 197