January 31, 2012: Cremini Mushroom Salad Recipe

In trying to find a new, light side dish to serve with baked fish, I turned to The Food Network online. After reviewing several recipes, I put together the best of them and came up with this recipe.

Cremini Mushroom Salad served as a side to coconut milk poached cod on a bed of couscous

Cremini Mushroom Salad

4 ounces cremini (baby Portabella) mushrooms

¼ large red onion

¼ small head cauliflower
8 baby Heirloom tomatoes of various colors, thinly sliced

1 t. dried parsley (or 1 T. fresh parsley)

2 T. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 arugula and 8 frisee leaves

Crispy cheese discs*

Using a mandolin, thinly slice the mushrooms, onion and cauliflower and place in a mixing bowl. Add tomatoes, parsley, oil, vinegar, soy sauce and black pepper; toss together. Allow ingredients to sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

To serve, divide arugula and frisee between four plates. Spoon a quarter of the mushroom salad on top of the arugula; top with cheese disc.

*To make cheese discs, grate about an ounce of Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium. Scatter the cheese in the pan and cook until crispy on the bottom, flip and cook the other side until golden brown (much like a sausage patty). Carefully remove with a spatula and cool before cutting into four pieces.

December 4, 2011: Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Recipe

Do you like Shake N Bake chicken? Then you’ll love this recipe that’s almost as easy to make – and way more tasty. It combines crunchy panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese to make baked chicken your family is sure to love.

Crunchy Parmesan Baked Chicken served with Alfredo Rice and Cauliflower and freshly steamed green beans.

Crunchy Baked Parmesan Chicken

4 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks – whatever you prefer)

6 ounces panko bread crumbs

2 T. flour

¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon each: dried parsley, sage, garlic salt and oregano

½ teaspoon each: cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

If you want fewer calories, take the skin off the chicken pieces. Rinse.

Combine bread crumbs, flour, cheese and spices in a large sealable bag. Place chicken pieces, one at a time, in bag and shake well so chicken is coated with bread crumb mixture. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle any remaining coating mixture on top of chicken.

Bake for one hour, until juices from chicken run clear. Do not turn over!

Serves 4

November 11, 2011: Spaghetti Pie Recipe

Who doesn’t love spaghetti? Spaghetti, with or without meatballs, is a old-time favorite with families everywhere. And what’s not to like? It’s a dish that’s filled with the good homey flavors of garlic and tomatoes, it’s an economical dish, and it’s easy to make a large quantity to feed lots of hungry diners.

Next time you make spaghetti, try making it in a pie plate or quiche pan instead of serving the usual way and see what your family thinks.

Spaghetti Pie

6 ounces spaghetti

2 T. butter

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 t. dried parsley

1 eggs, well beaten

1 cup cottage cheese (optional)

½ lb. lean ground beef

½ lb. pork sausage

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped Bell pepper

1 8-ounce can tomatoes, chopped

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 t. sugar

1 t. dried oregano

½ t. garlic salt

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Sir butter into hot spaghetti; add Parmesan cheese, parsley and eggs. Spread spaghetti mixture in bottom and up the sides of greased 10-inch pie plate or quiche pan to form crust. Spread cottage cheese, if using, over the top of the spaghetti crust.

In skillet, cook ground beef and pork sausage until browned. Drain; add onion and peppers and cook an additional two minutes, until vegetables are softened. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and spices; heat through.

Spread meat mixture over prepared spaghetti crust. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer, until cheese I s melted.

Serves 6

November 1, 2011: Green Beans Gremolata Recipe

Well, it’s finally here – one of my favorite months of the year! It’s not my favorite just because my husband’s birthday occurs in the month, but because it signals my favorite time of year and holiday, Thanksgiving. Perhaps I’m wild about Thanksgiving because it was my dear mother’s favorite holiday, but it could also be that, as a dedicated foodie, I love to cook and this is the day I wait for all year long!

Of course today, being the first of the month, is All Saint’s Day in the Catholic church. Back in New Mexico, where I’m from, the holiday of Dia de los Muertos is celebrated. It also happens to be the day my older sister was born (happy birthday Debbie!).

If you’re like me, you’re already planning your Thanksgiving menu. This is a recipe I found online many, many years ago (yes, there was Internet back in the mid 90s) and it became a treasured one perfect for an elegant Thanksgiving dinner (if you can get your tribe to forgo the traditional green bean casserole topped with French fried onions, that is).

Green Beans Gremolata

½ cup minced fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. grated lemon zest (the peel but not the white pith)

14/ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed

3 T. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, mix together the parsley, garlic, lemon zest and Parmesan cheese. Set aside

Bring a 6 quart pot with 3 quarts of salted water to boil. Add the beans and cook until crisp tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly and transfer to a large serving bowl. Toss the beans with the olive oil to coat, then the Gremolata (cheese and herbs) mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 8

October 15, 2011: Leftover Pork Roast Pasta Recipe

How many times do you prepare a meal one night and find yourself with just a little bit of it left over? This happens to me a lot – particularly when I make a pork roast but there are also times when I have a single leftover chicken thigh or smoked sausage.

The question is what can you do with them? If you don’t want to eat leftovers the next day for lunch or dinner, then your task is to repurpose them. Here’s an easy way to do so.

There’s not a hard and fast recipe for using leftovers to make a pasta dish. I’ll share with you what I did with mine the other night (and this concoction used up a whole bunch of other little bits and pieces, too):

Leftover Pork and Pasta

4 ounces penne pasta

1 t. olive oil

¼ red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal

3 mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 small slices leftover pork loin roast, cubed

¼ cup chopped tomato (I used a couple cherry tomatoes)

½ jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

6 - 7 black olives, sliced

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 leaves basil, chiffonade sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

Shaved Parmesan cheese (use a vegetable peeler)

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Heat the olive oil to medium in a heavy skillet. Add the bell pepper, onions, and mushrooms. Cook just until slightly softened. Add pork, tomato, black olives and artichoke hearts. Heat through (mixture will be moist from tomatoes and artichoke hearts). Turn heat to low and add cream.

Divide pasta between two plates or bowls. Top each with half of vegetable mixture, basil, freshly ground black pepper, and shaved curls of Parmesan cheese.

This is just one example of a leftover pasta dish. Tomorrow I’ll share additional combinations of meat, vegetables, pasta and sauces that will work with just about any leftovers in your fridge.

September 14, 2011: Pear and Greens Salad Recipe

Most recipes for a green salad with pears calls for Bleu or Roquefort cheese and that is a good foil to the sweetness of the fruit. However, I didn’t have that kind of cheese so I took a look through my fridge to find alternative ingredients. Here’s what I came up with.

Pear and Greens Salad

1 cup Romaine lettuce

1 cup green leaf lettuce

1/3 cup Garlic and Shallot Vinaigrette

1 ripe Bartlett pear, thinly sliced

¼ cup toasted pecan pieces

1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese

Freshly grated black pepper

Toss lettuces with vinaigrette. Place half of it on a salad plate. Arrange half the pear slices over the top. Sprinkle with pecans and cheese; top with freshly grated black pepper to taste. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

To toast pecans: put in a dry skillet over medium low heat and cook for several minutes, until you can start to smell the fragrance of the nuts. Pressed for time? Microwave them on a small dish for about 2 minutes (check after 1 minute).

Serves two.

Tip: You can also use mixed baby greens or your choice of lettuce as the bed for the pears, nuts, and cheese.