Portabella Penne

 

8 oz Penne Pasta

2 Portabella Mushrooms,sliced

1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence

1/3 cup Marsala Wine

1/8 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Blue Cheese Crumbles

3 tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped 

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Cook Penne according to directions on the package.

Meanwhile, preheat a skillet to medium-high heat, add olive oil.  Saute sliced mushrooms for about 8 minutes.  Season with Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper.  Add Marsala Wine, cook for another 2 minutes.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, cooked pasta, and extra virgin olive oil.  Toss all together.

Season with salt and pepper if needed. 

Move pasta over into a large serving dish.  Top with blue cheese crumbles and fresh basil.

Serve family style.  Serves 2-3.

Acorn Squash & Kale Lasagna

 

 12 Lasagna Noodles, Oven Ready

1 Acorn Squash, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano 

1/2 Sweet Onion, thinly sliced

1 pint Crimini Mushrooms, thinly sliced

3  cups Kale, chopped

Pinch Chili Flakes

1 cup Ricotta Cheese

2 Garlic Cloves, grated

1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence

1/4 pound Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, to taste

  

Sauce

 

4 tablespoons Butter

1/4 cup Flour

1 pint Half and Half

Pinch of Fresh Nutmeg

Salt, Pepper, to taste

 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the flour and cook for one minute over low heat, stirring constantly.  Pour half and half into the butter-flour mixture.  Add salt, pepper, and fresh nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring with a whisk for 3-5 minutes.  Set aside off the heat.

 

 

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.  Place squash slices on a baking sheet.  Season with salt, pepper, and dried oregano.  Drizzle with one tablespoon of Olive Oil.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add sliced onions, and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add the sliced mushrooms, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and saute for another 5 minutes.  Add chopped kale.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat.

In a small bowl, add ricotta cheese, grated garlic, Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.  

 

To assemble lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of a 8x8x2 inch baking dish.  Place 3 lasagna noodles overlapping them with one another, then sauce, then 1/3 of the kale-mushroom mixture, then few slices of roasted squash, and few dollops of ricotta mixture.  Reap it two more times.  Top with final layer of noodles, sauce, and sprinkle with grated cheese.  Bake covered for 30 minutes.  Uncover the lasagna and bake for another 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and hot.

 

Allow to sit for 15 minutes before slicing it.

 

Serves 5-6

 

 

 

 

 *Heard on Rachel Ray Show to soak your oven ready noodle for few minutes in warm water.  Tried it out, and liked it.  Helped the noodles to soften up.

 Serve it with a light green salad.

Sweet Chili Linguine with Sauted Vegetables

Sweet Chili Sauce

1 14oz can Coconut Cream

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1/2 cup Sweet Chili Sauce

2-3 teaspoons Sriracha, to taste

Salt to taste

Veggies/Pasta

1 pound Green Beans, ends trimmed

1 pint Shitake Mushrooms, cut in half

1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced

1 Garlic Clove, chopped

1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

1 pound Linguine Pasta

1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Fresh Cillantro

Blench the green beans, shock them in ice bath, and set them a side. Can be done 1-2 days ahead.

In a small saucepan, simmer coconut cream, heavy cream, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, and salt until slightly thickened.  Keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook "al dente",  about 10-11 minutes.  Drain well and add olive oil, to prevent sticking together.

Preheat a saute pan to medium-high, add coconut oil.  Add mushrooms and garlic, saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add the beans and sliced peppers.  Season with salt and pepper and saute for 8-10 minutes.  Vegetables should stay slightly crunchy.  

Add the sauted vegetables to pasta, as well as the Sweet Chili Sauce.  Toss to combine.

Top with fresh cilantro. 

Serves 4-6

*You can cut your beans and pepper into bite size pieces if you prefer.  This dish is slightly spicy and sweet form the chili sauce and coconut cream.  

I like to go to an Asian Market to buy all of my ingredients.  I find it to be much cheaper than shopping at the regular grocery store.

Broccolini and Grilled Ravioli Salad

1 15 oz Bag Spring Greens

1 pound Baby Broccolini, ends trimmed

12 Ravioli, your favorite

1 oz Parmesan Cheese

2 tablespoons Lemon Juice

1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus 1 tablespoon

Pinch Cayenne

Salt, Pepper, to taste

To make the dressing: in a small bowl, add lemon juice, 1/8 of a cup of olive oil, pinch of cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Whisk together.  Set aside.

Preheat a grill to 300 degrees F.  Season broccolini and ravioli with salt and pepper, brush with the rest of the olive oil. Grill for about 5-6 minutes, flipping once.  Remove off the grill.  Cut grilled broccolini into large bite size pieces.

In a large bowl, add the greens and grilled broccolini.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the dressing and toss it all together.  Move the salad onto a serving dish.  Place grilled ravioli all around it.  Shave Parmesan cheese with a vegetable peeler over the salad.

Serves 4

*You can use your favorite ravioli.  I like mushroom ravioli, they go very well with this dish.

Shrimp Ravioli with White Wine Sauce

4 sheets Fresh Pasta, about one pound

1 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup Mascarpone Cream

2 Garlic Cloves, grated

Zest of One Lemon

1 tablespoon Dry Dill

Pinch of Cayenne

Salt, Pepper, to taste

1 Egg, lightly beaten

Olive Oil, for cooking ravioli

To prepare filling:  Using a food processor, process the shrimp.  Add mascarpone, garlic, zest of lemon, dry dill, cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Blend for one more minute.

