Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bell Peppers

This is another great weeknight (or weekend, or for company) pasta dish that you can make very quickly with few ingredients. It is really tasty and you get a good serving of vegetables mixed in. It only takes about 25 minutes from start to finish, so it is perfect for when you are in a rush or don't feel like doing a lot of work, but want something delicious. When I make sauces, I often times make more than I need and then freeze what is leftover in 2-4 person servings. That way, if you are feeling lazy one night but want a home cooked meal, all you have to do is defrost a container of sauce and boil fresh pasta. This particular recipe makes enough for at least 6 people, so I used a little less than half a box of pasta, half of the sauce, and froze the rest (of the sauce). Depending on how many people you are planning to serve, cook that amount of pasta, use the sauce accordingly, and freeze what is leftover. If you are a vegetarian or are cooking for vegetarians, this dish is also great without the sausage. Serve with a basic green salad, french bread, or just by itself.

Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bell Peppers

Ingredients:
-1 box of short pasta (I used ziti, but fusilli, rigatoni or anything like that would be fine)
-2 tbs olive oil
-3 links of mild/sweet Italian sausage, taken out of the casing (twist in the middle and squeeze the meat into the pan)
-1 bell pepper, sliced thinly lengthwise (I bought 1 yellow and 1 red. I used half of each for the sauce and saved the other halves to make fajitas another night this week)
-1/2 red onion, sliced in half and then thinly lengthwise (Again, I saved the other half for the fajitas)
-1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
-1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives (optional but only if you hate olives)
-2 tbs chopped fresh basil (optional but it looks really nice)
-parmesan cheese

Directions:
-Put a pot of salted water on the stove to boil for the pasta.
-Squeeze the sausage out of the casings into a saucepan with the olive oil and brown the meat (cook until it is cooked through). Make sure you break up the meat with a wooden spoon so you don't accidentally make meatballs.
-Add the sliced peppers and red onion, saute until the onions are wilted and the peppers are soft.
-Add the can of diced tomatoes and the crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer.
-In the meantime, boil the pasta according to the directions on the label (should be about 8-10 min).
- Add the olives to the sauce. If you absolutely hate olives then you can leave them out, but they add a really nice, salty, layer of flavor that I think really makes this dish.
-Add the chopped basil.
-Toss the sauce with the cooked/drained pasta, serve with grated parmesan cheese (again, also optional but good).

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

I love cookies. In an ideal world (which ends up being pretty often), I would eat one every day after lunch. I am pretty sure that even though not everyone is a baker, per se, everyone has made a batch of chocolate chip cookies at some point in their life. Often times you want to make a dessert that is easy to bake, easy to assemble, and easy to transport (if you are going to elsewhere for dinner). Cookies are perfect for that, but sometimes you want that delicious chocolate chip cookie taste in a different, fancier form. I have seen several recipes for chocolate chip cookie cakes and pies, so I put together this one based on several variations and I am really pleased with how it turned out! It was like a cross between a cookie, a cake, and a pie, all in one. A couple of my friends ate it by itself, just like you would a cookie (great with coffee in the afternoon). Personally, I like to eat it (and serve it) warm with vanilla ice cream (the individual slices can be reheated in the microwave for 25 seconds before serving). Regardless, it was really a delicious dessert option and took only about an hour (including baking time) to make.

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups flour
-3/4 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 stick of butter (softened/at room temp)
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup white sugar
-2 eggs
-2 tsp vanilla
-1 cup chocolate chips
-1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but I added them and I think everyone should- they add a really nice element to the pie)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
-With an electric mixer (or just a spoon and some elbow grease), blend the butter with the brown sugar and the white sugar until smooth.
-Blend in each of the eggs, one at a time.
-Blend in the vanilla.
-Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time and blend everything together.
-Fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts (use a spoon or a spatula, not the blender).
-Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve warm with ice cream, or room temp by itself.

