Gnocchi with Bacon & Peas

Gnocchi with Bacon & Peas

Ingredients

1 pkg. store bought gnocchi

4 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T Butter

1 T Flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth, hot
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 cup light cream
1 T fresh Basil
fresh Parsley for garnish

Directions
Set a large pot of water on the stove, bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, begin to brown the diced bacon over medium high heat.
Chop the onion and mince the garlic.  When the bacon is browned, remove from pan to a paper towel-lined plate.  Drain all but 1 T of the bacon fat from the pan. Return pan to stove over medium heat.
Saute the onion, seasoned with S&P, in the remaining bacon fat until soft 3-4 mins.  Add the garlic and stir.  Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir and cook for about 1 minute.  Deglaze the pan with the wine.  Add the hot broth, the Parmesan, the cream, and the basil.  Season with S&P. Bring to a low simmer, but do not boil.
Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water, following package directions, about 5-6 mins.
Add a ladle of the water from the gnocchi to the sauce, the drained gnocchi, and half the bacon bits.
Stir and cook a few more minutes until sauce is thickened nicely.
Serve sprinkled with fresh Parsley and the remaining bacon bits.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie

Traditionally made with lamb, this version with ground beef would more accurately be called Cottage Pie


Ingredients

1-1/2 lbs. Russet Potatoes, peeled, cubed
1/2 C milk
2 T butter
1 egg yolk
S & P

1 med. onion, diced
2 med. carrots, diced
1 lg. celery stalk, diced

1 lb. ground beef

1 T+ flour
1/3 C white wine

1-1/2 cups beef broth
1 T Kitchen Bouquet
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 T fresh thyme
S & P

1/4 cup grated cheddar
Paprika

Directions

Peel and cube potatoes.  Put in a pot with cold water covering them about an inch. Cover, BTB, RTS, cook until tender - about 12 mins.
Drain. Return to hot pot.  Mash some, then add Hot! milk and butter and continue mashing until smooth.  Add egg yolk, season with S & P, and stir to combine.
(I was tempted to add more milk...like if I were going to serve them like that, but the should be a little thick)

While the potatoes are on their way...cut the onion, carrot, and celery and get them sauteing in a large heavy pan (not non-stick), hot with olive oil.  Season with S & P.  When the veggies begin to soften add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.  Drain.  Sprinkle the flour over the meat mixture, then stir in and let cook 1-2 mins.  The pan should be dry and beginning to brown up a bit.  Deglaze pan with white wine,  scraping the bottom clean.

Add the broth, KB, tom. paste, and seasonings.  Cover and let simmer for 10-12 mins.  There should be some liquid, but it shouldn't be soupy.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Place meat mixture in a large pie plate.  Spread mashed potatoes over the top.  It's best to start around the outsides, using a spatula to press down and wipe clean over the edge, creating a good seal so any liquid doesn't bubble out.  Working inward, cover with a nice even layer. Like with icing a cake...leave some points - they will get nicely browned.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and paprika...some more fresh thyme.

Bake 30 mins., or until nicely browned and cheese is melted.  Let stand at least 15 mins. to set and cool.

Enjoy

New England Clam Chowder

New England Clam Chowder


Directions

2-1/2 lbs. hard shell clams (I used cherrystones)
1 md. onion, diced - reserve peels
1 lg. carrot, diced - reserve peels
1 lg. celery stalk, diced - reserve peels
2-3 stems, fresh thyme
1 lg garlic clove, smashed -peels and all
1/2 cup water

In a large heavy bottomed soup pot or dutch oven, steam clams with vegetable peels (not the diced veggies...they're for the next step), thyme, and garlic... maybe another stalk of celery and another small onion roughly cut up, and a 1/2 C water.  Steam until all clams open, about 10 mins.
Strain liquid through cheese cloth in mesh strainer, reserving strained liquid.  You should have almost 2 cups.
Remove clams and set aside to cool

4 slices smoked bacon, diced
1 lg clove garlic, minced

Wipe pot clean and return to stove over med. high heat.  Add bacon and saute until nearly all is crispy.  Add the onion, celery, and carrot...S&P (I used white pepper)...and saute until beginning to soften.  About 5-7 mins.  Add the garlic and saute about a minute.

1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup wine

Sprinkle the flour over the top, stir in, and cook for about 2 mins.  Deglaze with the wine and cook out for about a minute, until all liquid is removed.

