I know I know! It’s only August and already I’m making soup. I do this every year. I start getting the itch for cooler weather around August/September and I always start making Fall-ish foods way too early. I do it every year so get used to it! I guess it’s my way of willing the Fall to come sooner. If only it really worked. Fall doesn’t show its face around here until well into October or November. hmph

I saw this recipe on Chelle’s blog a while back and pasta fagioli being one of my favorite soups, I put it on my list to try. Now I knew I’d be the only one eating this (remember my husband? the bean hater?) so I figured I’d make the whole recipe and freeze half for later. And it certainly didn’t disappoint. I just had a big bowl for lunch and it was great! In fact, I think I ate too much. I’m absolutely about to pop. I guess that’s a good sign though. If you like pasta fagioli, give this a shot. You won’t be sorry!

Pasta Fagioli
(Adapted from Tricia’s Kitchen)

2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
½ large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
64 oz. beef broth
28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried parsley (I used 1 Tbsp fresh parsley)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used 1 tsp fresh basil)
1 teaspoon salt
4 oz. small dry pasta (I used elbow macaroni because that’s what I had)

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat, and brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and discard any grease that remains in the pot.

2. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pot, and add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add sausage back to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

4. Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite bread or crackers.

Ok, so I’m a little behind here. I just recently started reading the Pioneer Woman’s blog. I had heard what a great blog it was but just had not gotten around to checking it out. Well I am so glad I did. Not only is she funny and witty, she has great photos and delicious looking food! When I saw this recipe, I immediately put it on my menu for this week. I planned on making it this weekend to use later in the week, but I almost didn’t have time! We were so busy this weekend that I almost didn’t remember to cook it. Luckily, I did remember and threw it my dutch oven and cooked it for about 3 hours yesterday afternoon. By that time it was just falling apart. So moist and tender.  I used this to make myself a taco last night and my husband made a sandwich. And the verdict? So good! You must make this. Your house will smell awesome while it’s cooking and your mouth will be happy, too. This shredded pork could be used in lots of recipes from tacos and sandwiches to soups and stews.

For the recipe, go here. The only change I made was to use a 3lb pork loin.

This is one of those dishes that isn’t fancy and it’s not pretty. But when you eat it you just think “comfort food”. It’s also one of my husband’s favorite kind of meals. Pasta with cheese and sauce. What can I say, it’s the simple things for him. A local place here makes a dish similar to this that my husband always orders when we go there, so I decided I would make up my own rendition. It’s very simple but very good and one of the few foods which he will actually eat the leftovers.

Chicken Parmesan Pasta

For the chicken:

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 cup italian style bread crumbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

For the pasta:

8 oz penne
24 oz jar of marinara sauce
1 cup chopped baby spinach (You can omit this if you like. I add this to most pasta dishes because it’s a good way to get my picky husband to eat a vegetable.)
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375. Set up three shallow bowls; one with the parmesan cheese, one with the eggs, and one with the bread crumbs. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breasts. Dip one chicken breast in the parmesan and pat to coat it with the cheese. Then dip it in the egg and then the bread crumbs. Be sure to coat it well. Do this for the other remaining chicken breast and place them in a baking dish. Bake for 20-25 min until chicken is no longer pink. Broil on each side 2 min for a crispier crust. Remove from the oven and let sit about 10 minutes. Cut into 1″ cubes.

While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the pasta. Boil water for the pasta and cook until al dente and then drain. In a large pot, combine the jar of sauce, chicken that has been cut into cubes, penne, and spinach. Stir to coat the pasta with the sauce. Add mozzarella cheese and stir. Let heat through about 5-10 minutes.

I have been in such a slump this past week. I’m not sure if it’s the heat or what but food just hasn’t been that appealing to me. Luckily, my husband is perfectly ok with eating cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. But I on the other hand, can only handle that for so long. So I started checking my google reader and the wheels started turning with ideas. And after not cooking dinner all week, what did I decide to make last night? Well, pie. Don’t worry, I did get dinner ideas for next week. ; )

I have had such a craving for blueberry pie ever since Summer began, but I still hadn’t gotten around to making it. This is another thing my weirdo husband won’t eat. It’s a texture thing he says. So I was really putting off making a whole pie just for me, but then I got the idea to make little individual pies. Now believe it or not I have never, ever made pie dough. So I set out looking for an easy recipe. I found this dough recipe on Annie’s blog and let me tell you, it’s great! It came together so easy and like most things I’ve never made before, it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. I decided to use both cherries and blueberries for my pies because I only had a little bit of each in the fridge. And not only did I learn to make pie dough last night, but I learned that I must acquire a cherry pitter. Oy! My fingers looked like evidence for a crime scene once I was done pitting those darn cherries! But in the end, it was all worth it. Both the cherry and blueberry pies were terrific!