Flank Steak + Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm going to give out a reallllllly easy one that is still pretty impressive. The marinade I use for this flank steak is 100% store bought but so good on the meat. I can't believe I'm giving away my secret, but it's Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing. I think it might cost less than $2 on sale. If you want to get ambitious, buy the Good Seasons Italian Salad dressing kit and make it yourself, but honestly this has all the same spices etc. so I think it's a great shortcut. This is a great dinner if you, again, want something that is easily prepared in advance but incredibly tasty. The potatoes are just basic baked potatoes (potato: wash, dry, poke holes in with fork, 350 degree oven for 1 hour until soft) but mixed with cheese and all sorts of flavorful additions. I have made this meal on several occasions, but most notably a long time ago for a rather large dinner party I was cooking for a boyfriend's birthday (+/-20 people: 2 flank steaks, 2 packages chicken breasts, 10 potatoes, this awesome zucchini for another post, and a big salad). It was a really fun night and all of our friends were so happy to be at a house, together, eating a homemade meal instead of spending tons of money at a restaurant where they won't let you have a dance party in the kitchen after dinner. Everyone was super impressed and asked for the recipes, so here they are (several years later). It is a meal you can make very easily for 2 people or for 20 people, which I love. Coupled with a green salad it is tasty, quick, and simple. The potatoes, once stuffed (before you bake them the 2nd time) can be frozen in tin foil and reheated in the oven which is really great if you want to make them for just a couple of people. It is also fine to just do regular baked potatoes, but if you have the time then these are worth it. Tonight when I made everything, I threw some asparagus into the marinade with the meat and grilled it, so that was the vegetable. I also found some burrata at the grocery store which I love, so I made an arugula, tomato and burrata salad for us (my friends Kara and Mykaella who I love to have for dinner). I went one step further and made a chocolate chip cookie pie, but I'll save that post for later in the week because my friends are over here carving pumpkins and I am being incredibly unhelpful.

Flank Steak- serves 4-6 people
-1 flank steak (I cut mine in half- against the grain- and froze the other half to use a different time. Flank steak is inexpensive and can be stretched quite far if you are smart about it. Great way to serve steak to a group without breaking the bank)
-1 bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

Spread steak out in a pan, cover with the salad dressing. I mess around with it and turn it over a bunch of times to make sure it's all coated in the marinade, but it really isn't necessary. You can marinate it the day/evening before you are going to cook it, or you can do it as late as 30 minutes before you put it on the grill.

Grill on medium high for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the meat is 120-125 degrees (for medium rare). Let rest for 5 minutes so the juices can redistribute throughout the meat and then slice against the grain, on the diagonal, VERY thinly. This is a pretty tough cut of meat so the more thinly you slice it, and the more perfectly medium rare it is, the better. Other note: you can substitute or add chicken breasts if you have a non-red-meat eater. I usually budget about 1/2 chix breast per person and then slice it into about 1 in thick slices.

Twice Baked Potatoes (makes 4 servings)- I have put these on my blog before but here is the recipe again

Ingredients:
-2 baking potatoes
-1/2 cup of sour cream
-3/4-1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (I ended up grating my own because it was significantly less expensive than buying pre-grated in a bag. Either is fine.)
-1/4 cup grated white onion (slightly less than 1/2 small onion)
-1 tbs butter
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1 tsp paprika

Directions:
-Wash the potatoes and poke holes in them with a fork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour, or until they are soft. You can also microwave them to speed up the process if you are short on time.
-Slice the potatoes in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the white part of the potato halves and put it into a mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients except the paprika. Mix together so that it looks kind of like mashed potatoes.
-Spoon the mashed potato mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle each one with paprika.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown on top.

Burrata with Tomatoes and Arugula
(Burrata is a really delicious cheese that is fresh mozz filled with cream. It is amazing spread on a piece of toast or cracker with the salad, or just by itself with the salad.)

-Spread arugula or any lettuce you like onto a plate.
-Slice a tomato and arrange it on the plate.
-Top with the burrata cheese, or regular mozzarella if you can't find burrata. If you prefer to leave the cheese off entirely, I won't be heartbroken either.
-Sprinkle with fresh basil (this is not mandatory but it is tasty)
-Drizzle with either a combination of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or use the balsamic vinaigrette that I always keep in the fridge. The recipe is under the Great Summer Meal post.

Easy Weeknight Pasta: Linguine with Parmesan and Arugula

Sometimes when I am home by myself (and have been trapped here all day long), I want something homemade but that doesn't involve a ton of work, effort, or advance preparation. Tonight just happened to be one of those nights when I couldn't even bear the thought of ordering more takeout. If it does not seem hearty enough for you or some of the man friends in your life (right now there are none in mine so I make myself whatever I feel like), it is also great with a grilled chicken breast or as a side to another meat you would like to serve it with. The parmesan gives it a little depth while the arugula adds a peppery, fresh taste that you don't often get out of pasta. It is also nice to have in there in lieu of making a whole salad which I will rarely do for just myself. However, if you have the arugula on hand anyway and are in the mood for a salad, go for it (maybe I'll change my mind and want one in an hour). This literally takes about 10 minutes to make (total) and I had all of the ingredients on hand. If you don't, the list is pretty short. This is a recipe that I've seen Giada make before but I changed it around a tiny bit and halved it to make 2 servings instead of 4-6. Also- if you want to jazz it up, throw some fresh pine nuts in with the pasta at the end.

