Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Portabello Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Peppers & Romano Cheese


I found this recipe on eat me, delicious too which is an amazing collection of very tasty recipes!! I usually don't like recipes that take longer than an hour, for the sole reason that my daughter watches tv from 5-6 so I can make dinner so if it takes longer than that it's a challenge to concentrate! The first time I made this it seemed complicated and it took me a while but it was soooo yummy that I have made it again and managed to make it in under an hour. A few things I did different was I did not peel the peppers, roast the garlic, toast the pine nuts, I used lemon instead of lemon zest and I did not have white wine. These are all what I would call lazy chef changes; but we all thought it was yummy anyway!!!

1/2 lb whole wheat fettuccine
2 portabello mushrooms, marinated and roasted (Recipe below)
2 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted and peeled
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, julienned
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh basil*1 recipe spinach pesto (Recipe below)
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 400F. Put the marinated mushrooms in an oven safe dish. Slice the bell peppers in half and seed them. Place them cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast the mushrooms and peppers (separately) for about 15 minutes (long enough for the skin to blister on the peppers). Remove the mushrooms and peppers from the oven. Transfer peppers to a bowl and cover with a plate or lid for 10 minutes - this makes it easier to peel off the skin (though you can leave the skin on if you want). Peel the skin off.Heat a large pot of boiling water to cook the pasta. Slice portabello mushrooms and roasted peppers into long, thin strips and set aside.Heat olive oil in skillet and saute the onion until translucent. Add the mushrooms, peppers, and cherry tomato halves, toss to heat through and keep warm over low heat. Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine.Strain the pasta and toss with enough pesto to liberally coat the noodles. Add the vegetables and basil and toss to combine. Divide among 2 pasta bowls, sprinkle with Romano cheese and toasted pine nuts.*I used the same amount of freeze dried, though fresh is best. If you want to use dried, maybe do a couple of tablespoons.

Marinated Portabello Mushrooms
2 portabello mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 cup white wine
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Clean mushrooms and lay gill-side up in a shallow pan. Whisk together the marinade ingredients, pour over the mushrooms, cover and marinated in the refrigerator up to 4 hours.

Spinach Pesto
1 cup spinach, packed (or use a frozen package of spinach, thawed with the water squeezed out as I did)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 clove fresh garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chile flakes
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Pulse all ingredients, except oil, to form a coarse paste. Add oil and pulse to blend. Keep refrigerated if not using right away.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies


Yum!!! I found this recipe on eat me, delicious and they are delicious!!! The only thing I changed was the time I baked them, I think I found that 11-12 minutes was perfect for my oven leaving them still soft in the middle. Dipping these cookies in Mexican hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream makes an excellent dessert!

Makes 50-60 small-ish cookies, or 30-40 large-ish cookies.

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
Andes mint candies, broken in half (about 1 package)

Heat oven to 350°F.Over low heat, combine butter, sugar and water. Heat until melted and add chocolate chips until partly melted. Remove from heat and stir. Pour into large mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes to cool slightly.Beat in eggs one at a time on high speed. Reduce mixer to low speed and add flour, salt and baking soda. Beat until well-blended. Chill 1-2 hours (dough is almost liquid before chilling but hardens and is easy to shape after chilling).*Roll into balls, place two inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Place an Andes Mint half on top. Allow to melt slightly and spread with a spoon.*Mine wasn't almost liquid before chilling so don't worry if yours isn't.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Butternut squash chowder with pears and ginger


This soup was really good and very easy. I got the original recipe from epicurious, although I did make a few modifications but nothing major. This soup goes perfectly with a grilled pear goat cheese sandwich. I think next time I would use a little more ginger and garnish with some goat cheese! Yum!

