And she's back folks - Spaghetti Squash

So I've been on a little blog hiatus. I must admit, I have less than two weeks until I'm off to sunny Mexico and I'm desperately trying to lose a few lbs before I leave. This winter really got the best of me and my thighs. So I've really been cooking grilled chicken and salad pretty much every night and trying my best not to think of all the delicious food I want to be cooking and eating!

Jenn from the SSCC (holla!) suggested I try spaghetti squash knowing that I'm a pasta lover. I had never heard of it and was not even sure that Stop N Shop even sold it. But they did! I have to say, while it's no penne rigate, I was pleasantly surprised. You definitely need a meaty/hearty sauce to disguise the fact that your eating squash. Go here to learn more about spaghetti squash http://www.fabulousfoods.com/features/featuring/spagsquash.html. It's great for dieters (esp South Beach and Atkins folks) or people looking to add veggies to their diets.

And no, Brian did not eat it.

Spaghetti Squash
Cut in half lengthwise. Put a little oil in a pyrex dish and place squash cut side down. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 45 minutes. After the squash is cooked take fork and shred the inside of the squash. Beware cooking the whole squash makes enough for an army.

Meat Sauce
1 lb of ground turkey or ground hamburger
1 can of kitchen ready pastene tomatoes
1 can of hunts tomato sauce
1 red bell pepper diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1/2 sweet onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1 tsp olive oil

In a heavy sauce pan, brown ground meat for about 7 minutes or until fully cooked. Drain meat in a colinder to remove fat and oil. Add oil to sauce pan and sautee onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sautee for an additional 2 minutes making sure not to burn garlic. Add both cans of tomato sauce and salt. Let sauce simmer on medium low heat for 25 minutes.

Spinach and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

We eat a lot of chicken in our house so I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it. I made this recipe up so I'm not 100% sure of the exact measurements but either way, I assure you this is a tasty dish. I decided to stuff it with goat cheese because Brian doesn't really like goat cheese, I'm lucky enough that I got him hooked on feta. So I can't put goat cheese on a salad, or else he won't eat it, but if I stuff it into chicken, he'll never know....well until he asks and then at that point I say, "it's feta cheese, dear." See the trickery....I'll be fully prepared when we have kids.

Ingredients:
Package of chicken breasts or cutlets
goat cheese
spinach (could probably use frozen)
2 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup lemon (1 lemon)
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbs oil
rosemary
kosher salt
pepper

Wash and pat dry chicken breasts. Mix together goat cheese and spinach - add a pinch of salt. If you are using cutlet, you can add a spoonful of the mixture into the center of the cutlet. Roll the cutlet, starting with the bigger end, and then secure it with a toothpick or two or kitchen twine. If you are using breasts you can slice along the side and stuff the mixture in and secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle eat cutlet/breast with salt, pepper and rosemary.



In a hot frying pan, add the oil and the breast. Cook for a couple minutes on each side so they get slightly browned. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes but be careful not to burn the garlic. Pour in broth, lemon and wine. Let chicken simmer in sauce for about 15-20 minutes. Take out chicken, remember to remove all of the toothpicks, and boil the sauce for 5 minutes to thicken. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

I served this chicken over orzo but you could use aborio, angel hair, couscous, pilaf, etc.

Pasta Caprese

In honor of the birth of Giada's baby girl, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson, I decided to make this pasta from my Giada cookbook. Okay that's a lie, my aunt called me and told me I had to try this recipe, it was quick, easy and delicious - three words that are music to my ears.

I love most of Giada's recipes, in fact, I think I've said this before, she's my favorite Food Network chef. Yes her voice drives me insane and her shirts seem to keep getting lower and lower, but hey, she's cute, so I can't blame her. Her recipes are always fresh and light - two more words that are music to my ears.

