Pizza Friday

Another Friday, another pizza:


... this time with sausage and slow-cooked onions.


I think we need to start buying only hot sausage because the sweet sausage barely has any flavor.


It was a good pizza, but not one of my best efforts.

Calzones

Once again life got in the way and it's been awhile since I posted. Here is half a calzone I made for dinner last Wednesday:


I made us two huge calzones filled with pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, ham, cubes of mozzarella and ricotta cheese held together by a beaten egg and seasoned with salt, pepper and grated cheese. Served with a side of marinara.

Pepperoni and Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Asparagus

I saw this recipe for Pepperoni and Cheese Stuffed Chicken on Melissa's blog awhile back and knew I had to make it soon. As I was making the menu for this week I was trying to come up with a meal involving chicken when I remembered the recipe. It was perfect because we had a stick of pepperoni and plenty of cheddar cheese in the fridge. Asparagus was on sale so I roasted two bunches to go alongside the chicken:


While the meal was delicious, I was unhappy with the presentation. I've never had much luck stuffing chicken breasts. The filling always comes out because I can't seem to make a nice, neat package. Oh well - it still tasted fantastic, was easy to make and I didn't have to buy anything except the asparagus.

Broccoli Rabe and Salami Pasta

I saw Rachael Ray make Broccoli Rabe and Salami Pasta on her show the other day. It looked so yummy (and easy) that I put it on the menu for this week.


It was a cinch to make (especially because I prepped the broccoli rabe on Sunday). It had a slightly bitter flavor from the broccoli rabe and was perfectly creamy from the ricotta. My only complaint was that I couldn't really taste the salami. I think next time I'd get a hotter variety or ask the deli man to slice it thicker.

SP wanted me to take credit for the forethought of the meal being made on St. Patrick's Day and its vibrant green color, but that was a total coincidence. A happy one, though, because I was feeling guilty about not making something more festive for the holiday.

Pork Chops and Warm Spinach and Bacon Salad

Sunday night sometimes has the potential to be a culinary wasteland in our house if we don't plan ahead. Luckily we had some pork chops in the freezer and a bag of baby spinach leftover from last week, so dinner was easy to throw together.

I used the same recipe I always use for the warm spinach and bacon salad:


I'm really loving the natural light these days. As I was cooking I looked over at the salad bowl and was so enthralled by the vibrant colors that I had to take a picture. The natural light at dinnertime is great for photographing meals. The pork chops were the usual breaded and shallow-fried variety:


... but the salad was the star of the show, at least as far as I was concerned.

Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and Scrambled Eggs

After our fantastic breakfast at C&T's house last Sunday I promised SP I would make biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast this weekend. On Sunday morning, while my darling husband was at the grocery store, I made the gravy, baked the biscuits and scrambled some eggs:


I used bake-off biscuits instead of making my own, but I have a feeling those biscuits SP was making earlier this year would be fantastic with this meal. The gravy is very simple - cook one of those tubes of breakfast sausage, breaking it into small pieces, until browned. Season with a little salt, pepper, dried (or fresh, if you have it) sage and thyme. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the sausage and stir for about a minute. Add two cups of milk and cook until thickened. Since SP wasn't home yet I turned off the heat and let it sit so the flavors could combine. Once he got home I added a little more milk and turned the heat on low so it could reheat and thin out a bit. Such a fantastic, easy breakfast meal. Of course we won't be eating this again for awhile, but man was it good!

Grilled Cheese with Bacon

I didn't have a chance to eat breakfast on Saturday and we were going out with friends for an early dinner, so lunch needed to be light. The cafeteria at my last job made a fantastic grilled cheese with bacon and tomato and I thought that sounded like a great quick lunch. Unfortunately I didn't have any tomatoes but I did have bacon:


Cheesy, bacony, perfectly toasted bread. Yum!

Pastitsio, Greek Salad and Brownies

These pictures are actually from last Sunday's dinner (3/9). We went over to my parent's house but I forgot my camera and had to use my mom's. She just sent me the pictures and I have to say how impressed I am with how they turned out. I love taking photos in natural light and I'm thrilled that it stays light later these days.

