Tortellini in Artichoke Sauce

I am not a fan of using creamed soups in recipes. My mom and Nanny never cooked that way but when Steve told me that this is his favorite dish I decided to give it a shot. His mom found the recipe in a magazine years ago and it wasn't her cooking style either but I'm glad she was brave enough to try it out! I've been making this dish for a couple of years now and it has become one of my favorites. I lighten it up by using 98% fat free soup and a little more chicken broth. I don't usually measure the broth just add it until it's the consistency I like. Since this is one of Steve's favs I actually buy two packages of tortellini (he eats one on his own!) but still use the same amount of sauce. I also add more prosciutto because we love it and it adds a lot of flavor to this very simple dish.

I hope you love this as much as we do. We all need a dish that doesn't take a lot of time to put together but still has big flavor and this is just that!



Here is the original recipe. Follow it as it is written, use my changes or make your own. Either way it will be fabulous!


Tortellini in Artichoke Sauce


Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ tsp. dried crushed Basil leaves
2 tbs. Olive Oil
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) condensed Cream of Celery Soup
½ cup chicken broth
1 can Artichoke hearts, drained
3 – 4 slices prosciutto, cut in strips
¼ cup sliced Black Olives
4 cups cooked tortellini


In saucepan, cook garlic and basil in oil a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients except tortellini. Heat through stirring occasionally. Toss with tortellini.

Makes 3 ½ cups.


Happy New Year to my readers...old friends AND new, and to your families! Thank you to my parents, my sister and my brother for always reading my posts and being supportive of this new project! Thank you all for giving me a reason to keep posting! Thank you to my Nanny, Emilia, for inspiring me to start this blog. May she Reast in Peace.

Be safe! Have fun! Talk to you in 2009!!!

No. More. Cookies.

Berry Pavlova

To break up the decadence that is christmas cookies, I made a pavlova one night, using this recipe with the addition of ~1/3c unsweetened coconut at the end. Thinned a little apricot jam by warming it in the microwave, then piled it high with blueberries, blackberries and pomegranate arils. I was on cloud 9 ;-) hehe!


More on how I get my arils in the next post...

7 Layer Cookies aka Rainbow Cookies

I promise you they DO have 7 layers. Let's count. Chocolate, green, jelly, white, jelly, red, chocolate...see, there are 7!!! This recipe comes from my other Italian Grandmother. My Grandmother Josephine. I'm not sure where she got them from but I know it was someone named Rosemarie because the recipe I have says "Rosemarie's 7 Layer Cookies". I'll have to ask her if she remembers who that is she stopped making them years ago and passed it onto my mom who passed the job onto my sister and I. It wouldn't be Christmas for my family without these cookies and everyone who knows us always asks for them come Christmastime.

Like any other family we think our family recipe is the best. How could anyone not like their own family recipies they grew up on, right? Well anyway, our recipe is different from most because we do not use Almond Paste. Almond paste is the main ingredient (or only ingredient, I'm not sure) in Marzipan and Pignoli Cookies. I just can't aquire a taste for that but lucky for me our recipe uses almond extract. The almond flavor isn't as in your face as some bakery versions in my very humble opinion. Whatever it is or isn't I know this...they are good! Great even! They take some time (and patience....right Danielle?) but they are well worth it.

I read on someone else's blog that they like to cut them with a serrated knife. I thought I'd try it. It would be good if you wipe off the knife every time which I just don't have the patience for. So, you can see that it messed up the look of them a bit but they were still great tasting. My suggestion for slicing would be to take them out of the fridge once they chocolate is hard and let it warm up a bit before slicing. If you don't do that you'll have some cracked chocolate. It isn't the worst thing in the world but if you want them to look as good as they taste you won't want that.

One more thing before I post the recipe (I know, I know, I'm babbling today). On Sunday I complained to my Cousin Donny's wife Nicole that my layers aren't always even. She said that she puts weight on them to press them together. I will try that next time for sure. Thanks Nicole for the tip!

