Tasteful Tuesday: Italy

I have always dreamed of going to Italy. The land, the language, the history, and the food just fascinates me. Well, after last week and running around in a "chicken with its head cut off" kind of way I decided to not go all out this week. I made ravioli and let me tell you it was super simple and ready in about 20 mins.

There really isn't a recipe for this unless you make your own spaghetti sauce or want to venture and make your own ravioli and you can find that recipe here. I went to the frozen food section and found a bag of ravioli. They have beef, cheese, italian sausage, etc. so pick what you would like. Follow the cooking instructions on the package. Make sure to heat up the spaghetti sauce. And if you would like to add meat to the sauce make sure to brown/cook it before mixing with the sauce. Also allow time for the meat and sauce to simmer before serving. Add some delicious garlic toast and your meal is complete!

Stay tuned, next week we are venturing to Germany!

Tasteful Tuesday: France

So to continue our tour through Europe last night we made a stop in France. Boy is french cooking a lot of work. I feel that I burned more calories making the meal then I received eating the meal. I was so excited to have the food made that I forgot to take a picture before diving in. I made a delicious french chicken recipe followed by crepes with pear filling. One hint if you want to know if the recipe is french, it contains wine!

Ingredients

1 Chicken (3 lb / 1.4 kg) 1 Onion Carrots 1 oz butter (25 g) 2 tb flour 3 cups chicken bouillon or stock 1 cup dry white wine 1 parsley sprigs 1/2 lb mushrooms 2 egg yolks 1/2 cup whipping cream Lemon juice Salt, black pepper

Chicken Fricassee Recipe (serve 6)
Step 1: In a casserole or skillet, cook the carrots and onion in butter for 5 minutes over moderate heat. Cut the chiken in about 10 pieces. Add the cut-up chicken in the skillet. Turn it every minute for 4 minutes until slightly golden yellow.
Step 2: Lower heat, cover and cook very slowly. Turn the chicken once while cooking.
Step 3: Add salt, pepper and flour on both sides of the chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 4 to 5 minutes. And turn the chicken once during the process.
Step 4: Remove from heat. Boil the bouillon/stock and pour in over the chicken. Add the wine, parsley and just enough bouillon/stock or water to cover the chicken. Bring to the simmer. Cover and maintain for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Cook the mushrooms in butter with a drop of lemon juice. Retrieve the cooking juice of both the mushrooms and chicken. Simmer the cooking juice in a casserole for 3 minutes. Remove the fat from it. Then raise heat and boil, stir it well until the sauce reduces itself, enough to get 2 1/2 cups from it.
Step 6: Blend the egg yolks and cream. While beating it, add the sauce very slowly. Pour the sauce in the casserole again and cook at medium to high heat. Stir the sauce all the way. Boil for 1 minute. Add a drop of lemon juice and salt & pepper.
Step 7: Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetabbles. Heat the chicken fricassee if needed. Add butter before serving.

Basic Crepe Batter Recipe:

Pâte à Crèpes… Thin, light, and luscious!
This recipe is home base for all your fantastic crepe creations! Simple to make, and wonderful to eat!

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients (for about 15 crepes):
2 cups Flour
2 1/2 cups Whole Milk
4 Eggs
2 tbsp. Butter (melted)
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Vanilla Stalk or Few Drops Vanilla Extract (optional)
Vegetable Oil (for pan)

How to Prepare Batter:

1. Sift flour and mix with salt in a bowl.
2. Make a well and pour in eggs. Stir well.
3. Slowly pour in milk while stirring. Keep stirring batter until small bubbles form on the surface.
4. Stir in Butter.
Voilà!

NB The batter does not need to stand before using it. However, if you do let it stand, you will most likely want to add 1 tbsp. of water before cooking with it. General rule of thumb: if it seems thicker than cream, add a little more water, and/or a little more milk.

How to Prepare Crepes:

1. Pour a little vegetable oil on a folded paper towel, and wipe the pan evenly. Keep paper towel at hand while preparing crepes, in case you want to give it another wipe.
2. Pour in 2 - 3 tbsp. of batter and quickly move pan around, so that batter spreads evenly, covering the whole surface with a thin layer.
3. Let cook for about 1 minute. Then, flip with a metal spatula, and cook other side for about 30 seconds.