Top off reserve clam broth with water until you 4 cups in total
1 bottle clam juice
3-4 med Red potatoes, diced
1-2 bay leaves
1-2 T fresh thyme
reserved clams, chopped

Add broth, clam juice, potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and clams.  Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and let cook for about 1/2 hour...until potatoes are tender.

1 pt. Heavy cream

Once potatoes are tender and ready to serve, reduce heat until just below a simmer.  Whisk in the heavy cream and cook until heated through.  Taste for seasoning.


Serve, garnished with minced fresh parsley.

Beef & Barley Vegetable Soup

Beef & Barley Vegetable Soup

Nothing is more satisfying after a day of hanging Christmas lights then a nice pot of soup.  My friend's daughter was sick yesterday and she made this soup.  The thought has been with me since she first mentioned it and today I figured I would take a crack at trying to develop my own recipe. 

• 5-6 dried shitake mushrooms

Reconstitute mushrooms in 2 cups hot water

• 1-1/3 lbs. top sirloin steak, cubed
• 1-2 T olive oil

Heat a heavy bottomed dutch oven or soup pot and the oil on high heat.

Brown the meat and remove from the pan

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• S & P

Saute the onion and pepper until soft, about 5-7 mins.

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• Fresh oregano, minced
• Fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 C Sherry

Add the garlic and herbs, saute 30 secs or until fragrant.  Pot should be browning a bit on the bottom.

Deglaze with a 1/4 cup sherry.

• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
• mushroom broth from shitakes
• diced shitakes
• 8 cups water
• 3 T beef bouillon (I like the paste type 1 tsp = 1 cup broth...)
• white pepper
• 1 t marjoram
• 1 T kitchen bouquet
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce

Add above ingredients.  Bring to boil.  Reduce to simmer. 

Simmer 1 hour

• 1 cup carrot, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 3 cups frozen veggies (I used corn, peas, green beans, and okra)
• 1 cup quick cook barley
• reserved beef

Add above ingredients.  Simmer another half an hour or until vegetables are tender.  

Let stand a bit before serving.

Mmmmm, must have crusty bread :-)

Salisbury Steak w/ Onion Mushroom Gravy

Salisbury Steak w/ Onion Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 T dried minced onion
1-2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. white pepper
S & P
fresh minced thyme & oregano
2 - 3 T flour
2 T butter
olive oil

1 onion
1 C sliced white mushrooms
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh minced thyme & oregano
1 t Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
1-2 t Worcestireshire sauce
1/4 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth (or just water)

Directions

Mix first 8 ingredients.  Shape into loaf-like patties.  Dredge in flour.  Brown in melted butter and olive oil over med. high heat.  About 4 mins. per side.  Remove from pan.
Saute onions and mushrooms in same pan, until soft 5-6 mins.
Add garlic and herbs, then sprinkle remaining flour (after dredging) over mixture and stir in.
Add wine and deglaze the pan of any brown bits.  Add the beef broth.
Return the patties to the pan.  Cover and simmer 10-20 mins., until gravy is as thick as you'd like.

Chicken, Shrimp, & Sausage Gumbo

Chicken, Shrimp, & Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients

2 Chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
1 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced.
1/2 onion, diced

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

1 T cajun seasoning

8 cups chicken stock
2 cups shrimp stock, see below

1/2 onion, diced
1 Red Bell pepper, diced
1/2 Green Bell pepper, diced
1 habanero pepper, minced
1 lg. carrot, sliced (thickest parts, halved or quartered)
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes

1 cup okra, sliced (frozen & thawed, or fresh)

1 lb. shrimp, shelled & deveined

chopped parsley and cooked white rice for serving


Shrimp Stock

Shells from 1 lb. shrimp
4 cups water
1 T Old Bay
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. Lobster bouillion
1 lg. carrot, rough chopped
2 stalks celery, rough chopped


Directions

Brown chicken thighs in hot dutch oven with a bit of olive oil, turning till brown on all sides (about 10 mins.).

Meanwhile, start shrimp stock (combine all ingredients, bring to boil, simmer rapidly for 20-30 mins.).

Remove chicken from pan.  Add sliced sausage and cook until browned.  Remove from pan.

Add onion, saute until soft.  Deglaze pot with wine.  Cook until liquid is simmered out.  Add butter.When melted, whisk in flour.  Cook until as brown as desired.  It may take 30-60 minutes to get a real rich brown color.  Be careful not to burn it though.