Okay, Okay, here's the recipe!!!


Rosemarie's 7-Layer Cookies


1 ¼ cup flour
3 eggs (large)
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons almond extract
2 sticks (melted butter)
1 jar apricot butter or preserves or seedless raspberry preserves
6 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon of oil
Red and green food coloring


3 pans 11x7x1 ½ or approximate size

Mix in bowl with electric mixer (if desired), flour, sugar, almond extract,
eggs, melted butter.

Separate into 3 bowls evenly. After which you leave one bowl plain, in 2nd
bowl add 8 drops of red and the last bowl add 8 drops of green coloring.

Then in greased pans (or parchment lined pans) pour mixture so it covers all of the pan evenly. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.

Remove from oven, on wax paper on foil, first turn over green layer, coat
lightly with apricot, then white layer over that and coat with preserve.
Last red layer melt chocolate in pot with 1 tablespoon of oil. Coat one
layer with chocolate, refrigerate until hard then turn over wax paper or
foil. Coat second layer, let it get hard then cut and slice.

Potato Pierogies

Any thoughts on the new header? I've been meaning to do something for awhile and played around last night... Now, onto the excitement that is homemade pierogies :)

These are present at many family gatherings, not just christmas! My great grandmother used to make them all, but she never let anyone watch... so we've had to adapt it from several sources to get ones that closely match the ones she used to make! While you can put many different fillings inside these, the two most commonly at our table were potato and cabbage. Since I didn't like cabbage as a kid, these quickly became my favorite and the ones I enjoy making now. I tried to take some photos along the way to illustrate the process...

The filling

The dough

The dough rests while you clean the mess

Rollin and cuttin

Assembled

Up close and pinched

*drool*

Potato Pierogi
Yield: 48



Filling:
3c mashed potatoes (cook ~2lb yukon gold potatoes in well-salted water, drain **SAVE WATER** & mash)
10oz cottage cheese, drained
3 slices american cheese
1 onion, sauteed in butter

Mix all ingredients together. Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until needed.

Dough:
6c AP flour
1-2c potato water (saved from boiling the potatoes, see above)
2 eggs, beaten
2t salt

Make a well in flour, add salt, eggs, and 1c water. Mix well to make soft dough, adding more water if needed. Knead until smooth and does not stick (you may need to add more flour). *Today I made another batch (made too many potatoes last time!) and did most of the dough mixing in the mixer with the dough hook. It worked well and contained the mess, so that was nice! I added some of the flour, salt, eggs, water, then added the rest of the flour a cup at a time. It came together and started pulling off the walls of the bowl. Then I took it out onto a floured surface and added some more flour until the dough was no longer sticky.* Cover with a dish towel and let sit a few minutes.

Clean the counter, line 2-3 baking sheets with wax or parchment paper, get a glass or cookie cutter (I think the glass I used was ~3" in diameter). Dust your working surface with flour, and get ready to roll :)

Cut dough ball in half, working with 1 half at a time. Keep dough that's not being used covered. Same goes for pierogies as you make them. Roll out dough on floured surface (i'd guess it was about 1/8-1/4" thick) and cut rounds with glass. Stretch out rounds a bit in your hands, and fill with ~1T filling (this will depend on the size you use). Seal edges and pinch with fingers for the scalloped edge, or press with the tines of a fork. (If you do different fillings, this is a good way to differentiate them) Place pierogies in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.

You can do one of two things at this point, cook them immediately (7min in boiling salted water) or freeze them on the baking sheets. Since I was doing these by myself, I stuck them in the freezer, and a few hours later, repackaged them into freezer bags for safe keeping. When ready to eat, cook the frozen pierogies in boiling salted water for ~7min, or until they float. Drain and then toss with onions cooked in butter. Once you have these, you just can't have them any other way!!