Repeat these steps until you are out of batter, stacking cooked crepes on a plate. Yum!

Variations:

Prefer whole wheat flour? No problem. You can substitute the white flour with your own favorite!

Serving Ideas:

Traditionally, a crepe is lightly topped, and then folded into quarters. Meaning, fold in half, and then fold in half again.

If you prefer, you can also top your crepe and then roll it up like a tortilla.

Of course, when you are using thicker fillings, you will probably just want to fold the crepe in half once.

Succulent Cinnamon Pear! (Filling for crepe)

Crèpes aux Poires Fondantes… Delicious crepes that will melt in your mouth!

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

You Need:

8 crepes ( click here for batter instructions)
4 Pears (peeled and cut into slices or cubes)
2 Cinnamon Sticks (or powder)
3/4 cup Dry White Wine
1 tbsp. Butter
Vanilla Ice-Cream
Whipped Cream (optional)

Sauté pears in white wine with cinnamon over a medium-high flame. When most of the liquid has disappeared and the pears are cooked, stir in butter. Spread crepes onto individual plates and cover one half of each crepe with pears. Fold over other half. Top with vanilla ice-cream and if you want, a little cinnamon powder and whipped cream. Serve right away! Voilà!

Stop by next week and see what we cooked up from Italy! Bon appetit!!

Thoughts

Thoughts. I have had many thoughts running through my brain lately. So many that when I lay in bed at night I try to piece the day together between running here and there, working, and doing this and that. Thoughts of a wedding coming up (225 days to be exact), thoughts of my future since everybody keeps asking what I am going to do next, thoughts of family, thoughts of a friend who is going through an extremely hard time right now, and being Catholic, thoughts on lent and the meaning of it all.

Lent is an important time for Catholics. It is a time for exactly what this post is all about. It is time to reflex, to ask for forgiveness, and most of all to experience what Jesus Christ did for us. We don't eat meat on Fridays (or Ash Wednesday), we are expected to fast, we are expected to give up something like He gave up for 40 days and nights. All of this, such a small price, for what He did about 2000 years ago for us.

This lent I decided that I was going to give up buying myself material items (excluding groceries and toiletries). I already have all the material things I need and more. But as I watch a friend struggle (you wouldn't know she is struggling because she has such a positive attitude) I keep asking myself what else can I give. What can I give so that in return she is given just a little break? Don't get my wrong, I am not seconding guessing my faith, I know that God chose a path for everyone and He chose this path for her because he knew she could handle it. But I just have so much and I am so blessed and it has me asking the question "what else can I give?"

At church on Sunday I received this:

Turtle Bread

I received this from a second grader who will be receiving first communion in May and in returned I promised to pray for him and the steps that he will take in his religious life starting with the step of first communion.

So please tonight, Sunday at church, Easter at church, or whenever you get around to it will you send up a few extras prayers. A prayer for my friend to be given more strength and to help her and many others around her to see the light in all this darkness. And a prayer for this little boy that he will continue to follow the light of God.

Tasteful Tuesday: Welcome to Ireland!

This Monday I started the "Tour of Europe". I decided that for the next few weeks I will explore and make traditional meals from some European countries. Just a way to branch out and try something new!

So this week in honor of St. Patrick's Day (on Thursday) I made a dish that you would find in Ireland. No, not corned beef and cabbage. I made Dublin Coddle and Irish Strawberry Bread for dessert. When looking at Irish recipes I found that many are simple and do not include a lot of ingredients. So here it is...

Dublin Coddle

1 1/2 pints of water (2 cups in 1 pint)

8 think slices of ham cut into chunks

8 pork sausages

2 large onions peeled and sliced

1 1/2 lbs of potatoes peeled and sliced

salt and pepper

2 heaped tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1. Bring the water to the biol in a saucepan, then add the ham and sausages and cook for 5 mins. Drain well and reserve the cooking liquids for later.

2. Set oven to 300 degrees

3. Place potatoes and onion in pan (I also added carrots)

4. Place the ham, sausages, and chopped parsley in pan and pour over just enough cooking liquid to cover (I did use it all) and cover with a piece of buttered greaseproof paper (parchment paper will do) and cover with lid (or foil) and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the liquid is greatly reduced and the vegetables cooked but not mushy

*Adding some Guinness to the Coddle will give it an extra kick!

