Pizzagna

I love this dish. Jonathan hasn't liked it when I've made it before because the original recipe calls for pepperoni, and he's apparently not keen on pepperoni when it's not on a pizza. (Yeah, I know... I don't know what's wrong with him...) So I'm trying it without the pepperoni. I'll let you know what I think of it after I try it tonight. I have a feeling it's going to taste just as wonderful. It certainly smelled that way.

Edited to add: Jonathan did like this version better but suggested maybe I try adding sausage next time. I'm not sure I've met a sausage dish I don't like, so I think it's a good suggestion.

Edited to add again: The photo I've added is the dish with 1 pound of mild sausage added (I cooked it separately, let it drain a bit on a paper-towel-lined plate, and then added it to the vegetable mixture before putting it in the oven). YUM.

Pizzagna
A variation on this recipe by Rachael Ray



1 pound pasta curls (recommended: campagnelle by Barilla; short fusilli or cavatappi twists may be substituted)
Salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Handful parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded, quartered and thinly sliced
1 onion, quartered then thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
12 cremini mushrooms (baby portabellos), thinly sliced
Black pepper
1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
8 ounces shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Preheat broiler.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add pasta and salt the water.

While the water boils combine ricotta, Parmesan and parsley in a large bowl and reserve.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the peppers, onions, garlic and mushrooms. Sauté 6 to 8 minutes until tender and mushrooms are dark. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes and reduce heat to low.

Add a ladle of starchy cooking water to the ricotta just before you drain the pasta. Drain pasta then toss with ricotta and pepperoni mixture. Pour pasta into a baking dish and top evenly with peppers, onion and mushroom sauce. Top with a layer of mozzarella, oregano and red pepper flakes. Place under hot broiler and melt cheese until golden and bubbly.

Roasted Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

So I thought it would be fun to do a roasted chicken for Sunday dinner. I thought it would be especially tasty to roast some of the veggies that I use whenever I make chicken stock after doing a full roasted chicken. Now, not only do I have roasted veggies to add to my chicken broth mixture, but the chicken came out extra flavorful! It was moist and wonderful! Here's what I did:

4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic heads
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
1 4- to 5-pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lemon, quartered
A couple sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Arrange oven rack so that it is in center of oven.

Put chopped celery, onion, and carrots in bottom of roasting pan. Take one of the garlic heads, separate the cloves, smash and peel them. Put them in the bottom of the roasting pan with the other vegetables. Add water or chicken broth.

Place rinsed and dried chicken on roasting pan rack. Rub salt and pepper on the inside of the cavity. Take other garlic head and slice it horizontally through the cloves. Stuff the chicken with the garlic, lemon, thyme, and bay leaves. Rub outside of chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper.

Roast chicken until it is deeply browned and juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a knife, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

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I served this chicken with those delicious Roasted Brussels Sprouts that I've made before. I added a little fresh thyme, and I added it to the oven toward the end of roasting the chicken.

I also made some cheesy garlic bread. It's just sliced Italian bread, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with garlic salt, and topped with a shredded Italian cheese blend. I added it to the oven during the last 5 minutes of roasting the Brussels sprouts (the chicken was out by that time and resting).

The best thing about this meal? I was able to get everything out of the oven and on the table at the same time. It has taken me a lot of practice to get this right. So for any of you who think this looks good, especially for a potential meal for company, here was my meal timeline:

*Set up oven so that one rack is in the middle and one rack is all the way at the bottom.
*Put chicken in on middle rack. Set timer for 1 hour, 15 minutes.
*Set up Brussels sprouts and put on aluminum-foil-covered cookie sheet. 45 minutes into roasting chicken, put Brussels sprouts on bottom rack. Set timer for 45 minutes.
*Once chicken is ready to come out of the oven, pull it out, and move Brussels sprouts to middle rack. Move bottom rack up to the very top.
*5 minutes before Brussels sprouts are done, put cheesy garlic bread in on top rack.

Voilà! Everything's done at the same time, and you have a delicious meal to show for it.

Orange Tofu Rice Bowl

Eh. It's not a bad dish, it's just not very exciting. I definitely had to double the sauce part of the recipe to have it taste like anything at all. And after looking at the reviews on the Kraft Foods website, it looks like I wasn't the only one.

I wonder if maybe using tofu instead of chicken (which is what the original recipe calls for) affected the taste. I'm not sure I care to compare, but if you do try the chicken, let me know what you think.

By all means, try this recipe if you're looking for a simple Asian recipe. But don't be expected to be blown away.

Orange Tofu Rice Bowl
A variation on this recipe from Kraft Foods

14 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1/2 cup orange juice
3 cups frozen stir-fry vegetables (I think fresh veggies may actually work better)
3 cups hot cooked brown rice
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add tofu; stir-fry until starting to brown.

Stir in dressing and juice. Bring to boil. Add vegetables; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with nuts.

Fettuccine with Fennel and Sausage

When I made this, I wasn't expecting Benjamin to try it. He rarely tries anything I make because it's either "too spicy" or "too messy". But when he saw what I was making, he was convinced it was spaghetti and meatballs and announced that he loves spaghetti and meatballs. I don't remember the last time he ate spaghetti and meatballs, so I'm not entirely sure where that came from. But I wasn't about to argue. He ate it and he liked it, despite its definite messy nature. I knew I was going to like this, but finding something that even Benjamin likes makes this dish an enormous success.

