Thanksgiving Successes

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with food, friends and family. Now that it is over and the Christmas shopping frenzy is upon us, I am hoping to get my butt back on the fitness train. I have been a lazy, eating machine for about 2 months now and am very disappointed with myself. But rather than complain, I am hoping to get motivated instead and do what I know I have to do if I want anything to change. BUT, before that happens, I will share with you two new recipes I successfully executed for Thanksgiving this year. We were traveling so the dishes had to be cooked in advance and transport well. I hit the mark with both. Here they are.

Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs
1 Tbs mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped finely
2 Tbs shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel hard boiled eggs and slice in half
Remove yolks and place in a small mixing bowl
Mix yolks with remaining ingredients until smooth
Pipe mixture back into egg whites.
Chill until ready to serve

NOTE: Because the cheese and bacon make the yolk mixture somewhat chunky, piping it back into the eggs was not easy, the tip kept clogging. The yolk mixture was a little stiff and a small spoon actually worked better than the piping bag. Use whatever works best for you.

Better Broccoli Casserole

3 lbs broccoli florets
1 pint heavy cream
1 leek, chopped
5 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
1/2 Cup chopped portabella mushrooms
1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed
1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 lb medium cheddar cheese, grated
3 sleeves crackers (ritz, town house), crushed coarsely
1/2 Tbs Black pepper

Reserve 1-2 Tbs of fat from the bacon and saute leeks and mushrooms until softened. Set aside
Bring a large pot of water to a bowl and blanch broccoli. Work in batches if needed.
Drain water and return pot to stove over medium heat.
Add cheeses and cream.
Stir mixture until cheese are melted and smooth
Add bacon, leeks and mushrooms.
Stir to incorporate.
Add 2 sleeves of crushed crackers and broccoli.
Stir until everything is evenly coated with the cheese mixture
Place in a large baking dish at 350 F for 45 minutes
Top with remaining crackers and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Let stand before serving.

Mamma Agata's Cooking School

I can't even believe that it happened! Hubby and I went to Italy!!!! It was by far one of the BEST trips I have ever taken. As an added bonus, we spent a day in Ravello at Mamma Agata's Cooking School. Mamma Agata has been cooking all of her life and was much sought after by Hollywood A-listers such as Fred Astaire and Humphrey Bogart. Pretty cool! She even cooked for Jackie O! Anyway, the class was a wonderful experience as her daughter, Chiara, translated and described what Mamma Agata was doing as she prepared about four different entrees for us. We tasted every ingredient and were given preparation tips and tricks. After each preparation we sat down and dined on the delicious courses. It was a day filled with food, wine, beautiful views and good company. I cannot recommend this experience more. It is expensive but it is such a treat. I even recreated some of the recipes for my family upon my return and they came out great. I still haven't quite replicated the eggplant parmesan but that may be because I did not have the correct variety of eggplant available to me. I will continue to look for it though and am certain I'll get the hang of it.

Soup is Good Food!

Well the temperatures are dropping here in New England and, although I do love the summer, I cannot complain. Fall in New England is just gorgeous and the mild dry temperatures are perfect for baking and making and eating SOUP! I love soup. It is so warming and comforting and lifts the spirits on a gloomy day. I have been getting lovely heads of cauliflower in my CSA share lately and this soup was a wonderful way to use it. I swear you may even be able to fool people into thinking they were eating potato soup. You can add some chopped ham to make this a more hearty soup. Another suggestion is to top with bacon crumbles before serving!

 Creamy Cauliflower Cheese Soup

 2-3 Tbs butter

2 leeks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
2 heads cauliflower florets, trim off any tough or fibrous parts
1 pint heavy cream
1 lb good sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy stock pot melt butter and sauté leeks and garlic until soft

Add chicken broth and cauliflower florets. Cover stock pot and simmer until cauliflower is tender.

Use a potato masher or immersion blender to mash cauliflower. If using a potato masher, transfer mashed mixture to a food processor or traditional blender and puree until smooth and return to stock pot. If mixture becomes too thick add cream or more stock to thin.

Turn heat down to a very low simmer and add cream and cheddar cheese. Stir until smooth

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve hot!

 

On the Lighter Side

Wednesdays are my night. Hubby doesn't get home until late, so I get to make whatever I want for dinner. It's all about me - I like that! Another thing I like are avocados - I mean REALLY like! Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family that likes them so I dont eat them very often (sad face). This is partially because most of the things I eat them with only call for a few slices of avocado. The consequence of this is that the rest of the avocado turns into a black disgusting mess in my refrigerator before I get around to using it. Not this time though! I had seen recipes for avocado chicken salad floating around on the internet for some time and, since last night was my night, I finally made some for myself. I accompanied it with some fresh sliced garden tomatoes that I arranged on the plate like a carpaccio. WOW! Talk about a perfect light dinner for a warm end-of-summer night. This is definately going into the Wednesday night rotation!