We started the meal with little balls of mozzarella and marinated sundried tomatoes:

... and pitted green and black olives:


It was hard for me not to fill up on the olives, mozzarella and tomatoes. I am an olive fanatic and you can never go wrong with mozzarella and tomatoes. But my mom had made pastitsio and a huge Greek salad so I needed to save room. The pastitsio:


... was gorgeous with its crispy crust, silky bechamel sauce and meaty filling. Between the four of us we ate almost this entire casserole dish. There was just enough for one serving for lunch the next day (and guess who was lucky enough to get it?) The Greek salad:


... had chopped romaine, chunks of creamy feta cheese, more of those fantastic olives, grape tomatoes, slices of red onion, chopped parsley and cucumbers. The dressing was tart with lemon juice. Here's my plate with a generous serving of the pastitsio and salad:


A close-up of the pastitio:


... and the salad:


For dessert my mom baked brownies using my stepfather's recipe:


I've never been 100% sure what's in the brownies, but they have a distinct almond flavor. We love moist brownies so these were slighly underdone in the center - just how we like them. Since we were being indulgent we had vanilla ice cream alongside our brownies:


Kudos to my mom for making such an amazing meal. We had a great time, as always. And thank you for letting me use your camera and for sending me the photos. You're the best!

Ginger, Garlic and Scallion Shrimp

We had some frozen shrimp in the freezer from Valentine's Day so I decided to make a family favorite - Ginger, Garlic and Scallion Shrimp:


This had a nice spicy kick to it from the red pepper flakes. We love the bold flavors of the ginger and garlic. The shrimp were seared on the outside and bursty on the inside. Yum!

You Make My Day!

Erin over at Erin Eats picked me for the You Make My Day Award.


This was quite unexpected but very, very much appreciated. Work has been kicking my butt lately and between the time change and the stress of the last few weeks I'm just plain worn down these days. Getting this award made my day. Thank you again, Erin!

Now it's my turn to pass on the love to Alosha, Priscilla, Katie, Tracie, Chrissy, Jessy and my mom. :)

Hungarian Paprikas

This is another recipe I got from Rachael Ray's Comfort Foods cookbook - Hungarian Paprikas:


I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested. It's basically cubed chicken (or pork) tossed in flour seasoned with paprika and marjoram (I used oregano) and browned. The sauce is made with roasted red peppers and a large can of tomatoes. I used plain but the recipe suggests stewed tomatoes. Stir that around to thicken slightly, season with salt and pepper and stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream right before serving. I served mine over buttered egg noodles tossed with chopped parsley. The sauce was fantastic with the roasted peppers and oregano. Next time I might add some veggies, but overall this was a winner.

Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Monday is grocery night and since I never remember to plan ahead for dinner that night, we usually end up scrounging through the fridge and pantry trying to find something easy for dinner. This week I at least had the wherewithal to take some pork chops out of the freezer, but I didn't feel like making our usual breaded and fried variety. I remembered that years ago we made pork chops with apples and onions, so I thought I'd give that a go.


I sliced a large onion and an apple and cooked that in a pan with some butter and oil. The smells were reminding me of the chicken and apples dish I like to make, so I added in some celery as well. Once the veggies were soft I added a few glugs of white wine and deglazed the pan. All that got pushed to the side and the chops were seared on both sides. Once they were brown I covered them with the apple, onion and celery mixture and stuck the pan in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes so the chops could finish cooking through. They were moist and succulent.

We'd run out of milk so I couldn't do mashed potatoes. I just cubed and boiled the potatoes, drained them and tossed them with a little butter, parsley, salt and pepper. They were delicious. I also nuked some frozen corn and dinner was served.

