Tag Archives: cheese

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Easy to Prepare, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetarian Dishes

Baked Mozzarella Sticks with Butternut Squash Marinara

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String Cheese for G-Strings

The weather’s getting warmer and you want to fill your tummy without working on that muffin top.  If stripper aerobics classes don’t put the sparkle in your crystal heels, you might want to shave off some calories another way.

When I first saw the shockingly seductive pics of baked treats using wonton and eggroll wrappers on Pinterest, I was skeptical.  Could some cooking spray and a quick trip in the oven beget lacy, crunchy appetizer happiness?  I ran the first test on my classic crab rangoon recipe and was literally floored – each light and crispy bite was greaseless and guilt-free.  Plus, my kitchen wasn’t covered with a sheen of oil from manning a deep fryer. Continue reading Baked Mozzarella Sticks with Butternut Squash Marinara →

Breakfast and Brunch, Easy to Prepare, Egg Dishes, Recipes

Truffled Eggs with Pancetta, Arugula and Fontina Flatbread

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Recipes for a Cure
This saucy dish is part of a collection of recipes written to benefit the National MS Society. In 2008, my sister Lexi (then 21 years old) was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. We formed a team of friends and family called MS is BS (Mind Strong is Body Strong), and each year we raise thousands of dollars for MS research. This recipe was written in tribute to a generous donation towards my $1500 fundraising minimum for the 2013 Capital Challenge Walk, a two-day 50K walk through Maryland, Virginia and DC. Learn more about team MS is BS on our website at http://msisbs.org.

Brunch Buddies 4 Life

Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take ages to forge a friendship of worth. Case in point, take my BFF Tara – we met as sketchily as a Craigslist missed connection (not that I know what those are all about…) Back in 2010, my homegirl discovered Adesina’s Kitchen through our fave food blogger hub, FoodBuzz. After hitting me up for my thai dumpling recipe, I meandered over to her site What We Chow, and found that we enjoyed waxing poetically over luxe ingredients, price tag be damned.  I was enamored at the prospect of making her virtual acquaintance, but had no idea that shit was going to get real.  Pronounced: rull. Continue reading Truffled Eggs with Pancetta, Arugula and Fontina Flatbread →

Holiday Dishes, Impressive Dishes, Seafood Dishes, Side Dishes

Oyster Rockefeller Dressing

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Not that I haven’t always been an odd duck, but as a child, I didn’t eat any sort of seafood except for oysters.  Fish was assumed to taste the way it smelled, crabs looked like spidery ocean monsters, and shrimp had to have been the grossest looking things I’d ever seen.  But oysters!  How I loved them so!  My favorite preparation was fried with lots of lemon and ketchup, and I would adore the nights our family and extended family would pile into the car to go to the Chesapeake Bay Seafood House for their All-You-Can-Eat extravaganza.  I’ve grown to become EEO about seafood (I’m sorry for judging you guys!) and adore just about every fresh catch I can get my hands on, but oysters hold a special place in my heart. Continue reading Oyster Rockefeller Dressing →

Easy to Prepare, Lighten Up, Main Courses, Poultry Dishes, Recipes, Soups and Stews

Mexican Chicken Vegetable Soup (Caldo Tlalpeño)

Tortilla soup has become a standard of tex-mex menus here in the states, becoming another pillar of the glorious international chicken soup pantheon.  While its origin is shrouded in mystery, food historians can pinpoint its arrival to America somewhere around the 1890s.  The combination of slow simmered chicken, tomatoes, and fried tortillas is a simple blend of flavors that seem as if they were always meant to be together.  Crazily, the myriad chicken tortilla soup fails come in the way of people bastardizing this formula, inundating the soup with unnecessary toppings (or worse, using cheese to cover up a watery broth or lack of chicken and vegetables). Continue reading Mexican Chicken Vegetable Soup (Caldo Tlalpeño) →

Impressive Dishes, Main Courses, Pasta Dishes, Recipes, The Daring Kitchen, Vegetarian Dishes

Potato Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

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Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
When I first learned about The Daring Kitchen, I was excited to join a group that would provide me with monthly culinary inspiration. This month’s assignment (and my very first with TDK) was created by Steph from Stephfood, our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with! Steph also encouraged us to make noodles that celebrated our culinary heritage. See Full Gnocchi Feast Menu

Authentic-tasting gnocchi are a tall order, but inspired by the charm and panache of the Franks (Falcinelli and Castronovo) of Frankie’s Sputino in Brooklyn, everyone is an expert Italian chef. Although this recipe was a part of my goal to make four gnocchi dishes for The Daring Kitchen, the preparation of the dish proved hardly a challenge. And not because the fickle gnocchi gods* were smiling at me that day, but rather that this recipe must be the master recipe for the most perfect gnocchi. In the amount of time that it took me to boil a pot of water and futz around with a marinara sauce, I had a dough that was pliant, smooth and gorgeous. A little effortless rolling and cutting resulted in photo-ready dumplings. And a quick trip into a jacuzzi of water yielded gnocchi that tasted of heaven. Where were the Franks grandmas so that I could kiss them on both cheeks and throw my hands up in the air? Continue reading Potato Gnocchi alla Sorrentina →

Easy to Prepare, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Recipes, The Daring Kitchen

Gnocchi alla Romana with Italian Sausage, Cavolo Nero and Provolone

Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
When I first learned about The Daring Kitchen, I was excited to join a group that would provide me with monthly culinary inspiration. This month’s assignment (and my very first with TDK) was created by Steph from Stephfood, our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with! Steph also encouraged us to make noodles that celebrated our culinary heritage. See Full Gnocchi Feast Menu
Not all gnocchi are created equal. While the potato variety are the industry standard, gnocchi can be constructed with many other grains to glorious effect. In fact, in Rome gnocchi are made from semolina and never with potato – think polenta cakes baked like a gratin rather than sauced (Ha! Those gnocchi are drunk, y’all!) These gnocchi are pretty forgiving and require a heck of a lot less rolling than the classic potato variety. Better yet, they are perfect for parties in that they can wait on you while you do other things. When you are ready to eat, simply pop the tasty buggers under the broil to finish them off and then serve. Continue reading Gnocchi alla Romana with Italian Sausage, Cavolo Nero and Provolone →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes

Green Chile Bean Dip

Ah, the joys of simplicity.  Particularly when the tummy starts rumbling and snacks must be pursued.  This tasty dip comprised of refried beans, green chiles and shredded cheese is too easy to be as good as it is.  And yet, 9 times out of 10, if I’m at my parents house rummaging through their pantry for a bite of something, I’ll end up making this dip.  And 10 times out of 10, whomever is around will stop what their doing and help to polish off the entire dish of the stuff.

I’ve been making this bean dip for longer than I remember, but the addition of the chiles I can specifically recall.  I was visiting my grandmother in Arizona for the summer, and she called from work to say that she was bringing her boss (and our family friend) over for cocktails and a bite to eat.  Could we make something quickly and preferably spicy?  My mom got to work and I watched her make this bean dip with the addition of piquant roasted hatch chiles.  Mom wasn’t messing around.  Happy hour was a success and I got to mimicking her technique from that day on.  Momma don’t play 😉  And neither should you, so try out this dip. Continue reading Green Chile Bean Dip →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Cheese Dishes, Low Brow Treats, Sauces and Condiments

Chile con Queso

What do you call cheese that’s not yours?  Nacho cheese!  Hahahahaha!!!

What? Not funny?  There’s no accounting for taste these days.  But know that regardless of your sense of humor, you will adore the creamy, spicy goodness that is this chile con queso.  Because it is scandalous in its majesty.  Escandalo!

This recipe is my mom’s passed down to her from my grandmother.  We used to have this dip around Christmas and New Year’s, devoured as quickly as we could while still hot.  More than your typical melted cheese with peppers, the base of this sauce comes from smoky bacon.  To make matters even more dangerous, we’d occasionally dip pork rinds (!) into the cheese in addition to tortilla chips.  Say wha?  Don’t knock it till you try it. Continue reading Chile con Queso →

Easy to Prepare, Pasta Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes

Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms

Foodbuzz 24 x 24 | An Ode to Orvieto

This recipe was a part of a special menu for Foodbuzz’s June 2011 food blogger party, 24×24. Showcasing posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers, the monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period. Read more about my meal along with all of the other recipes at An Ode to Orvieto.

No hyperbole employed, the first time that I ate this pasta, everything was illuminated.  My good buddy and a beautiful soul through and through, Lauren S., was a huge fan of this itty bitty restaurant in Orvieto called Mezza Luna.  While we all had our favorite lunch spots (mine was Al Pozzo Etrusco and their pappardelle con cinghiale), occasionally we’d branch out and hit up a friend’s spot of choice.  In a true moment of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” I ordered the same as Lauren – a simple green salad dressed with olive oil and vinegar, a bottle of Orvieto Classico, and a plate of the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms.  The dish emerged from the kitchen, delicately sauced with butter and wine, brightened by a bit of parsley and just swimming with an abundance of the earthy mushrooms.  It was ridiculously simple home cooking, begging the question as to whether could replicate this lunchtime joy back stateside.  It was destiny that I would at least try.

The beauty if this pasta is that to get it right, you keep your flavors delicate.  True to the region (and diametrically opposed to most recipes for wild mushroom pasta), the mushrooms aren’t overshadowed by garlic or red pepper.  Simply tagliatelle, mushrooms, wine and butter, with a little chicken stock to gloss the strands of pasta into a heavenly state.  The pasta should definitely be fresh, but use whatever cut you’d like.  A fettucine width works well, but if you have fresh linguini or angel hair, they’ll be perfectly fine as stand-ins.  Also, I used dried porcini to keep an earthy flavor and the ability to cook this dish all year round.  However, if you can get your hands on fresh porcini (or even royal trumpets or ivory portobellos), by all means use them.

