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I spent alllll day Sunday glued to The Food Network or The Cooking Channel. I literally was in a trance. After weekend after weekend of doing this, I have fallen in LOVE with Rachel Ray's show "A Week in a Day."
Rachel make 5 nights worth of dinners in one day. I would have to imagine it is one loooong day, but the girl does it! It's impressive. I have actually not found a full show that would entice me to prepare everything, but have definitely found a few recipes that I'd like to cook.
This Sunday, I make Rachel's Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Marinara. This recipe called for quite a few firsts for me. I have never made a pasta sauce from scratch yet, never roasted a red pepper over my stove burner, never roasted a full head of garlic and have never cooked eggplant (or eaten it for that matter.) This was definitely an exciting recipe for me! (Dorky, I know.)
The recipe made quite a bit of sauce so we were able to eat it for dinner, lunch then dinner again, but it was great. You definitely get that sauce feel to it, but an unexpected kick of flavor on top of it. I would highly recommend this one. (And if you have kids, this would be the perfect way to hide veggies!)
Recipe:
2 large red bell peppers
1 Holland chile pepper or Fresno chile pepper (I left this out...not a huge fan of heat)
1 large head of garlic
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped (I used dried rosemary)
1 medium, firm eggplant
EVOO for brushing the eggplant
Salt and pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1 28oz can of Italian tomatoes
2 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 sprig of fresh oregano, leaves picked and finely chopped (again, I used dried oregano)
1 lb fusilli pasta (the most fun pasta I have ever eaten!)
Flat leave parsley, finely chopped (No surprise - I used dried parsley)
Directions:
1) Char the skins of sweet and hot peppers to black under a broiler with oven door slightly ajar, to prevent steam build up or place directly over stovetop flame. Cover the charred peppers and cool, peel, and seed. Reserve. 2) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 3) Cut head garlic to expose the cloves, dress in extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Press the garlic into the chopped rosemary and coat the cut cloves. Wrap the garlic up in foil and roast 40 to 45 minutes, until soft but still moist. (I combined this with step 4, roasting the garlic and eggplant together.) 4) Halve the eggplant lengthwise and brush with extra-virgin olive oil. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper and place cut-side down on baking sheet and roast to very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool the eggplant until easy to handle, then scoop the flesh away from skins and add to a food processor with roasted garlic and roasted sweet and hot peppers, then puree. 5) In saucepan, heat the stock and tomatoes. If the tomatoes are whole, break them up. Stir in the eggplant-pepper mixture and add basil and oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste. 6) Simmer sauce to combine flavors. Boil long, curly pasta in salted water to al dente, toss the pasta with sauce and serve with cheese and a sprinkle fresh parsley.
This may sound like it's a lot of steps, but it is honestly very easy and you will love it! I loved it even more topped with freshly grated parm served with parm covered garlic toast. :)
Recipe Courtesy of: Rachel Ray / The Cooking Channel.
My love for food is evident in my daily life. If I am not watching Food Network or the Cooking Channel, I am reading food magazines or looking up recipes. I couldn't let Valentine's Day pass me by with out expressing this love for my loved one. :)
I let my boyfriend know ahead of time that I'd be cooking a special meal for him in Sunday night since he had Monday planned for us already. I was so excited! I've had filet mignon in my freezer and thought this was the perfect time to prepare. I really wanted to make this a memorable meal so I decided to serve the steak with LOBSTER TAILS!!! YUM! Who doesn't love a little surf n' turf for a special occasion? Plus, I've never cooked lobster before so I was down for the adventure.
After watching video on YouTube for how to prepare lobster tails for broiling I set out on my new adventure. I have to say, it was pretty easy. If lobster was a little cheaper priced, I'd probably make it more often.
I served my surf n' turf over roasted asparagus with mushrooms. Boy, were we stuffed! It was one of the best meals I had eaten yet! Well.... until Valentine's day.
What I didn't know on Sunday was that my boyfriend had planned on cooking ME dinner!! He has watched me in the kitchen for almost two years now trying new recipes and making delicious meals for him and wanted to take the time to return the favor.
He chose to prepare Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Shallot Vinaigrette. He found this recipe on Foodnetwork.com under holiday dishes. And guess what? This dish also happens to be from "The Best of Detroit!" Which is where I am from, if you didn't know.
Watching my boyfriend cook was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. He was so excited to be cooking for me and paying extra close attention to detail to make sure he did not mess anything up. (AND he wouldn't let me help at all...which was tough on me.)
Once the meal was finished, I was in heaven!! He made the most succulent lamb chops I have ever had in my life! They were so tender and flavorful. I could have eaten them all. We really had a great Valentine's Day (or two) this year and I couldn't have been happier that it revolved around cooking!!
For the Lamb recipe, click here to visit Food Network's Recipe. (Please excuse my awful photos!! I was way too excited to eat to pay attention to the photo quality. Sorry!)
I absolutely love baking, as you can tell, and was thrilled to see a slew of Valentine themed desserts on Annie's Eats blog. While cupcakes are my specialty, I wanted to branch out and try something new and absolutely fell in love with her Red Velvet Whoppie Pie Recipe!
What is not to love about little red heart shaped cupcake-like cookies? They were incredibly soft and perfectly sweet. I could have eaten a dozen! Since I obviously could not, I brought them to work...my co-workers fell in love with them. (Even though Valentine's Day is over, I would still suggest baking these! Just make them round instead.)
For the recipe, check out Annie's Eats blog post. Her photos are much better and I ran into issues when piping my hearts because I did not have a large enough tip. Really... check out her blog post. You'll understand. ;)
Here are some of my photos.
Recipe Courtesy of Annie's Eats.
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.
