February's Theme...

Foods inspired by seasonal produce!

I'm not really sure what foods are in season this time of year.  Oh, the wonders of fossil fuels, which allow us to transport produce to place on the other side of the world. 

Luckily, Lindsay provided us this website to help get the creative juices flowing.  Dinner is Saturday.  Pictures and recipes to follow. 

Stay tuned....  (I like that sign off.)

Art-o-Round?

It seems there could be "spin-off" of sorts from our wildly successul dine-o-round tradition.  Lindsay conceived the idea and has tentatively named it the "art-o-round."  So, in addition to our monthly dinners, we may also begin monthly gatherings to work on various arts and crafts projects.  Possible future art-o-round projects could include wreath making, crocheting, and Jackson Pollock-inspired paintings.  Okay.  I made the last one up, although they are a hit with elementary school students.  Anyway, I look forward to this new venture into being artistic and hope to post updates about this project on the dine-o-round blog.  Until next time....

January 2010- Casseroles

Last Saturday night Lindsay, Libby, and Jay gathered at my house so we could share our casserole creations for January's dine-o-round.  (Andy, sadly, was suffering from a sprained ankle and spent the evening recuperating at home.)  We indulged in three cheese baked pasta, caesar salad, vegetable casserole, and blackberry cobbler.  All the dishes were delicious!

Three Cheese Baked Pasta

Caesar Salad

Vegetable Casserole

The main course and side dish

Another view of the entree and sides

Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream

Thank you, Libby, for the beautiful pictures!

(I think we need a clever sign off for this blog.  Something along the lines of "bon appetit."  Ideas?)

Casseroles--The Recipes

Three Cheese Baked Pasta--Courtesy of All Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked pasta
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 1/2 cups tomato pasta sauce (not to be confused with tomato paste)
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook ground meat and onion in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until meat is browned. Stir in pasta sauce, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer the ingredients in the prepared baking dish as follows: half of the cooked pasta, all the provolone cheese, all the sour cream, half of the sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.


Tomato Vegetable Casserole--Courtesy of Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Toss the potato, yam, bell pepper, carrots, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan.

3. Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture. Arrange the zucchini over the onion. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini.

4. Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil.

5. Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender, and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs, if desired.

  

Berry Cobbler Recipe Adjusted from Eleanor Wollenzien’s recipe

Put the following in a pan and heat through:

• 2 12-oz pkg raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, peaches (or other fruit or your choice)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Mix 1/4 c cornstarch with water until easy to stir. Add this to the fruit mixture.
• Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Pour into a 2 L pyrex glass pan,

 In a separate bowl mix:

•  1/2 c white sugar
•  1/2 c brown sugar
•  1 c flour
•  10 T (1.25 sticks) melted butter
•  1 egg

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto berry mixture and without pushing too hard, try to spread evenly.

Bake cobbler 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm. May top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.