Herbed Goat Cheese Dip

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Put all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse just until evenly combined.

From Southern Living, with changes

Butternut Squash Spinach Lasagna

Spinach Pasta

Squash filling:

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash

Mushroom & onion filling:

6 cups white or portabella mushrooms, sliced or diced

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

2 medium-large sweet onions, peeled and sliced

White sauce:

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups whole milk

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Cheese filling:

2 cups ricotta cheese, whole milk or part skim

1 large egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup grated mozzarella

To prepare the squash: Place water, butter, and salt in a large frying pan. Add the squash; it should be in a single layer. Cover the pan, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the squash is starting to soften. Remove the cover, increase the heat, and cook, tossing occasionally, until the water evaporates and the squash browns, about 15 minutes. Remove it from the pan, and set it aside.  (Alternatively, roast diced squash, drizzled with oil or melted butter and seasoned with salt and pepper, in a 400° F oven for 30 minutes.)

To prepare the mushrooms and onions: Using the pan that the squash was cooked in, if desired, sauté the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of the oil, with the salt, until they've released their liquid, and are browned.  Add the thyme a few minutes before mushrooms are done.  Remove them from the pan, and set them aside. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan, and sauté the onions until they're golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

To prepare the cheese filling: Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the flour and salt.  Whisk in the milk, stirring constantly, until all the milk is added and no lumps remain. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens.  Remove the sauce from the heat, and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.

To assemble the lasagna: Pour about 1 cup of the white sauce into the bottom of a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan, or similarly sized casserole dish. Place three noodles on top.  Arrange the squash on top. 

Top the squash with three more noodles.  Spread the ricotta cheese over the noodles. 

Add three more noodles, and another cup of the sauce.  Sprinkle with grated mozzarella.  Spread the mushroom/onion mixture evenly over the sauce. 

Add the last three noodles, and top with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan.

Cover the lasagna, and bake it in a preheated 375°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove the cover, and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top of the lasagna is nicely browned.  Check frequently for the last 20 minutes or so to make sure it isn't browning too much.

Remove the lasagna from the oven, and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-12.

From King Arthur Flour, with some changes

Spinach Pasta

1 pound spinach, washed and trimmed
Salt for water, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dough
2 large eggs
2 to 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Blanch the spinach in a large pot of salted boiling water for 1 minute.  Transfer it with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to cool, then drain it.  Squeeze out as much water as possible with your hands or in a dish towel.  Combine the spinach and eggs in a blender or food processor; process until the spinach is finely chopped.

In a bowl or mixer (or continue in the processor), add the 1/2 teaspoon salt and then the 2 cups flour.  Knead the dough, by hand or in a mixer, until smooth but slightly tacky in the center. (In a processor, process for 60 seconds, using the dough blade.)  Add more flour as needed if dough is too sticky. Wrap the pasta in a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper, and set it aside for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours, for the gluten to relax.

Cut the dough into eighths and keep them covered.  Flatten one piece of dough into a rectangle, then feed it through the smooth cylinders of a hand-crank pasta machine set on the widest setting.  Do this 2-3 times, flouring the dough as needed if it sticks.  Decrease the setting on the machine by one notch and feed the dough through the cylinders again.  Repeat, decreasing the setting by one notch each tie.  Roll the pasta through all but the last notch.  Lay the sheets of pasta out on a lightly floured surface and cover with clean, damp, kitchen towels.

Makes 1 pound pasta.

From Canal House Cooking, Volume 7 (La Dolce Vita), by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, with very minor changes

Feta Dressing

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a bowl; slowly whisk in olive oil.  Stir in feta and thyme.

Makes 1/2 cup.

From Coastal Living

Southern Potato Curry

500 grams potatoes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
2/3 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons chana dal, washed and dried
5 cm cinnamon stick
12 fresh curry leaves
2 small onions, finely chopped
10 grams fresh ginger root (peeled weight), peeled and finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 rounded teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt, to taste
150 ml coconut milk
Large handful of chopped fresh cilantro, to serve

Halve the potatoes and boil until just tender (they will break up in sauce if overcooked now), or cook whole potatoes in pressure cooker with water for about 15 minutes under pressure. Allow to cool somewhat and peel them before continuing.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the mustard and cumin seeds, lentils, and cinnamon stick.  Once the popping of the mustard seeds has died down, add the curry leaves.  Follow immediately with the onions and cook until soft and lightly golden.

Add the ginger, tomatoes, chilli, coriander, fennel, turmeric, and salt, and stir-fry over a high heat for three minutes.  Add 200 ml water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Add the cooked potatoes to the sauce to absorb the flavours for five minutes, or until the liquid in the pan has dried up.

Add the coconut milk and enough water to get a medium consistency sauce.  Taste, adjust the seasoning, and stir in the chopped cilantro, and serve.

Serves 4.

From I Love Curry by Anjum Anand

Eggs in Coconut Curry Sauce with Cauliflower Rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small fresh green chili, seeded and sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

4 cardamom pods

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro plus extra to garnish

8 hard-cooked eggs, halved

1 cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets

Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, then add the chili, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes.  Stir and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the coriander seeds and cardamom pods using a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle, and add to the onion mixture.  Stir for a few seconds, then add the coconut milk and cook over a gentle heat for a further 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Gently put the hard-cooked eggs into the coconut mixture, spooning it over them, and leave, covered, over a very gentle heat for the flavors to infuse while you deal with the cauliflower.

Bring 2 inches depth of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add the cauliflower, bring back to a boil, cover, and cook for 4 minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender.  Drain well.

Put the cauliflower into a food processor with some salt and pepper and whiz to a grainy texture, like cooked rice.  Stop before it turns to mash!  Return it to the saucepan and gently reheat, stirring, so that it doesn't catch.  Garnish the egg curry with the remaining cilantro and serve with the cauliflower "rice."

Serves 4.

From Vegetarian Supercook by Rose Elliot 

Chewy Brownies

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, for enhanced chocolate flavor)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 325°F.  Lightly grease a 9" x 9" pan.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Spread the batter in the pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs clinging to it, but doesn't show any trace of raw batter.  Remove the pan from the oven and cool the brownies before cutting and serving.  

Store, covered, for 5 days at room temperature, or freeze for up to a month.

From King Arthur Flour