Bird's Nest Bites

A Cook & Garden, Together In The Pacific Northwest

Fresh Fruit Salad Parfaits with Pineapple Greek Yogurt

I was messing around with the idea of fruit salads the other day and was trying think of something other than the ‘just a big bowl of fruit’ or the ‘just a big bowl of fruit with gloppy dressing’ that is often so sweet you can’t taste the fruit.  Here is the end result:  Still plenty of fresh fruit, and the dressing is a pineapple Greek yogurt that is thickened by straining it for a couple of hours.  Fruit is beautiful to look at, so rather than slathering it with the dressing, it’s layered, parfait style.  The Greek yogurt is not super sweet, and since I love pineapple it’s the flavor I chose, but if you’d prefer a different flavor, go for it.  This was really fun to do, and you can pick a couple of kinds of fruit, or several.  If you make this in parfait glasses, it’s fun to mix and match the fruit differently in each one.  If you are feeding a crowd, just grab a large glass bowl and start layering, making sure you’ve got some fruit on top.  It started out as a fruit salad, but also works great for breakfast, a high protein snack, or dessert.

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Roasted Asparagus Crepes with Cheese Fondue Sauce

 

If you ever had any doubt you could make a crepe, I’ve got good news:  If you can make a pancake, you can make a crepe.  In fact, I don’t make a very good pancake (in other words, I’m horrible at it), but for some reason I can fry up a batch of crepes in no time.  Crepes are the ultimate no fuss food.  First of all, the batter comes together in about two minutes in a blender.  It has to rest for at least half an hour before cooking, but I’ve let the batter sit for two days in the fridge before using, just because I got sidetracked with other shiny objects.  While the batter is resting, the asparagus can be tossed in the oven for roasting, and the cheese sauce (also super simple) can be put together.  If you’ve got a good non-stick skillet or cast-iron pan, your crepe cooking will be a cinch, and each one only takes about a minute or two to make. The end result is a light and beautiful bundle with plenty of fresh asparagus and just the right about of what you will swear is cheese fondue, which happens to be something I cannot resist. Fill them, bake them, and chow down.  You will be very proud of yourself, as well you should be.

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Carrot Cake with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting and Roasted Pineapple

Easter will be here before we know it, and itseems to me that one of the best ways to celebrate is with carrot cake – this is because I love to eat them and look for any excuse to do so.  Here you have not just any ordinary carrot cake recipe – it is my mother’s, otherwise known as Neeners.  I think it’s the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten.  Don’t tell her that – I’ll never hear the end of it.  She has had this recipe since time began, and so I had to attempt to decipher it from her well worn, hand written copy.  This was not easy.  I had to call her…”Neeners, your recipe says ‘one half of a medium sized can of pineapple’.  What is a medium sized can?  Is it the size of, oh, let’s say a can of chili beans you would buy at the store?” …..silence….  And then “Go for it.  I don’t think it’s possible to kill this cake”.  Lucky, it worked.  And if you know me well enough by now, you will also know that it is impossible for me to leave a recipe alone – I have to fiddle with it.  In this case, I left the cake alone, but added some caramelized fresh pineapple to top things off.  This whole business is super easy to make, so how about we get this thing done?

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Mushroom & Barley Risotto with Italian Parsley Pesto

There’s still enough of a spring chill in the air to enjoy a hearty, comforting, and cheesy supper.  If you’ve been reluctant to make risotto using the traditional Arborio rice, thinking it sounds too tricky, here’s a solution for you: Risotto made with barley is every bit as satisfying and delicious as that made with rice, but much easier to deal with on the cooking end of things.  Barley doesn’t need to be constantly stirred and fussed over – it’s quite content just to pretty much bubble along all by itself, with an occasional stirring from the cook just to keep things moving.  The end result tastes (and is) wholesome with just the right amount of chewy bite. This version has tons of mushrooms, both sliced and chopped, to amp up the flavor.  And as a salute to spring, the finished dish is topped with a fresh, lemony Italian Parsley Pesto that comes together in minutes.  Toss on some cheese, and you’re home free without even breaking a sweat.