Linguine with Parmesan and Arugula

Ingredients:
-1/2 pound/box of linguine (you can also use spaghetti, fettucine or any other pasta you are in the mood for or have on hand
-2 tbs butter
-3/4 cup parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated pecorino, any is fine for this recipe)
-1 tbs pepper
-1 cup of roughly chopped arugula
-1/3 cup of pine nuts (optional)
-2 tbs salt

Directions:
-Boil the pasta for about 8 minutes, or according to the directions on the box. Make sure you add the salt to the water or else your pasta will not have any flavor. Reserve the water after you take the pasta out (I just used tongs to take it out of the water instead of straining through a colander).
-Add the butter to the pasta and toss
-Add the pepper and toss
-Add the cheese using a few spoonfuls of pasta water (about 1/3-1/2 cup total) to make a creamy sauce for the pasta
-Toss the arugula in with the pasta and parmesan etc.
-Add the pine nuts, if you are using, and serve

Lambchops!

One of my absolute favorite things to eat is lambchops. I make them pretty frequently because they are good to make for one or two people, or an entire group. You can throw them on the grill or bake them in the oven (which I did tonight since it is raining). I have a great marinade that I've come up with which got even my mother's approval, so I think you will love it. With the lambchops, I roasted asparagus and made mashed potatoes. Both of these are great sides for either a small or large group, and you can always adjust the amounts to make more or less depending on your needs that evening. My roommate, Sally, also just got back from an apple farm so I made a little apple crisp for us to have.

Lambchops

-1/4 cup dijon mustard
-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/3 cup olive oil
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-4 lamb loin chops (I prefer these to the regular ones for some reason. They are also a tiny bit less expensive)
-salt and pepper

Salt and pepper the lambchops on both sides.  Whisk the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and garlic together and then pour over the lambchops. Note: I use almost the exact same recipe for salad dressing. This is a pretty basic balsamic vinaigrette, so if you want to use it for salad as well, reserve some and add a little bit more olive oil to taste. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the lambchops are about 160-165 degrees (for medium rare/medium). Should take about 15-20 minutes, if you don't have a food thermometer then you can always cut into the to see if they are cooked.

Mashed Potatoes

-2 potatoes
-2 cloves of garlic, peeled (optional)
-1/2 stick of butter (you can use less if you are watching your figure but I love butter)
-1/2 cup of milk
-salt and pepper

Peel and dice the potatoes into large cubes (about the size of a marshmallow). Boil those with the garlic and about a tablespoon of salt in the water. When the potatoes are soft enough to mash (about 15 minutes, check with a fork), drain them and mash with the butter and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you need to make these a little in advance, you can reheat them by adding a little more milk.

Roasted Asparagus
-1/2 bunch of asparagus (I use what I need and then put the rest in a cup of water in the fridge)
-salt and pepper
-olive oil
-fresh parmesan cheese to grate on top

Wash the asparagus and break off about 1-2 inches off of each end. Drizzle about 2 tbs of olive oil over the asparagus (I spread it out on a cookie sheet). Salt and pepper the asparagus and then grate parmesan over the top (about 2 tbs). Bake at 375 while the lambchops are cooking, about 20 minutes.

Apple Crisp
-2 apples, peeled and sliced thinly
-3 tbs white sugar
-2 tsp cinnamon
-2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (optional)
-1/3 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup of flour
-1/2 cup of oats
-1/2 stick of butter, diced

Mix together the apples, the white sugar, and 1 tsp each of the cinnamon and nutmeg. Put in a casserole dish. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and when the butter is soft enough, crumble everything with a fork so that all the butter is mixed in evenly. Pour this on top of the apples and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream. SO GOOD.

The Perfect Fall Meal

Pork Chops with Applesauce, Gruyere Mac & Cheese, Roasted Brussels Sprouts in Truffle Oil

Time for fall! Sweaters, boots, cozy nights by the firepit. Even though it was 80 degrees last Friday night, I was hell bent on making the perfect fall meal. And I had just had the most amazing porkchops at my friend Alex's wedding in the Berkshires. And I had a brand new Cuisinart food processor I wanted to use for everything. And I'd just watched Ina make the most amazing mac & cheese on the food network. It came together pretty nicely; pork with the apples, the apples with the cheese. Bingo.

