In my efforts to not buy groceries right before I leave my kitchen for a couple weeks, I decided to use what I had to make a pasta dish for dinner. I had french bread from HEB and their bread tastes best when drizzled with the olive oil, salt, pepper and baked. It's so stinkin' good! So I basically had a ton of carbs for dinner...but I didn't have to buy groceries, so I guess that's ok.
So in the fridge, I had most of a wedge of Parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup cubed pancetta and sun-dried tomatoes and heavy cream. These lead to an amazing alfredo-esque sauce.
1 table spoon olive oil
1/4 cup cubed pancetta
just less than 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces & with oil
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/4 cup fresh, shredded parmesan cheese
1. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook for about 5 minutes. Its kinda like bacon, so cook until the fat starts to cook off some.
2. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and their oil and heat mix together.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the pan cool some before adding the cream. Add the cream and mix everything together.
4. Add 1/4 cup white wine and mix. Let the alcohol cook off some...about 3 minutes.
5. Add the parmesan cheese a little bit at a time so that the cheese melts and makes a lovely saucey-ness.
Pour over whatever pasta you have on hand and toss it together and you have a fabulous meal! I like that the tomatoes are sweet and just a little tangy! So good!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saucy Pork Chops
The other night when I posted about not forgetting to post, I ended up making pork chops with a creamy and cheesy wine sauce. They were awesome!!!
Here's what I did:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 shallot
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from the stem and chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3-4 medium white mushrooms
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 white wine
1/8 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup (about) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon flour
1. In the frying pan, heat the oil at about a medium-high heat. Add the shallots, rosemary and garlic. After about 2 minutes, add the pork chop.
2. After about 5 minutes, flip the chop and add the mushrooms to the pan.
3. Saute the mushrooms and cook the pork chop until it is cooked through. You'll probably need to flip it a couple times to cook it evenly.
For the sauce.
1. Remove the pork chop and most of the mushrooms from the pan. Add the butter and let it melt.
2. Add the chicken stock and swirl it around the pan to pick up the goodness left from cooking the chop.
3. Add the white wine and simmer a minute or two so the alcohol can cook out.
4. Add the cream and mix thoroughly.
5. Grate the cheese into the liquid and add the flour. Stir to encourage the cheese to melt evenly and the flour to not clump up.
6. Add the mushrooms back into the pan and gently mix them in.
7. Simmer and let the liquid reduce so that the sauce thickens.
8. After about 10 minutes of stirring and thickening, you should be ready to serve this on top of your pork chop!
I hope you guys like the sauce! It was pretty good!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Here's what I did:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 shallot
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from the stem and chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3-4 medium white mushrooms
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 white wine
1/8 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup (about) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon flour
1. In the frying pan, heat the oil at about a medium-high heat. Add the shallots, rosemary and garlic. After about 2 minutes, add the pork chop.
2. After about 5 minutes, flip the chop and add the mushrooms to the pan.
3. Saute the mushrooms and cook the pork chop until it is cooked through. You'll probably need to flip it a couple times to cook it evenly.
For the sauce.
1. Remove the pork chop and most of the mushrooms from the pan. Add the butter and let it melt.
2. Add the chicken stock and swirl it around the pan to pick up the goodness left from cooking the chop.
3. Add the white wine and simmer a minute or two so the alcohol can cook out.
4. Add the cream and mix thoroughly.
5. Grate the cheese into the liquid and add the flour. Stir to encourage the cheese to melt evenly and the flour to not clump up.
6. Add the mushrooms back into the pan and gently mix them in.
7. Simmer and let the liquid reduce so that the sauce thickens.
8. After about 10 minutes of stirring and thickening, you should be ready to serve this on top of your pork chop!
I hope you guys like the sauce! It was pretty good!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Friday, May 27, 2011
I didn't forget
I've been wanting to blog, I just haven't made anything worth posting...really. I tried to do something with chicken and it started one way and ended completely different. And unfortunately, I'll be heading to east Texas soon and won't be anywhere that I'll be cooking for about 3 weeks. I'll try to make up the lost time when I get back to my place.
I will share this with you: If you haven't read "My Life in France" by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme, you should. It covers the life of Julia Child and her continuing pursuit and research and curiosity of the French middle-class cuisine. She tested and tasted and explored so many ways to give us the perfect, fool proof ways to cook as the French bourgeois do. I hope to acquire some of her books this summer, because quite honestly, I was inspired by her. Outstanding book, extraordinary love, and unending curiosity. Read it.
