Nigella's Maple Pecan Muffins

Nigella’s Maple Pecan Muffins
From Nigella Lawson's Feast

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 12-15 minutes (or until the toothpick comes out clean)
Makes 24 mini-muffins

Ingredients:
6 oz/ 125g pecan pieces, (coarsely chopped)
10 oz/275 g (about 2 ¼ cups) all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
¾ cup wheat germ
½ cup milk
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup corn oil (I used canola, but any vegetable oil would work well)
1 large egg
1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
1. Pre heat the oven to 400°F/200°C and lightly grease a 24 cup muffin tin and reserve about ¼ cup of the pecan pieces for the topping .

2. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the pecans with the flour, baking powder & wheat germ and mix well.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, maple syrup, oil and egg.

4. In a small bowl, toss the reserved pecans with the brown sugar and set aside.

5. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and blend lightly and quickly. Don’t worry if there are lumps.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Top with the pecan brown sugar mixture and bake for 10-15 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a wooden toothpick in the center. If it comes out dry, the muffins are done. The tops should be golden in color. Cool in the muffin tin on a cake rack for 5 minutes before trying to remove the muffins.

Related links: Food and Drink easy cooking recipes muffins

Leek Mushroom Spinach & Potato Soup - No Milk

Leek, Mushroom, Potato & Spinach Soup – No Milk

Prep time: 20 minutes
Simmer time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 large leeks (4 cups/ 12 oz/ 320 g), halved length-wise, sliced across, rinsed and drained.
2 tbsp canola oil (or butter if you’re not worried about calories)
2 cups cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 medium new potatoes, coarsely chunked
2 cups/4oz/100g spinach (packed - leaves only), chopped
4 cups/1 liter/ 35 fluid oz. vegetable (or chicken) stock/broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:
1. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, sauté the leeks in oil or butter until they are soft and semi-translucent (8-10 minutes).

2. Add the mushrooms and potatoes and 1 more tbsp oil or butter, toss and sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth, cover and simmer over medium low heat for 20 minutes or so.

4. Last step before serving...Add the spinach and stir several times until the leaves are wilted. (2 minutes or so)

5. Before serving, mash some of the potatoes with the back of a spoon. That's what makes it look creamy.

Serve with some crusty bread (multigrain if you’re doing South Beach Diet) and a simple salad.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes soup South Beach Diet

Mediterranean Style Frittata - olives, tomatoes, feta...

Mediterranean Frittata - South Beach Diet Friendly & Vegetarian
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 45-50 minutes
Servings: 4. ( or as part of a brunch – 8)

Ingredients:
12 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
½ red onion, coarsely chopped
3-4 roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
½ cup pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives, chopped
½ cup fresh parsley
2 tsp dried Greek oregano
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I actually forgot this, but I think it would be terrific)
¾ cup feta, crumbled
¾ cup shredded Italian cheeses (Mozzarella, Asiago..)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C

2. In a medium-sized bowl beat eggs with salt and pepper plus 1 tbsp olive oil and set aside.

3. Over medium high heat, sauté the tomatoes and onions in a small-medium sized non-stick, oven-proof skillet (small pan = thicker frittata; large pan- thin almost open omelet in appearance) just for 3-4 minutes. Add the red peppers, olives, herbs, vinegar and salt & pepper. Toss, heat for another 3 minutes (just to get all the flavors blending).

4. Top with feta and shredded cheese and bake for 40-45 minutes or until it’s set in the center and golden on top. If you do choose to do a thinner frittata, you probably will only need 10-15 minutes in the oven.

