Recipe #90: Curried Bean Salad

I was lazy and used canned blacky beans and garbanzo beans. For the curry powder, I mixed together tumeric, garam masala, coriander, paprika, cumin, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper.

Curried Bean Salad
From 101 Cookbooks.com

3 cups cooked beans - whatever your preference.
1 cup cooked black lentils*
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced into crescents
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon of fine-grain sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of your favorite curry powder
1-2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (from 1-inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

In a large bowl toss the beans, black lentils, red onion, and celery. Make the curry vinaigrette by mashing the garlic clove with the salt into a thick paste. In a bowl or jar whisk together this garlic paste, the curry powder, fresh ginger, lemon juice, and olive oil. Whisk well, taste, and add adjust flavors/salt if needed. Pour about half of the dressing over the beans and give it all a toss. Add more dressing a bit at a time until it is to your liking. Taste, make sure the salad has enough salt or the the beans will taste flat and the rest of the flavors won't pop. I like to serve this salad family style in a big bowl or on a platter with a big spoon all sprinkled with cilantro.

Serves about 4 - 6 as a side.

*Wash and pick over the lentils. Place them in a large saucepan and cover with water using 2-3x the quantity of lentils. Bring to a boil, scale back the heat a bit and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Taste along the way, when done the lentils should be tender but not splitting apart. Salt to taste at this point. Remove from heat and drain any remaining liquid.

Recipe #89: Strawberry Peach Pie

Strawberry Peach Pie

From Sunset Magazine

* 6 cups strawberries
* 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 baked 9-inch pastry shell
* 3 tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 ripe peach (about 8 oz.)


Hull berries; rinse and drain. Set aside 4 cups of the prettiest berries to drain dry on towels.

Beat cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Spread cheese mixture evenly over bottom of pastry shell.

In a blender or food processor, smoothly purée remaining berries with 1/2 cup water.

In a 1- to 2-quart pan, mix cornstarch and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Add berry purée and stir over high heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Peel and thinly slice peach, arranging slices on cheese filling. Set whole strawberries, tips up, on peaches. Spoon hot berry glaze over fruit to cover completely.

Chill pie until glaze is cool and set, at least 1 hour. If making ahead, cover when cold and chill up to 1 day. Cut into wedges.

Recipe #88: Chicken Salad

Pres likes a very plain chicken salad without any fruit or nuts in it. We both ended up really liking this recipe. I used grilled chicken and put it in the food processor to get it really small.

Chicken Salad
From Food Network

* 4 cups diced poached chicken, recipe follows
* 1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced or 1/4 cup sweet onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or fresh dill
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
* 1 cup prepared or homemade mayonnaise
* 2 teaspoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper


In a mixing bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, scallions and herbs. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Add to the chicken and mix gently until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe #87: Flag Cake

Flag Cake
From Food Network's Barefoot Contessa

* 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
* 3 cups sugar
* 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
* 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 3 cups flour
* 1/3 cup cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:
* 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
* 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
* 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:
* 2 half-pints blueberries
* 3 half-pints raspberries


Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I serve this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

Recipe #86: French Potato Salad

French Potato Salad
from Food Network's Barefoot Contessa

* 1 pound small white boiling potatoes
* 1 pound small red boiling potatoes
* 2 tablespoons good dry white wine
* 2 tablespoons chicken stock
* 3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 10 tablespoons good olive oil
* 1/4 cup minced scallions (white and green parts)
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
* 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
* 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves


Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in 1/2 (quarters if the potatoes are larger) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding.

Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe #85: Gazpacho

Gazpacho
From Food Network's Barefoot Contessa

* 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
* 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
* 4 plum tomatoes
* 1 red onion
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
* 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup good olive oil
* 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

Pres made this recipe a few nights ago. It was really, really good. I brought the leftovers to work the next day, and they made a great lunch.

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad
from EatingWell.com via Food Network

* 4 medium sweet potatoes
* 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
* 2 medium tomatoes, diced
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on High until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees F until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.)

Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt; microwave on High until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.)

When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.