Wednesday, February 13, 2008

New Camera and Little Weeknight Dinner!

It's so much fun to play with a new toy and cook a yummy dinner all at the same time! I'm finally getting the hang (a bit) of the white balance though not as much of the focus with this lens I'm using... Still working on it.

But, without further ado, here's tonight's dinner:
I made a chicken tagine, with preserved lemons and green olives from the lovely Arabesque cookbook by Claudia Roden. It was a great excuse to finally use the gorgeous Le Creuset tagine that we got as a wedding present months ago.



The next two recipes, the side dishes, both came from my CSA's newsletter - submitted by different members of the CSA.

This is a delicious dish using Tokyo turnips (which seem to be smaller, more delicate turnips, about the size of radishes) called Easy Turnips with Cilantro and Lemon. The dish is very easy: quarter the turnips then brown them in some butter. After a bit, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of broth and let them simmer until tender.

Before serving, squeeze 1/2 a lemon and sprinkle two tablespoons of cilantro and salt & pepper.
Most delicious turnips I've had!

The Wilted Arugula Salad with Sauteed Green Garlic and Apples - utterly shocking! I've had apples in my salad before but not really sautéed apples and certainly not apples sautéed in Balsamic. I chopped one green garlic stalk and then sautéed it in some olive oil, then added a thinly sliced apple and sautéed it another minute. I poured in a healthy dollop of balsamic vinegar, lowered the heat and let the apple absorb the vinegar and cook a bit.

In a bowl, I assembled the cleaned arugula, then poured the apple mixture on top. I finished off the salad with walnuts and crumbled goat cheese. It was wonderful - the apple's sweet & tartness contrasted the bitter greens and creamy cheese.

The dinner was delicious and a great way to break in the new camera.

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