Once the desired color, whisk in seasoning and begin adding HOT chicken broth, slowly, whisking continuously until thoroughly combined.  Add vegetables, chicken, and sausage.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer uncovered.

The longer the better here.  You really want to cook out the taste of any of the flour and let all the flavors mingle.  Taste during this step and adjust to taste.

After simmering for quite some time (at least an hour), remove the chicken.  Let cool, remove skin & bone, and shred meat.  Add back to pot.  Stir in the okra, cook for another half hour or so.  The okra really adds a silkiness to the roux-based soup, but don't add it too early.  When just about to serve, add the shrimp and let simmer for 2 minutes or so, then kill the heat.

Serve soon after, over rice, with chopped parsley or chives as garnish.

Peppers

Apple Plum Crisp

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

onion, diced

bell pepper (the tops), diced

S & P

garlic, minced

ground beef

tomatoes, chopped

parsley

flour

water

mozzarella, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute onion and bell pepper in a bit of olive oil, with salt and pepper, until soft.

Add garlic, saute briefly.

Add ground beef, cook until no longer pink. Drain fat.

Add tomatoes and parsley. Saute a few minutes.

Mix a bit of flour (1 Tbsp) with some water (2 Tbsp.)

Add flour mixture and cook until thickened.

Remove from heat.

Stir in some mozzarella.

Place stuffed bell peppers in small enough baking dish to keep them nestled together and upright.

Bake for about 45 - 50 mins.

Grilled Shrimp with Saffron Risotto

Grilled Shrimp

1 lb. Shrimp, peeled & deveined

Basil infused Olive Oil (or regular EVOO)

Lemon infused White Balsamic vinegar (or any vinegar you like)

garlic, minced

parsley, chopped

dried onion

Habanero, minced

S & P

Marinate for an hour, or up to 4.

Skewer the shrimp to aid in flipping them

Grill 2-3 mins. each side

Saffron Risotto

I found this rice mix in a local gourmet shop.  Product of Italy. Only thing in it was the rice, dried carrot, onion, garlic, and saffron.

Started it by heating some olive oil and adding the rice mix, getting it good and hot, but not quite toasted.

I added a bit of white wine and let it simmer out.  Then cooked it the traditional way, adding chicken broth in scant amounts until absorbed. Repeating, until the rice is just done.  I stirred in a cup of thawed frozen peas just towards the end.  Right before serving I stirred in a bit of butter.

Plated with the shrimp and fresh parsley.

Mmmm! The grilled shrimp was a sort of farewell to summer grilling, while the risotto was a welcoming of the coming months of warming comfort foods like soups and oven casseroles :)

Tilapia Piccata

Tilapia Piccata

Derived from the classic chicken picatta, this dish works so well because the fish works perfectly with the buttery lemon sauce, piqued with the briny capers.

Ingredients

2 tilapia fillets

salt 

pepper

cayenne pepper (optional)

flour

 1T olive oil

1T butter

1/4C white wine

1/2C chicken stock

lemon juice, from 1/2 a lemon

lemon slices, from the other half

1 or 2T capers

1T dijon mustard

1T flour (reserve some from dredging), stirred with 1T cold water

2 or 3T butter

2 or 3T fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Heat olive oil and butter in skillet - med. high heat.

Season fish with salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using).  Dredge in flour.

Shake off excess flour and cook fish about 2 minutes on each side.

Remove fish from pan to baking pan and keep warm in the oven.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine.  Add broth, lemon juice, lemon slices, capers, dijon, and flour mixture.  Whisk together and bring to a simmer.  Simmer until sauce begins to thicken.  Stir in butter until smooth and cook until sauce is thickened and silky.

Just before serving, stir in the parsley.

Serve fish, spoon sauce on top.

Serve with rice, angel hair pasta, or as I did...

Orzo pasta with fresh diced tomatoes, olives, and lemon juice

Gabby's Pyramid of Sweets

Chocolate glazed - Chocolate Chip Muffins

Got Tomatoes?...

 Homemade Tomato Sauce

Got Tomatoes?... Well, I did...plenty! Right from the garden.

