Fettuccine Alfredo

Posted on January 13, 2011 by

I love a bowl of fettucine alfredo! Especially if I am NOT paying ten dollars a bowl for it. When I say this recipe is easy, I am not kidding. This recipe has 4 or 5 ingredients and we made it in about 20 minutes. If you are just learning how to cook or maybe just aren’t too confident in the kitchen, this Fettuccine Alfredo is the dinner for you! I found this recipe at Pioneer Woman’s website. It is delicious and can easily be adapted to be served with blackened chicken, steamed broccoli or you could squeeze in a salad on the side and get knee-deep in some cheesy alfredo sauce!

Enjoy!

TIPS: This recipe asks you to add salt and pepper to taste, taste the cream as you add the salt, after you incorporate the sauce with the pasta you may need to adjust the salt to suit your taste. Also, this recipe asks for 2 cups of grated cheese. It is crucial for this recipe that you use FRESHLY GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE. The cheese out of a can will be very salty and will not translate well in this recipe. Lastly, while pasta is cooking, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. If you have tossed the sauce with the pasta and you think it should be creamier, add pasta water a 1/4 cup at a time until it is at the consistency you desire.

Ingredients
1 pound Fettuccine Noodles
1 stick Butter
1 cup Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. (reserve about 1 cup of pasta water, incase you need to thin out the sauce later)
In a saucepan or skillet, warm butter and cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Grate Parmesan cheese and place half of it into a large serving bowl. Pour warm butter/cream mixture over the top.
Drain pasta and immediately pour it into the bowl.
Toss a couple of times, then sprinkle in the other half of the Parmesan.
Toss to combine, thinning with pasta water if necessary.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and maybe a little more cheese. 🙂

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Chicken Philly Sandwich

Posted on January 11, 2011 by

As you may or may not know, I am currently in culinary school and in culinary school, you start with the basics. I was so excited after learning how to properly julienne an onion in class yesterday (Yes, I know I am a NERD), that I rushed home to make dinner because I wanted to practice my new mad knife skills. Now, it was late and my husband was hungry so I needed something that I could practice on that wouldn’t take too long. This sandwich was the ticket. These turned out amazing! I didn’t have any hoagie or sub rolls, so I used what I had in the fridge. Which turned out great, because they were easy to eat and don’t have as much bread (not that I am into low carb, it’s more like why fill up on the bread, when you can fill up on the good stuff?).

Chicken Philly Sandwiches

Vegetables
1 large bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 large yellow onion cut into thin strips
1 cup of mushrooms cut into strips
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Chicken
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into thin strips
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 Tablespoon Mrs. dash
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon blackening seasoning

6 Rolls, split and toasted
6 slices of provolone cheese

Directions

Cut chicken into thin strips, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan, don’t stir the chicken at first, allow a few minutes to let the chicken become golden brown. Stir in Mrs. Dash, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, blackening seasoning and crushed red pepper (omit if you don’t like a little spice). Stir to coat chicken with the spices and allow to finish cooking for 3-4 more minutes until chicken is brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan to a plate. Add 2 more teaspoons of olive oil to pan, and add onions, mushrooms and peppers along with the salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until onions are peppers become tender. Add chicken back to the pan and stir to combine.
To serve: Pile the chicken and vegetable mixture high on a toasted bun and top with sliced provolone cheese, you can pop the sandwiches under the broiler for a minute to melt the cheese or you can just top it with the bun and let the heat of the chicken melt the cheese.
Either way, it should be eaten and eaten as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

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Chicken Florentine Crescent Pockets

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like I always over shop for food at the holidays. Do you do the same? I’ve had this package of crescent rolls staring at me since before Christmas. I was ready to use them up, but the last thing I wanted to eat was more holiday food!
Although I am not a fan of Hot Pockets, these taste like what I think a Hot Pocket should taste like. So save yourself the extra sodium, preservatives and cardboard and try these. Not to mention, kids would love these! You could make the filling ahead of time and then stuff them and bake them when you are ready. Not a fan of chicken and spinach? Change it up! Try pepperoni and mushroom or peppers, sausage or onions anything you would like!

