Easter in June

Not much to say here. At Easter, I cut one of my Pizzagaina in half and froze it. 

The other night Chris asked when we can have one. 

I do take special requests.

And we still have one half in the freezer.

Money in the bank!

20 Minute Pasta Carbonara with Crispy Prosciutto and Burrata.

Oh, this was tasty! 

I have made this before. The original recipe is from HalfBakedHarvest.com. I made a couple of edits this time. Changed the pasta, left out the spinach and of course, no garlic. 

It was easy to put this together. And it was nice to be able to get all the herbs from the deck.

Ingredients-

3 ounces prosciutto, torn

3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten***

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried basil)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives (or 1 teaspoon onion powder)

1 pound dry Penne pasta 

2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature

kosher salt and black pepper

8 ounces burrata or ricotta cheese, at room temperature

Method-

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the prosciutto in an even layer. Transfer to the oven and cook 8-10 minutes, until the prosciutto is crisp.

  Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, Parmesan, basil, thyme, and chives, in a large serving bowl.

  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente. Before draining, scoop out about 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.

  Immediately add the hot pasta to the egg/cheese mixture, tossing quickly (to ensure the eggs do not scramble) until the eggs thicken and create a sauce. Thin the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches your desired consistency. Add the butter and gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

  Divide the pasta among plates and top with freshly torn burrata cheese, the crispy prosciutto, and fresh herbs. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over top. 

*** Don't have your eggs to room temp when you start this recipe. Read this-

To bring whole eggs to room temperature quickly, fill a small or medium bowl with warm water. You want the temperature to feel like a warm bath (you don’t want to end up accidentally cooking the eggs). Carefully place the eggs in the water and let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes. If you do this at the beginning of prepping a recipe, the eggs will be at room temperature right as you finish measuring out the rest of your ingredients.

From Bon Appetit - The Impatient Baker's Guide To Bringing Dairy To Room Temp

Roasted Flat Iron Steak with Olive Oil-Herb Rub

Flat Iron Steak was on sale at Shop Rite this week. I used fresh parsley, oregano, and thyme from the deck, AKA my summer getaway.

I made this for the first time in 2016. The recipe comes from Cooking Light. This time I left out the Lemon Rind. I remember there was a comment from the other side of the table stating that the ingredient was not needed. This was a delicious dinner!

Roasted Flat Iron Steak with Olive Oil-Herb Rub
Ingredients-
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (1 1/2-pound) flat iron steak, trimmed
Cooking spray
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth

Method-
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over steak. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Add wine and broth; cook 1 minute. Spread herb mixture over steak; place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with pan sauce.

Speaking of the deck, we had a couple of visitors today.

We have a nest of Red Tail Hawks in our yard. This one was the size of Patrick. 

See the photo below. Chris said this was one of the babies!!

New House Favorite Pie - Grandma's Pie 17" Square

Earlier this week, Chris tagged me in a Facebook post put up by Roccos Off Wooster, our favorite local pizza place. The post was for Naunie’s Pie which is a Sicilian Style Pie with Mozz, Provolone, Hot Cherry Peppers, Table Cheese, Sausage, Bacon, & Onion. I replied back, "YES!"

Tonight I called the order in at about 4:00 saying I would pick it up at 5:45. I requested the pie that was featured on Facebook, the Naunie's Pie.

I am pretty sure we got the Grandma's Pie 17" Square. I was driving home and the car smelled so damn good!

Chris opens the box and says "Wow!!" But he mentions that he does not see the Hot Cherry Peppers, Sausage, Bacon, or Onion.

It's okay that those things were not on this pie. The Grandma's pie consists of Italian Plum Tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, Lite Mozzarella, Fresh Garlic, Basil & Spices, and baked in perfectly Seasoned Pans!  The crust was perfect as always. The tomatoes were sweet. The basil tied everything together and we did not even mind the garlic. It was a perfect pie.

It reminded me quite a bit of my Mom's Sunday night pizza. It was plenty for the 2 of us with lots of leftovers.

Air Fryer Parmesan Chicken Bites

Applause from the other side of the table! This recipe is from the All Recipes site.

I did make a small edit. I added Cornstarch to the Panko bread crumb mixture. It helps crisp up the coating in the air fryer. I used Chicken Tenders instead of the whole breast. That sped up the production a bit. The meal came together in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients-
6 ounces chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large egg
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
nonstick cooking spray

Method-
Preheat an air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.

Combine egg, whipping cream, and 1/2 of the salt in a bowl. Whisk until yellow and frothy.

Mix panko, corn starch, herbs, and remaining salt together in a separate shallow bowl until well combined.

Dip chicken pieces first into the egg mixture, followed by panko, and set in the air fryer basket.

Air-fry for 13 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes. The cooking time depends on how big or small you cut the chicken breasts (or Chicken Tenders)
Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Air-fry until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear and Parmesan is melted.
An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165˚

 

Caesar Chicken and Pasta Salad

 

Adding pasta to a Caesar Salad! And then adding Chicken! Delicious! 

The chicken was a Rostierie Chicken from Fresh Market. On Thursdays they sell the whole roasted chicken for $5.00. That was until this week. Now a Rostierie Chicken is $6.00. Still not a bad deal. We had meat from it tonight and on Sunday I will be using some in a recipe, stay tuned, and we use the carcass for broth. 

I made the pasta on Sunday and had it in the fridge. The dressing was a revision of Lidia's Caesar Salad dressing.

Caesar Salad Dressing-
Using an Immersion Blender mix 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar, 2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice an 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add one Hard Boiled Egg Yolk, 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard, 1/2 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce and Salt and Pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.

