Hominy with Tomatoes - Adapted from Food.com

We were looking for something to do with much maligned hominy and decided on this.  Hominy has a nice corn taste and a firm "bite".  Give it a try.  Start by browning 2 strips of bacon.  Crumble them and set aside.  In the bacon fat, saute 1/4C diced onion.  When the onion has softened add 2 cloves minced garlic, 1T ground cumin, 1t ground coriander and 1t ground cardamom.  Continue heating until the spices are fragrant.  Drain the excess fat and add a 14 oz can of drained hominy and a 14 oz can of drained diced tomatoes.  Add the bacon back to the dish, top with shredded cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 min.  Finish under the broiler to brown the cheese.  It was a wonderful accompaniment to the creamy chicken enchiladas and re-fried beans, which have been here before 

Rosemary Lemon Braised Chicken with Cold Asparagus Salad - Adapted from Epicurious

Start by dredging the chicken thighs in seasoned flour and browning them in 3T olive oil. When they are golden brown add 3 sprigs fresh rosmary, a bay leaf, 1/2 small lemon, quartered and 1C dry white wine and two chunked up link sausages. Cover and place in a 250 degree oven for about 2-1/2 hr. until the chicken is fork tender.
While the chicken is cooking, microwave asparagus spears until they are done to your liking...about 1 min of crisp-tender. Chill them in the refrigerator. Put 1/3C balsamic vinegar and one clove minced garlic in a sauce pan and heat to boiling. Reduce the vinegar by 1/2. Add 3T olive oil and 1T Dijon mustard and cool the mixture to room temperature. Just before serving pour the dressing over the asparagus and top with crumbled bacon and thinly sliced red onion.
When the chicken done remove it and the sausage to a plate and thicken the sauce with 3T corn starch in 1C chicken stock. Serve the sauce over pasta or potatoes.

Steak Salad with "Stuffed Bread"

This is another example of a salad using leftover steak (Outback in this case). It is served cold on a bed of greens with tomatoes and red onion and topped with crumbled blue cheese. The dressing is a simple vinaigrette made by mixing 3 parts olive oil with 1 part red wine vinegar and 1t Dijon mustard. For the bread we used a Trader Joe's fresh pizza crust rolled to about 1/4 in thickness. Place the "stuffings" (we used black olives, fresh oregano, minced garlic and parmesan cheese). Roll the dough around the stuffings and place in a 450 degree oven for about 20 min, or until it is golden brown. Slice and serve.

Pizza with Fiddlehead Ferns and Chicken

It's spring and Fiddle-heads are once again available at our farmer's market. To prepare them boil them in salted water for about 5 min. Drain them and then saute them along with 1 clove of garlic in a little olive oil until they are tender crisp. Form the pizza crust or use a packaged one(we like Trader Joe's fresh dough). Put on the fiddleheads with some cooked chicken and mozzarella cheese. Don't use too many strong flavored toppings because it will overwhelm the delicate, earthy flavor of the fiddleheads.

Veal Chop and Roasted Potatoes with Grilled Brussel Sprouts - Adapted from many

We are always looking for new ways to prepare brussel sprouts and with summer coming on we decided to try grilling them. The veal chop was simply grilled on the Weber and the potatoes were wedged and put in a 400 degree oven for about 25 min. Season with salt and pepper and garlic powder if you wish.
A dozen brussel sprouts were first washed and trimmed and then marinated in a mix of 3T olive oil, 1/4t smoked paprika, 1 clove minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. The oil should just lightly coat the sprouts. Just before grilling wrap each one in 1/2 slice of bacon and skewer for grilling. They cooked for the same time on the grill as the chops...about 10 min. They come out crisp tender this way. If you want them more done we would suggest microwaving them for about 1 min before skewering them.

Potato and Asparagus Flatbreat with Grilled Sausages - Adapted from Everyday Food

This flatbread makes a delicious side dish or could be adapted for a main course as well. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Roll out a pizza dough (we used Trader Joe's fresh) to the desired thickness. Toss a thinly sliced potato with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on the dough after it has been lightly brushed with oil as well. Place in the 500 degree oven for 15 minutes until the crust starts to brown. While it is in the oven, use a vegetable peeler to shave asparagus stalks into thin strips lengthwise. Toss them with oil and salt and pepper. Remove the dough from the oven top with the asparagus, lower the oven temp to 450 and return the dish to the oven for about 5 min. Remove again and add 4 oz. of goat cheese broken into small pieces. Return to the oven until the asparagus is tender-crisp. We think the addition of an herb such as dill or thyme or tarragon would be nice. The sausages were grilled on the Weber as usual.