Pasta with Corn, Tomatoes, Zucchini & Bacon

I've probably made something similar to this on other occasions, but this was so easy and good I want to save it for future reference. I had a bit of sour cream that needed to be used up so I threw that in - was really nice, but you could easily leave it out, or substitute half & half.

Pasta with Corn, Tomatoes, Zucchini & Bacon
- 4 slices bacon, cut into strips (or skip & just saute veggies in olive oil)
- 1/2 box dried pasta
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch hot red pepper flakes
- kernels from 2 ears of corn (or use frozen)
- 1/2 box grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 Tbl. sour cream, optional (or a splash of half & half)
- grated parmesan cheese
- fresh basil if you have it (I also used lemon verbena from our garden)

Put the pasta water on to boil. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon pieces & drain on paper towels. Pour out most of bacon fat. Put the pasta in to cook.

Saute zucchini in remaining bacon fat for a couple minutes. Add garlic & pepper flakes and stir for just a few seconds. Add corn & tomatoes & saute about 2 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Turn the heat off. Add sour cream if using, and about 1/2 cup of water from the pasta. Stir until a creamy sauce forms.

Drain pasta & add to pan. Toss with cheese & basil, and add bacon back to the pan.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Shakshouky / Eggplant Salad

My band plays about every three months at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, MD. I always order the same thing there: a sampler platter with chicken shawarma, falafel, hummus, a spinach pie, and shakshouky, which is my favorite. It's a roasted eggplant salad with a sweet-ish dressing made from pomegranate molasses. I think I've recreated an acceptable (but different) version of it at home. I had a lot of vegetables to use up that I threw in...I think traditionally it is not this "chunky." Quantities all at your discretion!

- 1-2 large eggplants
- chopped scallions or finely minced onion
- diced tomatoes
- Dressing: olive oil, 1-2 spoonfuls pomegranate molasses, 1-2 cloves minced garlic, splash of lemon juice
- Optional veggies: I added diced cucumber & yellow pepper

Roast the eggplants in the oven at 350-375 til they're soft. You can do them whole (cut a few slits in them). I cut mine in half and it took about 40 mins, then scooped out the flesh after they'd cooled down. In the future I might just peel & cube them, then roast the cubes. However you get the flesh out, chop/mash it.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss it all together with the eggplant and veggies. Season with salt & pepper. Oooh, some smoked paprika would probably be good in it too. Chill for a while.

Lamb chops w/espresso balsamic sauce, herbed potatoes & roasted asparagus

An Easter(ish) dinner. First time ever making lamb chops, I think. My housemate gave me a bottle of espresso balsamic vinegar a little while ago, and you pretty much can't go wrong with that stuff!

Makes 2 servings

- Lamb chops (I used fairly thick "loin chops" - I thought there were two large chops in the package but it turned out to be 4 smaller ones)
- 1 lemon
- 1 large russet potato
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1/2 bunch asparagus
- olive oil
- chopped fresh parsley & basil
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup espresso balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbl butter

Grate the zest of the lemon into a small bowl. Season the lamb chops on both sides with salt, pepper and most of the lemon zest; set aside. Preheat the oven to 375.

Cube the potato into smallish cubes. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, and saute the potatoes in a bit of olive oil. Turn every so often as they start to brown. Season with salt & pepper.

Trim the asparagus & put on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the potatoes are about halfway done, add some olive oil to the cast iron pan and sear the lamb chops for about 4 minutes on one side. Put the asparagus in the oven. Add the chopped shallot to the potatoes. Flip lamb chops & cook for 4 minutes on the other side, or until they're done to your liking. Remove to a plate, and pour out any excess oil from the pan. Check the asparagus, it's probably done! Add the remaining lemon zest and squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the asparagus. When the potatoes are done, add the fresh herbs to them.

Add chicken broth & balsamic vinegar to the cast iron pan & scrape up any bits. Add butter. Cook for a couple minutes until it's reduced. Put the lamb chops in the pan & turn to coat with the sauce.

