Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes with Pesto and Goat Cheese

I love stuffed peppers but plenty of people seem to think tomatoes are totally interchangeable when it comes to a meal of filled vegetables.  There are about as many stuffed tomato recipes as there are stuffed pepper recipes so there must be something good there.  I didn't want to use the same recipe I usually make for stuffed peppers (rice-based, either Southwestern or Greek flavors).  If I was going to change the vehicle, I was going to change the recipe.  Since I always stuff them with rice, the first change was to use quinoa.  Then I just looked for the easiest quinoa stuffed tomato recipe I could find.

While the quinoa is cooking, hollow out tomatoes, sprinkle some salt inside, and turn them upside down on a paper towel to draw out the extra moisture.  Once the quinoa is cooked, stir in prepared pesto and crumbled goat cheese.  Spoon the mixture into the tomatoes and bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes.  I like putting a couple extra goat cheese crumbles on the top with a little lemon zest.  The cheese will get a little brown while cooking, which makes the dish extra pretty.

3 on Thursday

I'm glad I had two relaxing nights at the beginning of the week because I have been busy since last night.  With the rest of the week/weekend being filled by dinners, volunteering, and a visit from Liz, I'm busy but happy.

1. My friend Marilyn is lucky enough to have a balcony off her room with a sick view of the East River/Long Island City.  I would love staring at that Pepsi sign each night.  I got to see a similar view from Riverpark restaurant last night, whose bar serves as this week's background.
2. Ubons is a famous bbq restaurant that has branched out into the bloody mary game.  Their mix is nice and smoky - great for tailgating.
3. I was so happy to have my first ever trick or treaters a week ago!  There aren't a ton of kids in my building but they were adorable - it's quality not quantity.  

Carnitas Tacos

This year was the first year I had trick or treaters.  Ever.  When I was younger, I was always the one going door to door for candy and once I was old enough to stay home and answer the door, my family had moved to a house that stood all by itself.  No neighborhood means no trick or treaters.  After college, I lived in walk up buildings for five years so there was no opportunity to pass out candy.  When I moved into my current building, equipped with doorman, elevator, and all owned apartments, I thought last year would be my chance.  But no, Halloween was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.  I was devastated.  Thankfully I had about 15 pounds of leftover candy to ease the pain.  You'd think I was a pedophile based on how badly I want to hand out candy to children.

But this year was the year.  I was so excited to finally have costumed children knock on my door that I wanted to make a little event out of it.  I invited Albert over and we had taco night.  He brought chips, queso, and Mexican beers while I made carnitas (pulled pork) in the slow cooker.  I used this recipe as a base and made a few small tweaks like adding chopped onions and the juice of a lime.  It really did fall off the bone in the most delicious way.  It was the perfect recipe to cook because the crock pot did it's magic while I was at work so I didn't need to be in the kitchen when the kiddies came a knockin'.  All I had to do when I got home was prep the fixins.  For the side dish I threw some rice in the rice cooker and warmed up a can of black beans on the stove (adding salt, pepper, and my Mom's secret, dried oregano).  Then I filled lots of little bowls with taco toppers.  Avocado, tomato, sour cream, hot sauce - those are all standard.  There are a few more I highly recommend throwing out there to have a supreme taco bar: queso fresco (the white crumbly Mexican cheese), cilantro, and sliced radishes.  If you serve those ingredients with mini corn tortillas, your tacos will seem way more authentic.  Trust.

One parent taking her children around asked what we were cooking and told us three times how good it smelled.  I really thought I was going to have to set another place at the table.  If she thought it smelled good, it tasted that much better.  The meat was super flavorful but didn't require any ingredients uncommon to my pantry.  It's also a really cheap cut of meat so you can make this whole meal to serve four people for about $5/person.  The kids got candy, but this meal was a treat for us adults.  I use the term adult loosely.

