Stuffed Shells

I always thought stuffed shells would be so difficult to make. Wrong! They came together much more quickly and easily than I had imagined–easier than lasagna, in my opinion. And the taste is so much like lasagna. And the presentation is prettier. I love lasagna, but sometimes it just looks like a big blob of cheese and sauce, you know? The shells, on the other hand, retain their shape and look fancy. Great option if you want to create a meal to impress.

Stuffed Shells

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound box jumbo shells (I used Attilio brand, Conchiglioni #102 shells from the local Italian deli)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Filling

• 1 pound sausage (or ground beef or ground turkey)
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 ounces goat cheese (optional…I added it because I had some left over in the fridge)
• 1-2 eggs (depending on how dry the ricotta is)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (I used 1/4 cup because I added the goat cheese to the original recipe)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped spinach
• 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh oregano
• 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh dried basil
• 1 1/2 tbsp. parsley
• 1 tbsp. fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Sauce

• use your favorite jar of marinara sauce or make your own…I used a quart-sized jar of the Marcella Hazan recipe I love, which I’ll post below

DIRECTIONS

1. To make filling: In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage/meat, breaking it into small pieces.
2. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add cooked sausage/meat; mix well.
3. Cooking the pasta shells: In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil, then add 1 1/2 tbsp. salt. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 7-9 minutes. Drain.
4. Stuffing the cooked shells: First, spread a thin layer of the marinara sauce, about 1/4 cup, on the bottom of a 9” x 13” dish. For filling the shells, you can either use a spoon to stuff them with the filling mixture, or you can pipe the filling into the shells. I used a piping bag filled with the meat/cheese mixture, held the shells in my hand, and piped the filling very quickly, easily, and neatly into each shell. (If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a ziploc bag instead.) Place stuffed shells, open side face up, into the 9” x 13” dish.
5. Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the stuffed shells, top with mozzarella and parmesan, cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, removing foil during last 10 minutes of cooking. (By the way, if you haven’t tried Reynolds nonstick aluminum foil, it works beautifully on dishes like this so the cheese topping won’t stick to the foil.)

SOURCE: Pink Parsley

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds fresh Roma tomatoes (I used San Marzano tomatoes)
• 2/3 cup chopped carrots
• 2/3 cup chopped celery
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. salt
• pinch of sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil (I used 2 tbsp. instead)

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise.
2. Cook in a covered non-reactive stockpot over medium heat for 10 minutes.
3. Add celery, carrots, onions, salt, and sugar.
4. Cook at a steady simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
5. Allow to cool slightly, then puree in a blender or food mill.
6. Return to pot, add olive oil, and cook at a steady simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
7. Taste and add more salt if desired.

Note: Sauce can be frozen in canning jars or plastic freezer bags for several months.

SOURCE: Playin with My Food

Ice Cream Sunday: Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

Here in Southern California, strawberry season is in full swing. The farmer’s market strawberries are especially succulent, and I buy a bunch every weekend to enjoy with my daily breakfast of yogurt and granola. However, I reluctantly parted with a pint of the sweet fruit to attempt, yet again, another strawberry ice cream recipe. I’ve tried several in the past few years, and although they have tasted okay, they weren’t stellar enough for me to scream their deliciousness from the rooftops.

I’m still not ready to scream from the rooftops, but this recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home is the best one I’ve found yet. I learned from her book that strawberry chunks tend to “freeze into rock-hard, flavorless chunks” due to the “high water content” of the berries. Yep, I’ve experienced that in some of my attempts. To remedy that problem, Jeni’s recipe calls for pureed berries. Although I’ve used pureed berries in other recipes, the final ice creams just haven’t wowed me enough to share them. This particular recipe, though, produced strawberry flavor with a creamy base that also has  tang from buttermilk and cream cheese, which complements the sweetness of the fruit. The strawberries, by the way, are roasted for a few minutes, which reduces their water content a bit as well as deepening their sweet flavor.

