After a full weekend, I arrived back at my apartment a little after 7pm on Sunday. I dragged myself to the grocery store without a plan in the world, but knowing I didn't have the energy to cook anything. I impulsively bought asparagus and the mozzarella that was on sale, hoping to find inspiration later in the week. This morning, I checked my RSS feeds and what should I find, but shaved asparagus pizza on Smitten Kitchen? After reviewing the recipe, I decided that it couldn't possibly be complete without some of the cherry tomatoes and goat cheese I also impulsively bought. (Other adaptations include omitting the scallion and cutting back on the salt and pepper.)
Of course, the only problem with this recipe was I needed a pizza crust. Without my Metro (which reopens July 1 ... hooray! yes, I will be counting the days), the only pre-made pizza crusts I have readily available to me also have tomato sauce on them ... ick! Most homemade pizza crusts require a few hours for the dough to rise, but luckily a quick google search found a pizza dough recipe that required only 15 minutes of total waiting time ... the perfect waiting time to peel the asparagus and grate the cheese.
After thinking about this recipe all day and spending more time than expected peeling the asparagus (the one time the thicker asparagus would've been good!), I was a bit concerned that the pizza would be a disappointment. It couldn't have been farther from that. This was delicious ... a perfect way to end an amazing month.
Shaved Asparagus Pizza (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients
1 pizza crust (recipe adapted from allrecipes.com below)
1 bundle asparagus (I ended up with some extra because I'm crust challenged, but it should be excellent for salad!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
225g mozzarella, shredded or cut into small cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil (plus more for the tomatoes)
200g cherry tomatoes
80 - 100g goat cheese (mine was black pepper)
1. Preheat your oven to the hottest temperature it goes, or about 500 in most cases (mine goes to 550, but I stuck with 500). If you use a pizza stone, have it in there.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Pour in olive oil. Add tomatoes. Heat for 5 minutes or so, until they're slightly charred and starting to break down. Remove from heat, set aside.
3. Create long shavings of asparagus by drawing the peeler from the base to the top of the stalk. Repeat with remaining stalks and don’t fret some pieces are unevenly thick (such as the end of the stalk, which might be too thin to peel); the mixed textures give a great character to the pizza. Discard tough ends. Toss peelings with olive oil in a bowl and be sure to try one.
4. Roll or stretch out your pizza dough to a 12-inch round. Either transfer to a floured or cornmeal-dusted pizza peel (if using a pizza stone in the oven) or to a floured or cornmeal-dusted tray to bake it on.
5. Sprinkle pizza dough with mozzarella and goat cheese. Top with tomatoes. Pile asparagus on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
6. Bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, the cheese is bubbly and the asparagus might be lightly charred. Remove from the oven, slice and eat.
Quick and Easy Pizza Crust (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
1 (8g) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, oregano, basil, powders, and salt.
3. Stir into the yeast mixtures flour and oil mixture. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Pots
This recipe adaptation was born out of a need to clean out the fridge before leaving for the weekend (a huge thanks to the family that opened their doors to me over the weekend ... the cottage was incredible!). The original is more of a bar with a graham cracker crust on the bottom. I didn't have enough cream cheese to make bars, so I opted for using my little ramekins to make pots of cheesecake. I had a lot of blueberries that needed to become something, so I overdosed on blueberries for each one. All measurements are approximate. For a more traditional recipe, click the link. This adaptation is ridiculously simple, but also delicious. I ran out of time this week after making them and ended up having to polish them off Friday night before leaving on the road trip. Luckily my friends decided to help with the consumption, but I don't think they were entirely thrilled about having to share a cheesecake pot!
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Pots (loosely adapted from Shared Sugar) (adapted from Tyler Florence)
Ingredients
2/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup blueberries
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 2 ramekins (I'm not sure what size mine are ... maybe 1 cup?).
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer, add the cream cheese, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Mix until the ingredients are creamy and the cream cheese is fully incorporated.
3. Pour into the ramekins. Then evenly distribute the blueberries.
4. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cheesecake comes out mostly clean. Only allow the top to get a hint of brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Pots (loosely adapted from Shared Sugar) (adapted from Tyler Florence)
Ingredients
2/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup blueberries
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 2 ramekins (I'm not sure what size mine are ... maybe 1 cup?).