5. Using a spatula, ease the frittata around the edges and under the bottom to make sure it won’t stick when you slide it onto a serving plate.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes Easy Cooking South Beach Diet eggs

Spanish-Portuguese Frittata - Chorizo, Potato & Mushroom

Chorizo, Potato & Mushroom Frittata
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 45-50 minutes
Servings: 4. ( or as part of a brunch – 8)

Ingredients:
12 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup new potatoes, diced with skin on
1 cup cremini mushrooms, thickly coarsely chopped
1 cup baby Swiss chard or beet green leaves and tender stalks, chopped
1 link smoked chorizo sausage, diced small
1-2 cups shredded Italian cheeses like mozzarella, Asiago…the amount is up to you – thin or thick layer of cheese is a personal preference
Smoked paprika to sprinkle on top

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C

2. In a medium-sized bowl beat eggs with salt and pepper plus 1 tbsp olive oil and set aside.

3. Over medium high heat, sauté potatoes, mushrooms and onions in a small-medium sized non-stick, oven-proof skillet (small pan = thicker frittata; large pan- thin almost open omelet in appearance) until the onions are translucent and the potatoes are mostly cooked through (about 5 minutes). Add the greens and the chorizo and sauté for another minute or two (until the greens wilt) and mix everything up.

4. Pour the eggs over the mixture in the pan. Top with shredded cheese and sprinkle a little smoked paprika over that.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until it’s set in the center and golden on top. If you do choose to do a thinner frittata, you probably will only need 10-15 minutes in the oven.

6. Using a spatula, ease the frittata around the edges and under the bottom to make sure it won’t stick when you slide it onto a serving plate.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes Easy Cooking eggs

Curried Split Pea & Sweet Potato Soup

Curried Split Pea & Sweet Potato Soup
Adapted from Whole Foods Market Recipe

Hands-on time: 10 minutes – (plus soak the split peas overnight in lots of water)
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow split peas
1 quart vegetable broth (I didn’t have any on hand, so I used chicken broth)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
7 whole green cardamom pods
1–2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or canola oil (I actually used regular butter)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (I used up my last onion for something else so I used ½ cup thinly sliced shallots)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2–1 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of ½ lemon
Cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Soak the split peas overnight in lots of water. Drain and rinse before adding to the broth.

2. Bring the broth to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add the drained split peas, sweet potato chunks and cardamom pods. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for an hour or so. When the sweet potatoes are soft, mash them with a wooden spoon against the side of the pot. Be careful not to mash the cardamom pods.

3. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the ghee or butter. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the onions (or shallots), garam masala, cumin & cayenne. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

4. Once the sweet potatoes are soft and split peas tender, add the spiced onions to the soup. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Remove the cardamom pods and season the soup with lemon juice and more cayenne if needed.

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking recipes soup

Nigella's Damp Apple & Almond Cake

Nigella’s Damp Apple & Almond Cake
From Nigella Lawson Feast
(This was in the Passover section of the book - no flour, but honestly, I'd serve it any time!)

Prep time: 30 minutes (much of that is letting the apple puree cool)
Baking time: 45 minutes (or until the toothpick comes out clean)

Ingredients:
Apple Puree:
3 tart eating apples (if the apples are sweet, just add more lemon juice to tang them up)
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 tsp castor sugar ( also called “super fine”, fructose, fruit sugar – it’s much finer than granulated but not as fine as icing or powdered sugar)
Cake:
8 eggs
325 g/ 12 oz ground almonds
275g (1½ cups) castor sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice (I just used ½ a lemon)
50g (¾ cup) sliced almonds

Directions:

Apple Puree:
1. Peel, core and coarsely chop the apples. Put them in a medium saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. The apples should be very soft and easy to mash with a wooden spoon or fork.

2. Allow the apple puree to cool before making the cake batter.

Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and prepare a 10” spring form pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and greasing the sides with butter or cooking spray.

2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade add the cooled apple puree and all the other ingredients EXCEPT the sliced almonds. Process until blended.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is crispy & golden and the toothpick test in the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly, Nigella suggests loosely covering the cake in the oven with foil until the toothpick test comes out clean.

5. Cool in the pan on a cake rack for 5 minutes before opening the spring. Nigella suggests serving this warm and when you do, it tastes like cheesecake. Cold works fine too!

To dress it up at the table, sift some icing sugar over top.