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
I will share this with you: If you haven't read "My Life in France" by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme, you should. It covers the life of Julia Child and her continuing pursuit and research and curiosity of the French middle-class cuisine. She tested and tasted and explored so many ways to give us the perfect, fool proof ways to cook as the French bourgeois do. I hope to acquire some of her books this summer, because quite honestly, I was inspired by her. Outstanding book, extraordinary love, and unending curiosity. Read it.
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Sunday, May 22, 2011
French Onion Soup- A variation
I made French onion soup for dinner tonight, but I remembered I had some Herbs de Provence in the cabinet and I figured, what the hell....its French soup, right? Why not add some French herbs? Herbs de Provence has oregano, lavender (the American version), rosemary, thyme and a bunch of other stuff in it. This definitely took my soup to the next level!
I added 1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence to the onions as they cooked in the oil and then cooked the rest of the soup as usual. I usually use a smoky gouda with the soup, and it worked fine in this case, but I think the smoky-ness didn't really mesh well with the rest of the flavors. Maybe a plain gouda or even traditional Gruyère cheese. I'll try that next time. For now, get ya some herbs de provence...its just the right combo for the onions and olive oil. Hope y'all enjoy!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Doesn't this look pretty?!
I added 1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence to the onions as they cooked in the oil and then cooked the rest of the soup as usual. I usually use a smoky gouda with the soup, and it worked fine in this case, but I think the smoky-ness didn't really mesh well with the rest of the flavors. Maybe a plain gouda or even traditional Gruyère cheese. I'll try that next time. For now, get ya some herbs de provence...its just the right combo for the onions and olive oil. Hope y'all enjoy!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Doesn't this look pretty?!
Baked Brie with Strawberry Compote
I had never had brie until....today. And it was really great! I've wanted to use puff pastry for a while, and this is really a great way to get started with it.
Strawberry Compote
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons water
1 cup strawberries, sliced and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1. Over medium heat, combine sugar, lemon juice and water in a large frying pan and let the sugar begin to dissolve.
2. Add the vanilla and strawberries and let everything cook together for about 10 minutes, stirring often so that the liquid doesn't burn.
3. Pull out about 1/8 cup of the liquid from the strawberry mixture and add the cornstarch. Mix it well so it isn't clumpy. Feel free to add more strawberry liquid to this to help dissolve the cornstarch.
4. Mix the cornstarch mixture back into the strawberry pan and keep stirring. Turn the heat up just enough for the mixture to bubble a bit and cook for about 3 minutes. Then turn the heat off, keep stirring but let it cool.
Baked Brie
1/2 frozen puff pastry sheet
flour for dusting
1 wedge of baby brie
slivered almonds
1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the box directions. Mine was folded in 3 parts and I basically cut one third of it off. Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease a small baking dish.
2. Cut the wedge of brie in half, horizontally, as if you were slicing a bagel into halves...but with a wedge shape....make sense?
3. Layer the almonds onto the bottom piece of brie and then add the top piece back so you have like a brie and almond sandwich.
4. Place the brie on the puff pastry and fold the edges up around the cheese in a kind of pretty-ish way so that the cheese is covered.
5. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is a pretty brown color.
Top with the strawberry compote and enjoy! The Brie is kind of buttery and the pastry makes a flaky crusty awesomeness. The strawberries add just the right amount of sweetness and the cheese is melty and perfect. I'm now a fan of brie forever!
Btw...I had my ratatouille leftovers and put it with a little bit of the really easy chicken bouillon rice that I love so much. IT was totally delectable. The flavor of the ratatouille was still really good and the rice was just salty enough to add to the sweetness of the veggies. AWESOME!
Happy cooking, once again, y'all!
Amy
Strawberry Compote
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons water
1 cup strawberries, sliced and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1. Over medium heat, combine sugar, lemon juice and water in a large frying pan and let the sugar begin to dissolve.
2. Add the vanilla and strawberries and let everything cook together for about 10 minutes, stirring often so that the liquid doesn't burn.
3. Pull out about 1/8 cup of the liquid from the strawberry mixture and add the cornstarch. Mix it well so it isn't clumpy. Feel free to add more strawberry liquid to this to help dissolve the cornstarch.
4. Mix the cornstarch mixture back into the strawberry pan and keep stirring. Turn the heat up just enough for the mixture to bubble a bit and cook for about 3 minutes. Then turn the heat off, keep stirring but let it cool.
Baked Brie
1/2 frozen puff pastry sheet
flour for dusting
1 wedge of baby brie
slivered almonds
1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the box directions. Mine was folded in 3 parts and I basically cut one third of it off. Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease a small baking dish.
2. Cut the wedge of brie in half, horizontally, as if you were slicing a bagel into halves...but with a wedge shape....make sense?
3. Layer the almonds onto the bottom piece of brie and then add the top piece back so you have like a brie and almond sandwich.
4. Place the brie on the puff pastry and fold the edges up around the cheese in a kind of pretty-ish way so that the cheese is covered.
5. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is a pretty brown color.
Top with the strawberry compote and enjoy! The Brie is kind of buttery and the pastry makes a flaky crusty awesomeness. The strawberries add just the right amount of sweetness and the cheese is melty and perfect. I'm now a fan of brie forever!
Btw...I had my ratatouille leftovers and put it with a little bit of the really easy chicken bouillon rice that I love so much. IT was totally delectable. The flavor of the ratatouille was still really good and the rice was just salty enough to add to the sweetness of the veggies. AWESOME!
Happy cooking, once again, y'all!
Amy
Poached Egg on Asparagus
I've been wanting to try cooking asparagus and I saw a picture in the masterchef cookbook with asparagus covered with a poached egg. Seemed like a good idea, so I thought I'd try my own version! And, really, we all know I love breakfast!
Poached Egg
Water
2 table spoons vinegar
1 egg
1. Fill a small frying pan with water, to about the 3/4 level. Add the vinegar and mix it just a little bit. Heat on medium-high and let the water begin to simmer but not boil...that's just gonna make a mess.
2. When the water is simmering, place the egg in a small bowl. Pour the egg from the bowl into the pan. By using the bowl, the egg will hopefully be more contained and not spread out a ton.
3. Let the egg cook until the albumen (clear stuff) turns white. If your eggs are cold, it'll be around 3 minutes. If they're room temperature, it'll be less.
**Note**I usually have to gently detach mine from the bottom of the pan...I don't know why, but I do. Just slip a spatula or slotted spoon under the edges and work it loose. Also, you may need to gently flip the egg over so that both sides cook evenly.
Asparagus
6-8 asparagus spears, washed, dried and with the ends trimmed
2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1. Heat the oil at medium-high in a large frying pan.
2. Put the asparagus in the pan and turn to coat them with oil. Add salt and pepper and shake the pan so that they 'stir' or rotate more.
3. Cook until the asparagus is slightly tender. Shaking the pan occasionally to help them cook evenly. You'll want to cook them about 5 minutes, I think.
Place the asparagus on your plate and set the egg on top. Crack some fresh pepper over top and salt them just a bit. When you break the yolk of the egg, it'll spread all over the asparagus and be an amazing yellow goodness!
Also, I toasted some french bread to have with this. I just split a chunk of french bread and drizzled olive oil over it. Then added a little bit of salt and pepper and toasted it at 400 degrees for about 6 minutes. I used regular olive oil on one slice and blood-orange infused olive oil on the other. Both were amazing!! I 'borrowed' the blood orange infused oil from my mom...I don't think she's getting it back. Its SOOOO good!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Poached Egg
Water
2 table spoons vinegar
1 egg
1. Fill a small frying pan with water, to about the 3/4 level. Add the vinegar and mix it just a little bit. Heat on medium-high and let the water begin to simmer but not boil...that's just gonna make a mess.
2. When the water is simmering, place the egg in a small bowl. Pour the egg from the bowl into the pan. By using the bowl, the egg will hopefully be more contained and not spread out a ton.
3. Let the egg cook until the albumen (clear stuff) turns white. If your eggs are cold, it'll be around 3 minutes. If they're room temperature, it'll be less.
**Note**I usually have to gently detach mine from the bottom of the pan...I don't know why, but I do. Just slip a spatula or slotted spoon under the edges and work it loose. Also, you may need to gently flip the egg over so that both sides cook evenly.