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer, add the cream cheese, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Mix until the ingredients are creamy and the cream cheese is fully incorporated.
3. Pour into the ramekins. Then evenly distribute the blueberries.
4. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cheesecake comes out mostly clean. Only allow the top to get a hint of brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Fresh raspberries were on sale this week! How could I resist buying them? And since my grocery store is still closed and the Val-Mont doesn't believe in classic cereals, I've been baking breakfast more often lately. I'm not sure what to say about these muffins. They're good, they're moist, but they're nothing amazing. If you want amazing muffins, go here, but it will be more work.
I scaled the recipe in half because it said it made 12 muffins, but that's more like 12 puny muffins. I think this would've been better as 9 large muffins. The original had low fat everything, but i just used regular ingredients. I suppose you could pretend it's healthy if you used low fat. It also didn't see worth it to me to make buttermilk for such a small quantity, so I just used 2% milk. I left out the walnuts, but feel free to add some back in. Finally, no raspberry muffin is complete without lemon in my world, so I added lemon.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins (from Cooking Light)
Ingredients
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
5 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
zest of one lemon
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended.
3. Add sugar; beat until fluffy.
4. Add vanilla, egg whites, and lemon zest; beat well.
5. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and milk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
7. Gently fold in raspberries.
8. Place 12 foil cup liners in muffin cups (or 9 for larger muffins). Spoon batter evenly into liners.
9. Bake at 350° 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.
I scaled the recipe in half because it said it made 12 muffins, but that's more like 12 puny muffins. I think this would've been better as 9 large muffins. The original had low fat everything, but i just used regular ingredients. I suppose you could pretend it's healthy if you used low fat. It also didn't see worth it to me to make buttermilk for such a small quantity, so I just used 2% milk. I left out the walnuts, but feel free to add some back in. Finally, no raspberry muffin is complete without lemon in my world, so I added lemon.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins (from Cooking Light)
Ingredients
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
5 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
zest of one lemon
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended.
3. Add sugar; beat until fluffy.
4. Add vanilla, egg whites, and lemon zest; beat well.
5. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and milk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
7. Gently fold in raspberries.
8. Place 12 foil cup liners in muffin cups (or 9 for larger muffins). Spoon batter evenly into liners.
9. Bake at 350° 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Spring Time Risotto
This recipe was inspired by a couple of sources. First, Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian has a recipe variation for risotto with four cheeses. I'm still trying to figure out what the fourth cheese is as he only lists three, but it's still over the top. Second, I've noticed an explosion of posts on food blogs lately featuring fiddleheads. I'd never noticed or heard of them before, but the look intrigued me, so I decided it was time to try them. This post provided the perfect inspiration for combining the mysterious fiddleheads with the risotto I already wanted to make.
Spring Time Risotto
1 cup risotto rice
1 wineglass dry white wine/vermouth
3-4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup grated Fontina
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (gorgonzola or your choice)
1/2 cup dried chickpeas (or you can use canned)
1 bundle asparagus, cut into 1 inch spears
1 cup fiddleheads
1 cup snow peas
zest of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1. If using dried chickpeas, pre-soak them for a few hours ahead of time. Drain water. Place in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook the beans while making the risotto.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook fiddleheads for 10 minutes and asparagus and snow peas for 5 minutes. When cooked, dunk in a cold water bath.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat the chicken broth.
4. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and 2 tbsp butter. Saute the onion and garlic (try not to colour them).
5. Add the rice and stir.
6. When the rice looks somewhat translucent, add the wine. Stir occassionally.
7. Reduce heat. When the wine has evaporated, add a ladle-full of broth to the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir. When the broth is absorbed, add another ladle-full. Continue this process. It will take about 15 - 20 minutes. Taste rice occassionally and continue adding broth until it tastes cooked.