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking recipes cake Passover

Last Minute Pasta With Sweet Fennel Italian Sausages & Mushrooms

Pasta with Sweet Fennel Italian Sausages & Mushrooms

Total time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
Your favorite pasta…I like something small and that will hold the sauce, this time I used curly egg noodles. (1 cup per person)
4-6 links sweet fennel Italian sausages
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 -3 cups cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced (I like a chunky sauce)
½ jar (700ml) of your favorite pasta tomato based sauce
½ tsp red chili pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (check the package for time – usually 7-8 minutes)

2. While the water is coming to a boil, broil the sausages – about 8-10 minutes total. Slice them in 2” pieces and set aside.

3. At the same time, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat and sauté the onions, garlic until the onions are soft and golden (about 5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and sauté until they brown. Add the chili pepper flakes, pasta sauce, sausages, and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and place in a serving bowl and toss with the sauce, taste for additional seasoning and serve with lots of grated Parmesan.


Related links: Food Blogging Event Food and Drink Recipes Pasta

Cranberry Couscous Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Cranberry Couscous Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Roasting Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts, butterflied (cut horizontally almost, but not completely through)
Cranberry chutney – enough to cover the top of the chicken breasts (any strong flavored chutney would work, just match the berries in the couscous with the chutney)
½ cup chicken broth
Dash (2-3 tbsp) Pomegranate & blueberry juice (improvise with some wine or some other tangy juice)
2 tbsp cranberry chutney (or some other strong flavored jelly or chutney)
Couscous:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup mixed fresh herbs, chopped (I used rosemary, oregano & thyme today)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or whatever berries match your chutney)
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 ½ cups chicken broth (I added a little pomegranate juice here as well)
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Couscous:
1. In a medium sized non-stick skillet, over medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. If the garlic starts to turn brown, lower the heat. Otherwise it will taste bitter.

2. Add the liquid, cranberries and the fresh herbs and bring it to a boil. Add the couscous, stir and remove from the heat. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, recover and let it sit for another 5 minutes.

Chicken:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/170°C

2. Lay the butterflied chicken breasts, shiny side (outside) down on a flat surface and place 1 large heaping spoonful of couscous in the center of each breast. Fold in half and place in an oven proof baking dish just large enough to hold all the pieces without touching each other. Spoon some chutney on top of the chicken and pour the liquid around the chicken breasts. There should only be enough broth to keep the chicken from drying out, You don’t want the liquid to be more than a thin layer or else the couscous filling will become couscous soup!

3. Roast for 30 minutes or until the breast is white when cut through. If the breasts are large you might need a few more minutes.

I served it with extra couscous and steamed broccoli.

Tip: The couscous is great served as a side dish with any roasted chicken, pork or meat dish.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes Easy Cooking chicken

Dana's Mushroom Swiss Burgers

Dana’s Mushroom Swiss Burgers
From Dana’s Top Ten Table

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:
Topping:
4 tsp butter
½ onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2-4 cups sliced mushrooms (Dana uses 4 cups button mushrooms, I used 2 cups cremini)
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste (Dana used ¼ tsp each, I just used pepper)

Burgers:
½ onion, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper (Dana used ¼ tsp pepper & ½ tsp salt), I just used pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 2 – what can I say, I’m a garlic piggy)
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup fresh bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs)
1 lb/500g lean ground beef
1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 slices Swiss cheese
4 hamburger buns

Directions:
Topping:
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Increase the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms, salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are browned all over. Transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl and keep warm.
Burgers:
1. In a large bowl, combine the onion, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic and egg and stir until combined. Stir in the breadcrumbs and crumble in the ground beef. Toss gently until everything is combined. Shape into 4 patties.

2. Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat, add enough oil just to keep the meat from sticking (I used a non-stick skillet, so I didn’t add any additional oil). Add the patties and turn once or twice for 15 minutes or so. Using an instant read thermometer will tell you when the patties are cooked – 160°F/71°C – Great tip, Dana!

