Sage and Parsley Pesto on crostini

We made this in class as an appetizer, and I made it on my own this past Sunday.  Not your typical pesto, but I was able to use sage right out of my garden, which was great!  You can sometimes find fresh pine nuts in the produce section at the grocery store, but they tend to be very expensive.  I hit up my local WinCo and found some in the bulk food section for a fraction of the price.  And another nice thing about that is I didn't have to toast them first!  I suppose you still could if you wanted, but I'm lazy.

Sage and Parsley Pesto on crostini (baguette)
Yields two dozen

2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, washed and dried, stems removed (also known as Italian parsley)
2 small bunches sage, washed and dried, stems removed (I used my purple sage)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, plus more as needed
Kosher salt and black pepper
Goat cheese, (with herbs or plain) softened
1 large baguette, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

To prepare pesto, place garlic, pine nuts, parsley and sage in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade (if you don't have a food processor you can use a blender, but the pesto will be chunkier).  Pulse to a rough chop.  Add olive oil in a steady stream and process to a smooth paste.  Stop motor and add cheese and vinegar, stirring to combine.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, adding more vinegar as needed.

Preheat broiler and arrange baguette slices on a sheet pan.  Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Toast until golden brown on top.  OR you can opt not to toast them at all.

To serve, spread each baguette with goat cheese and top with pesto.  Then stuff your face with them.  I did.

Cooking class #2

Okay, I may not need to learn how to cook, I still enjoy learning new techniques, recipes, and getting a gift with my class tuition!  And this one was very nice - a $240 Demeyere pan!  Worth every penny of the cost for the class, and the food we made was divine.  I made the soup for dinner last night, and though I didn't check my timing and I ended up eating at 6:45, it was worth it!  Everyone else fended for themselves and ate earlier, but I held out!  This recipe makes a massive pot of soup, so feel free to cut it in half.  Or not.

Caramelized Onion, Tomato and Cannellini Bean Soup
Yields 12 main dish servings

*To save time you can use canned and drained beans, or if you have a pressure cooker you can soak and cook the beans in less than half an hour, adding the salt after they're cooked.  I went the SLOW route and did dried beans (which I found in bulk at New Seasons)

1/2 lb (8 oz.) dried white beans - I used Cannellini
2 T kosher salt, divided
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 lb pancetta or bacon, diced
2 medium onions, sliced thin
3 medium carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can tomatoes in puree - I used crushed tomatoes because that's what I had in the pantry
4 cups kale, sliced into thin ribbons - you'll want to remove the center "spine" and at that point you can chop the kale into smaller pieces
6 cups chicken stock, as needed
4 cups Italian bread cubes - I just chopped up a loaf of bread, but the next time I'll use big croutons
Basil and Parmesan cheese to garnish

*Dry bean method:  In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by 1 inch and cover.  Soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator (I forgot this part and left them on the counter).  Drain the beans in a colander, then place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water and heat over high heat, bringing the beans to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and continue simmering until beans are tender, about 15 minutes.  Set beans aside to cool in their cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat.  Add pancetta (or bacon) and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the onions to the same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 15 to 18 minutes.  You'll want a nice caramelized color.  Add the carrots, celery, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and kale and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.  Drain the beans in a colander, reserving their cooking liquid.  In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree half of the beans, adding enough cooking  liquid to form a smooth paste.  Add pureed beans to the soup, along with the remaining whole beans (the pureeing is totally optional - you can just use all whole beans if you want).

Pour the remaining bean cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and add enough chicken stock to equal 8 cups total.  Add liquid to soup, increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the bread (or croutons) to the soup and simmer for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.  Taste and season as needed.

Serve topped with Parmesan, basil and BACON!

Cheesy Garlic Bread

2 of my favorite things:  garlic and cheese.  What more could a girl ask for?

Garlic Cheesy Bread

yields: 2 loaves

1 cup Warm Water

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 envelope Active Dry Yeast (2 1/4 Teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Salt

3 cups Bread Flour

Olive Oil, for greasing surfaces

1/3 pounds cheese of your choice

1/2 cups Garlic Butter (store-bought or make your own)

In a large bowl, stir water, honey and yeast together. Let yeast proof 5 minutes. Once you know yeast is active, stir in salt and the flour in 1/4 cup increments. If you are using a stand mixer, be sure to not increase your speed higher than a 2 or ‘stir’. Once dough starts pulling away from the sides and the bowl seems to be pretty clean, set a timer for 5 minutes and walk away. Let the machine knead the dough.

After 5 minutes, dough should be smooth and tacky but when touched shouldn’t leave any dough on your fingers.

Grease the bowl and the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and cut into two equal portions. Form into two long baguettes the length of the cookie sheet. I like to twist mine because it looks cool, but it also keeps its length and doesn’t shrink.

Cover with plastic wrap and rise 30 minutes. Start to preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place dough close to the oven where it’s nice and warm. Once oven is preheated, remove plastic wrap, from the dough reduce oven to 350F, put the bread into the oven and bake 20 minutes.

In the meantime, slice the cheese into thin slices and melt the butter.  Pull loaves of bread out of the oven after 20 minutes and brush with the melted garlic butter. Bake another 5-7 minutes or until bread begins to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes.

Cut 1-inch slices 3/4′s of the way through the loaves. Brush garlic butter in between each slice and fill with a slice of cheese. Bake another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.

Serve immediately.

Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce

Have you ever been to Buca di Beppo? I have, once or twice. If you go there, you need to try their Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce. I don't know if that is exactly what the dish in the actual restaraunt is called, but it's something like that. Chicken with Lemon Sauce. Chicken with Lemon Butter sauce. Lemony-buttery chicken.