8. Remove from heat. Add 1 tbsp butter, lemon zest, and the cheese. Stir. Place lid on pan, allow to sit for 2 minutes.
9. Stir in cooked chickpeas and greens.
Spring Time Risotto
1 cup risotto rice
1 wineglass dry white wine/vermouth
3-4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup grated Fontina
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (gorgonzola or your choice)
1/2 cup dried chickpeas (or you can use canned)
1 bundle asparagus, cut into 1 inch spears
1 cup fiddleheads
1 cup snow peas
zest of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1. If using dried chickpeas, pre-soak them for a few hours ahead of time. Drain water. Place in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook the beans while making the risotto.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook fiddleheads for 10 minutes and asparagus and snow peas for 5 minutes. When cooked, dunk in a cold water bath.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat the chicken broth.
4. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and 2 tbsp butter. Saute the onion and garlic (try not to colour them).
5. Add the rice and stir.
6. When the rice looks somewhat translucent, add the wine. Stir occassionally.
7. Reduce heat. When the wine has evaporated, add a ladle-full of broth to the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir. When the broth is absorbed, add another ladle-full. Continue this process. It will take about 15 - 20 minutes. Taste rice occassionally and continue adding broth until it tastes cooked.
8. Remove from heat. Add 1 tbsp butter, lemon zest, and the cheese. Stir. Place lid on pan, allow to sit for 2 minutes.
9. Stir in cooked chickpeas and greens.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Asparagus Pesto Quinoa with Tomatoes
Nothing says summer quite like asparagus and tomatoes. I used slow-roasted tomatoes, but you could easily use fresh tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes.
Asparagus Pesto Quinoa with Tomatoes
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
10 cocktail tomatoes slow-roasted/1 pint cherry tomatoes/1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 lb asparagus (or 1 bundle guesstimated)
1/2 cup pecans (less if you're using pre-chopped pecans)
2 cloves garlic (roasted or raw)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
fresh cheese curds/feta cheese/goat cheese
1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
3. Trim asparagus and place on a pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven for 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Combine pecans, garlic, and salt in food processor. Chop until fine.
5. Add in olive oil and roasted asparagus. Chop, leaving the asparagus slightly chunky.
6. Mix in Parmesan and combine with cooked quinoa.
7. Serve pesto quinoa with tomatoes and cheese to taste.
Asparagus Pesto Quinoa with Tomatoes
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
10 cocktail tomatoes slow-roasted/1 pint cherry tomatoes/1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 lb asparagus (or 1 bundle guesstimated)
1/2 cup pecans (less if you're using pre-chopped pecans)
2 cloves garlic (roasted or raw)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
fresh cheese curds/feta cheese/goat cheese
1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
3. Trim asparagus and place on a pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven for 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Combine pecans, garlic, and salt in food processor. Chop until fine.
5. Add in olive oil and roasted asparagus. Chop, leaving the asparagus slightly chunky.
6. Mix in Parmesan and combine with cooked quinoa.
7. Serve pesto quinoa with tomatoes and cheese to taste.
Berry Pie Muffins
I made these for a weekend brunch. They're not the simplest muffins out there, but they are delicious. This recipe makes 12 extremely large muffins. If I were making them again, I might scale the recipe down or else make 18 muffins.
I made two changes. First, I realized I had only half the amount of blackberries, but rather than scaling down or rushing out to the store, I added in an equal amount of frozen raspberries that I had hiding in the freezer. Second, I didn't have quick oats, so I substituted bulgar wheat.
Berry Pie Muffins (from The Hazel Bloom)
Ingredients
Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats (or bulgar wheat)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Muffins
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest (I used zest from 1 lemon, so it ended up being a little more)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I subbed 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice)
12 ounces fresh blackberries, cut in half (I used half fresh blackberry and half frozen raspberry)
1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees, and line 12 muffin cups with liners (or grease the cups).
2. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg and then stir in the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the buttermilk, and stir just until moistened.
6. Add the blackberries and stir until well incorporated.
7. Fill your muffin cups almost to the top with the batter.
8. Sprinkle the topping evenly over each cupcake.
9. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until they're golden brown and the tops spring back when you poke at 'em.
I made two changes. First, I realized I had only half the amount of blackberries, but rather than scaling down or rushing out to the store, I added in an equal amount of frozen raspberries that I had hiding in the freezer. Second, I didn't have quick oats, so I substituted bulgar wheat.