3. Top each burger with a slice of Swiss cheese while the burgers are still in the pan, cover and let it sit for about 45 seconds to a minute to melt the cheese a bit.

4. Place the patties on a bun, top with Mushroom mixture…and voila! Awesome burgers!
Copyright (c) 2007 by Dana McCauley. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.


Related links: Food and Drink recipes easy cooking burger meat cookbook

Beer Braised Short Rib Stew

Beer Braised Short Ribs Stew
Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine, November, 2007

I do this over two days!
Prep time: 30 minutes
Roasting time: 3 hours
I like to refrigerate overnight to remove all the fat from the short ribs
Final cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
3 slices of fresh gingerroot
1 stick of cinnamon
3 star anise
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 lbs/ 2kg beef simmering short ribs , cut into individual rib portions
Salt & pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup beef stock
1 can(28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes (I used pureed Fire Roasted tomatoes)
1½ cups of dark lager beer
2 tbsp cooking molasses
1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C.

2. The recipe says to tie the star anise, ginger, cinnamon, and peppercorns in a cheesecloth bundle. Naturally, I didn’t have any cheesecloth on hand, so I just threw them in the pot. Since I put everything (except the ribs) threw a strainer at the end, it wasn’t essential.

3. In a large oven-proof Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high and sear the ribs.
Two important tips for searing:
- don’t crowd the pan, or you’ll just steam the meat, so sear in small batches. It takes a little longer, but well worth the effort;
- the meat is ready for flipping when it no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan when you try to lift it with some tongs. If you’re patient at this stage, you will have crispy outsides that hold in all the juices. If you rush things, the juices will run out during the slow cooking and you’ll just end up with a tough stew. Transfer the seared ribs to a bowl.

4. Drain most of the fat from the pan and sauté the garlic and onions until the onions soften. Stir in the beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all the stuck bits into the sauce. It will make the "gravy" so much richer. Add the tomatoes and beer, give a stir and add the ribs, meaty side down with any juices left in the bowl. Bring the mix to a boil.

5. Cover and place in the oven for at least 2 hours, turning the meat halfway through.

6. Uncover and continue to roast until the meat if fork tender (about 30 minutes). Transfer the ribs with a slotted spoon to a bowl. If you’ve tied up your spices, just remove the bag. If, like me, you didn’t have any cheesecloth, don’t worry. Just pour the “sauce” into large bowl through a fine sieve. It will catch everything you DON’T want in your stew.

7. I place the drained ribs in a large baggie, separate from the stew and store them in the fridge. It makes the next step (removing the congealed fat) the following day easier. Cover the bowl of sauce and allow it to cool before refrigerating overnight.

The next day:
1. Remove the thick layer of hard fat that covers the stew. No matter how much you try to remove fat when it’s liquid, there will still be lots left in the pan. This way, no wasted sauce, no time-consuming, spills on the counter mess to deal with.

2. Pour the sauce into a large Dutch oven, stir in the molasses and the soy sauce and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the ribs, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I like to serve it over Cauli-fried “Rice” to sop up the juices, but who am I kidding, even with taking off most of the fat, this is not really a diet dish. So go ahead and serve it over garlic mashed potatoes (just put 2 peeled cloves of garlic in with the boiling water - or chicken broth and potatoes. Once the potatoes are soft the garlic will be too. Just mash, add salt & pepper, plus a little milk if you like them really creamy.)

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking recipes meat

Moroccan Chickpea & Orzo Soup

Moroccan Chickpea & Orzo Soup
Adapted from Fresh at Home

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes (I let it simmer longer, but it really was ready in less than 30 minutes)
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp each:
Ground cinnamon
Allspice
Ground coriander
Turmeric
Cayenne pepper
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
½ cup red lentils
8 cups roasted vegetable stock (it is worth the effort, but if you can’t …use your favorite vegetable broth)
1 can (19 oz/540 ml) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can (19 oz/540 ml) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup orzo or other small pasta (I wanted to find stars or something, but the local grocery was out)
Salt & pepper to taste
Lemon juice – at serving
Garnish: fresh mint, chopped

Directions:
1. I throw the onions, garlic and ginger into my food processor to do the chopping.

