Posts tagged ‘grapefruit’
Recipe of the Week – Capt Jim’s Asparagus Lasagna
From the Starch/ Pasta Collection at emealsforyou.com
Capt Jim's Asparagus Lasagna
After completing a long road trip for a visit to our “old” neighbors in Virginia we settled in to enjoy the company, weather and especially the food. Capt Jim, as we call him on this blog and our website, emealsforyou.com, has dedicated a lot of his time to perfecting the art of cooking. We looked forward to his fresh baked bread but had no idea he was preparing short ribs for dinner the first night. We thought he would have a hard time upstaging these wonderfully tasty and tender ribs the next night but were more than pleasantly surprised by his Asparagus Lasagna on Saturday. The lasagna was perfectly cooked and all the flavors blended together to form a spectacular visual as well as a true gourmet entrée. Jim finished the evening off with a delightfully flavorful but light Grapefruit Granita for dessert.
It was a great visit; with great friends and more than great food. I only hope we can return the favor when they come to our home.
Capt Jim’s Asparagus Lasagna
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Starch/ Pasta |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 9 | sheets | lasagna noodles |
| 16 | oz | sun-dried tomatoes, in oil |
| 1.5 | cups | basil leaves, whole |
| 1.25 | cups | cheese, parmesan, grated |
| 0.25 | lb | pancetta |
| 1 | medium | onions, diced |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 | lb | asparagus |
| 1 | 16 oz. container | cheese, ricotta |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 2 | cups | cheese, mozzarella, shredded |
| 2 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
Boil salted water; add 1 TB olive oil and pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain pasta; separate sheets. Combine sun-dried tomatoes and basil in a food processor; remove to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Brown pancetta in a sauce pan; remove when done. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan, add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and add to the pan and cook until tender. Remove asparagus and onions from the pan to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the ricotta, salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle some of the sun-dried tomato mixture over the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking pan. Place a layer of the lasagna sheets in the pan; add half of the asparagus mixture; spread evenly over the pasta. Sprinkle 1/3rd of the mozzarella and 1/3rd of the remaining Parmesan on top; repeat the pasta and mixtures; ending with the a pasta layer and the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Dot the top with the butter and bake until heated through and golden. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Note: You may substitute any good ham for the pancetta and a good low-moisture cottage cheese for the ricotta.
See more of Capt Jim’s recipes at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Uncommon Results from Common Ingredients – Grapefruit Sorbet
(From the Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Grapefruit Sorbet
I’m big on “pantry cooking.” I believe you should be able to make wonderful meals from what you have around the kitchen, whether in the pantry, frig or freezer. With just a little imagination you should be able to cobble together an easy appetizer, meal or dessert from items you have on hand. At emealsforyou.com we give you a list of what we consider essentials for stocking away.
This weekend we were running a little short on appetizers so I went to the pantry and started looking for a quick, easy appetizer to make. A can of black beans from the shelf, some fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden, some pickled pepper rings from the frig and some frozen pita bread all went together to make a very good relish and chips. Add a few spices and herbs to your taste and you will wish you had written the recipe down for future use.
Along these lines I give you the easiest recipe I can think of. Serve this grapefruit sorbet between courses at a formal dinner or have it following a salad for lunch to make it special. So the next time you are in the store pick up a can of frozen grapefruit juice to save for a “rainy” day.
Grapefruit Sorbet
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | J & B’s Silent Auction Dinner (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 12 | oz | grapefruit juice, frozen concentrate |
| 24 | oz | water |
Combine frozen concentrate and water and process in ice cream maker until frozen. May be made in advance. Use as a palette cleanser between courses.
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