linguine with chicken sausage (linguine con salsiccia di pollo)
June 4, 2013 § 40 Comments
Pasta with a parsley pesto is sufficient for a midweek dinner. However, with a strapping young lad at the dinner table I decided to add chicken sausage to give it a little substance. Dinner does not get any easier than this. Dinner is ready in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. For us, a one dish meal.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 pound of good quality linguine
- 1 pound of italian chicken sausage
- 1 large bunch of parsley
- 4 scallions
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3/4 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- a shake or two of red pepper flakes
Place a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Cook the sausage and prepare the pesto while you are waiting for the water to boil.
If the sausage is in casings, remove the casing and break up the ground chicken in a skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 smashed garlic cloves to the skillet. Continue to cook until nice and brown. Lower heat to keep warm.
For the parsley pesto, place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until blended. If you are not using a food processor, finely chop the parsley, scallions and garlic, place in a bowl with pecorino, olive oil and pepper flakes and stir well.
Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. Cook until al dente, linguine cooking time is approximately 9 minutes.
Drain pasta, return it to the pan (off the heat) and toss with pesto and sausage.
Divide into serving bowls and serve with freshly grated pecorino.
Serves 4
buon appetite.
clean out the fridge challenge “stew” !
June 1, 2013 § 46 Comments
My blog friend Dolly Rubiano has challenged me and mumandleahcook to a little clean out the fridge recipe posting. How fun! Well, this did present a challenge for me because, you see, it is a bit rare for me to over purchase at the market. I am very precise when it come to shopping and using everything I bring home. I always have the regular items such as, milk, eggs, cheeses, a little lettuce of some sort, and usually a few beers and maybe some chilled wine. What do you do with all that? I could make a salad and put an egg on it! I already posted that here. I stood at the refrigerator looking at some carrots and two large parsnips. Then I knew I had to raid the freezer too. Again, I do not usually have too much stored in our freezer, typically buy fresh and use right away. I did have some stewing beef. I decided then I would make a beef stew, smashed potatoes and caramelized parsnips. I had brought the carrots and parsnips home a few weeks ago thinking I would use them in a soup. I have to admit I did have to peel them, they were looking a little “over ripe”. This caramelized parsnip recipe is like eating a delicious coconut!
Not much in the fridge!
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 pound stew beef
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red onion, diced into very fine bits
- 4 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/2 cup rose’ wine
- 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
- 3 cup hot water
- 6 carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the beef and brown it over high heat until it is nice and brown on all sides. Salt the beef as you go. Add the onions and fry until it has softened. Add the butter, garlic and thyme and cook until butter is melted and the garlic is aromatic. Add the wine, cook until it has evaporated and add the tomato sauce. Stir well. Add 3 cups of boiling water, cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for 2 -3 hours stirring occasionally. The meat should be very soft and tender after 2 – 3 hours. Thirty minutes before you are ready to serve add the carrots, cook uncovered until tender. Sauce should be fairly thickened when done. Turn off heat and allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.
c a r a m e l i z e d p a r s n i p s
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 tablespoons turbinado raw cane sugar
- snipped chives
- salt
Preheat oven to 350°.
Place cut parsnips in a baking dish, drizzle melted butter and sugar on top. Toss to mix well. Add snipped chives and a little sprinkling of salt, cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until tender.
My “clean out the fridge” dinner was fantastic! It helped that it was 50° and raining all day so when the stew was simmering the aroma was as good as a warm blanket. I was very happy to top the dish off with fresh herbs from my garden. Basil on the smashed potatoes, chives on the the parsnips and thyme on the stew.
Thank you Dolly and Sandra for a fun little blogging experience!
