Stuffed Artichokes

I ordered two artichokes from Misfits Market. They were nice and round and once stuffed and cooked, they were quite delicious. I used the recipe that is the closest to what my Mom made. The recipe is from the Food Blogga site. It was a fine stuffed artichoke. Rave reviews from both sides of the table. Click here for the recipe.

The leaves were tender and the stuffing was seasoned lightly. Next time more crushed red pepper!

One Pot Creamy Gnocchi and Sausage

I had pinned this recipe a while ago. Tonight I had all the ingredients in the house. Rave reviews from both sides of the table. The original recipe can be found on Food Talk Daily.

Ingredients-
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound mild Italian sausage (removed from casing)
1/2 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half cream
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 500g pack of gnocchi

Method-
In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat, then add sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until browned on all sides.
Add in the bell pepper strips, and cook another couple of minutes until the pepper starts to soften.
Add in the tomato paste, stir, then add the chicken broth, cream, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and finally the gnocchi. Stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Happy Valentines Pasta Pie

You have a springform pan right?

This is a super easy recipe and it makes quite a nice presentation. 

There are plenty of recipes for this online. One from the Food Network another from Tablespoon.com. 

I had leftover marinara sauce in the fridge. I cooked up some sausage and added it to the sauce. I made the Rigatoni and stood it up in the springform pan. I lined the pan with parchment for easy clean-up.

I put the sauce over the pasta and topped it with cheeses. Baked for about 30 minutes. 

Happy Valentines Day!!

Happy Birthday! How Old Am I???!!???

When I get older, losing my hair

Many years from now

Will you still be sending me a Valentine?

Birthday greetings, bottle of wine

Damn. 64!! What the f**@##@!

The day was not that bad. Flowers from my husband and cupcakes from a co-worker.

I will never complain when I am surrounded by roses and chocolate cupcakes.

For dinner, we ate at Quattros. Our usual go-to place for dinners out. 

Started out with cocktails, after the day at work I had I was surprised I only had 1 martini!

Apps were bruschetta and grilled calamari. Spot on for both dishes.

I had the Branzino and Chris had the Osso Bucco. We both enjoyed our meals The whole dinner was just perfect. A wonderful dinner for a kind of big birthday. 

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Snowy day in Madison.

It was definitely a Beef Stew kind of day.
The Cheddar Cheese Scones were the perfect addition.

I had a recipe that I cut out from a magazine years ago (do people still do that?), but I could not put my hands on it. So I googled Old Fashioned Beef Stew and this recipe from the New York Times popped up. This was just delicious. Rave reviews from the other side of the table. 

Ingredients-

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes

5 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 cup red wine

3 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

2 bay leaves

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 teaspoons salt

Method-

Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. 

Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. 

Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. 

Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.

Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. 

Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. 

Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.

Cover and cook, skimming the broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. 

Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. 

Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Beef with Bourbon and Coke

Last year Sharon Canosa gave me a Slow Cooker Magazine. I pulled it out for tonight's dinner. Beef with Bourbon and Coke. The recipe called for Brisket which I could not find. I picked up a chuck roast instead. 

This was amazing. The meat was so tender and the sauce!!!! Wow!!

Ingredients-
1/3 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2# Chuck Roast or Beef Brisket.
1 Med Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup beef broth
1 cup cola
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dried thyme

Method-
Place flour in a dish and season with salt and pepper.
Heat half of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
Coat beef in flour, shake off excess. Reserve the excess flour.
Cook the beef for 5 minutes on each side until well browned. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker.

Heat remaining oil over medium heat in the same Dutch oven. Cook onion, stirring for 5 minutes or until the onions soften. 

Sprinkle with reserved excess flour into the Dutch oven and cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Gradually stir in bourbon, then broth, cola, tomato paste, honey and thyme. Bring to a boil and add to slow cooker.

Cook covered on low for 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

Beef Noodle Soup

Snow Day! Worked from Home Day! Did lots of baking too today. And made Beef Noodle Soup.

Seemed perfect for a cold winter dinner.

The recipe is from An Italian In My Kitchen. Quite easy to make. The recipe can be found here. There is even a video of the recipe on the page. Like I said, this was easy!

I did make the noodles for the soup. I used the new KitchenAid Pasta attachment. I was reading a post somewhere online and it mentioned that when you are mixing eggs into your flour to use a measuring cup to make an indentation in the flour and just add the eggs into the whole. Brilliant!!  See photos below if you do not believe me.

Along with the soup I made Cacio e Pepe Scones. You read that correctly. OMG delicious!! Click for more those on the Friday Night Baking Blog.

National Spaghetti Day and Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is National Spaghetti Day. 

Today would have been my Mom's Birthday. 

And we had my Mom's Meat Sauce with our spaghetti!

My Mom’s Meat Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. sweet sausage
1/2 lb. hot sausage
4- 16 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
tomato paste
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tbsp. basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup red wine

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic and chopped onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add all the meat. Cook over medium heat until browned. Add tomatoes and simmer covered for 1 to 2 hours. Add tomato paste to thicken, adding 1 tbsp. at a time as needed. Add herbs, salt, and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Add wine, cover, and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely. Remove any grease from the top of the sauce. Freeze extra sauce in containers or zip log bags.

Tonight's Sous Chefs-

One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

When I first started reading food blogs back in, dear God, 2008-ish, one of the blogs I read was Closet Cooking. Always good writing and fantastic photos and the recipes, well, I used one that I had saved on Pinterest for tonight's dinner. One-Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole. One pot, yeah!!! Bacon, always a good thing. 

Easy to make and loved the flavors. Applause from the other side of the table.

I cut the recipe in half for Chris and me. Click here for the original recipe.

Ingredients-
4 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (4-ounce) can tomato sauce (I had just enough marinara sauce in the fridge)
1 cups beef broth
2 tbsp ketchup
1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces pasta 
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Method- 
Cook the bacon in a large pan over medium heat, about 5-7 minutes, set aside on paper towels to drain and drain the grease from the pan.

Cook the ground beef and onion in the same pan over medium-high heat, about 5-7 minutes, and drain any excess grease.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, sauce, and pasta, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer covered until the pasta is al dente tender, about 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle on the cheese, and simmer, covered, until the cheese has melted, about 2-3 minutes, and serve garnished with the bacon.

Sausage and Lentil Soup

I love Lentil Soup. I added Chicken Sausage and Spinach to this batch. Perfect for a cold, seriously cold, winter night.

Ingredients-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 Chicken Sausage Links
1 cup lentils, washed
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
Ground black pepper
Salt
2 cups spinach

Method-
In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil. Once it is hot, add the onion and cook until soft, 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Chicken Sausage and brown the links. Add the lentils, bay leaf, and stock. Sprinkle with pepper. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down to low and cook until the lentils are tender about 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally. Once the lentils are cooked, add the spinach and simmer until the spinach wilts.

Serve with grated Parmesan Cheese.