pretty pasta
>> Monday, August 16, 2010
A few nights ago I was looking for a great main dish recipe to utilize all of the beautiful vegetables that are in my local market right now. This is bright and flavorful, and not too heavy for a summer supper. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but the few slight changes I made are in italics.
recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 12-ounce package penne pasta
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned (I used a whole pepper)
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 spears asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used 10-12 spears)
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 large yellow onion, thinly sliced (I used a whole onion)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (omitted)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
13/ cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (omitted)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook for 10-12 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
3. In a bowl, toss squash, zucchini, carrot, red bell pepper, tomatoes, green beans, and asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Italian seasoning.
Arrange vegetables on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until tender.
4. Heat remaining olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until tender. Mix in cooked pasta, lemon zest, basil, parsley, and balsamic vinegar.
Gently toss and cook until heated through. Toss with roasted vegetables and sprinkle with Romano cheese to serve.
craving a classic
>> Sunday, August 15, 2010
For the past few days I've had a somewhat inexplicable craving for the classic M&M cookie. You know the one--soft, chewy, colorful, and just a tiny bit more delicious than your standard chocolate chip. Kind of like the version they sell at Starbucks, but without the taste of mass production.
As luck would have it, I had an unopened bag of M&Ms on the countertop in my kitchen. (Come to think of it, that bag was probably the source of the craving in the first place...) I didn't have a recipe on hand--I'm pretty sure I've never attempted this classic before--but they're a dime a dozen on the Internet. I combined a few recipes to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand, and...presto! Success on the first try!
recipe adapted from allrecipes.com and Taste of Home
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon water
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups M&M plain candies
1. In a large bowl, blend shortening, butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla extract, and water. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Stir in 1 cup of the M&M candies.
2. Drop dough by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. For extra color, press a few of the remaining M&Ms into top of each dough ball.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Yields about two dozen cookies.
dark chocolate cherry muffins
>> Sunday, August 8, 2010
recipe adapted from Dying for Chocolate (reprinted from Gourmet, January 2005)
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
5 ounces 70% dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sweet cherries, pitted and chopped
Directions:
1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt butter, half of chocolate, and milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool 15 minutes. Add eggs and whisk until smooth.
3. Whisk together flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add chocolate mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in remaining chopped chocolate and chopped cherries.
4. Divide batter among 12 greased or lined muffin cups. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.
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