I keep trying strawberry ice cream recipes because hubby loves the flavor. Although it’s not one of my top choices and I never order it when I buy ice cream from shops, I find I like this homemade strawberry ice cream well enough to enjoy a scoop or two for dessert at night.

Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

Roasted Strawberries

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Ice Cream Base

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 ounces (4 tbsp.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS

1. To make roasted strawberries: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine sliced strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar in an 8-inch square dish; stir to mix. Roast for 8 minutes until strawberries just soften. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Puree berries in a food processor along with lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup berries for the ice cream; refrigerate remainder for other uses. (Why make so much when all you need is 1/2 cup? If not, the strawberries will scorch or dry out during roasting.)
4. To make the ice cream base: In a small bowl, make cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch with 2 tbsp. of milk. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk softened cream cheese and salt until smooth.
6. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat; boil for 4 minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until it thickens slightly, about one minute.
8. Slowly whisk the hot mixture into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the strawberry purée and the buttermilk; blend well.
9. Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc bag, seal, and either submerge into an ice bath or place between frozen blue ice bags. Allow to chill for 30 minutes (I also place the ice bath in the refrigerator for the 30 minute period).
10. Churn ice cream base in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Store ice cream in an airtight container in freezer for several hours before serving.

SOURCE: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Fish (Trout) Soup

Hubby loves to fish. Passionately. When I married him, I knew he might love fishing more than me. Just kidding.

He used to own his own boat and go ocean fishing. However, the boat got sold a few years ago. He also used to long-range fish several times a year. That means he would leave from San Diego on a big boat with lots of other fishermen, head several hours into Baja Mexico waters, and catch really really big fish. And be gone for several days. And come home with tons of fish. He still goes on long range trips but not as often (economy tanked his construction business a few years ago).

Ever since he sold the boat, he gets his fishing fix by heading out to local lakes for trout and catfish fishing. Apparently it’s a whole new methodology that he loves tackling. I love the catfish, but he hasn’t quite mastered catching lots of those guys yet.

He has mastered catching trout, though. Unfortunately, I don’t love trout. I don’t hate it, either. But with so much of it in our freezers, I get tired of it. And I have memories of tiny, delicate trout bones getting stuck in my throat as a kid. Ugh. Traumatic.

But I eat it. He catches it, we have it, so I eat it. But my dinner plate always, always has leftovers.

When hubby makes us trout, he also makes too much rice to go with it. The leftovers used to get tossed in the trash. I have now learned a few tricks with leftover rice: fried rice (recipe coming one day soon), toss it into soup with chicken and carrots, use it in the filling for stuffed peppers, mix it with meatballs for albondigas soup, and now fish soup with rice.

So here’s how this soup came to life: we had too much leftover trout one night along with leftover rice. I didn’t want to waste all that food. Then a vision popped into my mind: fish soup with rice. Why not try it? Dang glad I did, because it was darn delicious!

I painstakingly pulled the bones out of the trout, carefully pulling off small pieces and examining them (had to wear my glasses to see them). Then I perused my recipe files for the spices to add, mixing and matching from my favorite recipes, and came up with the concoction listed below. Very very flavorful. Great way to use up the leftover trout and rice, whereas it might have gotten tossed in the trash a few days later had neither of us eaten the leftovers. Yay for new, successful discoveries.

By the way, I have also vacuum-packed and frozen the rice and fish together, creating ready-made fish soup packets. Makes for an easy and quick dinner.

And if you aren’t a trout fan, maybe another fish would work, something on the lighter side, perhaps.

Fish Chowder 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, yellow or white, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced (1 stalk)
• optional: 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced (Yukon gold or 2 small red potatoes, peeled or unpeeled)
• 1 cup carrots, diced (4 small carrots)
• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. marjoram
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth or fishstock
• 1 1/2 pounds (about 2-3 cups) mild fish, cooked (I used trout, but perch or bass or any other mild white fish should work fine; you can probably toss raw fish into the broth, too, that is cut into small pieces instead of using cooked fish)
• 1 cup pre-cooked (or leftover) rice
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter with oil over medium heat until butter isn’t frothing anymore; add onions, celery, and mushrooms. Saute until onions are translucent (but not brown), 5-10 minutes.
2. Add garlic at tail end of cooking onions; saute for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add potatoes, carrots, thyme, Old Bay seasoning, Kosher salt, marjoram, and pepper. Stir until ingredients are mixed together.
4. Add chicken broth (or fish stock). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover pot and cook 20-25 minutes or until vegetables reach desired tenderness. If you want thinner soup, add more stock or even water.
5. Add fish and rice. Simmer until fish and rice are heated, about 10 minutes.
6. Turn off heat and add parsley.
7. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Note: If you have leftover soup, the rice will absorb the broth. Just add more liquid (broth or water) when you heat up the leftovers to thin it out.

SOURCE: Maria’s Concoction

Thai Chicken Salad

I have been insanely, unusually tired for the past 3 weeks or so. Through this fatigue, the blog has haunted the back of my mind, nudging me to post, but then the exhaustion wipes out all thoughts of productivity. Isn’t spring a time of renewal, of energy, of sunshine? Yes, we’ve had all that going on in nature. So what’s up, body?

Every spring I seem to endure this slump in energy. I think it’s related to my profession. You see, I teach. English. To hormonal adolescents. And summer vacation is close. Very close. That means for the past few months I have graded hundreds upon thousands of assignments and essays . I’ve endured moaning and groaning and whining and griping from kids because I have the audacity to challenge their minds. And I’m at the end of my rope. I think there just might be enough to hold on to, though, to finish off these last four weeks…just maybe…

Okay, that’s my excuse for not posting. But today I’ll see if I can crank out something to share.

How about this Thai Chicken Salad? The recipe and I crossed paths a couple weeks ago, and we immediately formed a friendship. A good one. We plan to keep in touch.

Seriously, though, this recipe screamed for me to test it out as soon as I laid eyes on it. I had nearly all the ingredients on hand: crunchy cabbage, salty peanuts, sweet carrots, green onions…

Missing, though, was a green papaya. Hmmmm…I had never heard of that, but I was willing to swap it out for mango, maybe? Lo and behold, a trip to the Asian market scored a green papaya, which from the outside looks totally unripe. However, once you peel it and take a bite, you’ll be transported to sweet and tangy heaven. Who knew that beautiful taste was hiding underneath that thick green skin?

As for the dressing, now this part sounded a bit odd to me. Peanut butter in salad dressing? And fish sauce? What the heck, why not try it? My oh my, did we enjoy this! Both the peanut butter and the fish sauce deepen the flavor. Take a risk. Test it out. What do you have to lose?

Let me close by saying that this salad is loaded with healthy, good-for-you ingredients that hold up well. I mixed up a HUGE batch and, sans dressing, it lasted a few days in the fridge. Hence, I can totally picture this as summer party fare…or baby shower or bridal shower fodder.  It made great lunch leftovers for the week, too.

P.S. Although I don’t mind taking time to chop all the ingredients for a salad this awesome, you can cut corners by using pre-sliced/packaged cabbage & carrots, and you can use the rotisserie chicken from the market.

Thai Chicken Salad

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Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (check out Mel’s method)
• green & purple cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 1 large carrot, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 green papaya, peeled and seeds removed and sliced into thin strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
• 1/2-1 cup peanuts, salted

Dressing

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 bird’s eye chile peppers, finely diced (or use 1/2 tsp. of any hot pepper, diced)
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. white vinegar
• 2 tbsp. honey (original recipe calls for sugar)
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. fish sauce
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Salad: In a large bowl, mix together all salad ingredients except peanuts. Chill until ready to eat.
2. Dressing: Whisk together garlic, peppers, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, lime juice, oil, and fish sauce. Add peanut butter and water; whisk until smooth and creamy. Or, you can just place ingredients into a food processor and pulse a few times until it is all combined.
3. Toss dressing with salad, add peanuts, and serve. (If you don’t plan to eat all the salad in one sitting, keep salad and dressing separate and chill both. It will last a few days in the refrigerator.)

SOURCE: Pinch of Yum

Pasta with Peas, Bacon, and Ricotta Sauce

This past weekend’s visit to the local Farmer’s Market included bringing home a big bag of English peas. Have you ever eaten fresh peas? Waaaaaaaaaay better than the canned or frozen stuff. I managed to grow a few vines of peas last year, but after shelling them, I only ended up with a cup or so in total. Not much. And that was with multiple harvests. After each shelling session, I just kept storing each tiny batch in the freezer until the growing season was over. Then one day I took out my measly little bag of green goodies, boiled them in a bit of water for a couple minutes, tossed them with some butter, and I was in love. There is no going back now. I just planted more peas for this spring and hope to have more success.

In the meantime, the explosion of spring goodies at the Farmer’s Market happened this past weekend, including piles and piles of English peas–big fat ones. I stocked up on a gigantic bag of peas, not minding that I would have to shell them all. Now, what in the world was I going to make with all these chubby little green pearls? It is times like this when life throws a recipe at me just as I need it. Skimming through Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, a recipe using ricotta, which I had on hand, and peas fell open. Perfect!

So I whipped this up. Very easy. Makes a fantastic quick meal, perfect for a weeknight after a long day at work. The dish tastes light and flavorful. It contains chewy pasta, pungency from the parmesan-reggiano cheese, softness and sweetness from the peas, and a smoothness from the little bit of butter and the ricotta. Oh, and my favorite part: a salty chew from the bacon. Quite the mix of flavors, isn’t it? Yet all so easy to throw together.

I used conchiglie pasta, which I’ve usually seen as shell shaped. This particular bag I bought, though, was more like curved hollow tubes, and after mixing everything together, I found the peas hiding out in the tubes :  ) I can imagine that little kids would find that amusing. Okay, so I found it amusing, and it just made eating this potpourri of flavors even more fun.

Pasta with Peas, Bacon, and Ricotta Sauce

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. fresh, young peas, unshelled weight OR 1/2 of a 10-ounce package of tiny frozen peas, thawed (I measured 5 ounces of freshly shelled peas, which equalled about 1 cup of peas)
• 1/4 lb. lean slab bacon (I used 3 1/2 slices to equal 4 ounces)
• salt
• 1/4 pound fresh ricotta
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus additional for garnishing
• black pepper
• 1 pound pasta (conchiglie, fusilli, or rigatoni)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare pasta. Begin by boiling 4 quarts of water. When it reaches a boil, add 1 1/2 tbsp. salt (this helps flavor the pasta). When it reaches a full, rolling boil again, add the pasta and cook according to package directions.
2. In the meantime, add the ricotta to a large bowl, breaking it up with a fork. Add the butter (I cut the butter into small pieces). Set aside.
3. Place peas in a small saucepan; pour in enough water to just cover them. Bring to a gentle boil for a couple of minutes, then drain and set aside.
4. Cut the bacon into small bite-sized pieces. Using a small saucepan, cook over medium heat until browned but not crisp. Pour off all but two tablespoons of the fat. Add the peas, stirring to coat. Cook at medium heat for 2 minutes, but time this to finish just before you drain the pasta.
5. Drain pasta and immediately put into the bowl with the ricotta, tossing until well mixed (my pasta & sauce looked a bit dry and I was wishing I had saved some of the pasta water to help smooth out the ricotta sauce). Add the peas and bacon, again tossing until well mixed.
6. Add the grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and toss again until well mixed. Serve immediately.

SOURCE: Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Cranberry-Orange Macadamia Butter Cookies

Cookie Contest Voting — help my cookies win the contest!

Click the above “Cookie Contest Voting” link and find the Facebook Fan Page link at the bottom,

then from there follow directions for voting.

Update: a friend let me know that she couldn’t locate the voting…maybe it isn’t set up yet???

Several months ago, I kept getting emails from a “virginiaplantation” that my posts were “liked.” Well, I’m not current with the world of social technology (just too much to keep up with and figure out at this point in my life but maybe someday), but I knew this had something to do with the social network. Eventually, curiosity led me to the virginiaplantation website, where I discovered a husband and wife team, Brett and Michelle, gearing up to open a bed and breakfast in West Virginia, Belle Grove Plantation. I found their endeavors interesting, so I began following their blog. Additionally, their proposed B&B isn’t too far from my mother-in-law’s place in WV, I think, so I’m hoping to one day see the fruits of their labor.

As they neared what they hoped to be an opening date, they announced a cookie contest, with the winner’s cookie to be slated as the B&B official cookie for the year, provided to guests each evening. Cute idea to have a contest, I thought. I knew I wanted to enter just for fun and to show support for their efforts. The original date of the contest was back in February, so nearly every weekend in January I was testing out variations of cookies, some of which are still living in my freezer, by the way. Most were duds, but I finally hit upon one I was happy with, which just included some minor additions to a recipe I had already posted and loved, the Macadamia Nut Butter Cookie. I added orange flavoring and some spices to jazz it up a bit.

I had the recipe typed and the pics uploaded, all ready to enter the contest, but then the contest was postponed. No biggie since I had my entry ready to go. However, the new deadline was right after we got home from our big trip, and I was consumed with trip preparations beforehand; hence, I nearly forgot to enter the contest! Luckily, I did remember.

But then promptly forgot about it as we enjoyed our exciting trip to South America. Lo and behold, I got an email announcement yesterday that my entry made it to the top 10 list! Woo hoo!! So excited!! From this point, the contest is open to the public for voting. Although it would be fun to win, I’m thrilled to have made it to the top ten. So, here is how the voting will work, and you can participate (copied from the email they sent):

We will announce the top ten cookies…on both the blog and Facebook page…On Facebook, we will create a special album with the top ten cookies…We will encourage our fans of the blog, Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumbler and LinkedIn to go to our Facebook page and blog to review the cookie recipes.

To vote they will need to:

1.       Like our Facebook Fan Page

2.       Go to the album and Like their favorite cookie.

The voting will start on Saturday, April 13^th at 12:00am and continue until Sunday, April 21^st at 11:59pm.

So, if you would like to participate in the voting, just click the link here to get started: Cookie Contest Voting.

Or, if you want to make the cookies, here is the recipe:

Cranberry-Orange Macadamia Butter Cookies 

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Soft & chewy cookies with slightly crisp edges and a mouthful of buttery, nutty flavor balanced by the sweetness of cranberries and the freshness of orange flavoring. 

INGREDIENTS

• 5.6 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. orange extract (or 1 1/2 tsp. orange zest)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for coating cookies (can also add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, too, for a slightly altered flavor)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

1. Place macadamia nuts in a food processor; process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl once or twice (do not eliminate the scraping step; scraping and re-processing helps draw the oils from the nuts, which are needed to keep the cookies cohesive when mixing & baking).

1. Combine macadamia butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.

1. Mix vanilla, orange extract (or zest), and egg; lightly beat. Add to dough mixture and beat until mixed, about 1 minute.

1. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until combined and dough begins to progress from looking like small crumbs to looking like several big chunks of crumbs (it’s okay if dough isn’t fully cohesive). Stir in chopped cranberries. Chill 10 minutes, covered. (I actually slowly add the cranberries into my stand mixer while it is mixing the dough.)

1. Place approximately 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl for dipping cookies into before baking. For large cookies, about 3 inches in diameter: Divide chilled dough into 15 equal portions, about 1 1/2 tbsp. for each cookie; roll each portion into a ball about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Press each ball of dough between palms of hand to flatten it into a disc 1/4 inch thick. Lightly dip each disc into the sugar on both sides to coat it. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11 minutes or until lightly golden. Fro small cookies, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter: divide dough into 30 equal portions, about 1 inch in diameter. Press flat between palms, place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart, and bake for 9 minutes.