2 Bosc pears, diced
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup peeled and diced sweet onion
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon peeled minced fresh ginger
2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (about 3 cups)
1 baking potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and diced
5 cups Vegetable Stock or store-bought
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt to taste

Place the pears in a bowl with the lemon juice, cover with water, and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over high heat until lightly smoking. Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute longer, stirring constantly.
Drain half of the pears, reserving the other half in the lemon water for garnish. Add the drained pears to the pan with the squash, potato, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Transfer half of the soup in batches to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the orange juice, lemon juice (tablesppon NOT the lemon juice the pears soaked in), cream, salt, and the reserved pears and gently warm the chowder through (do not boil).

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Grilled pear and goat cheese sandwich


I made this sandwich to go with a soup that did not turn out quite right. My sweet husband ate it anyway and said it was good!! However I intend to throw the rest out and make it again, maybe tomorrow. But this sandwich that I made to go with the soup turned out quite well and was the perfect compliment to the soup.

french bread
goat cheese
bosc pear
butter

Slice the pear, spread goat cheese on one side and put pear on the other side. Spread butter on the grill and grill it.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Puttanesca


The original recipe is from here but I have changed it a little bit. Here is my version.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp soy sauce
a few shakes red chili flakes
2 teaspoons capers—rinsed and drained
10 pitted black olives—quartered
14 oz (420g) canned tomatoes—crushed
a few shakes parsley
7 oz (200g) angel hair

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, stirring. Add the chili, capers, olives, tomatoes, soy sauce, parsley and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta. Drain the cooked pasta into a colander and put the sauce in the bottom of the pot. Top with the hot pasta and reserved tablespoon of olive oil, and toss together gently to combine. I topped with parmasan cheese.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

They call them brownies...


On my daughters friends birthday we all had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien bakery where they passed out a card with the recipe on it. Today I finally decided to try them and they are incredible! It says to bake them 30-35, but 37 was perfect!

Makes 14 brownies

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60 - 64% cacao)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
5 eggs, beaten lightly with a fork
1 1/3 cups superfine sugar
3 tablespoons pastry flour

Roughly chop the chocolate into pieces. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and add the butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, until the two ingredients have melted. Mix well and transfer to a large bowl; set aside. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift the sugar and flour together, then stir into the chocolate. Add the eggs and mix well. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The batter will thicken as it stands. Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each paper-lined cup. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. The brownies will still be moist when done; they will puff up and fall slightly as they cool.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Vegetarian Peanut Chicken


I realize that this picture does not make this dish look the most appetizing but I swear it is good!!

quorn vegetarian chicken cutlets (from whole foods)
peanut sauce (I use 365 from whole foods)
2-3 tbls peanut butter
2-3 tbls heated milk
2 tbls canola oil
rice (enough for 4)
1/3 cups peanuts
¾ onion (cut to your preference)
6 mushrooms
a dash Red chili pepper flakes


I usually coat the chicken, mushrooms and peanuts with the peanut sauce first individually. Then put the oil in the pan and let it get hot, then saute the onion for about 3-4 minutes. Add 1 tbls of peanut butter at a time, letting it coat the onions. Then add a tbls at a time of the milk. Make sure that this has all coasted the onions. Add the dash of chili flakes. Add the mushrooms and let them get coated with the sauce, then add the chicken. i usually have some peanut sauce left in the container and I pour that in too. The last thing I add is the peanuts. Serve over rice. You can see from the picture that it's a little brown, so I usually make a salad or some vegetable to go with it.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Roasted Vegetables and Couscous


Tonight I made one of my favorite recipes. It originated from here, but I have changed it a bit. Here is my version.

Roasted Vegetables & Couscous

1 purple onion
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
2 portobello mushrooms
6-8 white mushrooms
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tbls olive oil
near east toasted pine nut couscous
mandarin oranges
feta cheese
fresh basil (optional)

Preheat oven to 425.
You can cut the vegetables to your liking, but I dice the peppers, slice the onions, quarter the white mushrooms, slice the Portobello mushrooms, quarter the yellow squash and the zucchini. Then put in a 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle the minced garlic and drizzle the olive oil. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes.

I make the couscous according to the package, and then put that in the center and the roasted vegetables around it. I then sprinkle with feta cheese and decorate with mandarin oranges and if I have some fresh basil I add a little of that.