Tomato Carpaccio with Avocado Chicken Salad

1 ripe avocado
1 can chicken meat or about 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken breast
1 Tbs red onion, copped fine
1 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
1 fresh, ripe tomato sliced thin

Arrange tomato slices in a layer on a plate, set aside

Place avocado meat in a bowl and mash with a fork
Add onion, cilantro and lemon and stir to combine
Salt to taste
Gently mix in chicken

Place chicken mixture in center of plate on top of tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Quick, simple and delicious!

Summer Bounty!

Yes, I know it has been a while. As with every summer, this one has been crazy busy. I can't believe it's already August! However, being such, I am happy to report that my tomato plants have been producing like crazy. YAY! What I didn't realize in my haste to get everything planted this spring, is that I put in a few varieties that ripen to orange instead of red. I let a good number rot on the vine before I figured it out, LOL! Needless to say, I am on top of it now and these babies are fan-freaking-tastic! They are wonderfully sweet. Like candy on the vine. I rank them up there with my Brandywines, which are my all time favorite variety of tomato. With all these tomatoes at my disposal, I have been making a very simple pasta dish that my husband absolutely LOVES!  We have had it twice this week already. It is very quick and easy to make and you can add any fresh vegetables to it that you have at your disposal. This latest version we used yellow squash, which also helped make the sauce a lovely pale yellow-orange color. So delicious! Want to make it vegetarian - just leave out the chicken and add some white beans for protein.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato and Parmesan Sauce

1 pound pasta (any variety)
2 Tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4C sweet onion, sliced thin
1 boneless, skinless, chicken breast, sliced thinly
1 yellow squash, julienned
1 qt cherry tomatoes or other fresh garden tomato (cored and chopped roughly)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup pasta water
3/4 -1 cup grated parmesan cheese
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Cook pasta in salted water until almost cooked through, reserve pasta water, drain and set aside
While past is cooking add oil, garlic, onion and tomato into a large, deep, skillet and saute.
When tomatoes look soft, mash with a potato masher to release juices.
Add chicken breast and continue to saute until chicken is no longer pink
Add squash and continue to saute until soft
Add chicken broth and pasta water to skillet
Add partially cooked pasta and let simmer until pasta is al dente adding additional broth or pasta water if needed
Add parmesan cheese and stir to incorporate.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Mermaid Parade 2012!

What a freaking BLAST! This is my favorite event of the year and this year did not disappoint! The weather was very hot and people came out in droves! it was so much fun! I even placed third in the best sea creature costume for my mermaid interpretation of a lion fish! HOLY COW! I can't wait until next year but I an stumped at how to top this costume! Good thing I have all year to think about it!

CSA Creativity

So, this year I decided to buy a share at a local CSA farm. I have wanted to do this for a while and, since this particular farm let me purchase a full share in two easy payments rather then shelling out everything at once, I could finally swing it. The shares aren't cheap but when you consider that you are getting fresh organic produce all summer long it really is a good deal (Provided mother nature cooperates). It is also a great way to support your local farms. This being springtime in New England, I am getting a LOT of greens in our share. More than Husband and I could EVER dream of eating. Thankfully, Mom is right down the street and happy to lend a stomach! Our first weeks share had a bag of spinach and some beautiful rainbow chard in it. Now, I know I like spinach but I have to admit, I never ate chard before. So, for an introductory dish, I decided I would put it in quiche with some bacon and garlic. Seriously, what would NOT taste good in that! My instincts served me proper too because, man, was that the best quiche I ever ate! I made one for Mom too and she devoured it. Trust me, if she didn't like it she would say so. LOL! I sort of followed Thomas Keller's quiche recipe but opted for a refrigerated pie crust as opposed to making one from scratch. Yes, pie crust is simple to make but, you know what, I SUCK AT IT! Even after taking a pie making class I just don't make it enough to have it mastered. Plus, I didn't feel like fucking around with dough. Not when I just finished a 10 hour work day and there is some in a box in the refrigerator waiting for me. If you want to make pie crust then by all means do so, but this tastes just fine with a little help from the Pillsbury dough boy - just sayin'.

Bacon, Chard and Spinach Quiche

2 pie crusts (home made or pre made)

1/2 lb bacon, cut into lardons
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large handfuls of spinach and chard (Mixed), chopped rough, large stems removed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C white wine

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

6 large eggs
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

6 gratings fresh nutmeg

3/4 cup grated  Gruyere cheese

Prebake pie crust until lightly browned. Let cool.

In large saute pan, fry bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside. Drain all but 2 Tbs fat from saute pan.
Add shallots and garlic to pan and saute until soft.
Add spinach/chard mix. saute
Add wine and wilt greens and deglaze pan. Remove from heat when greens are soft.

Combine the milk and cream in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until scalded (meaning a skin begins to form on the surface). Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.

Put eggs, milk and cream teaspoons salt, pepper and nutmeg in a blender and blend on low speed about 5 seconds to mix thoroughly, then increase the speed to high and blend until the batter is light and foamy, about 30 seconds.

Scatter half of the bacon on bottom of pie crusts, top with greens and 1/2 of Gruyere. pour egg mixture over and then add remaining bacon and top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until set in center. Let cool and enjoy!

I had a LOT of egg custard left over so I baked it into mini crustless cheese quiches using silicone baking cups. YUM!