Lazy Turnovers

Let me just start out by saying that I never have (and probably never will) attempted to make my own puff pastry. I'm far too lazy for that.

I was at lunch and overheard someone talking about the best pastry they ever had: chocolate hazelnut and cream cheese. The idea stuck.


Puff pastry (from a box), Nutella, cream cheese.


Puff pastry (from a box), Nutella, peanut butter, bananas.









These were definitely different, and the cream cheese version was the favorite. Not bad for 5 minutes prep and 15 minutes bake time.

Paula Deen's Fried Egg and Avocado Sandwich

Monday, I had to have a delightful (read the sarcasm) medical procedure, which required no eating for 48-hours before. Luckily, my last meal was an awesome family dinner in celebration of my grandfather's birthday. My contribution was stuffed pork chops, which turned out great! I didn't get to eat the red velvet cake (my favorite) or the Au gratin potatoes, and was starting to feel sorry for myself, but I overcame.

So, I fasted for two days, all the while watching Food Network (I'm a glutton), and though EVERYTHING looked delicious, one recipe stuck out in my mind. Well, two, actually, but this Fried Egg and Avocado Sandwich was killing me. A fried egg, tomato, bacon, avocado, on toasty bread with oniony cream cheese? Count me in. During my procedure I had been anesthetized, and apparently I'm not as susceptible to the sedation, so I was given an extra kick of sedative. I woke up an hour earlier than most people do, so I'm told, and the first thing I said was - I WANT THAT SANDWICH! In my haze, I listed off the ingredients and my lovely husband ran to the store and picked everything up.



I fried the eggs, my husband threw the bacon in the oven and after about 10 minutes we ate the single most delicious sandwiches that I've ever tasted. And then I went to sleep at 5:00 in the afternoon and didn't wake again until 8:00 this morning. I started to think, "OK, that sandwich was only that good because you were so damned hungry." Naturally, I tried the sandwich again the second I woke up and it really is every bit as good as I've already said it is. I added a little more avocado and fried the egg to over-easy - mmm perfection.

Family Macaroni Shrimp Salad

My mom made this a lot when I was growing up, mainly for family parties and holidays. This is my version, made to go along with Easter dinner.

Macaroni Shrimp Salad

1 lb. salad macaroni (ditalini), boiled with 3 TB. Salt, drained
1 bunch green onions, quartered and sliced very thin (my mom hates the texture of onions)
1 6 oz. can black pearl olives, sliced
5-6 large eggs, boiled for ten minutes, chopped
1 medium cucumber, seeds removed, small chop
2 cans mini shrimp, drained

Toss all ingredients, then fold in:

Dressing

Combine:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 TB. milk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Berries with Lemon Cream

Continuing on with my lemon obsession, this is something I made last Friday for dinner with friends:

The topping is a mixture of 1 cup of cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of honey, 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste and one tablespoon lemon extract.

The berries are: 2 packages frozen mixed berries, cooked over medium heat with 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 c. coconut rum and 2 tablespoons orange liquer until a bit of liquid leeches out, but not all the way warmed through. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then add 1 pint sliced fresh strawberries and 1 cup fresh blueberries.

I made a dieters version of this a week prior, using a small amount of cream, nonfat milk, honey, plain gelatin, lemon and vanilla flavorings. I used splenda in the berries and omitted the alcohol... the full fat version was obviously much better.

Fingerling Potato Salad

While I'm not very motivated to blog, I do find myself thinking, "I should blog this!" every so often. This dish is something I threw together in a hunger frenzy and it is now in my top 3 potato salads...

I didn't do any measuring here, but the gist of this is: combine the juice of 1 large lemon, 1/3 olive oil, salt and pepper. Boil mixed fingerling potatoes, drain, slice in half and while still hot, toss in the dressing. Add halved grape tomatoes and crumble in some feta cheese. It's not exactly pretty, but it IS delicious!

Green Beans Almondine for Holly

During the holidays, I make a green bean dish for the family potluck. I've been making this dish for five or six years, I figure, and for the past.. 2.. years? my sister-in-law, Holly, has been asking me for the recipe. I've never written down a recipe for these green beans, so here's my best attempt (finally) - I haven't made these since Thanksgiving, but as best I can remember, it goes like this:

Green Beans Almondine for Holly

4 bags frozen green beans (cut not french cut)
2 cups chopped ham
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
2 pkgs. slivered almonds
zest of two lemons
juice of 1 lemon
4 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat and add the slivered almonds. Toss in the dry pan until the almonds become fragrant and turn slightly golden, set aside.

