Ravioli Primavera

Vegetarian cuisine doesn’t have to be mung beans and brown rice. How about some lovely and light lemon basil ravioli with some sautéed vegetables? This is a great summer dish, using whatever you have in your garden or find at the farmer’s market.

Overall this is an incredibly easy dish. Having said that, I did make my own pasta for the ravioli. If you have made your own pasta dough and used a pasta machine in the past, then this will be a piece of cake. If you haven’t tried making your own pasta and ravioli, then this is a perfect recipe to get you started.

Here is my old-fashioned, hand-crank pasta maker.

Lemon Basil Ravioli

For the pasta:

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for working the dough)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (lemon infused oil optional)

In a large bowl whisk the flour and salt. Mound the flour and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well and add the olive oil. I used a really tasty lemon infused olive oil. It adds a great flavor to the pasta. Of course you can always use plain olive oil. Just make sure it is the best quality you can find. Working from the inside out, beat the eggs gently with a fork and incorporate the flour from the inside of the well.

The eggs are in the well! Time to begin mixing the dough.

When the liquid has been incorporated into the flour, turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Consider this a great arm workout! Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pasta dough ready to rest for 30 minutes.

While the pasta dough is resting, make up the ricotta filling.

Lemon Basil Filling

• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped fine
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to use. Easy!

Assembling the ravioli:

Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Starting at the widest setting on the pasta maker, run the dough through the machine. With each pass reduce the setting by one until you are at the thinnest setting. Place the strip of dough on a floured surface and cover with a damp paper towel while you roll out the two remaining pieces of dough.

Place teaspoons of the ricotta filling on the dough, equally spaced apart. Place another strip of pasta on the top and gently press the dough around the filling. If you have a ravioli cutter, cut the ravioli out. If you don’t have a cutter, then cut the ravioli into squares with a knife. Place the filled ravioli on a parchment covered cookie sheet.  Collect the scraps of dough and re-roll. Fill with ricotta filling as outlined above. Place the ravioli in the freezer until ready to use.

Assembling the Primavera:

Saute your favorite vegetables in a heavy skillet. Here is what I used.

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, sliced very thin
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP butter
• 1/2 cup white wine, I used a unoaked Chardonnay
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil and butter. When the butter melts, toss in the vegetables. When they begin to soften, add the wine. Cover and keep warm while you cook the pasta.

Lovely color!

Boil salted water and add the ravioli. Cook until the ravioli floats – about 5 minutes. Plate the pasta and cover with the sauteed vegetables. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!

Fish Tacos

Let me just say that we make an AWESOME mango/papaya salsa. It is phenomenal with just about anything. Grilled salmon or chicken? Oh yeah! How about with a bowl of fresh tortilla chips? Love it!

While walking through the grocery store this morning we came across some really lovely fresh tilapia. The Dude and I decided right then and there that it was going to be a fish taco night that would include our mango/papaya salsa. So easy, light and delicious. You are going to love it!

Here is the super easy recipe for the salsa.

Mango/Papaya Salsa

• 1 mango, nice and ripe – peeled, seeded and diced small
• 1 papaya, also nice and ripe – peeled, seeded and diced small
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced fine
• juice of one lime
• 1 – 2 TBSP cilantro to taste, chopped fine
• dash of salt

Toss all of your ingredients in a bowl and there you go. I like to make it early in the day so that the flavors have a chance to get to know each other better.

Look at those colors! And the flavor? Like a taste of the tropics!

Here are the ingredients for our de-li-ci-ous fish tacos.

• fresh tilapia, pan-fried (you can also grill your fish)
• 2 tsp canola oil for frying the fish.
• mango/papaya salsa
• shredded lettuce
• corn tortillas, warmed up as you wish – I put mine directly on the gas flame for just a few seconds to get some grill marks
• sour cream for garnish

Saute your fish over medium high heat – watch it carefully, it will cook fast! Set out all your ingredients,  start an assembly line, and create a masterpiece.

Light and delicious. The mild tilapia is a great base for the salsa.

Banoffee Pie

One of my favorite movies of all time is Love Actually. It stars some of my favorite actors, including the divine Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, and Keira Knightley. In the movie, Keira Knightley’s character mentions a Banoffee pie. For the longest time I’ve been wondering… what the heck is a Banoffee pie? Well, I found out and it is stupendous! Best part, you never have to turn on the oven. This is a plus since it’s been a fantastic spring weekend with warm weather and sunshine. Who wants to be tied to the oven on a day like that?

This pie does take a bit of time as you need to let it cool in phases. Since I had flowers to plant in the garden, this was a great dessert to make. I could work a bit in the kitchen, then head outside and plant marigolds. Win-win! So, the name? This pie contains sticky toffee, bananas, whipped cream and mini-chocolate morsels for garnish. Banoffee! You’re welcome!