So when I told Brian I was making pasta and sauce on a Tuesday night, the little rat thought I was whipping up a real sauce with meatballs. Um excuse me, that would take me hours. I think I spoil him. So when I'm chopping up the fresh cherry tomatoes, he got nervous. Actually the exact phrase was "I'm scared, is there any left over chicken from last night?" As you know Brian will remove tomatoes from any dish that touches his plate. If you've ever watched him, it's almost like surgery. With a precise steady hand he removes things such as tomatoes, artichokes, olives, onions, etc. I do get mad he wrecks my masterpiece, but as I've said before, I get all the scraps so I consider myself lucky.

About 20 minutes later we were both sitting down and enjoying the FANTASTIC meal. And guess what, Brian loved it! He did pick out the chunkier tomatoes but he did manage to eat a few and he surprised himself by actually enjoying it. I recommend this recipe for a quick week night meal or even for a large crowd. This will definitely be added to the dinner rotation. Next time I make it, I'll use less oil because I don't think it needed that much. I might add even more tomatoes and perhaps some chicken. Brian will love it even more if it's topped with a pile of meat - he's so meat and potatoes!

Ingredients:

1 pound fusilli pasta (I used rigitoni - just make sure it's a hearty pasta the sauce will stick to)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 1 1/2 pints)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn 8 ounces

fresh mozzarella, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. As the tomatoes cook and soften, smash them with a fork. Continue to cook until the tomatoes make a chunky style sauce, about 4 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to the bowl with the pasta. Toss to combine. Add the basil leaves and mozzarella. Stir to combine. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the pasta is moist. Serve.

I think I'll make this the next time the Corey's come over for dinner. Shout out to Danielle Corey who is a member of the C6. Don't ask me where she's from because I never remember if it's England, Wyoming, Oklahoma or North Carolina. Now she currently resides in Malden with her husband David and two cats, Ralphie and Rufus that she adores despite the fact that they've already destroyed her new furniture. She's absolutely crazy but that's why we love her....

(D - feel better now?)

Asparagus Risotto

This has been an interesting week to say the least. I'm rarely speechless but this week I am. When you think you know someone and the suddenly find out you really just never know what goes on behind closed doors, it rocks you to your core. So before you start worrying about me, it's not the husband or any of our family members thank goodness. I'll leave it there....

So what I have been able to do this week is eat. Usually when life gets a little chaotic, food becomes my best friend. Sad, I know, but I'd venture to say a lot of people deal with this same problem. If anyone knows me, I've got an obsessive behavior. I made this asparagus risotto on Monday night and I've been dreaming about it ever since. If I had any left overs, I was going to bring it to cooking club on Tuesday, but I was selfish and wanted to hoard the leftovers in the back of the fridge all for myself. It was that good. I found the recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, http://www.elise.com/. I made one change, only because I didn't have shallots on hand, but other than that followed the recipe. It was a creamy delicious meal that just felt good going down. Very comforting.

Although I will warn you, risotto is not the easiest meal to make. It's not a meal you can make while trying to multi task. You must constantly stir to make sure the rice doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. And there's no real measurement for how much chicken stock to use. You just have to keep tasting the risotto to make sure the consistency is right. If there's to much stock or it's overcooked, it can become a startchy bowl of mush. It's supposed to be a little firm to the bite. Even though this is a little more work that regular rice, it's completely worth it and you'll be happy you tried it. You might even become obsessed like me.

Ingredients:

1 pound asparagus
3 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots (i used yellow onion since I didn't have any shallots)
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup water)
About 3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option), can substitute some of the asparagus cooking water for stock
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

1. Prepare the asparagus by breaking off discarding the tough ends (about the last inch of the spear). Cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces (tips longer, base shorter). If your asparagus are especially large, cut into even smaller (bite-size) pieces. Bring a saucepan with a quart of water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes. At the end of two minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the asparagus pieces to an ice water bath to shock the asparagus into a vibrant green color and to stop the cooking. Drain from the ice water bath and set aside.

2. In a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp butter on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated.

