Love on a plate - Rigatoni with mushrooms and sausage

This recipe was inspired by my sister-in-laws mushroom appetizer dish that she got from Mario Batali's recipe. I made it for my family on Valentine's Day so it was love in a dish. It was everything I thought it would be - creamy, cheesy, mushroomy.

Oven to 375
2 cups dry rigatoni cooked according to package
1 box mushrooms - diced
4 sage leaves finely chopped
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp thyme
1 garlic clove smashed
1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup sherry or white wine
1 pat butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parmasean cheese

1. Brown sausage
2. Add mushrooms, onions, garlic and cook until soft
3. Add broth, wine, thyme and cook until liquid has reduced by 1/2
4. Add rigatoni, butter and add sour cream when butter is melted and combined
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in oven x 25-30 minutes at 375

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ok, this is the same recipe as for the lime pie but with lemon juice from 3 lemons and I did more curly cues with my butter knife on this one. Thus, the lovelier picture is here. And I was unable to see my graham cracker crust in my jumble of a pantry (yes I worked on it this weekend) and used a frozen regular pie crust in the back of my freezer. I put 2 drops of yellow food coloring in the filling to make it more sunny. This one turned out so TASTY - the perfect lemon pie.

Lime Pie

Cold winter weather and the New Year make me feel like eating...lime pie! I have never made a meringue pie and whenever I have eaten one (in a restaurant or somewhere else) I have never cared for the meringue part at all. After trying this one, I have changed my mind. Meringue is such fun to make...





Lime Pie (from Better Homes and Gardens 11th edition cookbook)

3 limes, juiced (1/3 cup)and 1/2 tsp zest
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs separated

graham cracker crust

1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tater
6 T sugar

1. Mix lime juice, zest, milk, & egg yolks and pour into crust.
2. Bake 325 for 30 minutes. Take out pie and heat oven to 350
3. After letting egg whites sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, mix with vanilla, cream of tarter in stand mixer. Move to whipping setting and add sugar 1 T at a time slowly as meringue forms.
4. Spread over warm pie and seal the filling in by spreading to the crust
5. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until browned
6. Cool 1 hour and then may serve or refrigerate.

Cupcake Fun

I got a stocking stuffer that is a device that hollows out the middle of a cupcake so that you can put a filling inside. I had never heard of this, but I think I did it right. I also discovered, that when you eat a cupcake like this that if you can eat and control your desired frosting level you eat.

Also with the hollowed out pieces of cake, you can make a layered cake dessert (my daughter saw the jarred ones on pintrest) in a cup that is also fun and yummy.

EASY No Boil Lasagna

1 package Deallo No boil whole wheat organic lasagna noodles
1 bottle De Cecco marinara sauce
1 pound italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups mozarella
1/2 cup parmasean
1 cup ricotta
1 tsp olive oil

Oven 350

1. Brown sausage, when almost done, add garlic and mix.
1.5. Brush olive oil in pan
2. Layer - sauce, noodles, sausage, cheeses x 3 and top with sauce
3. Bake covered with foil 55 min, uncovered 10 min
4. Rest 15 minutes before serving

I made a 9x9 and loaf pan for freezing. I used about 2/3 of the noodles total

Homemade Baked Donuts

Christmas morning - Donuts and bacon on the menu!



I got to finally visit a Sur la Tabe store recently (have shopped in the catalog for many years) and bought a donut pan. It's by Wilton and it's a little darker than I like for my over (more chance of overbrowning), but it's been great fun. the picture shows the darker donuts are actually the underside - need to figure that out - probably the dark pan.

I had initially bought the "gourmet" donut mix with at the store just to try it out and it turned out lovely but dense donuts. Since I have played with my own mix of it and like mine even more as they are lighter in texture. I almost can't screw it up unlike other types of baked goods. I know this year cake pop makers are all the rage, but I like donuts!

The recipe reminds me of muffin ones and people (like my kids and husband) seem to just love the donut shape even though it is not the usual deep fried ones from the store. I have always been a fan of the cake donut, esp blueberry and cinnamon ones.

Oven 400
1 donut pan
1/3 stick butter, melted + 1 pat melted in a small dish
pastry brush
1 egg
1 cup prepared baking mix (Bisquick/ Jiffy)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 t cinnamon + 2T sugar

1. Whisk egg in bowl
2. Add melted butter, sugar, mix
3. Add baking mix and milk on top and mix
4. Pour into pan and bake 11-12 minutes (golden brown)
5. Brush with melted butter and dip both sides in cinnamon sugar mix

Makes about 9 donuts

For blueberry lemon - add 1/2 cup blueberries and squeeze 1 wedge lemon

Bread Pudding with pears and walnuts

1/3 stick unsalted butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 T vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Hawaiian dinner rolls, cubed
2 cups milk
1/2 cup walnuts
2 pears, peeled & diced

Oven 325, 70-90 minutes

Melt butter in 9 inch glass pie pan
mix in eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk, cinnamon
Add bread, walnuts, and pears, making sure bread is soaked on all sides

Bake covered with foil x 1 hour then uncover
Ready when it is not too jiggly. It will puff up and then deflate after you take it out.

