Anyway. I have been making this for ever. And a day. It is a bog comfort food for me, and at present pasta seems to be one of the few nonliquid foods that will go down my throat.  I literally threw this together the day after I got home from my thyroidectomy.  Let me tell you, I have not cooked a whole heck of a lot since then. I need to feel better and cook soon or we will have to change the venue of the blog to Cranky Middle Aged Woman Kibbitzing.

You can use any kind of pasta you happen to have. Shells are nice because the peas get stuck in them and they hold all the sauce. Anyway, this is supposed to be a simple dish…use what you have and keep it that way.

The sauce is a quick garlic,  butter, onion, and basil mixture with peas, kidney beans (you can use cannellini), and cooked pasta tossed in and Parmigiano-Reggiano grated over top.  If you happen to have some left over chicken breast or shrimp toss it in there too. Sometimes I add pepperoni.

Repeat after me…this is simple.

Add a warm baguette, some sweet butter, sliced heirloom tomatoes, and a chunk of melon and you won’t need anything else. It is that perfect.

Venetian Pasta and Peas

serves 8

• 2 lbs of pasta, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cups frozen peas
• 2 cans cooked, dark red kidney beans (or your choice)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 8 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic and onion and saute until transparent and tender.
2. Add butter and allow to melt over low heat. You don’t want the butter to brown.
3. Stir in drained beans and peas.
4. Heat through and add in pasta and basil. Toss lightly.
5. Heap in serving dish and cover with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

image:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Summer is hot here. We don’t use air conditioning, haven’t for the several years we have lived in this house. Frankly, it is too expensive, but I also like the idea of flowing with the seasons..experiencing them rather than manipulating them. I know..I am so weird.

Nothing is worse than cooking a hot meal in a hot kitchen and serving it in a hot dining room. That is why God made salad.

Check it out.

Who isn’t going to eat that? Colorful, cool, with a variety of flavors and textures, Chopped Salad is an awesome meal to set on the table when it is too hot to cook. I always make the tortilla chips homemade, you can by them and crumble them if you like, but if it doesn’t taste as good don’t blame me.

The only secret is trying to get most of the ingredients chopped to the same size so the flavor/texture stays balanced.

Serve this with some ice cold melon or mango, or a fresh fruit sorbet and you are good to  go.

Chopped Salad

• 1 package organic baby herb salad
• 1 red onion chopped
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• 1 can black olives, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapenos chopped
• 2 ripe tomatoes chopped (I did not have any the day I made it for this image)
• 1 avocado, chopped (optional)
• 1 bunch of cilantro chopped
• 2 hard boiled eggs chopped
• 1/2 lb diced Monterey Jack cheese cubed (pepper Jack is awesome)
• 2 cups tortilla chips, tortillas cut into squares before frying
• Recipe Chipotle Vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately. It looks better if you plate each salad individually and add the chips last but you can serve it family style in a big bowl.  Yes it is that easy! Serves 8

Chipotle Vinaigrette

• 4 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbs lime juice
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 1-2 tablespoons strong honey (this is always best raw and local!)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp chopped chipotle in adobo sauce (canned, you can find it in the ethnic section of your market)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tbs fresh cilantro, minced
• kosher salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together, check seasonings and allow to stand for 30 minutes before using. Makes about 3/4 cup.

image:marye audet (c) 2009

Post from: Baking Delights

The chicken comes out very flavorful and tender. The flavors are exotic enough to be impressive but, and here is the best thing of all, you can have it totally finished in 45 minutes. Serve it with brown rice and melon wedges for a complete, simple, and yet exotic meal.

Moroccan Chicken with Spicy Mango Chutney

This is based on a recipe in the Culinary Institute of American Cookbook.

Moroccan Chicken

• 8 chicken breast halves, boneless
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 1 bunch cilantro chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut for garnish

1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and about 1 tsp of the curry powder.
2. Cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice from half the lemon over the chicken. Slice the rest of the lemon and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet. Brown chicken on both sides until golden brown, about two minutes per side.
4. Add onion, garlic,chicken broth, sliced lemon, and curry. Cover and cook about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender.
5. Stir in garbanzos.
6. Lay chicken on the plate, spoon juice and garbanzos over it. Add a spoon of the mango chutney, sprinkle with cilantro and coconut, and serve.

