Cooking Orange

Frittata of Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash and Carrot, etc.1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cubed to 1/2 inch; about 2 cups
2 cups butternut squash, cubed 1/2 inch
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 large or 2 small leek, trimmed, washed and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Dash red pepper flakes
8 eggs
1/2 cup half-&-half or light cream
1/4 lb Gruyere or Swiss cheese, diced
Fresh grated nutmeg; just a bit
1/2 tsp dried dill weed

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large oven-going non-stick skillet, sauté potato for about 5 minutes in a bit of olive oil. then add squash and zucchini and cook for another 15 minutes, or just until the squash softens. Remove to a bowl. Sauté the leek for about 10 minutes then add the garlic and pepper flakes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Whisk together the eggs, cream and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Return all veggies to pan and turn heat to high. Add eggs to pan and let eggs set a bit. Lift eggs and tilt pan to redistribute uncooked egg. I tend to pull in the eggs to the center of the pan like an omelet. Distribute cheese evenly into uncooked egg and sprinkle with dill.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until well browned.

BBQ Buffalo Wings

Ever have trouble deciding whether to go with the BBQ or Buffalo wings? Well this preparation has a bit of the best of both - which is great since this is a food we should enjoy probably only as a rare treat. It's got the smooth, round heat of the Buffalo, with the smokey, sweet of the BBQ. And garlic of course.

Sauce:
3 Tbsp Tabasco
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 stick butter
5 fresh sage leaves, minced
2 tbsp Jalapeno pepper, minced (pickled)

1 dozen wings, trimmed and split

Preheat oven to 400F. Bring wings to room temperature (or the butter will gel on very cold wings). Stir all sauce ingredients together in a glass bowl and microwave for 10-second intervals with stirring, until butter melts. Toss together with wings in a large bowl, and lay out on a baking pan sprayed with a bit of oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 350F and turn wings over. Bake another 10-15 minutes until cooked through and browned.

Apple Flax Pancakes

Our kids love pancakes, but I don't like the simple-carb aspect of regular pancakes. So I beef them up with flax, bran and double the eggs. These will last you until lunch!

Dry ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1 Tbsp milled flax seeds
1 Tbsp wheat bran
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1½ cup milk
½ cup applesauce
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients without over-mixing; a few lumps are okay. Cook pancakes on a non-stick skillet or griddle, being sure not to over-brown, or they will be tougher and less fluffy.

Fillet Mignon Kebobs with Fresh Sage

Any fresh herbs work well for marinating fillet mignon, and if you are out of fresh, use a nice French Herbs de Provence or Italian herb mix. If you don’t have sage leaves, use basil.

2 lb beef filet mignon, tenderloin, cut into 16 1-inch cubes
16 fresh sage leaves
1 large red Bermuda onion, quartered into wedges (16 needed)

Marinade:
1 cup red wine
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced

Heat grill. Whisk marinade ingredients together. Marinate beef for half an hour. Skewer on 3-4 skewers, alternating onion, sage and beef. Salt and pepper to taste. Grill for 3-4 minutes per side.

Eggplant and Lamb Ragout

1 eggplant, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 lb (grass-feed, local) ground lamb (or beef)
1 large or 2 small leek, cleaned and diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried, or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced
2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 10-oz package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, strained, juices reserved
½ cup red wine

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high flame. Add eggplant and heat through with stirring for about 2-3 minutes. Then add a few tablespoons olive oil, tossing to distribute the oil evenly. Continue cooking another 5 minutes or until the eggplant is nicely browned. Set aside in a bowl.

Brown the ground lamb (or beef) in the pan in a bit of oil until cooked well through. Set aside with eggplant. In same skillet, sauté the leek, carrot and celery in a bit of olive oil until softened and beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, rosemary and garlic half way through. Set aside with the lamb and eggplant.

Heat the skillet on high heat and add a bit of olive oil. Tip in the mushrooms and cook without stirring until they begin the release their liquid. Stir and cook about 8-10 minutes total. Tip into bowl with lamb and eggplant. Reheat skillet to high and add a bit of olive oil. Add the strained tomatoes and sizzle for about 8-10 minutes, stirring only every so often, so tomatoes brown a bit and begin to caramelize. Return all ingredients to the skillet, including the wine. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer with stirring. Simmer sauce for at least 30 minutes. Even best if served the next day.