Sunday, February 28, 2010
Manfrigul Pasta Balls
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Parmesan Chicken and Tortelli Filled with Swiss Chard
Ingredients:
For Filling:
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 1/2 lbs ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 egg
pinch grated nutmeg
salt
For the Sauce:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted (I only dused 1/2 cup, 1 stick)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method:
Clean the greens, cutting away the stalks, and boil them just until bright green. Remove them from the water, squeeze them dry, and leave to drain. Combine the ricotta with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and butter. Chop the boiled greens and work together with the cheese mixture along with the egg, a pinch of salt and nutmeg. Arrange small amount of filling on the wonton wrappers and fold to form the Tortelli. Cook the Tortelli in lightly salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until they float (this took my tortelli only 5 minutes, I tasted one and it was cooked), then drain thoroughly. Combine the melted butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Arrange some of the tortelli in a single layer in a deep bowl. Spoon over some the sauce and repeat the layers using all the tortelli.
This was a big hit. There was a comment about the green stuff in the tortelli but they seemed to disappear.
We had a bottle of Fat Cat Pinot Noir with the meal. It was a simply delicious Saturday night meal.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monkfish with Olives
Ingredients
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 med onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced (I did not mince the garlic, just cut it in half for easy removal)
12 green olives, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp. capers
2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley
A few basil leaves
1/2 cup tomato puree (I added more than a 1/2 cup)
2 lbs monkfish or halibut fillet, sliced
Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the onion and garlic.
Add the olive, capers, parsley, basil and tomato puree.
Stir, then add the fish and cook for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the slices.
And speaking of Chris, he has some great pictures of the birds who have visited our yard posted on his blog, The Bird Station. I can't wait for the Hummingbirds to come back!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pasta with Meat Sauce
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sausage and Cherry Tomato Bake
Monday, February 22, 2010
Pane Cotto Escarole and Beans Casserole and The Bird Station
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Braised Beef Short Ribs
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Homemade Rough-Cut Pasta with Leeks
Tonight's recipe came from La Cucina. Its crazy how the recipes in this book are pretty simple to make and the results are so good. Homemade Rough-Cut Pasta with Leeks, Maltagliati Di Porro, from the Piedmonte region. I have been trying different homemade pasta recipes. Tonight I tried Giada de Laurentiis's recipe. 3 cups flour, 4 eggs, 1 tbsp. salt and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Winner! Next time I will try the recipe in La Cucina. That one calls for olive oil and lard... I checked online and Crisco is good substitute for lard and there is a now a non-trans fat Crisco.
Anyway back to the recipe...
For the sauce:
2 tbsp. butter
4 leeks, cleaned and sliced in rounds
1/2 cup heavy cream
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt
Roll out pasta in a thin sheet (set machine to last setting) and cut in medium-size squares. (Note: Have plenty of space set aside to spread out dish towels sprinkled with flour to place your cut pasta).
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a pan over low heat. Saute the leeks until softened.
Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the leeks. Stir in the cream, add the cheese and serve hot.
We had a nice bottle of Coppola 2006 Syrah-Shiraz. I could really taste the black cherry and strawberry. Just not sure what a currant tastes like.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Cod with Peppers
Ingredients
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced (oops I forgot to add this)
3/4 lb. sweet peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1 2/3 cups chopped fresh plum tomatoes (I used a can of plum tomatoes)
2 lbs. sole, cleaned, rinsed and dried
Salt
Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic until they take on color, then add the peppers and tomatoes
Cook at low heat for 15 minutes, then add the sole.
Add salt to taste, cover the pan, and cook at low heat, shaking the pan from time to time.
For dishes sides I sauteed spinach and made some minute rice.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Vegetable Soup with Squash and Barley
When Chris first saw the soup he did not seem impressed. After his 2nd bowl I knew it was good. And was it good. I had Roasted Butternut Squash in the freezer and White Bean Puree from a previous soup. I used the puree with a little vegetable broth so we had another meatless meal.
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
4 oz. yellow winter squash, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cups broth
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 garlic clove
1 medium onion
1/2 lb. legumes (chickpeas, cannelli, and/or cranberry beans), cooked, liquid reserved
6 oz. barley cooked in water
1 tsp. chili-pepper flakes or 1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
Peasant-style bread, slice and toasted
Salt
Method
Heat half of the olive oil in pot; add the squash and saute until it begins to take on a little color.
Add the broth, and simmer until the squash is done; set aside and keep warm.
Chop together the celery, carrot, garlic and onion. Heat the remaining olive oil in a pot and saute the vegetables; add the legumes and their water, then add the squash and barley.
Adjust for salt and add chili pepper flakes or parsley. Serve with slices of toasted peasant-style bread.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Baked Macaroni with Eggplant
Another recipe from La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy. Timballo Di Maccheroni 1, Baked Macaroni with Eggplant. This recipe comes from Sicily.
Unfortunately the camera is in hiding... I think either Kramer or Archie might know its whereabouts. But back to dinner.
