Living in New England, we have an abundance of fresh fish at our markets. I especially am partial to swordfish, a mild white fish that lends to so many flavorful recipes. Swordfish is so easy to bake, nestled in a bed of colorful cherry tomatoes and Castetrano olives. Texture and color are so important when you are cooking, adding to the visual presentation. Top with a lemon garlic olive oil dressing for outstanding flavor.
1 cup rainbow cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup pitted Mezzetta Castetrano olives 2 8 ounce swordfish 2 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoon olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Preheat over to 400F. Place tomatoes and olives on a baking pan. Add swordfish on top. Place the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Pour over tomatoes, olives, and swordfish. Bake for 30 minutes until tomatoes are bubbly and swordfish are golden.
Blueberries are my favorite fruit! If I can stop eating all the fresh blueberries long enough, I love to make blueberry pies. I love so many wonderful blueberry pie recipes, but this one is perfect for the 4th of July! Perfect for a backyard barbecue or to take along to a family reunion, just so wonderfully delicious! If you are short on time or just don’t want to make your own crust, use store-bought refrigerated pie crust, which you can find in the dairy section of your grocery store. I like Pillsbury.
Fabulous All American Blueberry Pie
Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sweet butter (love my Cabot!)
7 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
6 cups blueberries, rinsed and picked over
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 sugar
4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon sweet butter, cut into small pieces
Glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon whipping cream
Crust: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt with a pastry blender, cut in shortening, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle water over the top and mix it together with a pastry blender or fingers until it comes together to form a ball. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Filling: Place rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 F. (I like to put a piece of aluminum foil down or a baking pan on the bottom of the range to catch any drips and keep my oven clean.) Place blueberries in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except for the butter. Add dry ingredients to blueberries and gently toss.
Divide pastry in half. On a floured surface, roll one of the pastry halves into a 12 inch round. Fit into a 10-inch pie plate, letting the pastry hang over the edge. Fill with blueberry mixture. Dot with butter. On a floured surface, roll out the remaining dough to 12 inches round. Place over pie. Seal edges and crimp to form a decorative rim.
Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream. Brush the top of the pie with glaze. Cut vents into the pie top. You can use mini cookie cutters for a more decorative top.
Bake pie for 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350 F. Bake pie for 35 or 40 minutes longer or until nicely glazed. Cool on rack.
Sheet pan meals are all the rage now in the magazines and on cooking shows. So I created this large quiche which is perfect for a brunch or an extensive buffet. Mushrooms, asparagus, and goat cheese are a familiar combination for my quiches. Next, I added Gruyere cheese, a smoky french cheese that melts beautifully and pairs wonderfully with eggs and goat cheese. Thyme fresh or dried is another go-to ingredient for me. In the summer, I grow all thyme varieties with French thyme, my particular favorite. You can use any combination of veggies and herbs. Experiment and have fun!
1 (14.1-ounce) package Pillsbury refrigerated piecrust, room temperature
8 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1(3.5-ounce) package shiitake mushrooms
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
4 ounce goat cheese, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 stalks asparagus, trimmed and shaved
Position rack in bottom trim of oven, and preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 13×9 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet wit cooking spray.
On lightly floured surface, unroll 1 piecrust. Lightly brush with water, and top with remaining piecrust, pressing gently to seal. Roll into a 15×11-inch rectangle. Transfer to prepared pan. Trim edges as need, and crimp as desired.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Stir in mushrooms, Gruyere cheese, goat cheese, garlic, sea salt and black pepper. Pour into prepared crust. Top with asparagus, pressing gently into filling.
Bake until filling is set 30-40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.
I usually made a hearty Pot Pie in the cold winter months when the snow and wind blanket my home in wintery New England. However, this spring, I lightened up my Pot Pie by making an all-vegetable version, and I went crazy with a flaky puff pastry topping.
Puff pastry is easy to use, turning you a master pâtissier. It is magical how flat sheets of dough puff into golden pastry in the oven.
You can experiment with different veggies; I used a traditional mix. Have fun with your cooking!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (8-oz.) package sliced baby bella mushrooms
4 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced and rinsed (about 2 ½ cups)
½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
3 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, divided
1 [17.3-oz.] package), frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
6 ounces fresh English peas
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third position. Heat butter and
oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high until butter is melted
and foamy. Add mushrooms in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown and crispy on bottoms, about 5 minutes. Toss mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid releases and evaporates, about 4 minutes. Add carrots, leeks, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are just beginning to soften and leeks are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are fully coated and flour smells nutty and turns golden brown, about 1 minute. Add stock; bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream, yogurt, mustard, and 2 teaspoons of the thyme. Set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, roll pastry sheet out onto a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch square. Cut evenly into 3 (4-inch-wide) strips. Cut each strip evenly into 6 triangles. Repeat with second puff pastry sheet. Stir together egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl.
3. Stir peas into warm vegetable mixture in skillet. Arrange pastry triangles in a circle pattern over mixture, leaving a slight (about ½-inch) overhang around skillet edges and slightly overlapping triangles. Brush pastry with egg mixture; sprinkle with flaky sea salt and remaining thyme.
4. Place a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil on oven rack; place skillet on sheet. Bake in preheated oven until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly around edges, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
One-pan meals are experiencing a boom in popularity, and I can understand why—easy, delicious, low clean up, perfect for a weeknight meal. I especially like adding colorful veggies, like the rainbow-colored tomatoes in this recipe. I’ve added a Mediterranean flavor with the addition of olives, caper, and feta cheese. Clean-up is easy when you use non-stick sheet pans. My favorite is William Sonoma Goldtouch bakeware for all my baking and cooking needs. One-time purchase and well worth the money.
1.5 pound Gourmet Medley Tomatoes
1 package chicken Italian style sausage (5 sausages)
8 ounces feta cheese, cut into pieces
1 cup pitted Mezzetta Castelvetrano olives, sliced
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 424F.
Place tomatoes on the sheet pan and nestle sausage and feta cheese in between. Top with olives and capers. Combine oil with the remaining ingredients except for the lemon juice—drizzle oil mixture over the sausage, tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, and capers. Sprinkle lemon juice on top. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until sausage and tomatoes brown. And feta is bubbling.
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