High five to Smitten Kitchen!

This isn't an ICBC recipe, but I had to share, because this was absolutely fabulous: spring asparagus pancetta hash from Smitten Kitchen. It took a bit of prep work (cubing the potatos, chopping the onions, etc) but it was just amazing. I made a lovely over-easy egg thanks to Carrie pointing me towards the "steaming" technique and it was all devine. I had never had panchetta before and was kind of wary... I'm not a big fan of processed meats and I usually veer towards meat-free recipes, but I loved the salty cubes. It was a bit like ready-to-go pork chop meat and I'd like to try and use it again. It took a while to find, but it was with the lunch meats and sasagues at Trader Joe's.

I guess the point of all of this is to share a recipe that just made my day and to say "make it!"

I also just noticed that Smitten Kitchen sells prints of her lovely photos. I'm so tempted to redecorate our kitchen with her prints. Sorry Beatles poster?

A barrage of ICBC recipes

One of my fellow ICBC bloggers mentioned that the problem with getting behind on the challenge is that you lose track of the recipes you've made. I can't quite remember what I've created, and some of my photos are missing. So the recap may be a bit patchy.


Here we go (full recipes at the end):


Spinach!

I have a Pillsbury calendar that I got for free, and each month it features a large, glossy photo of a delicious food item. Even though most are desserts (it is a company famous for its biscuits and cookies in a tube) May featured a lovely spinach pizza and so I took it as a sign when spinach popped up as an ingredient. I had no idea Pillsbury made pizza dough in a tube, but there you go. I ultimately didn't use the Pillsbury recipe, and instead used one from Epicurious because I loved the idea of roasted garlic. Not only is it tasty, but it's weirdly entertaining to pop the bulbs of the garlic after its been roasted. Of course, my hands smelled liked garlic for days afterward. Maybe it warded off Twilight vampires?

 
Avacados!

Ok, I'll admit it. When my turn came to choose the ingredient again, I chose avacados just so I could have the excuse to try my hand at homemade guacamole. I don't know why I thought I didn't like this fabulous green goo, but once I ventured a taste of someone else's guac, I realized the error of my ways. This stuff is so good! (Only when made fresh, though.) There are thousands of guac recipes available, and I wasn't too picky in selecting mine - I just went with one with high ratings off of AllRecipes. It was a basic avacado, tomato, onion, cilantro version but it was tasty. I didn't chop the onions fine enough, though, and so certain bites had quite the onion surprise. I'm not totally thrilled with the results and want to mess around with some more recipes. Recommendations welcome!

(I don't have a picture because I didn't know that guacamole went brown so quickly.)

Strawberries!

What a tasty, summer-appropriate choice! Finally, berries are cheap and plentiful at the store, and I no longer have to resist the temptation to pick up $4 boxes of sad little fruits. I tried to find a non-dessert option but fell into something sweet when I saw the picture of strawberry shortcakes on the Betty Crocker Ipad app. (Yes, we have a new, shiny addition to our family... love, love, love it. This is the future of computers and also eReaders I think.) This led to my first experience using Bisquick and, well, yep, it's quite quick! I've made homemade biscuits before, especially since they don't require eggs and can be a great empty-fridge Sunday morning breakfast treat. But these are so dang easy. And look at these gorgeous pictures! I hate the word "yum" for some reason, but it strangely fits for this. And I now have something impressive to take to get-togethers. Well... I mean... if I was going to lots of get-togethers.

Roasted Garlic, Spinach, and Tomato Pizza

from Epicurious.

• 1 whole head garlic
• 3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 package (10 oz) refrigerated pizza dough, such as Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Crust
• 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp pine nuts
• Fresh basil leaves

Roast the garlic: Slice 1/2 inch off the top of the garlic head and place cut side up on foil. Drizzle with 1 tsp oil and sprinkle with water. Wrap in foil and bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. When cooled slightly, squeeze roasted garlic out of the skins. To grill: Heat Foreman's Grilling Machine to the highest setting or make a medium-hot fire on a gas or charcoal grill. Roll out pizza dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cut dough in half; shape into two 10-inch square pizzas. Do not make a rim. Grill dough on one side until grill marks show, about 3 minutes. Remove from grill. Place dough, grilled side up, on a cutting board. Brush with remaining 2 tsp oil. Spread with roasted garlic; season with salt and pepper. Add spinach, cheeses, tomatoes, and pine nuts. Return to grill and cook for 3 minutes, or until cheese melts and crust is cooked through. Garnish with basil; cut pizzas in half to serve. To bake: Heat oven to 475°F. On a lightly greased baking sheet, form dough into a large pizza; arrange toppings. Bake 10 minutes or until crust browns. Remove from oven; garnish with basil; cut into fourths to serve.

Guacamole

From AllRecipes.com

• 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately. 

Strawberries Shortcakes 
From Betty Crocker

(I don't know why, but the use of the plural version of "strawberry" in the title is bothering me.)

1	quart (4 cups) strawberries, sliced
1/4	cup sugar
2 1/3	cups Original Bisquick® mix
1/2	cup milk
3	tablespoons sugar
3	tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2	cup whipping cream

1.	Heat oven to 425°F. In large bowl, mix strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside.
2.	In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 tablespoons sugar and the butter until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 6 spoonfuls.
3.	Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.
4.	Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 450°F. Decrease sugar in shortcakes to 1 tablespoon.

(More to come, including the mustard, egg, and lemon challenges. But I need to make dinner now!)