Melissa - let me know if you have any specific requests. I think the quickest way to add veggies to a meal is to make a pasta dish. Here are a few of our favorites:
Linguine and Cherry Tomatoes
2 c cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
2 to 4 Tbs good Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 to 4 oz cheese (Parmesan, asiago, any hard cheese will do)
6 oz linguine
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook linguine according to directions (about 10 minutes). In the meantime halve the cherry tomatoes and combine in a large bowl with the olive oil, grated cheese, salt and pepper. When pasta is cooked drain and add to the tomato mixture, tossing to combine. This is great served with a lettuce salad and garlic bread.
Penne with Matchstick Zucchini and Mozzarella Cubes
4 oz dried penne pasta
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain well reserving 1/2 c pasta water.
Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray. Add bell pepper, zucchini, oregano, garlic, and basil and cook for 5 minutes or until bell pepper is tender crisp and zucchini is starting to lightly brown. Gently stir in the pasta, reserved pasta water, salt and mozzarella. Serve immediately.
Pasta Primavera with Breadcrumb Topping
8 oz fusilli or rotini
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed
small yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (you can omit if you don't like heat)
3 medium zucchini (about 1/2 lb) julienned
2 large red bell peppers, julienned
1/4 c finely chopped basil (or use 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 c plain dry breadcrumbs
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans for 3 minutes. Transfer beans to a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
Heat 2 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green beans, onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Add Zucchini, peppers, basil, and oregano and cook, uncovered for 5 minutes or until vegetables are just al dente. DO NOT OVERCOOK! Season with salt to taste.
Warm remaining 1 Tbs oil in a second skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add drained pasta to vegetables and toss to blend. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and serve.
Let me know if you want any of the following recipes - Roasted Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas, Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas, Stuffed Red Peppers, Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce, Portabello Mushrooms stuffed with Wild Rice and Goat Cheese, or Grits Souffle with Tomato Coulis (a cheesy souffle with asparagus and a spicy tomato sauce).
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Hotcakes
This photo is several years old, but it is one in which my Nana is actually smiling. Usually she is trying to hide from the camera. She will be 80 years old next month and is still going strong despite battling cancer 3 times. I absolutely love her hotcakes, and although she gave me the recipe several years ago I've never been able to replicate her hotcakes at home. So this trip I decided to watch her closely and write down her every move. It was a good decision because she has made some major changes (like omitting the sugar, cutting the salt in half, and doubling the amount of buttermilk!) to the recipe and didn't write them down because she thought I wanted the original recipe. Her hotcakes are light and feathery with a slight tang from the buttermilk. They are my favorite.1 1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 - 2 c buttermilk (the amount of buttermilk depends on your flour and the humidity. The batter will thicken as it sits. You want it to pour easily off the spoon, not plop or run off.)
2 Tbs oil
In a mixing bowl combine the first 4 ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the remaining 3 ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth. Drop by tablespoonful (this is important - not the measurement tablespoon, but the big spoon in your utensil drawer) onto a hot griddle. When bubbles appear on the surface flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. Serve with syrup of your choice. Nana prefers chokecherry syrup.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
An egg by any other name . . .
Breakfasts at my Nana's home are anything but simple. The usual spread consists of hotcakes (she doesn't make pancakes as far as I know, just hotcakes), toast, eggs, hot cereal with cream and brown sugar, and fresh fruit smoothies which are my Papa's specialty. I grew up eating what I thought were poached eggs any time I was staying with them. Poached eggs were and still are my favorite especially with a well-buttered piece of toast to tear up and mix into the runny yolk and just cooked egg white. It wasn't until around the age of 23 or so that I learned that what I thought was a poached egg was not. I was watching one of those become a designer reality shows and one of the team projects was to run a B&B for a weekend. One of the judges ordered a poached egg and this seemingly simple meal because quite the challenge for one of the teams. Their poached egg was most certainly not my poached egg. I decided that my Nana was just confused and made my first actually poached egg several days later. I didn't like it at all.
Fast forward. I am really hungry and stranded at home because Bryant is working at a hospital in another city this week and therefore has our car. Our refrigerator is almost empty because we are moving into our new home soon.so I do not have many food options at the moment. I do, however, have eggs and cream, and as I thought about what I could make I remembered hearing something about an egg coddled in cream. My Internet search led me to this article by Dorrie Greenspan and the realization that I have been eating coddled eggs my entire life, minus the cream. Coddled eggs, come to find out, are a quintessential British dish which makes even more sense considering my Nana's very English upbringing. So there you have it. I like my eggs coddled, not poached, thank you very much, and the addition of cream is simply lovely. One mystery solved. The next task is to figure out how on earth to make her hotcakes. I have the recipe, but I swear they are not remotely close to the ones that she whips up. I may have to record her making them next week.
