Posts tagged ‘garlic’
Recipe of the Week – Pasta alla Costco
From the Starch/ Pasta Collection at emealsforyou.com
Pasta alla Costco
This could be called Pasta alla Sam’s Club or whatever wholesale warehouse you belong to. The main point is that when you buy in bulk; purchasing large containers of everything leaves you with large containers of everything and needing a reason to use them. We call this Pasta alla Costco because the extra large jars of olives, artichokes and capers came from our local Costco.
This is ideal for a quick dinner or a Saturday lunch when you can’t figure out what you want to eat. I mean who doesn’t like pasta. Add some chicken, sausage or just as it is and you will think you are in a small corner tavern in Little Italy.
Pasta alla Costco
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Starch/ Pasta |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | onions, chopped |
| 4 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | 14 oz. can | tomatoes, diced |
| 1 | Tb | capers |
| 1 | Tb | peppers, pickled rings |
| 2 | Tb | artichoke hearts |
| 2 | Tb | olives, mixed, pitted |
| 1 | tsp | garlic chili sauce |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, mozzarella, shredded |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | lb | pasta, cooked |
| 1 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the onions, and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, capers, peppers, artichoke hearts, sliced, the olives, chopped and the chili paste and sauté for 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Cook and drain pasta. Add mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste to the pan. Add cooked pasta to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow pasta to absorb some of the sauce. Plate and sprinkle ¼ of the Romano on the top of each plate.
Want some more easy meals; try emealsforyou.com
All Hail Caesar – The Salad That Is
From the Salad Category at emealsforyou.com.
Caesar Salad
We are just back from our quarterly trip to New Jersey. As is the custom we ended our stay with the traditional T-bone steak dinner including the always demanded Caesar Salad. I have made the ” Julie Child’s” caesar in the past but like the ease and freshness of this salad. The charm of the old-fashioned Caesar Salad was that in most good restaurants the salad was made tableside, by a waiter who would take great pride in preparing the salad as a robust performance in the culinary arts. Alas, it has gone the way of Crepe Suzettes, Dover Sole and Steak Diane.
I avoid anchovies, those hairy little fish, as I call them and the customary raw egg. I find they are not needed to make a salad that never fails to satisfy my guests. Probably best served with a side order of breath mints; if you like garlic like we do. Maybe you could try making it tableside as well.
Caesar Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | head | lettuce, Romaine |
| 3 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.75 | cup | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.25 | small | baguette |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
In a large bowl place oil, lemon juice and garlic, press garlic into bowl with a wooden spoon to distribute. Whisk ingredients together. Cut baguette into 1/4 inch slices, spray with PAM and place in a 350-degree oven for 4 minutes or until gold brown. Tear (don’t cut) lettuce leaves into small pieces and place in bowl on top of dressing. When you are ready to serve, toss salad and add romano and toss again and add croutons broken into halves.
Chef Rick tells me he must have anchovies, if your wish, add four anchovy filets to the bowl with the oil, garlic and lemon.
More salad ideas and the Steak Diane recipe at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Clams, Shrimp and Mussels
(From the Appetizer category at www.emealsforyou.com)
Clams. Mussels and Shrimp
Come over and bring an appetizer. To some that sends terror, some it means a stop at the local market for one of those “shrimp rings” but to me it opens the door to bring a great dish. I like this dish because it sends wonderful garlicy smells throughout the kitchen. It is perfect because most people will find something they like in the dish. Whether you like shrimp, or mussels or clams they are all in there soaking up all the garlic and white wine.
I serve this in a large bowl surrounded by crunchy bread to sop up the juices. This is a great appetizer or serve it over pasta and call it a meal.
Pour the wine, please.
Greek Mussels, Shrimp and Clams
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | Small Plates Please (Picnic Meal Plans) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | cup | carrots, diced |
| 0.5 | cup | onions, diced |
| 0.5 | cup | celery ribs |
| 1 | Tb | thyme, fresh |
| 6 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | 15 oz can | tomatoes, diced |
| 12 | oz | wine, dry white |
| 2 | lb | mussels |
| 1 | lb | shrimp, deveined, shelled |
| 12 | medium | clams |
| 2 | Tb | cilantro, chopped |
| 1 | Tb | lemon zest, finely chopped |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Clean and rinse mussels and clams. Add oil to hot pan, sauté carrots, onions and celery (diced) until soft, add thyme, garlic, sauté for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, clams, shrimp and mussels, cover pan, cook until mussels and clams open, discard unopened mussels and clams. Place on serving platter, sprinkle with zest, lemon juice and cilantro.
Pesto – A Happy Rant
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Everytime I go back to New Jersey to visit family the one consistent request is for Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. This last time was no exception; the pesto was served on toast points with a thin slice of turkey as part of our appetizer plates. Most of us forget about the usefulness of a simple pesto in moving a meal or party snack to a higher level.