Serves 8

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Here it is.  Presto Pasta 108.  You won’t believe the visual feast you are about to experience.  We have gotten some of the most amazing dishes ever.  If you are hungry now? No worries, you will be by the bottom of the page.  Ready?

Elizabeth at Blog from Our Kitchen was the first one in the gate with this Skyliner Chili over pasta.  It looks amazing…and now I am hungry for Chili Mac.

Melissa, at Alosha’s Kitchen, submitted one of my favorites. Beef  Stroganoff.  I love this stuff.  I could eat it all day..and then waddle back for more.

How about something really fast? Sarah at Taste My Plate presents her recipe for In a Flash Singapore Noodles. I am getting the chopsticks ready right now.

Abby at Eat the Right Stuff certainly has created the right stuff with the Chinese Spagetti. Just wow.  Doesn’t it look fantastic?

Restless Chipotle joins Presto Pasta Nights for the first time with this Spring Pasta. Fresh, delicate, and local.  Yum.

Purplesque offers Color Me Green Pasta. Spinach, goat cheese…all the good stuff.  This is also Purplesque’s first entry into Presto Pasta!

RedVanilla has a pasta addiction that seems to rival mine.  Her entry for this week is Tomato and Mushroom Linguine in Cream Sauce.

Juliette from A Little Foodie created a Roasted Vegetable Puttenesca.

Alice created Fried Laksa Noodle on Bits of Taste.  The recipe sounds wonderful and her photography skills are intense.

Next is a dynamic duo, Kerri and Stephan from Dinner Diary.  They have submitted this luscious Pork Ragu. Can’t you just smell it?

Ready for something spring-like?  Deb from Kahakai Kitchen sent in this Spagetti with Shaved Asparagus.  Mmmm.  I love asparagus.

Nic created an amazing combination at Lemon and Cheese.  Spaghetti with Cream and Scampi Sauce.  Another delicious spring pasta meal!

And now, for something completely different.  You know, one of the  things I absolutely love about Presto Pasta Nights is that there is so much variety in the submissions.

Haalo,  who blogs Cook (almost) Anything Once,submitted a Farfalle con Tonno di Coniglio – Farfalle with “Rabbit Tuna.  Quick, easy, and it looks amazing.

Ching writes the blog, Little Corner of Mine.  She created this Stir Fried Whole Wheat Spagetti with Pork that makes you want to lick your screen.

Kristin made a Tortellini Vegetable “Lasagne”.  Looks perfect, quick, easy and delicous.  Check it out at Sogkonnite Living.

Are you still hungry? Check out Leslie’s recipe for Angel Hair Pasta Soup on My Asian Kitchen.  Looks very filling and yet light.

Kait at Pots and Plots submitted a great looking Rotini and Cheese Primavera.  She said she hoped it wasn’t too late but even if it had been how could I resist this?

That’s it for this week.  Wasn’t it an incredible round up?  A big thanks to everyone who participated.  Now..how in the world do I choose which to make for lunch?

Next week’s round up will be hosted byKatie at One Little Corner of the World .  You can enter next week’s round up by contacting both her and Ruth: sprange (at) hometel (dot)com and  ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com.    If you have never participated before you can see the Presto Pasta Nights guidelines here.

Images are the property of the various participants and are used by permission.

Post from: Baking Delights

Umm….variety?  Challenge? Stepping out of the box with flavors?

The last time I shopped I saw lemongrass at the little natural grocer I use and I decided I would get some and do something with it.  It is very inexpensive and it just smells so good!

Lemongrass is an herb that smells and tastes very much like lemon drops.  It has a sweetened lemon flavor rather than the tart straight citrus.  Because of this it gives the foods that you flavor it with a bit more complexity than just lemon.  It is especially suited for sweet glazes and sweet/hot combinations.

I used bone in chicken thighs because they have so much more flavor than breast.  This dish has deep flavor and it needs flavorful meat to carry it off.  You could do this with a whole chicken, or chicken thighs but I think that breast would be too delicate.

Glaze

• 8 lemon grass stalks, finely minced, use just the white
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons organic shoyu sauce
• 1 jalapeno seeded and minced, or more to taste
  
• 1/4 c honey
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chicken stock

Mix all ingredients in a non reactive saucepan.  Simmer until glaze is reduced and thickened.  Stir often and keep an eye on it so it does not scorch.  Cool.