Anyhow, I found this recipe online and it turned out to be almost as delicious as the real thing at the restaraunt. Give it a try!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (about 3/4 lb total)
salt, to taste
1/2 to 1 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
4 large lemons
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons capers

Cut three lemons in half and squeeze for fresh lemon juice. Pour the juice through a fine strainer. Cut the last lemon into wedges for garnish. Begin to heat the olive oil in a 12 inch sauté pan on med-high. Pound the chicken to about 1/4 inch thickness.

While oil is getting hot, lightly season both sides of the chicken breast with salt. Lightly dust the chicken breast in the flour, shake off excess flour. Place chicken in the sauté pan; when the chicken is golden brown, turn over and brown the other side as well. It is important to brown both sides to insure the chicken is completely cooked through.

When both sides are nice and brown, add white wine and lemon juice. Continue to cook for approximately two to three minutes. The liquid should reduce to approximately half. Once the liquid is reduced, remove the chicken breasts from the pan and turn off heat. Check to make sure the chicken breasts are cooked by turning each piece of chicken over and cutting it halfway through with a knife. There should be no visible pink. If the chicken is not completely cooked through, place inches a 400 degree oven for five minutes to complete cooking.

Finish the sauce by placing the softened butter in the pan. Using rubber spatula, work the butter into the sauce as it melts. Add capers to the sauce. Pour sauce directly on top of chicken breasts. Garnish with lemon wedges.


My notes: I was a little too chicken (ha ha) to go to the liquor store to buy real white wine, so I used white cooking wine from the grocery store instead. I don't know what the difference is and so I figured my taste buds wouldn't know what the difference is either.

I know there are some food fussers out there who think that capers are gross. Well, guess what, they're not. But if you don't like capers, leave them out. They just add a little bit of kick to the already tart lemon sauce.

Also, if you're confused, 4 oz. of butter? That's one entire stick of butter. A little too much butter, you say? No siree. It's ok, you can splurge on this one. It's worth it, I promise, and you can go back to eating healthy tomorrow.

Lastly, I served the chicken with some penne pasta to soak up some of the delicious sauce. If I had some french bread or some other delicious crusty bread, that would have been even better, but I had none and was too busy (lazy) to go buy some.

Chicken Curry

As most of you know this weekend we celebrated my birthday.  Hooray!  My girlfriends hosted a dinner for me on Saturday night, and the theme of the evening was Indian food.  Yum.  I have to admit that my tastebuds and overall taste for food has matured over the years.  A decade ago I might have turned up my nose at the thought of eating anything with curry in it.  Okay, I definitely would have turned my nose up at the thought of curry.  But over the past few years, I have decided to give curry a chance.  And I love it.  The main dish we had for my birthday dinner was especially tasty - and the great thing about it is you can adjust the amount of spices to better suit your own tastebuds.  I enjoy it just as it is!

Chicken Curry with Cashews

Yields 4-6 servings

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

3 tablespoons curry powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3/4 cup cashews (1/4 pound)

3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Heat butter in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately low heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, garlic, and ginger, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring to coat, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, including juice, and cilantro and bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Just before serving:

Pulse cashews in a food processor or electric coffee/spice grinder until very finely ground, then add to curry along with yogurt and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Serve atop cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice.

Hearty Beef Stew

I have a love/hate relationship with beef stew. Being blessed with an abundance of beef, I try to come up with tasty ways to serve it. I like Mom's Goulash, but that can get monotonous if that's all I ever make with my stew meat. But sometimes my creativity goes too far in my quest to create tasty meals. For example, I recently made a beef stew with sweet potatoes (yams) in place with potatoes, which wouldn't have been so bad, except I had a "brilliant" idea to add a few large chunks of cream cheese to the broth. I'll be honest, it was pretty disgusting. Maybe I should just stick with recipes that are tried and true. I found this recipe on some random food blog, tried it tonight, and am currently munching away as I type. The meat is tender and flavorful, veggies are tender, and the broth is tasty.

Ingredients:
5 pounds boneless chuck roast, or stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or beef broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1 pound carrots, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound red potatoes, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons Minute tapioca
2 cups frozen peas

Directions:After the meat has been cut into chunks, pat it dry with a paper towel and season all the pieces with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Cook half of the beef until it is well browned on each side, about 4 minutes. No need to cook it all the way through – just get some great brown color all around. Toss the meat in the slow cooker and follow the same process with the second half of the meat (you may need to add another tablespoon of oil to the pan if it looks a little dry). Remove the meat to the slow cooker, trying to keep as much oil in the pan as possible.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are translucent and golden, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil and transfer it to the slow cooker, pouring it over the meat.

In a large bowl, toss the carrots, potatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On the counter, lay out a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (use two sheets of regular foil on top of each other if you don’t have heavy-duty). Place the tossed vegetables on one side of the foil. Fold the foil over the vegetables and crimp the edges really well to form a little foil packet that will fit in the top of your slow cooker. Stir the tapioca into the slow cooker. Place the foil packet of vegetables on top of the stew, cover the slow cooker, and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 10-11 hours.

When the stew is finished cooking, carefully remove the foil packet from the top of the stew. Discard the bay leaves from the stew. Carefully open the foil packet (be careful of steam that will escape as you open it!). Return the vegetables and any juices to the slow cooker and gently mix them into the stew. Stir in the frozen peas and let them rest in the stew for 5-10 minutes, until they are heated through. Serve.