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Frico – A Parmesan Cracker

This quite possibly could be one of the easiest recipes I have ever made, but it never ceases to amaze me and anybody I serve it to. Why? Simple. It tastes incredible, and – it has only one ingredient, which happens to be cheese. It’s really hard to find a cheese hater out there, and even more difficult to find a melted cheese hater. Grate it, bake it, eat it, share some, then hide the rest for yourself.

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Smoked Salmon Hash with Fried Egg

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to create a recipe that would celebrate the Irish.  I’m not a big corned beef fan, so went another direction to capitalize on some of Ireland’s more notable foods.  Here is the result:  A breakfast hash (or dinner for that matter), full of Yukon Gold potatoes and smoked salmon.  I threw in some sweet corn for color, sweetness and texture, and some sautéed peppers for the same reason. And of course, a hash just wouldn’t be a hash without a runny fried egg on top.  Hash is a dish well suited to the use of leftovers, so if you happen to have some leftover potatoes laying around, this comes together in no time.  I’m not sure how this would go with an Irish Coffee, but I’m willing to give it a try.

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Dried Sweet Cherry and Almond Bars

If you happen to be one of those people who need a break from chocolate once in a while or know someone who does, here’s the answer to a non-chocolate prayer.  These bars are rich, with crispy edges and a soft center.  They are literally bursting with tons of sweet, dried cherries and a generous amount of roasted almonds that are added to the dough and sprinkled on top, just to make sure you get a big old crunch out of every bite.  On top of all that, both vanilla and almond extracts have been added to pump up the flavor, and almost give them that homey, Christmas cookie taste I love.  Crispy, chewy, crunchy, and sweet, and I can eat them by the handful.

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No Knead Artisan Bread

 

If you thought you’d never be able to make an artisan loaf of bread at home with a crisp crust, soft center with big air pockets, and an amazing flavor, I’ve got good news – yes you can and it’s easier than you could imagine.  In this recipe, we spend five minutes mixing the dough the day before and allow for a slow room temperature rise overnight. No kneading required! The next day, just form the loaf and let it rise again, then into the oven it goes. An hour later you have a delicious loaf of bread. More good news:  This recipe is very forgiving, so no worries about making a mistake.  The recipe says to let the mixed dough sit for 12-18 hours.  I’ve let it go for 24 hours with no problems.  In fact, the last time I made this, we lost power at our house during the last 15 minutes of baking.  I just let it sit in the oven for that amount of time, and it turned out beautifully.  Make it plain or add chopped olives or some cheese for fun.  Life doesn’t get much better than that.

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Asparagus Soup with Asparagus Noodles & Creme Fraiche

I was so happy to see asparagus back in the supermarket a couple of weeks ago – and at record low prices.  And so, of course, in all of my delirium, I overbought. We had asparagus coming out of our ears and there was an urgent need to figure out what to do with it all, and here is the happy result.  This soup has tons of fresh asparagus, and I mean everywhere.  The soup itself is loaded, the asparagus tops are roasted and used for garnish, and some of the stalks are peeled into ‘noodles’ using a regular old vegetable peeler and tossed into the hot soup at the last minute. This is a game changer, adding some appreciated texture to this creamy concoction as well as an additional flavor boost.  Oh yeah – then we’ve got rich and creamy crème fraiche to drizzle over the whole thing. After all, we do need our calcium….

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Hazelnut, Almond & Raisin Granola with Greek Yogurt & Honey

This has been our family ‘go to’ granola recipe for as many years as I can remember. Full of old fashioned rolled oats, hazelnuts, almonds, raisins and honey, it’s hard to beat.  Back when I was working in an office, I’d keep a Ziplock bag of this stuff in the lunchroom freezer for an afternoon pick-me-up.  Apparently the idea caught on because I noticed my stash disappearing at a rapid rate.  Finally, I had to put a big sign on the Ziplock that said “Whoever you are, please stop HELPING ME eat this”.  It didn’t work and the thief just got sneakier, but I can’t really blame them. Have this for breakfast, or as a topping over yogurt, honey and berries. I love to store it in the freezer and just grab a handful for an on the go snack. You can also stir in some chocolate chips or M&M’s, maybe some other dried fruit, and have a great trail mix.   The recipe makes quite a lot, for obvious reasons.

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