Fontina Risotto Cakes

This is the second year that I've made Fontina Risotto Cakes for Christmas Eve and everyone loves them. I think this will definitely make it on the menu every year. I found this recipe at Epicurious but I believe the recipe originates from Bon Appetit Magazine. The recipe is almost perfect and I got about 14 little cakes. The only thing that you should know is that it takes a little more time to make the risotto than the recipe says. So you will need a little more chicken broth or stock. I used the stock in the box and used the whole thing. I'm pretty sure that there are 3 cups in there. This is a great appetizer and is excellent for a potluck. I fried them in the morning and reheated them in the oven at my sister's house. They were still crispy and not the least bit soggy. To save time I made the risotto and formed the cakes the night before.

Fontina risotto cakes with fresh chives

Bon Appétit | December 2004

Makes 10 servings

3 cups (about) low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
1/2 cup (packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 large egg yolk
2 large eggs
Canola oil (for frying)
Additional grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh chives

Bring 3 cups broth to simmer in small saucepan. Reduce heat to very low; cover and keep warm. Heat olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine; stir until absorbed, about 30 seconds. Add broth, 1/3 cup at a time, and simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more, and stirring often, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in 6 tablespoons Parmesan and butter. Season generously with salt and pepper. Spread risotto in 13x9x2-inch pan and cool completely.

Mix 1/2 cup panko, Fontina cheese, parsley, chopped chives, and 1 egg yolk into risotto.

Shape into 1 1/4-inch balls; flatten to 2-inch rounds. Arrange on rimmed baking sheet. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 250°F.

Set another rimmed baking sheet in oven. Beat 2 eggs in shallow bowl to blend. Place 1 cup panko in another shallow bowl. Dip risotto cakes into beaten egg, then into panko to coat. Pour enough canola oil into large skillet to coat bottom; heat oil over medium-high heat.

Working in batches, sauté risotto cakes until crisp and brown, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet in oven.
Serve risotto cakes sprinkled with cheese and garnished with chives.

Test-kitchen tip: These cakes owe their delicate, crisp coating to panko, which have a coarser, lighter texture than regular dried breadcrumbs.

Christmas Barszcz

In case you're interested, I (finally) added a search tool on the right side of the blog if you want to find anything you'd seen one time or another. I'm trying to come up with a better way to tag my posts, and create some sort of archive for the recipes I've featured. From the Christmas Eats, some of the dishes (the ones that weren't mine) have the recipe linked by name.

First up for the family meals is a polish soup that's present at most holidays. This is the mushroom-based Christmas version, likely the Easter one will follow around then :) Alot of this is "to taste," as you see in the recipe that mom had from my grandmother (click to enlarge)...


Umm, yeah :) Do you see any amounts or measurements?? I wondered if it was invisible ink, but no such luck. Mom guided me a bit, and I guesstimated the amounts I put in... and after some tasting and adjusting, it came out JUST like my great grandmother and grandmother used to make it, I was thrilled!!!


Christmas Barszcz
Reczek family recipe


~1/2c dried mushrooms
4c boiling water
scant 1T oil (I think i used smart balance oil, for a mild-flavored fat)
1/2c minced celery
1/4c minced onion
4c "kielbasa water" (water used to cook kielbasa, with the fat skimmed off- can be kept in the freezer)
3/4c evaporated milk
1 bay leaf
3 mushroom bouillon cubes
~1/4t dried dill
barley (?? we forgot about this until afterwards... but i think it's supposed to go in ;) )


Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms (or drop them in), cover with lid or saran wrap, and let sit for ~30min. Once they are reconstituted, roughly chop mushrooms (I ran my knife through 3 or 4 times). Reserve some of this liquid (I probably kept 1/4c or so out, but the exact volume isn't important) and mix well with 3T flour.

