Baked Ricotta with Pepper

Took this idea from Donna Hay's Flavors. Cross referenced her with Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Deborah Madison suggested draining the ricotta if it was too runny. I used Organic Valley Ricotta and it seemed dry enough to just use.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Oil a tin or small rectangular pyrex dish.

3. Mix ricotta with lots of freshly ground pepper and whatever herbs you would like. (I stuck with just pepper cuz there were so many other tastes already in the appetizer selection).

4. Pour some olive oil on top.

5. Place in oven. Donna estimated 45 minutes for the ricotta to "set". It took about an hour and 15 minutes. We had lots of stuff in the oven, so most likely that was a factor.

6. Once seems "set", turn out on a baking sheet. (This was super difficult. I had to engineer it a bit to not end up with Ricotta splat). Pour olive oil on top of the ricotta and place back in the oven to allow it to become golden brown. This took about 20 minutes.

7. Getting the Ricotta from the baking dish to a serving platter took me and Uschi together. Double spatula action plate sliding under kind of thing. We sprinkled some chopped parsley on top for looks and served.

Baked Feta with Lavender

B.D. picked us the most beautiful soft tender lavender. Uschi had the idea to use it on the baked Feta. Uschi was in charge of this dish and I think this is what she did, but she will have to double check to make sure I got it right.

1. Mince up the lavender and pour olive oil over it. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3. In a small baking tin, put 2 bricks of Feta. Pour olive oil over them. Cover with foil and put in oven. After about 30 minutes check on the Feta.

4. Pour some good balsamic vinegar on top and allow to bake another 15 minutes.

Simple Butter Lettuce Salad with Herb Lemon Green Peppercorn Dressing

It helps if you have the most beautiful heads of lettuce and herbs picked fresh for you that morning by B.D. His herbs are so tender and delicate just like him.

1. Wash and Dry Lettuce.

2. Mince a big shallot and squeeze meyer lemon juice over it. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before proceeding.

3. Chop up dill, mint, parsley and mix into lemon juice.

4. Mince up fresh green peppercorns and add to mixture.

5. If you are not feeding vegetarians, add some Worcestershire sauce and honey to the dressing. Tonight I did not do this.

6. Add salt and pepper and then whisk in olive oil.

7. Toss dressing over lettuce and serve.

Carrot Ginger Scallion Pancakes

The trick here is adding barely enough egg and flour to hold the carrots together. Uschi and I went through a few batches before it seemed to gel. Simultaneously, the pans seemed to take a little bit to find their heat.

I have never measured the ingredients and have always winged this visually and by taste.
We made enough for a party of 21. There was not one pancake left.

1. Mix together:
- Grated Carrots
- Minced or Grated Ginger
- Thinly Sliced Scallions
- Thinly Sliced Shallots
- Grated Meyer Lemon Rind

2. Add:
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cardamon
- Cumin Seed
- Freshly Ground Pepper
- Salt
- A little sugar to taste

You will need to taste and tweak to your liking.

3. Then add:
- Lemon Juice

4. Separate 4 to 5 eggs. Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form.

5. Turn oven to 200 degrees or so.

6. Mix egg yolks into carrot mixture and very little flour. I usually start with about 1/4 cup and then add from there. Add enough egg whites to get desired consistency.

7. Heat a non-stick skillet. Usually I use a little olive or vegetable oil, but tonight the pancakes did better without any oil, so that was new. Spoon out about a tablespoon or more of the carrot mixture onto pan and flatten out. Depending on the size of your pan, add as many pancakes as you can fit without crowding. Allow to brown on one side before flipping. If they fall apart, you will need to add more flour or egg, tweaking until you get the right balance. (One day I will write the proportions down).

8. Keep pancakes in oven till all are done. Serve with Creme Fresh and Smoked Salmon.

Uschi's Roasted Beets with Kale, Polenta and Carmelized Tomoto Sauce

We will have to convince Uschi to give up this recipe. She is a master at creating vegan yumminess. She understands flavor and texture and the resulting delight when combined just right.

Grilled Rosemary Shrimp on Suateed Spinich

1. Early in day, mix too much mined garlic, lots of olive oil, thyme, fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper together. (Or whatever herbs and spices you have on hand that sound good).

2. Toss with shrimp with shells on and store in fridge till ready to use.

3. Before putting shrimp in skewers, squeeze lemon juice on shrimp and toss. Arrange on Skewers.

4. Grill like Eric does.

5. Meanwhile, while Eric is grilling, in a little olive oil, saute up Steve Sprinkle's amazing beautiful spinach. Add a little minced garlic, stirring. Just before done, add a little balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Arrange spinach on a platter. Pile grilled shrimp on top and serve.

Grilled Scallops on Fennel Orange Salad

1. Start the grill.

2. Prep the giant diver scallops from Ric and Alicia with a little olive oil,pepper and salt. 4 to a skewer.

3. Thinly slice freshly picked fennel super thin and toss with orange zest, fresh orange juice, olive oil, fresh ground pepper and good salt. Arrange on Platter.

4. Finely chop some Tarragon.

5. Grill Scallops Perfectly like Eric does.

6. Arrange scallops on the fennel salad, sprinkle tarragon and serve.