Stuffed Boats (Sausage-Stuffed Eggplant)

My husband came over by the stove and asked, "So, what did you put inside these boats?" He referred to these as boats the remainder of the night and so I decided to call them stuffed "boats." I got the recipe from Lidia Bastianich's cookbook, Lidia's Italy in America. I changed up the recipe a bit to make a lesser amount and I changed the meat from beef to sausage.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3/4 pound ground sausage

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cup cubes of day-old french bread

1/2 cup milk

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh to make a shell about 1/2 inch thick. Finely chop the flesh and set aside.

3. Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the onion and cook until it begins to soften, just a few minutes. Add the sausage and crumble it using your cooking utensil. Pour the wine over the meat. Cook, breaking up the sausage until the meat releases juices and then they cook away, about 7-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and chopped eggplant and season with salt. Cook until vegetables are tender, about ten minutes. Scrape into a medium or large bowl to cool.

4. Pour the milk over the bread cubes in a small bowl. Once the bread has softened, squeeze out the excess milk and put the bread in the bowl with the meat mixture. Add the grated cheese, parsley, and tomatoes and mix well.

5. Put the eggplant shells in a large baking dish and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with some salt and toss to coat evenly and thoroughly. Fill the eggplants with the mixture and arrange snugly in the baking dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake until eggplant is tender, 40-45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top of filling is browned and crispy, about 10 minutes.

Serves 4. 

Homemade Buns

I used these buns for yummy grilled hamburgers, but they can be used for any type of sandwich or even as plain rolls. I got the recipe from another blog, so if you would like the recipe, click the link for the Light Brioche Burger Buns.

Enjoy!

Okay so my burger was totally not as pink as it looks in this picture! I am so ready to get a new SD card for my Canon so I can use it again. I will say, though, that this Samsung Galaxy camera is pretty amazing for a phone camera. 

Chocolate Anise Biscotti

These delicious cookies are a creation of Giada de Laurentiis and come from her cookbook, Giada's Family Dinners. 

I suggest serving these with hot coffee; they are great for dunking!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, room temp

1 teaspoon ground anise seed

2 large eggs

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar and anise seed in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined, scraping sides of bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips.

2. Form the dough into a 16- inch-long, 3-inch-wide log. Transfer the log to the baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 25-30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes. You may want to leave the oven on!

3. Place the log on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange the slices cut sides down on the baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer biscotti to a rack and cool completely. 

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

This is another recipe of Lidia Bastianich. These are small, moist cookies that are refreshing and easy to make. 

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

4 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese, drained

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Glaze:

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes or so. Reduce the speed to medium and add egg, beating well. Add ricotta, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined, but do not overmix.

Spoon rounded tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a baking sheet. You should have right about 15 cookies. Bake until puffed, golden, and cooked through, about 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. 

When the cookies are cooled, make the glaze by combining the lemon zest, powdered sugar, and lemon juice, whisking to make smooth. The glaze should be thick enough to stick to the cookies when dipped. Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze and let dry on a wire rack until all are done. Let dry for two hours before storing. 

Whole-Wheat Pasta with Pesto

This simple dish is terrific alongside grilled chicken breasts. You can also freeze the remaining pesto for a quick meal another day.

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta pot
1/2  9-ounce bag fresh spinach, stems trimmed
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds (as long as they are skinned)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 box whole-wheat thin spaghetti noodles
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta.
2. Meanwhile, pulse the spinach, basil, almonds, garlic, and salt in a food processor or blender. Pour in 3/4 cup of the olive oil in a SLOW steady stream. Process to make a smooth paste, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.

3. Pour the thin spaghetti into the boilinh water, and cook until al dente, according to the package timing (possibly adding a minute). Drain all but 1 cup pasta water and return pasta to the pan with the water, off of heat. Drizzle the pasta with the tablespoon of oil and coat with half the pesto. (Use more or less to taste. I just like to barely coat the pasta.)

Toss with the cheese, if desired and serve.
Freeze the remainder pesto in a zip-lock baggie and when ready to use, thaw in fridge.

Fresh Flower Bouquet Tips

I am not a florist, but I love flowers and fresh bouquets and have discovered some things that seem to keep the flowers fresher longer. A few of these tips I have just stumbled upon through experience, but many of them I read about. One of my favorite books for finding tips about gardening, outdoor entertaining, and recipes for using fresh herbs, flowers, and vegetables is a Gooseberry Patch book, For Bees & Me. These sweet book is full of cute stories and helpful tips and some of the things I list in this post I learned from reading this book.

1. If you are the one who will be out cutting the flowers from the ground (or maybe your children are helping out!), take a pitcher or bucket of water with you to put the flowers in immediately after you cut them. The water should just be lukewarm, no need for cold water!

2. When you are cutting the flower, cut as close to the ground as you can so you will have the longest stem to work with later when it is time to put them in their vase. Always cut the flower, never pull or twist it because it can close up the stem and less water will be available. Cut flowers need as much water as they can get.

3. If you are putting bought flowers into a vase, cut the bottom of the stems at an angle. Even if the stems are already cut at an angle, making a fresh cut can open up where the other one may have closed up. If you are cutting the flowers from the field, do the same thing: cut the stems the length you want, making sure the bottom is cut at an angle. The picture below should help to illustrate what I mean by "angle."

4. A drop or two of bleach in your vase mixed with the water will keep your flowers fresh longer! I had picked a bouquet of daffodils in February and added bleach to the vase and they lasted a solid two weeks. I picked another bouquet a week or so later and did not put bleach in the vase and they were deteriorating after about three or four days.

5. Daffodils secrete a slimy substance when they are cut that can quicken the downfall of other flowers in a bouquet. If you are mixing daffodils with other flowers, you can take a small piece of cotton ball soaked in water and place it in the "tube" of the daffodil stems. This way, water still gets to the flowers, but the slimy substance won't come out as quickly and hurt the other flowers.

Some flowers just naturally aren't as good for cut flowers as others, and won't last very long no matter what you do. I hope this helps when you are out picking all those great spring flowers!

I love this book!

3 Easy Ways to Use Raffia!

Apart from the commonly used method of wrapping raffia around wrapped gifts (which I love to do!), here are just three more ideas.

1. Wrapped around a napkin.
This sounds so simple, and it is! It's nothing super-creative, but if you are tired of using the same napkin rings over and over or just want something a wee bit less formal, it works!
You can roll the napkin, fold the napkin, or even just bunch it up and tie it. Easy.

2. Tie it around your candle holder. I have a pair of these glass hurricanes from Williams-Sonoma that are great for tying ribbon around. I used plain raffia in the picture below.

3. Spruce up your glassware! You can tie this around any shape of glass, but since mine had these neat little round stems, I was able to create a cute crisscross pattern around it. Fun! 

Raspberry and Peach Pie

Peach pie is a true southern comfort food for me (pie in general usually is!) and this recipe, with the addition of raspberries, is no different. I will include the crust recipe as well.

Ingredients:

For filling:

5 1/2 cups peeled, sliced fresh peaches (about 3 1/2 pounds)

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 (to 1 cup) cup frozen raspberries

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

For crust:

2 cups all purpose flour (Plus more for rolling out)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons shortening

4-5  Tablespoons ice water

1 egg white beaten with a teaspoon of water

Sugar for sprinkling

1. Combine the peaches, raspberries, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a saucepan; set aside to form juices. (About ten minutes)

2. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat To low and cook 10 minutes or until peaches are tender, stirring often. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla and almond extracts, blending well. Set aside while you make the crust. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. Start crust. Combine flour and salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle ice water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, evenly over dry ingredients, stirring with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into teo balls.

4. Lightly flour the countertop and roll out half of the pie dough to 1/8 inch thickness and place in 9-inch pie pan. Trim off excess pastry along edges of pie pan. Spoon filling into pastry shell.

5. Roll remaining pastry to 1/8 inch thickness and then cut into 1/2 inch strips. Arrange strips in lattice design over filling. Trip strips even with edges. Fold edges under and crimp. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg white wash and evenly sprinkle sugar to coat the top.

6. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes; reduce oven temp to 350 and bake 25 to 30 mibutes more or until crust is golden and pie seems bubbly. Serve.

Hot Spinach Dip

Serve this with basic tortilla chips or thin, toasted baguette slices.

Ingredients:

10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 can Original Rotel, do not drain
2  8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened to room temp
1/4 (or more) cup heavy cream
1 large block Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Add all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Spread into oven-proof casserole dish. (Or mix ingredients right in the oven-proof dish you are going to bake the dip in.) Bake 20-25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Rigatoni "Woodsman Style"

My posts are getting fewer and farther between because I am using the internet on my phone to type them up and it is a wee bit more difficult to do it this way. Anywho, here is a recipe from a recipe from one of Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's cookbooks, Lidia's Italy in America. Sometimes I use a jar of spaghetti sauce for convenience, but it really is not too difficult to make your own sauce. This recipe should serve about 6.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta pot

1 pound rigatoni

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound sausage

Mixed mushrooms, thickly sliced (I couldnt find these in the produce section, so I had to omit. Good varieties would be cremini, button, and shiitake) use hoewever many suites your taste.

5-6 fresh sage leaves

28-ounce can crushed Italian plum tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

**You can alter the amounts of peas, sage, mushrooms to better fit your taste preference.


1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and cook, crumbling with a wooden
spoon, until sausage is no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

2.Bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil for pasta. Add rigatoni to water and cook until al dente (the package should guide you on that)

3. Whike the pasta is cooking, add mushrooms to sausage mix and cover and cook until they release juices, about 2 minutes. Uncover, add the sage and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, slosh out the tomato can with one cup pasta cooking water, and add it to the sauce. Add salt. Bring sauce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about ten minutes.

4. Once sauce is thicker, toss in peas. Cook about two minutes. Pour in another cup of pasta water and the heavy cream into the sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about two minutes more.

5. If pasta is done, drain pasta and add directly to the pan of sauce, tossing to coat well. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Toss and mix again and serve immediately.

Chicken Scarpariello

I think chicken "scarpariello" typically involves chicken thighs, but since my husband does not care much for the dark meat, I used chicken breasts, and this turned out very delicious in my opinion.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cut up into slightly bigger than bite sized pieces
1/3 pound Italian sausage
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2-4 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar (adjust to taste; increase for more tanginess)
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the kosher salt and pepper over the pieces of chicken. Working in batches if necessary (don't crowd the chicken too much or it won't brown well), add the chicken to the hot oil and toss after a minute or two. Add the sausage (break the sausage into small chunks in the pan.) Cook the sausage and chicken in the pan until the sausage is done and the chicken is browned all over, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the slices of garlic to the pan and stir to distribute. Let cook and caramelize about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the vinegar and stir to coat. Let this cook about 3 minutes. The chicken should be browning nicely on all sides and becoming coated in the all the cooking liquids.
4. Stir in the oregano and turn heat to low. Cover and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 5-6 more minutes.

This should make about 4 servings!

Chicken and Artichoke Panino

This is really good if you like artichokes and basil. I love them. Make sure you get really soft and delicious bread from the bakery (or make some yourself!) I suggest a french boule, which can be purchased at Wal-Mart! This recipe is for two sandwiches. The ingredient amounts are really up to you, and you will be able to tell how big you want to make your sandwich and how much bread you want to use. These are more like guidelines.

Ingredients:

4 pitted Kalamata olives
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
pinch of lemon zest
1-2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise (not MiracleWhip) 

1/2 (12.5-ounce) can premium white meat canned chicken, drained
1/4 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
one good squeeze fresh lemon juice
ground black pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 roma tomato, diced
2 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 loaf white french boule or other soft white bread (sourdough would be excellent)

In a food processor or mini-chopper, combine the olives, oil, garlic, and puree until well combined. There may still be small pieces of olive; that is ok. Add the mayonnaise and pulse a few more times.

Preheat a panini maker or skillet.
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, artichokes, basil, tomato, lemon juice, cheese, and pepper.

Cut the bread to make four slices (to make two sandwiches) and hollow out a bit of the bread from each piece so that there will be more room for filling. Spread the olive and mayonnaise on one side of each piece of bread. Divide the filling evenly among the two sandwiches.

Lightly brush oil on the panini maker and place the sandwiches on it. Press the top down onto the sandwiches firmly and allow to crisp for a few minutes. Do not let get too brown or too hot. This should be slightly warm, but not piping hot. Carefully transfer the sandwiches to a plate and serve!

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake

Oh, yes. This one is worth it. (Worth the money and the calories, that is...) It IS expensive to make, which is why it was a Christmas gift to my brother, who loves cheesecake. The reason this one is a snickerdoodle variety is because he also LOVES snickerdoodle cookies. I wanted to make this one special, so I decided to combine the two. I made a snickerdoodle cookie crust (yum) and then flavored the cheesecake portion with a bit of cinnamon. Here goes:

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the cheesecake:
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
7 large eggs
3 (8-ounce) containers sour cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
ground cinnamon


To make:
1. First mix up the cookie dough crust. In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer, and then mix the rest in by hand. Cover and chill dough about one hour or until firm.
2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Once the dough has been chilled, lightly (very lightly) butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with about 3 inch sides. Roll the entire blob of dough in the sugar and cinnamon mix, coating it thoroughly. Evenly press the cookie dough on the bottom and about half-way up the sides of the pan . Make sure it isn't too thick, you may not use all of the dough. The bottom should be about 1/3 inch thick. Bake the cookie crust in the oven until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. The cookie should feel slightly firm but still soft. The dough you pushed around the sides will likely have fallen a bit; that is okay. Don't worry if the cookie crust doesn't seem perfect, it should still turn out great. (I thought for sure that the cookie part wouldn't work because it rose up and fell back down when I took it out of the oven.) Let that cool slightly while you make the cheesecake batter.

3. Beat cream cheese at medium-high speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until fluffy. Gradually add 1 3/4 cup sugar, beating well and scraping sides with a flexible spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla, and a couple of dashes of cinnamon; beat at low speed until smooth, remembering to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Pour batter into prepared pan with cookie crust. It will come all the way up to the top of the pan. Place half-teaspoons of cinnamon in a few places on the top of the batter and swirl with a knife or spoon to create decorative swirls.

4. Bake at 300ºF for 1 hour 25 minutes. Turn off oven, and leave cheesecake in oven 4 hours. (DO NOT open oven door to peek)

5. Remove cake from oven carefully. Run a knife or small metal spatula around the very edge of the cake to help prevent cracks (this allows the cake to contract freely when cooling) Cool completely on a wire rack, about 3-4 more hours. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 8 hours.

6. When ready to serve, remove sides of springform pan carefully. Store in refrigerator.

Yields about 12 servings.

*You don't even want to know how many calories my husband and I figured up in this total cake. Also be warned, this is pretty expensive to make and takes a lot of time and patience. Like I said though, it is worth it.

Braised Chicken Breast with Provolone

This one comes from a cookbook I recently received as a gift; Lidia's Italy in America, by Lidia Mattichio Bastianich. (There is a slight ingredient change, since smoked provola was not available at my grocery store.)

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
All-purpose flour, for dredging
2-3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large fresh basil leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried crushed basil)
4 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup dry Marsala 
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 slices provolone cheese

Slice open the chicken breasts crosswise to butterfly, so they open to a flattened, even thickness. Season the chicken all over with salt. Lightly dredge the chicken in flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter is just melted. Add the chicken to the pan, and brown each side for about 2-3 minutes.

Once it is browned, top each breast with a basil leaf or sprinkle even amounts of dried basil over each breast and add a slice of prosciutto. Increase heat to medium high. Push-aside the chicken to make a clear spot in the middle of the pan, and pour in the Marsala and the white wine. Drop in the remaining basil leaves. Bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by half, about two minutes. Add the chicken broth and cover, simmering to blend the flavors, about three minutes.

Uncover, top the chicken with the sliced provolone and cover again. Adjust heat to a simmer, cooking about five minutes to melt the cheese, then uncover. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is reduced to your liking, about 8-10 minutes more. 

Serves 4.

Banana Bread

I made a few changes to this recipe from  The Martha Stewart Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 medium banana, medium diced

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then combine with the butter mixture. Blend well. Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir well. Fold in the nuts and diced banana and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Makes 1 loaf.