Fast forward. I am really hungry and stranded at home because Bryant is working at a hospital in another city this week and therefore has our car. Our refrigerator is almost empty because we are moving into our new home soon.so I do not have many food options at the moment. I do, however, have eggs and cream, and as I thought about what I could make I remembered hearing something about an egg coddled in cream. My Internet search led me to this article by Dorrie Greenspan and the realization that I have been eating coddled eggs my entire life, minus the cream. Coddled eggs, come to find out, are a quintessential British dish which makes even more sense considering my Nana's very English upbringing. So there you have it. I like my eggs coddled, not poached, thank you very much, and the addition of cream is simply lovely. One mystery solved. The next task is to figure out how on earth to make her hotcakes. I have the recipe, but I swear they are not remotely close to the ones that she whips up. I may have to record her making them next week.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Simple Food
Summer is synonymous with simple food. Dinners lately have been centered around produce. Green beans sauteed with bacon heaped on a platter with fresh corn on the cob rubbed with butter, grilled slices of baguette drizzled with olive oil and chopped fresh tomatoes tossed with pesto. Fresh cherry tomatoes tossed with angel hair pasta, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with grated Parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper. Breakfast this morning was beautiful. Ripe Turkish figs served alongside a scoop of ricotta cheese that had been sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with a delicate honey. Meals do not have be complicated, especially in the summer.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Dinner for Emily
My sweet friend Emily went on a trip to Italy this past Spring and dutifully documented everything she ate just for me. She even brought back pesto and cheese for me, but there was a catch. She said I could only have them if I cooked Italian food for her, a deal that seemed to be completely in my favor. Last night we had a great time eating ravioli with a ricotta garlic filling in a chicken stock reduction, bruschetta with pesto, tomatoes, and asiago cheese, and peche bianche con panna di mandorla, which translated means white peaches with almond cream. This dinner was the perfect excuse to buy a manual pasta roller. Rolling out the dough was so much easier. I am thankful that I didn't buy the ravioli attachment however because I think it is more fun to use my ravioli rolling pin and cutter. Here's the photographic process (since I posted the recipe several months ago:
What the dough looks like when all liquid has been incorporated
Cutting the ravioli
Filling the well with the egg/water/oil mixture
What the dough looks like when all liquid has been incorporated
Dough after kneading for 5 minutes
Spreading the ricotta filling on the pasta
Cutting the ravioli
Drying out the ravioli on a pan with semolina
I have been waiting to make this dessert since 2005. Bryant bought me an Under the Tuscan Sun day planner that year and it was filled with great Italian recipes. This dessert has always looked delicious, and it is truly amazing. I didn't take a photo of my dessert because I had to use yellow peaches (I couldn't find any white ones that were ripe enough) and these were a bit too ripe so they didn't hold their form as well after poaching. I would also reduce the amount of cookie crumbs because it made the mixture a bit too dark, but the taste was still incredible. The Amaretti cookies are expensive, but lovely. Even the packaging is fabulous.
Here is a close up of the photo from the page I saved from my day planner. It is easy and very, very good.
***If you aren't a fan of the almond flavor you could simply use vanilla extract or add lemon zest. You could find a vanilla cookie to crumble instead. The Amaretti cookies are delicious and worth a try.
Pesche Bianche Con Panna Di Mandorla
1 c mascarpone
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c superfine sugar
1/2 c sliced almonds, toasted and cooled
1 1/2 c crushed almond cookie crumbs, such as Amaretti (I would reduce this to 1 cup)
6 large white peaches, ripe but not soft
1 c ginger ale or sparkling apple cider (poaching liquid)
Mix all filling ingredients and chill for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peal the peaches and halve them removing the pit. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the peach halves and poach for 3 to 4 minutes, spooning liquid over the halves. Remove peaches from the liquid and cool. Spoon a mound of mascarpone mixture into the center of the peach. Serve, garnished with almonds and mint leaves.
Serves 6
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Recipes for Melissa & then some
Melissa - I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to post these recipes! Hopefully it isn't too late. This scone recipe is one that I've adapted from the American Heart Association Cookbook on page 515. The original recipe calls for pineapple juice but my mom substituted orange juice one day and that was the beginning of our mutual love for this great recipe. It can be easily adapted to whatever ingredients you have on hand. Some of our favorite combinations include lemon poppy seed, orange poppy seed, and orange lavender. Feel free to play around with the flavor combinations. The original recipe also calls for 1/2 c dried cranberries which I always omit, but you can add them or any other dried fruit that sounds tasty.