One of my good friends, Ursula, was in town; rather than spending a ton of money at a fancy downtown dinner with all of our friends, we decided it would be more fun to have dinner at my house. Since I work from home, I usually have more than enough time to grocery shop and prepare everything in advance. If you do not work from home, everything I made can be prepared several days in advance (I had an unexpectedly busy Friday so was glad that I did). If you have a couple of hours after work, make the applesauce in advance (it stays fine for a long time in the fridge), grate the cheese (the most pain in the ass part of the entire meal), marinate the porkchops, and prepare the brussels. By Friday or Saturday or whatever night you decide to make this meal, all you will need to do is quickly assemble and cook. Notes about this dinner: You can make everything without a food processor, I was just desperate to use mine. Unfortunately I got a little trigger happy with the cuisinart on the applesauce and made about 8 cups of baby food. TOO smooth. Remedied by adding 2 extra cooked apples that I just mashed/mixed with a whisk, perfect fix and added just the right amount of texture. I now have applesauce coming out my ears so menus around here might be pork heavy for the next couple of weeks. Everything else was pretty tasty; watch the pork temp because it cooks fast. Our friend Charlotte is an amazing baker so she brought an apple crisp/cobbler which was the perfect dessert for this meal.

I really wanted to set a nice fall table, so I used my friend Kendall's fall tablecloth that was here from a party we had last fall. I went to Crate and Barrel and got 6 napkins, napkin rings, and orange candles for the hurricanes. I sort of hated the flowers that I got from the store but I ended up running out of time and couldn't do a different arrangement. If I could have done it differently, I would have regrouped and done a short arrangement with pumpkins or something else accenting the table. Unfortunately I am not Martha Stewart and had to just let the imperfect table go in favor of my actual job.

Porkchops

Mix Together in a Bowl:
-1/2 cup honey
-1/2 cup apple cider/applejuice (cider was harder to find than I anticipated)
-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/4 cup olive oil
-2 tbs chopped FRESH oregano (optional)
-1 tbs each salt and pepper

Put in a large ziploc bag with 6 bone-in porkchops (or however many you want- I had one non-pork eater so swapped in a chix breast and just froze the extra chop in some marinade in a ziploc). You can also save any extra marinade to use as salad dressing if you add a touch more olive oil to it (make sure it hasn't been mixed in with the pork). Marinate the chops for a few hours or overnight.

To Cook:
-Oven will be heated to 375 for the macaroni and cheese (which has been baking for about 20 minutes at this point)
-Put a pan on the stove, med/high heat
-Brown each porkchop for about 2 min on each side
-Transfer to a glass, metal, or ceramic baking dish, cover in the rest of the marinade
-Cook for about 15-20 minutes more until pork reaches an internal temp of at least 160-165 or is white when you cut into it

Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese

This is a knockoff of Ina Garten's recipe; I don't put the tomatoes on top and I added/changed a couple of things. If you want to be really fancy, you can put these into individual ramekins for each guest. If you want to serve it as a main dish for a few people, you can buy gratin dishes for about $5 each and serve it in those as well.

Ingredients:
-1 box of cavatappi noodles (you can use elbow mac as well, I think cavatappi are prettier)
-1 quart of milk
-1 stick of butter (save 2 tbs for the top)
-1/2 cup flour
-12 oz gruyere, grated (4 cups)
-8 oz sharp cheddar, grated (2 cups)
-1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
-salt and pepper
-1/4 c grated parmesan

Directions:
-Heat oven to 375
-Cook the macaroni until it is al dente (make sure you salt the water). Put aside.
-Melt 2 tbs of butter and mix into breadcrumbs. Put aside.
-Melt 6 tbs of butter in a saucepan/pot. Add the flour, cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and cook until it is smooth.
-Let milk/butter/flour cool and add the grated cheeses and 1 tsp pepper.
-Mix in the noodles, pour into a large casserole dish and cover with the buttery breadcrumbs. Sprinkle parmesan all over.
-Cook at 375 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling on the sides.

