Got this recipe from the last issue of Gourmet (RIP). Really good, satisfying and surprisingly quick! Pictured here with a side of bok choy.

olive oil
1 large eggplant (1-1.5 pounds)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water (note: I accidentally ommited this from recipe when I made it – still good)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 scallions, chopped
1/5 lb ground veal (I couldn’t find so I used meatloaf mix, which includes veal)
2 tbsp dill
flour

Heat oil in skillet. Brown eggplant with a little salt for five minutes. Whisk together tomato paste, sugar, water and vinegar and add to eggplant with about a third of the scallions. Cook on medium low for about 12 minutes.

While that’s going on, mix veal with dill, some salt, the rest of the scallions and a bit of pepper. Form into cakes – the recipe recommends 4, but I went smaller and made seven of them.

Heat oil in another plan. Dust cakes with flour and fry until golden brown. I cooked them about 6 minutes per side.

Serve cakes over a bed of eggplant.

Quick side dish.

mustard greens

1 spoonful dijon mustard

1 spoonful tarragon vinegar

olive oil

chicken broth

Sautee your greens in a bit of chicken broth until desired tenderness. Remove from heat.

Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard together. Pour over greens.

Loved the sauce for this dish (based on Emeril’s recipe). The shrimp I bought from the store, however, were not very good, bringing down the meal a bit. I ate the leftovers sans shrimp.

1 pound linguine
olive oil
1 cup small diced onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 to 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1.5 cups canned tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
salt
chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

Bring a large 1-gallon pot of salted water to a boil, and cook pasta according to directions.

As the pasta cooks, heat oil in pan. Add the onions to the pan and cook about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute another 30 seconds. Add the red pepper flakes and saute briefly before adding the tomato sauce and tomato paste.

Cook the sauce until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in a cup of pasta water and cook a couple minutes more. Remove sauce from heat and toss with pasta.

Adjust seasonings if needed, and add parsley and parmesan.

This recipe tasted good and was convenient, but it won’t be replacing John’s paprikash recipe anytime soon.

1 spray cooking spray
2 cups mushrooms, chopped (I used a wild mix)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
paprika
salt
pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
crockpot

Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic and pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, salt and pepper; cook 30 seconds more. Spoon mixture into slow cooker; add broth.

Cut each chicken breast into strips; add to slow cooker with some more paprika. Cover and cook on low setting for 5 to 6 hours (keep in mind mine cooked over 10 hours. The chicken gets pretty shredded, but it still tastes fine).

Stir together flour and sour cream in a cup; stir into chicken mixture. Cover and cook on low until the mixture is thick and hot, about 10 minutes more. Adjust seasoning if needed.

This was quite a project, but it ended up being a delicious combination. I relied chiefly on these two recipes for inspiration.

For gnocchi

1 regular potato
1 sweet potato
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
olive oil
sage leaves
some salt and pepper

Punch holes in potatoes with a fork. Microwave until soft -7 to 9 minutes.

Cool potatoes slightly, then scrape out flesh and run through a ricer or food mill. Allow to cool completely, spread out on a baking sheet.

Beat together egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Gather potatoes on a mound on sheet. Form a well in center.

Knead egg into potatoes. Knead in cheese and flour, addding more flour if needed, until a sticky dough has formed.

Cut dough into six pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a half inch thick rope. Cut into half inch (or so) pieces. Roll each piece into a little ball – dust with flour.

Shape your gnocchi using a fork. Bring water to a boil.

Cook gnocchi in batches (I did two) by boiling until they rise to the top (a couple minutes), and removing from water with a slotted spoon.

Serve with fried sage leaves (just fry sage in oil for 30 seconds or so) and gorgonzola sauce (below).

For sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 cup cream
8 ounces Gorgonzola, cut into small pieces
A few leaves fresh sage, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter in a large sauce pot with butter, add garlic, cook 2 minutes then whisk in flour, cook 1 minute.

Whisk in stock then cream, bring to a bubble and stir in Gorgonzola, about 2 minutes until melted.

Stir in sage and a little pepper and cook 3 minutes more.

I wanted to make something creepy looking for Halloween. This is what I came up with (got the idea off a Web site).

Baby carrots

cream cheese (not a whole lot)

sliced almonds

1 package sour cream (I used fat free)

1 envelope onion soup mix

Make sure carrots are dry. Use a dab of cream cheese to fasten almonds to carrots to create fingernail effect.

For dip, just combine soup mix and sour cream – or use ranch dressing or a dip of your choice.

This really adds something nice to the flavor of hummus, and is a good use for roasted pumpkin flesh.

1 cup roasted pumpkin

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

2 big spoonfuls of tahini

olive oil to taste

lemon juice from half a lemon or so

salt

2 cloves garlic, chopped

cumin and smoked paprika, to taste

Combine all ingredients except oil in food processor. Blend, adding olive oil as you go, until you reach desired consistency.

Serve with pita chips.

I was kind of at a loss of what to do with my roasted pumpkin left over from carving night, once Halloween rolled around. Chili was already on the menu for the night, so I thought throwing in some pumpkin might be fun.

I don’t know if it was the pumpkin, the meat used, or the spicing, but it turned out to be some of the best chili I ever made.

I used my basic chili recipe (here with venison) as a starting point. I cooked this on the stove, not the crockpot. Here, I used a package of ground pork instead of venison. I used whole tomatoes instead of crushed, and only used a splash of chicken broth. I added a cup of roasted pumpkin to the proceedings with most of the other ingredients, after browning the meat with the onions and garlic. Cooked on low for about an hour, maybe longer.

I roasted some of the pumpkin we cut up for Halloween, and the byproduct made it into two dishes: hummus and chili. Here’s the easy building block that gets you started.

Pumpkin flesh, stringy stuff and rind removed, cubed (about two cups).

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Toss pumpkin with oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet.

Roast for one hour, until caramelized. Save for later use.

One of my pumpkin-themed dishes of the night. I would have gone with regular pumpkin bread, but considering we had rotting bananas around, figured I might as well use both.

I followed the recipe I used for blueberry banana bread with a few changes. One, no blueberries. Also, I used just two bananas, and added a cup of pumpkin (canned). I also added some cinnamon and grated nutmeg to the mix.