Berry or Cherry Pies

Makes 6 individual pies

3 cups berries or cherries (I used 1 1/2 cups bing cherries (pitted) and 1 1/2 cups blueberries)

1/2 cup sugar (divided if doing two kinds of pie)

3 tsp flour (divided if doing two kinds of pie)

pie dough (recipe follows)

Place berries (or cherries) into a bowl. Add the sugar and flour and toss to coat the berries.

*The flour will help the berry juices to thicken as the pie cooks

For the dough:

*I doubled this recipe and had a little leftover. I froze it to use later.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp. very cold water

Directions:
To make the dough in a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. (Although many dough recipes call for chilling the dough at this point, this dough should be rolled out immediately for the best results.) Lightly flour the work surface, then flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out into a round at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Makes enough dough for one 9-inch single-crust pie.

To make a lattice top: Double the recipe, cut the dough in half and pat one half into a round, flat disk. Roll out the disk into a 12-inch round as directed and line the pan or dish. Trim the edge of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press any scraps trimmed from the first round into the bottom of the remaining dough half. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into thin strips to weave a lattice top.

*Tip: Be sure your work surface is well floured when rolling out the dough. If you have trouble rolling the dough out for a second time, put it in the fridge for about 15 min to chill and try again.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. After the dough is rolled out, use a glass, ramekin, or biscuit cutter to cut 6 circles. Place the circles of dough in the bottom of the ramekins and press up the sides just a little. It does not matter if it reaches all the way up the side of the ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake the bottom crust for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

 Form the remaining dough back into a ball and roll it out again. Again, cut 6 circles. Place 1/2 cup of the berries (or cherries) into each ramekin and then place the circles of dough over the top of them. Make two or three slits in the dough. Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes, or until the berry juices are bubbling and the dough is golden brown. Allow to cool 20-30 minutes before serving.

Source for Basic Pie Dough recipe: Williams-Sonoma

You were probably thinking that I had given up on my restaurant challenge already, but that’s not the case. My husband and I were both sick last month and then I was out of town two weekends in a row. But now we’re back to it! I have been wanting to try this Cuban restaurant for a while now because it had been recommended to me by one of my co-workers. Needless to say, my husband was a little hesitant. Remember, he’s the cheeseburger and pasta kinda guy. Anyway, I told him we must go to this restaurant last night. So he finally agreed.

Anytime a restaurant featuring a specific type of cuisine opens in a small town like ours, I always wonder how authentic it can really be. I was really surprised when we went into Cuban Delights and found that it is actually owned by a Cuban! It’s a very small restaurant with about 10 tables and a bar at the back. They serve traditional Cuban food and also offer coffee and espresso. Since I had never had Cuban food before, I decided to go with something basic and ordered the Ropa Vieja. It came with rice, black beans, and maduros which are fried plantains. The black beans were seasoned with onions and cilantro and were more like a soup than the way I normally eat black beans. And I also discovered I love fried plantains! It was way more food than I could ever eat but it was so good! My husband ordered the Vacca Frita, which is shredded beef with red and green peppers and onions.  His also came with rice, black beans, and tostones. Even my husband, the picky eater loved it! The staff was very friendly and the owner asked us how everything was and asked us to come back again.

I would definitely go back to this place and try some of their other dishes.

Price: $

Atmosphere: Casual

Reservations required: No

Location: Auburn, AL

My husband and I are pretty much alike. We like the same tv shows, the same movies, the same home decor, and the same music. The one thing we normally don’t agree on is food. I love fruit, vegetables, low-fat yogurt, and pretty much anything good for you. He doesn’t. He loves pasta with cream sauce and cheeseburgers. Oh and don’t forget his relationship with Lil’ Debbie. And the differences don’t stop there. We are never able to order a pizza without doing half and half. Most of the time when I make pizza at home it’s the same way. Last night was no different. I had decided I wanted to use up some of my basil and I had some fresh tomatoes. I thought a margherita pizza would be great but I knew my husband wouldn’t touch it. So I decided to do spinach, pesto, and feta on his side. Both sides turned out great. And it was a quick dinner because I already had the dough in the freezer from when I had made some about a month ago. There really is no recipe for this. Very simple but really good!

