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Farmer’s Market
September 28th, 2009On Saturday, I woke up early and ventured out to our area farmer’s market. I really enjoyed seeing all the vendors and farmer’s excited to show their harvest and produce. I meant to take more pictures but I somehow forgot my camera. I was able to capture the goods I purchased when I came back home.
As you can see from the picture, I am enjoying the tomatoes, especially the heirloom tomatoes. They taste like no other tomato I have ever tasted. Looking forward using all these veggies in upcoming dishes!
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Ricotta Gnocchi and Sausage Meatballs with Tomato-Pepper Sauce
September 27th, 2009It was Friday and the weekend had officially arrived. I gotta tell you it was the longest week for me and my hubby and I knew that the best way was to go out and celebrate the week’s end, but I felt like cooking! We were due to go to a evening gathering with desserts and cocktails, so I knew our meal had to be quick yet fantastic. I found a great recipe for gnocchi that only takes 15 minutes to prepare. YES, I said 15 minutes. Between preparing them and making a sauce AND a salad, I was done within 30 minutes! Take that Rachel Ray! 🙂
Thanks to a new blog I stumbled upon on Foodbuzz, I was able make a great meal to finish the week! It was the easiest pasta I have ever attempted to make in my life, so go ahead, make it this week and impress your family.
Ricotta Gnocchi and Sausage Meatballs with Tomato-Pepper Sauce
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serves 3
Sausage Meatballs (my creation)
1/2 lb ground Italian sausage
1 Tbsp parlsey
2 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together and form meatballs. Brown the meatballs for 8 minutes. Remove meatballs and place in a covered bowl. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
Tomato-Pepper Sauce (My creation)
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 Red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 galic cloves, minced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Heat olive oil in pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic and sauté. Add the pepper and salt and continue cooking until the tomato mixture has softened. Place in a blender and blend the sauce. Add the sauce back into the pan and add the sausage meatballs. Boil the sauce for 10 minutes on medium-high. Remove from heat and cook gnocchi.
Ricotta Gnocchi
adapted from The Noshery
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 cup flour, have extra for dusting
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (I only had Romano, which worked really well)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Drain any excess liquid from the ricotta cheese. Combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan, yolk and salt in a large bowl. Mix well using a wooden or plastic spoon. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Do not over work. The dough will be very sticky.
Put a pot of water to boil. Flour you work area generously with flour and your hands. Divide the dough in half and roll out to till it is about as thick as a finger. Take sharp knife, dip in flour and cut the the rolls into about 1 inch pillows. Transfer pillows to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough, work quickly so that the gnocchi on the baking sheet doesn’t get sticky.
You water should have come to a slow boil by now, add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Drop your gnocchi into the water and stir to keep them from sticking to the bottom. The gnocchi will float to the top when done, about 2 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer remove from water and serve immediately with your choice of sauce.
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Chilean Charquicán and Tomato Salad
September 24th, 2009This is another quick meal for the week without getting artificial on ya! It has so many fresh ingredients and they are right from your kitchen. I decided to cook another favorite dish of mine. We usually had this once or twice a month when we went to my grandmother’s house. I just realized that the last few dishes start with a C. You pronounce this dish as Char-KEE-khan.
The only thing I was not TOO thrilled about was that the photo I thought does not make the dish seem delectable, BUT let me assure you, it IS! If you are looking for a dish where you can hide veggies, this is the one! The charquicán is Chile’s version of the pot pie in a sense. It would take peas, if my husband like them, but I left that out. Wikipedia explains the origins as my grandmother would have explained them:
Charquican is a Chilean dish. It is a stew made form cooking chunks of potato and squashs. It may contain different kinds of vegetables as carrots, corn, green beans, tomato, etc. In its origen, it was made with horse dried meat (charqui), but actually, it may be prepared with any kind of meat. On top may go a mid-fried egg.
A variation of the charquican contains the marine common Chilean algae cochayuyo (Durvillaea antarctica), that is cooked in the same stew.
This is not how my grandmother made it, so DO NOT fret. Mine is savory and simple at the same time, without using the horse meat, yikes!
By the way, before you leave my site, please read the Contest and info below!
