Leftovers. It's better than it sounds. August 27, 2012.
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Diva K's theme for this month was "leftovers." Or "late for dinner." Or "missing in action" (but definitely not "sloppy seconds"). Take your pick. The idea was that each of the Divas picked a dinner club that they didn't attend for one reason or another and brought the item that they would have brought for that dinner club. For instance, Diva K missed "literary food," so she made playfully potent "Harry Potter" pumpkin juice cocktails. Dinner was a hodgepodge collection of our never-before-tasted greatest hits!
Pumpkin Juice (Pumpkin Margaritas)
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It may not be the "pumpkin juice" served at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, but then Harry Potter isn't over 21. Here's to adult beverages.
1 can Pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
½ cup Brown sugar
¼ cup Sugar
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 pinch Nutmeg
2 cups Water
Then, for each drink: 2 oz. Tequila and the juice of 1/2 a lime
Make pumpkin simple syrup by combining pumpkin puree with brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and strain. Combine the juice of half a lime, 2 oz. tequila, and 2 oz. pumpkin simple syrup. Shake well over ice, and serve.
1 can Pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
½ cup Brown sugar
¼ cup Sugar
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 pinch Nutmeg
2 cups Water
Then, for each drink: 2 oz. Tequila and the juice of 1/2 a lime
Make pumpkin simple syrup by combining pumpkin puree with brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and strain. Combine the juice of half a lime, 2 oz. tequila, and 2 oz. pumpkin simple syrup. Shake well over ice, and serve.
Stuffed Zucchini: Zucchini Ripieni
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Recipe from Mario Batali. This is what Diva N *would* have brought to the Food Network Chefs night.
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Trim the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon or melon baller, remove the flesh making a canal down the center of each zucchini half, leaving 1/4-inch all around and the ends closed. Roughly chop the excess zucchini flesh and set aside.
In a 10 to 12-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until just smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until softened, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the zucchini pieces and crumbled lamb and cook until the lamb is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Drain the fat from the lamb mixture and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, half of the mint leaves and the tomato sauce and mix well.
Season both the mixture and the zucchini boats with salt and pepper. Stuff the lamb mixture into the zucchini boats and pile it high.
Place in an oven-proof baking dish just large enough to hold all the zucchini and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp on top, and remove. Serve warm or at room temperature and sprinkle with remaining mint leaves.
Basic Tomato Sauce:
Yield: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 pound ground lamb, crumbled
- 2 eggs
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves, picked but left whole
- 1 cup basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
- 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Trim the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon or melon baller, remove the flesh making a canal down the center of each zucchini half, leaving 1/4-inch all around and the ends closed. Roughly chop the excess zucchini flesh and set aside.
In a 10 to 12-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until just smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium-high heat until softened, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the zucchini pieces and crumbled lamb and cook until the lamb is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Drain the fat from the lamb mixture and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, half of the mint leaves and the tomato sauce and mix well.
Season both the mixture and the zucchini boats with salt and pepper. Stuff the lamb mixture into the zucchini boats and pile it high.
Place in an oven-proof baking dish just large enough to hold all the zucchini and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp on top, and remove. Serve warm or at room temperature and sprinkle with remaining mint leaves.
Basic Tomato Sauce:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4 inch dice
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
- 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
- 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
- Salt, to taste
Yield: 4 cups
Roquefort Pear Salad (or Partridge in a Pear Tree Salad, aka, Diva A missed the Christmas Carol themed dinner)
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- 1 head leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
- 3 pears - peeled, cored and chopped
- 5 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
- 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool, and break into pieces.
- For the dressing, blend oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.
- In a large serving bowl, layer lettuce, pears, blue cheese, avocado, and green onions. Pour dressing over salad, sprinkle with pecans, and serve.
Spinach and Feta Swirls
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Ingredients:
- 1 lb spinach (I had a big plastic container of organic baby spinach that I used)
- 6-8 oz feta, crumbled
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 onion (I used Vidalia), finely chopped
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- 2 sheets puff pastry dough (one box of frozen puff pastry dough), thawed about 40 minutes at room temp
- butter
- Pre-heat oven to 375
- In saucepan – over medium-high heat, melt just enough butter to coat the pan, add garlic and onion and cook until onion is see-through
- Little by little, add spinach (add butter if necessary) until it’s all wilted and cooked-through – allow liquid to boil for a few minutes stirring occasionally
- Pour spinach into colander in sink and allow to drain- pushing through excess water
- Pat spinach with paper towels to make sure it’s fairly dry
- Add beaten egg – some of the egg will go through, that’s okay
- Add feta
- Brush the pastries with melted butter (not boiling hot butter)
- Spread spinach mixture evenly amongst both puff pastry squares- leaving a 1 inch border on all four sides
- Cut edges off the rolls and cut evenly into six equal parts totaling 12 (cut each roll in half, and then with each half cut into thirds)
- Grease muffin tin and place rolls spiral-side down
- Brush the tops with butter if you want
- Bake about 30-35 minutes
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