Broccoli for dinner

I don't always need a significant protein for dinner. This broccoli recipe along with some bread and cheese was great for a weeknight: Caramelized Broccoli with Garlic. Obviously, it would work great as a side too!

Radishes keep coming

Seems like we're getting quite a flurry of late season radishes. They've been piling up a bit and I found this easy recipe at the Food and Wine website that I plan on trying: Roasted Radishes with Radish Greens.

Using up peppers - chicken basquaise

I had some chicken breast in the freezer that I was looking to pair with a few of the peppers I've yet to use. I've made chicken basquaise before in a traditional way and it's not something I'd try to pull off on a weeknight. I found a Basque Chicken and Chorizo Saute recipe in Food and Wine that is a bit simplified and worked well with ingredients I had on hand.

Here are my own modifications:

• The recipe calls for chicken legs. I had chicken breasts which shortened the browning time. I also reduced the simmering time to 18 minutes.
• I used 3 peppers since our peppers are typically fairly thin fleshed compared to supermarket kind.
  
• I substituted Pimenton picante for the paprika and crushed red pepper combination.
• I skipped the artichokes altogether.
• Because of the reduced cooking time for the breasts, it made more sense to remove them from the pan and then reduce the sauce.
• I'd consider slicing the breast when serving so you can drizzle sauce over it more thoroughly.

Wine thoughts: The recipe recommends a rioja -- it's a good suggestion. I'd also consider a rhone or similar wine.

Weekend Plan

The weekend plan includes lots of great end-of-summer fare. I thought I'd post menu plans with links as available and then enter in other recipes that not available on the web separately.

Saturday
Chili and Sage-Rubbed Salmon (Wild King Salmon is on sale at Coastal Seafoods)
Green Beans and Shelling Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

Wine thoughts: The salmon recipe suggests either champagne or a young, fruity rose. I'm going down the rose route.

Sunday
Grilled Beef with Sesame Dressing -- this dish makes great use of the edamame and radishes we've received
Whipped Ricotta with Honey and Mixed Berries -- Shepherd's Way had the last of its fresh ricotta available this morning. I'll use the raspberries from the box supplemented with some other berries from the farmers market.

Wine thoughts: The beef recipe suggested a mid-bodied zinfandel. This is a good opportunity to open an older zin.

Monday
We are attending a Slow Food Eat-In at Shepherd's Way. The eat ins are going on across the country to show solidarity for better food in school lunch programs. It's a pot luck so I plan on bringing Charred Eggplant Salad with Lime-Chili Dressing to the lunch-time pot luck.

For dinner, we plan on making Fusilli col Bucco with Grilled Tomatoes, Gorgonzola, and Pine Nuts on Monday night. This comes from Everyday Greens. I was unable to find an online version of the recipe so it will appear separately.

Wine thoughts: I'm leaning towards a full-bodied pinot noir.

Poblanos!

We were very fortunate to have 4 great poblanos in the box. I found this seasonal and no-frying-required Chiles Rellenos dish in Steve Sando's Heirloom Beans.

Chiles Rellenos with Summer Vegetables

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion since we have a pile of them)
1 teaspoon dried mexican oregano (Mexican oregano is very different than Italian - try to find it)
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup drained, cooked red appaloosa beans (You can use any pintolike bean as a substitute)
4 poblano chiles, roasted
1 cup grated Manchego cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium, heavy skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Saute the onion and oregano until the onion is soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and corn and cook until the zucchini is tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the beans, gently toss, and continue cooking until just heated through. Remove from the heat.

Cut a slit down the length of each chile and remove the seeds. Carefully fill each chile with one-fourth of the bean mixture. Place the chiles on a baking sheet, open side up, and sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese over the opening of the chile. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Note: Katie and I felt that the dish would benefit from a sauce. I'd serve some tomatillo salsa on the side.

Wine notes: Between the spice and the smokiness of the beans, we went with a Spanish red. 2005 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Vinas Viejas.

Pasta, Pesto, Potatoes

We're heading up to the North Shore and I'm bringing along this recipe for our stay. It's nice to have one dinner that can be made when it's raining. I made pesto last week from the Basil choice. I'm sure we all have our own pesto recipe so I'll just recap my adapted version of the base recipe from Ivy Manning's Farm to Table Cookbook.

Pesto Pasta Genovese

I'm assuming you have 1 to 1 1/2 cup pesto.

Additional ingredients:

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
8 ounces dried fusilli con bucco
1/2 pound thin green beans, stem ends snapped off
2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano
Extra Parmesan to grate at the table

In a large pot, put the potatoes, 2 pinches of salt, and enough cold water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a paring knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to a boil. Add salt to taste. Stir in the pasta and cook until it's almost done, about 7 1/2 minutes (depending on your brand). Add the green beans and cook for 30 seconds. Reserving 1 cup of the liquid, drain the pasta and the beans.

Gently toss the potatoes, pasta, and beans with the pesto, adding the reserved cooking water if needed to moisten. Ivy's pesto uses a bit of pecorino. Add that to the mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot or at room temperature with the extra Parmesan.

Wine thoughts: I'm serving this with the 2004 Palacios Remondo La Montesa I made mention of a few weeks back. Same reason as before, none of the Italian reds in my cellar are a good fit for this dish.

Lots of peppers

We have had a lot of peppers, especially given that it's only me eating them. I made this recipe from Food and Wine last night. Pretty easy to pull off and using lots of the vegies we get a lot of -- peppers and summer squash. I substituted green peppers for the red and yellow. The main recipe is Roasted Peppers and Summer Squash with Garlic and Harissa. The recipe calls for a quick Harissa which really was quick. I didn't have any tomato paste around so I lived without using a little more lemon juice and olive oil. I crushed the garlic with my mortar and pestle rather than the back of the knife technique.