Pantry Pasta

From The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
1/2 whole red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1/3 cup chicken stock or white wine
1/3 cup assorted olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 whole jar artichoke hearts, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces pasta, cooked al dente and drained
2 to 3 tablespoons jarred pesto
1/2 cup fork-chunked feta
3 tablespoons dry-toasted pine nuts

Directions:
Add the onions into a skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Saute for a few minutes, and then add in the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, olives, artichoke hearts and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine with the sauce. Mix in the pesto. Toss in the feta and top with the pine nuts.

Comments:
I don't know that I've ever made anything from The Pioneer Woman that I haven't totally loved. I caught this recipe on her new(ish) show on the Food Network and I knew it was right up my alley. A local Italian restaurant makes a version of this and I love it and this is what I always get at Stone Cellar as well. Olives and tomatoes and artichokes and pasta = Heaven! I did leave out the pesto since I'm not particularly a fan. I also used some Garden Delight Ronzoni in an effort to up the healthy components. I'm not sure about the two servings thing though - this makes a whole lot, and unlike Ree, I don't live on a working ranch and chase cows around all day.

Adam Cooks: Flat Apple Pie

From The Pioneer Woman via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust (recipe is in link above)
6 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In large bowl, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice. Set aside and see how long you can keep from sneaking a slice of apple.

With a rolling pin, begin rolling out the Perfect Pie Crusts into large circles. Roll the dough from the center outward. Be gentle and patient, it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out.

If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, use a nice, sharp spatula to loosen the dough and sprinkle some extra flour on top. Then flip it over to finish rolling. Remember to roll from the center in single, outward strokes, no back-and-forth rolling.

Again with a spatula, loosen and lift the dough and carefully place the circles on large baking sheets.

Place half the apple mixture on one crust and the other half on the other crust. Fold over the edges of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple mixture. No need to be artistic - the more rustic the better. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of the butter.

Bake until the filling is golden and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges with aluminium foil for the remaining baking time.

Allow to cool slightly, then slice into wedges with a pizza cutter. Eat 'em on the go!

Comments:
OMG. This was so good. My dislike of pie crust is well known (and well documented here on this blog) so I was skeptical of Ree's "perfect pie crust" that everyone raves about. And apple pie especially, not my favorite. But seriously people. It's wonderful. The crust, so flaky and just awesome. Perfect pure apple flavor without all that cinnamon and spice junk to mess it up. Go make it immediately.

Strawberry and Mascarpone Granita

From Everyday Italian via foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 cups chopped strawberries, plus 1 cup finely chopped
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Pinch salt

Directions:
Place the water, 1/2 sugar, and mint in a small pan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Let simmer over low heat to steep the mint. Then strain the mint from the simple syrup. Discard the mint.

In a food processor combine 2 cups of strawberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Run the machine to puree the strawberries. Add the mascarpone cheese, lemon juice, and salt. Run the machine until the mascarpone cheese is fully incorporated. Add the mint simple syrup and run the machine to combine. Place the strawberry mixture in an 8 by 8-inch glass dish and place the dish in the freezer. The mixture will take about 4 hours to freeze.

To serve, use a fork to scrape the granita. Spoon the mixture into chilled bowls. Top with the finely chopped strawberries. Serve immediately.

Comments:
Ok, first off, the Cooking Channel is just evil. Like I needed another channel to veg out in front of. It shows retro episodes of pretty much every Food Network show along with some new ones - mostly English it seems. Argh.

Anywho, this was from an Everyday Italian episode I saw yesterday. Since it's strawberry season and we bought an obscene amount of strawberries from our local farm stand, I figured this would be a nice way to make use of some of them. It's pretty easy (given you don't tip your food processor when it's full of the strawberry puree mixture and create a pink, sticky mess all over the countertop, down the cabinets, and on the floor. Not that I did that. Just saying.) and tastes great. It melts really quickly though so you have to eat it fast.

Mom's Turkey Meatloaf

From Ellie Krieger via The Food Network (also seen here.)



Ingredients:
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup skim milk
1 medium onion, peeled
2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together the oats and milk. Thinly slice 1/4 of the onion and set aside. Finely chop the remaining onion. In a large bowl combine the turkey, oat mixture, chopped onion, bell pepper, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix just until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and shape into a loaf about 5 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches high. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with the sliced onions. Bake for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees.F.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to15 minutes before slicing.

