The Walsh Cookbook

Another sunny day in Portland! To celebrate the coming of spring, I wanted to make something with lots of fresh, ingredients and flavors. This recipe is from the "Plenty" cookbook written by Yotam Ottolenghi. The cookbook is entirely vegetable recipes and I can't wait to try more of them out. Marinated mozzarella with tomato is a simple, fresh tasting starters that is easy to make and verrrrrryyyyy rewarding. The mozzarella is marinated in olive oil spiked with fennel seeds, lemon zest, basil and oregano. The tomato breaks up the richness of the mozzarella and makes it one delicious dish! Make sure you buy buffalo mozzarella (the kind that is sitting in the gross cloudy water) or else it won't be as tender.  The foodstyling credit goes to Brendan for his excellent ability to arrange my culinary tornado into an appetizing looking meal (see Brendan, I told you I'd give you credit!). what you'll need: for the marinade: 1/...

We had a sunny day in Portland (insert gasp here!). With the good weather I was inspired to make something that reminded me of summer. This past summer, I became mildly obsessed with Cuban food after eating at the Cuban restaurant, Alma de Cuba, in Philadelphia, PA. I'm salivating just thinking about it! We had perfect empanadas to start with, then delicious Latin cheese bread served with green sauce. For dinner, I ordered the crispy pork served with sour orange mojo (and a mojito of course!). Needless to say, I was hopelessly addicted.   I searched Powell's bookstore in Portland for a suitable Cuban cookbook and came across "Eat Cuban", by Andy Rose and Judy Bastyra which has made me a VERY happy girl.  Inside is a recipe for Cuban rice called "Moros y Cristianos", which in English is "Moors and Christians". The rice has black beans mixed in with the white rice. I'll let you use your imagination as to why they called it tha...

This is the faster, even easier version of Pavlova that uses store-bought little meringue cookies.  I usually do these in wine glasses for pretty individual presentations, but I have also done it in a big trifle-type bowl to take to picnics and potlucks.  We have even done them a few times in clear plastic tumblers for extreme portability and that works just great! what you will need: Store-bought meringue cookies: vanilla or chocolate chip, cut into pieces Whipped cream; whipped to soft peaks, unsweetened Fresh fruit, cut into pieces as necessary A few mint leaves are pretty, too if you have some Layer cookies, cream and then fruit in a large bowl or into individual serving dishes.  Best if done ahead a few hours to allow to soften, particularly since these cookies are baked until crisp all the way through.  That's it!  Can't get any easier or prettier than that! Portable version   And I have to add the gorgeous photo of Erin's version of Pavlova...

Gorgeous spring berries are starting to appear in the markets around here.  They are so wonderful to just eat right out of hand, or to add to salads, cereal, yogurt; but if you want to be a little bit decadent and yet not work too hard, here is a family favorite dessert, Pavlova.  I got this version of this classic dessert (named after a famous ballerina!) from an old dinner group friend, Rochelle Stenquist.  Pavlova  takes a bit of advance planning, but it's really so easy, and so very beautiful and delicious.  It's a beautiful round of meringue that is crisp on the outsides, turning to a soft and kind of pillowy center, covered with a layer of softly whipped cream, then layered with gorgeous berries.  As it sits, the meringue melts a bit into the whipped cream and softens.  The combination is light, not too sweet, and so fresh and wonderful.  If you would like to be really decadent you could add a bit of lovely passion fruit curd, or lemon or...

Cheesy Blasters are a childhood creation of my boyfriend Erik's, so we decided to resurrect them for a delicious, if slightly unhealthy, dinner.  They're the perfect comfort food for a cold night, and we had a big salad too, for a little attempt at a balanced meal. what you will need hot dogs potatoes for mashing milk butter grated cheese salt and freshly ground pepper Preheat your oven to 400F.  Cook and mash the potatoes.  While the potatoes are cooking, cook the hot dogs.  Add milk, butter and salt and pepper to the potatoes, to your own taste.  Butterfly the cooked hot dogs and open them out onto a parchment paper or foil-lined baking tray.  Cover with a layer of mashed potatoes and top with grated cheese.  Bake until cheese is melted and starting to bubble.  Enjoy!

This soup is one of my winter staples because it's really easy, it's really good, and...  I'm a little bit lazy, and really like the delicious payoff for the small amount of work.  Our mom has been making it forever too, and she adapted it from Sarah Leah Chase's "Cold Weather Cooking" which is one in the long list of cookbooks she loves. what you will need 1-2 Tbsp olive oil 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 small onion, chopped 9 cups chicken broth 2 tsp dried italian herb blend 9 oz tortellini 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes packed in puree 8 oz fresh spinach, washed, coarsely chopped salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

I was wasting time bouncing around between cooking blogs when I found this recipe the other day from The Girl Who Ate Everything ( here .)  Orange Creamsicle Cookies, with orange zest and white chocolate chips.  It sounded a little weird, but very delicious, so I made them instead of watching the Superbowl, and I'm pretty sure I made the right choice, haha! what you will need 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 sticks (1 cup) butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbs. orange zest (about 2 oranges) 1 cups white chocolate chips (or vanilla chips, if you can find them)