Our Valentine's Dinner....a little late.

This was Alexis's Valentines Day Dinner and he loved it!
I'll add the dessert in aother post
There was also a Crab Cake appetizer but I forgot to take a picture of it :(

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffing:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, one turn of the pan




• 24 large Porcini mushroom caps, stems removed and reserved brushed with damp towel




• Salt and pepper




• 3/4 pound sweet bulk Italian sausage




• 4 cloves garlic, chopped




• 20 stems mushrooms, finely chopped




• 1 rib of celery and green, leafy top from the heart of the stalk, chopped




• 1/2 small onion, chopped




• 1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped




• 1 (10-ounce) box chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed




• dry 3 slices white bread, toasted and buttered, chopped into small dice




• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano, 2 handfuls

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.




2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and mushroom caps and season caps with salt and pepper. Saute caps 5 to 7 minutes, until they are lightly browned and tender on edges. Turn caps up and let juices drain away from caps.




3. Transfer caps to a small nonstick baking sheet.
   




4. Wipe out skillet and return to heat.




5. Add a touch of oil and sausage to the hot skillet. Brown and crumble sausage for 3 minutes.
   




6. In a food processor pulse and chop the garlic, add mushroom stems and pulse to chop the mushroom stems. A




7. Add celery, onion and red bell pepper to the mushrooms and pulse to chop.




8. Remove mixture from the processor and saute veggies and mushrooms over medium high heat another 3 to 5 minutes.




9. Add dry, defrosted spinach and stir into stuffing.




10. Add chopped bread and cheese to the pan and toss stuffing until bread is moist and stuffing is combined, 2 or 3 minutes.




11. Fill caps with stuffing using a small scoop or large spoon.




12. *If you have on hand sprinkle some fresh grated Parmasean Cheese on top.




13. Place caps in hot oven and reduce heat to 450 degrees F.




14. Bake 6 to 8 minutes to crisp edges of stuffing and set stuffing in mushrooms.




15. Transfer stuffed mushrooms to a serving plate.

Ribeye Steaks, Asiago Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Scampi Shrimp and Sauteed Asparagus.

Ribeye's

• 
  
  2 Ribeye Steaks



• 
  
  Sea Salt



• 
  
  Fresh Ground Peppercorn



• 
  
  Worcestershire Sauce

Covered in Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Black Peppercorn, and a bit of Worcestershire Sauce.

Seared using a cast iron skillet on the stop top then placed in the oven for about 10 minutes for Medium cooking.

Asiago Cheese Mashed Potatoes

I took a little cue from Jen for these but made a few changes

• 
  
  1-2 cups of Fresh Asiago Cheese (shredded).



• 
  
  Baby red potatos (cut in halves or fourths)



• 
  
  7-10 Garlic Cloves



• 
  
  Butter



• 
  
  Heavy Cream



• 
  
  salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes and the garlic cloves together until potatoes become tender (skin will start to peels). Drain. Mash all together, add heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of butter, shredded Asiago Cheese.

Voila!

Asparagus

Sauteed in a pan with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper till tender.

Scampi Shrimp

• 
  
  1 1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined


• 
  
  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 
  
  2 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 
  
  2 teaspoons minced garlic


• 
  
  1/4 cup dry white vermouth


• 
  
  1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice


• 
  
  2 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves


• 
  
  lemon juice

I just throw it all in a pan till the shrimp cooks. :)

A Chocolate Feast!

We celebrated Valentine's Day Saturday night and I cooked up a fantastic dinner! I didn't take pictures of anything except the dessert, though. A recap of the dinner?? I would love to!

(courtesy of Food Network and Sandra Lee)

Spring Salad with fruit and and orange-white chocolate vinaigrette

Cherry Chocolate Mexican Rice

Sirloin Steak with chocolate merlot sauce

This is a picture of all the chocolate I used tonight. TONS. lol I didn't use it all, though, just a few tablespoons here, a 1/4 cup there. I have so many bags in my freezer now, I'll be making chocolate recipes for the next 4 months.

Believe it or not, the chocolate in all these recipes was not strong, at all! It added a nice aroma and really helped kick up the tastes in the onion, garlic and spices used in everything. My least favorite was the mexican rice, but only because I'm not a huge fan of rice.

Dessert. Ooooohh dessert's recipe came courtesy of Williams-Sonoma. It. Was. HEAVENLY. (and totally fattening.) I made a Chocolate Bread Pudding (made with REAL milk!!) topped with vanilla ice cream (REAL vanilla ice cream. none of this fat free sugar free ice milk I've been buying lately!) Whipped cream (made with REAL whipping cream!!) and caramel sauce (this was fat free. gotta watch the calories somewhere, right?)