Scones
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c sugar
1 Tbs poppy seeds (optional, sometimes I substitute 1/2 tsp lavender buds or orange zest)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter
1/2 c dried cranberries (optional)
1/2 c orange juice
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in cranberries (if using) and make a well in the center of mixture. Pour in juice and egg and stir until just combined. Don't over mix!
With floured hands divide the dough in half. Shape into 2 balls and place on baking sheet 4 to inches apart. Flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Cut each into 8 wedges with a sharp knife, but do not separate.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes on a cooling rack.
***I like to drizzle these with a simple icing made with powdered sugar and orange juice. Sometimes I mix lavender buds with the sugar in my coffee grinder. Sometimes I add orange or lemon zest. Play around with the flavors. These are delicious and easy.
You also asked for a recipe for white bread. I am assuming you want the normal white loaf sandwich bread, and this is the only recipe I've tried. Bryant & I are in love with this bread, it is delicious. Again, this only makes one loaf. There is a basic white bread recipe in the American Heart Association cookbook (pg 463) but I haven't tried it yet, and it makes two loaves. This recipe is from the Wednesday Chef blog.
Maple White Bread (Makes 1 large loaf)
1 cup milk (whole milk is best, but any kind will do)
1/4 cup maple syrup (use real maple syrup, not the fake stuff)
4 tablespoons sweet butter (unsalted)
1 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar or maple sugar
1 egg beaten
4 cups (approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour
1. Place milk, maple syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan and scald. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water along with the sugar. Set aside for five minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. Transfer the milk mixture to a large bowl, stir in the yeast mixture and then stir in the egg.
3. Stir in two cups of the flour. Then add more flour about one-half cup at a time until a ball of dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about eight minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn the dough to oil on all sides, cover lightly and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.
4. Punch down dough, turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for another minute or so. Roll dough into a rectangle about nine by 12 inches, then roll tightly, jellyroll fashion, starting from the narrow side. Pinch the seam and ends closed. Fit the dough seam side down into a greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch baking pan.
5. Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in the oven and bake about 45 minutes, until well browned. Remove from pan and allow to cool freely on a rack before slicing.
To read the original post go to http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/02/maple-white-bread.html
I have taken a cooking hiatus this past month because I was sick for half of it and out of town for the other half. Last Saturday I cooked dinner for 40 people. It was a lot of work, a lot of fun, and a great learning experience. I will share my recipes and experience soon. I am finally getting back into the swing of things now that I am feeling better, and one thing that really helped me this week was prepping all of my produce in one day. On Monday I went grocery shopping and bought yellow squash, zucchini, onion, yams, corn, and carrots. I diced the squash, yams, zucchini, and onion and put in separate containers in the fridge. I removed the kernels from the corn and shredded the carrots and gave each of them their own containers. Then I cooked a big batch of brown rice (which turned out perfect for once thank to this great advice) and separated it into 1 cup servings. Cooking has been a breeze. I've made vegetarian burritos by sauteing all of the veggies with the rice and black beans, then folding them up in a whole wheat tortilla and serving with sour cream. I made egg fried rice by again sauteing the veggies (except for the corn), adding rice and then 3 lightly beaten eggs. Dessert has been fresh fruit including strawberries, figs, and black grapes. Tonight I am cooking for friends and planning on making ricotta ravioli with a reduced chicken stock sauce, crostini with pesto and thinly sliced tomatoes, and a special dessert that I saved from an old day planner - poached pears filled with a sweet mascarpone mixture and topped with toasted almonds and crushed amaretti cookies. It should be good. I will try to take photos before devouring the food.
Scones
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c sugar
1 Tbs poppy seeds (optional, sometimes I substitute 1/2 tsp lavender buds or orange zest)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter
1/2 c dried cranberries (optional)
1/2 c orange juice
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in cranberries (if using) and make a well in the center of mixture. Pour in juice and egg and stir until just combined. Don't over mix!
With floured hands divide the dough in half. Shape into 2 balls and place on baking sheet 4 to inches apart. Flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Cut each into 8 wedges with a sharp knife, but do not separate.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes on a cooling rack.
***I like to drizzle these with a simple icing made with powdered sugar and orange juice. Sometimes I mix lavender buds with the sugar in my coffee grinder. Sometimes I add orange or lemon zest. Play around with the flavors. These are delicious and easy.