Beef au jus

2.5 lb chuck roast
1 can beef broth
1 packet onion soup mix
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 c red wine

Brown roast and combined with rest of ingredients in slow cooker
Cook low 6-8 hours
serve sliced/ broken up with rolls and sauce for dipping

Quick Spaghetti & Meatballs

1 regular sized jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce
4 roma tomatoes peeled and chopped
12 frozen meatballs (regular flavor)
Boiled spaghetti noodles for 4
grated parmasean cheese

1. Heat sauce on medium and add meatballs and tomatoes.
2. Cook about 20 minutes until tomatoes break down
3. Serve with noodles and cheese.

I made this for fuel after getting back from New York City and eating some of the best Italian-American food of my life. It inspired me to "doctor" up some of the normal every day dishes I cook for my family of 4. The fresh tomatoes elevated the jar sauce to new heights.

Brownie Bliss

1 box BC Fudge Brownie Mix
Follow directions and add 2 T flaxseed meal with the water.
You may want to let the meal and water sit a bit to get gooey. This apparently is a common egg substitute used in baking. But in the recipe you are kind of adding an "extra" egg with this to make the brownies cakier. Also it boosts the fiber content.
Bake as directed in a 13x9 pan and slice up with a plastic knife after cooling a bit.

Emerald Almonds

I have never been a big fan of almonds. They always had an off taste/ staleness to me or they were oversalted and had the fake smoke chemical added to them. YUCK! In recipes and dishes they were almost often reduced to tasteless ovals that were almost soggy...green beans almondine anyone? The only way I liked it was in almond cookies. That has all changed sinces I discovered Emerald Almonds. They are salty, crunch, almondy nutty and wonderful just out of the can or in my chicken recipe below.

Apricot Almond Chicken Tenders

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
3 Tablespoons Soy sauce
1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 pats butter
1 Tablespoon cooking oil (I use canola)
20 almonds (dry roasted, Emerald is my favorite brand), pulverized in food processor (I have used a coffee grinder)
3 Tablespoons apricot preserves
1/3 cup chicken broth

1. Marinate chicken with soy sauce overnight
2. Place flour in a plate and dredge chicken in the flour
3. Heat up a pan to medium-high heat with the oil and 1 pat butter
4. Sautee chicken until cooked
5. Remove from pan and keep warm
6. Put 2nd pat of butter in the pan
7. Add almonds and cook a bit, being careful not to burn them
8. Add preserves and chicken broth and stir. Cook over medium heat until sauce reduces to desired consistency
9. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve with rice

Serves 4

This recipe was inspired by food someone made for me while I was on bed rest at the end of my pregnancy. Although I was grateful for the food, my taste buds let me know that this dish could be much better. About that time, my husband brought home some really delicious dry roasted almonds to snack on, and my mother came to visit and brought a jar of apricot preserves from one of her friends. After I had the baby and could cook again, I came up with this. This is one of the few dishes I have invented and been able to reproduce consistently again and again, each time delicious and delectable.

What to do with a blob of ground chuck

Dinner, dinner...what to do. In my kitchen, handy to cook --- 1/2 pound of defrosted ground chuck.

How about some chopped steak (a dish that seems to be disappearing from the typical American menu...replaced by grilled/ baked chicken breast?!).

Heat up cast iron skillet at power level 7 on the dial (out of 10)
Sprinkle salt and pepper on bottom
Separate and mash beef into 2 patties
Put in pan
Thinly slice 1/2 an onion
In a cup with a lid combine 1 cup of cold water, 1 packet of brown gravy mix, and some leftover Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Shake to combine
Flip meat after 5 minutes of cooking
Add onions
cook 5 minutes more
Add gravy mix, lower heat to 3 and cover.
Cook until it looks right to you (about 5 minutes more)

I served 2 with steamed white rice to sop up the gravy
Husband very satisfied and happy.
Couldn't take picture, all food eaten

Pot Roast with Aged Beef

I bought a piece of beef the other day as my husband is a big fan of cow. I perused my Cooks Illustrated book "THE BEST RECIPE" for some ideas on cooking this chunk of chuck. I was intrigued by their blurb on dry aging beef at home. Sounded good to me, risky because of what I might be putting in my stomach, but hey, I was feeling adventurous. So I laid the beef on a rack, put it over some paper towels on plate and left it in the back of the fridge uncovered for 3 days. (That was the minimum recommended, and I didn't feel comfortable going longer that that. I followed their instructions and turned it each day and today I took it out for an exam. There were dried parts and greyish parts. My greatest fear would be that it would have that STINK that ground beef gets when it was too old. No stink so I proceeded to slice off the dried bits, actually about 1/4 inch off all the way around. I lost about 1/2 a pound of meat in the process. Well, I hoped it would worth it.