By simply mixing sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pecans, olive oil and cheese in the bowl of a food processor yields a unique taste treat that can be served on crackers, spread on a sandwich in place of mayo or thinned out with a little more olive oil and give a boost to any pasta. Top off a chicken breast with a dollop and you have a gourmet meal that everyone will love.
Pesto can be made of many different herbs and ingredients. Using the last home-grown basil of the season, add it to your processor bowl with some pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and cheese to give you a great tasting sauce or spread. Any leftover can be frozen to be used in the dead of winter to add a surprise element to a dreary meal. The same goes for spinach, hazelnuts, garlic, olive oil and cheese. Give pesto a try, your family will love it, your friends will be amazed by your culinary acumen and you might find a smile on your face.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | Brunch Anyone? (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 0.75 | cup | sun dried tomato |
| 0.75 | cup | pecans, halved |
| 1.5 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 0.75 | cup | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.75 | cup | oil, olive |
Toast pecans slightly. Place tomatoes, pecans, garlic and Romano in food processor, process until a paste forms, add oil slowly until you reach the consistency you desire. Should be spreadable, like peanut butter.
Note: The color will vary with the color of the sun dried tomatoes you use. Great on sandwiches, may be used on pasta. I spread it on toasted French bread, sprinkle with romano and basil and broiler slightly
Recipe of the Week – Baked Garlic
(From The Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Baked Garlic
Regular readers will remember that I posted last week on a Neighborhood Dinner Party I am having this Saturday. On the menu was Baked Garlic and TJ’s Special Sipping Sauce as appetizers. When creating the menu for I always look for courses that will compliment the main dish and is fairly easy to prepare and easy on the budget. I first had the baked garlic at a restaurant in Chicago, Bistro 110, in Watertower Place. They served it with hot and crunchy french bread and salty butter. The smell of the sweet garlic added to the whole Bistro experience.
The purpose, at least for me, of serving appetizers is to give me a little more time in the kitchen once the guests arrive and prior to the meal. sometimes I serve it in the kitchen with drinks and sometimes I serve it in another room, depending on how much confusion in going on in the kitchen at the time.
For this meal I am serving this garlic along with TJ’s Special Dipping Sauce. This dipping sauce came about when my brother-in-law, not the rocket scientist for those frequent readers out there, took us to dinner and raved about the dipping sauce. We put together the recipe from what we remember we tasted in the dipping sauce.
Bottom line is keep your appetizers reasonable from a preparation standpoint and also remember that if your guests fill up on appetizers they won’t have room for the wonder main course you worked so hard on.
Baked Garlic
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 2 | large | garlic, whole head |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Cut just the very top off the garlic; pour oil over garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Remove from foil, and plate. Serve with toast points, warm, crunchy french bread or crackers.
Extra Recipe of the Week – Pan-roasted Chicken Breasts
(from the Chicken Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
I guess if you write a Rant about taking a small amount of time to prepare a good meal for your family you should at least post a quick chicken recipe to go with it. The Pan-roasted Chicken Breast was a last minute idea one night when my wife said “do something different”. We like garlic, I mean we really like garlic in our house, so the natural thing to do was make sure I put lots of garlic in the pan. I added a few gold raisins, who doesn’t like golden raisins, some mushrooms and there you have it… a new house favorite.
Have your butcher, excuse me, have the guy behind the meat counter, bone out the chicken breasts but leave the skin on. I actually prefer to do this myself, tossing the bones into a pot with olive oil, a piece of carrot, onion and celery, add a can of chicken broth and you have some really good chicken stock to make the dish that much better. (want to learn how to bone out the chicken? send me a comment and I will give you the easy instructions)
I serve this chicken with creamy polenta but it is just as good with quick pasta tossed with some lemon juice. Round out the meal with a mixed lettuce salad and you have a $17 restaurant meal for about a third the price.
Pan-roasted Chicken Breasts
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Chicken Entrée |
| Meal: | Wednesday Night Bistro (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 4 | medium | chicken , breast, boned with skin on |
| 3 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 8 | medium | mushrooms, baby portabella |
| 1 | 14 oz. can | chicken broth |
| 2 | Tb | capers |
| 0.25 | cup | raisins, golden |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 2 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in an oven-proof pan. Sauté chicken skin side down for 4 minutes, repeat on the other side. Add mushrooms and garlic, sauté for 1 minute. Add raisins, capers, lemon juice and broth. Place in oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, remove chicken to a plate. Swirl butter slowly into pan juices, add salt and pepper to taste. Plate chicken and spoon on sauce.
Suggestion: Serve over creamy polenta, add some fresh tomatoes and it’s time to eat.
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