Add oil to large pot over medium-low heat. Saute onions and celery until softened, but don't brown them! Add remaining ingredients (the water-flour mix last) and adjust to taste. Be careful adding the mushroom liquid, as there may be some sediment at the bottom from the mushrooms that doesn't need to go into the soup. We also added one bouillon at a time, as the amount needed may vary depending on the mushrooms and broth (or water) that are used. I prepared this ahead of time and just kept it on low heat until the rest of dinner was ready! The flavor will deepen as everything comes together. Enjoy!

Christmas Eats

As mom is recovering (thanks for all the well-wishes!!), we stayed home this year and had a very nice, relaxing Christmas. I had a great time preparing the holiday meals, which weren't too extravagant, just included some of the favorites. Today will just be the pictures, I'll feature the family recipes soon!

Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas Barszcz

Shrimp- Dad's tradition

Potato Pierogies

Asparagus with Egg Topping

Cardamom Roasted Beets and Carrots

and a parfait!

I made some French Vanilla Mousse from a box, cooked down some blueberries to make a sauce, and layered the two with blackberries and pomegranate arils. Very yummy, and a nice way to end the night.

everything was SOOOO good, i did a happy dance at the table :)



Christmas Dinner

Ham with Champagne and Vanilla Glaze

Sweet Potato Salad

Roasted Green Beans and Peppers

and...

CHRISTMAS COOKIES!!
As requested by mom, I made:

Seven Layers

Snowballs

Flourless PB Blossoms

Christmas Oatmeal Cookies (with craisins and white chips sub'd for the cherries)

Don't be surprised if i don't do too much baking for awhile... :) Hope everyone had a wonderful couple days with loved ones as 2008 comes to a close!!!

White Christmas

I shoveled the porch the other night and couldn't help snap that picture of our front yard! Loving the beautiful-ness that is the snow :) If only the roads clear up a bit so I can get out for a run...

