What we did with CSA box #5 and what's in #6

1. Pea Risotto 2. Flank Steak Stir-fry 3. Grilled Trout & Fennel with Lemon Cream Sauce & Sautéed Beets 4. Roasted Beet & Fennel Salad 5. Strawberry Shortcake 6. Grilled Zucchini (with a flatbread sandwich) 7. Baja Fish Tacos 8. Beet Green & Amaranth Quesadillas 9. Dutch Baby with Fresh Strawberry Sauce

A few notes on the items without links. The pea risotto was a really basic risotto recipe that we added some shelled peas & some sugar snaps that had been sautéed in a little butter. The beef stir-fry was super simple & tasty with peas, sweetheart cabbage, bok choy & scallions all in a store bought teriyaki sauce. The grilled zucchini was just coated with a little olive oil & balsamic vinegar & cooked in a grill basket.

And on to box #6

Cauliflower - Think we'll roast this as a side dish. Its really good with Indian BBQ Sauce

Broccoli - This will just get steamed or used in a stir-fry

Savoy Cabbage - Probably headed for a coleslaw

Spinach - We are responsible for bringing a salad to camp this weekend & I'm thinking a spinach salad with eggs & bacon would be good

Arugula - Love this on pizza

Beans - Steamed

Golden Beets - I'm tempted to try my hand at beet ice cream

Carrots - Stir-fry, salads, carrot cake

Fresh Garlic - We've been letting the fresh garlic cure to use later

Cipollini Onions - I bet these would be fabulous grilled

Cucumber - Should go in a salad but I'm thinking Pimm's Cup

Squash - Matt loves it grilled

Chard - Sautéed with some bacon or sausage & some nuts, yum

Find more ideas on using your CSA box at Cooking Away My CSA.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Oatmeal Stout and Heath Bar Ice Cream

I'll start out right away by admitting this ice cream flavor was not my idea. Two people who are in Matt's TC Maker group were talking about it on Twitter & one thought perhaps I would take up the challenge of trying to make it. Well I'm always up for a little cooking challenge...

This was a total success, if I do say so myself. The ice cream base has a slight bitter flavor but also a bit of a toffee flavor from the stout. The sweetness of the Heath bar is a good foil to that bitterness while the toffee in it helps bring out more of that toffee flavor. The texture of the ice cream is beautifully creamy making a good base for the crunch of the Heath Bar. This is a flavor I'll definitely make again!

Oatmeal Stout and Heath Bar Ice Cream

16 oz oatmeal stout
3 egg yolks
1/2 c sugar
1 c cream
1 c half & half
2 Heath bars, chopped

In a saucepan bring the stout to a boil. Allow to reduce to about 1 cup.

In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks & sugar together until light yellow & thick. Set aside.

Reduce the heat under the stout to low & add the cream & milk. Bring to a simmer. Slowly stir into the egg mixture. Its important to add the milk slowly & stir so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Return to the saucepan & cook while stirring until the mixture is slightly thickened. Strain into a clean storage container. Refrigerate until completely cold.

Process according to your ice cream maker's directions. Add the chopped Heath bar pieces during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Let freeze for a few hours before serving.

Makes about 1 quart.

This is my entry into The Ice Cream Social Challenge being hosted by Scotty Snacks, Savor The Thyme and Tangled. Noodle. Click on any of their links to see how you can join in too. Entries are due July, 31!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Grilled Trout and Fennel with Lemon Cream Sauce

Our friend Lucas did some fishing in Lake Michigan over the July Fourth weekend. Since he doesn't like to eat his catch we were the lucky recipients of some fresh lake trout.

We decided to grill it. Matt has been wanting to grill fennel bulbs & we thought we'd do that with the fish. I wanted to do a sauce for them both & thought a lemon cream sauce would be a good flavor with both. Matt told me later he was doubtful of the sauce but couldn't believe how good it was. Grilling mellows the flavor of the fennel so don't worry about it overpowering the dish.


Grilled Trout & Fennel with Lemon Cream Sauce

2 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 c white wine
3/4 c cream
2 T lemon juice
salt & pepper

2 lake trout fillets

2 fennel bulbs

1 scallion, chopped (optional)

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour. Cook while stirring for 1 minute. Stir in the white wine. Stir in the cream and lemon juice. Cook until thickened. Salt & pepper to taste. If the sauce is too thick add either more wine or cream or a little milk.

Slice the fennel bulbs in half. Grill until slightly charred. Grill fish until cooked through.

Serve both with warm sauce & sprinkle with scallions.

Serves 2

If you are wondering what the other side dish is on the plate, its sautéed radishes. The other night we went to Corner Table for dinner & the amuse bouche was thinly sliced radishes with a pat of Hope butter & chives. Hope butter is a locally made butter that is just a little bit of yellow heaven. After having it in this dish we went out & bought a pound for home. Anyway, we sliced up some radishes & sautéed them until just turning brown in a little Hope butter. It makes for a dish that is quite a surprise, mellow, sweet & a little crunchy.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Steak and Cheese Sandwich

When Matt told me he wanted to make a steak & cheese sandwich for dinner what I saw in my mind was bright orange cheese sauce over some chunks of mystery steak. Luckily that was not at all what he had in mind.

His steak & cheese was made from incredibly tender pieces of flank steak (slicing against the grain makes all the difference), mushrooms, onions & a very flavorful raclette cheese. You are not really serving each person a ton of meat & cheese here so the mushrooms really beef it up, so to speak, with flavor & texture. I could even see doing this sandwich as a mushroom & cheese sandwich if you were avoiding eating red meat.

Steak & Cheese Sandwiches

1 T olive oil
5 oz flank steak, sliced very thin against the grain
salt & pepper
4 baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin
1/4 medium onion, sliced thin
3 - 4 oz raclette cheese, grated
2 petit baguettes, sliced length-wise & toasted if you wish

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Salt & pepper the steak. Add everything to the pan except the cheese. Cook until the steak is done & mushrooms & onions are tender, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add the cheese & stir until it's melted & everything is coated. Divided between the baguettes & serve.

Serves 2

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 7/13 - 7/17

Some bits & bobs from the last week....

We made a Grilled Flatbread Sandwich filled with leftover smoked turkey, brie & our homemade port wine jelly. The jelly was fabulous on a sandwich & I plan on using the rest of the jar on sandwiches this week.
Our vegetable garden continues to grow like crazy. This week our broccoli heads began to form.

And we are starting to see the beginning of lots of little cucumbers.

We used what is probably the last of this year's local strawberries for a fabulous strawberry shortcake the other night.

For the shortcake I used the Vanilla Shortcake recipe from Small Batch Baking & realized its pretty darn close the the perfect cream scone I've been looking for.

Menu Planning Monday...

Grilled Trout & Fennel with Lemon Cream Sauce

Stir-fry - Always a good way to use up those CSA veggies

Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Feta Sauce

Quinoa Salad with Beets & Summer Squash

Sweet Pea Risotto

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski