Pasta with Lacinato Kale Pesto

October 17, 2024 No comments

What a wonderful way to use two of my favorite ingredients: Tuscan (or Lacinato) kale and a simple homemade pesto sauce.  The leaves of sturdy Tuscan kale are first blanched to soften their texture, then whizzed in a food processor with garlic, olive oil, buttery pine nuts, bright lemon zest and a pinch crushed red pepper for heat. After the pesto is smooth and bright green, grated cheese is added and… voila: a healthy and versatile pesto sauce is born.  Perfect on al dente whole grain pasta, but also a lovely add-in for scrambled eggs, grilled chicken or even mixed into goat cheese and baked for a simple appetizer idea.

‘Poulet Chasseur’

October 16, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Mimi Thorisson’s French Country Cooking cookbook

You can never go wrong with serving a classic French chicken dish like this one.  Fresh herbs, tender chicken, sliced mushrooms, wine….you get my drift.  But let’s talk specifics here.  Fresh tarragon and chicken pair very nicely–tarragon has an anise-flavor to it that is super fragrant and distinct.  The recipe itself starts out with a nice sear of chicken (I decided to use chicken breasts, but dark meat cuts are what the dish is traditionally made with); next comes the sauté of garlic, onions and shallots, then a deglazing of the pan with both white wine and rich Cognac or brandy.

The mushrooms cook in this lovely mixture of wine plus broth, and you finish the sauce off by enriching it with a pat of butter and the fresh tarragon.  Searing chicken first, then finishing off the cooking process in the oven is a wonderful way to ensure a browned crust, and a super-moist interior.  I like serving a classic chicken-and-sauce recipe like this one with fluffy mashed potatoes and a simple green salad.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Lemony Broccolini & Capicola Bundles

October 15, 2024 No comments

These adorable bundles of yumminess are elegant enough for company but simple enough for any weeknight dinner menu.  Crispy broccolini spears are wrapped in thinly sliced sweet ham (I used capicola ham, but prosciutto or even pancetta would work well), seasoned with a touch of salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and then roasted on a bed of sliced lemons.  Thin French green beans or even asparagus would be another veggie idea to try cooking this way.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Purple Sweet Potatoes with Pomegranate-Pecan Gremolata

October 14, 2024 Comments: 2

This antioxidant-rich side dish is an example of how to eat a diet rich in variety and the many colors of the rainbow.  The base of the side dish is nutrient-rich watercress topped with roasted purple sweet potatoes.  The relish, or gremolata in Italian culinary terms is made with healthful pomegranate seeds, chopped pecans, garlic, lemon zest, Italian parsley and olive oil.  The natural sweetness of the purple sweet potatoes pairs wonderfully with both the ‘pop’ of fresh sweetness of the pomegranate arils and the crunch of the buttery pecans.  A lovely side dish that pairs very well with a turmeric-roast chicken or grilled pork tenderloin.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Quick Beer-Crust Pizza’

October 13, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of SIFT Magazine

This recipe for homemade pizza dough comes together quickly but also has a secret ingredient: one-and-a-half cups of your favorite beer.  With our favorite beer, Guinness Stout on hand that’s the route I took, but any beer whether it be dark, light, or amber works just as well.  I used a mixture of whole wheat and unbleached AP flour for the dough, and topped my pizza off with artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, watercress, prosciutto and ricotta cheese.  No matter what type of beer or what variety of toppings you settle on, this recipe gives a whole new meaning to a ‘beer and pizza’ night!

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/quick-beer-crust-pizza-recipe )

‘Radicchio Salad with Angostura Vinaigrette’

October 12, 2024 No comments

When you see the word Angostura in a recipe, the majority of the time it is an ingredient in a classic cocktail.  A brand of bitters, Angostura adds an herbal, spice-filled flavor to traditional drinks like a Manhattan or Old-Fashioned.  Readily available at liquor stores and grocery stores, bitters have become staple ingredients in actual food recipes these days, too.

Take this simple bitters-flavored vinaigrette for example: a mixture of tangy white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced shallots, honey and Dijon mustard, a touch of the herbal bitters really changes the color of the dressing and the underlying flavor.  All of these tastes pair beautifully with a bitter radicchio leaf salad mixed with the season’s ripest oranges.  (Try and find blood oranges if at all possible, but a navel orange or even tangerine would work just as well here.)

‘Mortadella, Artichoke-Heart & Olive Crostini’

October 11, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Mortadella is a lovely Italian salume hailing from Bologna, that is normally studded with pistachios and black pepper corns. Similar in texture to what we know as bologna, this tasty meat is popular in Italian cuisine on antipasto platters, sandwiches, and even white pizzas.  This lovely appetizer for a crostini topped with mortadella, olives and artichokes hearts is very flavorful.  I had some nice multi-grain bread on hand, so I actually made larger tartine-like open–faced treats instead of smaller crostini. I also added a few roasted garlic cloves to each piece of toasty bread as a flavorful base.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.marthastewart.com/1164832/mortadella-artichoke-heart-and-olive-crostini )

‘Aglio e Olio with Roasted Tomatoes’

October 10, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

Don’t get thrown off by this seemingly simple pasta’s cooking time.  Sweet grape tomatoes are slow-roasted in a low 200 degree oven until caramelized and a bit dehydrated; they are then added into a classic aglio e olio, or spaghetti dish hailing from Naples, Italy, in which al dente pasta is tossed into a simple sauce made with quality olive oil, loads of sliced garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.

In addition to these traditional ingredients and the slow-roasted tomatoes, you also cook some rainbow Swiss chard stems and leaves right into the pasta, before serving the entire colorful dish with ricotta cheese and buttery pine nuts.  I promise you, this version of aglio e olio (literally garlic and oil in Italian) will quickly become a classic in your pasta repertoire.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Sautéed Haricots Verts with Feta Cheese & Crispy Prosciutto

October 9, 2024 No comments

With just a handful of ingredients needed to make this scrumptious side dish, it is important to use the best ingredients available. From the extra virgin olive oil, to the produce, to the feta cheese and sliced prosciutto, each ingredient adds a layer of flavor and well…yumminess.

The sweet green bell pepper and the sliced haricots verts are first sauteed in some olive oil until just tender; they are then flavored with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes as they continue to cook in a touch of dry white wine.  To finish the dish off, you crumble or cube some salty feta cheese into the warm green beans, along with a drizzle of a homemade Dijon mustard vinaigrette and a topping of crispy prosciutto chips.

(To view this recipe click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Cranberry-Balsamic Chicken Thighs’

October 8, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Eating Well Magazine

Sometimes all it takes is a handful of simple ingredients to transform an everyday item into something very unique. Take this chicken thigh recipe for example: a mere 4-ingredients (plus the chicken thighs) is all you need to make this sweet yet tangy cranberry-balsamic chicken.

Pan-seared, skin-on chicken thighs are browned in a pan and then cooked with a combination of thawed cranberries, fresh thyme, honey and balsamic vinegar.  This dish comes together in no time at all, is very colorful and flavorful, and if like me, you still have a stock-pile of frozen cranberries in the freezer for the upcoming Holidays…all the better!

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/262105/cranberry-balsamic-chicken-thighs/ )

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