Diva: Ashley
Drinks: Sara
A variety of red wines.
Appetizer: Tiffany
Homegrown Potato skins
10 Baking Potatoes right from your garden
1 ½ c cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, diced
1-2 red peppers, diced
3-4 cloves minced garlic
Tofutti sour cream
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Bake Potatoes for one hour, then turn the oven up to 475 degrees. After Potatoes cool, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides, leaving 1/4" of the potato in the shell all around (save the potatoey goodness for another use). Place potato shells on baking sheet with a bit of olive oil, coconut oil and or cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, making sure they don't burn.
Fill with the minced garlic, cheddar cheese, red pepper and green onions. Return to the oven at 425 degrees and bake until cheese in bubbly, about 7 to 10 minutes. Serve with tofutti sour cream on the side.
Salad: Erin
Sara and Mariah to the rescue... Erin may have forgotten that she was going to be out of town for work or something. So it was a serious throw together of stuff from Sara’s fridge. The dressing...probably Sara’s standard garlic-olive oil-balsamic vinegar deal.
Soup: Ashley
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Garam Masala
8 c (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 medium)
3 T olive oil, divided
2 T maple syrup
1 tsp kosher salt
1 ¼ tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
¼ c finely chopped shallots
4 c chopped peeled Braeburn apple (about 1 pound)
¼ c sweet white wine
3 c water
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 T soy milk
additional apples for garnish
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine squash, 2 tablespoons oil, syrup, salt, garam masala, and pepper in a large bowl. Arrange squash in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until soft.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in apple; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Stir in squash, water, and broth. Bring to a simmer; cook 3 minutes. Place half of soup in a blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Repeat procedure with remaining half of soup. Stir in soy milk.
Side Dish: Mariah
Enchanted Broccoli Forest
2 c brown or white rice
1 lb. fresh broccoli
1 T butter or canola oil (plus a little extra for the pan)
1 c chopped onion
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T minced fresh dill (or 2 tsp. dried)
3 T fresh mint (or 3 tsp. dried)
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
Options:
1/2 c toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 lb. Swiss or cheddar cheese, grated
a little extra butter for the top
Serves 4-6
Cook the 2 cups of rice in 3 cups of boiling water until tender (this will take 15-20 minutes for white rice, 35-45 minutes for brown). Fluff the cooked rice with a fork and set aside.
Trim the tough bottoms from the broccoli stalks and cut the tops into smallish spears of whatever size suits you.
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Melt the butter or heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and salt and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and the lemon juice and sauté for about 2 minutes longer. Stir in the rice, some black pepper and cayenne to taste along with the optional ingredients. Taste to correct salt, if necessary, and spread in the prepared pan.
Now the fun part. Arrange the broccoli upright in the rice, and, if desired, drizzle with melted butter. Cover loosely with foil and bake just until heated through (15 -20 minutes). Serve right away.
Entree: Lovina
Herb-Roasted Pork Loin with Cranberry Port Wine Glaze (Fall Harvest at Ashley’s)
Boneless, center-cut pork loin roast (3 to 4 pounds)
2 T minced fresh rosemary
2 T minced fresh sage
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Cranberry port wine glaze (see recipe)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place roast in an open roasting pan.
In a small bowl, combine rosemary, sage, garlic, salt and pepper.
Brush roast with olive oil. Generously pat the herb mixture onto the roast. Cook the pork in preheated oven 60-80 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in meat registers 145 to 150 degrees. Allow meat to rest 15 minutes before slicing.
While meat is roasting, prepare the cranberry port wine glaze. Spoon warm glaze over sliced pork loin. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Cranberry port wine glaze:
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, minced
1 T minced fresh sage
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
½ c dried cranberries
2 c good quality port wine
1/3 c beef stock
1/3 c red wine vinegar
½ c red currant jelly
1½ tablespoons cornstarch stirred into 2 tablespoons cold beef stock
Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add shallots, sage, rosemary and cranberries. Sauté until shallots are wilted and transparent, about 8 minutes. Add port wine, beef stock, vinegar and red currant jelly. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook until smooth and thickened, stirring frequently.
Dessert: Stacey
Grandma Ellersick’s German Apple Cake
4 c grated raw apples
2 c sugar
½ c oil
1 c chopped nuts (optional)
2 eggs, well beaten
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
Mix ingredients well in order given. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes in a greased 9x13 pan. Serve with fresh whipped cream.
WildCard: Nicole
Baked Brie
1 large sheet of puff pastry dough or 1 tube of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 round or wedge of Brie cheese
Raspberry Jam, or other sweet jam (I used apricot)
Brown sugar
¼ c of maple syrup
slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut rind off the top of the brie round.
On a stick-free cookie sheet, lay out the puff pastry or the crescent rolls flat; put brie round or wedge on top cut side up.
Spread jam on brie, fold dough over top. Drizzle maple syrup and place a handful of brown sugar on top.
Bake at 350º for 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with crackers and apple slices.