Chicken

• Glaze
• 8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
• salt and pepper to taste

Season chicken thighs wit salt and pepper.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush glaze on and then allow to stand for about 30 minutes.  Do not contaminate the glaze with the brush, just pour a little of the glaze in a small dish and use it from there.  You will want any leftover glaze as a dipping sauce.

• Preheat the oven to 375F
• Brush the chicken with more glaze.  Be careful not to contaminate the glaze with the brush.
• Place chicken in preheated oven.
• Bake until the chicken reaches an interior temperature of 165F, about 45 minutes.  Brush with glaze a couple more times.
• Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• Serve with the remaining glaze for dipping.

Serves 8

image:maryeaudet

Post from: Baking Delights

This week I made a penne with leeks, bacon and smoked gouda, inspired by a recipe in the March issue of Bon Appetit.

I really liked the smokey flavor of the cheese combined with the bacon and leeks.  I used a whole wheat penne which seemed to me to handle the depth of the flavors better than normal pasta would have.  The sauce was smooth and rich and I really liked the way this pulled together.

Penne with Smoked Gouda, Leeks, and Bacon

• 4 leeks, bulbs and lighter green parts sliced and chopped
• 1/2 lb applewood smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 lb smoked gouda, grated
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c milk
• 1 1/2 c half and half
• 1 tbs dijon
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1 lb whole wheat penne

1. Cook bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside on paper towel
2. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the baking grease
3. Add leeks to pan, cover and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.  Stir a few times and don’t let them brown
4. Remove leeks with slotted spoon and set aside
5. Add flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes
6. Add the milk, stirring until smooth.
7. Add the cheese, mustard, and hot sauce
8. Stir until the cheese melts
9. Add a little of the cheese sauce to the beaten eggs to temper; whisk into the sauce
10. Set aside
11. Cook pasta until tender; drain and add to large casserole
12. Stir in the leeks and bacon
13. Add the cheese sauce and stir well
14. Bake for 30 minutes ate 400F

Serves 6-8

images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I wish I could call this Calvados Chicken Normandy but I can’t.  I didn’t have any Calvados but I did have a nice bottle of Crown Royal that a customer gave to Marc a couple of years ago.  What can I say? We don’t drink very much.

I wanted to make a cider reduction for this chicken and I thought that the whiskey would give it a nice mellow depth.  I was not disappointed at all, and the Hot Pepper Jelly was a brilliant touch if I do say so myself.

The flavors in this are sweet and tangy with leaving just the hint of a burn in your mouth.  Very complex and it goes perfectly with the chicken.  Add a nice artisan sour dough, a good salad with bleu cheese, and a perfect bittersweet chocolate truffle for dessert and you will think you have been transported to the French countryside.  Try a fruity  wine with this, something even a little sparkly..like a 2006 Henry Estate – Muller-Thurgau.

Whiskey Chicken Normandy

• 6 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 2 Empire Apples or other sweet cooking apple, chopped and cored but not peeled
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup organic, unfiltered apple cider
• 3 tablespoons red pepper jelly
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/4 cup whiskey or Calvados
• Olive oil

1. Grill the chicken breast in the grill pan for about five minutes on each side, or until you have good grill marks.  Place in a casserole dish that has been wiped with olive oil.
2. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, until chicken registers 180 on a meat thermometer.
3. Meanwhile saute the onions and apples in a little olive oil until they begin to get tender.  Add cider, jelly, vinegar, and whiskey and allow to reduce, simmering about 10 minutes.  Stir in butter.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Plate the chicken, add a few tablespoons of the pan drippings to the apple reduction and then spoon apples and sauce over the chicken breasts.
5. Serves 6

image: (c)2009 marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

We love corned beef but it can be pretty expensive.  Consider that brisket sells for an average of $1.49  a pound here, and can often be found for 99 cents a pound, and corned beef sells for upwards of 4.99 a pound, making your own corned beef just makes sense.

Just before Christmas brisket went on sale for 99 cents a pound.  I picked up a 12 pound brisket planning on using it for 3 meals.  Two corned beef and one BBQ sandwich meal.  I just started the corned beef today and it will be five days before it is ready but I thought I would share the process so far.

It wasn’t so difficult.  I cut the large brisket in 3 pieces.  Because the meat needs to be submerged in the brine in a glass pan I couldn’t do one big one.  I used my large crockpot insert to hold the meat while it is corning.

Next, you want to carefully trim the fat so that it is about 1/4 inch thick.  I would not choose a pretrimmed brisket because they take too much fat off and you end up with dry meat.  You can probably also ask the butcher to trim it right at the store.  Again, much of the flavor and tenderness will be dependent on the amount of fat so make sure that a good amount of fat stays on.

