Recipes

Ingredients
12 ounces center-cut bacon, chopped fine
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1 ¹⁄₄ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
5 ¹⁄₄ cups water
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 pound penne pasta

Instructions
1. Cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off fat from pan, reserving 3 tablespoons. (Or drain bacon in a sieve over a bowl and reserve 3 tablespoons of fat from the bowl.)

2. Pulse bread, ¹⁄₄ cup cheese, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper, one quarter of crisp bacon, and 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat in food processor until coarsely ground. Whisk eggs, milk, remaining cheese (1 cup), and ³⁄₄ cup water in medium bowl.

3. Heat remaining bacon fat (1 tablespoon) in empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine and cook until reduced to ¹⁄₄ cup, about 3-6 minutes. Stir in remaining water (4 ¹⁄₂ cups), penne, and ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente, 15 to 25 minutes. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler.  
4. Off heat, add egg mixture and remaining crisp bacon to pan and toss to combine. Top with bread-crumb mixture and broil until golden brown, about 2-5 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve.  

Comments
I love carbonara so when I saw this recipe in Cook’s Country 2009 Annual I knew that I should give it a try.  While the cooking method bears little resemblance my usual carbonara preparation, I was surprised that the taste was pretty much spot on.  I also had some trepidation about the sauce thickening up in step 4 and, just from reading the recipe, I feared it would be soupy.  But the America’s Test Kitchen people know what they’re doing and it worked perfectly.  The sauce thickened up with no problem and Lance and I both had seconds.  And then more for lunch the following day!

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
For the Dijon shallot sauce
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
¹⁄₂ tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
¹⁄₂ cup half and half
¹⁄₂ bay leaf
3 tablespoons white wine, plus more if sauce is too thick
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

For the salmon
3 medium potatoes, grated (Shred using a box grater or food processor.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 (4-6 ounces each) salmon fillets
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  

2. In a medium saucepan, sauté the shallots in butter over medium-low heat until translucent, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the flour and stir to form a roux.  Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns a light brown.  Slowly pour in the half and half and whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  

3. Add bay leaf and wine, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and add the mustard and lemon juice.  Set aside.  

4. Lightly coat a large ovenproof skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Place the potatoes in a colander and rinse several times in cold water until the water runs clear.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Transfer to a large bowl and add lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  

5. Pack ¹⁄₂ cup of potatoes on each salmon fillet and sear, potato-side down, in skillet until golden brown.  Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10-20 minutes until the salmon flakes easily.  

6. Serve with sauce.  If the sauce has thickened, stir in some extra wine before serving.  

Comments
I ran across this recipe on the blog Savory Simple and knew that I needed to make it the next time Art was out of town.  Lance and I were both very pleased with the dish, although I wish that I had used a nonstick skillet instead of a skillet that wasn’t quite so nonstick.  My potatoes stuck a tidge and things would have looked much prettier if that hadn’t been the case.  

Shown here with Sautéed Green Beans.

Internet - Savory Simple

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces baby spinach
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds
Salt and pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¹⁄₄ cups chicken broth
1 ¹⁄₄ cups water
1 cup half and half
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer spinach to colander set over bowl or sink and press with spoon to release excess liquid. Discard liquid.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Wipe out pan and heat remaining oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add shallot and garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, water, and half and half and bring to boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10-20 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken; transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil. Continue to simmer sauce until reduced to 1 cup, about 15-25 minutes. Off heat, sitr in 4 tablespoons Parmesan, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  (Reducing the sauce took me about 30 minutes, so plan accordingly.)

4. Cut chicken crosswise into ¹⁄₂-inch-thick slices and arrange on broiler-safe platter or dish. Scatter spinach over chicken and pour sauce over spinach. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and broil until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve.  

Comments
This recipe is from my cookbook of the week, Cook’s County 2009 Annual.  Lance and I both thought it was delicious!  I served it with linguini fini and that pairing worked well.  The recipe did take longer than I expected, it seemed like every step of the recipe took a bit longer than the original recipe said that it would.  I also swapped out the heavy cream for half and half.  This was scrumptious and I’ll certainly be making it again in the future.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
4 pounds zucchini, cut diagonally into ³⁄₄-inch-thick slices
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ cup balsamic vinegar
1 ¹⁄₂ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about ¹⁄₂ cup)
¹⁄₃ cup pine nuts, toasted (about 1 ounce)

Instructions
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Toss zucchini with oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Arrange zucchini in a single layer on one or two shallow baking sheets.  

3. Broil one pan of zucchini 3 to 5 inches from the heat, without turning, until browned in spots and beginning to soften, 4 to 6 minutes.  Drizzle 2 tablespoons (or 4 if using one pan) over broiled zucchini and shake pan a few times.  Continue to broil until most of the vinegar is evaporated, about 2 minutes.  Sprinkle ¹⁄₄ cup cheese (or ¹⁄₂ cup cheese if using one pan) over broiled zucchini and broil until cheese is melted, about 1 minute more.  

