Pizza Blanca with Arugula

I must admit I was inspired by the Barefoot Contessa on this. It was really easy and I have a new love of arugula... you have to try it!

Ingredients
-arugula
-pizza dough
-fresh garlic (one clove per pizza)
-one lemon
-Parmesan cheese
-mozzarella cheese
-olive oil

Flatten out your defrosted pizza dough into personal pizzas. Plump up the edges to make a crust. Sprinkle on some olive oil and add pieces of fresh mozzarella and sprinkle on parmesan cheese. Add freshly crushed garlic and slip into the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, add the arugula which has been tossed with lemon juice and sprinkle on some more parm cheese. ENJOY!

Life Happens

oh blog... I know you probably don't remember me, but I'm the girl who used to write posts on you many times a month. I feel guilty now... like I completely abandoned you, but sometimes life happens.

The last few weeks of the school year were pretty busy, but they were especially HOT. Dan and I lost power on Father's Day while we were making dinner... which meant a very hot kitchen and apartment. A NYC summer gets so boiling, probably because of all the cement, that it is especially hard to really cook. (Can you imagine Marilyn Monroe cooking in this heat during The Seven Year Itch??)

I do want to say that I have done some cooking and enjoyed some fine culinary experiences (chocolate dipped strawberries with Nicole, Bill's yummy pasta, mom's taboulli)... but somehow it did not get on the blog. It didn't help that the computer back home doesn't like blogger for some reason.

Then something else happened that certainly distracted me for awhile - an engagement! The Friday night before Independence Day Dan the Man popped the big question... so needless to say my mind has been occupied since (I said yes).

Anyway, I will be rejoining you very shortly - I have some great pizza ideas and I need to get those other meals up... and now I have wedding food to think about too.

I just need to remember that it's ok to take a breather... life happens.

Lasagna - Northern Style

Lasagna! Today was Summer's first lasagna... imagine? For my first try I think I did really well (the man "loved" it!),  When it comes to lasagna... I love Northern style lasagna which is so creamy (it's orange in color). I had this style for the first time in Venice and fell in love! Then I was lucky enough to find it again when Dan and I went out to eat with Evan and Erica at an Italian joint in Manhattan. That's when I began to realize this was actually a certain style of lasagna. Usually I get the pretty basic tomato sauce, ricotta and pasta type.. this is much more... flavorful and complex... like a full-bodied wine!

Ingredients:
Lasagna pasta
tomato sauce
alfredo sauce or other creamy sauce
onion
pepper
carrots
steamed tomatoes (or diced)
ground beef
ricotta cheese
parmesan


First get some water boiling to cook your lasagna. I used 9 sheets, it depends on your baking dish. While the water was getting to a boil I cooked my ground beef on a skillet until all the pink was gone. Then I poured out any fat and put the meat to the side. Then in the same skillet I sauteed my chopped vegetables in a little oil and also added my tomatoes. I would suggest getting excess juice out of them first. I cooked my pasta and then drained it and splashed it with cold water so I could handle it. Preheat the oven to 375. In one bowl I mixed my red and white sauce with my ground meat. Then I began the fun process of layering. First, three sheets of pasta went down. On top of that went my sauce/meat mix, and then my veggie mix. Then I put some dabs of ricotta cheese with sprinkled Parmesan. Repeat! Be creative. I cooked it for about 35 minutes with tin foil on top for the first 25 minutes. I kept it uncovered for the remaining 10 minutes. Let it cool for another 10 minutes before you dig in!

Pete's Pesto

This is my Dad's recipe. Best pesto around.

First, make sure you have some fresh basil growing! If you are a true Brooklynite you will have it growing on your fire-escape or anywhere else you can fit it. I use it all the time in other recipes... I truly believe everyone should have fresh basil growing in their home. 

Pesto Recipe:
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
3 TSP. Walnuts
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
pinches of salt and pepper
Blend all together in blender
then add
1/2 cup grated cheese(Romano or Parmesan)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cream cheese and blend away....

Orange and Honey Chicken Drumsticks

This is the first time we did these - and they came out pretty good (great flavor). Next time I want to figure out a way to make them crispier.