Scallops and Herb Butter Pasta

My brother is a great eater.  If you go to a restaurant with him, he'll order the most out-there item on the menu.  Vegetables pose no threat to him and strange food combinations are exciting rather than gross.  But that wasn't always the case.  Growing up, my brother's diet consisted of three items: chicken fingers, peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly), and pasta with butter.  How boring.  It took about 22 years, but I'm glad my brother grew out of his picky eater phase.  He may, however, have been onto something with the pasta and butter.

I had some leftover garlic and herb butter from my radish and herb butter toasts that I wanted to use up and some linguine in the pantry.  Not only was I able to avoid wasting the butter, I was able to build a recipe that required almost zero effort, a necessity since I knew it was going to be a late night at work.  After the pasta was cooked, I tossed it with the garlic herb butter, salt, and pepper.  Tons of flavor, no work.  I said it in the radish and herb butter toast post, but I want to reiterate how easy it would be to make this butter yourself.  Basil, parsley, chives, and garlic.  Yum.

I topped the pasta with four large scallops.  Are you a little afraid of cooking scallops?  I was, too.  They always seemed to come out over or under done.  Fear no more because I've mastered it.  If you follow these steps, they will be perfection.  1) Pat the scallops dry 2) sprinkle with salt and pepper 3) once butter has melted in a pan (medium-low to medium heat) add scallops 4) cook two minutes per side.  That's it.  Two minutes is the magic number here.  And don't move them around in the pan.  If you let them sit, the butter will give them those yummy brown sides.

I give my Bubba some credit.  This version of butter pasta with scallops is a great meal.

Monday Reads

1. Fashionably late has become the new on time and obnoxiously late has become somewhat acceptable. I hate it and am embarrassed that I have been an offender. My main new year's resolution is to be on time. It's punctual for me from now on.
2. Amazon/Kindle is staying a step ahead by getting into the content creation game with their new literary magazine.
3. It's nice to have a pattern on a bag that's not part of a brand's logo. This guide is great for inspiration.
4. This ad is causing a stir in India. The brand is going out on a limb by saying neither second marriage nor dark skin tone is something to be ashamed of or treated differently. And it's really sweet.

Caramelized Onion Dip

The day before last week's book club I Googled "make ahead appetizers" and the first article to pop up was "6 Make-Ahead Appetizers" at realsimple.com.  I've made many a Real Simple recipe that turned out great so I knew I was bound to find something easy and delicious there.  I was drawn to the caramelized onion dip because I'm a fan of caramelized onions...but really because this recipe looked dummy-proof.

This recipe doesn't really require any work; it just takes time.  35 minutes total.  Don't try to speed up the caramelization process, the onions will just burn.  Low and slow is the motto here.  I hope you like the smell of caramelized onions (I do) because your apartment will smell like them for two days.  The dipping vehicle makes a difference here, too.  I stumbled upon waffle cut Cape Cod kettle chips, which were even thicker than a normal kettle chip.  Thickness is key.  (That's what she said - nailed it.)  Vegetable chips (like taro) would also be great with this.  I was concerned I made too much but the whole batch was gone by the end of book club.

  

Madison Bar and Grill

Madison Bar and Grill does a crazy brunch buffet with seafood, eggs benedict, hanger steak, a chocolate fountain, and more.  It's $25 and comes with a cocktail and unlimited coffee.  It can be a bit overwhelming so when Steph and I met at this uptown Hoboken establishment, we ordered off the regular menu (the fact that it was 2 PM and we wanted non-breakfast food had something to do with it, too).

I'm not knocking the buffet, but by ordering off the regular menu we got to try the french onion soup dumplings.  The onion-filled dumplings came in an escargot dish and were topped with a generous layer of gruyere.  They were as good as I hoped.  We both ordered the cobb salad for our entree, and I liked that they served it with a light vinaigrette instead of a thick dressing.  Solid continental food with a live jazz trio playing in the corner is a great way to spend a Sunday.