2. Heat the oil at medium heat in a Dutch oven. Add the onions, ginger & garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are softened.

3. Stir in the spices and cook for a couple of minutes. It should smell awesome.

4. Add the tomato, lentils and vegetable stock. Cook for at least 15 minutes, or until the lentils are softened and then add the chickpeas, kidney beans and pasta. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

5. Remove from the heat and taste for seasoning. Squirt some lemon juice in each bowl and garnish with chopped mint or parsley. The lemon juice really brings this to life – don’t leave it out!


Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking recipes soup

Norene's Pumpkin & Cranberry Muffins

Norene's Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
Adapted from Norene's Healthy Kitchen

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 20-25 minutes (or until the toothpick comes out clean and the tops are golden and spring back when lightly touched)
Makes 12 muffins ( I actually only got 9 out of my batch)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
¾ cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
½ cup dried cranberries (or raisins, chocolate chips…) I’ll be adding chopped crystallized ginger next time!
½ cup pecan pieces/(my addition)
Pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and use paper muffin liners or cooking spray.

2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade (or large bowl using an electric mixer) process the sugar and oil until light (about 1 minute). Add the egg and pumpkin and process 30-445 seconds longer or until well blended. Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon & salt. Process just until combined. The batter will be thick.

3. Stir in the cranberries (or whatever else you fancy) with a rubber spatula.

4. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full. Top the batter with a few pumpkin seeds if using. (I didn’t have any – pity).

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a wooden toothpick in the center. If it comes out dry, the muffins are done. The tops should be golden in color and respond lightly to the touch. Cool in the muffin tin on a cake rack for 5 minutes before trying to remove the muffins.

Norene says they freeze well for up to 3 months. They didn’t last 2 days on my counter!

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking recipes muffins

Bob Blumer's Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Bob Blumer's Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
From Andrew Dill, the "Pumpkin Chef"

Prep time: 5 minutes
Roast time: 25 minutes or until the seeds are crispy
Makes 1½ cups

Ingredients:
Seeds of a pumpkin (usually 1 pumpkin yields about 1-2 cups of seeds)
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp each of the following:
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Smoked paprika
Dehydrated onion
Allspice
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

2. Rinse the pumpkin seeds well and remove all the pumpkin pulp. Pat dry.

3. In a bowl, combine everything and toss well.

4. Spread the pumpkin seeds on a lined (for easy cleanup) lipped baking sheet. Make sure they’re laid out flat and not on top of each other.

5. Roast for 20 minutes, toss them a bit and continue to roast until they are crisp. (depending on the size of the seeds (mine were small since I used a small pie pumpkin),

Related links: Food & Drink,: Easy Cooking pumpkin, recipes

Potato & Leek Sacchettini with Goat Cheese & Herbs

Potato & Leek Sacchettini with Fresh Herbs

Prep/Cook time: 20 minutes (boiling the water + a minute or two to chop the herbs)
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 heaping cups of Potato & Leek Sacchettini by Olivieri (any small stuffed pasta would be fine, just match the herbs with the filling)
½ - ¾ cup fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme and oregano) coarsely chopped
2.5 oz/ 70g goat cheese, in small chunks (it’s easier to melt)
¼ - ½ cup pasta water
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. Cook the pasta in boiling water with 1 tbsp salt. It should be al dente (about 3 minutes) and drain, but save ½ cup of the pasta water for the “sauce”.

2. Put the goat cheese in the pot, return the pasta and add the herbs and some of the cooking water. Toss gently until the cheese is melted and add more water if needed. Season with freshly ground pepper and serve with a salad.

Related links: Food and Drink Presto Pasta Nights Food Blogging Event Recipes Pasta cheese

Sticky BBQ Ribs a la Donna Hay

Sticky BBQ Ribs a la Donna Hay
From Donna Hay Magazine Summer, Issue 31

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:
For rub & ribs:
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sweet hot paprika (I love Szeged)
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
2 slabs (2 lb/1 kg each) pork baby back ribs

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the rub (except the ribs).

