spinach and ricotta "soufflé"

I made an excellent turkey lasagna, and had a lot of leftover ricotta cheese. Clearly I couldn't let good ricotta cheese go to waste, so I created this dish. It was great with a salad of mixed greens (with a Dijon vinaigrette) and a glass of wine for dinner, but even better for breakfast over the next few days, sliced and reheated in the microwave, with a piece of whole wheat toast.

spinach and ricotta “soufflé”
serves 4 for dinner

4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 T olive oil
10 oz fresh baby spinach
2 c ricotta cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 T chopped fresh dill

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch soufflé dish.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Cook the spinach until wilted, then chop and cool completely. Squeeze out excess moisture.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, salt and pepper until blended. Mix in the spinach, then add the remaining ingredients, and stir until blended.

Pour the mixture into the soufflé dish and smooth the top. Bake, uncovered, for one hour, or until the center is firm.

blueberry muffins

I know the name of this blog is "dinner with lindsay" not "breakfast with lindsay", but these blueberry muffins are still worthy. The recipe comes from an obscure cookbook called "From Moose to Mousse", given to me by my Mainer brother who picked it up at a store called Marden's - Maine's equivalent of Building 19 or Big Lots. Certainly best with fresh summer blueberries but also great with frozen - just cut the amount of frozen berries to 3/4 cup.

blueberry muffins
makes 12

1 large egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (or a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose, up to 3/4 c. whole wheat)
1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat egg, milk, and oil together lightly with a fork. Mix the dry ingredients together, and add to the egg mixture. Stir until just combined.

Add berries to the batter and stir until just mixed in.

Pour batter into a standard 12 cup muffin tin, lined with paper liners or buttered. Fill each cup halfway. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

corkscrew pasta with caramelized onions, swiss chard, and fontina

This pasta dish is perfect for a cold winter night.

I used cellantani pasta which is almost identical to cavatappi. Gemelli would be the next best substitute, I think.

Wine pairing: a California Zinfandel. I drank Jed Steele's Shooting Star Zinfandel from Mendocino County.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb corkscrew pasta
1 1/2 T. unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced thin
pinch of dried thyme
1 medium bunch of Swiss chard, removed from stalks and chopped into smaller pieces
8 oz fontina cheese, shredded
pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, per package directions. (If you overcook it a little, don't sweat it - I got a couple of phone calls during the pasta cooking and missed al dente by a minute, and it turned out fine. PS - who makes phone calls anymore?) Drain the pasta and set aside,

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil a 3 qt glass or ceramic baking dish or lasagna pan.

Melt the butter in a medium saute pan, over med-high heat. Add the onions and stir to coat with butter. Cook, without stirring, for several minutes until the onions start to brown. Sprinkle with a pinch of dried thyme (if you're fancy, you can certainly use fresh herbs). Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized, about 20-25 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and cook until the chard is softened, about 3-5 minutes.

Put the onion and chard mixture into a large bowl and mix with the drained pasta. Mix in about 3/4 of the shredded cheese, as well as a small amount of salt and pepper (only a small amount - Fontina is salty). Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 of the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.