Berry Pie Muffins (from The Hazel Bloom)
Ingredients
Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats (or bulgar wheat)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Muffins
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest (I used zest from 1 lemon, so it ended up being a little more)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I subbed 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice)
12 ounces fresh blackberries, cut in half (I used half fresh blackberry and half frozen raspberry)
1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees, and line 12 muffin cups with liners (or grease the cups).
2. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg and then stir in the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the buttermilk, and stir just until moistened.
6. Add the blackberries and stir until well incorporated.
7. Fill your muffin cups almost to the top with the batter.
8. Sprinkle the topping evenly over each cupcake.
9. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until they're golden brown and the tops spring back when you poke at 'em.
Chocolate Orbit Cake with Blackberry-Cassis Sauce
This cake is nothing short of sensational. It's rich, decadent, and well simply amazing. The blackberry-cassis sauce is the perfect complement to the cake. I scaled the cake recipe down (original below) and made a full version of the sauce, so there's plenty left over. I can't wait to find something to do it justice.
I used a mixture of semisweet and regular dark chocolate and it came out just fine. The original sauce recipe called for 1 bag of frozen blackberries and 1 - 2 baskets of fresh blackberries. I had no idea how much that should be (and don't have easy access to frozen foods right now), so I just used 12 ounces of fresh blackberries.
Chocolate Orbit Cake with Blackberry-Cassis Sauce (from Desserts for Breakfast) (from Room for Dessert by David Lebovitz)
Ingredients
for cake
1/2 pound butter, in small chunks
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
for sauce
12 ounces fresh blackberries
1/3 cup creme de cassis
1/4 cup sugar, approx.
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 tspn cornstarch
Cake directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line the bottom of a 9" round pan with parchment paper and butter the bottom and sides.
3. Combine the butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Cook until melted. (I just microwaved it together to save time.)
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and the eggs.
5. Whisk in the melted chocolate to the sugar and eggs.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and place this cake pan into a water bath, with warm water reaching about half-way up the sides.
7. Cover tightly with foil.
8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the cake appears set and your finger comes away clean when you touch the center.
9. Remove from oven and water bath and let cool completely.
Sauce directions
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the blackberries, until they begin to release their juices.
2. Add in the creme de cassis, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.
3. When the liquid begins to simmer, spoon about 1/4 cup of the liquid into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch to the liquid in the bowl and whisk thoroughly until the cornstarch is dissolved. Return the cornstarch mixture to the berries cooking in the saucepan.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow to boil for about a minute.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer until the liquid begins to be syrupy. Remove from heat--serve warm immediately or reheat in microwave before serving (if you are freezing the sauce for later use).
I used a mixture of semisweet and regular dark chocolate and it came out just fine. The original sauce recipe called for 1 bag of frozen blackberries and 1 - 2 baskets of fresh blackberries. I had no idea how much that should be (and don't have easy access to frozen foods right now), so I just used 12 ounces of fresh blackberries.
Chocolate Orbit Cake with Blackberry-Cassis Sauce (from Desserts for Breakfast) (from Room for Dessert by David Lebovitz)
Ingredients
for cake
1/2 pound butter, in small chunks
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
for sauce
12 ounces fresh blackberries
1/3 cup creme de cassis
1/4 cup sugar, approx.
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 tspn cornstarch
Cake directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line the bottom of a 9" round pan with parchment paper and butter the bottom and sides.
3. Combine the butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Cook until melted. (I just microwaved it together to save time.)
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and the eggs.
5. Whisk in the melted chocolate to the sugar and eggs.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and place this cake pan into a water bath, with warm water reaching about half-way up the sides.
7. Cover tightly with foil.
8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the cake appears set and your finger comes away clean when you touch the center.
9. Remove from oven and water bath and let cool completely.
Sauce directions
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the blackberries, until they begin to release their juices.
2. Add in the creme de cassis, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and bring to a simmer.
3. When the liquid begins to simmer, spoon about 1/4 cup of the liquid into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch to the liquid in the bowl and whisk thoroughly until the cornstarch is dissolved. Return the cornstarch mixture to the berries cooking in the saucepan.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow to boil for about a minute.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer until the liquid begins to be syrupy. Remove from heat--serve warm immediately or reheat in microwave before serving (if you are freezing the sauce for later use).
