volver

i have a blog. again. i guess it's an itch i'll always eventually have to scratch.

a deviation from my previous blogs, however, is that i plan to THEME this blog around cooking. i hesitate to use the word entertaining, though i guess that's sort of what it is, too.

there have to be at least 12 other broke vegetarians in the world that want some of these recipes.

last night was jamey's surprise birthday party! he said it was his best birthday ever, so i'm assuming it went well. i made some appetizers, and an apple cake. the apple cake recipe i can't take credit for, but i did whip up some pinwheels.

PUFF PASTRY. quite possibly one of the most delicious things ever baked, and useful in both desserts and savory dishes. for my pinwheels, i took a sheet of puff pastry, thawed it (about 45 minutes) then rolled it out to about 12'' by 8''. however, size is totally up to you. i started by spreading a thin layer of romesco sauce (another one of my favorite things to cook with) then adding a layer of sauteed veggies (spinach, onion, carrots, and celery cooked in a skillet on medium for about ten minutes then splashed with balsamic). definitely let the veggies cool as they could make the pastry soggy. finally, i topped the veggies and romesco with about a cup of shredded sharp cheddar.

now comes the interesting part, working from the short ends, take one end of the pastry and roll it up until you're left with a somewhat unappetizing looking log. chill this AT LEAST 45 minutes. you really want it to harden up or else slicing the pinwheels becomes difficult. after it's chilled, use a sharp knife to cut one inch (maybe slightly smaller, again this is to personal preference) rounds. lay them out, bake them for about 15-20 minutes at 350 (i went up to 400 for the last 5 minutes, but my oven is a piece).

what you're left with is savory, delicious, cheesy, flavorful goodness. that looks like this:




below is the recipe for my romesco sauce. they tend to vary widely, but the consensus i've found is that they seem to always include roasted red peppers and old bread.

romeso:

1/2 cup decent parmesan
1/4 - 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 red pepper (feel free to buy this pre-roasted in oil if you want to skip the roasting process)
5-6 sun dried tomatoes, in oil (add a little of this flavored oil to food pro when combining ingredients)
1-2 pieces bread (a couple days old is best, this is for texture and thickening)
4 cloves garlic
3 fresh sweet tomatoes (i really like the Campari brand in the winter when you can't find good large fresh tomatoes)
1/2 cup roasted almonds
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp lemon zest
salt
pepper


i like to buy plain, whole, almonds for this recipe and roast them myself at about 350 for ten minutes. be careful, they burn easily. i usually add the red pepper to the oven at the same time as the almonds then leave it after i take the almonds out and crank up the heat, allowing the skin to blacken and for it to finish roasting as well. once this happens, stick it in ice water for a few minutes so it's easier to peel. peel the pepper and roughly chop it. then, take the almonds and add them to the food processor along with a couple tablespoons EVOO and the garlic. Process this for about a minute until you have a paste of those ingredients then add your tomatoes (fresh and sun dried) along with the roasted red pepper, bread, lemon zest, parmesan, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. as you process this, stream in your remaining olive oil until the mixture is at your desired consistency.

you can use this sauce in SO many ways. i love it on roasted asparagus, tossed with any kind of pasta, as a sauce for seafood, or on the pinwheels. if you make a large quantity and want to store it in the fridge, pour a thin layer of olive oil over the top to preserve it for a much longer period.