Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

Tags

autumn, chicken, dinner, food, foodie, gnocchi, Italian, lunch, recipe, seasonal food, soup

Autumn is officially here! And with that, soup is officially on my mind. Poor Hubster, he’ll just have to grin and bare it. Chicken & Gnocchi has been on my mind since we went to Olive Garden (last year) and I wanted to try it…. but they were out. So once again, this is not an Olive Garden copy cat recipe. This is my variation of what this yummy soup should be…

Chicken & Gnocchi

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken breasts (cooked and cubed), 2 Tbs. butter, 4 Tbs. flour, 3 c. vegetable or chicken stock, 1 pint of heavy cream, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 c. shredded carrots, 1 c. diced onion, 2 c. fresh baby spinach, 1 tsp. celery seed, 1 Tbsp. parsley, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat until tender. Add the flour and make a roux. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding heavy cream, carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the broth. Gnocchi cooks quickly, so cook it now in a separate pot. Once soup has thickened again, add the gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning. Simmer and serve hot.

Serve with focaccia bread and a crisp salad.

What’s on your table tonight???

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Garlic Knots

Tags

bread, dinner, dinner rolls, entree, food, foodie, garlic, garlic knots, Italian, postaday2011, recipe, side dishes, vegan, vegetarian

For dinner I made a spinach & cheese lasagna for myself and a traditional one for Hubster. I thought about making garlic bread, but thought garlic knots would be more fun. I couldn’t find the recipe I had book marked to try, so I used my focaccia bread recipe as the base of my garlic knots and improvised from there.

Garlic Knots

 

Ingredients:
4 tsp. yeast, 4 c. flour, 4 Tbs. olive oil, 1 3/4 c. warm water, fresh ground sea salt, garlic powder, minced garlic, oregano

Directions:
Mix together yeast, 1/2 c. flour and 1/2 c. water. Cover with a warm moist towel and store in a warm area for 1/2 hour. Mix in remaining, flour, water, and some salt. Knead dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes. Oil dough and place in a metal bowl, cover with warm moist towel and store in a warm area for about an hour. Preheat oven 400°F. Grease baking tray. Using floured hands roll out dough. Rub top with EVOO and sprinkle on the garlic powder, fresh ground sea salt, and oregano. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 2″ thick strips. Knot and tuck each piece of dough and place on baking tray. Press minced garlic on tops. Bake for about 15 minutes and serve warm.

 

 

 

Cherry, White Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Tags

biscotti, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipes, Christmas, Christmas Brunch, Christmas tradition, food, Holiday, holiday tradition, Italian, recipes

It’s time for the annual teacher’s holiday breakfast today. Last year I made almond biscotti with chocolate chips, some were even chocolate dipped. This year I made that again, but I also made a cherry, white chocolate & almond biscotti. Mmm… I used the same recipe as last year just switching around a few ingredients. I didn’t have very good lighting here, and there’s no natural lighting right now, so I apologize in the lack of quality photography.

Cherry, White Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 c. white chocolate chips, 1/2 c. dried tart cherries, 1 beaten egg white

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk and almond extract together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and almond bits. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs to flatten and then brush beaten egg on tops and sides. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

I hope there are a few pieces left over so I can eat them tomorrow morning with my tea before I dive into my last minute Christmas preparations…

What Christmas traditions do you have at work?

Pasta alla Carbonarra

Tags

10 minutes recipe, American cuisine, angel hair, carbonarra, carbonarra cream sauce, cream sauce, easy meal, easy pasta, food, Italian, pasta, pasta alla carbonarra, pasta dish, quick meal, recipes, turkey bacon

10 minutes meal
Traditionally served with spaghetti or fettuccine, I use what ever pasta is on hand (angel hair cooks fast). The sauce is traditionally made with a raw egg and not cream, but I can’t seem to stomach that idea. My Carbonarra is sounding more American than it is Italian. However, I didn’t forget one crucial ingredient, (that most Americans omit) black pepper… let me rephrase that, lots and lots of black pepper. Also, I had to omit all the American additions that I feel take away from the integrity of the dish, peas, mushrooms, etc… Okay, so I’m trapped somewhere between American carbonarra and true Italian carbonarra… This is how Hubster and I enjoy pasta alla carbonarra.

Pasta alla Carbonarra

Ingredients:
package of turkey bacon, 1 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. chardonnay, 1/2 c. grated pecorino romano, 1 Tsp. minced garlic, fresh chopped parsley to garnish, generous amounts of fresh crackled black pepper, freshly ground sea salt, paprika

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Tear bacon into small pieces, place in a medium saucepan and heat until crisp. Add garlic and mix. Add cream, wine, cheese, pepper, parsley and salt. Simmer over low heat, stir frequently. Once pasta is drained, toss into carbonarra sauce and coat thoroughly. Transfer pasta into bowls, top with another pinch of fresh chopped parsley, fresh grated pecorino romano and just a hint of paprika. Enjoy!

What is your favorite American take on an Italian Classic?

Almond Biscotti

Tags

almond biscotti, biscotti, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipes, Christmas, Christmas Brunch, Christmas tradition, Holiday, holiday tradition, Italian, recipes

The last day of school before break, we have our annual Christmas Breakfast. Everyone brings something and the men cook the eggs, pancakes and meat. Thank goodness for the family consumer science room. All teachers, retired, current and new mingled across several classrooms as we enjoy our early bird time before the students arrive. Last year I made two quiches, but didn’t have time to heat them in the morning and each person had to heat up their individual slices. This year I decided to make biscotti.

I looked through several biscotti recipes and improvised with the ingredients that I had on hand.

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips, 1/2 c. almond pieces, 1 beaten egg

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk and almond extract together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and almond bits. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs to flatten and then brush beaten egg on tops and sides. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

Almond Biscotti

*Drizzle melted dark chocolate on top or dip into chocolate (I dipped the tops of half my biscotti).

Check out Riotflower’s biscotti.