Salad of Warm Tarragon Garlic Roasted Portobellos over Arugula, Radicchio , Sautéed Ramps, Cherry Tomatoes, Red onions and Goat Cheese

I am really glad that summery weather is finally upon us which allows me to go back to eating one meal salads for dinner. To me, salad should be enjoyable—full of color and delicious ingredients and this one definitely fits the bill.

And of course, the beauty of a salad is that there is so much flexibility in what you put in or leave out based on your taste.

INGREDIENTS

Portobello Mushrooms:

2 large or 4 small Portobello mushroom caps

2-3 cloves of garlic sliced thin

2  tablespoons of butter

2  tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves (thyme would work as well)

Salt to taste

1)      Preheat oven to 400. I used my  Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ , if you don’t have one, regular oven is fine of course.

2)      Wash and dry mushrooms. Cut them up into 2-2 ½ inch chucks.

3)      Add to a baking dish. I use this one by Le Creuset Stoneware 1-1/2-Quart 9-Inch Square Baking Dish, Cherry

4)      Scatter butter cup up into small pieces, garlic and tarragon over the mushrooms. Cover with foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

5)      Remove foil and bake another 20-30 minutes until mushrooms are tender, mixing occasionally and adding butter if needed.

6)      The mushrooms will release a lot of liquid as they cook. I incorporated some of the liquid into the salad dressing, first allowing it to cool off.

SALAD (add/substitute as you see fit)

4 cups of arugula

¼ red onion sliced thin

½ hear of small radicchio sliced thin

6-8 tablespoons of goat cheese

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 bunch ramp leaves (optional but adds a nice touch)

If using ramps leaves, you will need 1 tablespoon of butter or oil

1)      Wash and dry arugula. Add radicchio, onions and tomatoes.

2)      If you are including ramps leaves, wash and dry them.

3)      Roughly chop and sauté in a skillet (I use this one by Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 10-1/4-Inch Skillet with Iron Handle, Cherry in a little butter about 5-7 minutes.

4)      Add a pinch of salt. I allowed it to cool and did not dress it with dressing, just threw on top along with goat cheese and cooked mushrooms.

SALAD DRESSING;

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3-4 tablespoons of slightly cooled mushroom liquid that resulted from the baking of mushrooms (optional)

1)      Wisk together. Toss with arugula, radicchio, onions and tomatoes. Top with ramps if using, goat cheese divided into small chunks and mushrooms.

Enjoy! This was a great dinner for my crew—filling and light at the same time.

Baked Lobster Tail with a Spring Salad of Arugula, Ramps and Shucked Sweet Corn

So as a savvy shopper who is also a big time foodie, I am always checking out sales at favorite places that I shop. I am a bit time fan of Fresh Direct (online food delivery service) and they don't  disappoint. Whenever I place my weekly order, I check out their "President's Specials". This week, I was thrilled--a sale on lobster tail, corn and ramps! Got all three and needed to somehow throw them together in a tasty and health conscious way!

Ingredients (Serves 3)
3 lobster tails, about 4 ounces each but bigger would have been even better
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons panko or break crumbs (I used whole wheat panko) 
Ian's Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumb (3x9 OZ)

Remove your butter and allow it to become soft. If you are pressed for time, soften by microwaving for about 20 seconds.
Wash and dry your lobster tails. Next, you will need to carefully slice across the hard shell vertically (the long way) as well as across one or two times near the tail. This is a pain but will allow you to pill the shell back so that you can flavor the lobster tail while cooking it. There are many youtube videos showing you how to do this so if you are confused, go ahead and google for one.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I used my Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ but regular oven will do of course. 

Combine your softened butter with lemon juice and paprika. Mix well.

Place your lobster tails on a baking tray. I covered mine with foil to reduce clean up. Top with butter/lemon/paprika mixture. Spring panko on top--this will allow the butter mixture to stay in place on the lobster tail. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes, broil for additional 2 minutes. Your lobster is cooked when it's a bright pinkish red.

I served this with salad but of course the options are aplenty-- rice pilaf, roasted or mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, linguine, etc.

Ingredients for Salad
5 cups of arugula washed and spun dried
Kernels removed from one corn
1 bunch of ramp leaves and ramp bulbs (washed, spun dried and kept separate)
Oil or butter for cooking ramps and corn
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Dressing:
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons of ponzu or soy sauce Kikkoman Ponzu Sauce, 10-Ounce Bottle (Pack of 3)
1 tablespoon oil ( I used grape from Trader Joe's)
Mix well

RAMPS:
Wash and dry your ramps. Separate leaves from bulbs. Roughly chop the leaves and set aside. Chop bulbs, you will cook them before the leaves.
Heat oil or butter in a skillet. I use this one Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 10-1/4-Inch Skillet with Iron Handle, Cherry.  Add bulbs and a splash of broth. Cook about 8 minutes, mixing frequently. Add leaves and another splash of broth. Cook till leaves start to shrink and broth is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

CORN:
Shuck corn. Heat oil or butter, add corn kernels, cook for about 3 minutes. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar and pan cook another 2 minutes.