2. Cut the ribs into pieces with 4-5 ribs per piece (it’s just a little faster to cook). Rub both sides of the ribs with the rub (You could prepare it the day before and refrigerate it before cooking. Just remember to bring the ribs to room temperature before cooking them – at least 30 minutes).

3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Line 2 rimmed baking trays with foil and place a rack on top. Spread the ribs out in one layer evenly between the 2 trays. Bake for 40-45 minutes, basting with the sauce once the ribs are done.

4. Turn the broiler on for just a few minutes to caramelize the “sauce”. It makes the ribs really sticky.

My daughter said she’d love to have some sauce at the table, so if that’s the way you like things in your house, double the rub recipe and serve some as a sauce.

I served them with roasted potato & sweet potato wedges and steamed peas & zucchini.

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking recipes meat

Roasted Carrot, Beet & Cumin Salad with Feta

Roasted Carrots, Beets and Cumin Salad with Feta
From Woman & Home, Summer 2007

Prep time: 10 minutes
Roasting time: 40-45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Vegetables:
9 oz/ 250 g raw beetroots, cut into wedges (the recipe suggests peeling after they’re roasted – but I didn’t read that in time – oh well…it worked just fine peeled first, but I wonder which would be less messy. I also forgot to wear rubber gloves when peeling them. Needless to say my fingers were red for quite some time.)
10 young carrots, roasted whole or some large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 tbsp olive oil (to drizzle on the veggies)
Dressing:
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted (they don’t mention…but I used a mortar & pestle to ground them once they were toasted)
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp lemon juice (about ½ large lemon)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic

¼ cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped
5 oz/ 150 g feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/170°C.

2. Place the beet wedges in a single layer on a shallow baking pan (I line mine with tin foil for easy clean up) and drizzle with some olive oil, toss and roast in a oven for 15 minutes or so. Add the carrots - Do not crowd them otherwise they will just stew – Roast for another 20-30 minutes – just until the carrots are fork tender and a toasty gold.

3. In the meantime, prepare the dressing. Just mix all the ingredients together in a small non-reactive bowl.

4. To assemble: Place the beets and carrots in a serving bowl (I served it cold, but hot as a side is also awesome) and toss with feta, mint and dressing.

Related links: Food and DrinkSouth Beach Diet Easy Cooking recipes salad vegetables

Grilled Chicken with Spicy Cumin & Sea Salt Rub

Grilled Chicken with Spicy Cumin & Sea Salt Rub
Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 31

Prep time: 5 minutes
Marinating time: 1 hour
Total Grill time: 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Rub:
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp whole coriander seeds
½ tsp dried chili pepper flakes
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coarse sea salt

Directions:
1. Put all the rub ingredients in a mortar and pestle or coffee mill (make sure it’s the kind that can easily be washed. I can’t imagine anything worse in the morning is some weird (for coffee, anyway) spiced coffee! Grind fine.

2. Flatten the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap so they get to an even thickness. This will ensure the meat is cooked through without being underdone at one end and dried out at the other. Rub both sides of the chicken with the rub and leave covered at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.

3. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes or so per side. You can do this on a BBQ, under the broiler in your oven or using a grill pan on top of the stove. The chicken is done when it is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Related links: Food and DrinkSouth Beach Diet Easy Cooking recipes grill chicken

Quick & Easy Potato, Sweet Potato & Chorizo Soup

Quick & Easy Potato, Sweet Potato & Chorizo Soup

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 links smoked chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small
2 large potatoes, (I like Yukon Gold), peeled and diced small
8 cups chicken broth
Salt & pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh thyme (rosemary would be good here too)

Directions:
1. Sauté the chorizo in olive oil in a large Dutch oven until they start to crisp around the edges about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and sweet potatoes and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add thyme and chicken broth.