Recipe for

Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients
1.5 oz. of dried porcini mushrooms
2 1/2 c. of stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 lb. of fresh tagliatelle
1 tbs. of olive oil
1/4 c. of fresh parsley, chopped
1 c. of stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 c. of white wine
4 cloves of garlic
2 fresh bay leaves
1/4 c. of the porcini liquid
4 tbs. of butter

Begin by adding the mushrooms to the 2 1/2 cups of stock.  Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.  Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  In a skillet, warm the olive oil over high heat.  Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and add them to the olive oil, along with the whole garlic cloves and bay leaves.  Add the wine and allow to reduce by half.  Add the 1 c. of stock and reduce by half.  Add the porcini soaking liquid and allow to simmer on medium-low.  Cook your pasta until al dente (about 3 minutes) and drain.  Add pasta to the mushroom sauce and plunk in the butter, tossing the pasta to form a glossy sauce.  If the pasta is a bit dry, add some more of the porcini soaking liquid.  Top with the parsley and serve with grated locatelli.

Cheese Dishes, Main Courses, Pasta Dishes, Poultry Dishes, Recipes

Rosemary Chicken Florentine Pasta

Back when I was rocking plaid skirts and a blazer in high school (and even before that as a tagalong with my mom’s running club), we used to frequent a quirky eatery called Generous George’s Positive Pizza and Pasta Place.  Fake flamingos and pink and teal paint dripping with kitsch and childhood memorabilia everywhere, it looked a little like Miami Vice and Parker Brothers got together as an interior design firm.  And do I recall a shark hanging from the ceiling?  Or maybe a surf board?  It was probably both.

Aesthetics aside, the place was too fun.  The pizzas featured airy, pliant dough with mounds of toppings and cheese.  And the pastas, all served on a single-sized pizza crust, were epic sized portions that even my dad’s appetite could not slay.  People left the place with takeout boxes and close to a pound of pasta in leftovers.  My mom usually got the red or white clam, Dad loved Old Naples with crumbled sausage and melted cheese, and Lexi usually ordered a personal pizza and pretended to be full after a bite or two so that she could get away with ordering dessert.  I used to be a sucker for the Chicken Romano Fettucine, basically alfredo with chicken, ham, peas and mushrooms, until I ordered the Rosemary Chicken Florentine on a whim.  The first time made me a convert – farfalle tossed with tender chicken, spinach, bacon, roasted red peppers in a rosemary cream sauce.  It was ridiculous.  Preposterous.  I was hooked.

Years have gone by since I’ve rolled down Duke Street in Alexandria to see our old haunt, and it turns out that there’s only my memories of the place to serve me now.  My sister posted on Facebook that the location was demoed and is now a PNC Bank.  I wondered if they auctioned off the merry-go-round pony that was in the main dining room?  Anyways, rather than put on my old school uniform, I decided to relive a classic and make a heaping mess of the beloved pasta.  I cut back the fat on the sauce, using milk instead of cream, and I didn’t have a pizza crust to use as a plate.  But it was still ridiculous.  Still preposterous.  And apparently, I’m still hooked.

Recipe for

Rosemary Chicken Florentine Pasta

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 c. of chicken stock
1 c. of white wine
1/2 tsp. of white pepper
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
1 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of garlic powder
2 bay leaves

4 strips of bacon
4 cloves of garlic
6 oz. of roasted red peppers, sliced
6 oz. of baby spinach
1 tbs. of olive oil
1 tbs. of chopped rosemary leaves
1 lb. of dried pasta cuts (farfalle, conchiglie, ziti, penne)

6 tbs. of butter
3 tbs. of flour
2 1/2 c. of whole milk
1 c. of locatelli
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
pinch of white pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

Begin by cooking the chicken.  Add two boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a saucepan with the stock, wine, rosemary sprigs, bay leaves, 1/2 tsp. of white pepper, 1/2 tsp. of black pepper, 2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of garlic powder.  Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.  Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.  Remove chicken from poaching liquid and let cool slightly.  Shred with two forks.  Set aside.

Now make the sauce.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Whisk in the flour, white pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and nutmeg.  Add the milk, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps.  Turn the heat to medium and whisk until thickened.  Stir in the locatelli and remove from the heat.  Stir in the roasted red peppers.  Set aside.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta according to box directions.  While the water comes to a boil, add bacon to a skillet and brown.  Toss in garlic, rosemary, spinach and the olive oil and cook until spinach is wilted.  Season with a little extra salt and black pepper and set aside.

When the pasta finishes, drain and toss with the red pepper cream sauce, spinach/chicken/garlic/rosemary mixture.  Top with extra grated locatelli and serve hot.