The Best Greek Salad

Linked above

Lemony Shrimp and Orzo

Adapted loosely from Giada and absolutely delicious...

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 pound orzo pasta

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 large lemons
1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dry white wine
10 cloves of roasted garlic, coarsely chopped
10 ounces (2 boxes) fresh baby spinach or baby arugula, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
Directions

For the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

While the water is coming to a boil and the orzo is cooking, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the prosciutto slices until crisp. Remove the prosciutto slices, leaving the oil in the pan. Drain the prosciutto on paper towels and let cool. Crumble the prosciutto and set aside.

Add the shallots to the oil and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp turn pink and are just barely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the skillet. Increase the heat to high. Add the wine and spinach. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated and the spinach has wilted. Turn off the flame under the skillet.

Add the roasted garlic, cooked pasta, cooked shrimp, crumbled prosciutto, vinaigrette and butter to the skillet. Toss until all the ingredients are coated, adding a little of the reserve pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Taste for seasoning.

Transfer to a platter and serve, garnished with chopped chives.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Mixed Bean Salad

My only changes were to salt the water and add the juice of one lemon to the dressing-- a fabulous salad!

Tomato and Pomegranate Salad

Now that I've found it, I hope to never be without this lovely salad in my life!

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Bill has asked me to call this recipe (for Swai in Ginger Sesame Broth with Edamame and Bok Choy)"Number 10" in an oblique reference to the McDonald's Filet-o-fish sandwich (which is essentially the opposite of this clean, delicious, healthy dish.) We ate it with rice.

Black Sesame Otsu

One of my Heidi Swanson favorites

Quick Cranberry Cake

A brilliant recipe. So easy. SO good.

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Kale Chicken Noodle Soup (aka, the best soup I've ever made)

I dropped a few mega handfuls of chopped kale and smaller amounts of diced carrots, parsley and garlic into about six cups of chicken broth and let it boil until the kale gave up; at which point, I added roughly half of the leftover sauced cauliflower alfredo curly pasta with peas and let everything come up to temperature. A dusting of grated parmesan over the top to serve. **Possibly the best soup I've ever made**

I could see adding in a couple of chicken thighs at the outset for a richer broth and adding in some of the shredded chicken at the end, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing.

Cauliflower Alfredo

I roasted the cauliflower and garlic, and added about a cup of chicken stock, and a quarter cup of microplaned parmesan to the sauce. I tossed a few handfuls of frozen peas in with the pasta just before draining it, and more parm on top to serve. Next time, I will crisp up a little pancetta and sear some butterflied shrimp in the pancetta drippings. Nothing like pork, seafood and cheese to improve on a vegan pasta sauce...

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Kale

I made a few changes to this Grace Parisi recipe linked above:
I chopped the onions into big chunks, threw in a handful of peeled garlic cloves, and seasoned the vegetables liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, ground sumac and the juice of one lemon. I patted the chicken (thighs, not legs) dry and seasoned them ahead of time for best flavor before adding them on top of the vegetables. I cooked everything uncovered for 50 minutes and didn't bother with all of that covering, uncovering, moving the pan and etc. Next time I'll try skinless thighs, but other than that -- a definite keeper.

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An awesomely fast and delicious recipe. I heat the pan in the oven before adding the fish, so that it cooks through without having to flip it over.

Dakota Bread

My only changes were to use 10-grain cereal and to substitute kalonji seeds for poppy seeds. This one's a keeper! My new favorite loaf.

Favorite Lentil Soup

This lively soup is always in heavy rotation around here. The saffron yogurt is key.

Crispy Tofu with Garlic and Mint

I make this brilliant Peter Berley recipe all the time. The recipe is very forgiving: I generally throw in any leftover herbs I have in the fridge, and often let the tofu marinate for up to 24 hours.