2. Stir in any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup is ready when the potatoes are soft. I mashed them a bit in the pot so that the soup thickened but there were still chunks of vegetables.

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking Recipes Soup

Chicken & Mushroom Frittata

Chicken & Mushroom Frittata

Prep time :5 minutes
Baking time: 10 -15 minutes
Serves 2-4 (2 as a main dish, 4 with salad or part of a brunch)

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into cubes
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
5 large eggs, well blended with1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pesto
1 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C

2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk the eggs with 1 tbsp oil and pesto until well blended. Set aside.

3. Over medium high heat, sauté the onion and mushrooms in a little olive oil in a small-medium sized non-stick, oven-proof skillet (about 5 minutes). Add the cooked chicken and toss for another minute. Then add the egg mixture and continue to cook until the frittata starts to set the top looks moist, but not wet. I usually lift the edges and tip the pan so that the liquid touches the dry, hot pan. This speeds up the setting process without burning the bottom of the frittata (4-5 minutes).

4. Sprinkle first with handfuls of grated cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until it’s completely set in the center and becomes golden.

6. Using a spatula, ease the frittata around the edges and under the bottom to make sure it won’t stick when you slide it onto a serving plate.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes South Beach Diet eggs vegetarian

Rosemary Roasted Cauliflower with Grand Padano Cheese

Rosemary Roasted Cauliflower with Grand Padano Cheese

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Roasting Time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt
½ - 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp Grand Padano Cheese (like, but milder than Parmesan)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C

2. Combine the cauliflower florets, rosemary, salt & pepper and olive oil in a large bowl.

3 .Place the cauliflower in a single layer in a lightly oiled roasting pan or…I often just use a foil lined, lipped baking sheet for easy cleanup. Roast for 15minutes and toss. The cauliflower is ready when it is still just firm but not crunchy. The taste should be sweet from the roasting.

4. Remove the cauliflower back to the bowl and toss with cheese. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes Easy Cooking vegetables

Cranberry Chutney Roasted Salmon

Cranberry Chutney Roasted Salmon

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Roasting Time: 15 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets,
Cranberry chutney – enough to cover the top of the salmon fillets (I bought some chutney at the Terra Beata Cranberry Farm outside of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia...but they do ship anywhere).

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C

2 .Place the fish in a lightly oiled roasting pan, skin side down. (I often just use a foil lined, lipped baking sheet for easy cleanup). Roast for 15minutes. It’s done when the fish is still juicy but the color inside changes from coral to a lighter “salmon” color.

Tips & Variations
The chutney works great on chicken – you can just coat the chicken before roasting or marinate it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking.

I served it with roasted cauliflower and sautéed baby spinach.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes Easy Cooking fish

Norene's Tangy Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Norene’s Tangy Sweet & Sour Meatballs
From Second Helpings, Please!

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Makes 2 dozen meatballs

Ingredients:
1½ lb/450 g lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 clove garlic (I love garlic so I used 2 cloves)
1 egg
2 tbsp matzo meal (not so easy to come by here, so I used Panko bread crumbs)
1½ cups ketchup
2 cups ginger ale

Directions
1. 1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and form into small balls (mine were the size of golf balls or walnuts).

2. Combine the ketchup and ginger ale in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Drop the meatballs into the sauce and bring to a boil. Keep shaking the pot as you drop the meatballs into the sauce. This keeps them from clumping together.

3. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, shaking the pot occasionally (stirring will break up the meatballs and then you’ll just have a tangy meat sauce!).

Three great ways to serve: 1. Over mashed potatoes; 2. Over egg noodles tossed with a little olive oil and garlic; 3. Drained and lightly sautéed in a non stick pan to “glaze” the meatballs and served on toothpicks as an appetizers.