Allow corn and ramps to cool a bit. Toss arugula with dressing. Top with corn and ramps. Serve with a side of lobster. This salad would also be great with shrimp, scallops or even a baked fish.

Enjoy!

Baked Lobster Tail with Spring Salad

Lobster Tails with Butter, Paprika, Lemon and Bread Crumbs Before Going in the Oven

Sunday Brunch: Poached Eggs, Roasted Potatoes, Ramp Leaves and OrganicBacon

Ours is a busy family and because of this, we often don’t get to eat meals together. Our favorite family meal is Sunday breakfast. Which is really becoming more brunch as the kiddos get older.
That combined with my poached egg obsession, gets you the lovely brunchy meal below.

Poached Eggs seem so simple but are actually tricky. I have watched a few YouTube videos and tried a few recipes till finally found this one that results in perfection. Not surprisingly, it’s by smitten kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/08/how-to-poach-an-egg-smitten-kitchen-style/
this entry shows pictures along the way and is the best step by step that I have seen.

If you follow this recipe, you will get that perfect poached egg, I promise! Well at least after a few botched attempts!
I will note that this has only worked for me by poaching eggs individually which is why husband gets only ONE instead of two.

POACHED EGGS:

Heat a pot with a few inches of water in it. You will need enough to COVER the egg.
Put a splash of vinegar in the water. This helps to tighten the egg, in my opinion, you do not taste the vinegar.

Heat the water till it’s hot but NOT boiling or simmering. You want hot water BEFORE it simmers. If it simmers, reduce the flame.

Break the egg CAREFULLY into a small dish or ramekin.

Make a whirlpool in the water with a fork or a spatula and very carefully slide the egg in the middle, continue to create the whirlpool AROUND the egg for a few seconds. Now leave it alone for a few minutes. If your egg gets stuck, CAREFULLY slide a spatula under for about 30 seconds. In about 2-3 minutes your poached egg should be ready.

Scoop it out with a slotted spoon. Let it drain on a paper towel. Serve.

For each additional egg, repeat above. Time consuming but so worth it!

I served with roasted potatoes, organic bacon by Applegate, ramps (wild leeks that are currently in season) and a flat bagel.

ROASTED POTATOES

4-5 potatoes, washed, dried, cut into ½ pieces
Peel if the skin is not good, otherwise leave the skin
2 tablespoons of oil (I use grape)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 425degrees. I use my Breville Smart Convection Oven—you will see it listed under my favorite products.
Otherwise, regular oven is fine. Toss potatoes with oil and salt. Roast about ½ hour till golden brown.

RAMPS
Wash and spin dry ramp leaves. I already used the bulbs earlier in the week so I only had leaves.
Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil (I used grape). Add ramps, cook till wilted. Add a bit of salt.

Whole Wheat Pappardelle with Ramps and Roasted Butternut Squash

This was such a lovely and easy weeknight dinner. Ramps are only available for a short period of time so it’s always a treat to snatch them up.
I think you can probably achieve similar results with regular leeks but it’s obviously better with ramps.

Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pappardelle (if you can find whole wheat, feel free to substitute)
1 bunch ramps—leaves and bulbs washed and separated.
4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
½ of organic low sodium chicken broth
Shaved aged parmesan
4 cups of butternut squash
Oil (I used grape)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat oven proof dish in the oven at highest possible temperature. I recently learned that this achieves best roasting results and have been doing this ever since. It works. My highest temperature is 450.
Cube butternut squash and toss with 2 tablespoons of oil. Once oven is preheated together with your tray, reduce temperature to 425. Roast for about 30-40 minutes tossing occasionally.

Wash and dry your ramps. Separate leaves from bulbs. Roughly chop the leaves and set aside. Slice the bulbs across, you will cook them before the leaves.

Heat oil in a skillet, add garlic. Cook till starts to get golden, add bulbs and a splash of broth. Cook about 8 minutes, mixing frequently. Add leaves and another splash of broth. Cook till leaves start to shrink and broth is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While all is happening with the ramps, boil salted water and cook pappardelle per package direction. Drain, reserve some of the water.
Add pasta and the water to your skillet, cook for about a minute or two till hot.

Serve topper with shaved parmesan. I use a veggie peeler to slice mine into very thin strips.

Enjoy!