Ina Garten's Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I've become a big fan of Brussel sprouts lately.  And let's face it, always a big fan of Ina!  My husband took one look at them and said "they look so good!".  As incredibly surprised as I was at that reaction, when we started eating, he blew me away, exclaiming "these taste like candy!".   But, the fact is, he sure was right.  This recipe for Brussel sprouts is incredible. 

I adapted it to feed just the two of us and used bacon instead of pancetta.  Although I'm certain that if I had made the entire pound of Brussel sprouts, we would have eaten them.  They are that good!

 Serves 2

Ina Garten's Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1/2 pound Brussel sprouts, trimmed and cut through the core

2 strips of bacon, 1/4 inch diced

2 tablespoons olive oil 

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon syrupy balsamic vinegar 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place the cut Brussel sprouts on a sheet pan, including the loose leaves which get crispy when they are roasted.  Add the bacon, olive oil, about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, toss with your hands and spread out in a single layer.  Roast for about 20 minutes, until they are tender and the bacon is crisp.  Toss once during cooking.  Remove from oven and immediately toss with balsamic, serve hot.  

(Source:  Adapted from Ina Garten) 

Baby Arugula, Cranberry and Pecan Salad

I'm obsessed with this salad!  Such a perfect fall dinner or side.  This is actually the first time I've ever tried arugula and it certainly will not be my last.  I've been missing out!  Tangy and peppery and delicious.  

I don't care for feta, but that is what the original recipe called for.  Feta is one of those things that I want to like (is that weird?) but I just can't do any of those really strong crumbly cheeses.  The dressing for this salad is unbelievable...so simple but packed with flavor.  This would be a very pretty side dish to serve at a Holiday dinner.

Serves 2

Baby Arugula, Cranberry and Pecan Salad

1 head of Romaine, chopped and rinsed
1 cup of Baby Arugula
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

For the dressing 
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 small shallot, grated or minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the salad.  In a smaller bowl, combine the Balsamic, shallot and salt.  Slowly pour in the olive oil and whisk until emulsified. 

Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently. 

(Source:  adapted from Kali Orexi)

Bruschetta Pasta

It's getting to be that time of year again...weather is getting warmer, I have basil growing in my backyard and tomatoes are more readily available.  All this combined made me really hungry for Bruschetta - chopped tomatoes with basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar - and I thought instead of just making that served with crostini, I could just toss it with some pasta for a quick no-cook sauce.  It was excellent!  So great for a hot summer night when you don't feel like slaving over a hot stove (except to make the pasta of course).  I also included the recipe for the crostinis (little toasts) because I served them with our pasta.  

Serves 4-6

Bruschetta Pasta

1 pound thin spaghetti 

6 plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

6-8 basil leaves, chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Crostini

1 baguette of French bread

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic

Prepare pasta according to directions.  Follow the next steps while the pasta is cooking.  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Slice the baguette in 1/2 inch slices and arrange on a 9 x 13-inch baking sheet.  Using a pastry brush, brush a small amount of olive oil on each slice.  Toast for 5-6 minutes until they start to turn a golden brown.  Once removed from the oven, rub a little bit of the garlic clove onto each piece of toast. 

Chop and seed tomatoes while bread is toasting.  In a medium bowl, toss with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and basil leaves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.  When the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot.  Toss with the tomato mixture and top with Parmesan cheese (if using).

Spicy Balsamic Pork Tenderloins

Recently, I started thumbing through some of the cookbooks I haven't opened in a really long time.  I wasn't looking for anything specific, just wanted to see if there was something different, something that really stood out.  I found the recipe for this pork loin in one of Rachael Ray's cookbooks and I loved that it was SUPER simple but so packed with flavor.  This took no time at all.  And, it's cooked at such a high temperature that it's done within 30 minutes (but I guess that's her thing, right?).  

The pork is first rubbed with balsamic vinegar, which I love (I could eat that on everything), then a mixture of minced garlic, spicy Montreal steak seasoning and thyme rubbed in.  

The outside reminds me of those pepper crusted steaks because it is just coated in seasoning.  You can also use the regular McCormick steak seasoning - not the spicy one - if you don't want the added heat.  You'll still get an very flavorful dish.    

I served ours with mashed potatoes and it was even excellent for lunch the next day on a roll with some mayonnaise.  Such a great sandwich!  And I just kind of threw that together - maybe some arugula and a little cheese and you have yourself one heck of a gourmet dinner the next night, too!   

Spicy Balsamic Pork Tenderloins

2 1/2 - 3 pounds pork tenderloin (1 package with 1 tenderloin)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon spicy Montreal steak seasoning
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Trim silver skin or connective tissue with a thin, very sharp knife.  Place tenderloin on a nonstick baking sheet with a rim.  Coat tenderloins in balsamic vinegar, rubbing vinegar into meat.  Drizzle tenderloins with olive oil.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, steak seasoning and dried thyme so it becomes sort of like a paste.  Cut small slits into the meat and rub garlic mixture into the meat.  Roast in hot oven 25-30 minutes.  Let meat rest, transfer to a carving board, slice and serve.

(Source:  Adapted from Rachael Ray)

Tomato Avocado and Mozzarella Panini

Tomato and Mozzarella sandwiches are one of my absolute favorites and we eat them often in our house.  But adding avocado and turning it into a panini definitely took our staple sandwich way up a notch.  Absolutely amazing!   

Quite frankly, eating it like this, without toasting the bread is fabulous as well.  I used Campari tomatoes (the smaller ones) and fresh slices of mozzarella.  

Gooey mozzarella and creamy avocado...are you drooling yet??

Makes 2 sandwiches

Tomato Avocado and Mozzarella Panini

2 fresh ciabatta rolls 

2 Roma or Campari tomatoes, sliced

6 slices of fresh Mozzarella

1 avocado, sliced

Mayonnaise (optional)

Balsamic vinegar

Italian Seasoning

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

After everything is sliced, spread the mayonnaise on open sides of the ciabatta rolls.  Preheat your panini maker or skillet.  Layer 3 slices of mozzarella, 2-4 slices of tomatoes (depending on which you use), and a couple of slices of avocado on each roll.  Add a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar over the layers, followed by a dash of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

Place sandwich on panini maker and close the lid.  Allow the bread to toast and the mozzarella to melt a little, about 7-10 minutes.  You can also use a skillet with a panini press.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

I am a fiend for anything tomato and basil together.  Coupled with the fact that we have a ton of basil growing in our backyard, pretty much means that we eat a lot of Caprese salads and other tomato/basil combinations.  The other night, I just was completely blank as far as what to make for dinner (it was just one of those days - my brain was pretty much fried).  Usually I have an idea, or better yet, dinner is done by the time my husband comes home, but not this night.  We were both exhausted and cooking anything just didn't sound like too much fun.  So, we made it a no-cook appetizer night.  I chopped some tomatoes, we cut some shards of Parmesan cheese and that was our dinner.  And it was completely wonderful and surprisingly filling, too (lots of bread!).  Just a tip - this is VERY garlicky - you can omit rubbing the garlic on the bread if you prefer to tone it done a bit.

As far as the Parmesan cheese goes, I ate it on the side, by itself, because I love it just like that!  My husband actually topped his bruschetta with a shard of Parmesan, which also looked very yummy!

Serves 3 as a meal, or 6 as an appetizer

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta 

6 plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

6-8 basil leaves, chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Crostini

1 baguette French bread

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Slice the baguette in 1/2 inch slices and arrange on a 9 x 13-inch baking sheet.  Using a pastry brush, brush a small amount of olive oil on each slice.  Toast for 5-6 minutes until they start to turn a golden brown.

Chop and seed tomatoes while bread is toasting.  In a medium bowl, toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar and basil leaves.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.  

Once the bread is done, remove from oven and rub the garlic clove over each slice.  Serve in a bowl with a spoon for each person to scoop the tomato/basil mixture onto the bread (or top each one if you prefer and serve already made up).   

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

I'm revisting my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and am really trying to cook as much as possible from them.  I have so many cookbooks and feel like I'm constantly using the internet to get inspirations for recipes and I hardly use them!  The first time I had roasted tomatoes was at my mom's house, who purchased them from one of those antipasto bars in a high end grocery store (you know the ones that have olives, artichokes, mozzarella balls, etc) and I could not stop eating them!  The flavor just gets so concentrated, but different than a sun-dried tomato.  Remembering that I saw Ina Garten roast tomatoes on her show, I knew I had to try it out at home.  I was not dissapointed!  We were eating these right off the tray when they came out of the oven and had to restrain ourselves so I could make this salad, which needless to say was amazing.  I love a good Caprese salad, it's probably one of my most favorite meals EVER, but the flavor of these caramelized tomatoes just put this right over the top.  Like Ina says, tomatoes with the volume turned up (LOVE her!!). 

Just a side note, I've also read where she does these at 475 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Much faster, so whatever your time allows for (this recipe takes 2 hours to roast).

Serves 6 (unless you're my family) :)

12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds removed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

16 oz fresh mozzarella

12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.  Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle the garlic, sugar, salt and pepper over the tomatoes.  Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize.  Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into 1/2 inch slices, cutting in half again in they are bigger than the tomatoes.  Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella and sprinkle with basil.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Serve at room temperature.  

(Souce:  Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)