Potato & Leek Kugel served alongside Roasted Beets

I adapted this recipe from a normal potato kugel recipe that I make. I added leeks alongside the potatoes this time, which gives it a nice, creamy texture and flavor.

And, for dinner I served roast chicken, roasted marinated beets, grapes, and French baguette with garlic brie. (Applesauce or sour cream can be added to the kugel, I preferred sour cream with this recipe).

You will need:
4 Potatoes
1-2 leeks
4 eggs
1-2 tablespoons butter
White wine (optional)
Salt
Pepper

1. Start by washing the leeks. Occasionally leeks can be dirty, so you may have to wash them several times as they are cut. Now, trim the whiskers on the end of the leeks. Cut them horizontally, but not cutting through the white, thick part at the end. Now cut them vertically. Place into a frying pan with melted better and cook for about 15 minutes (add white wine if desired).

2. As the leeks are cooking, peel the potatoes, and place them in the food processor, or grate them by hand. Whisk the eggs, add the salt and pepper and the grated potatoes.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and set 11x7 inch glass baking dish (I don't have casserole dishes yet, so I use a pie dish) in oven with butter. When the fat or butter is melted, add potato mixture. Bake for 1 hour or until brown.

For the beets:

1. Wash off the beets, cut off the stems (save them!) and place them on a sheet in the oven at 400 degrees. Let them roast until they are tender (about 30 minutes).

2. Let them cool. The skin should now easily come off of the beets. Slice the beets, sprinkle them with pepper. This time I added a dressing to them: 2 tablespoons store-bought or made from scratch Raspberry Vinegar, a little Dijon mustard, several tablespoons of hazelnut oil, and a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil.

* Side note: The roasted beets also do nicely in a salad, with goat or feta cheese.

Recommended wine: Sauvignon Blanc

Serves 4-6 people.

"Grown Up" Mac and Cheese

I am home sick today, so I wanted to make some comfort food. Super quick and easy.

You will need:
1-2 cups Rainbow Rotini Pasta
1 Tablespoon butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup sharp cheddar
Mustard
Salt
Pepper

1. Boil a pot of water on the stove. Once it starts to boil, add the pasta and cook until soft (or according to your preference).

2. Drain the pasta. To save dishes, use the same pot you used to boil the pasta to make the roux.

3. For the roux: Add the butter, let it melt slowly. Add the flour, and mix until it forms a paste. Now add the milk, turning up the heat slightly. Once this thickens, add the cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard.

4. Once the roux is made, pour it over the pasta. Garnish with parsley. Yum!

Serves 1-2 people. Approx. 12 minutes to prepare.

Toasted Almond Tilapia with Avocado Potato Salad

Oh me oh my. This turned out fantastically. What I thought would be a long dinner to prepare actually ended up being quick and delicious.

For the tilapia, you'll need:
Tilapia filets (2-4)
2 Tablespoons butter (for pan)
Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

For the Avocado Potato Salad, you'll need:
2 Avocados
4 Red potatoes
Minced garlic
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup dressing/mayo
A little bit of mustard/something tangy
Parsley
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper

1. Start by cutting up the potatoes (make sure to evenly cut them; this I learned from Chef Novelli from Chef Academy on Bravo- this helps them cook evenly). Add them to a boiling pot of water, drain once soft (test with a fork).

2. As potatoes boil, cut up avocados and place in a medium sized bowl. Add minced garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and cilantro.

3. Melt butter in frying pan. Once melted, add almonds (can be chopped or whole). Careful not to burn the butter! Now add the tilapia filets. Sprinkle parmesan and salt and pepper atop them. Cook each side evenly- you'll know they're done when they are slightly flakey. It's easy to overcook tilapia... (So many years of my mother's fear of uncooked poultry have translated into me being overly cautious!) but I didn't overcook it this time.

4. As the tilapia is cooking, drain the potatoes and add them to the bowl of avocados. Add sour cream, mayo, mustard/tangy sauce, and gently mix together.

Serves 2-4 people. About 20 minutes to prepare.

I was inspired to try a potato/avocado salad with tilapia. I've always eaten tilapia with aioli because I'm not a huge fish/seafood eater. The mustard and mayo combo in the potato salad complemented the tilapia much like aioli does.

Spanakopita- Or something like it

I recently made this dish for my fiance's work party. There were a lot of leftovers; the host had tons of food there, but at least he said that this recipe was amazing :-)

Unfortunately, I did not have any feta cheese, so this recipe is a bit improvised.

You will need:
1 package of frozen phyllo dough (Can be found in the frozen/dessert section)
1 cup of melted butter
2 packages of frozen spinach, then drained
1 package Neufchatel cheese (Has less fat than cream cheese)
1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups Ricotta cheese
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 375*. Make sure to let the phyllo dough thaw out before unrolling it. Otherwise, it will break apart. Spread in layers of three, adding a spoonful of butter in between layers.

2. By the 7-9th layer, add the spinach/cheese mixture. Smooth it out gently on the phyllo dough.

3. Add 7-9 more layers on top of the spinach/cheese mixture, adding a spoonful of butter after placing 3 layers of phyllo down, and so on. Also add butter to the very top layer.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the phyllo dough is golden brown.

This dish is great as an appetizer for a party, or could even be a dinner for 2-3 people. Approximately 30 pieces. Enjoy!

Stuffed Pitas with Pepper & Goat Cheese, Faux Deviled Eggs, and Pomegranate Bitter Herb

To create this yummy vegetarian brunch, you will need:

FOR THE STUFFED PITAS:
2 peppers (sweet or multi-colored)
Minced Garlic
An Onion
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Pita

FOR THE FAUX DEVILED EGGS:
3 Eggs
Ricotta
Basil
Paprika
Salt
Pepper

FOR THE BITTER HERB:
Swiss chard or beet leaves/stalk
Minced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Pomegranate Balsamic Glaze (You can find this in a sauce aisle at your grocery store)

1. Boil water in a pot. Once boiling, place in 3 eggs. Watch the clock closely: The secret to great hard boiled eggs is 14 minutes; it leaves the yolk nice and yellow with no grey rim.



2. While the eggs are boiling, cut up 2 peppers (in slices) and about half of an onion. Cut up garlic (or spoon out some minced garlic) and add to a frying pan coated with olive oil. Saute onion and garlic first; once golden, add peppers. Saute until golden brown and cooked through.

3. Cut up swiss chard/bitter herb. Add to small frying pan coated in olive oil. Add a tablespoon of minced garlic, then add the pomegranate glaze. Add the bitter herb slowly, and coat the olive oil mixture over the herb. Simmer/cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until somewhat wilted (but not brown).

4. Halve pita bread (about 3 pitas) and toast in toaster or in oven at about 350* for 5-10 minutes.

5. Take out eggs and place in cold ice water. After a couple minutes, peel the shell off of the egg and cut the eggs into halves. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and paprika on. Add a tiny spoonful of ricotta on top, then top with basil (fresh is best).

6. By now, the peppers and the chard should be done. Take pitas out of oven, add peppers, sprinkle with goat cheese. The "faux" deviled egg serves as a great side, but is even better when cut up and added to the pita!

Serves 2-3 people. 40-ish minutes to prepare.

* Additional: I made this with leftover Champagne from the night before. I filled a glass with half champagne, half cranberry juice. The not-so-bubbly tastes yummy this way!