Friday, July 30, 2010

Delicious Pasta Salad


This has been a family favorite for years. We just love it! The only thing I do differently with this recipe is use a different shape of pasta than the recipe calls for. The recipe calls for shell pasta, but I think farfalle pasta just looks prettier. I'm all about making my food look pretty!

2 C. farfalle pasta(measure dry then cook and cool)
4 C. cooked chicken(I use a rotisserie chicken. It's fast and easy)
2 C. water chestnuts(drained)
2 C. celery, chopped
2 C. seedless grapes, halved
2 C. unpaired apples, cut up
2 T. chopped green onions
1 1/2 C. slivered almonds

Mix the above ingredients. Then mix 1 cup Kraft coleslaw dressing and 1 cup mayonnaise together in a small bowl. Pour over salad, mix and chill.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Layered Brownies


This recipe comes from a Bon Appetit magazine and these brownies are soooo good! They take some time to make though, so I would save this recipe for a special occasion. Make the brownie, and caramel layer a day ahead. The caramel needs about 8hours to set up. I like the recipe for the most part, but I did change the candied pecans. I like a little sweet and salty. I'm adding my version and the Bon Appetit version so you have to option of sweet and salty or just sweet.

Candied Pecans (My version):
3 T. light corn syrup
1 1/2 T. granulated sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 C. pecans
Combine first three ingredients in a small bowl. Add pecans and coat well with sugar mixture. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 325 F., for 20 minutes. Stir the nuts every 5 or 10 minutes. Spread out on parchment paper or foil and let cool. Coarsly chop and set aside. These nuts are also great for salads!

Candied Pecans (Bon Appetit):
½ C. sugar
¼ C. water
1 C. pecan halves, toasted
Lightly butter baking sheet. Stir sugar and ¼ cup water in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until sugar syrup is light golden, occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes. Add pecans and stir until syrup coats pecans, about 1 minute. Immediately pour pecans out onto prepared baking sheet; spread in single layer with heat proof spatula. Cool completely. Coarsely chop nuts.

Brownies:
½ C. unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¼ C. plus 1 t. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ T. all purpose flour
1/8 t. slat
½ C. plus 1 T. sugar
2 large eggs
½ t. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray and line with Parchment paper. Leave an overhang of about three inches on each side so that you can easily remove the brownies from the pan (I think parchment is the greatest thing ever, but you can also use foil). Combine ½ cup butter and bittersweet chocolate in medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Whisk cocoa powder, flour and salt in small bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour butter mixture into sugar mixture; whisk until blended. Transfer brownie batter to prepared baking pan; smooth top (layer will be thin). Bake brownie until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 18 – 20 minutes. Allow brownie to cool slightly, then gently press down on edges to form flat, even layer. Cool completely in pan on rack.

White-Chocolate Caramel:
Tip: This caramel isn't difficult to make, but be sure that you can give it your full attention. I had to make it twice because the sugar water turns the amber color pretty fast. It tasts burnt and bitter if you wait for it to turn the deep amber color mentioned in the recipe. I just waited until it was golden-amber colored, about 5 minutes instead of 8. Also, have your cream measured and ready before you start cooking the sugar water mixture.
3 T. water, divided
¾ t. unflavored gelatin
4 ½ T. sugar
Pinch of salt
6 T. heavy whipping cream
4 ounces high-quality white chocolate (Lindt is good), finely chopped
1 ½ T. unsalted butter, diced, room temp.
Spoon 1 tablespoon water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over and stir to blend. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons water, sugar, and pinch of salt in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes. Slowly add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Reduce heat to low. Stir to dissolve and caramel bits. Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin dissolves. Add white chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour caramel on top of the cooled brownie; spread evenly to cover completely. Chill uncovered until caramel firms slightly. At least 8 hours or overnight.

Semisweet-Chocolate Ganache:
2/3 C. heavy whipping cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 t. butter, room temperature
Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Cool until mixture is slightly thickened but still pourable, about 15 minutes. Pour ganache on top of caramel layer; spread just to edges. Sprinkle chopped candied pecans evenly over the top. Chill uncovered until ganache is firm enough to cut, about 4 hours.

Using parchment as aid , lift brownie out of pan; place on work surface, Fold parchment sides down. Using sharp knife, Cut brownie into 1 1/2 x 2" bars, or bigger if you like!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Caprese Ravioli


A few years ago I got a little ravioli maker and a good old fashioned pasta roller. I am constantly on the lookout for good ravioli recipes so there will probably be quite a few more ravioli recipes on this blog in the future. Anyway, making ravioli CAN be time consuming, but the great thing about it is that you can make a big batch and freeze what you don't cook. I like to make my own pasta dough, but you can just buy wonton wrappers and use those instead. I found this ravioli recipe in one of Jamie Olivers cook books, but I changed it a little to make it my own. The ingredients in the filling are similar to the ingredients in caprese salad, so that is where the name came from. Caprese salad is a simple, but delicious Italian salad that consists of fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Ravioli Dough:
2 C. flour
1 t. salt
2 T. butter
1/2 C. boiled water
In a food processor pulse flour,salt and butter together. Slowly add boiled water while pulsing until all of the dough collects on one side of the food processor and forms into a ball. Kneed the dough until smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for about 10 minutes. Cut the dough into four pieces. Run each piece through your pasta maker until very thin and about 5 inches wide and 12 inches long (maybe longer). You can also roll it out, but it takes a lot of work! You just want the dough to be 1/16th of an inch maybe a little thinner.