San Marzanos & Romas (Italian Plum tomato) - the absolute best tomatoes for sauce because they have less water content, and less seeds and gel.

http://www.sanmarzanotomatoes.org/

http://www.foodsubs.com/Tomtom.html

There's nothing like homemade sauce made from fresh tomatoes.  I had been on vacation for a while, so I had quite a backlog of tomatoes by the time I finally had time to think about doing something with them.  My choices were pretty much making the sauce now or slicing and freezing them and doing something with them later.  But that adds water content, which you really don't want in your sauce - you have to cook it out to get a nice thick sauce that will coat well.  So I had some time and decided to tackle it now.  It's really pretty simple, just a bit time consuming if you've got a lot of tomatoes like this.  Still worth it, because then you've got enough to enjoy for many times, and many ways.  It will store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or freezes well too.  You could even go the full route and process them in canning jars to last even longer right in the pantry.

Here's how I did it...

Wash them, pick off the stems, and slit the bottoms

Have a large pot of rapidly boiling water and an ice bath ready.

A spider or other hand held strainer works well for moving the tomatoes in and out of each.

You'll be best off working in smaller batches.  This will give you better control of how long each of them are they're actually in the water.  Cook them too long and it can really get messy removing the seeds.

You only want them in the boiling water for no more than 30 secs.  And they don't need much longer than that in the ice bath either.  Remove from the ice bath to a collander to drain.

Now the skins just peel right off...

Cut the top off...

Slice them in half...

Working over a scrap bowl, using your thumbs, just push out the seeds and gel.  Don't worry, that's not where all the flavor is.  If there is any firm piece of stem section, remove that too.

Finally!

Now just coarsely chop them - we'll puree them later.

 So here's about 8 cups of skinned, seeded, chopped homegrown tomatoes :)

And here's the cast of characters...actually I chose not to use any Sherry or wine.  The garlic and herbs (parsley, oregano, and basil) are from the garden as well. 

Here's a close up of the real stars...  

Basil infused EVOO, and Sicilian Lemon infused White Balsamic Vinegar.

Ingredients

(I don't really measure, so these are approx. - adjust to your liking)
Makes about 2 qts.

1-1/2 C onion, diced
1 T olive oil
S & P
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

3 T garlic, minced

2 T fresh oregano, minced

2 T fresh parsley, minced

3 T fresh basil, minced

8 C chopped tomatoes

1 T sugar

2 T infused olive oil, or any EVOO

2 T infused balsamic, or any balsamic 

1 T salt (start with less, work up to taste)

Directions

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot.  Saute the onion with a bit of S & P, and red pepper flakes (if using).  

When soft, add the garlic and herbs, and saute until fragrant - just about a minute.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, EVOO, balsamic, and salt. Bring to a simmer and let it cook for about half an hour.

Taste it.  What does it need?  Adjust salt, sweetness, acidity.  Let things cook a bit after adjusting, before tasting again.  When things are just about right, get out your immersion blender stick and buzz it to a nice sauce consistency.  You can leave it as chunky as you like, or blend it down as silky smooth as you like.  I kind of like something in between.  Here's what mine looked like after I buzzed it.

Now if it's still a little thin, maybe you can even taste a watery-ness...Just let it simmer on the back burner until its the way you like.  I like it to nicely coat a wooden spoon.
Keep tasting and adjusting till it's just perfect.  If you're not sure what it needs, you might want to ladle a little into a small bowl to taste and play with it, without affecting the whole batch.

I ladled mine into canning jars.  As I said, they can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or they can be frozen.  I've even frozen them right in these canning jars.  And they make a nice gift.  Just be sure the recipient knows they've not been processed and cannot just be kept in the pantry.

bon appetit!

Tomato Art

by Lauren

Corn Chowder

It's that time of year :)

Laurie's Breakfast Parfaits

Nectarines, yogurt, and Kashi.  Mmmm. Rich in protein and yet so light!

Linguini with Tomatoes, Grilled Chicken, and Bacon

Stuffed Tomatoes

Starting to run out of things to do with Tomatoes?  Try this delicious recipe!

Fry some bacon in a pan, remove and reserve. Drain most of the fat from the pan.

Saute some onion and pepper (hot pepper if you like) until soft.

Add some garlic right before deglazing the pan with a bit of good white wine.

Let the wine simmer out. Then kill the heat and let sit.