Margherita Pizza

(makes one whole pizza)

1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

1/2 cup basil leaves, washed and dried

mozzarella cheese (as much as you want…I would never tell you how much cheese to put on your pizza.)

olive oil, about 1 Tbsp

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely minced

crust of your choice (I used this recipe)

Combine the garlic and olive oil in a bowl. Brush your crust with the garlic and olive oil. Put a thin layer of cheese on the crust, to keep it from getting soggy from the tomatoes. Next, do a layer of tomatoes. Then comes the basil leaves. Top with additional mozzarella. Bake at 450 for 12-14 min or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

It’s going to be 90 degrees today where I live so why am I still baking you ask. Maybe the heat has gone to my head or maybe it’s because I saw these blondies on Loves To Eat last week and just had to make them. Whatever the reason, these were great! Very quick to make, too. I’ll be saving this recipe when I want a great bar dessert other than brownies.

Makes 36

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on large rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer nuts to cutting board to cool; chop coarsely and set aside.

2. While nuts toast, cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking pan, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet (if using extra-wide foil, fold second sheet lengthwise to 12-inch width). Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

4. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in chocolate and nuts and turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula.

5. Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes; do not overbake. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove bars from pan by lifting foil overhang and transfer to cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares

Source: Cook’s Illustrated

I’m a slacker. I never have time to participate in all the blog events that I would like to. I am really envious of everyone that participates in multiple blog events, but by the time I get home from work I barely have time to cook dinner and the occasional dessert. That’s why I’ve sort of fallen off the wagon with the Tasty Tools blog event that Joelen hosts every month. I thought I wasn’t going to make it this month either but luckily, I remembered I had planned on making these beef kabobs so I figured I could highlight this month’s tool in this recipe.

And the tool of the month is…the pastry and basting brush! What an awesome and often overlooked tool. I use mine all the time and most of the time I wish I had two because it always seems to be in the dishwasher when I need it. Yes, I said dishwasher. I know with most pastry brushes you can’t put them in the dishwasher, but that’s another reason I love mine. I have the chef’s silicone basting brush made by Pampered Chef. I seriously love this thing. It’s heat resistant so you don’t have to worry about it melting should you accidently touch your grill or a hot pan with it. It resists stains and doesn’t retain odors. Another little feature that is simple but very helpful is the fact that it has a little hook on the back so you can rest it on the side of your bowl and it won’t slide down into whatever’s in the bowl. I use it for basting and barbecuing meats and also for brushing delicate pastries with egg wash or butter. I think it’s a great and versatile tool that everyone should have in their kitchen.

BBQ Beef Kabobs

1/2 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, 1″ thick, cut into 1″ cubes

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp of your favorite grill seasoning

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 an onion, cut into 1″ pieces

barbecue sauce for basting (use your favorite flavor)

In a bowl combine the sirloin, onion, grill seasoning, vegetable oil, garlic and worcestershire sauce. Toss to coat the meat and onions. Cover and refrigerate at least 4-6 hours. Remove from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before grilling. Skewer the meat and onions on soaked wooden skewers (to prevent burning on the grill). Place the kabobs on a hot grill or grill pan. Once the outside of the meat begins to show grill marks, brush with your favorite barbecue sauce. Grill until the meat reaches desired doneness.

Serves 2

In case any of you didn’t know, the other loves in my life other than my husband and cooking, are my two silly Pembroke Corgis, Tag and Riley. I’ve had Tag since he was just a tiny puppy of nine weeks old. Despite being a holy terror the first year of his life, he’s also the sweetest, most inquisitive little dog you’ve ever seen. He’s the reason I fell in love with Corgis. So about a year ago, we got Riley, who was two and a half at the time. She’s also as sweet as can be, but has a totally different personality than Tag.

No one in our area really has Corgis, let alone knows what they are, so I was surprised when the tech at our vet’s office told me she had Corgis growing up. She asked me if had ever read Corgiville Fair by Tasha Tudor. I had no idea there were any books written about Corgis so I was immediately interested. I found the book online along with Corgiville Christmas and also a cookbook by the same author. I thought the books would be really cute to have to read to my future children (oh who am I kidding…they’re for me!), so I put them all on my Christmas list last year.