Ingredients

Chicken Drumsticks
Honey
Orange Juice ..I didn't have an orange :-O
BBQ sauce
salt/pepper
olive oil
thyme

Preheat the oven to about 400-425 degrees. Rinse the chicken drumsticks under water and in a bowl mix them with a little olive oil, salt, orange juice, pepper and thyme. Place tin foil on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and with a brush paint on the bbq sauce mixed with the honey. Apply generously and when you put them back in the oven make sure they are flipped so that the side that had been down originally is now up. Let them bake for about another 20 minutes or until your belly is growling too much. Enjoy! We had this with corn and some of my dad's pesto - good messy finger lickin' summertime meal.

Baked Salmon and Tabouli

As you can tell, I have not been doing much cooking lately. I think it has been a combination of extreme heat in NYC and laziness. I will be remedying it this week! However, my mom has been keeping on top of her A-game and she sent me this recipe!

We had a great dinner tonight of baked salmon and quinoa corn salad, also known as tabouli.  I baked the salmon at 450 for 15 minutes( put a little maple syrup on it first).  I will enclose the salad recipe.  It's one of the best foods one can eat.  

 

 

                                     Tabouli

 

Dressing:  3 TBS fresh lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)

                2 TBS olive oil

                2 TBS fresh parsley (chopped)

                2 stalks scallions (chopped)

                1 tsp. minced garlic (I used a couple of cloves)

                1 tsp. cumin

 

Also:         1/4 cup quinoa (this is a whole grain)  mine came rinsed but if the type you

                 buy is not pre-washed you must wash it to get rid of bitter coating (saponin)

                 1/2 cup chicken or veg. broth

                  1 can black beans rinsed and drained

                  1 tomato diced

                  1 cup frozen corn

 

1:  Cook quinoa in broth about 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed( after it comes to a boil reduce to simmer and cover as you would rice)

2:  While grain cooks, mix dressing ingredients in a large bowl

3:  Add drained and rinsed beans, tomato, and corn

4:  Cool grain to room temp ( I threw mine in refrig. for a bit), then mix with other ingredients, chill until ready to eat 

     As with most salads of this type it is better if made a few hours ahead of time, although I made mine just 1 hour ahead and it was delicious.

Summertime BowTie Pasta

This was light and yummy. A good summertime (no pun intended) dish. In the future (tomorrow night leftovers) I will add even more to it.

First I cooked some tricolore bow ties. You can obviously use the plain kind or get a box of just one type (like spinach), but I like the three colors, especially since there is not too much to this recipe.

While the pasta was cooking, in a wok we sauteed a sausage (leftover), chopped yellow pepper and small diced tomatoes. Once the pasta is cooked we tossed it into the wok with these ingredients and mixed it with some olive oil, some parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Keeping in mind we got into the boursin cheese while we were cooking, this was definitely filling enough. We had some leftover so we are going to finish it tomorrow night. I'm going to buy some feta cheese to serve with it... and I was thinking of even adding some nuts (almonds probably) and some pineapple.. just to get creative. I'll let you know how it goes.

Baked Chicken, Rice, Asparagus and Almonds Recipe

(pictures below)

This was a fun one. First, I got my wild rice in a pot with some water and oil (use box directions) and got that cooking while I worked with the skillet. Just keep an eye on the rice/stir every few minutes so it doesn't burn when it's done... not that I have ever done that... ;-)

In a skillet, saute some chopped asparagus and almonds in olive oil. I sprinkled on salt, pepper and some Parmesan cheese onto my asparagus.

Remove these just before the almonds get too dark. Place them in the bottom of a glass casserole dish. Rinse some boneless chicken breast and sprinkle with oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees. I sauteed the chicken on the same skillet just until the outsides were beginning to brown. The inside will not be cooked through. Probably about 5 minutes is good. At this point the rice will be done.

Pour the rice on top of the asparagus and almonds. On top of this you can choose to put a few scoops of condensed cream of chicken soup. I only used about 1/3 of a Campbell's can and it was plenty. Place your not fully cooked chicken on top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and more cheese.

Cook in the oven about 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.

Enjoy!