Serves 4.
buon appetite!
simple midweek baked cod
May 30, 2013 § 45 Comments
An easy baked cod recipe. I made this fish on a evening after a long day at work and it was perfect. I realize how important a simple midweek dinner recipe is when I get home ready to drop. These cod filets went together easily. I served them with dill mashed potatoes and an arugula salad.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 4 cod fish filets
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- salt
- 1 lemon, sliced thinly into rounds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 12 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- several sprigs of thyme
M e t h o d
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lay out 4 large pieces of parchment paper on your counter. Coat both sides of your fish with panko bread crumbs, sprinkle with salt and place one filet on each piece of parchment paper. Place a few lemon slices onto fish, a sprig or two of thyme, 3 smashed garlic cloves and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on each. Close up the parchment by meeting the tops together and rolling them down. Fold the end underneath to seal. Place the fish in a baking dish and bake for approximately 20 minutes. You may check one by carefully unfolding to make sure it is done and seal it up again.
Serve right away, allowing your dinner companions to open their own parchments!
dill mashed potatoes
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- handful of fresh dill, stems removed
- 3 tablespoons butter
- salt / pepper to taste
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add diced potatoes and fresh dill. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, approximately 10 minutes. Drain and return to the pot over a medium low heat and allow the additional water to steam out. Turn off the heat, add butter and smash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper according to your liking.
Serves 4.
buon appetite.
lamb chops with minted pea mash
May 28, 2013 § 36 Comments
It is still cool and rainy here in Seattle. Memorial Day usually inspires outdoor grilling, however, the rain never stopped yesterday. Turned out to be a perfect day to grill indoors and perhaps make a fennel and gruyére gratin. This was the first time I cooked lamb and it was delicious. I always thought in order to have succulent lamb it needed to be braised for hours in a stew. We used the most simplest stove top grilling technique and we were pleasantly surprised how well it turned out. I wonder how many other cooking misconceptions I have! The fennel gratin was a perfect accompaniment to this dinner. Unlike a potato gratin the fennel is light and the gruyére gave it a comforting element needed for a cool rainy day.
Served with a minted pea mash and a fennel gruyère gratin.
Ingredients
- 2-3 lamb cutlets
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- a few wedges of lemon and/or fresh mint to serve
Method
Heat a ridged grill pan and brush both sides of lamb with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook the cutlets over high heat until browned on both sides. I cooked for 4 minutes each side and they were medium rare.
This was suppose to be a mint puree. It turned out a little thicker than I expected and instead of thinning it out I decided to keep the consistency as a mash. Very enjoyable. I seem to have been a little stuck on peas and mint lately in my posting. I just love using what is in season and freshly harvested.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. of fresh peas
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- sprinkling of salt and pepper
- about 8 mint leaves
- 1 squeeze of lemon
Method
Cook the peas in boiling water until tender, then drain. Stir in the butter until it melts. Transfer peas to a blender or food processor. Add the cream, salt and pepper, mint leaves and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Serve warm.
f e n n e l a n d g r u y è r e g r a t i n
Ingredients
- 3 fennel bulb, trimmed of outer leaves
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup grated gruyère cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Method
Preheat the oven to 400°. Trim the fennel tops and save any feathery fronds for later. Quarter the bulbs and cook in lightly salted boiling water for 5 minutes until tender. Drain well and place the fennel in a buttered gratin dish. Sprinkle the reserved fronds on top. Season with salt and pepper, pour on the cream and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake for 20 minutes. I sprinkled a few uncooked fronds on top after baking.
Serves 4
buon appetite.
vegetable risotto (risotto di verdure)
May 24, 2013 § 48 Comments
In a previous post I mentioned my admiration for Tessa Kiros and her fine cookbook Apples for Jam. I adore this cookbook and in my opinion it is written for me. My particular copy is far from being gently used. The dust cover is tattered and torn and many of its pages are a bit warped and spattered with the ingredients the recipe is calling for. I thought about picking up a nice new crisp copy, but then realized I couldn’t possibly replace my characterized volume. On a visit to the library the other day I acquired another one of Tessa’s cookbooks, Venezia. Looking through the recipes I stumbled upon this vegetable risotto. With all ingredients in season I decided we would have this for dinner. Being a borrowed book from the library I just better keep the pages clean!
