Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil

So...we're going to have more meat-free nights around here.  Mostly for health reasons, but it's cheaper too.  Who knew!  ;-]

Anyway, I used a Barefoot Contessa Recipe and changed it only slightly.  Really tasty!  LINK

Ingredients

nocoupons

• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup good olive oil, plus extra for the pot
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 2 pints small cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
• 18 large basil leaves, julienned
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh curly parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 dashes cayenne red pepper
• 3/4 pound dried capellini or angel hair pasta
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Extra chopped basil and grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt and a splash of oil to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften but don't break up.

While the tomatoes are cooking, add the capellini to the pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl, add the tomatoes and Parmesan and toss well. Add some of the pasta water if the pasta seems too dry. Serve large bowls of pasta with extra basil sprinkled on top and a big bowl of extra Parmesan on the side.

Tequila Lime Chicken, Roasted Veggies & Basmati Rice

A little more experimenting in the kitchen.....took some other recipes and made some alterations.  First is the tequila lime chicken.  Got the basics from Barefoot Contessa at LINK. Here's basically what I used for the marinade.  (Disclaimer....I rarely measure anything when cooking so these are approximate.)

- 1/2 cup tequila
- juice from 3 limes
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 TBSP chili powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 3-4 TBSP diced red onion
- 2 TBSP chopped cilantro

Got a 2 lb package of chicken strips and put them in the marinade.  I only let them marinade for about 2.5 hours.  Probably should have let them marinade much longer.  Just FYI

I broiled them at the same time as the roasted veggies.  This was sliced red, yellow and green peppers, roma tomatoes, and red onion.  Covered them in salt, pepper and olive oil.  Broiled together with the chicken for about 20 min on high broil.

I also made a chunky salsa to put on the chicken.  This recipe came from my cooking class.


2 medium ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced yellow pepper
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 TBSP chopped cilantro
1-2 TBSP fresh lime juice
1 TBSP extra virgin oliveoil
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
(called for 1 med jalapeno, minced but I left this out)

Served with Basmati brown rice

Healthy Pub Grub

I love a good burger and fries at my favorite bars and pubs around town. But the high fat in a juicy burger and deep fried french fries is a deterent. I am also trying to cut down on the amount of meat I eat. I could never totally give up on meat in my diet, but I do feel better when I eat less of it. I also find it easier to lose weight when eating less meat.

To satisfy my cravings, I decided to make a Veggie Patty Melt with oven roasted fries.

I started with the fries first. I preheated my oven to 425 degrees. I cut one large potato into small cubes and tossed the cubes in 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a sprinkling of Italian Herbs, and fresh cracked pepper. I then sprayed olive oil spray on a heavy cast iron Le Creuset baking pan (but any baking pan will do) and poured the potato into the pan. The potatoes need to bake a total of 30 minutes to get crisp and you should flip the potatoes in the pan 15 minutes into baking.

For the patty melt, I bought some of MorningStar Farm's Grillers Prime Veggie Burgers. In an iron skillet, I grilled a veggie burger according to package directions with a few slices of onion (until soft). I used a vegetable oil spray to keep things from sticking and reduce fat. After the burger and onions were cooked, I assembled the patty melt with two slices of fat free American Cheese and grilled burger and onion between two slices of 100% whole wheat bread (I like Nature's Own). If you can't go totally fat free on the cheese, consider 2% fat slices. Once assembled, I sprayed both sides of the sandwich with vegetable oil and returned to the iron skillet. I grilled each side for about 4 minutes.

I plated the burger and potatoes and later added some ketchup for the fries.

The verdict? I loved it! Veggie burgers have come a long way and I have grown to like them, especially from Morningstar. I gave up the tastless Boca burgers a long time ago. I will say that you should not expect your veggie burger to taste like meat. But Morningstar and other companies are creating some flavorful alternatives that stand in a category all their own.

Slow Start

I hope to be dining out this weekend...so I'll keep you posted! Thanks for the invite Will!

Thanks for the invite

Will,

Thanks for inviting me. I plan to take this opportunity to share with each of you my favorite family recipes. I challenge each of you to make and enjoy them.

Sharing with each of you very soon.

Curtis

Sauces

So...tonight's cooking class was about different ways to cook in oil (sauteing, stir-fry, frying, searing).  We talked about which types of oil were better for each type of cooking Really cool stuff.  In class tonight, we did something different in that in our teams we were assigned at random different dishes to be in charge of.  I got the fish and beurre blanc sauce.  We coated the catfish in a flour, salt, pepper and paprika mixture and then cooked for about 3 min per side.  Awesome!!  I was also in charge of the sauce to go with it.  I'd never heard of beurre blanc sauce that I can recall.  But I definitely want to have it again!  Our recipe included shallots, white wine, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, black peppercorns, fresh thyme, heavy cream, butter and salt.  OMG it was rich.  We poured it over the fish.  If I hadn't been at class, I might have licked the plate.  Believe me, I was close.

Our sauce was much prettier than this.  :-)
 

The other dishes we made tonight were chicken Parmesan, veal piccata and shirmp/vegetable stir fry.  We've been focusing quite a bit on the different sauces that go into each dish.  I think that's what I'm enjoying most about the classes because I've struggled with sauces.  Can't wait to try out all these dishes with you guys. 

Let Me Introduce Myself

I wanted to introduce myself, food is a very intimate thing for me and you want to know who you are eating and cooking with, right? My name is Chrissie, I am Will's sister in law. I am a chef by trade and own a catering business. My approach to food is keep it simple, no fuss but tasty! We have a 15 month old little girl, so my newest food passion is introducing her to the wonderful world of food and showing her at an early age what taste is all about. Now don't get me wrong, the child eats her fair share of chicken nuggets and hot dogs but we try and sit down to a meal every night and we all eat the same thing!! No substitutions. I am amazed at how adventurous she is. Her newest love is Gumbo?!? Who would have thought.
Enough about my child, this is a food blog. I by no means know everything about food and feel like there is always more to learn, but I am here if you ever have questions.
I use to teach cooking classes and there are two things that I think make a good cook a great cook. A good knife (and knowing how to properly use it) and SALT! Good salt, Kosher is my favorite and don't be afraid to use it.
Here is my recipe for Gumbo, I was given this recipe from a good friend from Homa LA. She didn't give me an exact recipe, and I have just thrown it together all of these years, but I am going to write a recipe for y'all.
GUMBO
1 stick of butter
1 cup flour
1 medium onion diced
1 medium green bell pepper diced
2-3 stalks of celery diced
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken works great)
1 kielbasa sausage
1 cup white rice
8 cups water or chicken stock
Lawry's & Tabasco to taste

The key to an amazing gumbo is the Roux, start with a heavy bottomed pot, a trusty spoon that you feel comfortable with and time to watch the roux become beautiful!! Melt the butter over medium heat whisk in the flour and let the roux begin to brown. This takes some time, so you have to be patient, but don't walk away or you will end up with burnt roux (yuck!) Sir occasionally until the roux becomes the color of chocolate, it will feel like forever but trust me, it is where all of the flavor is. Once you have achieved chocolate color, add all of your diced vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes until they are tender. Add water or stock and whisk until everything is combined well. Add the sausage, cut into bite size pieces, however you like is fine. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30-45 minutes. I season it towards the end with Lawry's Seasoning Salt & Tabasco to taste. Add 1 cup of dry rice and stir occasionally. The rice will cook in the gumbo. Once the rice is tender, normally about 15 minutes you are ready to eat!!

Chrissie Batts