4. Cook second pan of zucchini the same way, if using two pans.  

5. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.  

Comments
I found this recipe on epicurious.com quite some time ago and finally got around to making it for Game Day to serve with manicotti.  I was pretty pleased with the dish.  It was relatively simple and extremely tasty.  My zucchini filled up one sheet pan, so I added all of the balsamic and cheese to that pan.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
2 ¹⁄₄ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
¹⁄₄ teaspoon white or black pepper, ground
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cloves
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground ginger
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
¹⁄₂ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350*F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with cooking spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Whisk the sugar, eggs, and yolks in a large bowl to a light lemon colour; stir in the vanilla extract. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the egg mixture, and then fold in until the dough is just combined.

3. Halve the dough and turn each portion onto the prepared baking sheet. Using floured hands, quickly stretch each portion of dough into a rough 13 by 2-inch loaf. Place the loaves about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet; pat each one smooth. Bake until the loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on tp, about 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a wire rack.

4. Cool the loaves for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer the loaves to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each loaf into ³⁄₈-inch-thick slices. Lay the slices about ¹⁄₂ inch apart on the baking sheet, cut-side up, and return them to the oven. Bake, turning over each cookie halfway through baking, until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and cool completely. (They can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 month.)

Comments
I wasn’t sure what to serve as dessert with my loosely Italian-themed meal, so I turned to The New Best Recipe for inspiration.  I found this recipe for biscotti and decided to give it a go.  All of the spices reminded me of pumpkin bread as well as chai and I was pretty happy with the results.  

Biscotti are very hard, so be sure to serve them with something for dunking.  We had coffee and green tea, but I think that a black tea would have worked really well with this spice combination and milk would have been nice as well.  Make sure that they’re completely dry before sealing in a container, otherwise the residual moisture will be damaging.

The New Best Recipe

Ingredients
6 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed (about 2 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced (If you can’t find fresh rosemary, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried will work in a pinch.)
4 cups water
Salt
1 cup instant polenta
Ground black pepper
8 ounce goat cheese, softened
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Instructions
1. Cook the garlic and 3 tablespoons oil in a small nonstick skillet over low heat, stirring often, until the garlic is golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the rosemary and let cool until needed.  

2. Line the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper and coat lighting with cooking spray; set aside. Bring the water to a boil, covered, in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, stir in 1 teaspoon salt, and then pour the polenta into the water in a very slow stream, stirring in a circular motion with a wooden spoon.

3. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until the polenta is soft and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in reserved garlic and rosemary mixture, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into the prepared baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered, until firm and sliceable, about 1 hour.

4. When the polenta is firm, use the tip of a paring knife to slice it into twenty-four, 2 by 2 ¹⁄₄-inch rectangles. Slice each rectangle in half on the diagonal into 2 bite-sized triangles. Mix the goat cheese with the oil and parsley, and then transfer to a small zipper-lock bag. (I believe that I cut mine smaller than the recipe wanted, but they were still fantastic.)

5. TO STORE: Cover the dish of sliced polenta tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the polenta and goat cheese mixture for up to 2 days.

6. TO SERVE: Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 500*F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and spray them with cooking spray; set aside. Let the goat cheese mixture stand at room temperature to soften. Transfer the polenta triangles to the prepared baking sheets (don’t crowd the triangles or they won’t crisp).

7. Bake the polenta, 1 tray at a time, until crisp and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the hot polenta triangles to a warm serving platter. Snip off the corner of the goat cheese bag using scissors and pipe about 1 teaspoon of the goat cheese on top of each polenta triangle before serving.

Comments
Oh my gosh, these were amazing.  I found this recipe in The Best Make-Ahead Recipe and, being a huge fan of both polenta and goat cheese, I knew that I had to make it.  Yet again the America’s Test Kitchen crowd didn’t let me down since these got devoured.  The polenta was nice and crispy on the outside but still soft in the middle.  The goat cheese complimented the flavors of the polenta extremely well, although I think I might have used a bit less per bite than the recipe called for, since I had some goat cheese mixture leftover.  If you face the same predicament, the cheese mixture is great with crackers.  I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be making this recipe many times in the future.

The Best Make-Ahead Recipe

Ingredients
2 (28-ounces each) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed, about 1 tablespoon
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Ground black pepper
24 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
10 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
16 no-boil flat lasagna noodles, preferably Barilla
16 thin slices prosciutto

Instructions
1. Pulse the tomatoes with their juices, 1 can at a time, in a food processor until coarsely chopped with pieces measuring about ¹⁄₄ inch, about 3 pulses; set aside.

2. Heat the oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in a large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.

3. Stir the ricotta, 1 cup of the parmesan, 2 cups of the mozzarella, eggs, parsley, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper together in a medium bowl; set aside.

4. Pour 1 inch of boiling water into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and slip the noodles into the water, 1 at a time. Let the noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating the noodles with the tip of a knife to prevent sticking. Remove the noodles from the water and place in a single layer over clean kitchen towels. Discard the water in the baking dish and pat the noodles dry.

5. Spread 1 ¹⁄₂ cups of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange one slice of prosciutto on each noodle. Use a soup spoon to spread ¹⁄₄ cup o the ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the bottom three-quarters of each noodle. Roll the noodles up around the filling, starting at the bottom, and lay, seam-side down, in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the rolled noodles, covering the pasta completely. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella.

6. TO STORE: Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. If frozen, the casserole must be thawed completely in the refrigerator, about 24 hours.

7. TO SERVE: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400*F. Unwrap the dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray (or use nonstick foil). Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

Comments
This recipe is from The Best Make-Ahead Recipe.  I saw an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where this was made and it looked brilliant.  I’ve tried to make manicotti once with manicotti tubes, and it was disastrous.  Using sheet pasta seemed like a brilliant solution and I have been eager to try this method since watching that episode!  

It did not fail me.  The noodles softened very nicely in the boiling water and that made the manicotti a cinch to roll up after filling.  The finished product was perfect.  You can easily omit the prosciutto for a meat free dish.  

The cooking times for this recipe are based on the dish being cold from the refrigerator when going into the oven.  If you’re baking it directly after preparation, it will take less time to be ready, so reduce the covered baking time in step 7 to just 15 minutes.

The Best Make-Ahead Recipe

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
²⁄₃ cup cracker crumbs
¹⁄₃ cup onion, minced
1 egg
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt (If your crackers are very salty, you might want to omit this.)
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried ginger
¹⁄₄ cup milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar, packed
¹⁄₃ cup rice or white vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup beef broth
1 pineapple, rind removed and fruit cut into small pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  

2. Combine beef, crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger and milk in a large bowl.  Mix thoroughly.  (I prefer my hands for mixing meatballs.)  Shape meat mixture into small balls.  Place meatballs on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through.  

3. Mix cornstarch and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Add vinegar, soy sauce and beef broth.  Stir until smooth.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir for one minute.  Add pineapple and bell pepper; heat through.  

4. Serve meatballs and sauce over rice.  

Comments
This is a recipe that came to me from Art’s parents.  We’ve tweaked it slightly because we prefer fresh pineapple to canned and to bake the meatballs instead of frying them as in the original recipe.  The sauce is a nice sweet and sour sauce, the fresh pineapple adds amazing flavor.  

You can combine the meatballs with the sauce before serving, but I’ve found that the meatballs break down in an unappetizing way when saved with the sauce.  Instead, I keep the meatballs and sauce separate and just combine everything when it’s ready to be eaten.  

Sadly I forgot to buy a red bell pepper, which is why you don’t see any red bell pepper pieces in this photograph.

Person - Art’s Mom

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 (8 ounces) can tomato paste
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon white vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 (28 ounces) can peaches in light syrup, syrup reserved and peaches chopped

Instructions
1. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook until done.  Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.  

3. Add leeks, tomato paste, vinegar and soy sauce.  Stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the peaches and peach syrup.  

4. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with rice.  

Comments
This recipe is from Kayotic Kitchen, which is a fantastic food blog with wonderful photography.  It’s very similar to sweet and sour chicken.  The flavors all come together nicely and all of us love the dish.  The original recipe calls for additional sugar, but I find it to be quite sweet enough just with the peaches and their juice.

Internet - Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream (Light and full fat both work well.)
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cumin, ground (If you don’t feel like grinding it, whole works too.)
2 cans (10 ¹⁄₂ ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup (I use Healthy Request.)
24 6-inch corn tortillas
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and onion and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through and onions are soft.  Add jalapeño and garlic.  Continue cooking for a few minutes, or until fragrant.  

3. Add chicken broth, sour cream, salt, pepper, cumin, and chicken soup.  While stirring, bring to a boil and then remove from heat.  

4. Spray a 12x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread 1 cup of the soup mixture over the bottom of the dish and top with 6 corn tortillas.  (Spread out the corn tortillas to cover as much of the surface area as possible.)  Spread 1 cup of the soup mixture over the tortillas, top with ¹⁄₂ cup of the cheese.  Repeat these layers (tortillas, soup, cheese) until you have used all 24 tortillas.  Top with remaining soup mixture and end with the remaining ¹⁄₂ cup of cheese.  

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Let rest 10-15 minutes before serving.  

Comments
I’m not entirely sure where I found this recipe, but I seem to recall that the original called for canned jalapeños.  I also seem to recall that it was entirely too spicy the first time or two that I made it!  While you’re certainly welcome to add more jalapeño, I find that one works perfectly for my tastes.  

This is a nice, easy dish to put together.  It’s also warm and filling after a week of rain and cold weather.

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