I substituted the spicy Italian sausage for a sweet Italian sausage. This obviously helped in getting Benjamin to eat it. I also took out the oil altogether. After browning the sausage, the veggies had plenty of fat to sauté them properly.

The only other change was that I doubled the amount of sausage and fettuccine that the original recipe calls for. I didn't want to only use half a package of sausage, but I should have used only half of the fettuccine. I now have a container of plain fettuccine in my fridge since it just would have been way too much pasta to have added it all. At least I know for next time.

I'll add the recipe as I think it should be, though not necessarily how I did it or how it was originally. So yours will come out even better than mine did.

Fettuccine with Fennel and Sausage
A variation on this recipe from BettyCrocker.com

8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1 pound bulk Italian pork sausage
1 medium sweet onion, cut into thin wedges
1 medium fennel bulb, cut into thin wedges
1 medium yellow or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained
1/2 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain pasta as directed on box. Return to saucepan; keep warm.

Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently, until no longer pink. Drain; remove sausage from skillet.

In same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, fennel, bell pepper and garlic in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add tomatoes and cooked sausage to vegetables. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Stir in pasta; heat until hot. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese.

Roasted Chicken, Green Beans, and "Mock" Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We had some dear friends visit us over the weekend. I wanted to make them something homey and delicious for dinner, so I thought a roasted chicken would hit the spot. My mom passed on a new recipe that she found on the New York Times website. It was moist and really flavorful. I ended up not reading the recipe note though, so my "crispy drippings" were pretty much burned to oblivion. I'll definitely be making it again since it was really really really tasty, and I'm anxious to see how the crispy drippings are supposed to come out.

In an effort to keep things healthy, especially since I knew we'd be enjoying some of my Nutella ice cream for dessert and some beer after the kids went to sleep, I decided to serve some roasted green beans and "Mock" Garlic Mashed Potatoes on the side. It's really amazing how much you can make cauliflower taste like potatoes. And though the green beans didn't look terribly pretty when they came out of the oven, they tasted awesome.

Overall, I think it was a successful meal. And our visit was definitely a great one. It was really relaxing and a lot of fun at the same time. I'm looking forward to seeing them again soon.

Garlic and Thyme Roasted Chicken With Crispy Drippings Croutons
Courtesy of The New York Times

Country bread, ciabatta or other sturdy bread, preferably stale, sliced at least 1/2-inch thick
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more as needed
1 4- to 5-pound chicken, patted dry
1 garlic head, sliced in half horizontally, through the cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 lemon
1/2 bunch thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Arrange oven rack so that it is in center of oven. Lay bread slices in a thick, heavy-duty metal roasting pan in one layer. (Try not to use a thin or dark colored pan, which may cause bread to burn: see note.) Drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Rub 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper inside cavity of chicken. Stuff cavity with garlic, bay leaf, lemon and thyme. Rub outside of chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle all over with remaining salt and pepper. Place it breast side up on bread.

Roast chicken until it is deeply browned and juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a knife, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve chicken with bread from pan.

Note: If you use a thin or dark roasting pan, you might consider lowering the oven temperature to 375ºF to prevent the bread from getting too dark. Check the pan periodically during cooking and lower the temperature as necessary (you can open the oven door for a minute to reduce heat quickly.) It may take longer for the chicken to cook through at a lower temperature.

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Roasted Green Beans

1 bag frozen green beans, defrosted
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easier clean-up.

Place defrosted beans in a bowl and toss with oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on cookie sheet in a single layer.

Roast beans for 35-45 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Serve immediately.

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"Mock" Garlic Mashed Potatoes
A variation on this recipe by George Stella

1 large head cauliflower
1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.

Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.

In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper until almost smooth.

Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter.

Sugar Cookies

I thought it was comical that Benjamin's class was having a St Patrick's Day party. I figure it was just an excuse to have a party. And why not? We're all getting tired of winter and need a pick-me-up. Why not get dressed up in green and eat green-colored treats?

I was a bit silly and volunteered to make cookies for the party... Not like I didn't have enough party preparation recently, right? I made this sugar cookies recipe that had been posted on my May Mommies board 2 Christmases ago. Yes, I'm on a board with all of the women with whom I was pregnant with Benjamin, and we're still all (mostly) together. It's been such a lovely experience getting to know these women. We have our differences, but we also have each other's backs. I never knew I'd be able to make such good friends on the internet.

So here's my friend Linda's niece's sugar cookie recipe. I'm not a giant fan of sugar cookies, but this is definitely a tasty recipe. With or without the icing.

Sugar Cookies

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375ºF. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Divide dough in half. Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutter. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake 7-8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.

Icing:
3/4 cups shortening (Crisco)
1/2 stick butter, softened.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 pound powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
Milk

Mix the butter and shortening together with electric mixer, then add the extracts and mix. Then add 1-2 cups of the powdered sugar then mix very well. If stiff, add some milk. Then add 1 cup powdered sugar and mix, then the rest of the powdered sugar and mix. The more milk you add, the thinner the icing will become, so that's just whatever your preference is.

Vegetarian Curry

A lovely and easy curry.

Vegetarian Curry
Courtesy of crockpot365.blogspot.com



2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 diced red pepper
4 tiny potatoes, or 1 regular-sized
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
2 tablespoons curry
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes (and juice)
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup frozen peas (to add later)
Brown rice

Add garbanzo beans to your crockpot. Cover with diced vegetables. Add spices. Dump in tomatoes, yogurt and broth. Stir to mix flavors.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or longer.

20 minutes before serving, stir in the frozen peas. Turn to high.

Serve over hot brown rice.