Chicken Florentine Crescent Pockets

2 cups chicken stock
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon of olive oil
3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1 large clove of garlic minced
1 cup of chopped frozen spinach leaves, defrosted and drained of excess moisture
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 bar room temp cream cheese cubed (4oz)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tube of 6 Crescent rolls
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350
In a small sauce pan, bring a chicken breast and two cups of chicken stock to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove from stock and set aside to cool.
Heat olive oil in pan oven medium heat. Add mushrooms, stir until they begin to release their moisture and start to brown (2-3 minutes), then add garlic and spinach and stir 1-2 more minutes. Take off heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix cubes of cream cheese with shredded mozzarella cheese, use a fork and mash to combine. Shred poached chicken into cream cheese mixture, then add mushroom spinach mixture. The heat of the mushrooms will begin to melt the cheeses. Add all salt, pepper, dill, italian seasoning and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine. Taste for salt.
On an ungreased sheet pan lay out one crescent triangle, using your fingers slightly widen the triangle of crescent dough. Add 3-4 tablespoons of mixture to center of dough. Pull the thinner end of the triangle over the filling and pinch the sides to ensure that the mixture does not leak out. Finish the other 5 crescent rolls (6 usually come to a package).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. 15 minutes in to cooking, brush crescent pockets with melted butter and then finish cooking for the last 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before eating. (they are hot!)

Enjoy!

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Memphis BLT Burgers

Posted on January 3, 2011 by

Hello Again! I hope your holidays were as wonderful as mine. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, but it was with family and friends and there just wasn’t time to document all the happenings! I have a ton of new recipes and ideas to share so I am glad to be back! Speaking of recipes…

Fewer things bring me more joy than fried green tomatoes. Growing up they were my favorite thing my mom made in the kitchen. Here’s the thing about fried green tomatoes though, if you aren’t burning yourself trying to eat them then you are eating them wrong! I had many an embarassing moment trying to swipe one of my moms fried green tomatoes before they were cool. Burned tongue or not, I still say they were worth it! Memphis style BLT sandwiches are served with a fried green tomato in place of the traditional raw tomato. All I did was add a burger, haha! I just have to say, God Bless you Memphis, because I love this burger! I was really sad, however, when I got the craving for fried green tomatoes and realized I didn’t have any corn meal. Well they say necessity is the mother of invention, so while I was digging through my pantry I realized I had an abundance of jiffy corn muffin mix so that is what I used for my coating. It eliminated a step on a busy night and they tasted great.

Memphis BLT Burgers

burgers
1 lb ground beef (I use chuck, but whatever you use will be fine)
2 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
1 tablespoon of pesto
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

fried green tomatoes
2 green tomatoes ( 1 is all you need for 4 burgers, but you should have some to munch on while cooking)
1 box of jiffy corn mix
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
2 cups vegetable oil

8 slices of bacon mayonnaise
lettuce
4 hamburger buns

Fry bacon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate and cover to keep warm.
In a large bowl mix ingredients for burgers and form four patties. Pan fry or grill your burgers to your desired doneness, or slightly underdone and cover to keep warm while you prepare the fried green tomatoes. (The burgers will carry over some heat and cook more as they are sitting)
Slice green tomatoes into thin slices. If you slice them to thick they will fall apart or become mushy. A thin fried green tomato gets a little crispy, while it is still juicy in the center (perfect!) Mix jiffy mix and garlic powder in a bowl, whisk to mix.
Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil over medium heat in a large skillet. You can test the oil with a little of the cornmeal to make sure it is hot enough to fry. It should begin to bubble and fry immediately when testing.
Coat each tomato really well with the jiffy mix and pat it on to make sure a nice coating has formed, gently add tomatoes to the oil- watch carefully to adjust for heat. If they are getting dark quickly, turn the heat down slightly. They should take about 1-2 minutes per side and should be golden brown. When removing from the pan, place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb any extra grease and sprinkle with a little salt. Great news here. This is where you can test taste and perfect the last tomato for your burgers!
To assemble: stack the burger on a nice toasty bun with mayonnaise, lettuce, 2 strips of bacon and top with as many fried green tomatoes as you can stand.