This was a delicious dinner. For being a baked macaroni dish it was very light. It used the sauce I had made on Sunday and put on the pizza. This dish will reappear in the blog at sometime. I cut the recipe in half but this is the recipe as it appears in the book. The recipe calls for lardo. I did not use lardo so this meal was meatless. Perfect for Lent.
Ingredients
3 eggplants, cut in thin lengthwise strips
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lardo, minced
1 garlic clove, crushed
3/4 lb. fresh plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded (I used canned San Marzano tomatoes)
3/4 lb. macaroni rigati
2oz. caciocavallo, sliced
tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking dish. Put the eggplant slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 30 minutes to make them lose their bitter juice.
Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a pan. Rinse and dry the eggplant slices and fry them; set aside.
In a saucepan heat the lardo and 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic; add the tomatoes and season with salt; cover and cook at low heat.
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water; drain when al dente.
In the baking dish arrange alternating layers of macaroni, tomato sauce, eggplant, and caciocavallo, continuing the layers until no ingredients are left. Place pats of butter across the surface and bake for 10 minutes.
Unmold onto a serving dish and cut in wedges to serve.
Unfortunately the camera is in hiding... I think either Kramer or Archie might know its whereabouts. But back to dinner.
This was a delicious dinner. For being a baked macaroni dish it was very light. It used the sauce I had made on Sunday and put on the pizza. This dish will reappear in the blog at sometime. I cut the recipe in half but this is the recipe as it appears in the book. The recipe calls for lardo. I did not use lardo so this meal was meatless. Perfect for Lent.
Ingredients
3 eggplants, cut in thin lengthwise strips
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lardo, minced
1 garlic clove, crushed
3/4 lb. fresh plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded (I used canned San Marzano tomatoes)
3/4 lb. macaroni rigati
2oz. caciocavallo, sliced
tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking dish. Put the eggplant slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and leave for 30 minutes to make them lose their bitter juice.
Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a pan. Rinse and dry the eggplant slices and fry them; set aside.
In a saucepan heat the lardo and 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic; add the tomatoes and season with salt; cover and cook at low heat.
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water; drain when al dente.
In the baking dish arrange alternating layers of macaroni, tomato sauce, eggplant, and caciocavallo, continuing the layers until no ingredients are left. Place pats of butter across the surface and bake for 10 minutes.
Unmold onto a serving dish and cut in wedges to serve.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Chicken Noodle Soup
Monday, February 15, 2010
Meatloaf with Gorgonzola, Bacon and Onions
Saute one chopped white onion and 1/2 chopped red onion and one chopped carrot. Add the cooked vegetables to 1 1/2 lbs. meat and add 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tbsp horseradish mustard, 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, panko bread crumbs and chopped cooked bacon. Mix then add Gorgonzola. Put in greased loaf pan. Coat with ketchup and sprinkle french fried onions. Bake 350 for 1 hour.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Pizza with Steak and Onions

I like pizza (actually any type of bread) and Chris likes Steak and Onion. It was the perfect combination. The pizza dough was from the My Bread book. I used a sauce that I made to go with our Ash Wednesday dinner. Check back for that recipe. I used Steak-Ums, white and red onions, Provolone and Mozzarella cheese. It was so good. I still think putting oil on the baking sheet really gives the crust an extra crispness.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Breaded Pork Chops with Swiss Chard and Ricotta
I was sure I had Panko breadcrumbs in the cabinet. I was sure I had some kind of breadcrumbs, but I was wrong. That is how dinner preparation began. I made breadcrumbs from some wheat bread. Dipped the pork chops into egg and then into the breadcrumbs, to which I had added sage, rosemary, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I put the pork in a baking dish that I sprayed with Pam. Popped them in a 350˚ oven for 25 minutes.
I had some Swiss Chard and found a recipe in La Cucina for Torta Di Bietole E Ricotta, Swiss Chard and Ricotta. The recipe comes from Sicily. Very easy to prepare.
Ingredients
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lbs. Swiss Chard
10 oz. ricotta
3 large eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking dish with olive oil. Parboil the Swiss chard until tender, about 5 minutes, and drain well. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan and add the chard. Cook until totally wilted.
In a bowl, crush the ricotta with the tines of a fork, add the eggs and chard, and salt and pepper lightly. Put this mixture in the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
Also served Israeli Couscous on the side.
Ingredients
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lbs. Swiss Chard
10 oz. ricotta
3 large eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a baking dish with olive oil. Parboil the Swiss chard until tender, about 5 minutes, and drain well. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan and add the chard. Cook until totally wilted.
In a bowl, crush the ricotta with the tines of a fork, add the eggs and chard, and salt and pepper lightly. Put this mixture in the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
Also served Israeli Couscous on the side.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Pan Seared Diver Scallops
Tonight Chris took me out for dinner. We went to Friends and Company. We started off with cocktails, of course. For appetizers we shared Maryland Style Crab Cakes served with a Chipolte Aioli and Shrimp Fritters with a Mango Relish.