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Baked Ziti with Goat Cheese and Olives
I am so behind on cooking lately. I have so many delicious recipes that I want to make and yet I find myself lacking the appetite (thank you all-you-can-eat Indian buffet), the time (it is hockey season), or the motivation (why yes, baguette and cheese with tomato and fruit does sound like a delicious dinner!). I think I'm also in a rut. So here you find yet another pasta recipe. In my defense, I wanted something that would be easy to throw together for having people over for dinner and reheat well for leftovers. Nothing seems to reheat as well as baked pasta. Baked ziti is an old favourite of mine. It's like lasagna, except much, much simpler ... no crazy layering! Just combine pasta sauce, meat, mozzarella, and bake! Of course, my aversion to buying meat right now is being reinforced by the fact that it would necessitate a trip to another grocery store (yes, I'm still mourning the temporary closing of my Metro and being forced to shop at the Val-Mont, which while lovely does not sell most meats or seafood). Thankfully, Mark Bittman comes to the rescue in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. The thing I love about this cookbook is it gives you a basic recipe (say baked ziti), but then offers you variations on the theme (maybe you'd prefer it with ricotta or a walnut sauce ... or goat cheese and olives). I wasn't too crazy about the idea of a mushroom based dish, but the goat cheese sounded marvelous and olives instead of mushrooms? ... even better! (I seem to remember not really liking olives as recently as a few months ago, but let's just say they're growing on me.)
I kept fairly close to his variation on the ziti. The only big change was using a can of crushed tomatoes instead of diced ... but the Val-Mont didn't seem to have a large can of diced tomatoes and I wasn't about the chop them myself!
Baked Ziti with Goat Cheese and Olives (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
Ingredients
salt & pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup pitted olives (I just used a can, I'm not entirely sure how much was in there!)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 28-ounce can tomatoes (diced or crushed)
500g ziti or other pasta
125g goat cheese (I used a Quebec cheese with fine herb seasoning)
1/2 - 1 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add in olives and can of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer while the pasta cooks.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until just tender. Drain. Toss with sauce and mix in goat cheese.
4. Grease a large baking dish and pour in pasta mixture. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan.
5. Bake 20 - 30 minutes or until the top is browned and cheese is bubbly.
I kept fairly close to his variation on the ziti. The only big change was using a can of crushed tomatoes instead of diced ... but the Val-Mont didn't seem to have a large can of diced tomatoes and I wasn't about the chop them myself!
Baked Ziti with Goat Cheese and Olives (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
Ingredients
salt & pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup pitted olives (I just used a can, I'm not entirely sure how much was in there!)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 28-ounce can tomatoes (diced or crushed)
500g ziti or other pasta
125g goat cheese (I used a Quebec cheese with fine herb seasoning)
1/2 - 1 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add in olives and can of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer while the pasta cooks.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until just tender. Drain. Toss with sauce and mix in goat cheese.
4. Grease a large baking dish and pour in pasta mixture. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan.
5. Bake 20 - 30 minutes or until the top is browned and cheese is bubbly.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
So my plan for this week had been three recipes - one from each cookbook. It's Wednesday, I have dinner plans tomorrow night that involve sushi, and I've only made one recipe ... yeah, it's been that kind of week. However, I think this post more than makes up for any slacking that might be occurring in the dinner department!
You read the title correctly ... peanut butter, cheesecake, and brownies ... all in one delicious package. What could be better? I didn't see the cocoa powder in the text of the recipe, so I skipped it and the brownies were plenty chocolaty. I used natural peanut butter because the Val-Mont (please come back, Metro!) doesn't sell my childhood favourite. Similarly, they only seem to sell extra-large eggs, so my eggs were slightly bigger! I also used crazy organic, probiotic cream cheese because oddly enough it was cheaper there than Philadelphia cream cheese.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies (from Parsley, Sage, Desserts, and Line Drives)
Ingredients
Brownie Layer
7-ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl
250g cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
DIRECTIONS FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
2. Stir chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth; cool 10 minutes. (I just zapped it in the microwave for a minute and then stirred until the chocolate melted ... it also saved me some cooling time. Just be careful not to scramble the eggs.) Using electric mixer on low speed, or stir in with a wooden spoon – sugar, eggs, and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture, until uniform. Stir/beat in flour, cocoa and salt. Spread half the batter in pan.