Asparagus
6-8 asparagus spears, washed, dried and with the ends trimmed
2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1. Heat the oil at medium-high in a large frying pan.
2. Put the asparagus in the pan and turn to coat them with oil. Add salt and pepper and shake the pan so that they 'stir' or rotate more.
3. Cook until the asparagus is slightly tender. Shaking the pan occasionally to help them cook evenly. You'll want to cook them about 5 minutes, I think.
Place the asparagus on your plate and set the egg on top. Crack some fresh pepper over top and salt them just a bit. When you break the yolk of the egg, it'll spread all over the asparagus and be an amazing yellow goodness!
Also, I toasted some french bread to have with this. I just split a chunk of french bread and drizzled olive oil over it. Then added a little bit of salt and pepper and toasted it at 400 degrees for about 6 minutes. I used regular olive oil on one slice and blood-orange infused olive oil on the other. Both were amazing!! I 'borrowed' the blood orange infused oil from my mom...I don't think she's getting it back. Its SOOOO good!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Momma's Alfredo Sauce
This is really delicious and really, really easy. I used to buy jar alfredo sauce, but then my mom gave me this recipe and it is so much better! And what's really cool is you can add your favorite flavors, like sun-dried tomatoes or sauteed mushrooms, and give it even better flavor.
Here's the recipe!
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/8 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the cream and let it warm up. (If you want to add mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes, do it at this point.)
3. Add the cheese 1/4 cup at a time, letting it melt before adding the next 1/4 cup. (You may not need all of the cheese!) If the sauce starts looking really thick, stop adding cheese, and taste the sauce. If it tastes good to you, go to the next step.)
4. Fold in the parsley and serve.
I think I added two table spoons of white wine to the melted butter...I can't remember. Go ahead and try it! It would be really good, I think. Or, if you're adding sauteed mushrooms, add the wine to them then add them to the cream. It'll get a little bit of the wine flavor in there. If you don't want to add any wine whatsoever, no worries. It's still going to be awesome sauce.
Hope you like this easy alfredo sauce! Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Here's the recipe!
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/8 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the cream and let it warm up. (If you want to add mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes, do it at this point.)
3. Add the cheese 1/4 cup at a time, letting it melt before adding the next 1/4 cup. (You may not need all of the cheese!) If the sauce starts looking really thick, stop adding cheese, and taste the sauce. If it tastes good to you, go to the next step.)
4. Fold in the parsley and serve.
I think I added two table spoons of white wine to the melted butter...I can't remember. Go ahead and try it! It would be really good, I think. Or, if you're adding sauteed mushrooms, add the wine to them then add them to the cream. It'll get a little bit of the wine flavor in there. If you don't want to add any wine whatsoever, no worries. It's still going to be awesome sauce.
Hope you like this easy alfredo sauce! Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Friday, May 20, 2011
Ratatouille
Recently I read a book called Lunch in Paris: A Love Story by Elizabeth Bard. It was basically about an American woman that marries a Frenchman and learns to live as the French do, with an American twist. It was a really good book and I think that my favorite part was her inclusion of French recipes she learned as she adjusted to French life. One of the recipes she included was Ratatouille. When something is described as "a walk through a friends garden" and as having the "taste of sunshine", it only makes sense to try it because it should instantly make you happier, right? Well, in this case, it was like sunshine in my kitchen...and my mouth.
Now, something to note, from what I've read about ratatouilli (ratatouillies? various ratatouille?) there are apparently 2 schools of thought: saute or layer and bake. This recipe was of the saute variety and it was really, really good! The author of the book Lunch in Paris: A Love Story recommends having enough to eat the second day because it is even better then. I made enough for a second helping for tomorrow's lunch or breakfast...I might throw it in an omlette...we'll see.
Here's some sunshine for you:
Ratatouille
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
1 baby eggplant (did you know they came as babies? THEY ARE SO FREAKIN CUTE!!!), quartered and cut into 2 inch by 1/2 inch pieces
1 zucchini, quartered and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2-1 whole red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
3-4 white mushrooms (not in the original recipe...but I love mushrooms...)
1 1/2 large tomatoes, chunked
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 leveled teaspoon of sugar
pinch of saffron (see note below)
1. Heat the olive oil, at medium heat, in a large frying pan (I actually used a large soup pot/spaghetti pot).
2. Add the onions to the pot and stir to coat them with oil. Let them cook for about 20-25 minutes so they are nice and tender and sweet.
3. Add the chunks of eggplant, coat with the oil and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the bell pepper, toss together and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, toss together and cook for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and thyme and toss everything together. Let it all cook for about 10 minutes.
7. Add sugar and saffron to the sauce/liquid and dissolve them both. After they have dissolved, toss the whole lot together and coat the vegetables with the sauce. Cook for about 5-10 minutes and then set aside to cool. The flavors will soak into the vegetables more and be AWESOME.
Note: I only had saffron threads. I put them in the tiniest bit of oil and crushed them up some. Then when I added them to the sauce, they basically dissolved away into the liquid. If you have ground/powdered saffron, that might be easier to use. Seeing as how I stole this saffron from my mom and because saffron is beyond expensive, I did the best I could with what I had. It worked and my mom hasn't cooked since December (NO MOM! That totino's pizza doesn't count!!) so it wasn't really a big deal. :-P
Anyways, once this cools a bit, or even the next day when the flavors have intensified a bit, eat this up! It would go really well with some pasta or just fresh bread, if you want to serve it with something. I just had some bread with it and it was perfect!
I hope y'all enjoy! I'll have a tasty alfredo sauce recipe for you guys later...its just one of the wonderful things I've stolen from my momma at some point! Ha! My mom rocks!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Now, something to note, from what I've read about ratatouilli (ratatouillies? various ratatouille?) there are apparently 2 schools of thought: saute or layer and bake. This recipe was of the saute variety and it was really, really good! The author of the book Lunch in Paris: A Love Story recommends having enough to eat the second day because it is even better then. I made enough for a second helping for tomorrow's lunch or breakfast...I might throw it in an omlette...we'll see.
Here's some sunshine for you:
Ratatouille
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
1 baby eggplant (did you know they came as babies? THEY ARE SO FREAKIN CUTE!!!), quartered and cut into 2 inch by 1/2 inch pieces
1 zucchini, quartered and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2-1 whole red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
3-4 white mushrooms (not in the original recipe...but I love mushrooms...)
1 1/2 large tomatoes, chunked
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 leveled teaspoon of sugar
pinch of saffron (see note below)
1. Heat the olive oil, at medium heat, in a large frying pan (I actually used a large soup pot/spaghetti pot).
2. Add the onions to the pot and stir to coat them with oil. Let them cook for about 20-25 minutes so they are nice and tender and sweet.
3. Add the chunks of eggplant, coat with the oil and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the bell pepper, toss together and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, toss together and cook for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and thyme and toss everything together. Let it all cook for about 10 minutes.
7. Add sugar and saffron to the sauce/liquid and dissolve them both. After they have dissolved, toss the whole lot together and coat the vegetables with the sauce. Cook for about 5-10 minutes and then set aside to cool. The flavors will soak into the vegetables more and be AWESOME.
Note: I only had saffron threads. I put them in the tiniest bit of oil and crushed them up some. Then when I added them to the sauce, they basically dissolved away into the liquid. If you have ground/powdered saffron, that might be easier to use. Seeing as how I stole this saffron from my mom and because saffron is beyond expensive, I did the best I could with what I had. It worked and my mom hasn't cooked since December (NO MOM! That totino's pizza doesn't count!!) so it wasn't really a big deal. :-P
Anyways, once this cools a bit, or even the next day when the flavors have intensified a bit, eat this up! It would go really well with some pasta or just fresh bread, if you want to serve it with something. I just had some bread with it and it was perfect!
I hope y'all enjoy! I'll have a tasty alfredo sauce recipe for you guys later...its just one of the wonderful things I've stolen from my momma at some point! Ha! My mom rocks!
Happy cooking, y'all!
Amy
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Pasta a la Amy
So tonight I made Veal Saltimbocca and an amazing pasta dish. And, then, my friend called and said he wanted to go to the BRAND NEW FREEBIRDS that opened TODAY. I can't say no to freebirds world burrito. I decided to put veal and pasta in the fridge so that I can have it for lunch tomorrow. I'm going to share it with you, nonetheless.
The Veal Saltimbocca is just the recipe from the masterchef book I told y'all about yesterday. The only thing I did different was using spinach instead of sage. I melted the butter and cooked some shallots. When the shallots were tender, I put in about 10 fresh spinach leaves in the butter and tossed it until the spinach became tender.
Pasta a la Amy
1/3 cup dry pasta shells (or whatever you have on hand)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2-3 white mushrooms, chopped
1/8-1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
6-8 springs flat leaf parsley, chopped
5-6 sun ripened tomatoes in oil, sliced roughly (keep some of the oil in the mixture! its great)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/8 cup mozzarella cheese
1/8 cup pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese
1. Start the water boiling on medium-high with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt. When the water boils, add the pasta. Cook till it's al dente and drain
2. IN a small saute pan, heat the butter on medium. When the butter has melted, put all of the ingredients in the saute pan and toss together. Cook until the mushrooms are somewhat tender.
3. Remove from heat for a minute or two or until the pan cools some. When it has cooled, add the cream and mix together.
4.Add the mozzarella cheese and then the pecorino romano cheese. Mix together until the cheese melts.
5. Take the drained pasta and pour it into a serving bowl...or whatever bowl you're gonna eat out of...Pour the cheesy sauce mixture over the pasta and toss together. You'll have just enough sauce to cover the pasta and have some heaven in your mouth.
If you're not a fan of the veal, give this pasta a shot. If you don't have all of the ingredients, screw it! Use what you have!! Substitute some items and make it yours. Mine was awesome, though, so if you wanna be like me (and really, who doesn't?) more power to you!
Ha! Happy cooking y'all!
Amy
The Veal Saltimbocca is just the recipe from the masterchef book I told y'all about yesterday. The only thing I did different was using spinach instead of sage. I melted the butter and cooked some shallots. When the shallots were tender, I put in about 10 fresh spinach leaves in the butter and tossed it until the spinach became tender.
Pasta a la Amy
1/3 cup dry pasta shells (or whatever you have on hand)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2-3 white mushrooms, chopped
1/8-1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
6-8 springs flat leaf parsley, chopped
5-6 sun ripened tomatoes in oil, sliced roughly (keep some of the oil in the mixture! its great)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/8 cup mozzarella cheese
1/8 cup pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese
1. Start the water boiling on medium-high with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt. When the water boils, add the pasta. Cook till it's al dente and drain
2. IN a small saute pan, heat the butter on medium. When the butter has melted, put all of the ingredients in the saute pan and toss together. Cook until the mushrooms are somewhat tender.
3. Remove from heat for a minute or two or until the pan cools some. When it has cooled, add the cream and mix together.
4.Add the mozzarella cheese and then the pecorino romano cheese. Mix together until the cheese melts.
5. Take the drained pasta and pour it into a serving bowl...or whatever bowl you're gonna eat out of...Pour the cheesy sauce mixture over the pasta and toss together. You'll have just enough sauce to cover the pasta and have some heaven in your mouth.
If you're not a fan of the veal, give this pasta a shot. If you don't have all of the ingredients, screw it! Use what you have!! Substitute some items and make it yours. Mine was awesome, though, so if you wanna be like me (and really, who doesn't?) more power to you!
Ha! Happy cooking y'all!
Amy
Monday, May 16, 2011
Gazpacho and Spinach Salad
I have really missed this blog over the last two weeks!! I have been busy with finalizing classwork and work and I'm sorry, friends! I hope you made some tasty foods while I was on hiatus!
Since it's very much spring time (and because I ate a few too many mike and ike's this weekend) I wanted to make something healthy and still really delicious. Gazpacho is what came from that decision. I saw a recipe in the Master Chef cookbook-its a bunch of recipes from the show and from the people involved in the show. Great ideas! I borrowed the basics of their recipe and adjusted it for me...like usual!
Here ya go!
Gazpaco
1/2 tomato, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
1/4 English Cucumber-*you can use a regular cucumber, but you might want to peel it first.
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/4 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 lemon, juiced
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt and fresh pepper
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor...or if you only have the cheap-o chopper like me....use that! Blend everything EXCEPT THE OLIVE OIL until the veggies are pureed.
2. Add about a table spoon of the olive oil and puree again. Add the rest of the olive oil and puree again.
3. Place a sieve over the serving bowl and pour the puree through the sieve. Press it enough so that you get all of the liquid out of the mixture.
4. If you need to prep something else, just stick the soup in the fridge and stir it before you serve/eat it.
Just a note...I added the pulpy, pureed stuff that we squeezed all of the liquid from, back to my soup as garnish. I hope that's not weird...it was good!
Spinach Salad
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and stemless--shake as much excess water off...if you have a salad spinner, use it!
2 strips of bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
8 green olives-halved
1/2 tomato, seeded and roughly chopped (I used the other half of the tomato from the gazpacho!)
olive oil
1/4 lemon wedge
1. Throw the spinach in your bowl. Top with olives, bacon pieces, feta and tomato.
2. Drizzle olive oil over the salad...You'll probably use a couple table spoons, but just eyeball it. You don't want to drown your spinach.
3. Squeeze the lemon wedge over everything and then toss all the ingredients together.
Don't let the sneaky little feta crumbles hide in the bottom of the bowl!! Mix them all together...they're my favorite part! Serve this with a piece of garlic cheese bread and you've got a tasty, easy and healthy dinner! Besides, after you eat this, you won't feel bad at all for those mike and ike's (or whatever your poison is!)
Since it's very much spring time (and because I ate a few too many mike and ike's this weekend) I wanted to make something healthy and still really delicious. Gazpacho is what came from that decision. I saw a recipe in the Master Chef cookbook-its a bunch of recipes from the show and from the people involved in the show. Great ideas! I borrowed the basics of their recipe and adjusted it for me...like usual!
Here ya go!
Gazpaco
1/2 tomato, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
1/4 English Cucumber-*you can use a regular cucumber, but you might want to peel it first.
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/4 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 lemon, juiced
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt and fresh pepper
2 tablespoons of Olive oil
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor...or if you only have the cheap-o chopper like me....use that! Blend everything EXCEPT THE OLIVE OIL until the veggies are pureed.
2. Add about a table spoon of the olive oil and puree again. Add the rest of the olive oil and puree again.
3. Place a sieve over the serving bowl and pour the puree through the sieve. Press it enough so that you get all of the liquid out of the mixture.
4. If you need to prep something else, just stick the soup in the fridge and stir it before you serve/eat it.
Spinach Salad
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and stemless--shake as much excess water off...if you have a salad spinner, use it!
2 strips of bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
8 green olives-halved
1/2 tomato, seeded and roughly chopped (I used the other half of the tomato from the gazpacho!)
olive oil
1/4 lemon wedge
1. Throw the spinach in your bowl. Top with olives, bacon pieces, feta and tomato.
2. Drizzle olive oil over the salad...You'll probably use a couple table spoons, but just eyeball it. You don't want to drown your spinach.
3. Squeeze the lemon wedge over everything and then toss all the ingredients together.
Don't let the sneaky little feta crumbles hide in the bottom of the bowl!! Mix them all together...they're my favorite part! Serve this with a piece of garlic cheese bread and you've got a tasty, easy and healthy dinner! Besides, after you eat this, you won't feel bad at all for those mike and ike's (or whatever your poison is!)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Flippin' Idiot
I need to rant-about myself. This morning, I pulled out some ground sausage and thawed it so I could cook breakfast. Popped it into the pan to cook, cooked my eggs and fresh delicious biscuits and then sat down with a big glass of orange juice to enjoy everything. Sound's quaint, right? Wrong. It wasn't sausage. It was hamburger. I thought to myself several things that SHOULD have made me realize it was not sausage...
For instance:
1. Why is this sausage so bloody?
2. Why isn't this sausage crumbling like usual?
3. Why doesn't this sausage smell like sage?
4. Why did I buy 2 packages of sausage and only divide one? You see, there is a package of sausage sitting right behind the package of what I now know is hamburger.
It was clearly too early for me to be cooking. My dog really enjoyed his breakfast though. Let's hope that's the last kitchen mishap for the day.
Happy cooking, y'all!
For instance:
1. Why is this sausage so bloody?
2. Why isn't this sausage crumbling like usual?
3. Why doesn't this sausage smell like sage?
4. Why did I buy 2 packages of sausage and only divide one? You see, there is a package of sausage sitting right behind the package of what I now know is hamburger.
It was clearly too early for me to be cooking. My dog really enjoyed his breakfast though. Let's hope that's the last kitchen mishap for the day.
Happy cooking, y'all!
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