So, without further ado, i bring you Williams-Sonoma mouth watering, fattening, indulgent Chocolate Bread Pudding. Enjoy!!

(btw, all pictures were taken on my camera phone.... so, sorry if they're terrible!!)

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
Pinch of salt
5 day-old croissants, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Caramel sauce for serving
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 2-quart oval au gratin dish.

Pour the milk and cream into a heavy saucepan. Place the vanilla bean on a work surface. Using a small, sharp knife, cut the bean in half lengthwise. Using the knife tip, scrape the seeds from the bean, then add the seeds and bean halves to the milk mixture. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

Return the saucepan to medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and whisk in the 5 oz. finely chopped chocolate until smooth.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs and salt until blended. Form a kitchen towel into a ring and place the bowl on top to prevent it from moving. Gradually pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Add the croissants and stir to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes, occasionally pressing the croissants into the custard.

(this is it soaking in the custard. It was all I could do to keep from dipping my fingers into the warm chocolate custard!!)

Stir 3 oz. of the chopped chocolate into the croissant mixture and transfer to the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining chopped chocolate on top. Bake until a knife inserted near the center of the pudding comes out almost clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Accompany each serving with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Serves 8.

this is it!! It came out kind of fuzzy, but those shiny blobs?? that's chocolate!!! imagine eating a giant, warm chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough chunk. That's exactly what it tasted like. I still have a whole dish left, and I'm giving it away to my neighbors and parents. I have no self control and it was amazing!!!

Creamy, Cheesy Lasagna

I found a great lasagna recipe on another food blog (thanks, doctorannie!) and tweaked it a bit to fit mine and my husband's taste. The results were delicious...possibly the best lasagna I've ever tasted. This recipe is a lot of work, but if you're a family of two, it'll feed you for quite a few days.

12 lasagna noodles
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. mild Italian sausage
1/2 lb. ground sirloin beef
1 large white onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 8 oz. cans tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 lb. ricotta cheese
5 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add lasagna noodles. Cook appox. 8-9 minutes, stirring carefully occasionally, then drain. Peel and chop onion and grind in food processor. Remove sausages from casings and mash together with a fork. In a large pan, pour a few tablespoons of olive oil and heat over high heat. Add ground onion, garlic, sausage, and ground sirloin, stirring well. Once sausage and sirloin are browned, reduce heat to medium low and add tomato paste, crushed tomato, cream, Italian seasoning, basil, and oregano. Stir well and then lower heat to low and allow to simmer. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, 2 cups of the mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, eggs, salt, and pepper. In a deep 9x13" lasagna pan, pour 2 cups of the tomato and meat sauce and spread evenly. Layer 4 lasagna noodles on top, followed by half of the cheese mixture (be sure to spread evenly), 1/3 of the remaining tomato meat sauce, then 4 more noodles, the other half of the cheese mixture, another 1/3 of the tomato meat sauce, and then finally, the last 4 noodles and the remaining tomato meat sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 3 cups or as much as you need of the remaining mozzarella evenly over the top of the lasagna. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue to cook for 10 more minutes.

Asian Inspiration

Chicken Drumsticks with Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce over Orzo

Drumsticks
Orzo
Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce from Williams-Sonoma


This dish was very easy. First, I marinated the chicken drumsticks in the Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce and added some more to a baking pan. Then, I baked them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 mins. After boiling and straining the orzo, I served the drumsticks over the orzo and drizzled some extra sauce over both. DH devoured this dish!




Turkey and Vegetable Stir Fry over White Rice

Turkey Breast Tenderloins
4 garlic cloves minced
5 mushrooms sliced
1 cup of matchstick carrots
1 cup of chopped broccoli
1/4 red onion sliced
olive oil
s&p
Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce
rice

First, I started by setting the rice cooker with just basic white rice with a bit of salt and olive oil. While the rice cooked, I chopped my veggies and cut the tenderloins into smaller strips. To make the stir fry, I added some olive and the minced garlic to a wok with the stove set on high. Then, I added the turkey tenderloins.

Once the turkey started to brown, I added the sweet ginger soy sauce and all of the veggies. I let that fry until all the veggies had absorbed the sauce (about 5-10 mins.)
When the rice was done, I served the stir-fry over a bed of white rice. The result was delicious!

Meatballs

Hello everyone... long time no add any new recipes. Last week I attempted at some meatballs, and to my surprise, they were amazing! Even DH was super impressed by my skills. So, I thought I'd share. I wanted to take pics, but DH took camera, and left it at work.

