Baked Eggs with Peas, Ricotta, and Crispy Prosciutto

from Glamour.com

submitted by Lynda Spence

serves 4

8 slices (4 ounces) prosciutto

olive oil

1 cup fresh ricotta

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more for seasoning

½ teaspoon kosher salt, more for seasoning

1 cup peas (fresh or frozen) at room temperature

8 eggs

Special equipment:

4 shallow ramekins (or use an 8-inch square baking dish)

Preheat the oven to 400° F. 

Place the prosciutto slices on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.  Bake them until crispy, about 10 minutes.  Let cool; break into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.

Place the oven rack 6 inches from the broiler, then heat the oven to a high broil.  Coat the inside of the ramekins with oil; place them on a sheet pan.  In a small bowl, mix ricotta, pepper, and salt.  Spread ¼ cup ricotta mixture in the base of each ramekin.  Top with ¼ cup peas.  Bake for 1 minute.  Remove the ramekins from the oven.  Break 2 eggs into bowl and gently pour into 1 ramekin.  Repeat with the remaining ramekins.  Sprinkle with each with salt and pepper.  Bake until the top of the eggs are set, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Garnish with prosciutto pieces before serving.

These eggs are light but full of flavor! 

Blintz Soufflé

serves 6

12 cheese blintzes (2 13-ounce packages frozen blintzes, defrosted)

5 eggs or 1 cup egg beaters

1½ cups light sour cream

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray or butter an oven-proof 8 x 12 inch pan, lay down a single layer of blintzes, fold-side down.

In a large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients well and pour over the blintzes (the dish can be completed to this point the night before, then covered and refrigerated until cooking time).

Bake for 45 minutes, until the soufflé is puffed and lightly brown.

You can vary types of blintzes, found in frozen, kosher departments.

Easy Loaf of Bread

from Judy O’Shea’s book Water, Paper, Stone

submitted by Anne Halsted

3 cups unbleached flour

1½ cups water

1 package active dry yeast

1½ teaspoons salt

Mix everything together in a big bowl. The dough will be very sticky, but don’t worry; you aren’t going to knead it. Cover the bowl with a damp dish cloth and put it somewhere within view so you won’t completely forget about it. Then forget about it. The temperature for rising isn’t too important; room temperature is just fine. If you put the dough in a cooler place, it will take longer to rise, which improves the flavor. After an hour or two or three, push your knuckle into the dough. If the depression this makes doesn’t fill back in, you’re ready to form a loaf. If it does, wait a little longer until it doesn’t. Timing isn’t critical here.

When it is ready, punch the dough down. Get a bread pan and grease it, then form the dough into something close to the shape of the pan, and put it in, uglier side down. You can use a little flour on your hands if it’s too sticky, but better yet, dip them into water. Better that the dough be too wet than too dry.

After about 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 400° F. Check on the dough by pushing your knuckle into the dough again; if the dent fills in quickly, let it rise some more. When it doesn’t fill in, it’s ready for the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350° F and bake for another 45 minutes or so. The bread is ready when it easily plops out of the pan and sounds hollow when you knock on its bottom. When in doubt, put it back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

This is Judy O’Shea’s favorite bread recipe, which has only four ingredients: the ones used in classic French bread. When you make your own bread at home, just the fragrance of the baking loaf will lift your spirits. You’re really not supposed to cut it when it comes out of the oven, but of course you have to test it, cutting it with a very sharp knife and spreading a little butter on the first hot slice.

Ham, Asparagus, + Guyère Strata

submitted by Irene Tibbits

serves 12

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

¾ (15 ounce) loaf Challah bread, cut into ½-inch slices

1 pound thinly shaved ham

1 pound Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)

2 large Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), cut crosswise into 1½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

15 large eggs

1 cup cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves plus additional for garnish

¼ teaspoon salt

8 teaspoons ground black pepper

Grease 13 x 9 inch or 3-quart glass or ceramic baking dish with butter. In bottom of prepared dish, evenly layer half the bread, tearing to fit if necessary, and half the ham, cheese, tomatoes, and asparagus, repeat layers with remaining half of each ingredient.

In large bowl, whisk eggs, add cream, thyme, salt and pepper, and whisk until blended. Evenly pour egg mixture over layered ingredients, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake strata, uncovered, 1 hour or until top is golden brown, toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and internal temperature reaches 165° F. Let stand 10 minutes, sprinkle with thyme, if desired, and serve.

Suzy’s Squash Casserole

submitted by Lynda Spence

serves 8

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, drained

2 yellow and 2 green summer squash (zucchini), sliced, ⅓-inch thick

salt and pepper

1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided into 2 portions: 1¼ cups and ¼ cup

½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350° F.

Sauté onion and cloves in olive oil until translucent. Add squash and continue to sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until saucy. Stir in 1¼ cups mozzarella.

Transfer sauce, zucchini and cheese to a greased baking dish, sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup mozzarella and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Cook uncovered at 350° F for 20 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly!

Delicious and easy way to use zucchini and feed a crowd!  

iPhoneography by Jeanne Milligan

2013 Recipe List

	Starters	Baingan Bharta
		Cucumber Yogurt Spread
		Lamb Pizzettes
		Muhammara Dip
		Mustard Gruyère Batons
		Seared Steak Lettuce Cups
		Spanakopita
		Steamed Whole Artichokes
		Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
	Salads	Broccoli Salad
		Kale Salad with Pecorino + Walnuts
		Kokkari Dressing
		Sandy McNett Javaras’ Belgian Endive Salad
		Spicy Carrot Salad
		Warm Potato Salad with Watercress
	Soups & Sauces	Burnt Eggplant +  Mograbieh Soup
		Celery Root Soup
		Chilled Cream of Corn Soup with White Truffle Oil
		Potato + Leek Soup with Bacon
		Spinach Coconut Chicken Soup with Wild Garlic
	Side Dishes	Crushed New Potatoes with Horseradish + Sorrel
		Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
		Quick Moussaka
		Sweet Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
	Main Dishes	Asian Pork Sliders with Magic Miso-Mayo
		Chicken with Caramelized Onions + Cardamom Rice
		Crispy Oven-Fried Alaskan True Cod
		Grilled Salmon with Sherry Vinegar Sauce
		Molasses, Lime + Ginger Salmon
		Mustard Milanese with an Arugula + Fennel Salad
		Porchetta Pork Chops
		Pork Chops au Poivres
		Prawns, Scallops + Clams with Tomato and Feta
		Sand Dabs with Lemons + Capers
		Spiced Lamb Skewers
	Desserts	Apricot Upside Down Cake
		Clementine + Almond Cake
		Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
		Millionaire Shortbread Cookies
		Panetonne Bread Pudding
		Plum Tart
	Brunch Dishes	Blueberry-Ricotta Hotcakes
		Ginger Cucumber + Lime Refresher
		Infused Lemonade
		Savory Popovers with Italian Sausage
		Breakfast Popovers
		Raised Waffles
		Spinach Cheese Casserole with Scrunched Phyllo Flowers