You have to agree, this is a pretty nice way to spend a Saturday.
Posts Tagged ‘olive oil’
Travel: Celebrating in Sonoma
01
Aug
We spent the past Saturday celebrating a friend’s birthday by enjoying the great weather and wine of Sonoma, California. We were picked up by an incredible coach and driven in style to Sonoma. As I am writing this, I realize that unfortunately, I didn’t actually take any photos of the coach itself. Believe me when I say, it was a nice ride. But no fear, I have a few other shots to share. We visited 3 wineries, and I personally enjoyed the first one the most. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t so much for the wine, but for the olive oil. Yep, you heard, well in this case read, it correctly. Jacuzzi winery in Sonoma has a very large and interesting selection of olive oils. I couldn’t help but buy a bottle for myself. Parmesan olive oil anyone, or maybe some champagne olive oil?
Cook and Tell – Eggplant Gratin
17
Feb
I am trying to get back on track, and I think I am almost succeeding. I have a few exciting dishes coming up in the next few days (ok, maybe weeks). It really all depends on how much time I am allotted to exercise my cooking skills.
Today I have something special to share. I promise this isn’t a hard one to make. This a great dish for two, when you have just a short span of time to devote to making dinner. The recipe for this dish came from the trusted Food Network.
I am happy to say that I followed the recipe as it is written. Except I have to admit that I don’t actually own gratin dishes. So I used what I had…
…I think the gratin still turned out good, looks and taste wise (if I may say so myself).
A perfect dinner entree for two. Maybe this could be next year’s Valentine’s Day dinner entree? I strongly recommend!
Cook and Tell – Three Cheese Lasagna
15
Dec
If you are a busy body, chances are you are always looking for ideas for nightly dinners for the family. Most likely you want a lot of bang for the time you spend cooking. Meaning, you want to get as many nightly dinners covered as possible for the time you spend preparing the meal.
I am sure this is no grand discovery for many of you but the biggest bang for the time involved is….drum roll please…. lasagna. It takes a little bit of effort, but once it’s all done, you’ve got at least 4 days of dinners. This just means that you’ve carved out 4 evenings of free time to be taken up by some other errands.
Now for the recipe of this time-saver dish. The Three Cheese Lasagna recipe came to me courtesy of Epicurious.com. Knowing me, you’re probably wondering, “how did she alter this recipe?”. I do confess, for some odd reason I couldn’t find the right kind of carrots when I was shopping for the required ingredients. What does one do in this situation? Well, I don’t know what one does, but I just left them out. The taste is still amazing, and every time I serve it, the hubby gives praises.
I serve it with a leafy greens salad, either on the bed of or on the side. In case you are curious, I mix the leafy greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, a bit of red onions and walnuts, tossed with either fat free balsamic vinaigrette or salt, black pepper and a little bit of vegetable oil. Now I present you, with a square of Three Cheese Lasagna on the bed of leafy greens salad (tossed with vegetable oil).
Strawberry-Goat Cheese Bruschetta
20
Apr
Last week my boss shared with me a great recipe for strawberry goat cheese bruschetta. I have to say this is one of the few times that I didn’t lose any time, and on the way home stopped by the store and picked up all the ingredients needed for this amazing appetizer. In fact I made the dish that very same night, when I got home. The strawberry goat cheese bruschetta was the main meal for me that night.
This appetizer is mouth watering (exactly the sensation I experienced when I first laid eyes on it). And why not? All the ingredients individual and together are delicious. So drool no longer, instead take 20 minutes to make the Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta from the Better Homes and Gardens website.
Asian Pear and Arugula Salad
15
Nov
You’re probably wondering why I haven’t been around for a while. With the kitchen remodel and the change of seasons it’s been difficult to get any day light time. My friend V, and occasional food contributor was very kind to gift me a subscription to Food & Wine magazine. I am loving my new subscription. I’ve a made a couple of things based on the recipes from F&W already (unfortunately didn’t get a chance to photograph them). Finally I was able to capture my latest dish.
This is a super easy salad to throw together. I was flipping through my first issue of F&W magazine and came upon the Asian Pear and Arugula Salad with Goat cheese. I threw this together for a refreshing lunch for my husband and I.
I very slightly modified the original recipe. Here is what I did:
Ingredients:
Baby Arugula
1 Peeled, cored and thinly sliced asian pear
Slivered Almonds
Extra virgin olive oil
Honey
Chopped fresh thyme
Lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
Crumbled goat cheese
For the dressing:
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and chopped thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, toss together arugula, asian pears, and slivered almonds. Add the earlier mentioned dressing and toss well. Top with goat cheese and serve.
This salad is perfect for a light and refreshing lunch!
Stuffed Peppers
05
Sep
Probably for months now, I’ve been thinking (and sometimes talking) about making stuffed peppers. My mom makes incredible stuffed peppers, but I saw a recipe for orzo stuffed peppers from the Food Network, which is a variation on hers. I finally took the plunge, got all the ingredients, rushed home from work and whipped up stuffed peppers.
The peppers turned out delicious. Judge for yourselves.
Of course you are wondering, how can I have a stuffed pepper like this for dinner? Well, it’s actually relatively simple.
What you will need:
Canned Italian Tomatoes (I suggest buy chopped tomatoes, if you want to save on prep time)
Grated zucchini
Fresh mint
Grated Romano Picorino cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper
Chicken broth (I used 99% fat free)
Orzo, and of course
Sweet bell peppers
What you will want to do to turn these great ingredients into actual stuffed peppers is the following:
1. Mix canned tomatoes, grated zucchini, chopped fresh mint, cheese, olive oil, salt and ground pepper in a bowl.
2. Bring chicken broth to boil.
3. Add orzo to boiled chicken broth and boil for a few minutes (make sure the orzo is NOT fully cooked).
4. Once orzo is ready, sift it.
5. Mix the orzo with the ingredients you’ve already premixed in item 1 above and poor the left over chicken broth into the baking dish you’ll use for the stuffed peppers. To identify the dish, I chose a glass pie dish I had at home that was able to fit 6 peppers.
6. Remove all the insides of the bell peppers and discard.
7. Place the peppers in the baking dish and fill with the orzo mix.
8. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 400F. Than remove foil, cover the peppers with additional grated cheese and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered…
…and Voila!
I would recommend letting the peppers cool off slightly before serving. From personal experience they tasted better when they weren’t steaming hot.
Enjoy!
