Linguine With Caramelized Onions And Goat Cheese

You'll love this pasta dish.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Fresh Linguine

1 tbsp Butter & Olive Oil

2--3 Vidalia Onions, finely sliced
1/2 c. Red Wine
1 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp of Honey
1/2 Goat Cheese (more or less depending upon your fancy)

Chopped Parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1.In a heavy pan, melt the butter at medium-medium high heat. Add in the sliced onions, cover and cook on a gentle heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are caramelized, about 30 minutes.

2. Add in the wine, stirring occasionally to reduce the liquid, about 10-15 minutes.

3. At this point add the balsamic vinegar and honey. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or so while you cook the linguine.

4. When the linguine is ready, toss it with the onions. Plate with the goat cheese and parsley. YUM!!! And pour a glass of wine!

Adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks,  One World Vegetarian Cookbook.

Drunken Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans

From Cooking Light.

Delicious!

"Most Thai dishes are named after the main ingredients or cooking techniques. But occasionally, a dish has a playful or poetic name, such as this one. Serve over jasmine rice."

 

Ingredients

• Drunken Paste:
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 7 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced bird chile or 2 1/2 teaspoons minced serrano chile
• 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped galangal or peeled fresh ginger (I used giner.)
• 1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh lemongrass
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
• Stir-fry:
• Cooking spray
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 2 cups (1-inch) diagonally cut green beans
• 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves

Preparation

1. To prepare the paste, combine the salt and minced garlic in a mortar and pestle, and pound to form a paste. Add chile, galangal, lemongrass, and lime leaves, one at a time, until each ingredient is incorporated into paste.
2. To prepare stir-fry, heat a wok or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add paste, and stir-fry for 30 seconds (fumes may cause eyes and throat to burn slightly). Add beef; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add beans; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar; stir-fry for 1 minute or until beef reaches desired degree of doneness. Stir in basil.
3. Wine Note: Here's a great example of a beef dish laced with lots of green flavors - in this case, lemongrass, lime and basil. A Sauvignon Blanc, itself sporting green notes, would pair wonderfully with this dish. Try Jepson Sauvignon Blanc 1999 (Mendocino County, California; $11).

Delicious, Easy-To-Make No Bake Brownies aka "Date Nut Balls"

I just got this new cookbook. It is beautiful.

It is called Superfood Kitchen. By Julie Morris.

And this is the first thing I made.

YUM!

Bet you can't eat just one!

Ingredients:

1 cup (packed) soft Medjool dates (about 10 or 11), pits removed
1 cup raw walnut pieces
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 Tbsp – 1/c cup cacao nibs (use quantity to taste)

Directions:

Place walnuts in a food processor and grind for a couple seconds to form a coarse flour. Add pitted dates, cacao powder and salt, processing until a moist, crumb-like dough has formed. Depending on the natural moisture of the dates, you may need to add a touch of water (1 tsp at a time) to get the crumbs to “stick” when pinched together.
Spread the crumbs into an 8×8-inch pan, sprinkle with cacao nibs, and press firmly into a solid brownie layer. Cut into bite-size squares and serve. Alternately, press and roll brownie dough into small balls to make brownie bites.
Yield: about 24 small squares

Pork Chops with Mushroom Bread Pudding from Food & Wine

If you like pork chops and mushrooms and bread pudding, you'll love this!

From a cookbook I use all the time: Food & Wine, Quick From Scratch One-Dish Meals Cookbook

Ingredients:

1. 2 tablespoons butter
2. 1 onion, chopped
3. 1 rib celery, chopped
4. 3/4 pound mushrooms, cut into thin slices
5. 1 teaspoon dried thyme
6. 1/2 pound baguette (or other crusty bread), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 quart)
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
9. 1 1/3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
10. 3 eggs, beaten to mix
11. 2/3 cup half-and-half
12. 1 tablespoon cooking oil
13. 4 center-cut pork chops, about 1-inch thick (about 2 pounds in all)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 325°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or a gratin dish of similar size. In a large nonstick frying pan, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add the onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until the mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the bread cubes, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
2. Stir together the broth, eggs, and half-and-half. Pour the mixture evenly over the mushrooms and bread. Put the dish in the lower third of the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in the frying pan over moderate heat. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper over the pork chops. Add the chops to the pan and brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chops from the pan. Remove the bread pudding from the oven after it bakes for 25 minutes and set the pork chops directly on top. Return to the oven and cook until the meat is done and the pudding is just set, 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Holiday Easter Bread

Delicious!!!

