Italian Flag Marinated Tomato Sauce

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Ingredients
  • 1 large ripe tomato, 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 15 leaves fresh Basil
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • lots of fresh black pepper
  • 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese in small wedges
Directions
  1. Mix all ingredients. Let marinate for an hour.

Pear and Cream Cheese Tart

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Ingredients
  • 1 sheet Puff Pastry
  • 4 oz softened Neufchatel
  • 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Pear
  • 20 Blueberries
Directions
  1. Roll edges of Puff Pastry to make a boat shape.
  2. Mix softened Neufchatel, Brown Sugar, Vanilla and Cinnamon. Spread in bottom of Puff Pastry Boat.
  3. Thinly slice and core a Pear. Layer in Puff Pastry, put Blueberries on top.
  4. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Gnocchi Alla Romana

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Ingredients
  • 5 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 cups semolina
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus 3 Tbs. melted butter
  • 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
Directions
  1. In a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Add the semolina in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until incorporated. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the salt and continue whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, until the semolina is thick and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese, the egg yolks and the 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) butter until incorporated.
  2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and Butter again. Pour the semolina mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
  3. Preheat an oven to 425°F. Butter a 9-inch French skillet or round casserole dish.
  4. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter or water glass, cut the gnocchi into rounds. Arrange the gnocchi in the pan so they are overlapping, resembling shingles. Brush the top of the gnocchi with the 3 Tbs. melted butter, 1/3 cup Heavy Cream and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes, then serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

 

 

Puff Pastry Broccoli Strudel

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Ingredients
  • 1 sheet Puff Pastry
  • 1 head of Broccoli
  • 1/4 cup each Parmesan, Asiago and Feta
  • 4 oz Cream Cheese (or Neufchatel)
  • 1 Egg
Directions
  1.  Take Pastry sheet – using a rolling pin stretch on baking sheet.
  2. Take head of broccoli, chop – saute in butter until crip, tender, and dark green.
  3. Mix Broccoli with 1/4 cup each Parm, Asiago and Feta – add 4oz cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
  4. Fold ingredients into pastry and seal with egg wash (egg plus tsp of water) – glaze top of pastry as well.
  5. Bake at 400° for 25min, until golden brown

Sweet Potato Wedges

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Ingredients
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Garlic Salt
  • Pepper
Directions
  1. Scrub sweet potatoes (1 or 2) Cut into 1/4 in slices with corrugated slicer (if you have one, or knife if not)
  2. Fry in cocnut oil (with lid on, stirring frequently) until brown.
  3. Season with Garlic Salt & Pepper

Three (or more) Cheese Macaroni

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Ingredients
  • 1 box Pasta of choice (I used Rotini)
  • 3 Cheeses of choice (I used Feta, Cheddar and Asiago)
  • Butter
  • Half & Half
Directions
  1. Prepare Pasta according to directions on box. Drain.
  2. Put 1/3 of pasta in bottom of serving bowl. Sprinkle cheese, and pats of butter on top of Pasta.
  3. Repeat step 2, two more times.
  4. Pour a little Half & Half on top Pasta.
  5. Microwave or bake until cheese is melted. Serve, and enjoy!

Garbanzo Bean Salad

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Ingredients
  • 2 15 oz cans Garbanzo Beans drained
  • 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Cilantro
  • 4oz can chopped Green Chilies
  • 1/4 cup Plain Yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Coriander
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
Directions
Combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

Spicy Vegetarian Curry

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Ingredients:
  • 3 Potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 2 tsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Yellow Onion, diced
  • 3 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp ground Cumin
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 4 tsp Curry Paste
  • 4 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 (1 inch) piece fresh Ginger Root, peeled and minced
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 (15 ounce) can Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas), rinsed and drained
  • 1 bag Mixed Frozen Veggies (Peas, Carrots, Corn, Beans)
  • 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
Directions:
  1. Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil (I used coconut oil instead of vegetable) in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add curry paste and coconut milk to a medium sized pot. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, garam masala, salt, and ginger. Add the tomatoes, garbanzo beans, veggies (cook according to directions on package in microwave), onions, garlic and potatoes. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Best served with Rice and Nann (or Pita bread, if you’re in a time crunch).

No-Knead Bread

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Ingredients:
  • 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
  • ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt
Directions:
  1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
  2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
  3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Cover with a cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
  4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Since I use cast iron, I usually coat the bottom of the pot with Olive Oil. Turn dough over into pot – it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. I usually also flip the bread inside the pan, to brown the top as much as the bottom.

Zuppa Toscana

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Ingredients:
  •  1 package Morning-Star Farm’s Italian Sausage, or half package crumbles
  • 4 Medium Potatoes sliced thin
  • 1 medium diced Onion sauteed in Butter
  • 4 Leaves Kale
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 cup Half & Half
  • Around 4 cups Water
  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Salt (or season to taste)
Directions:
  1. Wash and slice potatoes thin (I used a mouli grater).
  2. Dice medium Onion, and saute in a pan with Butter (or if you want to save dishes, use the pot you plan on using for the soup)
  3. Add Onion, Potatoes, Morningstar Vegetarian Sausage (slice into small pieces, if you can’t find the crumbles) and enough water to cover the contents to a pot. Bring to boil.
  4. Slice Kale into bite-sized pieces.
  5. When Potatoes are starting to get soft, bring heat down to low and add Half & Half and Parmesan.
  6. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.
  7. Add Kale, but don’t cook long after adding.