Red Rice and Quinoa Salad

3/4 cup red rice (I could only find a red rice/brown rice blend at Whole Foods, so I used that)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup preached quinoa (you can find this at Costco)
3 T lime juice (I had lemon, so that's what I used.  Only fresh.)
2 oranges (cut up the way I do them)
1 small shallot, minced  (mine were bitter)
1 T minced fresh cilantro plus 1 cup leaves (I HATE cilantro, so I used flat leaf parsley)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup evoo
6 oz. pitted dates, chopped (1 cup)

1.  Bring 4 qts. water to boil in large pot over high heat.  Add rice and 1 T salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 min.  (Because of the altitude here, I cooked a bit longer.)  Add quinoa to pot and continue to cook until grains are tender, 12 to 14 min.  (I think I cooked the rice 5 min. longer and added the quinoa and cooked about 15 min more.  You want everything softened but not mushy, so watch this carefully.)  Drain rice-quinoa mixture, spread onto rimmed  baking sheet, and drizzle with 2 T lime (or lemon) juice.  Let rice cool completely, about 20 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, cut away peel and pith from oranges.  Holding fruit over bowl, use paring knife to slice between membranes to release segments.  Cut segments in half cross-wise.  If needed, squeeze orange memo rates to equal 2 T juice in bowl.  (I didn't do this.  I cut up my oranges the way I always do.  They were juicy so I didn't worry about squeezing out any juice.  Use your own judgment.)

3.  Whisk 2 T orange juice, remaining 1 T lime juice, shallot, minced cilantro (parsley), and pepper flakes in large bowl.  Whisking constantly, drizzle in oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add rice-quinoa mixture, dates, orange segments, and remaining 1 cup cilantro (parsley) leaves and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve at room temperature.

Bulgur Salad with Grapes and Feta

1 1/2 cups medium-grind bulgur, rinsed (I could only find coarse grind)
1 cup water
5 T fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup evoo
1/4 tsp cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
6 oz. seedless red grapes, quartered (whoops, I halved them.  Quartered would be better.)
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
2 scallions, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1.  Combine bulgur, water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp salt in bowl.  Cover and let sit at room temperature until grains are softened, about 1 1/2 hours.

2.  Whisk oil, remaining 1 T lemon juice, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 tsp salt together in large bowl.  Add soaked bulgur, grapes, 1/3 cup almonds, 1/3 cup feta, scallions, and mint and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with remaining almonds and feta before serving.  Serve at room temperature.

My favorite panini

Good sliced bread (like french or sourdough or pugliese or ciabatta)

Butter

Apricot preserves

Chopped walnuts

Thinly sliced gruyere

Arugula

Butter the outsides of two slices of bread.

Spread apricot preserves on the insides.

Scatter maybe a tablespoon of walnuts on one slice over the preserves.

Cover that with some arugula leaves (a small handful).

Cover all that with a slice or two of gruyere, and put the other slice of bread on top.

Grill in a George Foreman or panini press until golden brown.

Simple and heavenly.

Fusilli with Ricotta and Spinach (from Cooks Illustrated)

11 oz. whole-milk ricotta cheese (I used all of a 15 oz container)
3 T evoo
salt and pepper
1 pound fusilli (I used gemelli because that was what was in the pantry)
1 pound baby spinach, chopped coarse (I took the tails off)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (I used combo of Parm and asiago)

1.  Whisk 1 cup ricotta, 1 T oil, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/8 tsp salt in medium bowl until smooth; set aside.

2.  Boil pasta according to package directions with 1T salt.  Cook til al dente.  Reserve 1 cup cooking water.  Stir spinach into pot with pasta and cook until wilted, about a minute.  Drain pasta and spinach and return them to pot.

3.  While pasta cooks, heat remaining 2 T oil, garlic, nutmeg, and cayenne in saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 1/3 cup ricotta, cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 3/4 tsp salt until smooth.

4.  Add ricotta-cream mixture and Parmesan and toss to combine.  Let pasta rest, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened slightly and coats pasta, 2 to 4 minutes, adjusting consistency with reserved cooking water as needed.  Transfer pasta to serving platter, dot evenly with reserved ricotta mixture, and serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.


Notes:  I adjusted the sauce upwards to coincide with increased amount of ricotta.  I always take the stems off of fresh spinach because I don't like them in a dish, generally.  Although the recipe doesn't say to do that.  I do it while watching Netflix, otherwise it would be too tedious.

I didn't find I needed to add any cooking water.  See how you like it.

After you've added the ricotta and cream to the sauce, it cools it off, thus cooling off the pasta to below eating temperature.  I may make sure the sauce is hot next time.  However, the ricotta mixture you dollop on top of the finished dish also cools it off.  I was taking this to Kathryn's family and told her to serve individual portions on plates and then microwave them.  I may try finishing the dish and putting it in a moderate oven for a little while.  This is chancy, however.  You'll see what I mean when you make this.  Let me know how you serve it hot.  Try this.  It's not expensive and is delicious.