Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Tasty Tuesday (At least it was still Tuesday when I began writing this post)

Tonight I had some friends over for dinner.  It was a super casual night, but the food was really good.  Let me share the best parts of the menu with you…

To start, I made Pulled Pork.  I have posted this recipe before.  It is delicious.  I must restate that there are a ton of ingredients, but don’t let that scare you away.  Really, most of them are spices that we all have in our pantry.  As usual, it was a hit!

Next was a “winter” salad.  I took some ideas from two winter salad recipes I found online and made up this one…
Roasted Tomato Salad
Ingredients
10 ounces (about 1 pint) cherry tomatoes (or substitute grape tomatoes)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil – split
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar – split
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 stem fresh rosemary, or dried rosemary will work
¾ head of red leaf lettuce, washed and torn
¾ head of green leaf lettuce, washed and torn
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Place tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Add 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the rosemary (if using dried – sprinkle on the tray, not on the tomatoes, after tosssing), and toss. 

stuff 366

3.  Roast until tomatoes are soft and beginning to collapse, 20 to 25 minutes.

stuff 368This was my favorite part! 

4.  Transfer 4 tomatoes to a cutting board. Gently crush those 4 tomatoes. Separate skins from pulp and discard skins and rosemary.  Save remaining tomatoes for later.
5.  Scrape tomato pulp and liquid into a bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
stuff 3716.  Combine lettuce, and pecans in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the tomato vinaigrette. Top with reserved tomatoes and cheese. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately.

I had to do the last part right before serving, so didn’t get a photo of the finished dish, darn it!  But trust me, it looked and tasted wonderful.

Lastly, I found these amazing Salted Caramel Butter Bars on Pinterest this week and just had to make them for dessert.  Knowing that they are made with shortbread dough, I was a little apprehensive, thinking they would be difficult.  They were not.  The recipe is very easy.
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And they are TO DIE FOR!  In fact, I’m bringing the leftovers when I go work at school tomorrow because I do not trust myself left alone with their salty-sweet goodness.

9 comments:

  1. Hell woman, you need a holiday after all that.

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  2. WOW... That's what I call a hostess ! I bet your friend LOVE coming round for food at your place. lovely blog post.
    Jennie. x

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  3. Yummy, I am sure the salad looked wonderful. It all sounds great.

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  4. I don't know where my head is! I read "Salted Caramel Butter Beans" and thought WTF!?!

    LOL Now that I have seen the real title of the dish, I will have to try it - but I cannot get those caramel candies here so I have to make it from scratch.

    I am glad that you reminded me of pulled pork becuse that may be just what I make this weekend!

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  5. Oh my goodness. I would love every aspect of that meal. It sounds too good to be true. I bet your friends were so happy you brought those bars to school. YUM!

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  6. @vince - I know right!?!? Good thing I'm still on break til Monday! Once I'm back to work it'll be back to pb&j sandwiches! ;)

    @jennie louise - I love cooking for others, so it works out for everyone. :)

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  7. @bc and becky - it was really good. I'd definitely make it again.

    @hula - Oh ya sc butter beans doesn't sound so good does it? These were amazing, but not the least bit good for you. I'm glad you're going to make the pork as I was waiting for the obligatory pulled pork jokes that usually come up when I share this recipe! ;)

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  8. @Hula - Oh, and I forgot to reply to your caramel comment. Yah, I had a hard time finding the candies too. I ended up having to buy 4 bags of 12 rather than just one large bag. I thought about using a caramel sauce intead too. From scratch will taste better anyways. Next time!

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  9. Jokes? Me? No!!! It's not like you spit roasted the pork! You only gave it a little pull.

    Blane is having a friend over this weekend who is Muslim, so no pulled pork. :( I wonder if I can make it with chicken, beef or lamb instead???

    That thick caramel is really easy to make, but also really easy to burn! LOL I am sure that it would taste much better though, and you could use some pink himalayan salt (just for the pretentiousness of it all).

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