I had my thyroid biopsy this morning so I don’t feel like talking much. Wow. I was expecting the procedure to hurt but it was a piece of cake. It is afterward, with the swelling and bruising that makes you feel like you were hit by a mack truck carrying Sumo-wrestling elephants.

I wanted to get this recipe up in time for you to consider it for Fourth of July though.  I know, I know, you always have the same potato salad and it is tradition…well yeah! Me too, but you have to try this because it is addictive. Have I ever lied to you? I am telling you that this potato salad is absolutely my favorite now, and although I grew up on the traditional Midwestern style potato salad with a tiny touch of mustard, boiled egg, and celery, THIS blows my Mom’s potato salad out of the water. Sorry Mom.

Unlike classic potato salad this shouldn’t sit around very long. The hot peppers tend to get hotter as they sit… so what seems to be mild at 10 a.m. is spicy at 4 p.m. and three-alarm by day 2, if it lasts that long. The warm flavors of the Southwest are highlighted and this is perfect with the classic burgers and hot dogs, or a brisket.

Read more

I wanted to share one of the recipes from my cookbook in case you wanted to pre-test it.  This is one of my favorites, and very unusual- blueberry white chocolate chip cookies.  I developed these because I loved the blueberry white chocolate muffins I made so much.  I kept thinking that it would make such an awesome flavor combination in the right cookie-and I was right!

These are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with a buttery combination of flavors that just keep revealing themselves as you eat: lemon, white chocolate, nutmeg, blueberry… Read more

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

O.k..with that said.. I only check the Daring Kitchen about once a month.  Sometimes I get there twice but not too often.  So when the date got changed from the 29 to the 27 I didn’t know.  You can bet I totally freaked on Friday when I saw daring lasagnes popping up all over the internet.

I was reassured that for this month the 29th was acceptable but that in the future the post date will be the 27th.  Whew. I have made homemade lasagne before numerous times..In fact I have made homemade lasagne from homemade pasta to homemade ricotta to homemade sauce…so this challenge seemed to me as if I would be cheating by doing a regular lasagne.  I thought about chicken and artichoke Parmesan lasagne…I thought about prosciutto, pear, and bleu cheese lasagne…I thought and I thought..How could I be different and challenge myself?

Dessert lasagne..only rule I gave myself was..No chipotle.  This is what I came up with:

Cannoli Dessert Lasagne with Ganache

Yeah.  Cardamom pasta cooked in orange juice, star anise, and sugar, wrapped around a sweet cannoli filling, drizzled with bittersweet chocolate ganache, topped with whipped cream and garnished with pistachios.

So…here’s how I did it.  Ready?

Cannoli Filling

1 pound of whole milk ricotta, drained in a cheesecloth for 30 minutes

4 oz cream cheese

4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla

Whip the cream cheese and the ricotta together until well blended.  Add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, and beat well.  Stir in the pistachios and chocolate and set in the refrigerator to thicken.  This is best made one day ahead if possible.

Cardamom Pasta

2 tablespoons very fresh cardamom

2 cups flour

2 Eggs

2 tablespoons walnut oil (not toasted walnut oil..just plain walnut oil)

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

couple of tablespoons of orange juice if needed to acheive the proper consistency

Mix dry ingredients.  Beat eggs and stir in to flour mixture with walnut oil.  Form into a ball.  Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is very supple and elastic.  Cover and set aside until ready to roll or at least 1 hour.

Unless the dough is sufficiently relaxed you will not be able to roll it thin enough.  The main cause of pasta dishes that are just bland or mediocre is the pasta being too thick.  A thin pasta is delicate and adds a whisper of texture and flavor.

On a counter dusted with flour roll the dough as thinly as possible.  You will want to be able to almost read a newspaper through it.  Cut it in long strips about 2 1/2 inches wide.

Mix 2 quarts of orange juice, 1/2 cup of sugar, four whole star anise, a pinch of salt, and about 4 cracked cardamom pods (or a few teaspoons of cardamom) in a pan.  Add enough water to make it deep enough to cook the lasagne noodles.

Bring to a boil and then carefully add the noodles while stirring.  Cook until done.  You do not want these to be al dente..you want them to be cooked well but not mushy.

Drain well and pat dry.

Ganache

8 ozs of chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

Bring cream just to a boil.  Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until smooth and melted.  Keep warm.

Assemble

Take a noodle and lay it flat on the counter.  Spread it with a thin layer of the cannoli filling.  Carefully and gently roll it up.  Drizzle some of the ganache on a serving plate, carefully lay the lasagne on the plate at an angle.  Drizzle with more ganache.  Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of pistachios.

Makes 8

Once again, thanks to the Daring Bakers for helping me to push myself to be a little more creative than I would normally be

images (c)Marye Audet 2009, all rights reserved

This is my entry for Presto Pasta Nights, but it may not be my only one.  It is Presto Pasta Night’s 100th posting date and I wanted to do something special..This was incredible but I am still working on a more incredible birthday surprise..which may or may not work.

Seriously.  Cajun Black Bean Fettuccine. Yum.  You have to like spice for this…and you have to go to Bacon Freaks and get the cajun bacon.

This is spicy.  And different.  And good.

Read more

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.

Read more

I don’t cook pork nearly enough.  I just don’t think about it for some reason.  Dear God, I am in a foodie rut!

Anyway, I found a package of center cut loin chops on clearance (love those meat clearances!) for 50% off the lowest price…The lowest price was $10.00 and there was 10 of them in the pack. SO, in the cart they went, nestled against a couple of pounds of burger and a roast.

Read more

Deviled Eggs. You know you have to have them. With 4th of July coming up I am whispering one word to my chickens to get them in egg laying overdrive. Cacciatore. Read more

I never did get the recipe for these posted last week. Things got hectic, what with Daring Bakers and then Amada’s kindergarten graduation and then Chris coming in…Today is Marc’s birthday…

This summer is certainly starting off to be a party! I am not sure I have partied this much since the late 70s!

These cookies are crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Read more

So, how was Mother’s Day? Mine was extremely quiet and uneventful which sounds boring but was really nice! My oldest son called and we ended up chatting for over two hours. That usually does not happen but I guess we were both rather lonely for each other. He comes home the end of this month. Did I mention he comes home the end of this month? Not that I am excited. I always want to bake lots of things for him and feed him well but he is very much into grilled chicken breast/fresh green beans from the garden, gee thanks mom, I don’t want dessert. :/ He is busy creating muscles on his muscles. Read more