Quick, Colorful & Easy Dinner

I decided to surprise Susie by having dinner almost ready to serve when she got home today. But, it is a work day so I didn't want to get in over my head with prep work. Hmm. What to make? I settled on some frozen four-color, five-cheese ravioli from Costco as the basis for the meal.

Instead of using a sauce, I decided on some dried heirloom tomatoes from the jar on the shelf. I boiled these for a few minutes, let then sit for another few minutes, then poured them into a strainer. (The plan is to cook the pasta when Susie gets home, add the reconstituted tomatoes, then toss in some grated Parmesan cheese).

My inspiration for the salad came from the classic Greek horiatiki salad. I whisked together a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, two tablespoons of lemon juice, and a quarter cup of olive oil. From the herb garden I picked some oregano, then microwaved it until it was dry and crumbly. I mixed the oregano into the dressing. I picked a couple cucumbers from the garden, and a couple handfuls of a few different cherry and pear tomatoes. I peeled then sliced the cucumbers thinly and added them to the dressing. Next, I halved the tomatoes and added them. I tossed the salad with a rubber spatula and placed it in the refrigerator.

There is a bird-seed roll from the Metropol bakery. I quartered the roll and toasted it. I still have some aioli that I made last weekend to serve with the roll. The aioli is really garlicky. Really, really garlicky, so I'll serve butter for Susie. As for me, I'll have no worries about vampires.

Put all together, these elements make up a very colorful meal. But, almost as importantly, a very quick and easy meal.

Bon appétit!

Minty Chocolate Cheeecake

The mid-month cheesecake for Benton County Mental Health is due Wednesday. I have bowling practice tomorrow. Tuesday, the night before wouldn't work. Just in case. I needed to make it today. First I needed to decide which kind of cheesecake to make. I flipped through my cookbook, but did not get very far. The sixth recipe in the book of 125 Best Cheesecake Recipes precisely. The Minty Chocolate Cheesecake.

I lined the sides of a 9-inch cheesecake pan with parchment paper. For the crust I used chocolate stuffed Oreos. Double stuffed chocolate Oreos. The cream filling serves as a binding agent for the crumbs, and the butter can be eliminated from the crust. I pressed the crumbs into the pan and popped it into the freezer.

I set out the rest of the ingredients, in order to let the eggs, sour cream and cream cheese to let them reach room temperature. This allows for better mixing of ingredients, and will allegedly help prevent cracking of the finished cheesecake.

Then I went back to watching baseball on a Sunday afternoon. For a few more hours.

The cream cheese and the sugar are mixed for three minutes. Eggs are added, one at a time. Then flour, sour cream, vanilla and peppermint extract are added. Three ounces of melted chocolate are then streamed into the batter, with the mixer running.

Finally, a cup of semisweet chocolate chips are mixed with a spoon of flour and then folded into the batter. I had some green mint chips, so I let my inner anarchist run free and substituted the green mint chips for the chocolate ones. (I know. I know. But I am not as young as I once was).

The cheesecake bakes at 350° for 45-55 minutes, until the top is light brown and there is a slight jiggle at the center.

Well, this is a bit embarrassing. A crack did develop on top of the cheesecake. Fortunately, it won't affect the taste, and these get eaten so quickly that the crack will swiftly become little more than a memory. A trivial one.

Bon appétit!

Beer Bread

In the Moving Guide section of the back to school issue of the Oregon Daily Emerald, a recipe caught my eye. Beer bread. It didn't catch my eye because of "beer," but because it billed itself as so simple to make, a dorm-dweller could make it.

Three cups flour, 4 tablespoons active dry yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar are whisked together. A 12-ounce bottle of beer is added. I used a hefeweizen. That is it!

The batter is poured into a greased loaf pan and bakes at 350° for 45 minutes. Again, that is it!

While the other bread recipes, more traditional and not so traditional, produce a better result, I am not going to bash this one. It was OK. Good even. But nothing to rave about. Bummer. Maybe with a pale ale instead of hefeweizen. Maybe with a little ham or other deli meat.

Bon appétit!