This risotto recipe was terrific. It had all the substantial textures and flavor you want from a spring vegetable risotto. The crispy artichoke was a impressive way to top it off. When you prepare the artichokes I found it is very important to make sure you completely cut the tough parts of the leaves off. Next time I prepare this I will use baby artichokes if they are in season. I treasure baby artichokes because the whole globe is tender therefore no need to cut so much away and the hairy choke is nonexistent.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of asparagus (about 12)
- 5 cups of hot vegetable broth
- 1 large artichoke (6 baby artichokes)
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 3 or 4 young zucchinis, sliced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- all-purpose flour, for coating
- light olive oil
- handful of mint sprigs
Method
To prepare the artichoke, trim away the tough outer leaves and slice off the top. Halve the artichoke and remove the hairy choke. Cut into thin slices. Place in a bowl with cold water and lemon juice to prevent them from darkening.
To simplify the process, have all your ingredients prepared and measured before you start cooking the risotto.
Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet and sauté the onion until softened. Add the asparagus, zucchini and peas and sauté on high heat for a few minutes. Add the rice, mix through the vegetables to coat well. Season with salt and pepper, add the wine and allow it to bubble away. Add 2 cups of hot broth, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until the broth has been absorbed. Add another cup of hot broth, stirring gently. Do not allow the risotto to get too dry. Continue to add a cup of hot broth when necessary as it is absorbed, for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Remove from heat and gently add butter, parmesan and parsley.
Just before your risotto is ready, drain the artichokes, pat dry with paper towels and lightly dip each side in flour. Using a non stick skillet cover the bottom with olive oil and fry artichokes until golden and crisp on both sides. Transfer onto paper towels to s0ak off excessive oil.
Serve the risotto with a heap of fried artichokes, fresh mint and extra parmesan.
Serves 4.
buon appetite!
greek chicken cutlets and tzatziki
May 22, 2013 § 26 Comments
Here is a delicious Greek chicken recipe for you to make. I have been able to find chicken cutlets at most markets these day. If you can not find cutlets you may simply slice a chicken breast horizontally into three flat slices. You could pound them out a little more with a meat mallet if you like. Served with tzatziki, spanokópita, mache’ salad and greek olives.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken cutlets
- a dusting of all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- salt and pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons of large capers, chopped
- 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons of hot water
Method
Lightly pat both sides of chicken in flour. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil with the smashed garlic over medium high heat and cook until the garlic is aromatic. Add the chicken and fry until golden. Turn the chicken over, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook other side until golden. Turn again, season and squeeze in the lemon juice, add the capers, parsley and hot water. When it starts to bubble put a lid on the pan and cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and serve right away.
t z a t z i k i
Ingredients
- 16 ounces of full fat plain greek yogurt (I really like Fage)
- 1 large cucumber, peeled and grated
- 1 handful of dill, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt
Using your hands, after you peel and grate the cucumber, squeeze out the excessive juice. Place in a bowl and mix well with all the other ingredients. Taste and add salt to your liking.
serves 4
buon appetite.
asparagus potato soup with a lemony drizzle
May 16, 2013 § 20 Comments
Last week I was profoundly inspired while reading a beautiful post in My French Heaven. Stephane’s Simple Crème d’asperge was magnificent! I loved her minimal ingredients and simplistic method of cooking asparagus soup. I happened to have asparagus in my refrigerator and decided right then and there we were going to have her soup. Her recipe was indeed wonderful. We loved every silky spoonful!
Next trip to the market I was awe struck at the sight of a mountain of asparagus! I had to buy some more. I picked out a nice bunch and then noticed the price per pound. I do not think I have ever seen asparagus so modestly priced. Do you think I bought too many? Obviously we are having a very productive asparagus growing season here in Washington state. Our temperatures have been warming up for several weeks topping out at 80° for a couple of days. This week the rain is falling and it has cooled off to a comfortable 65°…perfect!