Enjoy!

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Chewy Pecan Bar Cookies

Posted on December 23, 2010 by

I love Christmas time! I can embrace my inner inept baker and bake to my heart’s content. A friend of mine, named Gail is also not really a “baker” but she is an amazing cook! I would dare say she is one of the best cooks I know. The funny thing about Gail is, she is a total tornado in the kitchen. Earlier this week, I was over at her house and she just up and decided to make cookies and start dinner. In a little over an hour we cranked out oat cakes, pecan bars, spicy grilled chicken and rice. Everything was tasty, as usual, but these pecan bars were out of sight! They were so tasty that I went home and made another batch for myself.
Just to help you understand the greatness that is Chewy Pecan Bar Cookies, imagine a nice pecan pie falling head over heels in love with a blondie. When these two fall in love and have a baby, it’s a pecan bar! I found this recipe in an amazing cookbook called “Home Baking” The artful mix of flour and tradition around the world, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. It is a great cookbook so if you ever see it, take it home! (well, pay for it and then take it home.)

Enjoy!

Chewy Pecan Bar Cookies

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter melted)
3 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
Combine the butter, brown sugar, salt and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the eggs. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, then stir in the chopped nuts.
Pour the batter into the buttered pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. ( the bars will brown before they are cooked, so you’ll have to bake them a little longer than you might think)
Let them cool completely in the pan on a rack before cutting into squares, or rectangles as you wish.

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Oreo Truffles

Posted on December 22, 2010 by

I have often joked that I am not a baker. In fact, not only can I not bake, if it’s sweet it’s generally my nemesis in the kitchen. I am not being humble when I say if I can make these, than you can. Now, technically I’m not even sure you can call this a truffle, but honestly you can call them whatever you want because they are a delicious and a guilty pleasure.
The original recipe says that it makes 48 one inch truffles. As usual I was not patient enough to make 48 of these, so I doubled the size and made 24 large truffles. I also drizzled mine with white chocolate for a little extra flavor.
These will fly off your table at Christmas time or any other time for that matter. Plus, they look adorable and couldn’t be easier to make.

Enjoy!

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups),
2 pkgs. (8 squares each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.

SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate ( I use two spoons to help with this, one to scoop the chocolate on the truffle and then I move the truffle from one spoon to another once or twice to get ride of the excess chocolate); place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs or drizzle with white chocolate.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

I mean really. How easy is that?

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Fun in the Kitchen

Posted on December 20, 2010 by

What an amazing week! I had the opportunity to cater my first event! I prepared a lunch for 70 people and enjoyed every second of it! I am sure most people would think I am insane, but the chaos of preparing a meal like that just confirmed that this really is what I want to do. I thought I would share some photos from this weeks event. I was lucky enough to have a second event this weekend, but I was so busy I didn’t get one decent photo! If you would like any recipes, please let me know, because I prepare this in such large batches, recording a recipe isn’t always easily done but I can try!

On the Menu:

Grilled Lemon Parsley Chicken
Roasted Winter Vegetables: Butternut Squash, Carrots, Potatoes, Yams and onions
Green bean and Pepper medley sautéed in bacon and butter
Caesar Salad
White and Wheat Rolls

Thankfully I had my sweet friend Tracy and my darling husband to help me pull everything together. Here are some photos from the event!

Preparing the Roasted Winter Vegetables

My Amazing Sous Chef, Tracy.

Prepping grilled chicken and potatoes

The Table

I am so thankful that the lunch turned out well, I haven’t been that nervous since my wedding day! I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and do it again!

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