DIRECTIONS FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE SWIRL:
1. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter, whole egg or egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. DO NOT OVER BEAT!
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
1. Drop large spoonfuls of the peanut butter cheesecake batter across the top of the first layer of brownie batter. Don’t swirl them together. Cover the peanut butter dollops with the remaining brownie batter add the remaining peanut butter cheesecake batter in dollops, then take a knife, spatula, spoon handle, or whatever you have on hand that can ‘swirl’ well, and swirl the TOP layer of peanut butter cheesecake batter with the brownie mixture. Lift up some of the brownie batter to insure the brownie mixture swirls in as much as possible, since it can be little heavier than the peanut butter cheesecake batter, depending on whether you use a whole egg or just the yolk. As mentioned above, it’s ok if some of the first layer of both batters swirl also, just not too much. (Mine wasn't layering very well, so I just swirled a lot ... your choice how careful you are!)
2. Bake for 35-37 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set, or a skewer contains a few moist brownie crumbs sticking to it (you would stick the skewer in a chocolate area).
You read the title correctly ... peanut butter, cheesecake, and brownies ... all in one delicious package. What could be better? I didn't see the cocoa powder in the text of the recipe, so I skipped it and the brownies were plenty chocolaty. I used natural peanut butter because the Val-Mont (please come back, Metro!) doesn't sell my childhood favourite. Similarly, they only seem to sell extra-large eggs, so my eggs were slightly bigger! I also used crazy organic, probiotic cream cheese because oddly enough it was cheaper there than Philadelphia cream cheese.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies (from Parsley, Sage, Desserts, and Line Drives)
Ingredients
Brownie Layer
7-ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl
250g cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
DIRECTIONS FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
2. Stir chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth; cool 10 minutes. (I just zapped it in the microwave for a minute and then stirred until the chocolate melted ... it also saved me some cooling time. Just be careful not to scramble the eggs.) Using electric mixer on low speed, or stir in with a wooden spoon – sugar, eggs, and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture, until uniform. Stir/beat in flour, cocoa and salt. Spread half the batter in pan.
DIRECTIONS FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE SWIRL:
1. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter, whole egg or egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. DO NOT OVER BEAT!
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
1. Drop large spoonfuls of the peanut butter cheesecake batter across the top of the first layer of brownie batter. Don’t swirl them together. Cover the peanut butter dollops with the remaining brownie batter add the remaining peanut butter cheesecake batter in dollops, then take a knife, spatula, spoon handle, or whatever you have on hand that can ‘swirl’ well, and swirl the TOP layer of peanut butter cheesecake batter with the brownie mixture. Lift up some of the brownie batter to insure the brownie mixture swirls in as much as possible, since it can be little heavier than the peanut butter cheesecake batter, depending on whether you use a whole egg or just the yolk. As mentioned above, it’s ok if some of the first layer of both batters swirl also, just not too much. (Mine wasn't layering very well, so I just swirled a lot ... your choice how careful you are!)
2. Bake for 35-37 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set, or a skewer contains a few moist brownie crumbs sticking to it (you would stick the skewer in a chocolate area).
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Vegetable Lasagna
I bought 3 cookbooks this week: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Gourmet Today, and because I needed to push amazon into free shipping 660 Curries. With luck, you can expect to see gems from them in the future. I'll start with Gourmet Today's Vegetable Lasagna. I have one warning about this recipe ... it's quite a bit of work, but then again, most lasagna is a bit of work! I got a little fancy with the ingredients and went to Milano's and bought fresh lasagna noodles, fresh ricotta cheese, and San Marzano tomatoes. Because oddly enough it's easier for me to buy fresh spinach than use frozen, I also substituted two bundles of spinach for two packages of spinach. I also substituted 2% milk for whole milk in the creamed spinach.
There are many components to this that require separate cooking. For ease, I've put the directions right under the ingredients for that part.
Vegetable Lasagna from Gourmet Today
Ingredients
For sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1. Heat oil in a 3-qt pot over medium high heat.
2. Add onion and cook, stirring, until golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute or so.
3. Add tomato paste, tomatoes with juice (the original suggests you chop them, I skipped this), sugar, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes until sauce is thickened, about 45 minutes.
