FANCY MACARONI AND CHEESE

 

Today’s recipe is a really wonderful pasta dish that has become a favorite with my family.  I even served it at a party recently alongside a lot of other party foods and my guests gobbled it up!  I hope you will enjoy making it for your family very soon!

Ingredients:

6-8 chicken breasts, cut into small chunks and stir-fried

2 T. Olive oil

1 large box of pasta shells (large or small)

1 stick butter

½ cup flour

4 cups milk

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 and ½ cups parmegano reggiano cheese, grated

1 and ½ cups chopped tomatoes

½ cup fresh basil

¼ cup fresh parsley

2 cups Italian blend grated cheese (or more if you wish)

Instructions:

*Stir fry chicken chunks in olive oil, drain and set aside.

*Boil pasta according to directions on box.

*Melt butter

*Heat milk in another pan (do not scald or boil)

*Add flour to the butter, whisking continuously.  Cook on low heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

*Add the heated milk in 2 to 3 increments, whisking continuously.

*Continue simmering and whisking until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  

*Remove from heat and add cheese.

*Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add more cheese if desired.

*Add cooked chicken, tomatoes, basil and parsley to white sauce.

*Add desired amount of pasta  to sauce mixture.

*Pour pasta mixture into large rectangular pyrex baking dish that has been sprayed with PAM.

*Spread Italian cheese over top surface of pasta mixture.

*Bake at 350 degrees for 45- 50 minutes or until golden and bubbly throughout.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

            

Here’s a delicious way to make Brussels sprouts.  Yes, that’s right I said “delicious”.  Try them and you’ll agree!    I adapted this recipe from Jamie Deen’s version.   Serve with any entrée (barbeque chicken, pork roast or chops, roast beef or salmon).

Ingredients:

1 to 2 strips of bacon

3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and washed

½ sweet onion, finely chopped

2 T. packed brown sugar

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Juice of ½ lemon

Instructions:

*Cook the bacon until crispy, then remove from the pan—leaving the bacon drippings in the pan.

*Cook the onion in the drippings until softened just a bit.

*Finely shred the Brussels sprouts—I used a mandolin.

*Add the shredded sprouts to the onion and continue cooking until sprouts are softened.

*Add brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

DEEP DISH PIZZA-CHICAGO STYLE

          

This recipe may seem a little daunting, but it is worth it. This is a “show-off” dish! Your family will be impressed---and you will definitely be well fed afterwards.  People usually fight over the leftovers!  We went to Chicago and had authentic Chicago-style pizza.  Then I became obsessed with coming up with my own recipe.   It took a bit of trial and error—but I think you will find that this comes very close to the real deep-dish pizza you can only find in Chicago.  Enjoy!!

2 packages dry yeast

2 cups very warm water

1 T. sugar

1 t. kosher salt

*Mix the above ingredients and let sit for about 5 minutes or until  foam and bubbles form.

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

5 and ½ cups flour

½  c. cornmeal

½ c.  vegetable or canola oil

4 T. olive oil

*Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together and then add yeast mixture.  Mix at high speed until a ball of dough forms.

*Lightly oil a large stainless steel or oven safe glass bowl with olive oil.  Add the dough ball and turn once to coat the other side.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for up to 2 hours until dough has doubled in volume.  If my kitchen is cold, I place the bowl in a warmed oven (achieved by turning the oven to 200 degrees and then turning it off  for 10 minutes before I put the bowl in).

*When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down and knead it for 3 minutes.

*Divide the dough in half and then roll out one of the halves into a large round.  The round should be approximately ¼ to ½ inch thick.  Press the round evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 10 or 12 inch springform pan that has been lightly sprayed with PAM.  The round of dough should hang over the side of the springform about 1 and ½ to 2 inches.  Trim the rest away and save for another time.

*The second half of the dough should be rolled out to approximately ¼-1/2 inch thick but needs to be the diameter of your pan (if you are using a 10 inch springform pan---this round needs to be 10 inches in diameter, and 12 inches in diameter for a 12 inch pan).  Set this round of dough aside---it will be used as the top of the pizza.

*Turn your oven to 375 degrees---it can preheat as you fill your pizza.

*Place the springform pan, with your bottom crust in it, on top of a large baking sheet that has been sprayed with PAM.