Seared Scallops & Lemon Pasta Primavera

I remembered after making this that you don't end up with awesome, truly *seared* scallops unless you buy fancy "dry" scallops (i.e., not what most grocery store seafood counters sell). Even though I followed all the procedures to get a good sear - dry them thoroughly, hot non-nonstick pan, don't move them around - they still released a lot of liquid and didn't get a perfect brown crust. But, whatever, they still tasted good!

This makes 2 hefty servings.
- 6 large sea scallops, rinsed & patted thoroughly dry
- 1/2 box whole wheat linguine
- 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 a red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, halved & thinly sliced
- 1 lemon
- 1 Tbl. butter
- 1 Tbl. olive oil
- a bunch of chopped parsley and/or basil
- optional - splash of half & half and/or handful of parmesan cheese


Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking, as it goes quickly. Grate the zest of one lemon into a small bowl. Cut the lemon in half & squeeze the juice into the bowl. Season the scallops with salt & pepper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil & add a good amount of salt.

Heat a large saute pan (preferably not nonstick) over medium-high heat; add oil & butter. Start cooking pasta (it should take about 7-8 minutes which is enough time to cook everything else).

Add scallops to pan seasoned-side down, then season the other side when they're in the pan. Cook on one side for no more than 2 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for a couple minutes. Remove scallops to a plate.

Add bell pepper & shallot to pan and saute. When there are 2 minutes left on the pasta, add asparagus to the water. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add the lemon juice & zest to the pan, reserving about a teaspoon. Add the reserved pasta water & scrape up any brown bits (if you have some white wine already open, you should totally add some here). If the scallops have released any liquid on the plate, add that. You should have a thin sauce.

Drain the pasta & asparagus, and add to the pan. Toss and add the parsely & basil, and if you like, a splash of half & half and some parmesan. Taste the pasta for salt & pepper. I also added some Penzey's Red & Black (cayenne & black pepper).

Divide the pasta between two plates and put the scallops on top. Sprinkle the reserved lemon juice over the scallops.

Chocolate Chili Stout Cake with Chocolate Bourbon Frosting

I'm not much of a baker. And I'm not really a cake person. I think the only cake pan I own is a bundt pan. Forget layer cakes - too much of a pain. But, it was rob's birthday, and he'd hinted about chocolate cake. So I started searching the interwebs. We like spicy chocolate things...and things with alcohol. A chocolate stout cake sounded really good, and I had this Sam Adams Chocolate Cherry Bock that I thought would be delicious. So I took Smitten Kitchen's recipe and added some ancho chili powder and cinnamon to it. I also found this recipe and wanted to make the frosting. I worried that stout + spice + bourbon would be too much...for like, 5 seconds. Yeah, the instincts were good on this one. Definitely a keeper!

Ha - I just realized that I accidentally used half the butter called for in the cake...and it was fine!!

Chocolate Chili Stout Cake
- 1 cup stout (such as Guinness - I used Sam Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (I realized while typing this I only used one stick, and it was fine! Somebody should make this with 2 sticks and let me know how it is)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder (this gave it the slightest warm edge. Next time I think I would try at least 1 tsp or maybe more)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup sour cream


Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. Bring stout and butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, chili powder & cinnamon in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes (mine took about 45 minutes). Cool completely in pan and frost with:

Chocolate Bourbon Frosting (I halved the recipe from the website and still had some left over...this is the halved version)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons bourbon (I ended up using the larger amount)
- 2 tablespoons cream or half & half

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream; beat until light & fluffy. Melt chocolate chips (I used the microwave, took about 2 minutes) & cool slightly. Slowly pour melted chocolate into the mixer, beating until well combined. Add the powdered sugar & mix on low speed; then beat on high until well combined. Add bourbon & cream, a few tablespoons at a time. Scrape bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hr (I left mine in for longer and it solidified, cause...it's butter. Luckily I had time to let it sit out before frosting the cake!)