5. Stir in parsley (or basil) and remove from heat.
For Ricotta Filling:
1 1/2 pounds (3 cups) ricotta (I used about 550g)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1. Stir together all ingredients in a bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
For Vegetables:
1 lb eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 lb zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Arrange eggplants on one sheet and zucchini on the other. Brush tops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Bake until tender (the original suggests you turn, I did not and it was fine), 15 to 20 minutes.
For Creamed Spinach:
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry (or fresh spinach works as well)
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat milk in a small saucepan, stirring, until warm.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 3-qt saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until softened.
3. Add flour and cook, whisking, to make a roux.
4. Add warm milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking until thickened.
5. Stir in cheese, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring until heated through. Remove from heat.
For Assembly:
8 oven ready lasagna noodles (the original calls for 16, but 8 fit my pan perfectly).
1 pound freshly grated mozzarella (about 4 cups)
1. Oil a 13x9 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spread 2 cups of tomato sauce in dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.
3. Spread ricotta mixture on top and cover with eggplant.
4. Top with 2 more noodles.
5. Pour 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce on top.
6. Spread spinach mixture over sauce and top with 2 more noodles.
7. Top with zucchini and cover with 2 remaining noodles.
8. Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle on mozzarella cheese.
9. Cover lasagna with well-buttered foil and bake for 45 minutes.
10. Remove foil and bake until top is bubbling and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.
11. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
There are many components to this that require separate cooking. For ease, I've put the directions right under the ingredients for that part.
Vegetable Lasagna from Gourmet Today
Ingredients
For sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1. Heat oil in a 3-qt pot over medium high heat.
2. Add onion and cook, stirring, until golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute or so.
3. Add tomato paste, tomatoes with juice (the original suggests you chop them, I skipped this), sugar, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes until sauce is thickened, about 45 minutes.
5. Stir in parsley (or basil) and remove from heat.
For Ricotta Filling:
1 1/2 pounds (3 cups) ricotta (I used about 550g)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1. Stir together all ingredients in a bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
For Vegetables:
1 lb eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 lb zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Arrange eggplants on one sheet and zucchini on the other. Brush tops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Bake until tender (the original suggests you turn, I did not and it was fine), 15 to 20 minutes.
For Creamed Spinach:
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry (or fresh spinach works as well)
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat milk in a small saucepan, stirring, until warm.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 3-qt saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until softened.
3. Add flour and cook, whisking, to make a roux.
4. Add warm milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Simmer, whisking until thickened.
5. Stir in cheese, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring until heated through. Remove from heat.
For Assembly:
8 oven ready lasagna noodles (the original calls for 16, but 8 fit my pan perfectly).
1 pound freshly grated mozzarella (about 4 cups)
1. Oil a 13x9 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spread 2 cups of tomato sauce in dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.
3. Spread ricotta mixture on top and cover with eggplant.
4. Top with 2 more noodles.
5. Pour 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce on top.
6. Spread spinach mixture over sauce and top with 2 more noodles.
7. Top with zucchini and cover with 2 remaining noodles.
8. Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle on mozzarella cheese.
9. Cover lasagna with well-buttered foil and bake for 45 minutes.
10. Remove foil and bake until top is bubbling and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.
11. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Rosemary Parmesan Popovers
This is simple, quick, and delicious. Best eaten warm!
Rosemary Parmesan Popovers (from Great Eats with Petes)
Ingredients
Butter for greasing
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter a six cup muffin tin, set aside. Do this well otherwise the popovers will stick to the tin.
3. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and water. Whisk in flour and salt until combined.
4. Whisk in rosemary and grated cheese.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins about 3/4 the way up.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the popovers have puffed up and are browned. Turn over tin and pop out popovers (you may need to run a knife around the edges).
Rosemary Parmesan Popovers (from Great Eats with Petes)
Ingredients
Butter for greasing
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter a six cup muffin tin, set aside. Do this well otherwise the popovers will stick to the tin.
3. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and water. Whisk in flour and salt until combined.
4. Whisk in rosemary and grated cheese.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins about 3/4 the way up.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the popovers have puffed up and are browned. Turn over tin and pop out popovers (you may need to run a knife around the edges).
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