I'm migrating! Please visit my 3-Day Blog if you haven't yet! I started blogging to document my Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day journey this year and that blog seemed to grow into more than that. I'd like to keep that blog about the 3-Day only so I started up this one to include all of my foodie rantings!
This first post contains everything in my "year in recipes" from the other blog. My resolution this year was to try a new recipe every week! Let's see how I do?
Andrea
Ok, here goes! My New Year's resolution is to try a new recipe every week. No promises that I'll meet that goal but I will try and I will post the recipes and our reviews of them here.
Wednesday, March 16th: Salmon with Angel Hair
A coworker sent me this recipe. It's something she just "made". It's so simple, so good and good for you!
It's this simple, start some water boiling for some angel hair pasta.
Heat up some olive oil in a pan. I used a basil infused olive oil from my favorite place, The Olive Grove Olive Oil Company. Place the salmon in the pan and coat with lemon pepper seasoning. Cook until the skin separates, discard the skin. Break the salmon up in pieces and continue cooking, making sure there is enough lemon pepper seasoning to have some on every piece.
I added capers to the salmon when it was almost done cooking.
Drain the pasta and toss with a little more oil. Again, I used the basil oil. Add the salmon and top with grated parmesan.
The whole process took about 10 minutes once the water was boiling. This is something I can do even when I'm "too tired to cook"! I served it with a great sour dough bread and a mixed green salad (of course with the orange oil/chocolate balsamic dressing).
Sunday, March 13th: Banana Hazelnut Bruschetta
OH MY! This is delish! I found this very simple recipe in my Food Network Magazine. I couldn't find hazelnut butter in my local grocery store (if they had it it wasn't near the peanut butter!) so I bought Nutella, chocolate and bananas how could that be bad?
Link to Recipe
The recipe didn't say how many slices of baguette to use. After it was all said and done, the two average sized bananas I used would have made 10 nice slices of bruschetta.
The recipe also said to bake the baguette and bananas separately. I'm lazy. I put them on the same baking sheet and just took the baguette out after 7 minutes and put the bananas back in for an additional 3.
They make a beautiful brunch item or dessert. I don't know that I would use just "plain old" hazelnut butter, the Nutella is so good! I didn't add the whipped cream. I just didn't take the time to make it but I'm sure it would be good.
I served these for brunch with some crab cakes benedict that I topped with San Pedro Cafe habanero aioli rather than hollandaise, some Nueske's smoked bacon and roasted veggies. Dave and I are ready for a nap now!
Tuesday, March 8th: Lemon Sugar Cookies
Oh my these are delicious! My fellow Weight Watchers have been looking for low point but yummy desserts. I found this cookie recipe from Cook's Illustrated and made them. I made them half size which is a good two or three bites and they are just one WW Plus point each! You wouldn't know it! Coworkers who weren't in on the secret couldn't get enough of them either! One even asked for the recipe!
Cook's Illustrated Light Sugar Cookies
Servings: 24
NOTES: In order for the cookies to spread and brown properly it is important to bake them one tray at a time.
Ingredients:
3 ¾ ounces unbleached flour -- 3/4 cup
2 ounces cake flour -- 1/2 cup
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter -- softened
8 1/3 ounces sugar -- 1 1/3 cup, divided
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar (retain remaining sugar for coating) together at medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat at medium speed until combined, 30 to 60 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Place the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with a level tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1-inch balls. If the dough is too soft to roll, refrigerate it until firm. Carefully roll the balls in the sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/;2 inches apart. You will fit 12 cookies on a cookie sheet.
Bake the cookies, one tray at a time; until the edges are light golden and the centers are just set, 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through baking (do not over bake). Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Lemon Sugar Cookie variation: (lime or orange zest could also be used)
Follow the recipe adding 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest with the egg in step 2. Before coating the cookies in sugar, process the remaining 1/3 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest in a food processor until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Coat, bake and cool the cookies as directed.
Saturday, March 5 :Spaghettini with Crab, Tomato and White Wine & Roasted Root Vegetables with Balsamic Vinegar
Dave and I are going back to Napa in April. One of the wineries we plan on visiting this time is Cakebread so I bought the Cakebread cookbook to try a few of the recipes.
The first was Spaghettini with Crab, Tomato and White Wine. It was good but we didn't think it was fabulous. I was very quick to prepare so if you're in a hurry it's a good dish to do and it's a very pretty dish if you're having guests. You can really taste the crab which nice and the smell in the kitchen was unbelievable. You can't get better aromas than sauteing garlic and then adding red wine!
On the side I made Roasted Root Vegetables with Balsamic Vinegar. I do roasted veggies all the time (at least two nights a week) but the twist with the balsamic interested me so I tried them.
I'm not a fan of beets. The recipe called for parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, carrots and, yes, beets. Ok, I'll try them. The recipe said to roast at 400 for 45 minutes. I should have checked them sooner. I know my oven's temperature is true at 400 so I didn't think to check. The kitchen was smelling so good! They got a little over-caramelized, they were still good but a little over done.
There was really nothing different about this recipe from what I normally do other than finishing the veggies with balsamic and WOW is that good! I'll be doing that from now on! I have a bunch of flavored oils from my favorite Olive Grove Olive Oil Company. I can't wait to try them out!
Oh, and I'll be leaving out the beets!
Monday, 2/21/11 Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables with Bacon and Thyme
YUMMY! I've mixed carrots and parsnips in with my mashed potatoes before and I like it. I like just plain old mashed parsnips too so this recipe piqued my interest. After the last mashed potato with bacon recipe (see #7 below) I decided to modify this one just a bit and leave the bacon out. Just the bacon, not the bacon grease!
I made this batch with parsnips. I think I'll try with carrots or maybe a mixture of carrots and parsnips next time. There was just enough smokiness from the bacon grease. I think the bacon would have overpowered everything but if you're a bacon lover, by all means leave it in!
I found this recipe at Cooks Illustrated.
Serves 4. Published November 1, 2007.
ARGH!!! I lost a couple of recipes I had posted here. I'm not sure what happened. I know I'm missing my Spaghetti and Meatballs cake but not sure what else. I'll try to get them all back.
Saturday 2/19/11 - Balsamic Steak with Cabernet Mushroom Sauce & Mashed Potato Casserole with Smoked Gouda and Bacon
Balsamic Steak
This was so good and so easy! I'm not sure from where I got the recipe but based on the paper on which it was printed I'm guessing a balsamic vinegar and olive oil tasting Dave and I attended.
Mix 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. Place your favorite steak in a plastic zip top bag and pour the marinade over it. Marinate the steak for 30 minutes.
Take the steak out of the bag and place it on the grill or in the oven. Reserve the marinade!
While the steak is cooking, place 2 cups of cabernet in a sauce pan with the reserved marinade. Bring this to a boil then add 2 cups of your favorite mushrooms. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until your steaks are done.
Pour the sauce over your steak and serve. Delish!
Mashed Potato Casserole with Smoked Gouda and Bacon
Dave and I both thought this was good, not great, but good. We both thought it would have been better without the bacon. It seemed to overpower the delicious smoked gouda flavor.
I found this recipe in an old issue of Bon Appetit magazine.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mashed-Potato-Casserole-with-Gouda-and-Bacon-351538
Sunday 2/6/11 - Spaghetti and Meatballs Cake
My copy of Food Network magazine came and this was in it. I just had to make it. I don't know if it really qualifies as a new "recipe" but I'm not going to be a stickler for technicalities! I think it turned out pretty darn cute!
It's just a regular chocolate cake. Frost one layer then crumble the other to make the "meatballs". Tint your favorite frosting (the recipe actually called for "tub" frosting.... YUCK) with a little yellow food color and add 1 tsp of cocoa powder to give it flecks like pasta. The sauce is just pureed raspberry jam (the recipe called for pureed strawberries, I didn't have any!).
Saturday 01/22/11: Lump Crab meat Ravioli with Red Pepper Cream Sauce
I had Jen and Xavier over for dinner. I'd been promising them one for a while. Dinner was, if I do say so myself, very yummy!
I made pasta with Michael Symon's recipe. I can give it to you if you want it but it's your basic egg pasta recipe, flour, egg yolks and oil. The only change I made was I used a basil infused olive oil instead of regular EVOO. It smelled SO good!
The main course was Emeril Lagasse's Lump Crab meat Ravioli with Red Pepper Cream Sauce. The only change I made here was to use a smoked paprika in the cream sauce rather than regular paprika. We all thought this was one tasty dish!
I happened to be at the Olive Grove Olive Oil Company today buying some blood orange infused EVOO for a coworker. The staff talked me into trying it with the chocolate balsamic. OH MY! So for our salad tonight we had mixed greens with toasted almonds, craisins, red onion and goat cheese topped with a vinaigrette with the orange EVOO and chocolate balsamic. Xavier didn't really care for it but Jen and I couldn't stop eating it!
I also sauteed some asparagus. Nothing special there!
Here's the recipe for the ravioli and cream sauce. I didn't do the monster ravioli Emeril suggested so my batch served more than 4! The three of us had plenty and there's still lots left in the freezer!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/lump-crabmeat-ravioli-with-red-pepper-cream-sauce-and-asparagus-recipe/index.html
Sunday 01/16/11: Bacon Brownies
Yes, Bacon Brownies! Intrigued by a post on a friend's Facebook site I decided to try these. He was lamenting a week-old curry smell in the kitchen and there were suggestions to bake brownies or cook bacon to mask the curry. He found, and posted, a recipe for bacon brownies so I tried them.
I didn't follow the recipe exactly. The recipe used an, in my opinion, inferior brownie mix and he left the slices of bacon whole. I chopped them up and sprinkled them around the batter. He also used a brownie mix with caramel. I opted to be a purist and just use "plain old" brownie mix.
The brownies are in the oven as I type this. I'll update the posting with finished product pictures and if I can get Dave to eat one, a review.
I've tried bacon and chocolate before. Voges' has a bacon chocolate bar. I didn't care for it. I'm thinking the brownies won't be that much better but who knows! I could be surprised!
UPDATE: Well, Dave and I tried them. They aren't terrible but they aren't something I have the burning desire to make again. We'll see what the folks at work think!
Wednesday 01/12/11: Michael Symon's Pork Souvlaki with Honeyed Apricots
Dave and I eat a lot of pork tenderloin and I'm always looking for new things to do with it. This recipe was so easy and so good! The only thing I changed was I made a cucumber sauce rather than serving it with plain Greek yogurt.
Here's a link to the recipe on Food Network!
Michael Symon's Pork Souvlaki with Honeyed Apricots
Saturday 01/01/11: Mushroom Gravy
We picked up some mushrooms at Farmer's Market this morning. We had planned to roast a turkey breast and do mashed potatoes for dinner so I thought mushroom gravy would be a good addition.
I've made gravy before but this was a new recipe and the resolution was new recipes. I've always made gravy from pan drippings or from stewing vegetables in stock for several hours. This recipe called for red wine and balsamic vinegar and took about half an hour to make. How could I pass that up?
The kitchen smelled great while this was cooking! There's almost no better smell than sauteed garlic and then when you add red wine and balsamic, well it doesn't get much better.
Even though I am not a fan of mushrooms I liked this gravy. It was more of a pan sauce than a gravy I think, mostly mushrooms, little sauce, but very tasty and not salty.
It was quick and easy to make and I had all the ingredients in the house.
I found the recipe at epicurious.com, one of my many go-to places for recipes.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 pound mixed fresh white and exotic mushrooms such as cremini, oyster or shiitake
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions:
Slice mushrooms. In a 10-inch heavy non-stick skillet cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add mushrooms and soy sauce and saute mixture over moderately high heat, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown.
Add wine and vinegar and boil until liquid is evaporated. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to skillet with sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and season gravy with salt and pepper.
Gravy may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. When reheating gravynecessary to thin to desired consistency.
Russet potatoes will yield a slightly fluffier, less creamy mash, but they can be used in place of the Yukon Gold potatoes if desired. Rinsing the potatoes in several changes of water reduces starch and prevents the mashed potatoes from becoming gluey. It is important to cut the potatoes and root vegetables into even-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate. This recipe can be doubled and cooked in a large Dutch oven. If doubling, increase the cooking time in step 2 to 40 minutes. This variation is particularly nice with turnips.
| 4 | ounces bacon , cut into 1/2-inch pieces |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 8 | ounces carrots , parsnips, turnips, or celery root, peeled; carrots or parsnips cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons; turnips or celery root cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups) |
| 1 1/2 | pounds Yukon Gold potatoes , peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices; rinsed well in 3 or 4 changes of cold water and drained well |
| 1/3 | cup low-sodium chicken broth |
| Table salt | |
| 3/4 | cup half-and-half , warmed |
| 1 | teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves |
| Ground black pepper |
- Cook 4 slices (about 4 ounces) bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, in large saucepan over medium heat until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Remove all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from pan.
- Add butter to pan and keep over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add root vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is browned and vegetables are dark brown and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. (If after 4 minutes vegetables have not started to brown, increase heat to medium-high.)
- Add potatoes, broth, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Cook, covered, over low heat (broth should simmer gently; do not boil), stirring occasionally, until potatoes fall apart easily when poked with fork and all liquid has been absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. (If liquid does not gently simmer after a few minutes, increase heat to medium-low.) Remove pan from heat; remove lid and allow steam to escape for 2 minutes.
- Gently mash potatoes and root vegetables in saucepan with potato masher (do not mash vigorously). Gently fold in warm half-and-half, reserved bacon, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.
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