Cauliflower and Brussels Sprout Frittata

I really dislike frittatas but this recipe (nicely inspired by the cauliflower cake from Smitten Kitchen, my favorite!) is a whole new take on frittatas.  This was definitely not "eggy" and really had a nice consistency, especially with the sauteed Brussels sprouts!

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower (broken into bite size pieces)
8-9 Brussels sprouts (thinly sliced)
1/2 onion or 2 shallots diced
A few basil leaves thinly sliced or chopped
6 eggs (plus dash of milk)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 cup of mozzarella or any other white leftover cheese (goat cheese would be amazing)
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Put cauliflower pieces in pot of salted boiling water on the stove an let cook until tender (about 15 minutes)
2. Meanwhile, add sliced Brussels and onion to hot saute pan with a little olive oil and let cook until tender and beginning to brown (about 7 or 8 minutes)
3. Once sprouts and onions are cooked, remove from heat and let cook
4. Mix eggs and a dash of milk together and set aside
5. Mix flour, cheese, baking powder and salt and pepper in another bowl
6. Cauliflower will be done now, drain in the sink in a colander
7. Using the pot from the cauliflower, add the sprout mixture and then whisk in the egg mixture
8. Slowly add the flour mixture to this pot and whisk together to remove clumps
9. Pour cauliflower into baking pan (I used a springform but a cake pan or a 9' x 13' would work too) and then pour the egg/flour/sprout mixture on top, evenly coating the cauliflower.
10. Pop in the oven until brown on top and toothpick comes out clean (about 45-50 minutes).

This is definitely best served with some hot sauce and a nice refreshing salad.

Cheers!

Gnocchi Heaven!

Let me preface this by saying this is most definitely a Sunday night dinner.  You need some patience with this recipe and Sunday is THE day for it.  Making homemade Italian pastas and dumplings is not the easiest, but it is definitely worth it!  Serve these dumplings with the Single girl dinner vodka sauce and you really have a fabulous dinner!

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman.  Through trial and error I've added some steps and removed most of the confusion (I hope).

Serves 2 hungry people

Ingredients:

1 lb russet potatoes
salt/pepper
1 1/3 cup flour (plus more for the inevitable potato fail)

1) Peel and cube potatoes and cook in boiling water until tender (about 15-20 minutes)
2) Drain and mash potatoes in separate bowl and add salt and pepper to taste (so far so good)
3) Let the potatoes cool about 10 minutes in the fridge
4) Put a large pot of water on to boil
4.5) Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a banking sheet with olive oil (you might need 2 baking sheets)
5) Remove flour from fidge and add initial 1 1/3 cup of flour to potato mix and knead into the potato for about 2 minutes
6) Pinch some dough off and see if it holds it shape in a pot filled with boiling water, if it holds it shape you are ready to go
7) Take about a cups worth of dough and roll into a snake (Playdough worm style), if you are having trouble rolling the dough it is either too hot (READ: put back in fridge) or you need more flour (READ: add some).  It is most likely a combination of both so add a little flour and mix in and then put back in the fridge for five minutes.  This really helped our gnocchi develop into the correct texture of dumpling.
8) Cut the gnocchi worm into inch size pieces and don't let them touch each other
9) Carefully toss the pieces one at a time in the boiling water and remove when they float to the top and hang out for about 15 seconds extra (you can have more than one gnoccho in the pot, but put them in separately)
10) As you remove these from the water with a slotted spoon, place on the baking sheet.  Don't worry if there is a bit of extra water as this will cook off in the oven
11) Once you have a filled baking sheet, lightly spray again with olive oil and sprinkle a dash of salt and pop in the oven until a golden brown color on top (about 15-20 minutes)

12) Remove from oven and serve with favorite sauce and freshly chopped basil and parmesan cheese!

These do not keep in the fridge but you are kidding yourself if you think you will have leftovers (trust me!)