Banoffee Pie

FOR THE PIE CRUST:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 10-oz. package of digestive biscuits, such as McVities brand

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• ½ cup (4 oz) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 14-oz. can condensed milk, such as Carnation brand
• 4 bananas
• 1 pint heavy cream
• Mini chocolate morsels or grated chocolate

Make the crumb crust: Crush the digestive biscuits in a food processor until you get a fine crumb texture. Transfer to a bowl and stir in melted butter. Press into a 9″-diameter spring-form pan with a removable bottom. Press the mixture up the sides of the pan with the back of a spoon. Chill the crust in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Crust ready for the refrigerator. Couldn’t be easier!

Make the toffee: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and melt over low heat. Add the condensed milk and bring the mixture to a boil for a few minutes, stirring continuously. The toffee should darken slightly. Pour the filling into the crust. Cool and chill again for at least one hour until the caramel is firm.

The toffee is so buttery and silky smooth.
Oh my!

To serve, remove the tart from the pan and carefully transfer to a serving plate. Slice the bananas and place them in a single layer on top of the caramel. Whip the cream and spoon it over the toffee and bananas, sealing the filling in. Sprinkle the top of the pie with mini chocolate morsels or grated chocolate.

The bananas are ready to join the party.

The whipped cream and chocolate for garnish. Delicious!

Okay, so here is the thing – the toffee is super sweet. But the crust isn’t and the banana adds a natural sweetness that compliments the plain whipped cream. It really balances out. Serve with coffee or a nice cup of tea – Earl Gray is my favorite.

Panini – Quick/Delicious/Easy Dinner

You know how it is. Sometimes you get home from work and you just can’t face the production of making a big dinner. But, you don’t want the expense of dinner out or unhealthy fast food options. In that case, let me tell you about a yummy alternative to all that. Paninis! Yep. Those lovely toasted Italian sandwiches that can include just about anything that is in your refrigerator. Grab a good cast iron skillet, a sandwich press (or a heavy heat proof object to press down the sandwiches), and Bob’s your uncle! Can someone explain that phrase to me? I’ve never understood it.

All I had to do was stop at the bakery and pick up a loaf of ciabatta bread and some provolone cheese on my way home from work. The rest came from my refrigerator. This dish is totally improvisational so what I’m listing here as ingredients are just a suggestion. Get creative!

Eileen’s Panini

• 1 loaf of Ciabatta Bread (cut in sandwich size servings and split in half)
• Extra virgin olive oil for brushing the inside and outside of the bread
• Tomato (sliced for sandwiches)
• Basil leaves
• Provolone cheese
• A variety of cold cuts. I used prosciutto, hot capicola ham, and Genoa salami
• Steamed asparagus

Heat your cast iron skillet over medium heat. You don’t want the pan too hot or you’ll burn the bread before the ingredients inside get nice and warm. You are going to want that cheese to get nice and melted. Brush your bread with the olive oil, inside and outside. Layer your ingredients. I like to start and end with cheese. It helps keep the sandwich together as it melts.

Place the sandwich in the hot pan and press down with your sandwich press.

Carefully flip the sandwich when it gets nice and toasted. Continue cooking until your cheese melts and the bread is toasted. Transfer sandwich to a cutting board and cut in half.

This is such a delicious and quick dinner option – or lunch for that matter! And for you vegetarians out there, this is a great option for you. Replace the meat with other cheeses, loads of veggies, maybe even some tempeh for extra protein. Anyway you slice it, this sandwich works for every taste!

Spring Chicken

Finally! After days and days of gray, rainy, cold days – we’ve finally gotten a fairly spring-like day. Partly sunny and – if you believe the weather man – it will be in the 70′s today. While I should be out in the garden today, I’m feeling a bit lazy. Yesterday The Dude and I went to the third annual Brewfest in Michigan City, Indiana. Let’s put it this way – it’s the first time I was not the designated driver. Suffice to say I enjoyed the full range of brews on hand. There were some very good beers – I especially enjoyed the Downtown English Brown Ale from a great local brewer, Iechyd Da (pronounced Yacky Dah). I learned that Iechyd Da is a Welsh toast, similar to Cheers, Salute, or the ever popular Here’s Mud in Your Eye! What do I know? They have some great beer!

Due to the celebratory nature yesterday, I woke up this morning, grabbed some coffee, and plopped down in the living room, hell-bent on doing very little. Of course, I turned on the Cooking Channel looking for some inspiration. I found it! A lovely roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots and herbs. Courtesy of Jaimie Deen, the adorable son of the equally adorable Paula Deen. It’s easy and tasty. Can I say that this dish feels very “French Bistro?” Simple and oh so tasty and PERFECT for a lovely spring day. Let’s get cookin’!

Butterflied Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

• 1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 fingerling potatoes, cut in half horizontally
• 2 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced in half through the root
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon butter

Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and remove the innards from the cavity. Pat dry with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven.