1. Remove cookies from oven, cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies small cookies or 15 larger cookies

Notes: Baked cookies freeze well. I simply place them in an airtight container, then pop the container into the freezer.

SOURCE: slightly adapted from Cooking Light magazine, December 2009 issue

Orange-Glazed Chicken

Despite all the chicken recipes I have posted, hubby and I actually eat a lot more red meat and fish than the blog showcases. You see, my hubby is a fisherman and hunter at heart, a person born in the wrong era. He should have been a pioneer frontiersman.

He also usually cooks the meat and fish, liberally sprinkling on a variety of spices–whatever he is in the mood for. I, on the other hand, am a recipe follower. And I’m the one who experiments with the chicken recipes. Although we have freezers full of the game and ocean fish he brings home, we buy chicken just for the sake of having variety in our meals.

We had some drumsticks hanging around the freezer a few weeks back, and this Orange-Glazed Chicken recipe crossed my path around the same time I decided they needed to be cooked. Wow! This marinade packs a flavorful punch. It’s sweet from the orange juice and brown sugar; savory from the garlic and green onion; packs on more subtle spicy flavor with the ginger, anise, and cinnamon; and the addition of soy sauce and rice vinegar creates an Asian flair. Oh, and the final glaze of honey provides one more layer of sweetness.

I can’t get enough of these sweet things. They are so darn delicious that you just keep going back for more! I knew I would be making them again soon–both because I craved them and because I wanted to take photos for the blog (didn’t get around to that the first time).

Although I made these using only drumsticks, the marinade would work with all chicken cuts as well as with an entire roast chicken.

Orange-Glazed Chicken

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INGREDIENTS

• 10-12 chicken drumsticks (or one chicken, whole or cut up)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. honey
• orange slices for garnish

Marinade Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. freshly grated ginger (TIP: I keep 1-inch pieces of peeled ginger in a resealable bag in the freezer for recipes calling for grated ginger)
• 1 tsp. ground anise
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• zest of one medium-sized orange
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3 medium oranges)
• 3 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 4 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, bring to a simmer all marinade ingredients except the sesame oil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, allowing marinade to thicken, then remove from heat.
2. Stir in sesame oil and allow marinade to cool completely.
3. Set aside (refrigerate) 1/4 – 1/2 cup marinade for basting during roasting, then pour remaining marinade into a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken pieces and coat well. Seal bag, place in refrigerator, and allow meat to marinate anywhere from 2-24 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking pan with foil (otherwise you will have quite the mess to scrape up during cleaning time), and evenly spread chicken pieces onto pan. Sprinkle with ground black pepper, the place pan into preheated oven.
5. Roast chicken for 45-50 minutes, turning and basting 2-3 times with the marinade you set aside. During the final basting, brush with honey (TIP: if  honey is too thick to brush onto chicken, microwave it for 15-30 seconds).

SOURCE: Season with Spice

Ice Cream Sunday: Affogato with Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream

Ever heard of the famed Pacific Coast Highway? Well, I live two blocks from a portion of it. However, it’s not the stunningly gorgeous rugged coastline part of it that you will encounter from central California and northwards. I live in sunny Southern California (with the very crowded freeways) near the very busy PCH that meanders southward toward the ritzy cities of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Ritzy like millions of dollars for hilltop homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Ritzy like homes I will only ever glimpse on my drives along PCH. Ritzy like pricey shops lining the roadway that I’ll never step into because there is no way I can ever afford anything from any of them.

Despite all that ritziness, though, it is fun to drive the highway sometimes and absorb the aura. For me, that aura is not so much the homes and shops but the beauty of the ocean that lies on the other side of the road. I’ve done this drive early early early in the morning to arrive at the beach in front of the Montage, a pricey resort, to practice my photography as the sun rises. And I’ve done this drive off season to explore the tidepools in front of the same hotel.