This soup recipe is very different from Stephane’s. Her soup was so smooth and much lighter. And the nutmeg added such a nice subtle flavor. Using a blender rather than straining gave this soup a heartier consistency. I added a drizzle of lemon dressing to give it some zing.
Ingredients
- 2 large bunches of asparagus, remove tough lower stem, cut into pieces
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 quart of vegetable broth
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped fine
Method
In a heavy soup pot heat butter over medium high heat and cook the onion until soft. Add the potatoes, asparagus, salt, pepper and stir to coat well. Pour the vegetable broth in and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and slow boil until potatoes are tender. Blend the soup to desired consistency.
L e m o n y D r i z z l e D r e s s i n g
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- a pinch of salt
Mix all three ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a fork. Drizzle on top of individual servings.
Serves 4, with leftovers.
buon appetite.
caramelized onions and hamburgers
May 13, 2013 § 25 Comments
This is simply delicious. I love to make a nice spicy sauce for our buns and top with caramelized sweet onions. This evening I served these with roasted potatoes, garlic aioli and a power green salad, which consisted of baby spinach, mizuna, chard and kale.
s p i c y p i n k s a u c e
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (tapatio or cholula)
Put all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt. Mix with a fork until smooth. Set aside, perhaps in the refrigerator.
h a m b u r g e r s a n d c a r a m e l i z e d o n i o n s
Ingredients
- 1 pound of good quality ground chuck
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 large sweet yellow onion, sliced into rings
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1 large juicy tomato, sliced
- handful of lettuce of your choice
- 4 sesame buns
Method
Start your barbecue. I use a briquette grill so I need to get it going first. You may use a grill pan on the stove, lightly brushed with olive oil.
Heat 5 tablespoons of olive oil to a nonstick skillet and fry the onions over low heat until they are golden and sticky. Add the thyme sprigs and a pinch of salt and continue to fry stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 15 minutes until they get a little crisp.
Put the ground chuck, parsley and egg in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Remove your rings and mix well with your hands and shape into four large flat patties. The should be about 4 inches in diameter and not more than 3/4 inch thick.
Grill the patties over a hot grill until they are nicely browned. Make sure they don’t get smoked and try not to allow them to dry out by cooking too long. They should be cooked through but moist and juicy. If you prefer to have a cheese burger, cover your patty with a slice of cheese and let it melt. Gouda or gorgonzola is a nice cheese to use.
Place all of your condiments on the table in separate bowls. Heat the buns on the grill of a couple of seconds. Put the patties inside the buns and serve right away, letting everyone around your table make their own by adding sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and warm onions as they like.
r o a s t e d p o t a t o e s
- 3 russet potatoes, scrubbed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
- salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 450°. Cut your potatoes into your desired shape and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper to the bowl and toss well to fully coat the potatoes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast until nice and brown, approximately 45 minutes. Make sure to give the baking sheet a shake now and again and turn your potatoes over for even browning.
The g a r l i c a i o l i I made was a very simple version I discovered a few years back. I just use mayonnaise with a little olive oil and a few pressed garlic cloves. Sometimes I add different herbs to add another nice flavor.
Serves 4
buon appetite.
pasta with baby artichokes (orecchiette con carciofini)
May 9, 2013 § 37 Comments
The majority of my dinner inspiration occurs while taking a stroll through the produce area of the market. On this visit I came to a halt in front of the baby artichoke arrangement. Instantly I knew I was going to try them in a sauce for pasta. 
Never having prepared baby artichokes before I knew with a little trimming you may eat the whole thistle. After a little research I found it is very necessary to soak your trimmed artichokes in lemon water, otherwise they turn an unsightly brown hue. I read a couple of appetizing sautéed baby artichoke recipes and came up with an idea. Shallots instead of onions. Herbs from the garden. And one of my favorite pasta sauce ingredients, pancetta.
This is very simple and not too rich. The three herbs really give it a fresh spring-like flavor. For this dish I chose orecchiette because it is my son’s favorite. He calls them hard hats.
