They're Grrrreat!

I forgot to tell you about last night's dinner.

It was leftovers, good ones too, the angel hair pasta from the other night, some fabulous roast beef we did for a wedding, some roasted green beans and carrots, and a few other odds and ends.

The girls would have NONE of it and said they wanted something else.

Ok... the rule in our house is you don't have to eat it, but I'm not cooking anything else.

They both decided (which is rather odd, since they rarely agree on anything) to have Frosted Flakes for dinner.

I enjoyed the leftovers and they enjoyed their cereal.

Angel hair with garlic, peas and sun-dried tomatoes

Happy Day After Christmas.

I didn't have it in me to go to the market to buy anything for dinner, so we used whatever was around. This would probably fit into the 15 Minute Meals Category and we all loved it.

Here's the recipe for Angel hair pasta with garlic, peas and sun-dried tomatoes:

Boil water for pasta. Once the water is boiling, add a large pinch of Kosher salt and add pasta. Pasta only takes 5 minutes to cook.

While the pasta water is boiling, heat a large nonstick pan on medium high heat. Add 1 Tbs. of butter and 1 Tbs. of olive oil to the pan. Add in 4 cubes of frozen garlic and a pinch of Kosher salt and pepper. While the garlic melts, add in 1 C. of frozen peas and 2 Tbs. of sun-dried tomato paste.

If you don't have the paste, you can add in 3-4 chopped sun-dried tomatoes. If I had any proscuitto, I would have diced 4 pieces and added it in, but we didn't have any, so I added in some leftover diced chicken.

When the pasta is al dente add it to the pan with a little bit of the pasta water and stir to combine. Finish with another pinch of pepper and a good handful of grated Parmesan.

We all enjoyed this dinner tonight and the dwindling leftover Christmas cookies for dessert.

Peppermint Bark, and Leek & Proscuitto tart

It was my friends birthday today. She asked me to come over to teach her how to make peppermint bark. It is very easy and makes great holiday gifts.

Melt 3 cups of either white or dark chocolate in a double boiler on medium heat. While the chocolate melts, crush 4-5 candy canes in a Ziploc bag. The easiest way I've found to do this is to place it on a cutting board and lay a dish towel over the plastic bag. Hit it with a meat pounder until it it thoroughly crushed and dust-like.

When the chocolate has melted add in 1 Tbs. of peppermint oil, and half of the crushed candy canes, stir to combine.

Pour the mixture onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet and spread until 1/2" on thickness. Sprinkle the remaining candy cane dust to to the top of the bark and let cool. Once cool, cut with a knife into 3-4" pieces.

We made white and dark chocolate bark today.

We also made a really yummy tart. She made pate brise (dough) from scratch, but I would use the DuFour Puff Pastry, or you could even use a pie crust and brush it with a little olive oil and kosher salt.

Anyhow... she chopped and cleaned 2 leeks, then sauteed them with about 7 slices of chopped proscuitto in a little olive oil on medium high heat. Once the leeks were soft (about 8 minutes) we added in a pinch of ground black pepper and removed the pan from the heat.

She placed the dough in a tart pan and added lemon infused shredded cheese. We wanted to use goat cheese, but didn't have any. You could really use any kind of a hard cheese, and even mix the,- gruyere, goat, parmesan, aged gouda.

Mix in 1/2 C. of prepared olive tapenade to the leek mixture and spread over the cheese. Finish with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and bake in a 425 degree oven for 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I was thinking this would also be delicious with some sun-dried tomatoes, and some slivers of asparagus and toasted pine nuts.

I was very inspired by today's tart and can't wait to play around with some different variations.

Creamy Roasted Mushroom Soup

I am teaching a class tonight and wanted to share a yummy soup recipe with you. The weather is lousy here today, but perfect for a warm bowl of soup and a slice of bread.

Creamy roasted mushroom soup

1 lb. baby portobello mushrooms, washed and cut in half
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps cut in 1/2.
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 32 oz. boxes beef broth

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, chopped
3 cubes frozen garlic
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Madeira
3 Tbs. flour
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
1 tsp. dried thyme
kosher salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and add mushrooms. Drizzle mushrooms with 3 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Bake mushrooms 18-20 minutes.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic and sauté until shallot is tender, about 5 minutes. Add Madeira and simmer until almost all of liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add flour; stir 2 minutes. Add remaining broth, cream, and thyme. Stir in cooked mushrooms and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Coconut curried lamb stew

I was almost certain that my kids would NOT eat tonight's dinner, but following my own advice, I decided to make it anyhow and give it a try.

Start by sauteing 2 onions in a little peanut oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, I used the Le Creuset. Sprinkle 1 lb. of cubed lamb meat with kosher salt, curry powder, turmeric and a little black pepper.

Add the lamb to the pot once the onions have sauteed for 2 minutes. Brown the lamb for 3 minutes. While the lamb browns, peel 2 small new potatoes and cut into small cubed, add to the pot. Peel and chop 3 carrots and add those in as well. Add in 1 can of light coconut milk, and stir to combine everything. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover for 40 minutes. About 10 minutes before serving, add in the juice from 1/2 a lime and a cup of snap peas cut in half.

Serve over Jasmine or Basmati rice. The kids devoured it, and I was really pleased. The grown-ups added a handful of fresh cilantro leaves and a little bit of red pepper flakes.

I am inspired to continue trying some more new dishes.

Dark chocolate cherry chunk cookies

I am doing a Gifts from the Kitchen segment tomorrow morning on WTNH at 7:50 a.m. on Channel 8 and wanted to share a fantastic cookie recipe with you. These cookies are very chocolately and easy to make.

I am going to make the cookie dough and and give the dough as the gift. That way the recipient can make the cookies whenever they'd like.

Wrap the cookie dough log in parchment paper, then in festive tissue. Don't forget to add the baking instructions on a pretty tag.

This recipe can also be doubled.

Dark Chocolate cherry chunk cookies


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
6 oz dark chocolate, chunks
1 cup dried cherries


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add chocolate chunks and cherries and mix until just incorporated.
Drop 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie about 2 inches apart onto 2 ungreased large baking sheets.
Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until puffed and set, 7-8 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Dinner swap

This is the beginning of everyone's busy season and my friend suggested we do a dinner swap one night. I love this idea and wanted to try to get a few friends together so we could share a couple of meals and cut down a little cooking.

Here is the recipe I am going to make tomorrow for my family and hers. This dish also freezes well.

Preheat oven to 425. Rinse 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Add the juice from 1 lemon, about 2 tbs. of olive oil, 2 tbs. of Dijon mustard, 1/2 C. of water, and a good pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Roast chicken thighs until cooked through, about 18 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, prepare rice pilaf according to the box. I really like the Near East brand, it's delicious and always fluffy.

When the rice is cooked through, add in 1 bag of Trader Joe's Soycottash and stir to combine.

When the chicken is cooked through, cut into slices lengthwise.

I am going to give this to her in a casserole pan. Layer the rice on the bottom of the pan and add the chicken slices with the pan juices on top. This way, she can either serve the whole thing to her family, or freeze it into 4 individual servings.

I'd love to hear if you are doing any dinner swaps and have a recipe to share.

I did a soup swap once and it was FANTASTIC!! Give it a try.