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January has been a rough month for me. I had two wisdom teeth pulled at the beginning of the month and have been recovering ever since. You'd be surprised what foods you miss eating when you're only able to eat on one side of your mouth.
I've spent most nights cooking quick pasta dishes, typically just cheese and butter but have actually come across a few gems. Every Day with Rachel Ray Magazine featured a great recipe for Cashew-Pesto Pasta. This recipe was featured in the Everyday Menu Planner, a section that is prefect for the busy chef that doesn't have much time during the week. It includes 7 different recipes, many containing similar ingredients to use through out the week. While the point is to cook all the recipes, I only chose one (although they all looked great!) And it was delish!
Recipe:
1 12 oz box of farfalle pasta
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup roasted cashews
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 clove garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large pot of boiling water cool the pasta according to package. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Cover to keep warm
2) Meanwhile, on a baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with 2 tbsp of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until wrinkled, about 12 minutes.
3) Using a food processor, finely chop the parsley, cashews, parmesan, garlic and lemon juice. With the machine on, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and process until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
4) In a serving bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes and pesto. Serve with more parmesan.
I finally got a chance to look through my new issue of Food Network magazine and was thrilled to find a new recipe for a roasted apple and onion dish. If you recall my post from a few months ago, I made a FN recipe for Chicken thighs baked with apples and onion. This month, FN featured Pork Chops with Apples and Garlic Smashed Potatoes. I absolutely loved their chicken rendition and couldn't wait to try this one out.
I noticed the chops recipe called for tart Granny Smith apples, where as the chicken dish called for Courtland Apples. I could already tell this would be equally delicious, yet not the same as before. I couldn't help myself while cooking the apples and onions and snapped a shot of the beautiful color!
If raw onions actually tasted good, I would have stopped and eaten then! (haha... maybe not.) Anyway... on to the recipe!
Recipe:
1 lb small fingerling potatoes (I subbed in yukon golds)
2 cloves garlic
kosher salt
4 1/2 inch-thick boneless pork loin chops
2 tsp chopped fresh sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cups apple cider
1/4 cup buttermilk
Directions:
1) Put the potatoes and garlic in a saucepan, cover with cold water and season with salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and continue cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. Cover and set aside.
2) Meanwhile, rub both sides of pork chops with sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high, then add 1 tsp olive oil and sear the chops until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to plate. Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining 2 tsp olive oil. Add the onion and apples and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cider.
3) Return the chops to the skillet. Cover and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup of liquid. Return the potatoes to the pan; add the buttermilk and mash (I didn't have buttermilk so I subbed in heavy cream.) Add cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chops, onion and apples. Drizzle with the pan juices.
Enjoy!
The holiday season is officially over. It's sad how fast it always seems to fly by. Yet here we are, the second week of January, buried in snow with only memories and mementos of Christmas and New Years. Maybe it's just me, but as soon as New Year's is over I fall into a spout of complete exhaustion. My work-day seems to drag on and the only thing I can bring myself to cook is pasta.
After the last week of pasta dinners, I had enough... I need some protein in my life! I always have ground turkey on-hand so after work I set out to make Turkey Meatloaf. Way back when I began this blog, meatloaf was one of my first recipes and I haven't made it since.
Feeling adventurous, I didn't bother looking for a recipe. I know enough now to know what will work well together and sweet Jesus! This meatloaf was the most tender, juicy-est piece of meat I have ever had! Delish! Check out the (sort-of) recipe. :)
Recipe:
2 lbs ground turkey
2 eggs
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 small white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 pack french onion soup mix
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together by hand. Spray loaf pan generously with cooking spray and pat meat into pan firmly. Bake on 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Slice and serve.
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are enjoying the day with your friends and family. I sure am!
This morning, my boyfriend and I unwrapped presents and I got a Kindle with a purple cover! I was very excited. I also got two great additions to my kitchen artillery. My boyfriends mom got me Rachel Ray's oil and Vinegar set as well as a RR rimmed baking sheet. I couldn't wait to use them.
So I didn't! ;) I was free from helping out with dinner but I had to contribute some how, so I baked another great dish from Picky-Palate, and used my baking sheet for the first time. These mini mint truffle Kiss Pies are to die for! So easy to make, mess-free and delicious!
Recipe:
1 refrigerated pie crust
14 - 18 Hersey Kisses of choice, I chose mint truffle since I had some left-over
1 egg, whisked with 1 tbsp of water
Powder sugar for dusting
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out pie dough onto a lightly floured surface. Place 10 kisses around the edges of pie dough, about 2 1/2 inches apart (I used a metal 1/4 cup measuring cup and pressed firmly. It made the perfect, no-fuss circle.) Or by free-hand, take a knive and cut a 2 1/2-3 inch circle around kiss.
2) Once circles are made, take one pie/kiss piece and fold half of pie dough around top of dough and pinch edge around top of kiss. Next, fold up both sides of remaining dough up to the tip of the kiss pinching edge. Next, press together edges and form criss cross. Be sure all edges are firmly squeezed together or they will come apart in the oven. Continue cutting and folding until all dough is used up. I got about 18 rounds cut when I re-rolled my scraps.
3) Brush all the pies with the egg white wash then sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 20 - 28 minutes or until pies are golden. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Dust each with powdered sugar and serve.If my instructions are confusing, check out Picky-Palate's page. She gave photo instructions, step-by-step.
She also took MUCH better photos than I! Sorry - I only had my cell phone handy.
The Holiday's aren't complete without an office party. My company hosts a catered party for all, then each division holds a Holiday luncheon on various days before Christmas. For my party, I had to create a dessert. I was beyond happy about that!! Many people were left to make entrees, which is never easy to do for 200+ people.
Obviously, I made cupcakes, which should be no surprise. While these were a simple dark-chocolate cake straight from the box, I decorated them to create a Christmas Tree. One cake had a yellow star, four were left un-iced to look like the trunk, then I squiggled green icing on the rest. After taking this photo, I topped the cakes with sprinkles, to be my "ornaments."
To top it off, these babies won me 2nd place in the company for best holiday themed dessert! ;)
Holiday cheer is in full swing! I love baking and wanted to create the perfect treat for my friends and co-workers. While I have created quite the following with my yummy cupcakes, I decided to make little brownie packs for everyone.
I wanted to make a variety of flavors so I made three different brownie batches: my brownie-cookies, S'more brownies and a new flavor: Mint truffle brownies. For these, I just dropped Mint Truffle Hersey Kisses into regular brownie mix. It was delish!
Needless to say, I spent my entire day on Sunday baking, prepping and packing these cute little treats. To make them package friendly, I baked the brownies in muffin pans. They looked so cute and I was able to make the last minute decision to wrap them in cupcake liners. :)
How cute do these looks? Each brownie is sitting in a holiday cupcake line. The bottom is coated in a gold doily with a red foil on top. I placed them in clear candy bags and tied them with a little red ribbon. Not going to lie, I was really proud of myself when these were done! ;)
Yesterday, I cooked a delicious beef roast. I ate left overs for lunch and still had more left in my fridge when I got home. I couldn't bare to have meat and potatoes for a third time in 24 hours but hate letting things go to waste. I had a major craving for pasta so I decided to create a butter braised beef pasta.
It was so quick and super tasty. While my elbow noodles were cooking, I melted 2 tbsps of butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat and tossed in 2 cups of beef, cooking until the beef was heated through. I tossed this over the cooked noodles and topped with a little more butter, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. It was delicious! The butter cooked out the original gravy that was on the meat from the night before, and tasted amazing with noodles. I'll definitely be making this next time I make roast.
Recipe:
