Tortellini alla Panne

    This is one of my favorite pasta dishes, Italian comfort food. Tortellini in a creamy cheese, with bacon and peas. It is a quick and easy dinner to put together in less than an hour. First off set a pot of salted water to boil. Next chop up a 2-3 cloves of garlic, or more if you like. Put a skillet on the stove and add a nice pat of butter, once it is melted add the chopped garlic to soften over low heat, do not brown it will get bitter. Now add about 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream and about 3/4 of a cup of freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese, or parmesan if you prefer. Add some diced ham, bacon, pancetta or even prosciutto, ect.... When the tortellini is cooked add it the skillet, and then toss in the peas, I use frozen, heat everything through. At this point you can add more cheese or pasta water depending on your desired consistency, and fresh cracked black pepper.

*serve with a nice salad and garlic bread

*use any pasta of your choice, make it your own

Saint Patrick day My Way

 I am not a fan of the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, here is my version. I made a mustard and honey glazed point cut corned beef, latkes with a dill sour cream, and hand cut coleslaw. First off I cooked my corned in water, onion, bay leaved, and whole peppercorns until tender. Next I made a mustard and honey glaze with equal amount of dijon mustard and honey. I glazed the corned beef and put it under the broiler. For the hand cut coleslaw, I followed my mothers recipe, hand sliced cabbage, hand sliced onion, and grated carrot dressed with mayo, white vinegar, salt and pepper. I don't have a latkes recipe of my own, so use your own, or find a favorite on line. 

Fettuccini Clams Casino

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 I had some bacon in the fridge that I had to use, and this is where this recipe began. I cooked the bacon in the oven, on a sheet pan  at 425 until crispy, and I set it aside. Meanwhile I chopped up 4 cloves of garlic, sliced up some tricolor baby bell peppers, and sauteed them in butter, and olive oil until soft. Then I added 2 cans of minced clams with their juice, and some chopped fresh parsley. I then chopped up the bacon and set it aside. I decided to toast some panko bread crumbs in butter and added salt, pepper, grated pecorino romano, and lemon zest, I also decided to add some lemon zest and fresh parsley to the sauce.When the pasta was cooked I added it to the sauce, added the chopped bacon, and some starchy pasta water, you can add another chunk of butter at this point, I did. I tasted it to decide if I had to add more salt and pepper, and garnished it the the toasted panko crumbs.

*this is a company worthy dinner, with a side salad and a nice glass of wine.

**garlic bread and a nice dessert will send this meal over the top

Hoisin Soy Chicken Thighs Over Sesame Soba Noodle Salad

This is one of those dishes when I just grabbed ingredients and created,  I didn't write down what I did and it turned out great. A lot of people are requesting the recipe, so I am going to give it my best shot to explain what I did, and give you a general idea on how to recreate it. The first thing I did was make a sauce for the chicken thighs, I used boneless and skinless. For the sauce I used equal amounts of hoisin, and soy sauce, then I added about a tablespoon each of sesame oil, Shaohsing (Asian cooking wine), rice vinegar, sambal (chili garlic paste), 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 5 smashed garlic cloves, and about 10 slices of peeled ginger, and a little water, whisk good and at this point taste it for the right balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet, adjust if needed, set aside. Next I made a sauce for the Soba noodle salad with about 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar,  and 1 clove of chopped garlic, set aside. Now that my sauces were made I sliced up about 12 raw sugar snap peas length wise, grated 2 large carrots, and 3 green onions sliced, and added them to a large bowl. Next I boiled 2 bunches of soda noodles according to the package directions, make sure not to overcook them or they will fall apart, and be mushy. Drain them and toss with the chopped veggies, and sesame peanut butter sauce and let it sit while you cook the chicken. I cooked the chicken in a pressure cooked but I am sure you can do it in a skillet. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and browned them on both sides in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, put them all back into the pot with the hoisin soy sauce mixture, covered the pressure cooker and let it come to full pressure over medium heat. I cooked it at full pressure for 5 minutes, removed it from the heat, and let it decompress naturally before I opened it. If you are doing it in the skillet, I would do it exactly the same way, and simmer them uncovered for 5 minutes, or until cooked through, and the sauce thickens. I put the noodle salad down on a pretty platter, put the chicken on top, I garnished with a little sauce from the pan, and sesame seeds.
*this looks time consuming but it only took me about an hour to prepare
**you can make the sauces way in advance, they would probably taste better
***better than takeout and healthier too

Thai Style Grilled Pork Skewers

I like to listen to cooking podcasts at work, I was listening to Milk Street Radio the other day and they were describing Moo Ping, and it inspired me to make these, with what I had on hand in my cupboard, and it turned out amazing. I really didn't measure anything, but this is what I basically did. I sliced a 5 pound pork butt as thin as I could and set it a side in a large bowl. Next I made the marinade in a separate bowl with fresh sliced garlic and ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, vegetable oil, sambal, brown sugar, salt, pepper and fresh basil. I just kept tasting and adding, until I had the right balance of hot, sour, salty, and sweet, then added enough water so I could cover all the pork. I poured the marinade over the pork, and put it in the fridge to marinate for 3 hours. 

Next I threaded the pork onto bamboo skewers that I soaked in water, I packed them on pretty tight, I got all 5 pounds on 3 large skewers. Then I grilled them slowly on medium low heat, about 300 degrees on my gas grill, covered until nicely browned and a little charred, about 30 minutes. I served it over a bed of baby greens and sliced tomatoes, simply dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper, because my husband is on the Keto diet, and he loved it. Give it a try, you won't be sorry!

*you can serve this with white rice too

**this easily can serve at least 4-6 people with sides and a salad

***very affordable for a cookout or dinner party

****you can use any marinade you like its very versatile 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast Stuffed With Tomato And Mozzarella

Sometimes, I have a basic idea in my mind, and just go into the kitchen and play, tonight was one of those nights. I knew I wanted to stuff chicken breast, and wrap them in bacon. I opened my fridge, and pulled out things I thought would go good together, and this is what I came up with, it was quite tasty! First I made the stuffing with, approximately, because I never measure, 2-3 cups of stale bread, 3 green onions sliced, 1/2 cup of diced mozzarella, 10 grape tomatoes sliced, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, a handful of grated cheese, a little squirt of balsamic gaze, salt and pepper to taste, and enough water, or chicken stock, to moisten. Let it sit a bit to break down the bread, and distribute the liquid. Next, I butterflied the chicken breast, try to use small breast, that are not too thick. Season the inside and put about 2 tablespoons of stuffing inside. roll, and wrap them in bacon. This takes patience, take your time!

Now I placed them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I then put a lot of fresh cracked black pepper on top, a nice drizzle of balsamic glaze, and sprinkled with a little more chopped parsley. I baked them at 400, for about 30-40 minutes, or until the bacon was crispy. I served them with garlic and cheese stuffed acorn squash, and tomato and mozzarella flat breads. 
*you can stuff and wrap the chicken breast up to a day ahead of time for an easy company dinner
**any side dishes would go well with this dinner, or just a nice side salad
***Chardonnay, or Rose would pair nice
****the hardest part of preparing this dish is butterflying the chicken, a very sharp knife is a must

Egg Roll In A Bowl Plus

I have been making some low carb meals for my husband, this turned out delicious. Most recipes call for ground pork, but I had some left over pork roast, so I used that. I chopped it up into a small dice, about 2-3 cups worth, then I sauteed it in a tiny bit of oil until brown and crispy. Next I added 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauces, and cooked it for another 3 minutes of so. Next I added 1/4 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and a few drops of sesame oil I cooked it another 5 minutes. Next I added 2 cups of finely shredded cabbage, and 1 cup of grated carrots, stirred to combine, cooked it another 3 minutes, and garnished with sliced green onion, and sesame seeds. 

I realized I had some phyllo dough in the fridge, so I decided to make some of the mixture into actual egg rolls. I cut the log of phyllo in half, made six layers, brushing with lard in between, but you can use oil if you like. Then I simply stuffed, rolled, brushed the top with more lard, and sprinkled them with sesame seeds. I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes just until lightly brown and crispy. They were so light and crispy, I served them with some pineapple chutney and my husband loved them.

*this is a quick easy meal to put together on a week night
**you can make the egg rolls smaller for a nice party snack

Gypsy Chicken Carla's Way

Tonight, I decided to put a twist on my favorite pork chops with hot cherry peppers recipe, and used chicken instead. I diced up some skinless, boneless chicken thighs, dredges them in some flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and then browned them nicely in batches, in very shallow oil. I remove all the chicken from the pan, and set it aside. I added a nice chunk of butter and a sliced shallot to the pan and cooked them about 2 minutes. Then I added 4 hot cherry peppers in vinegar that I seeded and sliced, one small jar of red roasted peppers that I sliced, 12 green olives, the ones I used where in a jar stuffed with citrus, I sliced those also, and about 1/4 cup of the hot pepper juice from the jar, making sure to scrape up all the flavorful bits up off the bottom of the pan. I let that cook about 5 minutes or so and added the chicken back to the pan. I tossed it around a bit and then I added about 1/4 cup of white wine, I used a sparkling cava. I lowered the heat and let it simmer until a little of the liquid evaporated, and the flavors married. I served the hot chicken over an escarole salad, simply dressed with grated garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, mixed well with my hands squeezing a bit. I garnish the plate with sliced grape tomatoes and chopped parsley. The only salt and pepper I used was in the seasoned flour, when I tasted it at the end it didn't need any more seasoning.

 *you can also use diced chicken breast or skin on, bone in thighs.
**I left the potatoes out to make it low carb, but I think it would taste delicious over pasta
***an easy one pot meal fit for company with maybe some garlic bread and a nice glass of wine
****use less hot cherry peppers if you don't like your food too spicy

Organic Vegetable and Barley Soup

I recently joined a produce delivery service called Misfits Market. They join organic farmers who would have to throw away perfectly good produce that is too "ugly" for the supermarket shelves, and offer them in a box, delivered directly to your door for a discounted price, brilliant!! I got the small box, including shipping, for $23.50, 10-12 pounds worth. I was so excited when I opened this box and after pondering for a day I decided to make soup. I chopped up and sauteed in a little bit of oil and butter, the smaller onion, the leek, the green beans, and 5 ribs of celery with the leaves and a nice size parsnip from my fridge. I cooked it for about 5 minutes and added a small can of diced tomatoes, a box of chicken stock and then filled the pot up with water. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and Goya Adobo. I simmered it until the veggies were soft, but not mushy, and added 1 cup of pearled barley. When the barley was soft I sliced up the rainbow chard, including the ribs and beautiful stems, added them to the pot.

Look at beautiful colors of these fantastic, organic veggies that were going to get thrown away, I am happy to receive them!! I cooked the soup for another 2 minutes, tasted it, and re seasoned it if it needed. This was one of the most delicious soups I have ever made!!

*you can really taste the difference between mass produced vs. organic fruits and vegetables

**you could probably add any kind of protein to make this heartier

***leave out the chicken stock and butter, add tofu and it's vegan

****https://www.misfitsmarket.com/ 

Easy Dry Rubbed Country Style Pork Ribs

 I found some beautiful country style pork ribs at my local grocery store, and I wanted to do something a little different than wet BBQ sauce, so I decided to dry rub and roast them low and slow. It couldn't have been easier! I made a dry rub with Adobo, Sazon con Achote, smoked paprika, dark chili powder, cayenne pepper, Tajin, brown sugar, salt and pepper. I didn't really measure, it was about 2 tablespoons of the adobo and brown sugar, and a teaspoon each of the rest. I lined a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up, placed the ribs on the sheet and rubbed generously on all sides with the dry rub, make sure there is space in between the ribs. I tossed them into a 325 degree oven and roasted them for 3 hours. They were so moist and delicious, and the color from the rub was amazing!! I served it with a jalapeno and cheddar corn bread, and a green bean, tomato and shallot salad, simply dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

This was such an easy dinner to prepare for a weeknight dinner, I hope you give it a try!!
*This would be a great dinner for a football party, or company, paired with some nice local craft beers
**You can even throw the sheet pan right on the grill for a more smokey flavor, or not to heat the kitchen up for a nice summer deck party.
***My oven is on the low side so you might want to adjust the temperature.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

I love crab cakes, but I never order them at a restaurant because it's all filler and they use cheap canned crab meat, yuck! I always use jumbo lump crab meat from my local fish market, it's always fresh and delicious. Yes it's expensive at $45 a pound, but well worth the splurge every once in a while when I have some extra money. I keep it real simple so the flavor of the crab meat shines. In a large bowl I mix 3/4 cup of Hellmann's mayonnaise, juice of 1/2 a lemon, a couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of Old bay seasoning, salt and pepper to taste and whisk it together well. Next I add 12 saltine crackers crushed up well and the crab meat, mix it together very gently so you don't break up the nice lumps of crab meat too much. Form them into any size cakes you like and chill them in the fridge for about an hour. Next I sauteed them off in plenty of butter until golden on both sides and finish them in a 425 degree oven until heated through. I made a light lemon tarter sauce to serve with them, but sometimes I make a chipotle mayo or a roasted red pepper mayo. 

*sometimes I make them patty size and serve them on a bun like a burger

**make these once and I promise you will never order one out again

***I served them last night on a bed of baby arugula dressed simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, two of us ate the entire platter

****please try this recipe it's easy and you will love it

Roasted Cod With Summer Veggies

I was looking to make a light summer dish on a very humid evening and I came up with this from some veggies I got from my local farm. I made a one bowl salsa with tomatoes, black olives, capers, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. I placed the cod loins on a parchment lined sheet pan, seasoned them with salt and pepper, topped with the salsa and roasted it in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile I made a simple salad with baby spinach, sliced raw zucchini and grated carrot. I tossed the salad with olive oil, salt and pepper and arranged it on a platter. After the cod was cooked I placed it on the salad and dinner was served in less than an hour. 

I didn't really measure anything, I just winged it for the 2 pounds of cod I got at the fish market. It was so light, refreshing and delicious enough to serve to company. I looked beautiful too!!
*garlic bread and a nice white wine makes a perfect summer deck meal
**don't forget a nice fruit salad for dessert

Naranjini... Mexican Style Rice Balls

I had some leftover yellow cilantro rice in the fridge so I decided to put a "MexItalian" spin on arancini. It was a nice change of pace and now everyone wants the recipe so here it is.

For the rice:
1 cup of jasmine rice
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of Goya Adobo
1 teaspoon of Goya Sazon
3 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper 
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
3 green onions sliced
I added the adobo, sazon, salt, pepper and butter to the water and brought it to a boil. I added the rice and simmered it until it was soft and all the liquid was absorbed. Off the heat I added the cilantro and green onion and fluffed it with a fork.

For the Naranjini:

3 eggs

1-2 tablespoons of maseca (what you use to make corn tortillas).

a pinch of cayanne pepper 

chunks of american cheese, or a melting cheese of your choice

Mix well, roll into balls while tucking a chunk if cheese in the middle.

With wet hand moisten the balls and coat them with panko bread crumbs.

Set them in the fridge to set, about 1/2 hour. Fry on medium heat until golden brown.

*These are a delicious starter, side dish or snack

*Be careful when adding the salt because there is already salt in the adobo and sazon

Shrimp and Bacon Paella with Peas and Carrots

Today I decided to put together a paella from what I had in my pantry and freezer and it turned out really good! I learned that making a paella is very forgiving because I didn't measure the rice and liquid to the 2 to 1 normal rice cooking method. I just kept tasting the rice and I added more liquid until the rice was tender and the liquid was absorbed. These are the approximate measure of ingredients I used:
4 slices of bacon cut up
3 tablespoons of butter
1 large shallot diced
1 large carrot peeled and diced
2-3 cups of Jasmine rice
1 teaspoon of Sazon with saffron
1/4 cup of champagne (it's what I had opened but you can use white wine)
a little chili paste (optional)
1 32oz box of chicken stock
3/4 cup of frozen peas
1 pound of shrimp 
sliced scallions
chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste

I crisped the bacon right in the paella pan and removed it. Next I added the butter to the pan and sauteed the shallots and carrots until soft, then I added the rice, salt, pepper, chili paste and sazon and coated the rice with the butter and slightly toasted. Now I added the champagne and cooked it off, added the whole box of chicken stock and a pinch of the parsley and I simmered it until the rice was tender and all the liquid was absorbed, make sure you taste and re season if needed,you might need to add more liquid. Next I sprinkle the peas over the top and arranged the shrimp in a pretty pattern, cover and steam until the shrimp turned pink and were cooked through. I garnished with the scallions, bacon and parsley. I hope you try this one it was de-lish!!
*a simple one pan dinner
**play around with the ingredients according to what you have on hand
***you can definitely serve this to company with a nice salad and a glass of wine

Chili Lime Chicken Thighs

I have been in a Mexican/Asian vibe this week. Stealing flavors on both sides. I had some chicken thighs in the fridge and this is what I came up with, pulling things willy nilly from my pantry and fridge. I love chili, I love lime, I love soy sauce, I love, love, love Tajin, I love ginger garlic sesame......
I made a marinade, let the chicken thighs bathe in it at room temp for a couple hours, and oven baked it at 350 for 1 1/2 hours, until shiny and golden red. Then I dressed it with sesame seeds, cilantro and lime wedges. See photo for full ingredients list. It was delicious!! I love cooking this way, with no particular recipe in mind, just pulling ingredients out of my kitchen as I go along. This is when the meal always comes out best!! Get into the kitchen and let your freak flag fly!!!

*make sure you let the marinade reduce to a syrup and baste as the chicken roasts
**I served it with an Asian slaw and rice

Baked Halibut With Jumbo Lump Crab And Gremolata

I was so full of turkey after Thanksgiving, I wanted something light for dinner, so off to the fish market I went. I was looking in the case and I spotted halibut, I never had it before so I asked if it was mild because my husband isn't crazy about fish and he said yes, so I went for it. Contemplating all day I came up with this, it took all of 5 minutes to put together and is absolutely delicious!! I simply placed the whole loin on top of pats of butter, then I seasoned it with salt and pepper, added more pats of butter and on top of that I topped the whole loin with 1/2 pound of jumbo lump crab meat. Next I made a simple gremolata by mixing about 2 cups of panko, 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley, the zest of 1 large lemon, salt and pepper and enough olive oil to make it moist enough to hold together 1/2-3/4 of a cup. I pressed that firmly on top of the fish, added some white wine into the bottom of the baking dish and baked it at 425 for about 30 minutes.

I served it on top of a bed of baby arugula simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. What a simple and easy dish that will impress!!

*I think this would be good with just about any fish
**perfect for a dinner party without being stuck in the kitchen served with a side of rice

Bacon Meatballs Over Rigatoni

Today we had a little snow storm and I didn't feel like going out to the grocery store. I looked in my fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with from what I had on hand and it turned out amazing! 
For the meatballs:
5-6 slices of bacon
1/2 of a large shallot
1 large clove of garlic
1-2 tablespoons of parsley
I put all this in a chopper until finely diced then mixed it with:
1 1/2 pound of ground beef
1 large egg
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 cup diced italian bread moistened and squeezed dry
1/2 cup of grated cheese (I use a 50/50 blend of romano and parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

I fried them up in a large skillet, removed them when golden and poured off all the the oil except 2 tablespoons. Next I added 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, I just smash them a bit and add them whole so they can be removed if someone doesn't want to eat it. I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup of red wine, cooked it down a bit and then added 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes in juice that I pureed in the blender. I added some salt, pepper and fresh basil to the tomatoes, brought it to a boil, added the meatballs back to the pot and simmered it for an hour. I served it over rigatoni but I think it would be delicious over cheesy polenta too!! 

 This would work perfectly for company with a nice antipasto or salad and a nice crusty loaf of bread or garlic bread. A nice bottle of wine make the perfect meal!! I hope you try this, enjoy!