Filling the pizza:

*You can use anything you wish to fill your pizza.  What I found to be unique about the pizza I had in Chicago was the freshness of the ingredients and the order of the pizza “toppings”.  I enjoy filling this pizza with the following layers:

1-Thin slivers of sweet onions.

2-Thin strips of red and yellow bell pepper.

3-Thin (almost shaved) slices of black forest ham.

4-Thin rounds of Canadian bacon.

5-Round slices of Provolone cheese.

6-Finely grated Italian Cheese (usually mozzarella and parmesiano-reggiano)

7-Thinly sliced ripe tomatoes  (be generous with this layer—and overlap the tomatoes  to really make 2 layers if possible).

Finishing the Pizza:

*Press the pizza toppings down a bit if needed before putting the top crust on to make it as level as possible.

*Place the top round over the tomato layer.

*Bring the dough that is hanging over the edge of the pan up and over in order to create a finished edge.  You can crimp the edges if you wish or just fold them over.

*Brush the entire top and crimped or folded edges of the pizza with an egg wash  (which is 1 egg with a few drops of water beaten in).  This will create a beautiful shiny surface for your pizza.

*Bake at 375 degrees  on the lowest rack in the oven for 40 minutes or until hot throughout and golden brown.

Tent aluminum foil over the top of the pizza if it becomes too brown during the baking process. 

*When finished cooking, remove pizza from oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan.    Cut into wedges and serve with salad.    The leftovers are delicious!!

Fall Vegetable Soup

I hope you will make this delicious soup this week.  The amounts are approximate and you should even feel free to change up the ingredients according to your taste preferences.  Just a note about parsnips---if   you’ve never tried them, don’t be afraid.  They are wonderful and really add a depth of flavor that you won’t want to miss out on.  Please drop me a comment and let me know how you like this recipe!

**To enjoy the roasted vegetables as a side dish, just serve with your favorite entree after taking them out of the oven.

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots

1 pound parsnips

2  large sweet potatoes

1 small butternut squash

3 T. olive oil

kosher salt

black pepper

2 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

6-8 cups chicken stock

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

*Cut the vegetables into 1 ¼ inch cubes

*Place all cut vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss well.

* Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tender. 

*Puree in heat-safe blender or  food processor with chicken stock in two batches.

*Heat in large saucepan and season to taste.

* Add more chicken stock to achieve desired thickness.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

Instead of a recipe, I thought I'd share 4 of the Christmas trees I have up so far.  I'll post the complete set when I finish the other ones.  Now I know that one Christmas tree is plenty, but I really enjoy the process of planning the themes and finding the decorations throughout the year.  The best time to find great deals on Christmas decor is of course after Christmas when things are 75% off!    Have fun this holiday season!!




Bride's Tree
"White Christmas" Tree
Childhood Toys Tree
Tea Cup Tree

Creme Brulee

This recipe is not very hard but will impress your holiday guests.  It is also very delicious and you can make it ahead of time if you are having a party.  Decorate with fresh berries and a small dollop of homemade whipped cream.  YUM!

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup white sugar

5 egg yolks

1 T. vanilla

Free-flowing brown sugar (or regular brown sugar is fine).

Instructions:

*Scald cream (bring it just to a boil).

* Add sugar and stir to dissolve.

*In a medium bowl , beat egg yolks.

* Whisk a small amount of the cream mixture into the eggs to gradually warm them up.  Keep adding small amounts of the hot liquid until the two mixtures are about the same temperature.  *Pour the warmed egg mixture  into the pan containing the remaining cream mixture. Slowly stir over medium heat  for about 8-10 minutes.

* Add vanilla.

* Pour mixture into 6-8 ramekins- which have been placed in a bain-marie.  This is basically a water bath which consists of placing a container (in this case your ramekins of crème brulee) in a larger shallow (1 inch is deep enough) rectangular baking dish (metal or pyrex) of hot water.   This ensures an even and more gentle cooking of the crème brulee.

*Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until crème brulee is set—it will still jiggle a bit. 

*Remove from oven, cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

*Before serving, sprinkle the entire surface of each crème brulee with free flowing brown sugar (such as natural brown sugar or turbinado sugar) and then place them in a hot oven until the sugar begins to melt and turn golden.  Be careful—because the sugar can burn fast!  You may also of course use a  crème brulee torch.

*Serve with fresh berries and a small dollop of homemade whipped cream.

**If you don’t have any ramekins, you may make one large crème brulee instead of the individual servings by pouring the custard into a round or square pyrex baking dish.