Comments:
I halve this recipe since it's just the two of us and two pounds of turkey is a lot. It works out pretty well. I've made this quite a few times and it always turns out. This time I made some mashed red-skinned potatoes and boiled up some edamame to go with it since meatloaf kind of begs to be paired with carbs. Yum.

French Onion Soup Mac & Cheese

From Ultimate Recipe Showdown on The Food Network



Ingredients:
Topping:
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bechamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces Gruyere, grated
3 ounces mozzarella grated

French Onion "Soup":
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon (or nonstick spray)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 large white onions, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry sherry
2 cups beef stock
8 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
1 pound pasta, cooked al dente (elbow macaroni, ziti, or fusilli work well)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Topping: Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

Bechamel Sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and stir to combine. Stir constantly, for about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium and whisk in the milk or half-and-half, adding a little at a time and cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Lower heat, season with the salt and pepper and add Gruyere and mozzarella cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Set aside.

French Onion "Soup:" Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add onions, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove cover, add garlic and honey, and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Remove pot from heat and add sherry. Return to heat and stir to remove browned bits from bottom of pan. Reduce sherry by half, then add stock and thyme and cook until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat.

Grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole with the last tablespoon of butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Combine cooked pasta with onion "soup" mixture and bechamel sauce, and stir well to combine. Transfer pasta to baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumb/Parmesan topping.

Bake until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Comments:
This one's pretty labor-intensive so don't plan this for a weeknight. I started grating cheese and slicing onions at around 4:30 and it came out of the oven just after 6:30. Fortunately it's pretty tasty so it's (almost) worth the effort. It still kind of amazes me how sweet onions get when you cook them a while. This makes a whole ton of pasta so either halve the recipe or plan to have leftovers. We'll see how it re-heats tomorrow.

On an unrelated (kind of) note: Hey, Food Network - your website sucks.

Braised Bratwurst & German Style Potatoes

From Rachael Ray via The Food Network



Ingredients:
4 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt
2 pounds bockwurst or bratwurst (veal or veal and pork)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling plus 2 tablespoons
4 slices center cut bacon
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup white wine or white balsamic vinegar
2 rounded teaspoons sugar
1 cup chicken stock
1 generous handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Halve larger potatoes and leave small potatoes as is, cover with water, bring to a boil, season with salt and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Place sausages in a cast iron skillet, add 1/2-inch of water and a drizzle of oil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let the sausages heat through as the water evaporates. Shake pan and let the casings crisp up until they burst, 3 to 4 minutes, and are golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Put a medium skillet on the stove with a drizzle of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and render 2 to 3 minutes then stir in the yellow onion and cook for 5 minutes with the bacon to soften.

When potatoes are cooked, drain and add to bacon and onion. Douse the pan with vinegar and sprinkle with sugar. Pour stock evenly over pan, add the parsley and some pepper and turn off the heat. Stir the potatoes 1 minute to form a starchy sauce and combine flavors.

Halve crispy sausages and serve with the potatoes alongside.

Comments:
There's some cabbage slaw thing that I skipped on this recipe. Cuts the prep pretty much in half. This recipe wasn't too difficult. I just had time coordination problems. It takes so long for water to boil. I want one of the induction cooktops that boils water in 90 seconds or whatever. Too bad they're completely out of my price range. Boo.

Anywho, Adam didn't like the vinegar in the potatoes, but was fine with the meat. Why am I not surprised?

Adam Cooks: Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Gorgonzola

From Rachael Ray via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
4 (1 1/2-inch-thick) beef tenderloin steaks
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound Gorgonzola
4 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:
Let meat rest 10 minutes before beginning dinner preparation.

Place a large, flat griddle or skillet over high heat. When hot, using a pair of tongs and a folded paper towel, wipe cooking surface with oil and place steaks on hot pan. Caramelize the steaks, 2 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to moderate. Season meat with salt and pepper and cook 4 to 5 minutes longer on each side.

Preheat broiler to high.

Arrange steaks on baking sheet. Top each steak with 3 ounces Gorgonzola. Place baking sheet 6 inches from broiler heat just long enough to melt the cheese. Remove meat from the oven and top with slivers of fresh sage. Let meat rest 2 or 3 minutes, then serve immediately.

Comments:
What did I tell you - the man loves his steak. Part of mine wasn't done enough for me, but the parts I did eat were pretty tasty. Some of the comments on the recipe post on the website critized using such a strong cheese. Yes, gorgonzola is stinky and has a very distinct flavor. If you don't like it, you probably won't like this recipe. Duh.

