Bird's Nest Bites

A Cook & Garden, Together In The Pacific Northwest

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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Double Chocolate and Pistachio Blondies

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’m baking a batch or two of Double Chocolate & Pistachio Blondies for delivery to some special people in my life.  Here we have a dough that is very much chocolate chip cookie like, but instead of forming cookies, the whole works is scooped into a 13×9 inch baking pan. This special treat contains a full package of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the batter, along with a hefty amount of chopped pistachio nuts.  And then –  just to make the point of it all – a big handful of dark chocolate chips and additional nuts are patted into the top of the dough. The result is heavenly – crisp edges for those edge loving people on your list, and an almost gooey center for those of that persuasion.  My mother, Neeners, proclaimed “Do not waste your time making cookies anymore – just focus on these.  My gawwwd, they put cookies to shame.”  I’ll let you judge for yourself, but I tend to agree.

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Crab Cakes with Lemon & Dill Tartar Sauce

 

We are squarely in the height of Dungeness Crab season, and it would be a crying shame not to take full advantage of that beautiful bounty.   While many people prefer to dine straight from the shell, I do not possess the patience for that endeavor, and so I buy shelled crab and make Crab Cakes.  This recipe makes about one dozen, and in my experience four adults easily polished them off. However, I eat like a horse and so do my friends, so this may not be a completely accurate assessment of portions. Tons of crab, and just enough other ingredients to bind it all together and provide some color and texture. To top it all off, there’s a tartar sauce that is vibrant with lemon, briny with caper juice, and chocked full of fresh dill to round it all off.  Makes me think about a day at the beach…

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Hasselback Potatoes with Fresh Rosemary and Provolone & Machengo Cheese

Have you joined the hasselback potato craze yet? I feel as if I am late to that particular party but have finally joined in on the fun.  A hasselback potato is just a potato that has been very thinly sliced about 2/3 of the way down, all the way across, then roasted.  The slices open up during roasting, kind of like the petals of a flower.  This equals to a crispy crust and soft interior, looking quite handsome and tasting as good as they look.  You can add whatever you like to the potato tops, and in this case I thought we’d go for some fresh rosemary and a cheese blend of Machengo and Provolone.  They are quick and easy to make, and look like they take a whole lot more effort than they do, which is a big win-win in my book.  Check out the recipe below and I’ll show you how it’s done.

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