In a large skillet, brown ham over medium heat until slightly dry, remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat oil and add onions and about 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Saute until translucent, then add lemon zest and garlic; continue to saute for another 2 minutes.

In the meantime, fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil. Add about 1/8 c. salt and all 4 bags green beans. Boil for about 4 minutes, then drain well and combine with the ham, onions and lemon juice. Let cook together in pan over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes. Taste to test for salt and pepper - add more as needed.

I like to sprinkle over a little extra lemon zest and garnish with lemon wedges.

***

I'll update with photos in the next holiday season.

Lemon Saffron Risotto with String Beans

My absolute favorite meal at any restaurant is the Seafood Risotto at Corbin's (more for the risotto than for the seafood). This has prompted me to attempt to make a similar tasting risotto at home. Today is my 8th wedding anniversary (yay!) so I took a day off work and finally had the time to attempt my favorite dish. I looked up a few risotto recipes and couldn't decide on one - what I came up with is a hybrid of the recipes I read, along with some of my own ideas (lemon instead of wine, extra lemon).

Lemon Saffron Risotto

2 TB. olive oil
2 TB. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 sm. garlic clove, grated
1 c. arborio rice
3-4 c. Chicken Stock (low sodium)
1/4 tsp. saffron
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

juice of 1 1/2 lemons

1/4 tsp. salt

Add the chicken stock, salt and saffron to a sauce pan and bring up to a slight simmer. In a separate sauce pan, melt the butter into the olive oil and add the onion and garlic; lightly saute until the onion is translucent and tender. Stir in the arborio rice and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly, making sure not to brown the onions or rice. Add juice from 1 lemon and stir until absorbed. Pour in 2/3 cup chicken stock and stir constantly until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 2/3 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each batch of broth is absorbed. When the rice is tender (20-30 minutes), add the juice of 1/2 lemon and the Parmigiano - stir until melted. I also added another 1/2 cup of stock to add to the creamy texture.

String Beans (Hericot Vert)

1 lb. string beans
2 tsp. olive oil
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp. salt

Steam green beans for 2-3 minutes. Add oil, salt and lemon zest to a frying pan and heat so the oil from the zest leeches into the oil. Toss the green beans in the lemon oil and let sit over medium heat for about 3 minutes, tossing occasionally.

***

This did come really close to the recipe I was shooting for, minus the excess of lemon juice (I even squirted a little lemon over the beans when it was all said and done), but it was perfect for my palate. This is going to be my new go-to carb when I'm having a hankering for starch!

Reintroduction to Food Blogging

After a year and a half of being entirely focused on work (new job, and all), I've realized just how much I miss food blogging. It really hit me when I was on a work conference trip to Montreal; the food was incredible and all I could think was how nice it would be to post some pictures to share.



And so it begins.... (again).

Basic Pesto

A while back I read somewhere that the best pestos are stone-ground. Now, I've only had pestos made with a food processor, so I decided to take the advice and give it a go. Turns out, it does make a bit of a difference - the flavors infuse into each other more, and the basil flavor is stronger because you've mashed the hell out of it and the juices have released.



A special thanks to my sister, who gave me this mortar and pestle for Christmas a few years back, and now it's become one of the most used items in my kitchen.



Basic Pesto

2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In the mortar and pestle, grind the garlic with the salt until it becomes a foamy paste; add the pinenuts and grind until they become a paste. Add the basil and grind until the basil is fine, then mix in the oil, pepper and, finally, the cheese. Refrigerate for up to a week.



I served mine over pasta with warm tomatoes - it was lovely. No calorie count on this one, I don't even want to know.

Sliced Orange Salad

Summer has been hot, but fun. We even had a garage sale at my mom's house, last weekend, which turned out to be CRAZY. So many people. Anyway, I'm back, if you can believe it, and I'm cooking/making a lot of things I haven't tried before, so yay for getting out of my cooking rut.



Sliced Orange Salad

Peel and slice a few oranges into rings, then toss with finely chopped parsley and green onions, and drizzle over a little red wine vinegar.. and season to taste with salt and pepper. Different, low on calories and yummy. Maybe I'll add some nuts, next time, I dunno.

I hope everyone is having a lovely summer, or whatever the season is where you live. My basil is alive and kicking, so I think it's pesto time...