Breakfast with C&T

The weather was awful on Saturday so since we were planning a late night at C&T's we decided to stay over. C&T were incredibly gracious hosts and despite the time change kicking all our butts, T was up early making a sensational breakfast. Just look at this plate of food:

T mentioned to me earlier in the week that she made a mean sausage gravy. In all my years of loving breakfast I have never tried sausage gravy. She serves hers over biscuits:


It might not look that appetizing, but this was absolutely amazing. So amazing that I asked for the recipe and I'm planning to make it for Sunday breakfast this week:


T also scrambled some eggs with cut-up pieces of beef from dinner the night before:


I had my eggs plain, but SP was in heaven. Steak and eggs is a winning combination in his book. T also used some of the potatoes from the night before to make potatoes with onions and peppers:


Thank you again for such a fantastic weekend. We had a blast! Next time we'll do Eggs Benedict at our house.

Saturday Dinner at C&T's

On Saturday we went over to C&T's house for dinner. Just look at this fabulous standing rib roast being carved into luscious pieces:

T always puts out a huge feast and this time was no exception. Here's the salad:


... with lettuce, avocado, tomato, cucumber and carrots. In keeping with an English theme, T made pillowy-soft, light-as-air popovers:


I had at least two and could have eaten more had my stomach not rebelled. T also steamed green beans then cooked them with tons of garlic:


Boiled red potatoes:


...and roasted root vegetables (I think there's beets, carrots, parsnips, squash and red onion in there):


... silky gravy made from the roast drippings:


Here's the spread all laid out on the counter:


Another close-up of the popovers:


The side dishes:


And my plate, with a little bit of everything:


My salad didn't fit on my regular plate:


Even though dinner was fantastic, it was the dessert that had everyone swooning. T made sticky toffee pudding:


... and served it with fresh whipped cream. For some reason I didn't take a photo of my plate, but trust me when I say it was a beautiful sight. We also had two kinds of cheeses (courtesy of the S&B, the other guests). This was a stilton topped with cherries marinated in balsamic vinegar:


I'm not usually a fan of blue cheeses but this was outstanding. Nice and sharp. The other cheese was a mix of blue and cheddar cheeses. S served this with sliced pears. Yum!


Thanks again, C&T, for a fantastic dinner. You guys sure know how to throw a dinner party!

Bagel and Eggs

SP woke up early Saturday morning so he ran to the bagel shop and got some fresh bagels hot out of the oven. I had mine toasted, smeared with cream cheese, served alongside some lightly, perfectly scrambled eggs.

Pizza Friday

Another Friday, another pizza:



I remembered the success of last week and used just the teensiest bit of sauce, along with copious amounts of cheese and a longer stay in the oven. Another fantastic thin-crust pizza.

Cuban Sandwiches and Fries

In paging back through my blog recently I was reminded of the recipe for Cuban sandwiches that I got from Cook's Country. It's an incredibly easy meal to make and it tastes fantastic. I decided to pair it with fries for a yummy mid-week meal:


The recipe calls for both yellow mustard and mayo. In the past we decided we didn't like the combination of flavors with this sandwich so I left the yellow mustard off my sandwich entirely and added a little garlic to the mayo. SP, despite being an avid mayo fan, asked me to make his without mayo - just yellow mustard. I was skeptical but he loved it that way. I cooked the fries on my pizza stone and while they were crispy, they could have spent a few more minutes in the oven.


We really love the combination of flavors in this sandwich - the melty Swiss cheese, the roast pork and the ham with the pickles and banana peppers is a match made in Heaven.

Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti Casserole

My mom and I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show on Tuesday (pictures to come). We had a late lunch and I wasn't very hungry come dinner time, so SP decided to pick up some fun snacks for dinner. I wanted to make sure we had something for lunch the next day so I made a Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti casserole from the latest issue of Cook's Country:


This recipe made a mountain of food. We still have about 3/4 of it in the fridge. I loved the fresh bread crumb topping and you really can't go wrong with chicken, broccoli and pasta in a creamy sauce. Definitely a winner, although I'd cut the recipe in half next time.

Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti Casserole
Cook's Country April/May 2008
Serves 8

4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups grated Asiago cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons melted
Salt and pepper
1 pound ziti
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds) cut into thin slices
12 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces

Pulse bread, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 cup Asiago cheese and melted butter in food processor until coarsely ground. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook ziti until al dente. Drain in colander and rinse under cold water until cool.

Melt remaining butter in the empty pot over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add remaining garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and whisk for 1 minute, then slowly add wine and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Whisk in milk and broth, bring to a boil and add chicken. Simmer chicken until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and stir in remaining cheese.

Meanwhile, microwave the broccoli, covered with plastic wrap, in a large bowl until bright green and nearly tender, 2-4 minutes depending on your microwave. Add cooked broccoli and drained ziti to the pot, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with bread crumb mixture and bake until sauce is bubbling around the edges and crumbs are toasted, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. (Casserole can be assembled, minus the bread crumbs, 24 hours in advance. Bring to room temperature before adding bread crumbs and baking).

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Sunday breakfast needed to be quick and easy, but neither of us wanted eggs. Pancakes are our default since they require less cleanup then waffles. I decided to experiment with bigger pancakes:


... and of course I had mine with chocolate chips. SP said he loved the fluffy texture of the larger pancakes so I think I need to get a larger griddle so I can make more than one at a time.

Swedish Meatballs with Egg Noodles

This was a very hectic week so my meal plans got all screwy at times. I had planned to make Rachael Ray's Swedish Meatballs and Egg Noodles from her Comfort Foods: Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals during the week, but we ended up not having them until last night.


This meal lived up to the name of the cookbook. It was tasty, hearty and comforting, but it was also simple to make. I always say I love a meal I can make using ingredients I always keep on hand, so this was perfect for that kind of cooking. SP's only complaint was that I made the meatballs too big. The recipe said bite-size, but I wasn't sure how small to really make them. SP said he would have preferred a plate with lots of tiny meatballs to the larger onces I made, so next time I'll make them much smaller.

This is one of Rachael Ray's cookbooks that I think I should turn to more frequently. Every time I open it up I see countless recipes I want to try. I was actually planning to make my usual meal from this book (beef stroganoff) but I wanted to try something different and saw the Swedish meatballs.

Here's the recipe. I reworked the directions because they were unnecessarily wordy, but I actually followed this recipe exactly (save for making the meatballs too big).

Swedish Meatballs and Egg Noodles
Comfort Foods: Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals

Meatballs
1 pound ground chuck, or ground beef, pork and veal mix
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped (or grated on a box grater)
A few drops Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 cups beef broth
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup sour cream

1 bag wide egg noodles
1 tablespoon butter
A handful of chopped parsley

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. While waiting for the water to boil, make the meatballs and sauce.

To bake meatballs: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix ingredients for meatballs in a medium-size bowl. Form bite-size balls and place on nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

To cook meatballs on the stovetop: preheat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Mix ingredients for meatballs in a medium-size bowl. Form bite-size balls and add directly to the pan as you roll them. Once the last ball has been rolled, give the pan a good shake and place a lid or aluminum foil over the top. Cook meatballs 10 to 12 minutes, turning them occasionally. Remove meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate, wipe out pan, and return to heat to make the sauce.

To make the sauce: melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and continuously whisk until a smooth paste is formed. Slowly add sherry while continuing to whisk sauce; cook until sherry reduces by half. Add broth in a slow stream and continue to whisk until sauce thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Turn off heat and whisk in salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and sour cream.

Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and toss with butter and parsley. Add meatballs to the sauce, stir to coat, and serve over the noodles.

Breakfast Sandwich

We were out very late on Friday so by the time we rolled out of bed on Saturday it was that weird time between breakfast and lunch where you want a hearty meal but you aren't ready for a full lunch yet. I felt like having a breakfast sandwich:


... made with Canadian bacon and scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin. SP wanted an egg omelet with cheddar and the Canadian bacon on the side, so instead of dirtying two pans I made our eggs in the same pan. His omelet turned out picture-perfect while the eggs for my sandwich didn't quite fit on the muffin.