Strawberry Bread

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 3/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar. Add eggs and oil and mix well. Stir in strawberries and mix again (will not be runny!)

3. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake 1 hour until golden brown on top.

4. Cool in pan 10 mins before turning out onto wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

 Leave a comment if you have a recipe or suggestion for a meal. Maybe you went to Europe and had a to-die-for meal, well let me know what it was!

 I hope you enjoyed this little visit to Ireland and stay tuned because next week we will be visiting France!

 

Tasteful Tuesday

This recipe is great for dinner parties and a great way to wow your guests! Tell them they are having Mac 'n' Cheese and then pull this out of the oven!

Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese

I got this recipe from the "Rachael Ray" magazine and let me tell you this is gourmet Mac 'n' Cheese (nothing like kraft!) It took about 45mins to 1 hour to throw all this together and it was so delicious!

 Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese

6 slices good-quality smoky bacon, such as applewood-smoked

Salt and pepper

1 pound whole wheat short-cut pasta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling

1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

4 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced

2 rounded tablespoons flour

1/2 cup cloudy apple cider or chicken stock

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese

1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded

Chopped flat leaf parsley or celery greens, for garnish

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.

Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Chop and reserve. Switch on the broiler and position the rack in the center of the oven.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than the instructions indicate, or until just shy of al dente. Drain and return to the pot.

While the pasta is working, heat a grill pan or cast iron griddle over medium-high heat. Drizzle the chicken with EVOO to coat lightly, then season evenly with the paprika, salt and pepper. Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a cutting board and halve the pieces lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden and very soft, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in the cider (or stock), then the milk. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes. Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cheeses until melted.

Add the chicken, bacon and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a casserole. Broil until bubbling and browned, about 5 minutes. Garnish with the parsley (or celery greens).

I am sure you can mix of the cheeses and I did not use fresh Thyme so I only added 1 tablespoon and it was still very strong. I hope you enjoy and let me know how impressed your guests were!

Tasteful Tuesday: Slowcooker Style!

This Monday I decided to find a slowcooker recipe for all those busy bodies out there! It actually turned out to be a great Monday to do it on as I was quite busy myself and ended up not being home for dinner! This recipe was delicious.

Apple Glazed Pork Roast

Pork Loin Roast (Your desired weight, mine was 3lb and it was plenty for 5)

6 Apples 

1/4 Cup Apple Juice

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon 

1. Rub Roast with Salt and Pepper

2. Brown pork roast in broiler to remove excess fat. (I did not do this step)

3. Core and quarter apples and place in the bottom of the crock pot.

4. Place roast on top of apples

5. Combine apple juice, brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Spoon over top of roast, moistening it well.

6. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours

*I did add a bag of carrots to the crock pot.

A couple tips that I found online when using a slow cooker are:

• Only fill the crockpot one half to two thirds full. The foods will not cook properly if the appliance is filled to the brim. If the food and liquid level is lower, the foods will cook too quickly.
• Foods cooked on the bottom of the slow cooker cook faster and will be moister because they are immersed in the simmering liquid.
• Remove skin from poultry, and trim excess fat from meats. Fats will melt with long cooking times, and will add an unpleasant texture to the finished dish. Fatty foods will also cook too quickly.
• You can thicken the juices and concentrate flavors by removing the lid and cooking on HIGH for the last half hour of cooking time.
• Most meats require 8 hours of cooking on LOW. Use cheaper cuts of meat - not only do you save money, but these meats work better in the slow cooker. Cheaper cuts of meat have less fat, which makes them more suited to crockpot cooking. Moist, long cooking times result in very tender meats.
• Follow the layering instructions carefully. Vegetables do not cook as quickly as meat, so they should be placed in the bottom of the appliance.(Notice in the picture I did not follow this step and the carrots were not done!)
• Don't lift the lid to stir, especially if you are cooking on the low setting. Each time you lift the lid, enough heat will escape that the cooking time should be extended by 20 minutes to half an hour. To check progress without lifting the lid, spin the cover until the condensation falls off. Then it's easy to see inside.