Chilean Charquicán
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serves 4
3 cups butternut squash, diced
3 cups potatoes, diced
2 small onions, diced
1/2 lb ground beef (I made mine with ground turkey to limit the red meat)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp parsley flakes
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp groung cumin
After cutting up the sqaush and potatoes, place in a pot and cover with water. Salt the water and boil for 10 minutes until veggies are softened.
Meanwhile, sauté the onions and garlic with the olive oil and add the meat. Then add the spices to the meat after it has cooked for 5 minutes. Continue to cook the meat mixture for 15 minutes and cover. Leaving the pan covered allows the meat not to dry.
Drain the vegetables and mash the potatoes and squash like mashed potatoes. Add the meat mixture and stir.
Chilean Tomato Salad
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serves 4
3 beef tomatoes, sliced
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Slice the tomatoes and place in a bowl. After cutting the onions, place in a colander and add salt. Wash the onions under cold water in order for the onions not to be so strong. It is a cold sauté, in order to subdue the strong white onion flavor. Add the onions and parsley to the tomatoes. Lastly, add the vinagrette and serve with the chariquicán.
CONTEST RULES
O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.
There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:
ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
PRIZES for recipe posts:
•1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
•2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
•3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
OR
TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
Awareness posts PRIZE:
•One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
———
From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
•Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
•The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
•There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
•In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
•When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!
Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.
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Mushroom Rigatoni
September 23rd, 2009
Today I was listening to Puccini for an upcoming competition: listen to what I will be singing this Saturday.
Since I was inspired by Puccini, I knew today would be a pasta day, but other than that, I did not have a recipe for dinner. All I knew was that I was going to cook something quick since we were going to Holland, MI for voice lessons and my hubby’s meetings.
This is what I normally do on certain days. I am usually inspired by what I have in the refrigerator or pantry. I came out with this lovely light, vegetarian dish that made my hubby savor each bite. I hope you are able to enjoy it on some weekday night too!
Mushroom Rigatoni
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serves 4
1/2 pound Barilla rigatoni
10 baby portabella mushrooms, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts
1/3 cup sliced green olives
1/2 cup Cotija cheese (fresh cheese)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Herb de Provence (Rosemary, Thyme, Marjoram, Basil, Oregano and Lavender)
Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and broth and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
Next, add the broccoli florets and the red bell pepper and continue stir frying. The broccoli florets should not be overcooked so that they continue to keep their essential vitamins. Add spices and pickled items and cook for 5 more minutes.
Meanwhile, boil water for the pasta and add salt and olive oil to the water. Add the pasta once the water starts boiling and cook for 10-11 minutes, as instructed.
Pasta should be cooked by this time. Add the pasta and cheese to the veggie mixture. Serve hot.
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Mexican Chilaquiles
September 18th, 2009
While working today and listening to Romantic and Classical Opera on Pandora, I was again inspired to make another authentic dish often cooked by my Mexican grandmother. Well…..not it did not exactly happen like that! Thursdays we usually have a LONG day with usually no time to eat dinner beforehand. I thought that it was at least important to have one good meal before we left for the day.
Chilaquiles are a quick meal to make and very tasty, especially for a mid-week lunch or dinner. This dish, along with Molé, are one of my favorite to dishes to eat when I go back to Mexico. There is nothing as good as having authentic Mexican food. This was my first time making this dish and I gotta say that I was pleased with the results. My hubby wiped his plate clean! Another winner for the week. No more cooking for the week since we have many singing engagements.
Mexican Chilaquilés
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serves 2
9 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, medium and diced
3 garlic cloves, whole
1 jalapeño, seeded
Sunflower oil
12-15 corn tortillas, cut like tortilla chips
2 chicken breasts
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
Toppings
Cotija cheese
Sour cream
Thinly sliced white onions
Place chicken breasts in a pot of water and add garlic clove and 1 tsp salt. Boil for 15 minutes and dispose of water. Shred the chicken breast and set aside. Meanwhile, deep dry tortilla chips in sunflower oil until nice and toasty. Drain on a paper towel.
In a separate pan, heat sunflower or olive oil and fry the onions, garlic, and pepper until transparent. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add ingredients to a blender and purée. Return to pan and cook for another 5-7 minutes. 
Add the chicken. Add the fried tortilla chips and fold sauce gently. Serve on plates and top with cheese, cream, and onions.
Very filling!