For dinner I had Pan Seared Diver Scallops and a Portabello Mushroom that was stuffed with lobster and crab meat. Wow! Chris had a Cajun seafood sauce which had lobster and shrimp in it which was served over rigatoni. Another delicious dish.
For dessert we split the Apple Crisp. I also had a hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps. Perfect ending to a long week.
For dinner I had Pan Seared Diver Scallops and a Portabello Mushroom that was stuffed with lobster and crab meat. Wow! Chris had a Cajun seafood sauce which had lobster and shrimp in it which was served over rigatoni. Another delicious dish.
For dessert we split the Apple Crisp. I also had a hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps. Perfect ending to a long week.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Chicken Pot Pie

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Baked Macoroni
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Timballo Di Sfoglie
Ingredients
Unsalted butter
For the dough:
About 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
4 large eggs
Salt
For the sauce:
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. ground beef
2 lbs. canned tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt
For the filling:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for frying
7 oz. zucchini, cut in rounds
3 artichokes, cut in pieces
1 1/4 lb. scamorza cheese, cubed
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method
Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
Grease a 10-inch-round baking dish with butter.
Use the flour and eggs to prepare a pasta dough. Roll out a very thin sheet; cut the sheet in strips about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Cook these in boiling lightly salted water for 3 minutes until very al dente, drain and dry on a cloth.
In another pan prepare the sauce: heat the olive oil in the pan and brown the ground beef. Add the tomatoes, onions and the salt to taste.
In another pan heat the olive oil and fry the zucchini and artichokes until golden, then combine them with the scamorza.
Mix the egg into the milk.
In the prepared pan, arrange alternating layers of pasta, scamorza, sauce, pats of butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and half of the egg mixture; repeat then end with a final layer of pasta and bake 50 minutes.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Super Bowl
Big game tonight. We started with a couple of appetizers. Rosemary Thyme Pita Chips and Eggplant and Feta Rolls. The Eggplant and Feta Rolls are from figtree appetizers blog. I have been wanting to try this recipe for some time. I liked it. The Rosemary Thyme Pita Chips are from Food52 site. Came across this yesterday and I am really glad I found this recipe. Quite good.
For dinner I made BBQ Pork Spare Ribs. The recipe is from cooks.com.
BBQ Pork Spare Ribs
2 lb. pork spare ribs
1 onion
Sauce:
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1/3 c. ketchup
Place spareribs (meat side down) in roasting pan. Cover meat with thinly sliced onion. Pour sauce over meat. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until done. Last 10 minutes of cooking you can remove cover to "crunch up" the top slightly.
For a side dish again I found a recipe on Food52 yesterday. Mashed Salt and Vinegar Reds. Nice, but I would add more vinegar.
Mashed Salt and Vinegar Reds
Serves 4
1 pound dark red-skinned potatoes (about 4 medium)
3 tablespoons good quality olive oil, divided
4 scallions, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
pinches of coarse, flaky sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
small handful of thinly sliced, dark green scallion tops
1 teaspoon chives, chopped
Cut the potatoes into quarters, place in a pot of cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, and can be easily pierced with a fork.
While the potatoes are on the stove, saute the white and pale green parts of the scallions in one tablespoon of olive oil, over medium heat, until they begin to soften and melt; remove from heat, and set aside.
Strain the cooked potatoes, and transfer immediately to a large bowl; sprinkle with the vinegar while the potatoes are still hot, and let sit for about a minute or two; stir in remaining olive oil, cooked scallions, salt and pepper; smash ingredients together with a potato masher until they just begin to hold, but are still very rustic looking, and chunky (add a little more olive oil at this point if the potatoes seem a little dry - you want them to glisten).
Transfer to serving bowl; sprinkle with dark green scallion slivers, and chives; add extra salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Gnocchi a la Vodka
It seems like someone's birthday is coming up this week so tonight we ate out. We went to Quattros in Guilford. We always have a good meal there. We started with Fried Calamari, Crab Cakes and Bruschetta. The Bruschetta is amazing.
For dinner I had Gnocchi a la Vodka. It was homemade potato gnocchi that was so light. It was like eating puffs of air. The gnocchi was sauteed with shrimp in a vodka cream sauce. Fantastic.
Sorry but the restaurant was not lit for food photography. It was a fun night with good people and lots of good food!
For dinner I had Gnocchi a la Vodka. It was homemade potato gnocchi that was so light. It was like eating puffs of air. The gnocchi was sauteed with shrimp in a vodka cream sauce. Fantastic.
Sorry but the restaurant was not lit for food photography. It was a fun night with good people and lots of good food!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Escarole and Bean Pizza
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Grilled Chicken and Roasted Pepper Panini
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Crispy Prosciutto and Scallion Frittata
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1-inch pieces
8 large eggs
3 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Method
Heat oven to 350° F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Parmesan, and pepper. Add the cooked scallions and prosciutto. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and stir to distribute the ingredients. Bake until browned around the edges and puffed (a knife should come out clean), 15 to 20 minutes.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Manicotti with Chicken Sausage
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