• Marcy Erhard, BEST OVERALL - Asparagus w/ Fresh Corn Slaw
• Jeanne Chen, BEST USE OF THEME - Wilted Market Greens w/ Israeli Cous Cous, Raw Milk Goat Cheese & Pine Nuts
• Suzanne Fass, BEST TASTE - Posole w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Celeriac with Ramp Pesto
• Polly Talbot, BEST PRESENTATION - Grilled Escarole w/ Beans
• Kathy Blake, BEST DESSERT - Lemon Blueberry Tart

Thanks to all members for their contributions of delicious dishes!

Marcy Ekhard, Best Overall
Asparagus & Corn Slaw with Smoked Almonds
No cooking required!

4 ears of fresh sweet corn (kernels cut from cob)
2 bunches fresh asparagus (peel woody stems)
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon, or to taste
1/2 cup smoked almonds (or other favorite nut, toasted)

1. Thinly slice asparagus -- pieces shouldn't be bigger than about 1/4 inch.
2. Combine fresh corn kernels and sliced asparagus in bowl.
3. In separate bowl, combine olive oil, Dijon, vinegar and lemon and wish until smooth.
4. Add vinaigrette to corn and asparagus and toss to coat.
5. Add sea salt and ground pepper to taste.
6. Chop almonds, coarsely. Add to rest of mixture right before serving.

Note: Can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated. Add nuts right before serving so they don't get soggy.


Jeannie Chen, Best Use of Theme
Wilted Market Greens with Israeli Couscous and Aged Goat Cheese Salad

1 3/4 cups dried Israeli couscous
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/4 cups water
5 tops of spring onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch beet greens, cut into 1/2-inch segments (about 4-5 cups)
1 bunch Swiss chard, cut into 1/2-inch segments (about 4-5 cups)
2 to 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (adjust to your taste)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup of pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/4 lb. aged raw milk goat cheese (or other aged goat cheese), coarsely grated

1. In a 2 quart pot, toast the couscous in 2 Tablespoons oil. Add the water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, bring to boil and cook on a simmer, covered, for 12 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, set aside.
2. In a 12-inch skillet, with remaining oil, cook the sliced spring onions on medium heat until golden brown. Add the vegetables and toss until wilted, season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat.
3. Add the cooked couscous, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and toasted pine nuts. Toss well and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool a bit before adding the cheese. Serve at room temperature or cooled. Serves 8 to 10

Copyright © 2010 Jeannie Chen

Suzanne Fass, Best Taste
Posole with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Celery Root; Ramp Pesto
The inspiration for the dish was a post on Mouthfulsfood.com from blogger whatwouldcathyeat . Cathy was looking for a spicy vegetarian posole. Posole is hominy -- whole corn kernels that have been processed with lye -- the stuff that is ground for grits. It is available canned in the supermarket, but I prefer to buy it dried, and I prefer to buy it from Rancho Gordo . (He’s a friend, yes, but his products are great!) Normally I cook posole the Mexican way, with chicken and/or pork broth and meat, and serve it as a soupy main dish. This way, it could be a main or a side.

Here's what I did to make about a gallon of the stuff, enough for many, many servings:
1. Soaked 1 pound of posole in water (in the fridge) for about 36 hours. (Overnight is a minimum; I left it longer because I didn’t have time to get it cooking. If I’d soaked it for a shorter time, I wouldn’t have refrigerated it.)
2. Cooked the posole in a mix of corn stock, peapod stock, and extra water as needed. (Not much extra, as I didn't want it to be soupy at the end. And all water would have been okay, too.) It simmered for about 2 hours; less fresh posole can take up to 3 hours. (“Done” means that some of the kernels have split open, and you can chew the kernels without breaking a tooth.) Added salt after it was done.
3. Peeled and diced 3 medium sweet potatoes. Tossed with olive oil, S&P.
4. Peeled and diced 2 medium celery roots. Tossed with olive oil, S&P.
5. Roasted the sweet potatoes and celery root, spread out on a sheet pan, at 450ºF for about 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
6. Reheated the posole and roasted vegs with 1 cup of caramelized onions (from a big batch done in the slow cooker with a stick of butter).

Obviously, this would not be spicy. To give it some zip, I made a pint of ramp pesto:
1. Blanched the leaves from 2 bunches of ramps. Cooled quickly and squeezed out extra water.
2. Combined the leaves in the food processor with a couple of handfuls of blanched almonds, 3 garlic cloves, S&P, and some crumbled cotija cheese (the closest thing I had to Parmesan).
3. Processed everything with grapeseed oil to lubricate.
The pesto was sharp from the garlic (the ramp leaves were much tamed by blanching). If I’d used whole ramps, I probably would have needed only a few raw bulbs, and no garlic.

Polly Talbot, Best Presentation
Grilled Escarole and White Bean Salad
We’ve been using this fabulous Food and Wine recipe for Grilled Escarole in our grilling classes since we opened in 1999. It’s always a hit! I’ve played around with it a little, but not much (I added the roasted red peppers); it adds nice variety to an array of grilled foods!!

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 (15 ounce) cans white cannelini beans, rinsed, drained and slightly mashed*
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
3 large heads escarole, quartered, but with core intact
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the garlic and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is just golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer the garlic and oil to a small bowl and stir in the lemon zest and juice with the thyme. Stir in beans, peppers and parsley.
2. Heat the grill or a large grill pan or cast-iron skillet. Brush the escarole with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill, turning once, until the leaves are wilted and slightly charred. Transfer to a platter.
3. Spoon the beans over the escarole and serve warm or at room temperature.
* Or use dried beans. If using dried beans, cover the beans with water and let them soak overnight. Drain the beans and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add 6 cups of water and the thyme (use about 4 sprigs and there's no need to remove it from the stems); bring to a boil. Cook the beans over moderately low heat until tender, about 1 hour; drain. Transfer to a bowl and let cool; remove thyme stems. Proceed as directed in step 1.
Makes 12 servings

Recipe by: Food & Wine January 1999
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-escarole-and-white-bean-salad

Kathy Blake, Best Dessert
Lemony Blueberry Tart
This was developed for the US Highbush Blueberry Council (I work on PR for them!) and it's one of my favorites.
1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust
1 cup mascarpone cheese or 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons lemon curd, divided (purchased or homemade from recipe below)
2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Press the pie crust into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, or leave in the original aluminum pie tin. With the tines of a fork, pierce the bottom and sides. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together cheese and 3 tablespoons of the lemon curd until smooth. (If mixture is too thick to spread, stir in a small amount of milk.) Spread mixture in the bottom of the cooled tart shell. In a medium-size bowl, gently stir the blueberries and the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon curd until thoroughly combined. Spoon the blueberries evenly over the mascarpone layer. Cover and chill 2 hours. To serve, remove the sides of the tart pan if used; cut into wedges.
Makes 8 servings

Microwave Lemon Curd
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup lemon juice
zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup melted butter
pinch salt

In a 1-quart glass measuring cup or bowl, stir sugar, eggs and yolks. Add lemon juice, zest, butter and salt. Microwave at 1 minute intervals, stirring between each until mixture bubbles up and is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes. It will thicken as it cools. Strain through a fine sieve. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. Makes about 1 1/2 cups

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