Use kitchen shears to cut out the backbone of the chicken. You can do this with a heavy chef’s knife, but take it from me, the scissors make quick work of the task.

Lay your chicken open like a book on your work surface, skin-side up. Flatten the chicken with your hands with firm pressure; you should hear a cracking noise. Sprinkle the chicken with the rosemary and fennel seeds, and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Butterflied chicken. Couldn’t be easier with those trusty kitchen shears. Seasoned with rosemary, crushed fennel seeds, salt and pepper!

Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes. While the skin side is searing, sprinkle the other side with rosemary, fennel, salt and pepper.

While the chicken is searing, add the potatoes, carrots and shallot to a bowl along with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss well, making sure that all the vegetables are coated well with the oil. Flip the chicken and add the vegetables to the skillet.

Chicken is browned and surrounded by the veggies. Ready for the oven.

Roast the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Meanwhile, place the skillet over a burner and set to medium heat. Add the white wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in chicken broth. Reduce by half, or until the gravy coats the back of a spoon. Swirl in the butter at the end of simmering for a richer taste and glossiness.

Carve the chicken into pieces and serve with the vegetables and the gravy.

Moist, tender, so flavorful! I love the blend of rosemary and fennel. Really, you need to make this!

Pistachio Gelato

Gelato. A wonderful gift from Italians. 25 years ago I had my first bite of honest to goodness, real gelato at a shop in Rome, right by the Pantheon. It was a religious experience! Now, while I can’t get the exact consistency of that yummy gelato I had back then (it must be something about Italy that brings out the best in cream, eggs, and sugar), I found a recipe that comes so darned close that I felt I was back in that sunny square, enjoying my first bite of this heavenly dessert. Pistachios and orange zest give this gelato a light, bright flavor that is a perfect ending for an early spring meal.

I found the recipe I’m sharing with you today in one of my absolute favorite cookbooks – Williams Sonoma Mediterranean Cookbook. I have probably used this cookbook more than any other in my library. It has fantastic recipes for appetizers, main dishes, and desserts.

Pistachio Gelato

• 1 cup unsalted, raw pistachios
• 1 TBSP orange zest
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to  350 degrees. Spread the pistachios on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until pistachios begin to toast up. Cool and rough chop.

In a sauce pan combine the milk, heavy cream, sugar, orange zest and 1/2 cup of the chopped pistachios. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let it rest for one hour.

Orange zest and pistachios infusing the milk mixture. It smells so good!

Strain the milk mixture and return the liquid to the sauce pan. Discard the orange zest and pistachios. Heat on low to a simmer. Beat egg yolks in a bowl. Ladle a 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs and whisk quickly to temper the eggs. Add the egg mixture to the rest of the milk and simmer, but do not boil until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon – about 5 minutes. STIR CONSTANTLY. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl – pour through a strainer to collect any residual zest or egg. When the mixture has cooled someone, cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic to the surface to prevent it from forming a skin. Refrigerate for 4 hours or up to one day until very cold.

The custard is ready to chill. Look at that beautiful creamy yellow color.

Prepare your ice cream maker according to directions. Add the vanilla and almond extract, along with the 1/2 cup of pistachios to the milk mixture. Pour into ice cream maker and process. You can serve it immediately, or return to the freezer to harden further after it finishes in the ice cream maker.

The ice cream maker is doing its thing!

Final product. What can I say? The lovely, nutty pistachios, accented with the hint of citrus from the orange zest. So delicious – and worth the wait!

Goin’ Old School

I’ve been feeling nostalgic in the kitchen lately. When thinking about what to whip up for Sunday dinner, I thought about growing up and dinners at my Grandma Smith’s. Her menus were always stick to your ribs, good old fashion meals. Chicken and dumplings, chicken fried steak and gravy, wilted lettuce salad, and one of my all time favorites, stuffed cabbage! Since I have a gorgeous head of savoy cabbage in the crisper I figured let’s go old school for dinner!

There is nothing like cutting into those little packages swimming in a sweet and sour tomato sauce and finding a moist, meaty filling laced with rice. Ahhh…. I feel like a kid again!

Stuffed Cabbage

For the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
• 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large head green cabbage or Savoy

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck
• 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup Minute rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Remove the core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water for a few minutes, peeling off each leaf with tongs as soon as it s flexible. Set the leaves aside. Depending on the size of each leaf, you will need at least 14 leaves.

For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, eggs, onion, breadcrumbs, rice, salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix lightly with a fork.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To assemble, place 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling in an oval shape near the rib edge of each leaf and roll up toward the outer edge, tucking the sides in as you roll. Place half the cabbage rolls, seam sides down, over the sauce. Add more sauce and more cabbage rolls alternately until you ve placed all the cabbage rolls in the pot. Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with the lid and bake for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked and the rice is tender. Enjoy!

Ready for dinner. The sauce is such a great blend of sweet and sour. The beef is so moist with the addition of the rice. Tastes like home!