Smokey Walnut Spinach Pesto

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dinner, easy meal, food, foodie, garlic, gouda, pasta, pesto, postaday2011, quick & easy, quick meal, recipe, side dish, spinach, walnut

Exhausted tonight, I needed something that was quick to make for dinner. The fridge and pantry were sparse and I had some fresh spinach that needed to be used. Pesto it is! After all, pesto doesn’t have to be pine nuts and basil.

Smokey Walnut Spinach Pesto

Ingredients:
1 lb. linguini, 1/2 c. olive oil, 1/2 c. walnuts (toasted), 1/2 c. smoked gouda, 2 c. fresh baby spinach, 1 clove of garlic, lemon zest, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
In food processor blend together ingredients. Cook pasta according to package directions. Pour sauce over fresh hot pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with fresh grated cheese and serve.

I’m hoping to bake again tomorrow… What are your Friday plans?

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Breakfast On The Go

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breakfast, brunch, cheese, food, foodie, meal, pastry, postaday2011, quick, quick meal, recipe, roll, sausage, sausage rolls

Got breakfast?
Back to school is the perfect time to play around with quick grab and go options. And breakfast rolls have so many possibilities, it’s difficult to get bored. Any combination of meat, cheese, veggies, and condiments will work. You can prep these ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze. Simply microwave in the morning and enjoy.

Breakfast Rolls

Sausage Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry (or other quick baking dough), turkey breakfast sausage, cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard

Ham Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, turkey ham, swiss cheese, Dijon mustard

Pancake Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, turkey sausage, maple syrup

Monte Cristo Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, turkey ham, smoked turkey, swiss cheese, provolone, maple syrup

Apple Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, apple slices, cheddar cheese

Banana Roll Ingredient:
puff pastry, banana, peanut butter

Bacon & Egg Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, cooked turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, any cheese or condiment

Berry Roll Ingredients:
puff pastry, red raspberries, dark chocolate chips (just a few)

Breakfast Roll Directions:
Cut the dough into rectangles, layer with condiment, cheese and meat. Roll dough up and press closed. Place seam side down and bake about 375°F for about 10 minutes, or refer to dough directions.

What combination are you going to create?

 

Puff Pancake with Pear, Pomegranate & Dark Chocolate Drizzle

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breakfast, brunch, easy meal, food, foodie, fruit, gourmet, gourmet pancake, pancake, pears, pomegranate, pomegranate seeds, postaday2011, puff pancake, quick meal, recipe

Yesterday we had our first snow day of the year… Yay, I got to make and have brunch on a weekday!

Pears are one of my favorite fruits, so are pomegranates… so it’s about time I paired (no pun intended) them. Since last week I made flat pancakes (AKA: crêpes), this week it was time to make big puffy ones. That’s right, not just fluffy, but also puffy! I baked my puff pancake in a glass pie dish, since my cast-iron skillet is somewhere in storage (I’m wary about using my stainless steel skillet in the oven…).

Puff Pancake with Pear, Pomegranate & Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Puff Pancake Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter softened, 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. milk, 1/4 c. light brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. almond extract, 1/8 tsp. fresh ground sea salt

Puff Pancake Directions:
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Mix together flour, salt and nutmeg and set aside. Mix together milk, eggs, sugar and extract. Slowly mix flour mixture to milk mixture. Let dough set. In oven, melt butter in pie dish. With pot holders remove from oven and coat dish with melted butter. Pour batter into hot pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Return dish to oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings. Slice to serve.

Toppings:
Top with your favorite seasonal fruits, whipped cream, dark chocolate drizzle, or a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
*I chose diced red and Anjou pears, pomegranate seeds, dark chocolate drizzle and a bit of fresh whipped cream.

Plain Puff Pancake

I decided serve  my puff pancake with crispy oven-baked turkey bacon. The smokey salty flavor balances well with the sweetness of the puff pancake. The crispy and chewy texture of the bacon also plays well against the soft and puffy pancake.

*If you use vanilla extract instead of almond extract, add a pinch or nutmeg.

What did you do yesterday?

Shrimp & Corn Chowder

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chowder, corn, dinner, easy dinner, easy meal, food, foodie, lunch, one pot meal, one pot recipe, postaday2011, quick dinner, quick meal, recipe, rivels, seafood, shrimp, soup, supper, sweet corn

Every restaurant has a different variation of this recipe, some appease my palate more than others. Hubster doesn’t like  seafood or soup and he’s avoiding creamy foods now, so this was the perfect recipe for me to indulge myself. Afterall, I had some leftover shrimp from New Year’s Eve and some leftover champagne (which I used in place of the white wine). So New Year’s Day, I whipped up a batch, here’s my version of Shrimp & Corn Chowder.

Shrimp & Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. shrimp, 2 Tbs. butter, 1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning, 1/4 tsp. celery seed, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 10 oz. sweet corn kernels, 4 c. soup stock, 1 c. white wine, 2 c. heavy cream, 1 tsp. fresh chopped parsley, rivels, 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:
Melt butter in soup pot over medium heat. Saute shrimp and add Old Bay, cook until done. Remove shrimp from pot and add chopped peppers, sauté until softened. Add white wine and simmer. Add stock and corn, bring to a boil. Return shrimp to pot (you can leave them whole, but I prefer them chopped). Add cream and stir throughly. Drop in rivels, boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Mix 2 Tbsp. of the broth with 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch and then return mixture to soup. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

What warms you up on a cold winter night?

Pasta alla Carbonarra

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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?