And I’ve also done this drive in the late afternoon heading toward glitzy Laguna Beach in the middle of summer to meet up with my husband’s sister and her hubby. You see, they live in the San Diego environs, so Laguna is a halfway point for them and us. We thought it a bright idea to meet there for dinner one night. Major mistake. MAJOR!

On a warm summer evening, apparently everyone else thinks a coastal drive is a great idea, too. We knew it would be crowded, so we left the house plenty early. Turns out the roads were much more crowded than we expected. It took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to arrive in Laguna with lots of nervewracking traffic to navigate as we scoured the streets for a parking spot. Times like that I wish I had packed a snack for the road, for adding hunger pains to annoying traffic and mega pedestrians makes for ultra grouchiness–on both my part and hubby’s.

Well, we finally arrived–late. As did the other pair (traffic is just as bad along PCH heading northward from the San Diego area). Once we situated ourselves in a cute little Italian restaurant and got some food to fill our bellies, everyone was in a much better mood.

On this night of PCH traffic frustration, my sister-in-law introduced me to the dessert Affogato. In Italian, this literally means “drowned.” You see, the dessert is simply composed of a scoop of ice cream, usually vanilla, topped with coffee, usually in the form of espresso. Hence, the ice cream is “drowned” in the coffee. And the dessert eater has the awesome job of saving the ice cream from drowning by scarfing it up!

Who knew something as simple as ice cream swimming in coffee could taste so yummy? Well, I guess if vanilla ice cream pairs so well with root beer, why not something else, too?

After making the Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream awhile back, I immediately knew I wanted to try it in affogato. I use Kahlua, afterall,  to enhance espresso ice cream, so I figured the Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream would complement espresso even more beautifully than vanilla ice cream in this dessert. And I was right. Scrumptious. I had a serving nightly until the ice cream was all gone. If you’ve never tried affogato, I recommend it. It’s fun. It’s yummy. It’s easy. Sprinkle some cocoa powder or chocolate sprinkles or even whipped cream on top for an additional pizzazz element and you’ll be sure to impress your guests.

Affogato with Kahlua-Amaretto Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 scoops of ice cream
• 1/2 cup espresso or strongly-brewed coffee
• optional: whipped cream, cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles for topping

DIRECTIONS

Scoop ice cream into a small bowl or dessert cup, then pour hot espresso over it. If desired, top with whipped cream, dust with cocoa powder, and/or scatter with chocolate sprinkles. Serve immediately.

Champagne Honey Vinaigrette

Greetings! I feel as if I’ve been away forever, yet it has only been a bit over two weeks. And a very busy, active couple of weeks at that with our amazing trek through Peru’s Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu as well as our traversing the walkways of Iguazu Falls in Argentina. As soon as I get some time to sort through the thousands of photos I shot, I’ll share all about our adventures and post some pictures. In the meantime, we’ve only been home a couple of days, and I’ve been back at work and coming home only to collapse into bed far earlier than normal.

Tonight I finally found energy to peruse my photo files and see if my food folder had anything worthy of sharing. Well, not much going on there! I was so busy prior to leaving that I didn’t cook much, and when I did, I didn’t take any pictures. Boo hoo! I’ll have to get busy in the kitchen in the coming weekends if I want to keep my blog updated.

I did find one item not shared yet–mainly because I wasn’t happy with the photo. Well, it’s share this photo/recipe or share nothing.

If you haven’t checked out Chris at The Cafe Sucre Farine yet, please do. She is a delightful writer with fabulous recipes, and she shares tons of salad dishes that are divine along with heavenly dressings. This one jumped to the top of my “must try” list as soon as I saw the ingredients. It includes Champagne vinegar, which I just happened to have a bottle of and which I had been saving for the perfect recipe.

If you have checked out Champagne vinegar, you’ll understand why I’ve been saving it. The stuff is expensive! But I bought it to attempt recreating the Girards Champagne dressing that I just love (and haven’t quite recreated with success yet).

Anyhow, Chris’s recipe includes garlic, honey, dijon mustard, and orange juice–all of which sounded yummy to me. So, I tried it. And I like it. A lot. Definite winner of a salad dressing recipe.

