Finally, I saw “Julie and Julia”. It was a good movie, and I am definitely inspired to tackle a few of Julia Child’s recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I also got an enamel cast iron casserole for Christmas, ready for action. So there is my second goal of 2010: to make a few truly special French recipes using ingredients like real butter.

Another recipe that sounds like it should be fried, but isn’t, and another winner from Hungry Girl! This recipe for butternut squash fries was simple, and I even dragged out my crinkle cutter to make them look a little prettier. You do need to be patient while they are in the oven, but it’s worth it.

It just wouldn’t be a family dinner at my house without some kind of “project”, so to accompany the braciole, we made homemade whole wheat pasta. You don’t need a pasta machine and the ingredients are very simple. The hardest part is rolling the dough out thin enough, and then cutting narrow pieces; it requires time and patience. But we were rewarded with fresh homemade pasta, and with a little sauce and Parmesan, dinner was served. This pasta definitely has a whole wheat taste which I personally like, but keep this in mind if you are feeding a crowd that isn’t accustomed to whole wheat.

I have made many variations of roasted vegetables using this basic recipe from Lipton. This version included onion, butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, green beans, and Japanese eggplant. It was a great mix of colors, but some vegetables cook quickly and others, like the carrots, take more time. While this makes a good side dish, I have also stuffed the vegetables into a pita pocket with a slice of cheese for a quick lunch.

I’ve made plenty of fries before with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and even zucchini, but this is the first time for parsnips. I was inspired by this recipe from Gourmet, although I didn’t end up making the roast chicken, just the fries. It was really easy, I tossed the parsnips with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted them for about 25 minutes. In a small frying pan, I heated a teaspoon more of olive oil with a splash of vinegar and a dash of cayenne pepper and drizzled the sauce over the fries when they came out of the oven. I liked the flavor of these a lot, but still couldn’t resist dipping them in ketchup.

No one was harmed while making this recipe, but there was quite a bit of smoke coming from the oven! You definitely want to keep a close watch when your oven is at 500F. The end result though was a great broccoli dish, which is still simple and yet a few steps fancier than my typical steamed variety.

1 lb. broccoli florets
2 T olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 T unsalted butter
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t lemon zest
1-2 T lemon juice
2 T pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 500F. Toss broccoli with oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast for 12 minutes, turning once. Place broccoli in a serving bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and lemon zest and heat for 1 minute. Cool slightly, and add lemon juice. Toss mixture with the broccoli and add pine nuts.

You have probably already caught on to my habit of putting spinach in, well, everything. I found this recipe, got out my trusty calculator to do all the conversions from grams to ounces and cups, rounded the numbers a bit, and was rewarded with these fabulous muffins. This made about 14 muffins, and since I have a 12 muffin tin, the last two were baked like scones which worked just fine. They would be perfect for a brunch gathering!

Mix flour and baking powder in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, and milk using a hand blender. Add flour gradually, to form a smooth dough. Gently mix in spinach and feta. Place dough in greased muffin tins, or shape like scones on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

My cooking club theme this month was Indian cuisine, and we had quite an Indian feast! I’ve made a few Indian flavored dishes before, not too spicy of course, but this meal felt very authentic, complete with basmati rice and naan. I brought this eggplant dish, which seemed to fit right in. I combined a few different recipes I found to create this one. Roasting the eggplant in the oven is an easy way to reduce the quantity of oil used, and the spice level here is mild.

1 large eggplant
1 T oil
2 onions, sliced thinly
1/2 t red chili powder
1/2 t garam masala
dash cayenne pepper
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (8 oz.) can peas, drained

Roast the eggplant in the oven at 350F for 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes, until softened. Allow to cool, and gently remove the skin. Mash the eggplant with a fork, and set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the oil, and then add the onions. Cook for 10-15 minutes over high heat, until softened, and add spices. Stir thoroughly, and then add tomato sauce and peas. Simmer mixture for 2-3 minutes, and then add eggplant. Cook on medium heat until warmed throughout.

I definitely found a new vegetable dish to add to my usual rotation! The recipe is inspired by Rachel Ray, although I did omit the bacon this time around. I started with what seemed like a mountain of mustard greens, but they cooked down to what you see in the bowl so be sure to buy at least 2 bunches. The stems were fairly firm even after cooking this for a while, so be sure to cut out the larger stalks. The mustard and vinegar balanced the slightly spicy greens, and those who wanted an extra kick added hot red pepper flakes. Perfect to go with BBQ pork!

Here is a nice fall side dish, which I made using this recipe. I substituted cinnamon for the cumin, but this isn’t a sweet dish. It would be great with either chicken or pork. Unfortunately, this dried out somewhat when I took it for lunch the next day, so you may want to reheat it with a bit of extra water.

If you haven’t tried bulgur, it is not an exotic ingredient but can be hard to find in the grocery store. In my Stop & Shop, it’s located in the Latin foods aisle, sold in a clear plastic bag. Look for it this weekend!