Toss with the cleaned and chopped lettuce, I used a mixture of Romaine and Red Leaf. Toss the dressed salad with 1/2 cup Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Creamy Steak Fettuccine

I love when I have homemade fettuccine in the freezer. This recipe is super easy and the homemade pasta brings the recipe to a delicious level. A perfect 30-minute meal that received rave reviews from the other side of the table!

Ingredients-

Kosher salt
12 oz. fettuccine
1 lb. sirloin steak
2 tbsp. vegetable oil 
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
1 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
1 1/2 c. halved cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. balsamic glaze

Method-
Coat both sides of steak with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the steak to the desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate to let rest for 10 minutes. Thinly slice steak.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining. Return pasta to pot.

In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute more, then slowly add milk, whisking to break up lumps, and simmer until thickened, 5 minutes. Add Parmesan and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and cook until bursting, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add cooked pasta and ¼ cup reserved pasta water to skillet and toss to combine, adding more pasta water as needed. 

Top with sliced steak and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

One-Skillet Creamy French Onion Chicken

The recipe for One-Skillet Creamy French Onion Chicken is from the Eating Well site. It was a delicious, 30-minute meal. Rave reviews from the other side of the table. The chicken was moist and the sauce was perfect!! Just enough for the 2 of us and the cleanup was only one pan. Well, there were some measuring cups and things like that.

I added sliced grape tomatoes and spinach to the recipe.

Ingredients-

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 pound chicken cutlets 

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, divided

1 large yellow onion (1 pound), halved and thinly sliced 

1/3cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup sliced grape tomatoes

1 cup baby spinach

Chopped parsley for garnish

Method-

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Cook the chicken, turning once, until browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, about 6 minutes.
Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
Add onion and wine; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, golden and the liquid has evaporated about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over the onion and stir to coat.
Add broth, cream, thyme, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper; cook until bubbling and thickened, about 2 minutes more.

Add the tomatoes and spinach to the pan.
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan and turn to coat.
Cover and cook until the chicken is heated through, and the spinach is wilted about 2 minutes.

Oven Baked Ribs and Macaroni Salad

Who made the BBQ Sauce? I made the BBQ Sauce. This was a hit!! It was cool enough today to have the oven on. Two hours at 300˚. But the sauce!!! Yeah, we love Stubbs Original BBQ Sauce and Guy Fieri's Bourbon Brown Sugar Sauce but it is nice to have a house recipe. The recipe comes from the Delish site. I cut the recipe in half, but wish I had made more of that sauce... I am thinking of using the leftover sauce from BBQ Burgers later in the week... We will see...

Oven-Baked Ribs

Ingredients-

FOR THE RIBS

2 lb. baby back ribs

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. garlic powder 

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. ground mustard

1/4 tsp. cayenne

FOR THE BARBECUE SAUCE

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 

1 tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. ground mustard

1/4 tsp. paprika

Method-

Preheat oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 

If your ribs have a thin membrane over the bones on the backside, remove by carefully sliding a knife under membrane and then peel it away. 

In a small bowl stir together brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, mustard powder, and cayenne. 

Rub mixture all over ribs and place on prepared baking sheet. Let this marinate for 30 minutes.

Cover with foil and bake until very tender, 2 hours. 

Meanwhile make barbecue sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all sauce ingredients together. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 hour.

Turn oven to broil. 

Remove foil from ribs and brush both sides with barbecue sauce. 

Broil until sauce just starts to caramelize, 2 to 4 minutes.

The Macaroni Salad was a requested version of a Pasta Salad. I am glad it was requested because it was really tasty. Just simple Macaroni Salad like what we all grew up eating. The recipe is from the Food Network. I cut this recipe in half and had just enough for the 2 of us for dinner.

American Macaroni Salad

Ingredients-
2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed, and drained
1/3 cup diced celery
1/4 cup minced red onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup diced vine-ripened tomato (optional)
1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Method-
In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, celery, onion, parsley and tomato, if using.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, vinegar, sour cream and salt.
Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve.
Store covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

And Air Fried Asparagus because I like Air Fried Asparagus! I was looking online and it was suggested to use just olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika on the asparagus. So that is what I did. I loved it! I was the only one eating it, but I have leftovers for my salad this week.

Preheat the Air Fryer to 400˚. Add the rinsed and cut asparagus to the air fryer. Coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Toss to coat and make sure it is on one layer in the air fryer. 7 minutes, tossing halfway through and that is all there is to it!

Today was a purrfect day for bird watching.

Black Bean and Beef Tostadas and Nachos

Something different on a Friday night. The recipe for the Tostadas came from Taste of Home. Dinner came together in 30 minutes. It was a quick and light meal. I have some baking to do tonight, so this was a perfect dinner.

Along with the Tostadas I made our house recipe for Nachos. All you do is take nacho chips and spread a few refried beans on them. Then add Diced Chili peppers and some salsa. Top with cheese and bake for about 10 minutes at 350˚.  Delicious!

Black Bean and Beef Tostadas

Ingredients-

1/2 pound lean ground beef 

5 oz ounces diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

8 oz ounces black beans, rinsed and drained

8 oz ounces refried beans, warmed

8 tostada shells

Optional: Shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded lettuce, salsa, and sour cream

Method-

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes; crumble beef. 

Stir in tomatoes; bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until liquid is almost evaporated, 6-8 minutes. 

Stir in black beans; heat through.

To serve, spread refried beans over tostada shells. 

Top with beef mixture; add toppings as desired.