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday (whichever one you celebrate)!! Lots and lots of food coming soon, but for now I'm off to enjoy the family. Best wishes to you and yours!!

~~~
Until then, go comment on this post, to help Katie say ENOUGH to genocide.

Nick is also celebrating the big 100 by giving away peanut butter, so click on over!! As contradictory as that seems, it's nice of him to think of others at the time of this great accomplishment :)

Rosemary Lovin

Right before I left to go home, the heat of my apartment got to my Rosemary Tree :( I picked off all I could, and got to work!

I made some Rosemary Peanuts, based on this recipe, just using different nuts.


The bulk of what I had left went into some Rosemary Rolls, which were fantastic (yes, i had one fresh out of the oven! At least it was only 11pm this time :)) but I wish I had more rosemary in them! Nice crispy crust, fabulous texture (crumb?) inside, I was pretty excited at the way these turned out.



Rosemary Rolls
adapted from Two Fat Als
Yield: 12

1/2 packet dry active yeast
1/2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter, softened (I used Smart Balance 50/50, as that's all i have at the moment)
chopped fresh rosemary (I probably had ~1/4-1/3 cup, and could've easily added double that)
2 1/4c AP flour, plus more if needed (I needed more)
1c whole wheat pastry flour
1T vital wheat gluten
olive oil, for brushing (might also be good with some kosher salt dusted after the olive oil too!)

In a large bowl, add yeast to warm water and sugar and let sit ~5min, until foamy.

Add milk, egg, salt, butter, rosemary, 1c AP flour, 1c WW pastry flour, and gluten to the yeast mixture and stir. Add remaining AP flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough has come together and starts pulling from wall of the bowl. If it's sticky, add more flour as necessary. Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (8 min? i don't time it). Place dough in lightly oiled large bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in volume, ~1hr.

Grease a baking sheet. Once risen, deflate the dough and divide it into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball, and place onto the baking sheet. Cover the rolls with a warm, damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume again, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350, brush rolls with a bit of olive oil, and make cross-hatches on the dough with a knife (i wasn't very enthusiastic here...). Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.


And that about does it with the uni-colored food photos for the day!!

Millet

Another new grain, plus a recipe from one of my new books! Wow you guys are lucky ;-) This Autumn Millet Bake hails from Mark Bittman's How to Eat Everything Vegetarian, although before I had the book I found it on Heidi Swanson's site here (where she also wrote a glowing review of the book).


It was my first time trying millet, and it was good, reminded me alot of quinoa. Which, apparently can be substituted in the recipe if you have that on hand! Anyone else tried millet? This is also another great dish that can be made ahead of time. The tartness of the cranberries and the sweetness of the squash made for a nice pairing. So go check out the recipe! I'll have to do a more formal review of the book once I can pick out some more recipes... too many that sound fabulous!



In the mean time, this image came as part of an email advertising winter cycling wear and I thought it was hillarious!!

Butter Cookies

I've been really slow at doing everything for Christmas this year. I still haven't finished shopping, I didn't send out any cards, I didn't get to make edible gifts like I thought I would BUT I did find the time to bake some Christmas Cookies with my sister, Danielle and her three beautiful children, Sofia, TJ and Emily. We had a rough start and had to make a couple of runs to the store to replace a broken hand mixer and a missing cookie press but alls well that ends well. We had a great time, the kids had fun decorating the cookies and eating them!



This recipe has been in my family for years. I'm not sure where my mother got the recipe from but it's been around for as long as I can remember. Usually we use a pastry cutter to mix the dough but we tried using a hand mixer and found that the cookies were much lighter and softer. I will definitely use a mixer from now on.

Butter Cookies


1 cup confectioners sugar
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla. In a seperate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to butter sugar mixture a little at a time until all the flour is incorporated.

If you would like add food coloring to a portion of the dough or all of the dough. We like to do different colors for different shapes so we mix the color in batches. Add dough to cookie press and follow directions to press cookies.

Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate chips or whatever you like.


Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Let it Snow!!

