Okay guys, Brussel Sprout season is coming to an end, so I wanted to give them a little tribute since I love them so much. I know they have a pretty bad reputation out there. I also know I am talking to people who really appreciate food – so I am guessing you guys are a little more open minded about these cute little mini-cabbages and probably there are many of you reading this right now that also adore this vegetable! However, I am sure there are a few of you who are turning their nose up as we speak. So just hear me out, okay?

Lately I have seen lots of recipes out on the net targeting people who hate Brussel Sprouts – so here I am to give you a few more
recipes for your arsenal to welcome the members of the brassica (Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and cabbages) family onto your plate.

First, is my classic recipe where I just steam them and then throw them in a pan to sautee with onions, garlic and toss with a home made honey mustard vinaigrette. Sometimes I add a bit of bacon when I am sauteeing and it is a delicious side dish or main meal. I love this recipe so much, I got into the habit of making Brussel sprouts this way all the time – so I decided we needed to change it up a bit. So I did. I had a bunch of little bits of stuff in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I went with that as my inspiration.

This new way is even better than my old way and you will love it too!

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I love polenta – it is total comfort food and a great base for a variety of vegetables and great with tomato sauce and cheese. My favorite way to make polenta is with sundried tomatoes, olives, cheese and spinach – put it in the fridge until it gets hard, dust it with flour and pan fry in olive oil. Served with a hearty tomato sauce it is really one of the best things to eat. This time though, I didn’t feel like frying the polenta – I wanted something lighter but still comforting and flavorful, so I decided to use the polenta rectangles as a base for lasagna. It was really good and something I will certainly make again.

This is also my contribution to Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita ’s Event: Festa Italiana. All Entries due March 22nd. Please click on either of their links for participation guidelines!

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Soup doesn’t always have to be a long and involved process. I love quick and easy soup recipes using things I normally have stocked away in my pantry and fridge – that’s what being the LeftoverQueen is all about, right? I love spending hours experimenting in the kitchen but sometimes even I am in a rush and need a quick but healthy meal. To me soup is the opposite end of the coin from salad - both use lots of veggies and healthy ingredients - just one is hot and one is cold. Here is one of those easy, healthy and delicious recipes straight from the pantry!

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Here is a Leftover Queen classic! Remember all those greens from the Farmer’s Market several week ago?

Well even with all my recipes that week, I still couldn’t use all the greens, so I washed some and stored them away in the freezer. I also had leftover tomatoes in juice from the Imam Bayildi and then there was the issue of random pieces of veggies in my vegetable bin. I also had purchased a small piece of lamb shoulder at the store, perfect for soup. I went into the pantry and found a can of cannellini beans and a package of rice pilaf. Put this all together and what do you have – an AWESOME stew. I am telling you guys, the flavors in here really really rock. It’s got a bit of the Middle East happening in here since I spiced it up with Sumac and Za’atar, a dash of coriander and a bay leaf and the world is a warm bowl of stew. We ate some for dinner, had it for lunch the next day and put the rest in the freezer for next week, so we can have leftovers of leftovers!

Here’s what I did.

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Mushrooms were on sale this week – two for one. There was some phyllo dough in the fridge needing use. Recently I saw Michael Chiarello make a mushroom tart and a plan came together. I love mushrooms, they are rich and satisfying and can easily be the focal point of any dinner as they are a wonderful and healthy substitute for meat. They stand up to spicy and flavorful sauces and give an earthy balance to anything you can cook up. This tart was savory and delicious. I ate two pieces and easily could have had more because it tasted so good. The fresh pepper and nutmeg gave the mushrooms even more earthiness and went well with the tangy-ness of the Greek yogurt. This is a perfect dish for those crisp fall days that are upon us!

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We needed to go to the store BAD. There was just nothing in the house to eat. I could hear an echo in the fridge when I closed the door for about the 5th time, hoping that if I opened it again, I would find inspiration in the worst of times. Afterall, what kind of Leftover Queen was I if I was not able to find SOMETHING to eat! It was lunch hour and our stomachs were growling. I needed to make something, that was obvious, but what? Open the fridge…AGAIN… stare for a few minutes MORE. I was beginning to feel rather stumped and annoyed with myself for lacking all this food creativity. Hurumph.

Wait. Today was the day that my Honey Hazelnut Semifreddo had been made and we had leftover eggs that did not whip properly and they needed to be used - not gonna waste 3 egg whites on my watch! There was also some bread in the fridge and cream cheese, thoughts of lunch were beginning to form. Somewhere recently we had heard about stuffed French toast and it sounded really good, but we needed something else to round out this meal. One quick look in the freezer and there it was – Frozen mango! Perfect. Mango Stuffed French Toast!

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Here is a quick reminder that the voting for this month’s Royal Foodie Joust challenge is underway. So please stop by the forum to place the vote for your favorite!

Now on to Ratatouille!

Ratatouille is the perfect summer dish as it incorporates all of the season’s bountiful vegetables like eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers so it is a perfect way to close out the summer, which is quickly drawing to an end. For those with a nightshade allergy or sensitivity this is the worst thing you can eat, but for those of us fortunate enough not to have that issue, it is a welcomed treat and a solution to a surplus of summer vegetables.

Ratatouille, besides being the name of a wonderful movie, it is a traditional French Provencal comfort food - a dish of stewed vegetables. It can be served as it is with a nice crusty bread for scarpetta – the Italian word for “sopping up the juices” or wiping your plate clean with a piece of crusty bread – something I am a pro at! Clearly the Italians are smart to actually have one word to describe this phenomenon! Or you can serve your ratatouille as a filling for crepes, or over pasta for a wonderful change of pace. This recipe can be modified in one hundred different ways. We had some leftover juices from a Chicken Chianti I did (will be posting that recipe soon) and so I used this as a base to stew the vegetables in. I also added some sun dried tomatoes for an extra sweet and summery element. Bon Appetite!

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This is my entry for this month’s Royal Foodie Joust!
The ingredients for this month’s challenge are:
chipotle peppers, zucchini and buttermilk.
The three items were picked by Marye of
Apron Strings and Simmering Things who was the Joust’s winner last month.

My inspiration for this dish is my love of spicy condiments and my love of all things Mediterranean. Harissa is a North African spicy pepper relish, often found in many forms on the streets of Tunisia. I love Harissa and usually get around to making it once a year. It is a wonderful treat gotten with quite a bit of culinary effort and time, but it is worth it. I keep telling myself that I really need to make a bigger batch next time, but always forget! Maybe next year!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this dish! The fritters are nice and crispy on the outside and deliciously creamy on the inside, topped with the spicy Harissa and the cooling Greek yogurt it is a perfect combination!

If you want to join us this month for the Royal Foodie Joust, Click Here
for the details or just stop by the Leftover Queen’s Forum!

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