Easter Dinner

Taren made lamb and Ann and Buzz brought scalloped potatoes and greens. Greens turned out to be asparagus with sesame oil and broccoli with almonds. I brought the following

Mac and Two Cheeses with Caramelized Onions

My favorite mac and cheese recipe (probably the goat cheese). I doubled the recipe. I substituted onions for the shallots($$) and added oven dried tomatoes before baking in the oven. It turned out a bit dry, I would add more cheese sauce or less pasta next time.

The Oven-Dried Tomato recipe I got from Jack Bishop's book, The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. It is probably the recipe I use most often from this book. They may be time consuming, and one needs to plan ahead, but they are super delicious and packed with flavor! I never use sun-dried tomatoes anymore! The recipe and intro are as follows:

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Oven-dried tomatoes are quite different from sun-dried ones. Sun-dried tomatoes, even those packed in olive oil, tend to be a bit leathery and have a strong, sometimes harsh flavor. Oven-drying removes much but not all of the moisture, so the tomato halves become very wrinkled but still have some juice in them. The tomatoes can be marinated in olive oil, herbs and/or hot red pepper flakes. If packed in olive oil and refrigerated, they will last about a week.

10 medium plum tomatoes (about 2 lbs)

1/2 tsp of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Set a large cross-woven wire rack over a large baking sheet. trim a thin slice from the stem end of each tomato to remove the core. Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place them cut side up on the rack and sprinkle with salt.

2. Place the baking sheet in the oven. Oven-dry the tomatoes until they are wrinkled and greatly reduced in size, 6 to 7 hours. Do not dry them completely; some moisture should remain.

3. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool the tomatoes completely. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. (Dried tomatoes can be refrigerated for several days. Bring the tomatoes to room temperature before using.)

I used 3 lbs of tomatoes and then quartered them once dried and cooled for the mac and cheese. I also use them in my dijon alfredo pasta and any other recipe i might use sun-dried tomatoes.

Eggplant Salad with Basil Dressing
This turned out delicious! I layered some roasted peppers with the eggplant when I plated. This added nice color contrast and sweet flavor. Next time I might take a reviewer's advice and add some crumbled goat cheese on top and serve with a crusty bread for a main course.

Here is the recipe with all my modifications:

Ingredients:

• 
  
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, chopped and mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, washed well and spun dry
• 2 large eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds each), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 3 bell peppers (i used one red, one yellow, and one orange), cut in half through core, cored and seeded (can substitute jarred roasted peppers)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Preparation:

Preheat broiler.

In a blender, blend oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic paste, and half of basil until smooth.

Arrange bell pepper halves on cookie sheet and place under broiler until skin is charred, about 15 minutes. Place in covered bowl or paper bag and allow to steam and cool. Peel skin from peppers and cut into strips.

Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on cookie sheets. Reserve 1/4 cup dressing. Brush eggplant slices with remaining dressing on both sides. Broil about 4 inches from heat until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn slices and broil until golden, 5 to 7 minutes more. Transfer eggplant slices to a plate to cool and broil remaining eggplant slices in same manner.

Arrange eggplant, bell pepper strips, and remaining basil on a platter. Drizzle salad with reserved dressing and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Orange Molasses Sweet Potatoes

For these I used only 2 lbs of sweet potatoes but made the normal amount of orange molasses sauce. They turned out pretty mushy but when i reheated in Taren's oven at 350 for about 30 minutes, they got nice and chewy and caramelized.

Chocolate Strawberry Tart with Walnut Crust
This turned out very rich and delicious! It definitely didn't need 2 pints of strawberries to top tart with! Only about a cup or 2. I would use more jam next time and would like to add a peanut butter layer.

and I made Strawberry Jam from scratch.

Alex brought Deviled Eggs

The recipe is from my mom, who I think got it from my aunt. Per my request, Alex doubled the mustard and used the low end of the horseradish. I am not a huge horseradish fan but these are ok with the extra mustard.