Stuffed Tomato (In Which We Use Peppers)

Recipe: Summer Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes // Serious Eats
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We spent a glorious labor day weekend in Ithaca, NY. While there, we visited Wegmans at least three times. On our last stop on the way out of town, we picked up a bunch of local produce. We found ourselves left with much of it at the end of the week, and needed a recipe that made use of it.

This was great! We didn't have tomatoes, but we had big peppers, and the substitution was fine in my opinion. I was afraid this recipe was going to be too veggie-y for me, but it really wasn't. We used fontina cheese because it melts beautifully (and we were out of mozzarella). It had a sharper taste, which I enjoyed. Seth was liberal with the olive oil. The fresh basil was essential. Definitely a good one for summertime produce.

Mushroom Risotto

Recipe: Mushroom Risotto // How to Cook Everything

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This dish didn't particularly thrill me. I probably won't make it again.

Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pesto

Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pesto / Annie's Eats

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This was a quick, tasty meal. It has too much raw garlic in it, though. I'd reduce that next time. Or roast/cook the garlic before adding it to the pesto. We'll make it again, I'm sure.

Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms & Walnuts

Recipe: Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms & Walnuts // Oh My Veggies
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This was a side dish we made to go with orzo dinner tonight. I liked the flavors -- the walnuts added a great nutty sweetness. However, our green beans were a little tough. I would remedy this in the future by using more tender green beans and roasting them a little longer. All in all, a nice veggie side.

Garden Vegetable Sauce with Chickpeas

Recipe: Garden Vegetable Sauce with Chickpeas // Slow Cooker Revolution (pg 176)
To Drink: Villard Blanc // Goose Watch Winery

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This was great! The recipe called for dried garbanzo beans, and I was amazed the improved texture and flavor compared to canned. I'm not sure I've had garbanzo beans except from a can; these were much better.

Like most recipes from this cookbook (which Seth bought me for Hanukkah), it required some browning on the stove, but the end result was worth it. I used chicken broth that we had open in the fridge, so ours wasn't technically vegetarian. We paired it with a lovely finger lakes white wine and some leftover Italian semolina bread. I will make this again!

Stuffed Peppers with Goat Cheese and Couscous

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers with Couscous and Goat Cheese // How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (pg 399)
Side Recipe: Blumenthal's Roast Potatoes // Serious Eats

Rating: 

This was a tasty vegetarian entree. The peppers, goat cheese, and couscous blend well together. We roasted the peppers over our gas stovetop before stuffing them; we set them over a low flame and let the skin soften and blacken. The original recipe calls for quinoa, but we had couscous on hand, so that's what we used.

My favorite was the roasted potatoes. We liked them better than our homemade fries. The recipe called for peeled potatoes, but I like potato skins, so I left them on. They were great.