3. While the shallots are cooking, bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

4. Add the wine. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, adding more stock in 1/2 cup increments. Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. Gently stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining 1 teaspoon butter, and the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Cicco's Calzone

Holla! Ya, I know, it's been a while. Will you forgive me? I've been cooking, just not blogging. Not sure why, maybe it's because I have very little time after work now since I'm addicted to a couple reality shows and with the writing strike over, some of my favorite shows are coming back. YAY!

American Idol has proved to be one of the best seasons ever in my opinion. I did not cry when Amanda was sent packing last night. I wanted to like her, I really did, but every week she screamed the same wanna be rocker tune and it drove me batshit crazy. I was shocked Carly was in the bottom three though, I really like her. I just think she needs to make better choices. So who are my favs you may ask? I lurve Jason Castro....he looks like a guy I would have totally drooled over in high school, with the long hair, big nose and dreamy eyes. And the cherry on top, he sings AND plays the guitar, well giddyup! I also like David Cooke, aka "big forehead guy" in our household, because even though the renditions of some of my favorite songs are not his originals, he sounds awesome. And David A....despite the fact that he licks his lips more often than not I love him. He's cute, he's kinda dorky, and he's got an amazing voice. I almost cried when he forgot his words last week. I think he'll win the whole shabang if you ask me.

Okay, and onto the calzone! Anytime my group of friends has a party, it's pretty much a known fact that Cicco is bringing a calzone. It's also a known fact that the thing will be woofed up faster than you can say oink oink! I think what makes this calzone stand out is the Land o Lakes American cheese. When it melts, the creamy velvety texture just rocks your world. I ain't lyin folks! But beware, there's a bite to this calzone because of the capicolla (hot italian ham) so if you'd like to make it a little less milder use regular ole ham. Oh and one more thing, don't snub your nose to the bologna like I did, you can't really taste it, and I tend to use less than the recipe calls for. Thank goodness D knew better and did not tell me what was in it before I had a chance to fall in love.

Ingredients:

fresh pizza dough (found in the deli/produce/cheese section)

1/4 lb german bologna

1/4 lb capicolla

1/2 lb pepperoni (sliced from the deli)

1/2 lb land o lakes white american cheese (calm down, you won't use it all)

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flour pizza dough and roll out into a rectangle. Layer the cold cuts and then the cheese. You might not need to use it all, depending on how big the regtangle is. Fold over the dough (the long side) in half. Wet your hands and press together the edges. Brush the egg on top of the calzone. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken Piccata

I struggle with posting some of my recipes because when I cook it's usually a little of this and a little of that. I rarely measure anything unless I'm making it for the first time. So when I made chicken piccata the other night I made an effort to watch how much of each ingredient I was using. This recipe was passed on to me by my mother. It's absolutely delicious but the way she makes it clogs your arteries just looking at it. So I've scaled back on the butter and oil a bit, however, it's still not considered "light" by any means!

This recipe is great for dinner parties as well. If I make it in advance I'll use cut up chicken breasts instead of cutlets and I'll reserve the sauce until I'm about to serve it so it does not get dry. I serve it over penne or ziti.

Ingredients:
1 package of chicken cutlets, washed and patted dry
1/3 cup of flour
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup lemon (usually two lemons)
1/2 cup of white cooking wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp capers (optional)
1 tsp butter

Wash and pat dry the chicken cutlets. Mix flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Dredge chicken in the flour and shake off excess flour. Heat oil in pan. Put cutlets in pan and sautee until brown, about 4 minutes each side. If you don't have a pan big enough to fry all the cutlets at once, fry them in batches. Place cooked cutlets on a cooling rack (prevents them from getting soggy) or a plate.

Add a little more oil to pan and sautee garlic until lightly brown. Pour in chicken broth and scrap up the brown bits from the pan with a fork. Add wine and lemon and bring to a boil. Add parsley and capers. Let sauce simmer for 1-2 minutes or until thickens. If you want to thicken sauce more wisk in cornstarch a teaspoon at a time. Add the butter. Simmer for another 3 minutes or until butter is melted.

Plate the cutlets over rice or pasta and spoon sauce over.