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

From Rachael Ray via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
12 jumbo raw peeled deveined shrimp, 16 to 20 count per pound
1 lime, juiced and zested
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon grill seasoning or coarse salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
12 slices center cut or applewood smoked bacon, cut in 1/2
Toothpicks

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place shrimp in a shallow dish or bowl. Dress seafood with lime juice and zest, a generous drizzle of sesame oil, grill seasoning and hot pepper flakes. Wrap each shrimp with a half slice of bacon. Wrap each shrimp working from head to tail, pulling bacon snuggly around the shrimp. Fasten bacon in place as necessary with picks.

Arrange the shrimp on a slotted baking pan, such as a broiler pan, to allow draining while bacon crisps. Bake shrimp 10 to 14 minutes, until shrimp is pink and curled and the bacon is crisp.

Comments:
Adam had made the scallop part of this recipe previously so I decided to do the shrimp this time. (And that's what I had in the freezer...) Not too hard, but I was informed I was a little heavy-handed with the lime. Whoops. That's what I get for using an actual lime rather than the bottled stuff.

Cheesy Beer Fondue

From Sandra Lee via FoodNetwork.com



Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) bottle lager beer
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups shredded Cheddar

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring constantly to make a roux. Add beer and bring to slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens to the consistency of heavy cream. Add Worcestershire, mustard and cayenne, stirring thoroughly. Add cheese 1 cup at a time, melting cheese after each addition. Stir fondue until it is smooth. Turn into fondue pot and serve.

Comments:
We LOVE the Melting Pot. Love love. But it's so expensive, we can't go there very often. So we make some fondue at home every once in a while to take the edge off. We eat ours with bread, granny smith apples, and broccoli (for Adam - I don't like raw broccoli.) I found this recipe a few years back and just keep using it. It's so easy and tasty.

Adam Cooks: Tortilla with Chorizo

From Angie Ketterman via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 (7-ounce) package pre-cooked chorizo, thinly sliced
1/2 pound red potatoes, cubed, boiled until tender and drained
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1 pinch
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat canola oil in a 12-inch nonstick or cast iron saute pan over medium high heat. Add onions and peppers, cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chorizo, potatoes, garlic, and cilantro stirring carefully as to not break up the potatoes, cook 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl whisk eggs with a pinch of salt until well blended. Add eggs to the pan with the chorizo mixture. Stir gently with a heatproof spatula, allowing the bottom to cook, pulling away at the sides to allow the egg on top to run underneath as if cooking an omelet.

When eggs are mostly set but still a little runny place pan in oven for about 5 minutes until set and slightly puffed and brown on top.

Remove from oven. Cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Comments:
Another great Adam cooks night. I wasn't a big fan of the sausage, but after I picked them all out and put them on Adam's plate it was all good. It was a heck of a time getting the cast iron skillet clean though. Whew!

Adam Cooks: Strip Steaks with a Side of Blue Cheese Spaghetti

From Rachael Ray via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
Salt
1 pound spaghetti
4 (8-ounce) NY strip steaks
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
5 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 to 1/3 cup cream or half-and-half, eyeball it
8 ounces blue cheese crumbles
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
2 tablespoons chives, chopped, a palm full
2 cups arugula, a small bunch, cleaned, trimmed and shredded

Directions:
Put a large pot of water on the stove to bring to a boil for pasta.

Preheat broiler to high with rack on top shelf.

Preheat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crisp.

Salt water for pasta and add spaghetti to the pot. Cook to al dente, with a bite to it.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and arrange on slotted broiler pan.

Remove bacon to paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon and drain off most of the fat, return pan to heat and reduce heat to medium. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into extra-virgin olive oil, add in 2 cloves garlic and the shallots, saute for 3 minutes.

Arrange steaks on the broiler pan. Place under broiler - leave door to oven cracked ajar to limit flare ups and smoke. Cook 4 minutes on each side for medium rare, up to 5 to 6 minutes on each side for medium well doneness.

To the garlic and shallots, add in flour and cook a minute more. Whisk in stock, bring to a bubble, about 30 seconds then stir in the cream. When cream comes to a bubble, add in blue cheese and sage and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir until cheese melts. Reduce heat to lowest setting.

Soften 4 tablespoons butter in microwave on high for 15 seconds. Mix in chives and 2 cloves minced garlic and reserve.

Remove steaks from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Place 1/4 of the chive and garlic butter mixture on each steak to melt down over the meat as they rest.

Drain pasta and toss with sauce to coat and combine evenly. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Serve steaks with pasta alongside. Scatter the arugula and bacon bits across the top of the pasta.

