Asparagus and Cheese Tart

Howdy, howdy everyone! It's been a few moons, but today I'm letting you enjoy this savory treat, courtesy of a friend of mine, Julia, who recently posted a photo of this delicious looking asparagus tart that she had found on FoodNetwork.com, and was kind enough to share it with me. So here below the jump-break is her blog post. Welcome to Off The Cuff Cooking, Julia!

Basil Mozzarella & Pistachio Mushrooms

I hastily made these little appetizers for a party last night. I have made other mushroom cap hors d' oeuvres before, usually with garlic, parmesan, parsley, or some similar combination. But last night I was trying to figure out what I had on hand, and this was the end result.  Took about 10 minutes to make them, not including the oven-time.

And since I -- as par for the course -- have not posted a new recipe for 2 months, this was a quick one to upload for you to try out.

The measurements are approximate, since I was in a hurry and did not write anything down.

I also only have one photo from the end result, so you can use your imagination for the rest.  (PS. In the photo I intentionally left off some of the pistachios for a friend with nut allergies.)

INGREDIENTS:
Baby Portabella mushrooms (approximately 24-36 depending on the size)
1/4 lb mozzarella (I used firm kind, instead of "fresh" so it wouldn't be as runny when melted)
1 stalk of green onion, or equivalent amount of chives
2 or 3 fresh basil leaves
1 or 2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup of shelled roasted pistachios

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by snapping off the stems on the baby portabella mushrooms carefully so that they leave a little cup to stuff.  If the stem breaks too much, you can scoop it out with a teaspoon carefully to hollow it out. Brush off any loose dirt with a paper towel, or pastry brush. 

Trim off the root end and wilted green tops on the green onion stalk, and cut it into smaller discs.

Use a blender or mixer to puree together the cheese, basil and green onion with the olive oil. Use a teaspoon to scoop cheese mixture into each mushroom cap, and top with a couple of pistachio nuts.

Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minute until cheese is bubbly and hot.  They are good served warm, but also quite tasty even at room temperature.  They are really easy to make, and pretty fancy-tasting.  The basil makes a nice bright flavor contrast to the umami earthiness of the mushrooms, cheese & pistachios.  Try experimenting with other herbs if you'd like-- sage, oregano, or rosemary, used in moderation so as not to be too bitter.  Remember a little goes a long way.

Gluten Free Kale and Pepper lasagna

Happy New Year.  I don't make resolutions in general, but I hope to get my recipes rolling again.  So it's more of a hope, and not a resolution!  I'm happy to say I have recently hit 12,000 page visits since I started this blog and they just keep a-rollin' in, despite my failure to generate new content on a regular basis.

Quinoa Risotto with Chicken, Zucchini & Bacon

I was in an experimenting mood tonight, and I have so.much.zucchini from my veggie garden that I'm trying to come up with interesting ways to eat it.  I have both tiny little baby zucchini, and bigger ones. As I am learning in my foray into vegetable gardening, the best zucchini shouldn't get too big or they get dry and seedy.  So I'm happy to have some of these little tender ones, because they are so delicious!

A long while back, I made an almond-fig brown rice risotto which was very delicious, and I thought I'd try something in that vein but with quinoa instead, and feature the zucchini, along with some left-over bacon, and my go-to chicken tenders. 

Bacon-Asparagus Lasagna

A few years ago, I found a recipe on Epicurious, that was basically like the recipe I’m about to post here. (I have since made a few substitutions.)   So the second time I decided to make it, was on the day that my in-laws came to our new house, after we got married.  It was only my third time of meeting them (once after our engagement, and then on our wedding and then this third time) so trying to be extra efficient, I started prepping all my ingredients in the morning so that we could just put it in the oven after they arrived from the airport.   Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy.  Right?

Beef & Mushroom pie

This is another amazingly simple and delicious dish my mother has been making for years, and who knows where she got the recipe originally.  But given her stack of vintage cooking magazines from the early 1970s and on, there is probably a source somewhere.   However, I don’t know the source, and she probably barely remembers where it came from herself, since she has been making it for decades.
I was in a hurry when I made this, having painted all day at my in-laws’ house, so I used a store-bought crust to expedite it all.  Otherwise, feel free to use the pie crust recipe of your choice.  It’s a pretty standard butter, flour, cold water type of crust.