Related links: Food and Drink Easy Cooking Recipes meat

Moroccan-Style Lentil, Chickpea & Orzo Stew with Dates

Lentil, Chickpea & Orzo Stew

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1-1½ hours
Serves 8

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 can (19oz/540ml) chickpeas, drained
12 cups chicken broth (the recipe called for vegetable broth, but I didn’t have any and no time to make the best roasted vegetable stock)
½ fennel root, cored and chopped (about 1 cup)
3-4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 handful each fresh cilantro/coriander & flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ can (28 oz/796ml) tomatoes, (I prefer San Marzano, but any will do), pureed
1 cup green or yellow lentils
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
Pinch of ground cloves
¾ cup orzo
½ cup pitted dates, chopped

Garnish:
Freshly chopped parsley
Lemon wedges

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add everything but the dates and orzo and simmer, covered until the lentils are tender (about 40-45 minutes).

2. Add the orzo and dates and cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges and serve with a salad and some crusty bread.

Related link: Food and Drink Easy Cooking Recipes stew

Spinach, Goat & Feta Cheese Ravioli with Mushrooms

Goat Cheese, Feta & Spinach Ravioli with Portobello Mushrooms

Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 5 minutes/batch of ravioli
Baking time: 5-10 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Pasta:
3 cups all purpose flour (Editorial update: it's been pointed out that this is probably way too much flour, but it's now 2010 and I don't remember my source, so start with 1.5 cups of flour and work your way up to 2 or 3 cups for a good dough consistency).
3 eggs
Pinch of salt

Filling (done without measurements, so I’m not exactly sure, it was our usual chaos and working with no net – meaning no recipe):
Cheese – main thing to remember is a half-half split with goat & feta cheeses
¾ cup crumbly goat cheese
¾ cup feta, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3 sundried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
1 egg
2-3 cups baby spinach, steamed, drained & chopped (or 1 pkg frozen, thawed and drained well)

Mushroom “Sauce”
3-4 large Portobello mushrooms, gills (the black underside of the cap) and stem removed, coarsely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Extra virgin olive oil to sauté
½ cup white wine would be lovely (we didn’t have any though and it was still awesome)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In a large bowl or on the clean counter, make a well of the flour and break the eggs, one at a time, in the center. Incorporate the eggs into the flour, mixing with your hands (at least, that’s what we did, but a fork would work too) until it sticks together.

2. Knead for about 5 minutes, separate into 3 balls, cover with a damp cloth or loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes or so. (That’s what the books say, but we just started rolling as soon as we were done kneading.)

3. Flatten the first ball and pass it through the pasta maker as directed. (We stopped at 7, but probably should have gone to 8). Let the sheets dry for …. Honestly, we didn’t wait. We just laid them on a lightly floured table and when we were done preparing the pasta sheets, we started to assemble the ravioli starting with the ones we prepared first.

4. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients and stir until the filling is well blended.

5. In a large non-stick skillet, sauté the mushrooms with garlic in the oil (about 5 minutes) and set aside. It looks very dry and the white wine would have been great. I added about ½ cup of pasta water to them at the end.

6. Preparing the ravioli:

- On one flat sheet of pasta about the length from your elbow to your fingertip (no time to really measure), place small teaspoonful dollops of filling leaving about ¼” from the edge and ½” between dollops;

- Moisten around each dollop (there must be another word for the teaspoonfuls) with egg whites or water – we used water;

- Gently lay another sheet of pasta over the top. In order to keep air out as much as possible and have the top sheet stick to and around the filling, we started at one end and used the side of our hand to gently press the top sheet in place around each spoonful of filling;


- Cut between each ravioli, making sure there is at least ¼” of pasta to pasta around the filling. Any less and the filling will ooze out during the boiling. Pinch each ravioli all around the edges to secure the seal. We were proud of ourselves, we only lost one.

7. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli in batches (we did 6-8 – they were huge - you don’t want them to stick together) and cook until al dente (5 minutes or so).

8. Drain and place the first batch in an oven-proof baking dish greased with extra virgin olive oil. Spread a little of the mushrooms and some grated cheese between batches and leave in a warm oven. Once all the batches are done, it’s time to serve.

Serve with a simple green salad.

Related links: Presto Pasta Night Food and Drink food blogging eventRecipes Pasta