It's beginning to look a LOT like christmas :):) I'm loving the snow outside right now!!! I got to walk home in it ~3 and by the time i got to my apartment, I looked like a snowman :) how fun!

Before I forget, two very important things. Another easy way to give, go comment on MizFit's site here. She'll be donating to a domestic violence shelter. Second, a shoutout to Erin, who sent me some of that infamous trail mix (it's as dangerous as it seems...) and some Super Charge Me Cookies!! How she knew I've been meaning to try those, I don't know, maybe she's psychic! Both of the delicious goodies refused to be photographed, they didn't want to make everyone jealous :)

Oooh, you came here for the food? Right. Well I feel like I haven't been feeling the creative bug in awhile, but when I came across these I had to pick them up!


Then it was what to do with them... I was immediately thinking cookies (witches hats), but didn't really think the peanut butter was the right pairing. I thought almond would be the best flavor base to go with these, and while I toyed with the idea of using almond butter, here's how they ended up...


Chocolate Raspberry Almond Shortbread
adapted from my aunt's Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies

1c butter, softened (I used Smart Balance 50/50 sticks)
3/4c sugar
1t almond extract
2c AP flour
1/2t baking powder
1/4t salt
Dark Choc Raspberry Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 400deg. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Combine the first three ingredients (butter, sugar, extract) into the bowl of a mixer and beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed and add flour mixture. Beat until well mixed.

I used a cookie scoop (probably ~1t) to scoop out cookies onto a cookie sheet, 1" apart or so. Bake 7-9min, until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1minute while you top the cookies with kisses, then remove from cookie sheet.

Look at how ooey-gooey they got!!!

A note on the Smart Balance Sticks... they seem to have different melting properties than butter. In recipes like this, where you cream the butter and sugar, it seems to work just fine. Be careful, however, when melting it for other recipes, it happens quickly and splatters!

Blogging out Hunger Campaign - We Can't Let This Bank Fail!

Deb from Jersey Bites coordinated a blogging campaign to help make people aware that the community foodbank of New Jersey is in need of some help. Click here to read her post.

I don't have to tell you that times are tough for everyone right now but what you may not know is that food banks are suffering more than ever. More people are in need of a warm meal and there are less people who are helping to provide those families with food. These people are in our own communities even here in New Jersey.

Did you know:

At the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), requests forr food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. - CFBNJ

Warehouse shelves that are typically stocked with food are bare and supplies have gotten so low that, for the first time in its 25 year history, the food bank is developing a rationing mechanism. - CFBNJ

In New Jersey alone, an estimated 250,000 new clients will be seeking sustenance this year from the state’s food banks. – “No Food on the table,” By Judy Peet, The Star-Ledger, Oct. 23, 2008

What you can do to help:

• Donate money.
• Donate food.
• Host a food drive.
• Spread the word.
  
  
  To find a local food bank in New Jersey click here

To help out the Community Food Bank of New Jersey see their website.

Participating Bloggers for “We Can’t Let This Bank Fail” campaign

1) JerseyBites.com

2) RedBankGreen.com

3) Jersey Girl Cooks

4) Simply Sable

5) John and Lisa are eating in South Jersey

6) Padma's Kitchen

7) Chefdruck

8) Life Lightly Salted

9) My Italian Grandmother

10) Cook Appeal

11) Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars

12) Mommy Vents

13) This Full House

14) Paper Bridges

15) Motherhood Avenue

16) The Kamienski Chronicles

17) Down the Shore with Jen

18) Fits and Giggles

19) House Hubbies Home Cooking

20) Nourish Ourselves

21) Partybluprints.com

22) Tommyeats.com

23) Off the broiler

24) Mrs. Mo’s New Jersey Baby

25) IamNotaChef.com

26) SimplyBeer.com

27) HistoryGeek.com

28) Savy Source Newark

29) Momlogic New Jersey

30) SurvivingNJ.com/blog

31) SurvivingNJ.blogspot.com

32) JerseyGirlGuide.com

33) Best of Roxy

34) Citizen Mom.net

35) Lynetteradio.com

36) Jersey Beat

37) Pop Vulture Phil

38) JerseySmarts.com

39) LongBeachIslandSummers.com

40) WildwoodSummers.com

41) Mike Halfacres Blog

42) Somerset08873

43) Family, Friends and Food

44) KateSpot.com

45) NewJerseyMomsBlog.com

46) JCRegister.com

47) New Jersey Real Estate Report

48) Riverviewobserver.com

49) More Monmouth Musings

50) Man of Infirmity

51) Another Delco Guy in South Jersey

52) SweetNicks.com

53) Average Noone

54) Cleary’s Notebook

55) Welcome to my Planet

56) The Center of New Jersey Life