Potato Mushroom Pizza

The first place I ever had a potato pizza was at the famed Vic's Pizza in Olympia while I was in college. I just don’t go out much these days, being the frugal housewife that I am, so I finally got around to making my own potato pizza.  And seriously… don’t knock it till you try it.  It’s SO good.
Mine, of course, has its own tweaks and variations, and I worked with the ingredients I had on hand—this week, my theme seems to be food with mushrooms.   You’ll see two other mushroom-inclusive recipes in the next 2 installments as well.

Chicken and Tomato pizza

I have been lazy for years, and make no excuse for the fact that this was my first time of trying an actual yeast-based pizza crust.  I always just made a yeast-free one, thinking it was somehow faster, but it was always quite dense, and not necessarily faster.
There is an overnight-fermented pizza dough that I intend to do next time I think of having pizza 24 hours in advance.  But for tonight, I found a  30-minute dough that I was willing to try.  I’ve pasted the recipe below, too, for convenience sake.

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  
• 2 cups bread flour * I used 1 cup whole wheat, and 1 cup white flour*
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
   
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
   
   Toppings:
   4-5 vine ripened tomatoes (depending on the size)
   1/2 yellow onion
   6 chicken tenders (frozen or defrosted)
   1-2 cloves minced garlic
   1/2  tsp rosemary, ground
   1 tsp oregano
   2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
   1 cup grated mozzarella
   2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
   2 tbsp Caesar dressing (or Ranch)

While the dough was rising, I thinly sliced half a yellow onion, and sautéed it in olive oil until caramelized, and then added thinly sliced tomatoes, a clove of minced garlic, and a couple of tablespoons of minced basil leaves into the skillet. In a separate skillet, I sautéed chicken tenders with a few pinches of ground rosemary, and oregano and seasoning salt, and when the chicken was cooked through, I sliced it up into small chunks.
Once the dough had risen, I followed step # 3 above,  and then covered the crust first with a couple of tablespoons of Caesar dressing, about 2/3 cup mozzarella, and then all the sautéed ingredients from above, and a bit more mozzarella and grated parmesan.   I baked the pizza about 25 minutes on a pizza stone, and it was good!  I regret that I did not take any pictures, but them’s them apples.

Technorati Tags: pizza,yeast-crust,chicken,tomatoes,basil,onions,main dishes

MACARONI AND CHEEEEEEEEESE!!!!!

I am seriously a cheese-addict. I eat cheese almost daily in some form or another, and tonight seemed downright autumnal for July (it was about 65 and overcast, and breezy) so I opted for a 'comfort food' meal of grilled pork chops, mac & cheese, and some steamed summer squash.

This mac & cheese is loosely adapted from one that I got from my husband's mother, although I use real sharp cheddar instead of Velveeta, and I usually just put in a pinch of nutmeg instead of pepper.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 stick of butter
2-3 tbsp flour (I actually used whole wheat today with fairly good success)
1- 1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese (sharp cheddar makes the most 'classic mac & cheese' flavor)
pinch of nutmeg

8-10 oz of uncooked pasta of your choice (I had bowties, so that's what I used)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring water to a boil and cook pasta while you prepare a 'roux' to make the cheese sauce.
(Roux is a flour & butter based sauce which helps emulsify cheese better than just stirring cheese into hot milk -- which, for the record, I've tried once, and got a giant ball of stringy cheese, floating in a pot of milk.)

Melt butter in another small sauce pan over medium heat, and stir in flour one tablespoon at a time, to keep it a smooth texture.

Stir in milk, very slowly, just an ounce or so at first. If you pour the milk in too fast, it will cool off the butter & flour mixture and make it lumpy.

Gradually whisk in the rest of the milk, keeping heat at medium, and taking care not to boil the sauce.

Next add a handful of grated cheddar cheese at a time, stirring it to melt it into the hot milk & butter roux.


Pour cheese sauce over cooked & drained pasta and either serve as is, or bake in the oven for ten minutes at 350 to "congeal it all" into its sticky, cheesy goodness.