In a bowl, tear up the bacon, some fresh basil, some olive oil, and some balsamic vinegar (I had this amazing Lemon infused White Balsamic vinegar that my parents got for me from Maine - this stuff is amazing)

Use ripe, but firm tomatoes - not overripe.  Cut the top off the tomatoes, squeeze gently upside down over your sink, or whatever, to remove some of the seeds. Then remove the pulp from the tomato, reserving it. Leave a thick enouch wall. Salt the insides and rest upside down over a bowl with a rack, or whatever, to release some of the excess liquid - don't worry that's not where the flavor is:) Let them drain for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile add the cooled onions and peppers to the bacon mixture.  Add some mozzarella, and the diced tomato pulp - drained.  Give it all a stir and then taste it. Add whatever you think it needs more of.  With that Lemon Basalmic vinegar, mine didn't need a thing - but you might want some salt, or acid like more vinegar or lemon juice.

Stuff the tomatoes to the top.  Mound some cracker crumbs on the top, and a couple little tiny dices of a slat of butter on the top.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 mins. They should just be starting to look a lightly browned on the top.  Sprinkle a bit of parmesan over the tops and bake another 5-10 mins.  Let sit at least 10 mins. to cool and set a bit.  Sprinkle parsley over the top before serving.

Enjoy those garden tomatoes everyone!



Pickles

Well the cucumbers were piling up - just as I had hoped. That means Pickles. There was one cucumber that wouldn't even fit in a quart jar.  My daughter Lauren wanted to pickle it whole so she could slice it and have a pickle slice large enough to cover a whole burger. I thought she was on to something, but since I couldn't fit it in whole I had to pre-slice it - even better. Lol.

Plum tomato, basil, and sausage pizza

Finally! Tomatoes from the garden. Still had pizza dough from what I made over the weekend...and lots of Basil...so, here's another pizza!  Oh, and lots of garlic - also home grown :)

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Started my day thinking about what I had to do, where I had to go, and - of course - what I wanted to cook :)

I knew I had some chicken thighs in the freezer, and I figured I'd grill them.

As I started thinking about what pantry and household items I needed while I was out - I some how thought of yeast. Not that that is a pantry item I usually think about and keep stocked, but somehow it crossed my mind - it must have been divine intervention. Lol.  Anyway, that immediately spawned the thought of barbeque chicken pizza!  And suddenly I knew what I was doing today :)

Here's the dough after rising...

While the dough was rising I grilled the chicken and red onion.

I first marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs in low fat Italian dressing for about 20 minutes.

Then seared them on my Infrared grill (that rocks, thanks Mom & Dad!) until they had some nice grill marks.  Dipped each one in a bowl of barbecue sauce.

Then moved them to the low-heat side of the grill to caramelize a bit.

Towards the end, I sliced some red onion, nice and thick, threw them on the grill, and brushed them with some of the same barbecue sauce

Once that grilling was done, I threw the pizza stone on the grill and let it get good and hot.

Meanwhile, I punched down the dough, and let it rest some more.  After resting, I rolled it out as thin as I could get it. If it started getting elastic and shrinking back, I covered it with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest some more.

Then building the pie :)

First the BBQ sauce...

Then the cheese and the onion…

Then the chicken, some fresh oregano, and some more cheese…

By now the grill and the pizza stone were a good 550⁰.

A little bit more than 10 minutes in the 'oven' and…

Let it cool 5 minutes, then slice and serve...

Laurie's Shrimp Primavera

Shrimp Primavera

courtesy of L.V.

Beef and Bean Chili

Fresh bell and chile peppers, plus herbs, from the garden.

Tomatoes soon...but not yet!

Cheddar chive biscuits - compliments of my daughter Lauren.

Beef and Bean Chili

Ingredients

½ Lg. Vidalia onion, diced

1 Bell pepper, diced

1 Jalapeno (or other hot peppers as desired), minced

S&P

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. ground beef

1 T chili powder

1 T ancho chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dried tarragon

1 bottle beer

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can beef broth

1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 T flour

2 T water

Fresh oregano, minced

Fresh thyme, minced

Directions

Saute onion and peppers in olive oil. Add S&P.

When onions are soft add garlic, stir until fragrant, just about 30 seconds.

Add ground beef. Cook until no longer pink. Drain fat from pan.

Add spices. Cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add beer, deglaze the pan.

Add tomatoes, beans, broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil.

Stir together flour and water. Add to chili, cook about a minute.

Cover, reduce heat, and cook until slightly thickened – about 45 minutes or more.

Stir in oregano and thyme.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese, fresh chives, and sour cream to cool the heat, if desired.

White Cake Cupcakes with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

My younger daughter Paige's delicious creation.

Following in her elder sister's footsteps...

Maybe someday they'll start their own bakery. Lol.

 

Maybe this is where it all started... Disney '07