TasteSpotting was without a doubt my favorite food site — I can’t tell you how many recipe ideas and food blogs I discovered though the wonderful photos posted.  I certainly received quite a few visitors myself via TasteSpotting.

I’m obviously not alone in my mourning… hopefully details will surface soon.

Any replacements out there?

Update: Here are some sites attempting to be TasteSpotting replacements:
Food Gawker
Recipes2Share
Food Porn Daily

Playing catch-up; Abbie actually cooked these for our Thanksgiving feast! They were delicious — asparagus is rolled in phyllo dough, baked, and smothered with butter. Sounds healthy, right? C’mon, it’s veggies!

Abbie says:

Don’t forget to brush more butter on the top! Mmmm… butter…

Chris says:

These are awesome, but I can’t wait until later! You know what they say about asparagus…

Lisa says:

DON’T say it.

Chris says:

Don’t have to; linked it.

Rolls:
1 pkg phyllo pastry, thawed
4 tablespoons melted butter
16 young asparagus spears, trimmed (not cooked!)

Sauce:
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2/3 cup dry white wine
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) butter, softened
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (whatever you like - I used thyme, parsley, garlic and dill)
salt & pepper
chopped chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 400. Lay out phyllo 4 sheets thick, then cut in half (one half for each roll). Brush the sheet facing up with melted butter. Fold one corner of the sheet down to the bottom edge to give it a wedge shape.
Lay 4 asparagus spears on top at the longest edge and roll up toward the shortest edge. Repeat for each roll.
Put the rolls on a greased baking sheet. Brush with the remaining melted butter. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, put the shallots, bay leaf and wine in a pan. Cover and cook over high heat until the wine is reduced to 3 - 4 tablespoons.
Strain the wine mixture into a bowl. Whisk in the butter a little at a time until sauce is smooth and glossy. Stir in the herbs and salt & pepper to taste. Keep sauce warm until rolls are out of the oven. Serve with sauce on the side or drizzled over the rolls. Or both! Mmm, butter.

The first dish of the day for our Thanksgiving feast was Borani, a Persian spinach and yogurt dip. This recipe comes from The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook.

Lisa says:

This is delicious! And even better after it’s been chilled.

Chris says:

Yeah I really like this — next time we have people over I’ll have to make it again, but double the recipe. Hey, I’m thirsty.

Lisa says:

Good thing I made Sangria!

Borani
——
1 bunch fresh spinach, well rinsed, stemmed, and chopped
1 cup chopped onions
3 scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh dill
1/3 cup feta cheese
2 tbsp light plain yogurt
salt and ground pepper to taste

After rinsing the spinach, cook for a few minutes over medium heat in a covered sauce pan until wilted but still bright green. Drain the spinach and press in a colander or sieve to squeeze out the excess moisture.
Saute the onions, scallions, and garlic in the olive oil. When the onions are soft and translucent, stir in the spinach and dill and heat for about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to press out any extra liquid and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the feta and yogurt and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill for at least an hour.
Serve with bread or pita.

Makes approx. 2 cups

Tonight Lisa tossed linguine with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and pine nuts to create a filling, delicious pasta dinner.

Chris says:

So where did this recipe come from?

Lisa says:

My dad ordered the Daily Special at Hobee’s years ago and liked it so much that he recreated the recipe at home.

Chris says:

It’s really good — I like the mixture of all the different veggies. You should submit this to this week’s Presto Pasta Night round-up!

Lisa says:

Remind people to thoroughly wash the spinach so they don’t crunch on dirt.

Chris says:

That just makes it an “earthy” meal, right? Hey, extra nutrients!

California Pasta
—————-
1 16 oz box linguine
1 tbsp olive oil
3 bunches spinach, cleaned, stemmed
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup pine nuts
2 onions, sliced
black pepper
basil
Italian seasoning
1 bunch parsley, chopped
8 oz chopped kalamata olives
8 oz feta, crumbled

In a large pot, heat water to boiling for the linguine.
When the water is boiling, add the linguine and cook for 10 minutes or until al dente, and drain.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, pine nuts, and tomatoes. Add black pepper, basil, and Italian seasoning to taste. Sauté for 10 minutes.
Little by little, add the spinach to the onion mixture and stir just until spinach wilts.
Add the drained linguine to the skillet and mix thoroughly. Top with the parsley, olives, and feta cheese.

4-6 Servings

After spending a long weekend in Santa Fe eating tons of Southwestern and Mexican food, we wanted to have a light dinner that didn’t take a lot of time to prepare. I found this recipe in the Weight Watchers Great Cooking Everyday cookbook. We served it with orzo tossed with lemon juice and parsley.

Lisa says:

Yay! Sushi?!

Chris says:

Looks like it, but nope… stuffed chicken breasts! But I’ll put it on our sushi plate set. This was super simple to make, and looks pretty cool.

Lisa says:

Yeah it looks complicated. I like it. You definitely need the tomatoes, they add a lot of flavor. I think it would be pretty bland without it.

Chris says:

Agreed. I do like that filling, though.

Gremolata-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Tomato Relish
—————————————————-
4 large plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
4 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

To prepare the relish, combine the tomatoes, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bow; cover and let stand at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 450. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of waxed paper, skinned side down. Pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Remove and discard the top sheet of wax paper; spread the chicken with the parsley mixture. Start with the narrower ends and roll each chicken breast around the filling. Remove and discard the rest of the wax paper.
Place the chicken, seam side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Slice each breast on the diagonal into four pieces. Serve with the relish.

Serves 4 (Yeah, right. In WW land. Try 2-3)