Single Girl Dinner #1 - Vodka Tomato Sauce on Roasted Cauliflower

Last year when my husband was away at school for five months, I would often find myself having a "single girl dinner" aka something I would never cook for my man because I know he wouldn't go near it with a 10 foot pole!

So if you find yourself in the mood for something truly delicious and are cooking for 1, this is the perfect dinner!

Vodka Tomato Sauce (from Giada- love her!)

1 can plain tomato sauce
3/4 cup vodka (yeah girl!!)
1/2 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)

1) Combine tomato sauce and vodka in a sauce pan and cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes
2) Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream
3) DONE (so easy and yet so tasty)

Roasted Cauliflower


Head of cauliflower (if you have extras this is a great lunch so don't worry)
Olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped capers
Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees
2) Chop cauliflower into bite size pieces and toss with oil and capers in a roasting pan
3) Put in the preheated oven and let cook about 10 minutes
4) Remove from the oven and stir to mix up the veggies
5) Top with breadcrumbs and cheese and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes

Put sauce on cauliflower and pour yourself a glass of wine :)

Out of this Disneyworld Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

I was in Disneyworld for a work event last month and we had one of the most amazing desserts EVER.  This is really special and a great combination of tasty and sweet flavors.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients


1 1/2 cup milk plus 1/4 cup dairy creamer (if you are really going all the way on this one this is definitely recommended)
1 egg (could use egg substitute as well)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 cups of two or three day old baguette, cut into bite size cubes
2 bananas sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 Theo Chocolate milk chocolate bar (www.theochocolate.com) chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup brown/white sugar mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1) Mix milks, egg and vanilla and set in the fridge
2) Place baguette cubes, banana and chocolate in mixing bowl and mix well
3) Pour cold liquid over the cubes and toss thoroughly
4) Pour into a 9'' by 13'' greased baking dish
5) Evenly top with almonds and sugars
6) Pop in the oven and cook about 40 minutes (or until sugar and chocolate are nicely melted and bread is a golden brown)

Serve with caramel sauce or whipped cream and enjoy every minute of this amazing bread pudding!!

Serious Stir Fry

I haven't made stir fry in almost two years but this was UNBELIEVABLE! Meant to be made with whatever veggies you have on hand, this mixture is not to be underestimated!

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice (cooked per package directions)
3 cloves garlic
2 cups thinly sliced fennel (onion if you prefer)
2 cups chopped kale (or boy choy or spinach, the list goes on)
1 cup chopped broccoli (chopped into bite size pieces)
1 cup shittake mushroom (roughly chopped)
Vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Sesame oil
1/2 cup soy sauce Soy Sauce
Red Pepper Flakes (to your own liking)

Serve with wedges of lime and plum sauce

1. Heat vegetable oil in wok over high heat
2. When oil is nice and hot, add garlic and then quickly add fennel and stir to coat.  If the pan is super hot at this point you can add a 1/2 cup of water to help steam the veggies.
3. Let the wok do its magic for a few minutes and then add the kale and broccoli
4. About 5-7 minutes in your veggies should be looking really tempting but to spice things up add the sesame oil, soy sauce and red pepper flakes.  Turn heat down to medium on the stove.
5. Now comes the hard part....the longer you let this cook the BETTER your fry will be.  After about another 7 minutes on medium heat you can add the chopped shittake mushrooms and let those cook down another 4-5 minutes.
6. You've waited and now you get to enjoy this delicious dish served over rice.  I definitely recommend a nice plum sauce (Hoisin Sauce) to add a little sweet to the spicy dish.

No Chicken Pot Pie

Can I just say OH MY GOODNESS!  This recipe was so good that David and I devoured the entire thing between two people.  It's still winter here so I will consider this part of my hibernation fare but seriously, this is a can't miss recipe.

