Month: July 2014

Greek Style Zucchini Salad

Well Dined | Greek Style Zucchini Salad

On Monday, I promised you a recipe for the side dish I served with the Garlic Butter Salmon with Dill.  And here it is – a Greek style salad made with shredded raw zucchini, so healthy!  The dill in this dish helps tie it in with the flavors in the salmon (plus it helps me get rid of more dill).

Well Dined | Greek Style Zucchini Salad

The raw zucchini – along with mint, dill, green onions, and feta – is marinated in a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and garlic.  The original recipe recommends chilling for several hours to allow the flavors to meld together, but we found that 30 minutes was enough.

Well Dined | Greek Style Zucchini Salad

This salad is bright and fresh, perfect on it’s own or as a side.  Make it all summer, take it with you anywhere, and enjoy! (more…)

Garlic Butter Salmon with Dill

Well Dined | Garlic Butter Salmon with Dill

I grew a monster dill plant – I’m talking like 3 feet tall with stems as thick as pencils.  So I went to Melissa and begged her to help me use up a ton of dill.  We brainstormed for a bit and came up with this salmon recipe.  I mean, what goes better with dill than salmon?

Well Dined | Garlic Butter Salmon with Dill

This recipe couldn’t be easier – pour melted butter over a flank (or filet) of salmon, spread on minced garlic, top with dill, lemon slices, salt, and pepper.  Then just pop into the oven for 10 minutes, for a regular sized fish.  I picked up salmon from my favorite fish shop (MediterraFish at Mosaic, if you are a local), because their Norwegian salmon is healthy, sustainable, fatty, and HUGE.  Like really, really thick.  So it was more of a 15 minute fish (though I cut off a piece for me a bit early because I like my salmon medium – not quite opaque in the center, but still able to flake).

Well Dined | Garlic Butter Salmon with Dill

The house smelled Ah. Maze. Ing. while this was cooking, and just a few ingredients imparted a lot of flavor.  It would have been just fine on it’s own, but we also made a sauce with sour cream, horseradish, lemon, shallot, and dill that took it to the next level.  So good, simple, and summery – get on it, people, and make this!  Stay tuned for the side dish recipe – Greek style zucchini salad. (more…)

Tomato Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

Well Dined | Tomato Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

Through a combination of being really lazy and really busy, I haven’t been cooking that much at home lately.  Or at least anything new or interesting (I mean, how many vegetable pastas do you want to see, right?).  So I haven’t been posting very frequently, either.  Thank goodness for my lunches with Melissa, from Smells Like Brownies, or I wouldn’t be posting at all!  We made this savory tomato cobbler on a rainy day with terrible lighting, and it was just the right kind of comfort food.

Well Dined | Tomato Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

Caramelized onions and cherry tomatoes get bound together with the help of a little flour, and flavored with balsamic vinegar and fresh basil.  I love using multi-colored cherry tomatoes, so pretty!

Well Dined | Tomato Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

Then the mixture goes into a baking dish and into the oven.  We used the same cast iron skillet that we caramelized the onions in.

Well Dined | Tomato Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

While the tomato mixture cooks, roll out and cut out some biscuits.  The dough, made savory with the help of sharp white cheddar and black pepper, will have been resting in the fridge while the filling was put together.  You want that butter cold in order to achieve maximum flakiness.  We used whey in place of buttermilk, because we will never run out of whey (so much whey). (more…)

Cioppino

Well Dined | Cioppino

It’s time for another collaboration with Smells Like Brownies (although we actually made this back in June, oops!) – not vegetarian this time, but rather pescetarian.  A hearty tomato based broth filled with all kinds of seafood – Cioppino.  Melissa actually chose this dish for her blogging group, the Secret Recipe Club.  For more info on that, check out her post here.

Well Dined | Cioppino

Making the broth takes up the most time in this recipe, but you want to let it simmer and develop deep flavor, so it’s worth it.  Olive oil, garlic, shallot, oregano, and a bay leaf go in first; followed by bell pepper, tomato paste, and red wine.  Oh yeah, and red pepper flakes – watch it here, this is where you determine your spice level.  Next comes canned tomatoes in their juices, clam juice, lemon juice, and veggie broth (not stock).  Let it do it’s thing for 30 minutes before adding in some mussels.

Well Dined | Cioppino

I meant it when I said this soup was full of all kinds of seafood.  While the mussels simmer away; prep the rest of the seafood – scallops, red snapper (or something similar, like halibut), and shrimp.  Who knew a bunch of raw seafood could look so pretty?

Well Dined | Cioppino

After the rest of the seafood is cooked through, top with fresh basil and parsley and dig in.  Serve with some crusty bread for dipping and eat right away!  This Italian stew is perfect for any time of year – hearty and warming, but not heavy – so enjoy! (more…)

Mini Spinach Crustless Quiches

Well Dined | Mini Spinach Crustless Quiches

As promised – what to do with leftover quiche base, if you have any.  Make mini quiches!  So easy and totally portable – once these are cool, you can just pick one up and eat it on the go.

Well Dined | Mini Spinach Crustless Quiches

All you do is thaw some frozen spinach, squeeze the liquid out of it, and split it between mini tart pans or ramekins.  Then sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese, pour the quiche base over it, and bake until set. Voila!  A healthy little snack or breakfast and no wasted custard.

Mini Spinach Crustless Quiches
a Well Dined original
makes 4 mini quiches

1 cup leftover quiche base (from this recipe, for example), or 1 egg mixed with 3/4 cup cream and seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg
10oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Divide the spinach between four mini tart pans or ramekins.  Sprinkle with the cheese, then pour the custard over the top.  Bake at 375 deg F until set, about 15 minutes.

One Year Ago – Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli
Two Years Ago – Strawberry Balsamic Sorbet and Jam
Three Years Ago – CSA Week 6

Tomato, Corn, and Cheddar Quiche

Well Dined | Tomato, Corn, and Cheddar Quiche

Ah, summer – a time for all the fresh produce you can get your hands on.  I particularly like the combination of tomatoes and corn, which you can see here, here, and here.  Add in some herbs from the garden, eggs from the farmer’s market, and a flaky pie crust for an awesome summer quiche.

Well Dined | Tomato, Corn, and Cheddar Quiche

Quiche is best served right around room temperature, so it would be pretty easy to bring this to a potluck or dinner party, as long as it doesn’t sit out for too long (2 hours max) and isn’t out in the heat. (more…)

Red, White, and Blue Sparkling Wine Gelatin Mold

Well Dined | Red, White, and Blue Sparkling Wine Gelatin Mold

I hope everyone had a fun holiday – we certainly did!  We grilled and played games (these ones to be precise) and watched Jaws (the original, duh).  My special contribution (because there always has to be one) was this gorgeous gelatin mold with champagne and fresh berries.  It is light, refreshing, not too strong, and totally gorgeous.  It looks really impressive, but it’s actually pretty easy to make!

Well Dined | Red, White, and Blue Sparkling Wine Gelatin Mold

The base is sparkling wine (I used Prosecco), peach schnapps, plain gelatin, and a little sugar.  I’m trying to be really accurate in my title here, so I had to change it from “Champagne Jello Mold”, which was my first instinct.  Jello isn’t even a real word!  It’s Jell-o, a brand name that got appropriated to mean all gelatin (like Popsicle or Coke, if you live in the south). (more…)