Have you ever made your own salad dressings? Easy peasy. We rarely buy bottled dressing anymore because making our own is quick, easy, and delish. Now, if I can just learn to take decent photos of salads and dressings, I can share more of them with you.

Champagne Honey Vinaigrette

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 cu Champagne vinegar (Chris recommends the Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients into a jar and shake, shake, shake. Unused dressing can be stored in a sealed container in refrigerator for several days.

SOURCE: The Cafe Sucre Farine

Peruvian Roast Chicken

The travel bug infected me eons ago in my early adulthood when a family friend from Australia stayed with us. She regaled us with stories of her escapades, and that’s when the symptoms began to eat away at me.

As a teacher, fortune smiles upon me every summer with time and freedom to explore. In my single years I would take off, either road trips exploring the Western region of the United States or exotic destinations like Egypt, Greece, Turkey… I even spent two years teaching in Japan, allowing me side trips to explore the Asian destinations of China, Korea, and Thailand. With hubby, we’ve spent time exploring the grand ol’ states with a few exotic destinations tossed in over the years.

This particular trip that I mentioned in the previous post, the trip that has us sooooooo excited that we awoke at 3 a.m. and couldn’t sleep anymore and got up and made breakfast at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. — this trip is a bucket list trip item. As of tonight, we’ll be on the red eye flight to South America, with Peru as the first stop. Hubby’s bucket list item includes a visit to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. For me, the next leg of our trip includes Iguazu Falls in Argentina, incredible massive falls that far surpass Niagra (which I’ve never seen, by the way). I’ve wanted to visit Iguazu for almost a decade now, and it has taken three years of diligent monthly savings to arrive at this day. I feel about to burst with the anticipation.

So, in honor of our trip, I made Peruvian Roast Chicken. I had to. It called to me.

I mixed the marinade paste with a bit of trepidation. It uses habanero chile, tops in heat. And the little orange chiles are miniscule in size for packing quite a punch! I also wasn’t keen on using mint leaves in the recipe simply because I’m not a huge fan of mint (except in Peppermint Patties).  I forged ahead, though. The paste is very thick and reddish. The chicken got a good rub-a-dub-dub both under and atop the skin, then it sat in the fridge for a few hours. The final roasted bird did not taste as hot as I had worried it might. The combo of flavors was definitely on the spicier side but not overly so. Hubby really liked it. I liked it but, truthfully, prefer the Herb-Roasted Chicken I make.

Now, I must finish packing and cleaning the house. So much to do before departing for a big trip.

Peruvian Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lime

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp. kosher salt
• 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. finely grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 2 limes
• 1 tsp. minced habanero chile
• 1 (3/12 to 4 pound chicken)
• not really an ingredient, but you will either need a vertical roaster or make your own using a 12-ounce can of beer

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients except chicken into a blender; mix until a smooth paste forms, 10-20 seconds. (FYI: use gloves when handling habanero chile or your hands will BURN!)
2. Gently loosen the skin of the chicken over the breast and thighs; remove any excess fat. Rub half the paste beneath the skin; spread remaining paste over entire outside of chicken. Place chicken in a large resealable bag, then refrigerate for 6-24 hours.
3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Place vertical roaster (or half empty can of 12-ounce beer) onto a rimmed baking sheet (cover it in foil first to catch drips). Slide the chicken onto your roaster so it stand upright with breast perpendicular to pan. Roast until skin just begins to turn golden and instant read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 140 degrees, 45-55 minutes. Remove chicken (and pan) from oven, followed by increasing temperature to 500 degrees.
4. When oven is ready, place one cup of water in the bottom of the pan; return to oven. Roast until entire skin is browned and crisp and instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, about 20 minutes. If water evaporates, add more to keep pan from smoking. Rotate chicken halfway through cooking.
5. When cooked through, remove chicken from oven and allow to rest, still vertical, for 20 minutes before carving.

SOURCE: America’s Test Kitchen