Stuffed Peppers

I'm trying my hardest to reduce the amount of meat Brian and I consume, but let me tell you, it's hard. Brian is very much a meat and potatoes type of guy - and me, well I'm a carb lover. Now that the winter months are coming to an end (hey, a girl can hope, right?) those bikini and speedo days are in sight. So we're back on the wagon, the diet wagon that is.

This stuffed pepper recipe is very versatile. You can add chicken, ground turkey or no meat at all. You can add any type of cheese, feta, goat or mozzarella. I've adapted this creation from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
2 cup water
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.

While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice and cooked chicken, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Ziti with Asparagus, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto

All I have to say is YUM! This has to be one of my favorite Giada dishes for a couple of reasons. 1) It's light - there are no heavy sauces, not a lot of oil and you can even scale back on the prosciutto if you really want to (although I never do!) 2) It's quick - I can throw this nice meal together during the week without spending hours slaving over a hot stove 3) It's pretty - if you're entertaining, people will definitely like the looks of this meal and probably even ask you for the recipe. And come on...who the heck doesn't like asparagus, smoked mozzarella and prosciutto?

Ingredients:
Salt
8 ounces dried ziti or other tubular pasta
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into strips
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. Add the asparagus and cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, and the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the pasta, asparagus, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid, and toss to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil and toss to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to shallow bowls and serve.

*Note - you can use regular mozzarella but I highly recommend buying smoked if you can. It can be found with all the imported cheese in the deli section of your grocery store.

Pan-Seared Chicken with Artichokes and Pasta

I have to say this is one of my favorite dishes to eat and make. It's fairly easy and it's great if you're having a dinner party. However, Brian hates it. He destroys this dish by picking out the artichokes, olives and tomatoes. It makes me cringe when I see him doing this, although he does give me all his scraps.

When I make this dish I use my huge anodized calphalon pan because I'm able to fit everything in there. If you don't have a pan this size (and once I figure out how to write html, I'll include a link to the picture of the pan) just sear the chicken in a pan and then mix everything together in the pot you use to boil your pasta.

Oh and by the way...this is another SSCC recipe. Shout out to Sue, who I believe got this from a Cooking Light magazine. I make some changes to the recipe which I've noted below.

1 large jar marinated artichoke heart quarters, undrained
about 1 ½ lbs chicken (I use chicken breast but the orginal recipe called for thighs)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup sliced green onions
½ cup dry white wine
4 cups cooked cavatappi or fusilli (I use the whole box)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp chopped pitted kalamata olives
2 tbsp grated fresh parmesan cheese

Drain artichokes reserving marinade.

Dredge chicken in small amount of flour, salt and pepper. In a large skillet cook chicken in olive oil until done and slightly browned. (This is a one pan meal, so the larger the pan the better). Add garlic and onions. Sauté about one minute. Stir in reserved artichoke marinade and wine, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and stir in artichokes, pasta, olives and tomatoes. Cook a few more minutes until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.

Pork Milanese My Way

This recipe was inspired by the Pork Milanese I had at Stella's in the South End. It was good but there was not nearly enough sauce for that huge piece of pork! So I made up this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops
1 cup of breadcrumbs
2 eggs
3 tbs of oil
1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 white cooking wine
2 cans of San Marzano tomatoes
1 clove of garlic minced
3 tbs of pesto (homemade or jarred)
1 tsp of kosher salt.

Pound the pork chops between wax paper until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Dip pork in egg and then coat both sides with breadcrumbs. Put the oil in a frying pan (the bigger the pan the better) and heat. Once the oil smokes, put the pork chops in the pan. Let cook about 10-12 minutes on each side. Once the pork is done place on a cooling rack. Add a little more oil if necessary. Add in the minced garlic and saute until slightly browned and fragrant. Add in the chicken broth and scrap up the brown bits. Add the balsamic vinegar, white wine, tomatoes. With a spatula, chop up the tomatoes so there are little chunks. Add the pesto and the kosher salt. Let simmer on medium heat until sauce thickens.

Mangia!