I found a nice recipe by Tyler Florence on foodtv.com and followed his technique with a few substitutions/ omissions. Mind you, I have never made pot roast before. I love Tyler F., not only for his attractiveness, but because his recipes work and taste good. 3 hours later, a nice smell filled the house. I plated the veggies, put the meat on the carving board to rest a bit and turned the pot juice into gravy. I didn't even taste test that much. I had faith. We sat down to dinner and I had a piece of the very tender beef. YUM! So rich in beefy flavor and such a nice texture. I really wonder if it was the aging. I will try next time without aging and see what happens. All the beef was eaten by the end. I guess it was a bit expensive (one piece of meat to feed 2 people cost $6.50), but it was better than some steaks I have had.

Good Humor Ice Cream Rocks

I was perusing the ice cream department this afternoon at my local Wallyworld and came upon a 2 for $5 deal on half gallon ice cream. Groceries have gotten noticbly more expensive lately that I have been wheeling and dealing. It was a new brand (or maybe an old brand I haven't noticed before), Good Humor (I have heard of the old Good Humor bars) and I picked up a box of Neopolitan to try in the spirit of the Winter Olympic Games being held in Torino, Italy. On the box it said "soft and creamy." Well, of course ice cream is soft and creamy, DUH. My dh and I tried some for dessert:

SOFT!
CREAMY!
Softer and creamier than any "hard" ice cream, texture almost like soft serve
YUMMY!
The chocolate is really rich and satisfying.
I must say, the best NEOPOLITAN I have ever had.

WHAT A DEAL!
CIAO!

Baby Food, 2 experiences

So you might think I am a GRANOLA, HIPPIE mom after reading this one, but actually I make baby food because I like to cook. I do feed jar food too as I have not perfected the recipes for the GREEN foods.

Sweet Potatoes with Ham

Boiled water (about 1 cup I think)in a pot with a steamer basket on top.

Peeled and cubed 2 sweet potatoes.

Added to steam basket and cooked until soft. Combined them in a blender with 2 tablespoons brown sugar (light) and the water from the pot. Added a can of Underwood Deviled Ham spread. Blended until smooth. Add formula if too thick or rice cereal if too thin.

Placed in ice cube trays and covered with saran wrap. Put in freezer until hard. Bust out the cubes and bag em up.


Cream Corn and Chicken

1 can of cream corn with some leftover roasted chicken (about 1/3 of a breast and some dark meat thrown in) into a pot and I simmered for about 30 minutes on low heat.

Blend in blender with some formulua to thin and pour into the ice cube trays as above.

TO PREPARE CUBES

I heat in the microwave on AUTO defrost. Number of cubes = level number.

Huevos Rancheros

I was watching Rachel Ray on 30 minute meals the other day and she was making this, calling it "Ranch Hand Eggs." What a gringa! Well, here's my version because I had a craving for it at breakfast this morning.

Get out sauce pan and dump rest of Pace Picante sauce into bottom. Add a smidge of what was left on the bottom of the Pace Picante Salda Squeeze bottle. Add a few tablespoons of water. Heat to simmer.

Crack 2 eggs into the sauces. cover and lower heat. One of the egg yolks busted. Oh well...

Put some tortilla chips in a pan and place in toaster over. Toast. Overtoasted a bit, but nice smell in wafting into the kitchen. Put chips in a bowl.

Eggs are done poaching. Pour into bowl on top of chips. Top with shredded cheddar. Serves ME.

Not too bad, sauce a bit acidic, still on hunt for perfect salsa. Perfect salsa was once tasted when I was 14 and my best friends dad made it from his own garden tomatoes.

What is food improv?

Food Improv is my way of cooking. I look around in my pantry and frig and come up with dishes with what I have. OR I have an idea of what I would like to eat and put some things together. I think it is more technique and flavors and experimentation than anything. I am just a regular gal who likes to eat well and blow off some stress in the kitchen. My cooking genres include Italian, Chinese, Mexican and American (microwave, bake everything in a pan at 350 for 30 minutes, and pop tops off of cans...just kidding, sort of) and I am open to learning more. I would also like to use this to share my opinions on things I eat that I may or may not cook/ purchase/ receive. I have gleaned a lot from other cooks and foodies in internet world and I wanted to share my adventures and maybe someone will enjoy something I have shared. Happy eating!