Sunday, April 19, 2009

Savory Bread Pudding with Mushrooms and Parmesan Cheese

You can view the complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/236494

Ingredients
1(1-pound) loaf crusty country-style white bread
1/4 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 large garlic clove, minced
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms (such as crimini, button, portobello, and stemmed shiitake), thinly sliced1
1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (I used about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (I substituted half & half)
8 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (I used 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cut bottom crust and short ends off bread and discard. Cut remaining bread with crust into 1-inch cubes (about 10 cups loosely packed). Place cubes in very large bowl. Add oil, thyme, and garlic; toss to coat. Spread cubes out on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and slightly crunchy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Return toasted bread cubes to same very large bowl.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté until soft and juices have evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add sautéed vegetables and parsley to bread cubes.

Whisk heavy cream, eggs, salt, and ground pepper in large bowl. Mix custard into bread and vegetables. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Sprinkle cheese over.

DO AHEAD Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake stuffing uncovered until set and top is golden, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes.


Bon AppétitNovember 20062006-10-30 17:01:35.0

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Pasta e Fagioli

Recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law and Rachael Ray with many changes

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
* 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves
* 2 dried bay leaves
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 small carrot, finely chopped
* 1 rib celery, finely chopped
* 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
* Coarse salt and pepper
* 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
* 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce and 1 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
* 1 quart vegetable stock
* 1 1/2 cups ditalini

Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil. Brown the herb stems, bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add beans, tomato sauce, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes. Thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks. Remove herb stems and bay leaf from soup. Let soup rest and begin to cool for a few minutes. Cook pasta separately and add to soup.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Meat and Vegetable Pasties (pronounced with a short /a/)

This recipe is a blend of a few different recipes, from allrecipes.com, and I added ground beef from the family cow to add flavor and make it more filling. I included gravy, as the crust can get dry, and it makes the mixture more moist.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 turnip, peeled and diced, I substituted a rutabaga, as this has more flavor according to mom-in-law
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp. water
1 cube chicken or vegetable bouillon
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1/2 pound of ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of Pillsbury ready made pie dough (in rolls in refrigerator section)
1 egg, beaten (not provided)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot, rutabaga, potatoes, and mushrooms. Add water, bouillon cube, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes. Add meat and shut off heat (don't worry about meat not being cooked through, it will finish cooking when baking). Allow filling to cool completely, or the pie dough will fall apart!!

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Roll out each pastry sheet on counter with dusting of flour underneath. I rolled the pastry dough a bit thinner with rolling pin, and cut in half down middle. Place about 3/4 cup of filling in 1/2 circle, and then fold over and pinch edges. Repeat with the last three dough pieces.

4. Place on baking shet, and brush with egg.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Lemon and Olive Chicken

This is from: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/favorite-lemon-and-olive-chicken?xsc=eml_edf_2009_03_24

It takes just a few minutes more to make a big batch of this Mediterranean-style chicken than it does to prepare a small one. Eat half now; freeze the rest. You can store this chicken frozen for up to six weeks. When you're ready to serve it, thaw, then put in a pan with water to coat the bottom; cover, and simmer until hot.

Serves 8
8 bone-in chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup green olives, pitted and halved
2 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. In two batches, sear the chicken, skin side first, until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Cut the lemons in half lengthwise and then into thin slices crosswise. If the skillet is dry, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onions and garlic, and cook over medium heat until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in lemon slices, olives, stock, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Put the chicken on top of the vegetables, pour in any accumulated juices from the plate, and sprinkle with thyme and crushed red pepper. Cover, and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Changes I made: I used 3.5 lbs of boneless chicken, used black olives, and omitted the water. Serve with couscous (provided) and a delicious green vegetable.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Mediterranean quiche -

1 pie crust
3/4 cup crumbles tomato basil feta cheese
6 sun dried tomatoes chopped
3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 eggs
3/4 cup of half and half (can also make with milk- I used half and half, who counts calories ;))
1 tsp. oregano (forgot this)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 package (9 oz) frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (I used 9 oz. of canned)

1. Place baking sheet on rack of lower third oven. Heat oven to 425.
2. In large bowl, whisk together half the feta cheese, the sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, garlic, eggs, half-and half, oregano, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Scatter artichokes hearts and remaining feta over bottom of pie pan, carefully pour in egg mixture. Place on heated baking sheet in oven.
3. Bake at 425 for 30 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and top is slightly golden. (usually takes longer than 30 min. to bake)
4. serve warm or at room temperature.