57) Sharon’s Food Blog

58) Morristown, Chatham, Summit, and Madison NJ Real Estate

59) Midtown Direct Real Estate News

60) New Jersey Real Estate

61) BlowUpRadio.com

62) LazlosDen.com

63) The Ridgewood Blog

64) Book a Week with Jen

65) Banannie

66) Cartoongoddess.com

67) Matawan Advocate

68) Take Back the Kitchen

69) The Joy of Toast

70) Route 55

71) Montclair Kids.com

72) SaveJersey

73) Stompbox

74) Joe the Blogger

75) Environmental Republican

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77) Subversive Garden

78) New Jersey Pathfinder

79) Cooking With Friends Blog

80) Triple Venti

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82) Rich Lee on Media

83) Likelihood of Success

84) Cape Cuisine

85) The Business At Hand

86) NewJerseyTaxRevolution

87) Figmentations

88) MiddletownMike

89) Caviar and Codfish

90) A Day in the Life

91) Mack’s Journey Through Life

92) Alice’s Restaurant

93) Tiger Hawk

94)Politics Patrol, The Bob Ingle Blog

95) The Food Chain

96) Henson’s Hell

97) Cranbury Conservative

98) Baristanet

99) New Jersey: Politics Unusual

100) Jersey Shore Blog

101) Plainfield Today

102) Beacon Bulletin

103) Journal Square Jersey City 07306

Pizza Pizza

While I love any and all squash(es?), I never would've thought to put it on a pizza. Galette? sure, but something never clicked in my head. My awesome aunt was the one who introduced this Roasted Acorn Squash & Gorgonzola Pizza to me, and I can't thank her enough, it's fabulous!!!

a peek inside

Here's my lazy version:
Roasted Acorn Squash & Gorgonzola Pizza
adapted from Giada
Serves 1 (as a side or part of a meal... if you have my kind of appetite;-))

1/2 acorn squash (sliced thin, mixed with 1/2T maple syrup, 1/4T olive oil, dash red pepper flakes, roasted at 375 until tender... this was done the day or two ahead of time)
1 pita
gorgonzola
handful of spinach, tossed with a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette (I didn't measure, but you don't want it too heavy, just for a little flavor)

Top pita with gorgonzola (as much or as little as you like, I think I had ~2T or more on a medium-size pita) and toast until warm and melty. Meanwhile, warm acorn squash (if prepared ahead of time) slightly. Top pita with acorn squash then the balsamic-dressed spinach. Dig in!

Sweets for dinner?

I have no idea where I came across this recipe, but I'm guessing it was in the bulletin boards of Cooking Light... I can't believe how tender the pork was--I couldn't slice it, it was just like buttah and fell apart instead! Easy peasy, and it'll be ready when you come home starving from work/gym/errands :) I thought about throwing in some fresh herbs at the end (sage, thyme, or rosemary), but I couldn't make up my mind and left it out. Might've added a little something-something ;-)

Apricot-Glazed Pork Loin w/Sweet Potatoes

From Cooking Light Slow Cooker Cookbook, 2004

Serves 2

3 c cubed sweet potatoes
1/2 c apricot preserves, divided (mine was apricot-peach, I bet cherry would also be fantastic)
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1 bay leaves
1/2 lb boneless pork tenderloin or pork loin, trimmed

Place sweet potatoes, 1/2 c preserves, and 1/4 tsp salt into a slow cooker. Toss well. Add bay leaves. Arrange tenderloins over sweet potatoes; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Spread 1/2 c preserves over tenderloins. Cover with lid; cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low and 7 hours or until pork and sweet potatoes are tender. Remove pork from slow cooker and slice. Discard bay leaves. Serve pork with sweet potatoes and sauce.

Who's Auntie Anne anyways?

Did I conquer my fear of yeast?? A foccacia here, flatbread there, some pizza dough that wasn't half bad, and now this... I think I just may have! I think the pizza dough was the best learning experience for me. I'm still not overly-comfortable, but with an open package of yeast after my flatbread and a rosemary tree, I jumped at the chance to make some homemade pretzels :) These have been on my "to-make" list for awhile now, so now was as good a time as any.

pre-bake

I followed a recipe from Baking Bites, via the Peanut Butter Boy, cutting it it back to 1/3 as to account for the amount of yeast I had left (why i didn't just open another package i don't know...). Also threw in about 1T rosemary as that's in abundance right now :)


There's something about homemade bread that smells freakin fantastic, and is so irresistable when it comes out of the oven that there's no denying it, even if it is midnight!! (yeah, i started them a bit too late!). SOOO good warm, I'd recommend eating them this way :)

spooky, no?

And if you're not a reader of Jaden's Steamy Kitchen yet, you should be! Here's a reason to start, she's hosting a HUGE Holiday Giveaway with a bunch of really fantastic products that would be such a treat to recieve.

Another fabulous blogger Zesty is also having a giveaway to celebrate 100 posts!! Go visit his site for the details, and check out his yummy recipes while you're there :)