Applesauce

Ingredients:
-3-4 apples (any work, I used honeycrisp)
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 tbs cinnamon
-zest of 1 lemon
-pinch of salt

Directions:
-Peel the apples and cut into 1-2 inch cubes. Boil in a pot of water until they are soft and you can break them apart with a fork (about 15 min)
-Drain water from pot and mash with a whisk or fork. Add lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon, and salt (more of anything if needed).
-Cool and serve with the porkchops.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Truffle Oil

I usually make these with regular olive oil and they are delicious. But I found truffle oil at the grocery recently so now I'm trying it out! It gives the vegetables an element of flavor that is subtle but so good.

Ingredients:
-1 bag of brussels sprouts
-1 tbs salt
-1tbs pepper
-1/4 cup truffle oil
-1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
-Prepare the brussels sprouts by cutting off the bottoms and then slicing them in half. Place into a large ziploc bag
-Add truffle oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese to the ziploc bag. Toss and set bag aside until ready to roast (I did this days in advance which was fine)
-Spread onto a baking sheet (I line mine with tin foil for easier clean up). Roast in the 375 oven for about 20 minutes (put these in at them same time as you put the pork in, for everything to be ready at about the same time).

Fall Salad

I was pretty ambitious last week and thought that, with the apple theme, I'd do a salad with apples, candied pecans, and blue cheese. This is completely not necessary and I usually just put some arugula on the table tossed with a vinaigrette dressing (recipe somewhere else on this blog). Regardless, it was one of the most delicious salads I have ever made and I would definitely recommend going through the hassle if you have enough time in advance to candy the pecans (they are difficult to find in stores but super easy to candy yourself). Re: Candied Pecans- these are delicious and very easy to make. They are fantastic in a little ramekin on the side of your cheese platter.

Ingredients:
-1 container/box of arugula
-1/2 apple, skin on or off, sliced thinly
-About 1/4 wedge of good blue cheese, chopped or crumbled
-1/4 cup candied pecans
-2 tbs-1/4 cup vinaigrette, or use some of the porkchop marinade which you reserve

Directions:
-To candy pecans- chop pecans. Melt 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs brown sugar in a pan on the stove. Add pecans, toss around and cook for 3-5 mins. Spread on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper, let cool.
-Toss the rest of the ingredients together, add salad dressing last. Do not chop up the apple until you are ready to serve or it will turn brown.

Happy Fall and Happy Hostessing!!

Chicken Parmesan

I KNOW it's been a while since my last post, but I have been a little busy. There have been a few distractions that have kept me away in the last few months but here's to a new year!

In these chilly winter months, I find that all I want is something warm and cheesy and served with pasta...Enter my new go-to, Chicken Parmesan. It is fried and cheesy and served over pasta. How could it not be amazing? In addition, it is easy to make (you can use sauce from a jar or make the quick marinara that I use) and saves well....perfect for tomorrow's lunch! I usually serve it with a very simple green salad (romaine lettuce with a little parmesan cheese grated on top and then tossed with a vinaigrette dressing).

Here is your grocery list:

1 package of chicken breasts
1 onion
garlic
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
flour
bread crumbs (Italian style)
fresh mozzarella cheese (1 ball is fine)
parmesan cheese
eggs
linguine pasta
olive oil
romaine lettuce
vinaigrette dressing (or you can make one using the recipe on here)


Marinara Sauce:
-Dice onion and 3 cloves of garlic, saute in olive oil
-Add can of crushed tomatoes, simmer sauce on low while preparing chicken, salt and pepper to taste

Boil water for pasta at this point and put the noodles in the water when there is 10 minutes left on the chicken

Chicken
-Heat oven to 375
-Heat skillet to medium heat with about 1/3 cup of olive oil in it
-Scramble 1 egg in a casserole dish or plate with a low center
-Dip each chicken breast into the egg to coat
-Dip chicken breast into the flour to coat
-Dip chicken breast back into the egg to coat again
-Dip chicken break into the bread crumbs and press crumbs into the chicken
-Repeat for each breast
-Place the breaded chicken breasts into the hot olive oil in the skillet and cook for 4 minutes (without moving) on each side
-Ladle a few spoonfuls of red sauce into a casserole dish and place the sauteed chicken breasts on top of the layer of sauce
-Layer one or two slices (about 1/3-1/2 inch thick) mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of that
-Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the parmesan has browned a little

Place a serving of pasta on each plate and top with red sauce. Place a parmesan/mozzarella chicken breast on top of that, and ladle a spoonful of sauce over the entire thing. Serve with your salad and feel free to heat up some french bread as well to have with it.

Enjoy and Happy Hostessing 2011!!