You also asked for a recipe for white bread. I am assuming you want the normal white loaf sandwich bread, and this is the only recipe I've tried. Bryant & I are in love with this bread, it is delicious. Again, this only makes one loaf. There is a basic white bread recipe in the American Heart Association cookbook (pg 463) but I haven't tried it yet, and it makes two loaves. This recipe is from the Wednesday Chef blog.
Maple White Bread (Makes 1 large loaf)
1 cup milk (whole milk is best, but any kind will do)
1/4 cup maple syrup (use real maple syrup, not the fake stuff)
4 tablespoons sweet butter (unsalted)
1 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar or maple sugar
1 egg beaten
4 cups (approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour
1. Place milk, maple syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan and scald. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water along with the sugar. Set aside for five minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. Transfer the milk mixture to a large bowl, stir in the yeast mixture and then stir in the egg.
3. Stir in two cups of the flour. Then add more flour about one-half cup at a time until a ball of dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about eight minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn the dough to oil on all sides, cover lightly and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.
4. Punch down dough, turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for another minute or so. Roll dough into a rectangle about nine by 12 inches, then roll tightly, jellyroll fashion, starting from the narrow side. Pinch the seam and ends closed. Fit the dough seam side down into a greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch baking pan.
5. Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in the oven and bake about 45 minutes, until well browned. Remove from pan and allow to cool freely on a rack before slicing.
To read the original post go to http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/02/maple-white-bread.html
I have taken a cooking hiatus this past month because I was sick for half of it and out of town for the other half. Last Saturday I cooked dinner for 40 people. It was a lot of work, a lot of fun, and a great learning experience. I will share my recipes and experience soon. I am finally getting back into the swing of things now that I am feeling better, and one thing that really helped me this week was prepping all of my produce in one day. On Monday I went grocery shopping and bought yellow squash, zucchini, onion, yams, corn, and carrots. I diced the squash, yams, zucchini, and onion and put in separate containers in the fridge. I removed the kernels from the corn and shredded the carrots and gave each of them their own containers. Then I cooked a big batch of brown rice (which turned out perfect for once thank to this great advice) and separated it into 1 cup servings. Cooking has been a breeze. I've made vegetarian burritos by sauteing all of the veggies with the rice and black beans, then folding them up in a whole wheat tortilla and serving with sour cream. I made egg fried rice by again sauteing the veggies (except for the corn), adding rice and then 3 lightly beaten eggs. Dessert has been fresh fruit including strawberries, figs, and black grapes. Tonight I am cooking for friends and planning on making ricotta ravioli with a reduced chicken stock sauce, crostini with pesto and thinly sliced tomatoes, and a special dessert that I saved from an old day planner - poached pears filled with a sweet mascarpone mixture and topped with toasted almonds and crushed amaretti cookies. It should be good. I will try to take photos before devouring the food.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
It was that good.
I honestly thought there would be at least one remaining slice, but we all decided that seconds were a must, so this is the best I can do photograph-wise. One of the benefits of having people over for dinner is that it frees up a few extra dollars to make something extra special to eat. Our friends simply asked us to bring dessert which made it possible for me to splurge a bit. And it was worth it. I have a love/hate relationship with berry desserts because my healthy self feels like berries really don't need any additional calories, they are already delicious and should be enjoyed as is. My sweet-tooth self (who is getting larger by the day) can't deny that sugar and butter simply make things better, end of story. This recipe satisfies both by perfectly complimenting the berries in a healthy-ish way. It is the best fruit tart I have ever eaten. Each bite contains a perfectly ripe raspberry nestled in the most delicate vanilla/orange creamy filling and ends with the perfectly balanced salty/sweet layer of crust. Don't be intimidated by the lengthy instructions, this is very quick in terms of prep work, just make sure you leave plenty of time for freezing/cooling/chilling. The original recipe is from the July 09 issue of Vegetarian Times.Crust
1/4 c almonds
1/4 c pecans
1/4 c hazelnuts
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbs chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg yolk
Toast nuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until browned, shaking periodically. Pulse nuts, flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until nuts are ground to a powder. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and pulse until moist clumps form. Press dough into bottom and sides of prepared pan, about 1/4-inch thick, and pierce with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes. Adjust oven to 400 degrees and bake crust for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden. Cool.
Filling:
1/2 c light sour cream
1/2 c nonfat plain Greek yogurt (use Fage brand)
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 orange
2 c raspberries (or whatever mixture of berries you prefer)
1 Tbs orange juice
Whisk together sour cream, yogurt, brown sugar, vanilla, and orange zest. Spread filling in crust. Toss berries with orange juice and gently spoon over top of filling until evenly covered. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
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