Tools:

Food processor
Rolling pin
9'' by 13'' pyrex dish

Pastry Crust ingredients (crust from SmittenKitchen.com):

1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) chilled
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

Vegetable Filling (seriously there is no chicken in this):

1 cup of pearl onions
2 cups of chopped cremini mushrooms
2 small white or yukon potatoes peeled and cut into bite size pieces
2 cups of frozen vegetable assortment (carrots, green beans, lima beans)
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup of mashed potatoes (optional but HIGHLY recommended!)
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Start preparing pastry crust.  Pulse flour and salt in food processor (or mixing bowl if you don't have a food processor).
2. Pulse flour mixture with butter for 30 seconds until butter is in tiny pieces (you can do this by hand with a fork and your fingers but it takes a bit longer).
3. Combine sour cream, lemon juice and water and whisk together.
4. Make a well in the middle of the butter/flour mixture and pour in half of the liquid mixture.
5. Use your hands to mix the flour and liquid for about 30 seconds.  Take out the big pieces and put on a long piece of plastic wrap (which you will eventually use to chill the dough ball).
6. Pour the remaining liquid on the bowl with the flour mixture and mix to combine (dough will be shaggy).
7. Pour the dough on the plastic wrap, needing the dough a bit and then wrapping very tightly in the wrap.  Put in the fridge for 1 hour.
8. While the dough is chilling, put a heavy pot on the stove with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat to medium high.
9. Once the oil is hot, add the pearl onions and let cook for a minute or two.
10. Add the mushrooms and stir to coat with oil, let cook for about 5 minutes to really cook down the mushrooms.
11. Add the diced potatoes and give another 3-4 minutes to cook.
12. Now is the time to salt your dish (to your liking).
13. Sprinkle flour over all of the veggies and stir to coat (about 30 seconds).
14. Remove the pot from the hot burner and then pour in water.
15. After another minute or so, add the heavy whipping cream (if you need to add more it is never a bad idea!).
16. Add the remaining frozen vegetables and return the pot to the hot burner, letting cook for another 3-4 minutes on low heat.
17. When dough is ready, remove from fridge and roll out to fit the baking pan.
18. Pour vegetable mixture into the dish and carefully put the rolled out dough on top.
19. Lightly prick the dough with a fork in several spots on top of the crust and brush with egg white for a nice glossy color if you have time.
20. Place in the over for about 40 minutes (or until veggies are bubbling and crust is nice and golden).
21. After pot pie is done cooking, remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes.
22. Serve with hot sauce on the table and enjoy!

Dreaming of Spring...Potato Gratin

Every time I go to the market I try my very best not to buy produce out of season, but the bum weather lately had me craving a sign of sun to come and I broke down and bought asparagus.  This recipe came to me like a bright ray of light tonight and I had to share it immediately.  The artichokes add a perfect lemony bite to the final product.  Cheers!

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Potato Gratin with Asparagus and Artichoke

4-5 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 shallot (thinly sliced)
1.5 pounds of asparagus, tough ends cut off and reserved for Saturday omelets
1 15 oz. can of artichoke hearts (in water)
1 cup of heavy cream
Gruyere cheese (or Beecher's cheddar if really want to spoil yourself)
3/4 cup regular bread crumbs
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Prep: Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1)  Pour about 1/4 cup of cream in the bottom of an ungreased 9x whatever pyrex dish, tilt dish to coat bottom with cream
2)  Add 1 layer of sliced potatoes
3)  Sprinkle separated pieces of shallot over the potatoes
4)  Cut asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces, add as the next layer over the shallots
5)  Drain artichokes and then roughly chop and sprinkle over the asparagus
6)  Generously grate cheese over the veggies
7)  Combine bread crumbs and add pepper and salt to taste (you could even add a touch of thyme)
8)  Pour bread crumbs over the veggies and cheese
9)  Top with cream (evenly distribute over the dish, if you need more cream, don't be shy!)
10)  Put in the preheated oven and check after 25 minutes, cream and cheese should be bubbling but potatoes still need 15 minutes.  Watch and make sure the bread crumbs aren't burning, if they do, cover the dish and turn the heat down to 325 for the remaining 15 minutes.

Serve with a green salad with lemon mustard dressing and dream of the spring that awaits us soon!