Ingredients
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs (1 slice)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons parsley
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound lean ground beef

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, onion, parsley, garlic, Italian seasoning or rosemary, salt, and pepper. Add ground beef; mix well. Shape into 28 meatballs about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
• 2. Arrange meatballs in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or till done (no pink remains, 160 degrees F). Drain off fat. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
  

Tip 1 - I didn't have any onions or garlic at home, and didn't want to run to the store to get some. So I substituted them for the powered version... and to my surprise, there is actually a converstion table on the bottle! No need to purchase real onions / garlic anymore. =)

Tip 2 - I made 6 large meatballs, about the size of tennis balls. Just insert thermometer in meatball and wait until internal temp reaches 160 degrees (approximately 25 min).

First Anniversary Dinner

Since our first anniversary landed on a Monday night, we decided to make dinner at home. It was very intimate and romantic. We started the night with a seafood pasta and lobster tails, followed by some Perrier-Jouet Champagne. For desert, we had a few slices from the top layer of our wedding cake. Everything was DELISH! The cake was surprisingly moist and sweet.



I started off by caramelizing some onions in olive oil and grating some garlic over that. I threw in the scallops and shrimp, added some sauvignon blanc,basil, parsley, s&p, a sprinkle of lemon juice and LOTS of butter (smart balance).

The lobster tails were really easy to make. First, I removed the little legs and cracked them open. I put a cube of butter on each one and baked them for about 10 mins at 400 degrees. They were incredibly tender and juicy.

I then served the scallops and shrimp over a bed of angel hair pasta and poured on the wine/buttery sauce! The lobster tails were placed next to the pasta. The lobster was delicious all on its own or dipped in the buttery sauce from the pasta.

Here I am munching on the lobster, trying to savor every last morsel! Mmmmmmm....

Here's a pic of our wedding champagne flutes and the top layer of our wedding cake. We were a bit scared at first, but it was delicious! It seems that the fondant really preserved the cake b/c it was really moist and sweet!

Now.... I think I'm going to go for some leftovers!

Herbs!

For Christmas, Davey (my fiance) bought me an indoor herb garden. It's this bizarre aeroponic gorwing system. It sounded like snake's oil but so far it's working great. I "planted" the herbs on 1-1 and just as promised they started to sprout immediately. These are pictures of day 4. Enjoy!

Chocolatey Oreo Pudding Trifle

Cool, creamy, and chocolate-y, and requires almost no baking.

1 unfrosted chocolate cake (use your own recipe or prepare your favorite boxed mix)
4 packages instant chocolate pudding, prepared
1 16 oz. package of Cool Whip Lite (or your favorite whipped cream)
1 package Oreo cookies, chopped and ground in a food processor to make crumbs

Break the chocolate cake into crumbly, bite-sized pieces. On the bottom of a large glass bowl, spread 1/3 of the cake pieces. Top with 1/3 of the chocolate pudding, spreading with spatula. Top pudding with 1/3 of the Cool Whip or whipped cream, spreading with spatula. Sprinkle Cool Whip with 1/3 of the Oreo crumbs. Continue to alternate the layers in this order for a total of two more times, finish off with a final layer of Oreo crumbs to garnish. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

Delicious Apple Crumb Cake

I came across this apple cake on AllRecipes when looking for non-chocolate dessert recipe for my non-chocolate loving dad on Christmas Eve. It turned out absolutely delicious...moist and cinnamon-y, perfect for winter. It would be great served with vanilla bean ice cream.

1/4 cup butter-flavored shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 chopped, peeled tart apple

For topping:
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the shortening and sugar together in a large bowl with electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and then add to the creamed mixture. Add sour cream and continue to mix. Stir in chopped apple, and transfer batter into greased 8" square or 9" round baking dish. For topping, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and then cut in butter till crumbly. Mix in nuts and sprinkle topping mixture over batter. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Egg nog Recipe!!

MM, it's the most wonderful time of the year for Egg Nog!! I got this recipe from my grandmother, who has been making it for many many years, and it's soooo good! Definitely a crowd pleaser :)
This particular recipe will always make me think of all the wonderful Christmases I had during my childhood.


Eggnog recipe - makes 5 Bottles.

4 cans of condensed milk
5 cans of evaporated milk
1 dozen raw eggs
vanilla - 1-2 tbsp
nutmeg - 1 tsp
bacardi 1 small bottle (to taste)

Blend together all ingredients except for condensed milk. Pour condensed milk in while evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla, rum and nutmeg are mixing. Chill for one hour and serve cold.