Once you do that you are going to rub the meat with 1/4 cup Kosher salt.  Once the salt is rubbed on all sides of the meat sprinkle it with the pickling spice, the peppercorns, and the bay leaves.  Toss three cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped, on top of the meat.

You bring the remaining salt and sugar to a boil in 16 cups (one gallon) of water.  Stir it just until the sugar and salt disolve and then pour the mixture (brine) over the meat.

Weigh the meat down so it is covered completely by the brine.  An upside down crockery plate works very well.  Leave it (covered) in the fridge for three to five days.  Check on it once in awhile and make sure that the meat is beneath the brining liquid.

This would not be the time to chill creme brulee or any other delicate flavor dessert.  You might find that it tastes a bit like corned beef.

I will update you as the week, and the beef, progresses.

Here is the basic recipe:

Homemade Corned Beef

• 4-8 lbs brisket, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch or so
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon pickling spices
• 1 tsp peppercorns (I used a mixture of red, black, white, green, pink)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 c koshes salt
• 1/2 c sugar
• 16 cups water

1. Rub the meat with 1/4 cup salt, place in a large glass pan
2. Sprinkle with the pickling spice, peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic
3. Bring remaining salt and sugar to a boil in the 16 c water, stir until dissolved
4. Pour over meat
5. weigh meat down under the brine and leave for 3 to 5 days

Image:marye audet (c) 2009, all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

When we had the restaurant one of the sauces that we used as a signature sauce was Fischer and Wieser’s Roasted Raspberry Chipotle.  Our signature dish was a grilled chicken breast served with this sauce and I can tell you, quit honestly, it was incredible.

I had not seen the sauce available in a retail market, although I knew you could buy it online, so when I saw that Tom Thumbs/Safeway had started carrying it I was ecstatic.  And I bought a bottle immediately.

Now, pork loin is a little tricky because most people want to overcook it until it is dry.  Please don’t.  Don’t let salmonella-paranoia keep you from enjoying a succulent, juicy piece of incredible buttery tenderness.  Pork is done when an instant read thermometer inserted in the center registers 160F.

Now here’s the deal.  The pork will continue to cook when it leaves the oven and if you wait until it is 160F IN the oven to remove it it will be over cooked when you serve.  Take it out when it registers 150 or 155F and allow it to stand for 10 minutes or so.  Keep an eye on the thermometer.

The other thing is, don’t be afraid to salt this meat! Under-salted will keep it bland and boring.  Use a good kosher or French gray salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Place the pork fat side up (do not trim it ) and give it a good covering with your seasoning.  Allow it to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat your oven o 375F.  Brush a quick glaze of the raspberry chipotle over the pork, not to thick.

Place the pork on a rack, or in a lightly greased pan.  roast, uncovered, for about 20 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature is 150-155F.  Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes or so, checking that the internal temperature does reach 160F.

Warm your plates and warm the raspberry chipotle to room temperature.Pour some of the sauce on the plate and arrange a slice of the meat next it it.  Admire the beauty….Eat…Be happy.

Personally I love this dish with roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes and a spinach salad.  A chocolate dessert, like lava cake, really finishes it nicely.

Image: maryeaudet (c) 2008

Post from: Baking Delights

Today is the first day of real autumn in the Dallas area.  Rainy, cool…it feels almost Christmassy…I know, I know….you up north are wondering oif I lost my mind…Christmassy? Yeah.

We don’t have white Christmases…we have WET Christmases..so when it gets cool and rainy I start whistling Jingle Bells…go figure.

Anyway…down here cooking out is something you can easily do almost all year.  In fact when things straighten out for us financially and chaos wise I plan on building an outdoor kitchen with a bread oven heated by wood.  Marc has been grilling more as I have been cooking less…It’s all good.

Anyway…These Boneless pork chops were fantabulous.  I served them with green beans, the southwestern potatoes, sourdough bread,  and the banana maple bundt cake.

It all worked really well together.

No recipe really.  Just sprinkle boneless, center cut chops with the Cinnamon Chipotle Rub. Let them stand for at least 30 minutes, or put them in the fridge overnight.  Grill and serve!

The only other thing that you might add is a green salad.

Keep the ingredients on hand so when you get a nice day you can try it.   :0)

Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights