Good For Casual Company or Anytime

I was recently at a friend's house for dinner and had a great meal that I knew I must try to replicate at home. Of course, I didn't think to make it myself until the day I realized we were having company over that night. Although I couldn't get in touch with my friend to get her recipe, I was able to find a similar recipe from Emeril, who always seems to get cajun cooking right in my book. I have adapted the recipe slightly to mimic what I was looking for, but you can certainly add your own spin on the dish, making it more or less spicy or even adding a different protein like chicken. I find that it is a great meal for company, and I love to serve it with spinach salad. 


Jambalaya Pasta with Penne, Shrimp, & Andouille 
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 pound dry penne rigate
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound peeled, deveined large shrimp
• 2 tablespoons or more of Cajun seasonings, like Tony's 
• 3/4 pound andouille sausage, diced into small half-moons
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, small diced
• 1/2 cup red or green bell pepper, small diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes (optional, I left this out)
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (I added a little more for extra creaminess)
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (or more, for added flavor)

Directions:

Fill a large, 1-gallon stock pot with a pasta insert, 3/4 full with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and add 1/4 cup of the salt as it boils. Place the penne in the salted water and return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta until nearly al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and set aside, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, set a 14-inch saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, swirl the pan to evenly coat with the oil. Season the shrimp with 2 teaspoons of the Cajun seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place the shrimp in the pan and sear for 1 minute per side. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon of the olive oil to the saute pan and season the chicken breast with 2 teaspoons of the Cajun seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt. 

Place the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the saute pan and add the sausage, onions and bell peppers. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is lightly caramelized and the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock to the pan and scrape with a spoon to remove any browned bits that have formed in the bottom of the pan, about 30 seconds. Add the diced tomatoes, fresh thyme, the remaining tablespoon of Essence and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the pan and cook an additional 2 minutes. Return the shrimp and chicken to the pan, as well as the nearly al dente pasta and the reserved 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Continue to cook the sauce and pasta, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp is cooked through, the pasta is al dente and most of the pasta cooking water has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the basil and Parmesan. Toss to combine and serve while hot.

Spinach Salad:

Ingredients: one bag of baby spinach, washed, one pint of sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup sliced, toasted almonds or chopped pecans, and creamy poppyseed dressing (I use Brianna's). You could also add blue cheese or parmesan if desired. 

Directions: Toss and serve immediately. Serves 4+

Easy, Light Dinner

Here's an easy, weeknight dinner I threw together below. This meal is nothing fancy, but the flavors worked really well together. You could easily substitute some of your own favorite ingredients for the ones below. Also, if you are making the recipe for children, you can always separate the parts on their plates to give them what they like. Enjoy!

Weeknight Salad with Rotisserie Chicken 
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
3/4 bag of lettuce or greens of your choice
1/3 bag shredded carrots
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c toasted sliced almonds or chopped pecans
1-2 ripe, diced avocados
balsalmic dressing
1 rotisserie chicken (the flavor I used was lemon pepper, you could always just use leftover chicken)

Directions:
Toss first six ingredients in a bowl. Top with sliced, warm rotisserie chicken. Serve with wild rice and/or hearty grain bread.

The Big Deal About Red Velvet

For many years, I've heard many people rave about red velvet cake. For me, I could never really figure out the big deal. How is the taste "red" really that great? I know this particular type of cake has cocoa in it, but as a huge chocolate fan, why not just eat chocolate cake? Well, it all changed at my son's third birthday. The theme was "fire truck" and although I made a fire truck cake (see picture below), I still wanted something easy to eat that wouldn't cause red icing to end up everywhere. Red velvet seemed appropriate as it matched the color theme, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I searched and searched the Internet for the perfect recipe and finally decided to give this recipe from Kathleen's Gonna Want Seconds Cooking Blog. She adapted her recipe from one of my most trusted sources, Cooks Illustrated. If anyone can make a regular recipe great, it's the people at Cooks Illustrated.

The recipe was surprisingly easy and worked for cupcakes, which was even better in my opinion! I made the cupcakes and icing the day before and piped the icing on the cupcakes a couple hours before the party. I topped each with a red m&m and used red paper liners to stick with the theme.

I have to say, besides these cupcakes changing my mind about red velvet, the icing was the BEST cream cheese icing I have ever had. I will definitely be adding these cupcakes to my repertoire of desserts.

Red Velvet Cake  

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of table salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder

1-1ounce bottle red food coloring

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

Frosting:

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

4 cups (16 ounces) confectioner's sugar

16 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch of table salt 

Instructions (with notes from Gonna Want Seconds):

FOR THE CAKE:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2-9 inch cake pans or line cupcake pans with liners.

2. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In another bowl add buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and eggs and whisk to combine.

4. Sift cocoa into a small bowl the mix with food coloring until it forms a paste.

5. Beat butter and sugar together, in a standing mixer, set on medium, for 2 minutes.  Scrape down bowl.

6. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and and beat on medium speed just until it's incorporated.  Add 1/2 the buttermilk mixture and beat on low until combined.  Scrape down the bowl.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture and beat on medium until incorporate.  Add the rest of buttermilk mixture beat on low until combine.  Add last 1/3 of flour mixture and beat on medium until just combined.  Scrape down the bowl.

7. Add the cocoa paste mixture and beat on medium until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and make sure the bottom of the batter is incorporating as well.   Give the batter a final good stir with a rubber spoonula to mix completely and pour into prepared pans.

8. Bake cake/cupcakes in preheated oven about 25 minutes for cake and 17-20 minutes for cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes. 

FOR THE FROSTING: 

1. In a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporate. ( Are you kidding me? Yah, I just plopped all the softened cream cheese in-full blocks-not cut up in and had no problems ;0 )  Beat in vanilla and salt. ( don't skip the salt- it doesn't make the frosting taste salty it heightens all the other flavs.).  Spread or pipe on completely cooled cakes.  If frosting seems a bit too soft to pipe well, pop it in the fridge a few minutes to firm it up a little.

What to do With All Those Leftovers

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. It is a cook's dream and to me, there's nothing better than having an excuse to be in my kitchen for days preparing so many delicious dishes. However, when it's all said and done and the leftovers are put away, I have to admit that the last thing I want to do is go back in the kitchen, dirty up a bunch of dishes, and come up some fancy meal using the Thanksgiving leftovers.

A couple of years ago, when my husband and I were home, just the two of us, for Thanksgiving, I accidentally bought a couple extra pie crusts. You know, those ones that come rolled up two to a box? Well, later that night, after our Thanksgiving celebration was over, I came up with an idea which has now become a tradition each year since that day. I took some of our leftovers and made what I like to call "Turkey Pockets." I hope this year, you'll grab a couple extra pie crusts and see how scrumptious these pot pie-like creations are.

Turkey Pockets
Serves 1-2 per pie crust 


Ingredients:
Thanksgiving leftovers (turkey, stuffing, corn casserole, peas, gravy, etc.)
Refrigerated pie crusts (I use Pillsbury in the red box)
One egg or a few tablespoons of milk

Set oven to temperature on pie crust box. Carefully unroll pie crusts and cut each in half. Place pie crusts on an ungreased cookie sheet with a couple inches in between each one. Put about 3/4-1 cup of filling in each half and fold over on itself so that it makes a 1/4 circle or a triangle. My favorite filling combination is turkey meat, gravy (for moisture) and peas or corn. Using a fork, press edges together so it resembles the edges of a crust on a pie. Using a butter knife, cut a few slits in the top of the pocket to allow heat and steam to escape. Brush the top of each crust with an egg wash (one egg mixed with water) or milk. Place cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven and set timer according to box, but be sure to watch for a variance in time. Once golden brown on top, remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before enjoying with other Thanksgiving sides.

My Favorite Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables may not sound as appetizing as they do to me. You may still be recovering from a nightmarish childhood of being forced to eat awful, soggy, tasteless vegetables, night after night. You may be like my husband, who, for many years, would only eat two vegetables: salad and peas. Personally, I don't even know that "salad" is exactly a vegetable, especially if it hides beneath a mound of croutons and dressing and cheese, but we won't go there for now.

See, what I have come to realize over the years, is that vegetables have to be honored. They can't just be boiled to death or covered with cheese or butter. They need to stand out as the main attraction and they must be treated properly to do so. That's where roasting comes into play. Roasting vegetables brings out their best flavor by almost caramelizing them. The best part is the simplicity of the other ingredients: olive oil, salt and pepper, and maybe some fresh or dried herbs if you wish. I bet you already have all of these in your pantry. Next time you need to put a vegetable on your plate, try them this way and I bet you'll come to create some new, fond memories of vegetables. Here's a few of my favorites:

Roasted Red Potatoes: Wash, cut into wedges, and toss with olive oil, salt, fresh ground pepper, rosemary (fresh or dried), and garlic powder. Roast at 400 degrees in a greased casserole dish or sheet pan for 30-40 mins, turning once.

Roasted Okra: This is a new one for me. I love fried okra, but it isn't realistic for me to fry okra on a weekly basis, which is how often I buy it from the farmer's market. I found that roasting it may even be better than frying it and is definitely easier! Simply toss in olive oil, salt, and fresh ground pepper, and roast at 400 degrees in a greased casserole dish for 15 mins.

Roasted Butternut Squash: Toss with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper and roast at 400 degrees in a greased casserole dish for 30 mins. Sometimes I take my roasted squash and put it on a whole wheat pizza with goat cheese, tomato sauce, and baby spinach.

There are many other vegetables I love to roast (grape tomatoes, baby carrots, eggplant, and more) but I hope these will encourage you to try your vegetables in a new way.

Really Easy, Delicious Summer Cobbler

Early in the week, I noticed I had peaches and half a pint of blueberries leftover from my recent trip to the farmer's market. I immediately remembered how my father used to make peach blueberry cobbler and had to try and replicate it. I found a delicious version that my favorite cook, Ina Garten makes. I altered the recipe slightly,  using an 8 x 2 loaf pan instead of the ramekins and leaving out the lemon zest (I only had lemon juice on hand). Needless to say, my husband and I devoured the entire dessert in one evening. Now, I will have to buy extra peaches and blueberries at tomorrow's market so I can make it again!

Peach & Blueberry Cobbler
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
for the fruit:

• 2 pounds firm, ripe peaches (6 to 8 peaches)
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

for the cobbler/crumble:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins, loaf pan, or 8x8 depending on amount of fruit.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it's in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. If using ramekins, place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. If using a loaf or 8x8 pan, bake for 35 to 40 mins. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles in the refrigerator and bake before dinner.

When Your MIL Says it's the Best, You Blog it

Let me say first, I have a GREAT mother-in-law (and I'm not just saying this because she'll probably read this). Seriously, she's fun, she's easy to be around, and she loves my kids. When she came to visit us weeks ago, I decided to try a new recipe I was pretty sure she'd like. A few of her favorite foods are feta, shrimp, and tomatoes, so I figured this would be a hit. Thankfully, not only did she like it, I heard her comment that it might be the best thing she had ever eaten! I hope you enjoy this as much as she did!

Roasted Shrimp with Feta
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa 
Picture from House Beautiful 

Ingredients:

Good olive oil
1 cup diced leeks (two)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds (16 to 18) shrimp, peeled and deveined with the tails left on
3 ounces feta cheese, preferably Greek or French, coarsely crumbled
1 cup fresh bread crumbs 
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 lemons

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in 10- or 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and garlic and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits clinging to the bottom of the skillet, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the skillet. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Arrange the shrimp artfully in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet. Scatter feta evenly over the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle evenly over the shrimp.

5. Bake the shrimp for about 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden brown. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the shrimp. Serve hot with wedges of lemon.

NOTE: To make 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs, remove the crusts from 3 to 4 slices white bread and place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the bread is in crumbs.

Assemble the shrimp right in a 10- to 12-inch stainless-steel sauté pan, and then put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with salad and french bread. Serves 4.