Minestrone Remix!

I could live off this soup!

I used what I had on hand: home made Italian Sausage, fresh veggies, and subbed the beans for corn...mmmmm

Turkey Minestrone

For Thanksgiving, my sister and I took a trip to Reno to spend the Holiday with my Aunt Kathy and Grammie. Before we left, my Aunt surprised me with a Christmas present...a "Taste of Home Cookbook"! This bad boy has become one of my favorite cookbooks thus far (I don't have many). It has dividers, and a section called "Kitchen Basics" - which helps me out every time I cook. It also has the classic recipe and three different ways to make it, Time-Saver - for the busy in your life, Light - for those watching your girlish figure, and Serves 2 - for those who don't do leftovers! I thought I would expand my cooking skills and try to make my very first soup! I decided that Turkey Minestrone (Light Recipe) sounded easy and, of course yummy . Well, it was super- duper easy and was OH, SO YUMMY! I hope you like making it as much as I did. :)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
• 1/2 pound hot Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Italian stewed tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1-1/2 cups cooked elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
• Pinch pepper

Directions

• In a stockpot over medium heat, sauté onion in oil until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the next six ingredients; cook until meat is no longer pink.

• Add the tomatoes, broth, zucchini and mixed vegetables; cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, macaroni, vinegar, salt if desired and pepper; simmer for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 16 servings (4 quarts).

I served my soup with Ham and Swiss Panini's!! 

Yield: 16 Servings (4 quarts)

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 132 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 538 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein. 

2010 NYE

A little late, but I still wanted to share the lovely dinner I served on NYE.
First: Red and black lump eggs, and scallop paté on blinis..

Oysters on schnazzy oyster plates!!

Fois gras with shallot jam on one side, and endive jam on the other... interesting

Truffled white boudin

Roasted kangaroo on wild mushrooms and mashed potatoes.

Cheese: Camenbert, Beaufort, Leerdammer, and Tome de Cambrai

And to finish it off, raspberry cake!

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

I came across this recipe in the Food Network Magazine. At first I didn't think I would make it, but then I bought some eggnog and barely had a glass. For some reason it wasn't agreeing with my preggo gag reflex! So I had a bunch of eggnog left over and thought I should use it up in these muffins. I love the flavor of eggnog just not a huge fan of it straight up. I made them without the streusel topping and the cranberries, to keep it simple for the boys. But if I was making them for me, myself and I, they would be yum-o with the extra goodies. And I added extra cinnamon and nutmeg, otherwise I think they would be a little bland in the flavor department. So here's the recipe, give it a try!

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

• Cooking spray or muffin liners
• 1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup rum or apple juice
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

Directions

Prepare the muffins: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Warm the cranberries and rum in a small saucepan over medium heat, then remove from the heat and let steep 5 minutes. Drain.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk the butter, eggnog, eggs and vanilla in another bowl. Gently fold into the flour mixture. (The batter will be lumpy; do not overmix.) Fold in the cranberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Make the topping: Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt and brown sugar in a bowl with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle generously over the batter.

Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan, then carefully remove to a rack.

2010 Christmas Feast

Christmas Eve, 1st Course hors d'oeuvres: smoked salmon and spread on blinis

2nd Course: Fois Gras with fig jam, violet jam, and marrow on toasts

3rd Course: Cray fish, gambas, whelks, and smoked salmon with homemade mayonaise!

4th Course: Scallops
5th course: Truffled Boudin (not pictured)

6th Course: Fried Maroille Cheese...mmmm
I didn't get the 7th course (dessert,) but it was a delicious ice cream log cake.

Christmas Day main course: Turkey with wild girolles mushrooms and chestnuts and stuffing..

with potatoes and green beans.

Dessert: mini pastries and..

Buche!

Which translates to "Log" because it is a French cake shaped like a log!

So now I'm going to be fasting for a while... but as I'm typing, my stomach is growling =)

Homemade Pizza Dough

After many many attempts to make pizza at home, I finally figured out that it's all in the dough! I'd been buying ready made dough at the store, and it just doesn't cut it the way homemade does. This pizza feeds 2
Ingredients:
350 g flour
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
4 Tbsp EVOO
elbow grease
time
Toppings I used:
tomato sauce
fresh mozzarella
cooked italian sausage
onions
jalapeños
sliced tomatoes patted dry
swiss and parmesan cheese
egg
basil
Directions:
1. Mix the yeast in the warm water and let sit for a few minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour with salt, then add the water/yeast mixture. Knead well and add some EVOO little by little while kneading until the dough is elastic and doesn't stick. Take your time with the kneading. It is very important.
3. Once you're all kneaded out, cover with a damp towel and let the dough sit for 45 minutes. It should have risen.
4. Roll out the dough to form a pizza. Mine was about 3/4 inch thick. Try to keep it even so it doesn't over cook in some areas and undercook in others. Add your toppings and pop in the oven at 450°F for about 15 minutes and then check on it every 5.
If you use an egg yolk, add it during the last 5 minutes of cooking time, otherwise it will be hard.

Voila!! No more need for take-out!

Leek and Mushroom Pasta

I love how you can add just about anything to a pasta sauce an its almost ALWAYS good! I didn't make this one up, actually, but I thought it was an interesting combination and I LOVE leeks!
Ingredients:
1 white part of a leek, sliced thinly
1 pack fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine
some cubed ham or sliced bacon
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup heavy whipping cream
fresh ground pepper
1 pack pasta (I used fettuccini)
1 cup water from pasta cooking
Directions:
1. Cook your pasta in some salted boiling water and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. In the meantime, sautée the leek and garlic with thyme in some olive oil until translucent.
3. Deglaze with some white wine and add the mushrooms and ham. Cook until mushrooms are tender and stir in some of the heavy cream.
4. When your pasta is cooked and drained, mix the leek and mushroom mixture into the pasta and stir until the pasta is evenly coated. Add some pasta water and heavy cream until desired sauciness is obtained.

Serve hot with fresh ground pepper, parmesan,and shredded swiss..
Excellent!

Zuppa Toscana REMIX!

I can't get over this soup! I could seriously eat it every day. Luckily, it's been really cold and snowy here, so I have every excuse to make it often.

This time, though, I added used fresh mushrooms and used 1 less bouillon cube.
It turned out DELISH!

I haven't had much time to post thanks to this guy:

he's taking a nap on my lap as we speak.. aww

Lamb Shoulder with Garlic Sauce

I found a great pair for Jess's Roasted Tomatoes and home fries! A slice of lamb shoulder with garlic sauce! Delicious.. Eric and I were licking our plates after eating this...
Ingredients:
slices of lamb shoulder or leg (1 slice per person)
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp flour
fresh ground pepper
some chopped parsley
few shakes of thyme
some EVOO
Directions:
1. Take the lamb out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking it. Brush them with EVOO and sprinkle salt, pepper, and thyme.
2. In a small sauce pot, cover the whole garlic cloves with cold water and bring to a boil around 5-10 minutes or until cloves are tender.
3. Drain the cloves and keep the water. In a blender, mix the cloves with the heavy cream and flour, and add a drizzle of the water. Put back into the sauce pot.
4. Heat on low and whisk until it thickens a bit or to your liking. Add the parsley and pepper and keep warm until your lamb is done.
5. To nicely cook the lamb, heat a skillet with around 2 tbsp EVOO and cook about 4 minutes on each side. I like mine medium.. cook longer or shorter depending on how you like it.

Serve with the sauce on the side, some Roasted Tomatoes and home fries... mouthwateringly delicious!
You can sub the fries for anything.. pasta, rice, mashed potatoes.. oh yea this sauce would be great on mashed potatoes!

Pumpkin Chili

I found another fun use for a pumpkin! In chili, it give it a nice soft texture that is very enjoyable and is a great way to eat more veggies!
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2clove garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup broth
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup corn
1 diced green chili
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Throw everything but the bell peppers in the crock. An hour before serving, add the bell peppers.

Serve topped with green onions, cheese, and sour cream!