Braised Short Ribs Penne

This is just one of those really hearty meaty dishes that will warm you up on a winters night. Braising marbled meats like beef short ribs for hours in the oven, makes them soooooo juicy and fork tender. I remember seeing this recipe from Everyday Italian on the Food Network. I couldn't remember the exact recipe, so I just made up my own. This would be a GREAT dish to make for a dinner party or a potluck, because it is not only delicious and satisfying, it is really easy to make and shredding the meat like this stretches pretty far... plus short ribs are not really an expensive cut of meat. Serious good eats.


Ingredients
4 large short rib slabs
1 large onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 can tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 box penne

Gremolata
1 clove garlic, minced
zest of one large orange


Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F
In a dutch oven, brown the short ribs in olive oil on both sides.
Saute onions, celery and onions until soft. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper and 1/2 of the beef broth. Bring to a boil and cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for about 2-3 hours. Check on the liquid halfway through and add the rest of the beef stock.
Boil penne to al dente.
When meat is fork tender, remove from sauce and shred with 2 forks, removing the bones and excess fat.
Skim the sauce of oil and puree slightly with an immersion blender. Add shredded beef back in and top with gremolata mixture (the heat from the sauce will melt the garlic and orange mixture slightly and give an amazing flavour). Drain penne and toss with the sauce. Eat with a salad and bread.

Antipasto Pasta Salad

I raided my pantry to throw this together because my fridge was empty and company was coming in an hour. The salad turned out amazing and it was ridiculously quick and easy.

Ingredients

1lb rotini pasta cooked al dente

6-8 large olives sliced (I used kalmata and green olives)

5 sun dried tomatoes rehydrated and chopped

3/4 can artichoke hearts quartered

2 tbsp chopped red onion

2 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Toss everything into a large bowl and serve cold.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

This might seem like nothing special, but there's a reason it's so popular. I gave some to my 8 month old baby and she LOVED it!

Ingredients

500g/1lb lean ground veal

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

handful chopped fresh parsley

pinch ground nutmeg

1 egg

1 clove garlic, minced

salt & pepper

1 jar of your favourite marinara sauce

spaghetti cooked al dente

Directions

In a medium bowl combine ground veal, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, nutmeg, egg garlic and salt and pepper. Mix lightly with a fork but do not mash or meatballs will be tough. Roll meatballs into to whatever size you like...I make medium sized ones.

Place meatballs in skillet on medium heat and allow to brown on all sides. Pour marinara sauce in pan, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook until sauce is hot and meatballs are cooked through. Serve on top of spaghetti and cover with cheese!

Ravioli in cream sauce with wilted spinach and toasted walnuts

Cold night + creamy pasta = comfort gourmet

Ingredients

1 package of your favourite ravioli

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1/3 cup cream

1/4 cup milk

handful grated Parmesan cheese

dash fresh grated nutmeg

2 cups baby spinach

handful walnuts toasted in a dry skillet

Directions

Boil ravioli according to package directions in a large pot

Meanwhile, heat butter small saucepan on medium low heat. Add the flour and stir until you get a sandy texture. Slowly add cream but do not allow to boil. Add milk if you need to thin out the sauce. Add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Once the sauce is at the desired thickness (coats the back of the spoon), remove from heat, stir in parmesan cheese.

Pour sauce over cooked ravioli and immediately stir in spinach. Sprinkle toasted walnuts over top.

Chicken Milanese with Caramelized Fennel, Tomato and Arugula

Sharl felt like schnitzel tonight, so I decided to make this version I saw on Everyday Italian to the best of my memory.

I LOVE fennel. I think it's such an underused vegetable. It's got a texture sort of like celery and when it's cooked, the licorice flavour mellows out beautifully. If you haven't tried it before...this is the recipe to use!

Ingredients

2 chicken cutlets

Flour for dredging

1 egg lightly beaten

breadcrumbs

Parmesan cheese

1 fennel bulb (fronds and outer layer removed and thinly sliced)

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 clove garlic minced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 generous handfuls of baby arugula

Directions

Dredge cutlets in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese.

Fry cutlets in a hot pan with oil until golden brown on both sides and chicken is cooked through (about 3-4 minutes per side). Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Add sliced fennel and garlic to pan. Sauté until caramelized and tender. Add tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and continue to sauté until tomatoes burst and balsamic vinegar is reduced.

Serve chicken over a bed of arugula and spoon fennel & tomato sauce on top.

Sausage, Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna

I heart lasagna! Here's an easy tasty recipe

Ingredients

1 jar favourite tomato sauce (I used PC Tomato Basil)

350g ground hot Italian sausage, casings removed

5-6 sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cups chopped spinach

1 tub ricotta cheese

1 egg

dash nutmeg

fresh basil

9 no-bake lasagna noodles

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Brown sausage in a pot until cooked through. Add mushrooms and saute until softened. Add tomato sauce and basil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup water (to help cook the noodles)

2. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, nutmeg and basil.

3. Layer some sauce on the bottom of a lasagna pan and top with 3 noodles. Spread 1/3 of ricotta mixture across the noodles. Top with sauce and repeat with the rest of the noodles. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

4. Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes until noodles are tender and cheese is melted and bubbling.

Best Bolognese Rigatoni

When I was travelling in Barcelona, eating out at all the tapas bars and filling up on paella soon took its toll on me and I was craving some comfort food. We went to this restaurant where I ate the most delicious Bolognese sauce ever. I tried to duplicate the recipe at home from memory and it was pretty spot on. This is possibly the best Bolognese sauce I've ever had (even though it didn't photograph too nicely).

Ingredients

1 onion finely diced

1 carrot finely diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 lb lean ground beef

4 slices bacon chopped

1 bay leaf

1 small can tomato paste (about 4-5 tbsp)

1 can condensed beef broth

Red wine (pour two glasses then use the rest for cooking - about 2 cups)

Cooked Rigatoni pasta

Directions

In a saucepan, brown the ground beef until very brown and dry. Then add beef broth and keep on a medium simmer.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Drain some fat off from the bacon and cook onions, carrot and garlic until soft.

Add red wine to skillet and allow liquid to reduce by half to concentrate the flavour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour contents of skillet into saucepan with ground beef and broth.

Add tomato paste and bay leaf and simmer on low for as long as you can wait. (I lasted 30 mins before getting really hungry)

Toss with rigatoni pasta and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Tomato, Onion and Penne Fritatta

I'm baaaaaaaack! It takes an extra effort to cook with a newborn on hand, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. I saw a recipe for fritatta on the Food Network's, Giada at Home, so I thought I'd give it a try with my own spin of course!


Ingredients
5 large eggs
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled penne pasta
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 onion cut into thin wedges
2 cloves garlic minced
handful fresh parsley chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Toss grape tomatoes and onions in olive oil, salt and garlic and roast in the oven on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees F. Allow to cool.
Boil and drain penne pasta and leave to cool.
Beat eggs with milk, herbs, salt pepper. When pasta has cooled, add to egg mixture along with cooled roasted tomato and onion mixture.
Heat a skillet on medium heat and pour in egg pasta mixture. After 10 minutes when the egg has almost set and bottom is golden brown, use a plate to flip and cook the other side for about 5 minutes.
Serve warm or cool with a salad.

Crab & Broccoli Alfredo

I made this dish for one of my first dinner parties back in first year university when I just got into cooking. It was a success then, and a decadent treat today.


Ingredients:
One can of crab meat (or use fresh if you have it)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 cups of cream (10%)
2 tsp of cream cheese (I didn't use for this version)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup broccoli florets, cooked tender crisp
1/2 lb Linguini pasta, cooked al dente

Directions
Saute garlic until fragrant in a little olive oil and salt. On low heat, melt butter with flour. (will look like a sandy mixture.. but it's okay.. don't let the butter brown) Slowly stir in the cream. Add Parmesan and cream cheese and salt and pepper and nutmeg. Keep heat low and keep stirring. Add crab meat last. Remove from heat and serve immediately or sauce will become too thick! Serve sauce over linguini and broccoli.

Spinach, Ricotta & Prosciutto Cannelloni

This cannelloni was perfect for a weeknight. It was easy to prepare and while it baked in the oven I was able to kick up my feet and relax before my home church came over.



Ingredients
10 ready bake cannelloni tubes
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 package of frozen spinach, defrosted and towel dried
6 slices prosciutto diced
1 egg
1 tsp basil
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine ricotta cheese, spinach, prosciutto, egg, basil salt and pepper in a bowl. Stuff mixture in cannelloni shells. Lay 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Place cannelloni in a single layer in the pan. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 40 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and cannelloni are tender.

I had some mixture and sauce left over, so I made a lasagna as well for tomorrow's supper.

"La Bomba" Antipasto Hot Sauce

It's St. Patrick's Day... I can hear the pub downstairs getting lively. They've set up tents and outdoor porto-potties on the patio too. It's quite the set up. Pretty soon it will be filled with drunken party-goers. I can't drink since I'm all knocked up, the husband is out drinking green beer somewhere, so to celebrate I'm staying in and cooking up a storm. More importantly, I'm raising a glass (of chocolate milk) to my BESTIE and flog partner-in-crime, Amanda because it's her birthday today!
Happy Birthday, special!!

Well the first thing I made today was an antipasto hot sauce. I got the idea from the MOST delicious hot sauce I've ever tried, called La Bomba. I was introduced to it when I asked for hot sauce at Cafe Cinquecento. Since then, I found it at Metro in Liberty village. I'm almost out of it so I thought I'd try to make some at home. I basically just looked at the ingredients listed on the jar and threw in what I had on hand and thought would taste good.

Here's what I came up with:



Ingredients
1 cup eggplant diced very small
8 mushrooms diced very small
1 red pepper diced very small
1 banana pepper diced very small
5 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup of the best olives you can find, pitted and minced
4 tbsp olive oil
6-7 basil leaves torn
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
7 HOT dried chilies crushed

Directions
Saute garlic and dried chilies on med-low heat in 1 tbsp olive oil until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, red peppers, banana peppers, olives, basil leaves and fennel seeds. Saute until all the veggies are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool for a bit and transfer to a jar. Pour 3 tbsp olive oil over the top and store in the fridge. This should last in the fridge for about a month.

La Bomba sauce tastes DELICIOUS on pizza, pasta sauces, crunchy bread or even just tossed with fresh hot pasta.

Spaghetti with chickpeas, cherry tomatoes & spinach

I think a sign of success of a good vegetarian meal is if I can get my husband to eat it without noticing he's missing meat. ;) We both LOVE chickpeas, and I could snack on them like chips. This recipe was super easy and tasty and all the ingredients are of things I always have in the pantry or fridge.



Ingredients
Dried Spaghetti (cooked al dente - 10 1/2 mins)
1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups fresh baby spinach
6 or 7 cremini mushrooms
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp hot chili flakes (for a milder dish, use less or omit, but I like things SPICY!)
parmesean cheese

Directions
While pasta is boiling, heat up olive oil in a large skillet.
Saute garlic until fragrant. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until softened, about 3-4. Add tomatoes, chickpeas and hot pepper flakes. Allow to heat through until tomatoes release their juices and become slightly wrinkled. Ladle some boiling water from the pasta pot into the sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
Drain spaghetti, and toss with sauce and spinach. Spinach will slowly wilt from the heat of the spaghetti. Top with parmesean cheese and enjoy!

Pizza Party!

I LOVE to share food with others, and even better if we can cook together! Anita and I made 2 types of pizza tonight, and had a lot of fun doing it.

While Anita rolled out the dough, the boys 'helped' out in the background.


Pizza # 1:
Quatro Stagione (For Seasons) Pizza

Ingredients
Artichokes
Olives
Mushrooms
Prosciutto
Mozzarella
Pizza sauce
Directions
Layer the pizza with sauce, cheese, artichokes, olives and mushrooms, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 450 F. Once the pizza is removed from the oven, top with proscuitto.

Pizza # 2:
Caramelized Onion and Bacon Pizza

Ingredients
6 strips of bacon crumbled
3 onions sliced into rings
1/2 tsp butter
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
pinch of saffron (we were feeling decadent)
salt and pepper to taste
mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce

Directions
1. In a hot skillet, fry bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
2. Drain bacon fat, but leave browned bits in pan. Melt butter.
3. Add onions, thyme and rosemary and cook until they turn brown and become caramelized (the key is not to stir them too much)
4. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit.
5. Top pizza dough with sauce cheese, onions and bacon (we also added artichokes) and bake for 20 minutes at 450 F

*If you are baking 2 pizzas at once in the oven, rotate between upper and lower rack halfway though.

Et voila!

Pizza Dough

Anita and Ivan are coming for dinner and we're going to make homemade pizzas together.
Anita's picking up ingredients, so I thought I'd make the dough ahead of time so all we have to do is roll it out and prepare and assemble our toppings.
Kneading dough is quite the workout. I think I will take up bread-making while on maternity leave to help me lose the baby weight!

Here's a simple recipe for pizza dough found in my Good Housekeeping cookbook.


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
1. Combine 1/4 cup warm water, yeast and sugar in large bowl. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy (5 mins).
Stir in remaining cup warm water, oil, salt, and 1/2 cups flour until smooth.
Gradually add 2 cups all purpose flour and stir until dough comes away from the side of the bowl.
2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (10 mins). Work in enough of the remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking. Shape dough into ball and place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top.
3. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in volume (1 hour).

Spicy Sausage and Red Pepper pasta

I LOVE pasta & sauce. It's so simple and so good. This one is one of my personal favourites. Sharl and I think that sausage makes sauce taste extra delicious.




Ingredients
450g package of the best spicy Italian sausage you can find (about 4 links)
1 large can tomatoes diced
1 small can tomato paste
1 large onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 red pepper sliced or diced
3 dried red chilies chopped or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
olive oil

Directions
Remove casings from sausage and brown the meat in a large pot until no longer pink.
Drain fat.
Push the meat to the edges of the pot and pour 1 tbsp olive oil in the hole.
Add the onions, garlic and chilies and saute until softened and fragrant.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste and spices.
Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for about 15-20 minutes or longer

Serve with your favourite pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.