Comments:
Now this is what I'm talking about with the "Adam makes dinner" thing! He actually got in the kitchen and cooked. This was wonderful. He even set the smoke alarm off and had to open the windows so it's good that it's not just me who does that. :)

Now obviously we made some substitutions (like farfalle for spaghetti) and omissions (no arugula or chives.) I wasn't in the kitchen while he cooked so I can't say how religiously he followed the rest of the recipe, but it tasted great so it's all good with me.

Cheddar Scallion Drop Biscuits

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 ounces cheddar, coarsely grated (1 1/2 cups)
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in Cheddar and scallions. Add buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Drop dough in 12 equal mounds about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

Comments:
I don't really do biscuits. But these didn't require and cutting in of the butter so I think I did ok. I didn't have the scallions so I left them out, but I really think they would have added another level of flavor. I'll use them next time.

Oven Fried Chicken

From Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
breadcrumbs
parmesan cheese
butter
Dijon mustard
chicken

Comments:
I was just looking for a simple fried chicken recipe that wasn't really "fried." I remember some such recipe in a magazine or book but couldn't find it so I just went on over to foodnetwork.com and found this easy version. I strayed from the recipe a bit by skipping the sage and using bone-in legs and breasts. It all worked out. Very tasty. The leftovers were good too.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

From Paula Deen via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
butter
shortening
brown sugar
eggs
buttermilk
flour
baking soda
salt
baking powder
ginger
nutmeg
cinnamon
cloves
allspice
quick-cooking oatmeal
raisins
walnuts
vanilla

Comments:
Adam emailed me this recipe at work on Friday morning saying, "These look good." I emailed him back saying, "In other words, you'd like me to make these this weekend." So I did. I even followed the recipe, excluding just the cloves since I didn't have any and we don't like them anyway. I even got the buttermilk and raisins. Impressive, if you ask me. Anyway, they're a pretty basic cookie recipe and although Adam pointed out the cookies in the picture had been much larger, they still turned out satisfactory.

Good Eats Meatloaf

From Alton Brown via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
croutons (I used breadcrumbs)
black pepper
cayenne pepper
chili powder
thyme
onion
carrot
garlic
red bell pepper (left out)
ground chuck/ground sirloin
kosher salt
egg
ketchup
cumin
Worcestershire sauce
hot pepper sauce (left out)
honey

Comments:
This meatloaf definitely has some kick! I was originally going to make Rachael Ray's Cheeseburger Meatloaf (can you tell me that doesn't look yummy?) but when Adam got wind of the pickles baked in it and he got ooked out and said, "Can't you just make normal meatloaf?" So normal meatloaf it was. He was suspicious of the ketchup glaze on the top (and here I thought all meatloaf had this?) but still agreed it was pretty tasty. My one complaint might be that when you reheat it it gets very greasy. But that might be because I used a loaf pan rather than cooking it in a loaf shape on a baking pan. I don't know...

Lentil Soup

From Giada De Laurentis via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
EVOO
onion
carrots
celery
garlic
salt & pepper
diced tomatoes
lentils
chicken stock
thyme
pasta

Comments:
While doing research lately I've learned that beans and lentils are high in protein, low in fat, and generally pretty good for you. So I decided to take a shot at cooking them. This soup was easy to make, didn't take too long, and was very tasty. I left off the parmesan the recipe says to add to the top since I'd had some ice cream at lunch and didn't want to push the dairy threshold. I can't wait for leftovers for lunch this next week.

Adam Makes Beignets

From Emeril Lagasse via foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
corn oil
flour
baking powder
salt
sugar
eggs
canola oil
milk
powdered sugar

Comments:
Obviously I did not make these. We were watching a "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" episode and they made beignets. So Adam's like, "Those look good, we should make them." And I was like, "Have fun!" So I found him a recipe and he made them. They are pretty good. Bigger than I expected, but that's ok.

Turkey-Stuffed Zucchini Boats

From Robin Miller via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
zucchini
ground turkey
poultry seasoning
egg white
salt & pepper
tomato sauce
chicken broth
chili sauce
cider vinegar
brown sugar
thyme
sour cream
artichoke hearts
Parmesan cheese
oregano
bread crumbs

Comments:
I made this once before when our parents came over for something. I liked it and so I decided to try it again. The meatballs used to fill the zucchini cook in the slow cooker all day and get smooshed up for the stuffing. It's a pretty easy recipe and tastes great and they're actually pretty healthy too.