Filling:
8 oz. fresh mozzarella pearls or chopped fresh mozzarella
About 6 or 7 sundried tomatoes, chopped fine
5 fresh basil leaves chopped fine
3 slices of cooked bacon, chopped fine
1/3 C. grated romano cheese
Combine all ingredients. Brush your 5 x 12 sheet of pasta with water or an egg wash. Place 12 mounds (about 1 T. each) of filling on your sheet of pasta dough making sure to get at least 1 piece of mozzarella in each mound. Lay another sheet of pasta over the top and press around the edges of each mound and cut into squares. Repeat with the rest of the pasta dough and filling. If you are using wonton wrappers, brush water on one wonton, put the filling on top and then put another wonton over the top and then press around the edges.
If the pasta is fresh, cook in boiling, salted water for about 3 minutes. If it's frozen, cook for about 7 minutes and drain. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top with fresh ground pepper, romano cheese and fresh basil.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Puffy Apple Pancakes with Apple Syrup


When I was young, my mom would make German pancakes (or puffy pancakes) every now and then and we just loved them. The best part was watching the pancakes puff up really big. About a year ago I found a recipe for Austrian Apple pancakes in one of my cook books. Austrian Apple pancakes are similar to German pancakes except they have apples on the bottom. I think the recipe I have is good, but sometimes I have trouble getting the apples out so I changed the recipe a little and gave it a new name!

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 C. butter, divided (I only had two table spoons of butter, so I used two table spoons of coconut oil as well and it added just a hint of coconut flavor that was really good!)
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. lemon juice
3 eggs
3/4 C. milk (I used Evaporated milk)
3/4 C. flour
1 T. sugar
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute apple in 2 T. butter in a 10" oven-proof skillet over medium heat until golden and almost tender. Add lemon juice and cook for a minute longer. Today I added about 1/8 C. of brown sugar to the apples and let them cook for about a minute. Melt 2 T. of butter (in my case, coconut oil) in the microwave. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with milk, flour, sugar, salt and melted butter until smooth. Pour batter over apples in the hot pan and spread; do not stir. Place skillet in oven and bake until puffed and golden, 18-20 minutes. Pull out of the oven, loosen the edges with a rubber spatula and turn over onto a plate. WARNING! After loosening the edges with a spatula, don't forget that the handle of the pan is still really hot like I did! Very stupid and painful! Adding the brown sugar to the apples creates a syrup, so you really don't need to add syrup unless you love it like I do!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw


I found this recipe in a Bon Appetit magazine and it is so simple, yummy and healthy! I have been trying to cook at least one vegetarian meal a week for the past few years and this is a great one! It's not that I don't like meat, I actually love a good steak. I have just found that meat can be pretty expensive. I like to stay within my $55/week food budget, so going vegetarian once or even twice a week saves me some money!

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 t. ground cumin
5 t. olive oil, divided
1 T. fresh lime juice
2 C. coleslaw mix (I just shred my own cabbage and add some grated carrots)
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 C. chopped fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 C. crumbled feta cheese (I guess you could use monterrey jack cheese if you don't like feta, but I LOVE feta cheese!)
Bottled hot sauce

Mix beans and cumin in a small bowl and slightly mash the beans. In a separate bowl mix 2 teaspoons of olive oil and lime juice. Add the coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss together. Season the slaw with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.
Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the tortillas in a single layer and put some of the bean mixture (1/4 of the mixture) on one side of each tortilla. I like to add my feta cheese at this point because I like it a little soft and gooey. Cook for one minute and then fold the tacos in half. Continue to cook until golden brown. Remove from the heat and fill the tacos with the slaw and top with a little hot sauce.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Tart

I LOVE dessert. I could probably eat dessert three times a day and still be ready for more if I didn't have the slightest bit of self control. The richer the dessert the more I love it! I also appreciate that dessert always looks beautiful. I totally agree with the saying that we eat with our eyes. I defiantly do! I thought it only fitting that my first recipe would be a dessert. Cream cheese pie. My mom made cream cheese pie for us every valentines day when I was younger and it has always been one of my favorite desserts. I decided to change a few things this time. Instead of the traditional gram cracker crust, I made a phyllo dough crust and I cooked it in a tart pan instead of a pie pan. I also put strawberries on top instead of cherries. I was pretty happy with the results. I think the phyllo crust added a nice crunch, but I still love the gram cracker crust as well!

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Tart

Phyllo crust:
20 phyllo sheets
1/4 C. melted butter
3 T. granulated sugar

Spread a thin layer of melted butter on the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 inch tart pan with a pastry brush. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough in the pan and press the sides. Spread another thin layer of butter on top of the phyllo sheet and then sprinkle with sugar. Repeat this step with the rest of the phyllo sheets alternating the direction the sheets are laid so that the edges are even. Trim the excess phyllo dough with a sharp knife and pierce the dough with a fork (I forgot to do that and it puffed up quite a bit). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and crispy. Set aside and let cool.

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 t. vanilla

Combine ingredients until smooth and pour into cooled crust. Chill the tart for at least an hour. Top with sliced strawberries ( I let my strawberries macerate in a few table spoons of sugar for about 15 minutes before I put them on top of my tart).