Baked Chicken, Rice, Asparagus and Almonds Pics

American Chop Suey

Um... delicious?! This is one of my dad's favorite dishes. What unbelievable slop! haha. But seriously, it sure is comforting.. and easy to make!

This recipe is for ~6 adults (we wanted leftovers)

First I got the pasta water boiling and used up some opened pasta boxes I had - orecchiette and elbows (~1 lb). I think most chop suey is made with elbows but I was just using what we had. Once that started I got some beef (~1 lb) going on a skillet. I kept breaking it up so it wouldn't get chunky. Once there was no more pink I poured out the fat and then added chopped vegetables. I used two stalks of celery, 1 tomato, 1/2 bell pepper, and 6 chopped hot cherry pepper slices (not whole peppers!). Within a few minutes I also added tomato sauce and some tomato paste (just eyeball it - like a true chef!). Once the pasta was cooked I mixed it, sprinkled some cheese - and voila!

Steak and Asparagus

Well, I have been going to the gym a lot so I feel great, but I also know I am a bit of a bread/pasta and hence carb fanatic (meaning I eat them a lot, not that I count them - hah!). So this meal made me feel like a lean, mean, fighting machine. My mom told what she does with the asparagus... and it was delicious! Sometimes I can be a reluctant vegetable eater but this was so good.

Dan manned the steak. He drizzled on olive oil, and then added sea salt, pepper, garlic pepper and thyme. Probably a lot healthier for us than steak sauce. He cooked it on the grill. The asparagus was my project. First I washed them and then I snapped off the ends. I just bend each one so it naturally breaks. I learned it from a cooking show. They said it was better than cutting it because you naturally remove the woody part of the stalk. Makes sense to me! I leave the top on because I figure it's just as healthy. I'm not really sure why some people cut it off. Then I put these into a bowl and I add olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. I just mix it all together with my hands. Then I lay them out on parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet and bake them at about 400-450 for about 15 minutes. They were so delicious. I sprinkled some more cheese on just before they went in the oven. yumm

Hot Vodka Penne with Ham and Veggies

We made this two nights ago when we were especially starved. We had ham leftover from the panini so I came up with this little concoction. It was really, really yummy and filling. Definitely a winner. We had it last night too - just as good.

First I turned on the heat for the pasta water. On a frying pan I sauteed some peppers, onions and the chopped ham in olive oil.
After about five minutes I added vodka sauce from the jar, fresh spinach leaves, and two hot cherry pepper slices (we have a bunch  leftover from the arrabbiata last week!). I just kept stirring that on low heat while I cooked my penne. It thickens the longer you go (that's what she said). Add together and sprinkle on some cheese... so good! There is just that light bit of heat from the pepper, flavorful green pepper and ham, and that creamy goodness from the vodka sauce. This is one you will cook again!

Perfect Panini

Well... I think it is anyway. I guess not if you are a vegetarian. This is easssyyy. We made two panini and had left over cold cuts.

For 2, with leftovers:
1/8 lb ham
1/8 lb hot soppressata
1/8 lb provolone
1 tomato
pieces of fresh mozzarella
wheat bread
basil

We have a Cuisinart but you can make these with George Foreman Grills or Panini Makers. Butter the outsides of your bread. Inside place your meats, cheeses, basil, and tomato slices. Cook on medium-high heat until the cheese begins to melt. I like to leave mine in for a minute or two after this because it gets nice and crunchy. Enjoy!

Sunbeam Mixer

Well, this isn't a recipe - but it's still art that is related to food. My dad restored this old Sunbeam mixer. It was a piece of junk before he got his hands on it. Now - magic! I even have the original manual that came with it. Now that is classy. I also have the fixed up Junior mixmaster (handheld) in white, which I use a lot. Can't wait til we have a bigger kitchen and I can have this prominently displayed.

Beautiful Pizza on Focaccia Bread

Such an easy dinner - and an easy way to get some veggies. Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees. On focaccia bread spoon out some traditional spaghetti sauce, then cover this with the meats and veggies of your choice. Here we have hot soppressata, onion, peppers, and tomatoes. Toss on some chunks of fresh mozzarella, drizzle some light olive oil, and of course, put on some oregano. Cook until cheese is melted - obviously the longer the crunchier. mmmm.