I decided yesterday morning that I wanted to make some pancakes for breakfast. Instead of going online to look up a recipe I decided to pull out my cookbooks and find a recipe. I opened up my Tasha Tudor cookbook, which contains many of her family recipes, and is also beautifully illustrated by the way, and found this recipe for pancakes. They turned out really good! The recipe didn’t make quite as many as it stated but that could have been because I like my pancakes big. ; P

Waffles or Pancakes

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 farm-fresh eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Sift into a bowl the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat the eggs lightly in a second mixing bowl. Stir in the milk and the melted butter. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and blend.

To make pancakes, spoon the batter onto a hot, greased griddle or skillet. When the tops are bubbly, turn them and cook the other side until nicely brown. Place the pancakes on a warm plate and serve immediately.

To make waffles, spoon the batter into a preheated waffle iron. The waffles will be cooked when steam no longer rises from the waffle iron. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Makes 14 4-inch pancakes or 6 waffles.

The Tasha Tudor Cookbook, page 39

And here’s a picture of my little rascals…just because they’re so darn cute.

]]> http://sweetsavorysouthern.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/pancakes/feed/ rschoonhoven http://sweetsavorysouthern.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/baked-shrimp-with-feta-and-tomato-basil-orzo/ http://sweetsavorysouthern.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/baked-shrimp-with-feta-and-tomato-basil-orzo/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:47:37 +0000 rschoonhoven http://sweetsavorysouthern.wordpress.com/?p=262

Whoa, the name of this recipe is a mouthful, but I couldn’t think of of any other way to describe it other than, well, what it is. I was first inspired to make this when I saw this recipe on Elly’s blog. The idea sort of rolled around in my head for a while because I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to make it. I had seen someone on Food Network make a sauce using crushed grape tomatoes and I was toying with the idea of incorporating that into this dish. So, I’ve had it on my menu for a couple weeks, but it sort of kept being pushed further and further down the list. Tonight I finally decided to bite the bullet and make it.

It’s always a little scary for me when I go into the kitchen to make up a recipe as I go. It’s scary for my husband too because of the mounds of dishes I create for him to wash while figuring out my recipe for a dish. I always end up running around like a chicken thinking of things I want to add to the recipe. Sometimes it works out for me and other times it turns into a mini disaster. Luckily, this turned out very good! My husband really enjoyed it and he’s always a bit leary of things I just concoct out of my head. Now let’s see if I remember what all I put in. : P

Baked Shrimp with Feta and Tomato Basil Orzo

14-16 medium shrimp (give or take, cleaned and deveined-I used frozen uncooked)

1/4-1/2 cup chicken broth

1 large clove garlic, minced (Use 2 if they are small)

2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tsp dried basil)

1 cup grape tomatoes, washed

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup orzo, uncooked

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper (or to taste)

crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400. While the oven is preheating, boil water for the orzo and cook until just al dente. Set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, add 2 Tbsp olive oil, enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Add the minced garlic and grape tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes around to coat in the olive oil. Let cook about 2 minutes and add about 1/4 cup chicken broth. Let cook another 3 minutes. Press one of the tomatoes with a fork to see if it pops. Continuing mashing all the tomatoes to make a sauce. Add salt, pepper, and chopped basil and stir. Add additional chicken broth if the tomato sauce looks to thick/dry. Stir in the uncooked shrimp and let cook about 1 minute. Stir in the orzo. Pour into a baking dish or into individual serving dishes. Top with feta, as much as you like, and bake for about 10 minutes or until feta begins to soften and shrimp are pink.

Makes about 3 servings.

I also made some baked creamed spinach to go along side our main dish. I’ll spare you the pictures because creamed spinach just doesn’t photograph well. But it was really good. I promise! I’ve had this recipe saved for a while and I’m not sure who or where I got it from. If you happen to know, please let me know! Thanks.

CREAMED SPINACH

(with my alterations)

1/2 cup heavy cream (or sub. half and half)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted)

1 clove minced garlic

black pepper and salt to taste

1 pound fresh spinach

*1/4 cup grated parmesan

*1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix heavy cream, butter, garlic,
nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil, then reduce
heat to simmer. In a separate bowl combine parmesan and bread crumbs.

Coarsely chop spinach in a food processor (I just used a knife), and gradually stir into the heavy
cream mixture. Sautee on medium-high heat and return to boiling, then remove
from heat. Pour into ramekins or a baking dish. Top with parmesan and bread crumbs mixture. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes or until bubbly.