Pretty easy to make, but boy did I dirty so many mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, etc!!!

And I made one large loaf rather than two.

TOTAL TIME

3 ½ hours

For the Sponge

• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams)

For the Dough

• 1/4 cup currants (30 grams)
• 3/4 cup golden raisins (100 grams)
• 1 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries (125 grams)
• 1/4 cup diced dried apricots or dried mango (30 grams)
• 1 tablespoon rum (Note: I used Grand Marinier)
• 2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (500 grams), plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 grams)
• 2 teaspoons anise seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds (70 grams)
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Sugar or pearl sugar for topping, optional

Preparation

1.

Make the sponge: Put 1 cup milk in a medium bowl, add yeast and let dissolve. Whisk in 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour. Cover bowl and leave in a warm place until doubled in size and very frothy, about 30 minutes.

2.

Put currants, raisins, cranberries and apricots in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Leave 10 minutes, then drain. Return to bowl and stir in rum.

3.

Beat 2 eggs and 2 of the yolks. Add the beaten eggs, melted butter and almond extract to sponge and stir together. Stir in dried fruit.

4.

In a large bowl mix together 4 cups (500 grams) all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, anise seeds, cardamom, orange zest, lemon zest and almonds. Pour sponge mixture over flour mixture and combine, stirring with a spoon or hands until it forms a shaggy, slightly sticky mass. Dust lightly with flour and turn dough out onto a clean work surface. Knead for a few minutes until smooth, dusting with a minimal amount of flour if necessary, to make a soft dough. (If desired, dough may be refrigerated overnight in a large zippered storage bag. Bring to room temperature and proceed with recipe.)

5.

Put dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Punch down dough and knead lightly. Divide dough in half with knife and form two loaves; they can be round, braided or free-form. Place side by side on a large parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a 4-inch space between them (or use 2 smaller baking sheets). Cover lightly with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place a rack in the middle of the oven, and heat oven to 350 degrees.

6.

Make the egg wash: with a fork, beat together the remaining egg yolk and the milk. Uncover loaves and brush generously with egg wash. Sprinkle each loaf with 2 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon pearl sugar), if desired. Bake on middle rack for 45 minutes or until loaves are a dark, glossy brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

YIELD

2 loaves, New York Times, March 22, 2013, David Tanis 
Original article can be found here.

 

Pasta With Broccoli Rabe via Arthur Schwartz

This was my Dad's favorite pasta. Served with sweet and hot sausage.

Arthur Schwartz writes:

"This ranks up there with pasta and beans, and pasta and potatoes in the pantheon of Campanian comfort dishes.......in this traditional version, the broccoli rabe is tamed by blanching, then cooked as usual with olive oil, garlic, and hot red pepper, while the pasta cooks in the bitter vegetable water...."

Ingredients:

One large bunch of broccoli rabe, prepared as below
1 pound pasta (Schwartz calls for Orecchiette, but I prefer Penne.)
Freshly ground pecorino or Parmesan

Directions:

1. Prepare broccoli rabe as follows, BUT reserve the water:

1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1lb)
2-3 Tbs olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed
Big pinch hot red pepper flakes

Trim thick stems from broccoli rabe and cut into 1-inch pieces. Blanch in a large pot of boiling water, about 5 min., until bright green and slightly wilted. Drain. Reserve water.

Meanwhile, combine oil, garlic and pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant. Press garlic into oil to release flavor; remove large pieces.

Add broccoli and toss well to coat with oil; salt to taste. Cook over medium/medium-low heat until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Cook the pasta in the reserved vegetable water.

3. When the pasta is almost al dente, scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Turn the pasta into a pan with the broccoli, and toss well, thinning out the sauce slightly, if necessary, with a few spoons of cooking water.

4. Serve hot with the grated cheese.

I always serve this with sausage, which I first gently simmer in water and then brown in olive oil.

Easy Chicken Mole from Paula Deen

I changed a few things but boy was this delicious!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used a red pepper.)
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth (I used homemade.)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I used 2 chicken breasts)
Toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), for garnish
White rice, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue to saute to toast and develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chipotles, broth, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and puree until smooth.

Sear the chicken in a heavy bottomed hot saute pan over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. (I seared the breasts in a dutch oven and then cut into large pieces--five per breast; and then added the sauce to the dutch oven.) Add to casserole dish, cover with sauce and braise the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with pepitas and serve with white rice.