Ingredients
- 12 baby artichokes, cut the tops and stems off and pull off any thicker outer leaves
- 1 lemon, halved
- 4 shallots finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 pound pancetta, diced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 pound orecchiette pasta
- handful parsley, finely chopped
- handful mint, finely chopped
- handful basil, finely sliced
- freshly shaved grana padano parmesan
Method
Squeeze your lemon into a large bowl of water and drop the lemons in too. As you are slicing your artichokes add them to the bowl so they do not turn brown.
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
In a large skill, over medium heat add your olive oil and pancetta and cook until brown. Add shallots and garlic and cook another 4 or 5 minutes. Drain the artichokes and add them to the skillet. Raise the heat to medium high and cook until the edges have turned a nice golden brown. Add wine and reduce. Cover pan, lower the heat to simmer and cook another 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
While pasta is cooking chop the parsley and mint together. Slice the basil into little strips.
After your pasta has cooked and before you drain, reserve 1/2 cup of your pasta liquid.
Stir the reserved pasta water into your artichoke sauce and bring to a soft boil. Add drained pasta and parsley to the sauce and toss to combine and coat well. Turn off heat. Serve right away topped with cheese and basil.
Serves 4
buon appetite.
company eggs for dinner
May 1, 2013 § 23 Comments
When I was a little girl I remember having a good laugh with my mom over our neighbor’s salad spinning technique. After washing her lettuce she would put it in a pillow case, take it outside and spin it around and around like a propellor. The water would spin off brilliantly! She would spin a few times, stop, shake the lettuce a little, then spin again until she had perfectly clean, dry lettuce. It was a comical site to see. When I grew up I purchased a really spiffy salad spinner. I used it, however, it took up an enormous amount of space in my small kitchen. One day, by accident, I dropped the spinner and the bowl cracked in half. Left without a choice that evening I turned to the pillow case spinning. I was stunned. It worked beautifully. I was laughing as I spun and spun. Needless to say, I did not replace my salad spinner. I have a pillow case in my kitchen towel drawer specifically for my greens. You may want to try it for the swiss chard in this recipe…
The other day I opened up the latest issue of Bon Appetite magazine and saw a beautifully photographed baked swiss chard and egg recipe. I have been seeing a lot of gloriously baked dinners with eggs on top. Loving eggs as we do in our family, I have been cracking them on top of thick creamy soups, baking them on pizzas and now….casseroles. This is not your usual company egg recipe. The company egg recipes I have read are more like a frittata; scrambled eggs combined with cheese and mixed with other ingredients, then baked until firm. Swiss chard is abundantly in season right now and suddenly I knew what we were going to have for dinner that night.
When I stopped at the market to buy the swiss chard, I picked up a delightful aged white cheddar. I imagine a typical cheddar would be fine in this recipe, however, the flavor of this mature cheddar was extraordinary. When I make this recipe again I will use 4 bunches of swiss chard. I felt the “bed” the eggs laid on was a little thin. The original recipe used 12 eggs. With three of us around our table I only used 4 eggs. Add more according to your appetite and number of gathered guests. I used half and half instead of heavy cream, only because that is what I had in the refrigerator. I served our company eggs with warm naan and roasted beets topped with garden fresh chives.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- sprinkling of sea salt and pepper
- 2 bunches Swiss chard, thick center ribs and stems removed, washed, dried and coarsely chopped (about 12 cups)
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 large eggs
- 2 ounces aged white cheddar, grated (about 1/2 cup)
Method
Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-8 minutes. Add chard to the skillet by the handful, tossing to wilt between additions. Cook until tender, 5-8 minutes. Add half and half, simmer until thickened and almost evaporated. Place your chard mixture evenly in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Using the back of a spoon, make evenly spaced divots in the chard mixture. Crack 1 egg into each divot. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Sprinkle your cheddar all over. Bake, rotating dish once, until egg whites are almost set and yolks are still a bit runny, 15-18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving while the eggs set.
Served 3
buon appetite.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 