To assemble ravioli:  Place one pasta sheet on a work surface.  Using a teaspoon, arrange 9 dollops of the shrimp filling, one inch a part.  Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash around each filling.  Place another sheet of pasta directly on top, pressing around the filling and sealing the edges.  Using a pizza cutter, cut out squares of ravioli. 

Repeat the same with the other two sheets of pasta. 

 Keep prepared ravioli covered with wet linen.  Makes 18 large ravioli.

*Egg wash helps ravioli to seal better.

In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of salted and oiled water.  Carefully add ravioli, 3-4 at a time.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Using a spider strainer, carefully remove ravioli and place on a plate.  Drizzle with a little of oil, to prevent from sticking.  Continue cooking remaining ravioli.

White Wine Sauce

1 tablespoon Butter

1/2 cup White Wine

3/4 cup Half and Half, room temperature

Pinch of Fresh Nutmeg

Salt, Pepper, to taste

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the wine, reduce it by half.  Turn the heat to low, add half and half, reduce it by half.  Careful not to allow sauce to boil over.  Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

To serve:  Place 4 ravioli on a plate, pour 2-3 tablespoons of the wine sauce over them.  Top with fresh chives, optional.

Mushroom Lasagna

12 Lasagna Noodles, Oven Ready

2 pounds Crimini Mushrooms, sliced

1/2 medium size Sweet Onion, sliced

4-5 sprigs Thyme, leaves only

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2 Mozzarella Balls, thinly sliced, Bufala

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

1 tablespoon Butter

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Sauce

4 tablespoons Butter

1/4 cup Flour

1 pint Half and Half

Pinch of Fresh Nutmeg

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the flour and cook for one minute over low heat, stirring constantly.  Pour half and half into the butter-flour mixture.  Add salt, pepper, and fresh nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring with a whisk for 3-5 minutes.  Set aside off the heat.

Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat, add butter and olive oil.  Add sliced onions, and saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add the sliced mushrooms, thyme, salt, and pepper, and saute for another 5 minutes.  Add the chopped garlic.  Set aside off the heat.

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. 

To assemble lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of a 8x8x2 inch baking dish.  Place 3 lasagna noodles overlapping them with one another, then sauce, then 1/3 of the mushroom mixture, then few slices of mozzarella.  Reap it two more times.  Top with final layer of noodles, sauce, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.  Bake covered for 30 minutes.  Uncover the lasagna and bake for another 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and hot.

Allow to sit for 15 minutes before slicing it.

Serves 4

*I buy my lasagna noodles at Trader Joe's.  They are short, so fit perfectly into 8x8x2 inch baking dish.  The best part is that you don't need to boil them, saves you tons of time.

Artichoke Pesto Pasta

1 14 oz can Artichoke Hearts, drained

1/4 cup Roasted Garlic Oil, with garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Pine Nuts

2 tablespoons Lime Juice

1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

Salt, Pepper to taste

Blend all the ingredients together in the food processor. Set aside until ready to use. Can be made a day ahead.

Cook one package of Penne Pasta according to directions.  Toss hot pasta with Artichoke Pesto.

Enjoy!!!

Serves 4-5

Crab Stuffed Manicotties

One Package Manicotti

8 oz Crab Meat

8 oz Whipped Cream Cheese

Juice and Zest of one Lemon

3 Garlic Cloves, grated

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup Green Onion, chopped

1 cup Fontina Cheese, shredded

Wine Sauce

1/2 stick Butter

1/2 cup White Wine

1/2 cup Half and Half

Fresh Black Pepper

Pinch of Nutmeg

Cook Manicotti according to directions. 

Mix the rest of the ingredients together, but the fontina cheese and reserving some green onion for topping cooked manicotti.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Preheat a skillet, melt the butter, add the white wine, and cook until reduced by half.  Add half and half, black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cook until reduced in half again.

Pour some sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Stuff pasta with the crab filling, makes 11-12. Pour the rest of the sauce over the stuffed pasta and top it with shredded Fontina Cheese. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Top with green onion and serve.

Serves 5-6

Pasta with White Fish and Leeks

1/2 pound Pasta

1 (4oz) White Fish Fillet, previously cooked and cut into bite size pieces

1 Leek, white parts only, sliced

1/2 cup Sliced Black Olives

3 tablespoon Capers

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon Chili Flakes

Salt, Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon Butter

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh Basil, chopped

Cook pasta until its almost cooked but still has a firm bite, reserving the pasta water.

Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat, melt butter, and olive oil. Add leeks, season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes, and saute for about 5 minutes. Add fish, olives, capers, and garlic, and saute for another 5 minutes, until fish is heated through.

Add, into the fish-veggie skillet, the cooked pasta, a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and if needed add pasta water. Toss it all together.

Top with fresh chopped basil and enjoy!!!

Serves 4

*Perfect dish to use left over chicken, shrimp, or fish. Use your favorite pasta as well.  Anything will work!!!

Pasta Salad with Grilled Artichoke Hearts

1/2 pound Orecchiette Pasta

1 16oz jar Artichoke Hearts, drained

1/2 cup Black Olives, drained and sliced

1/4 cup Capers, drained

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1/2 cup Italian Parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

2 tablespoons Champagne Vinaigrette

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus one tablespoon

Salt, Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on the package.

Preheat grill to 450 degrees F. Cut artichoke hearts in half. Season with salt and pepper, and brush with olive oil. Grill the hearts for 4-5 minutes, until they have nice grill marks.

Place pasta and all the vegetables in a large bowl.

In a small bowl combine Dijon mustard, champagne vinaigrette, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Whisk until it's all incorporated.

Pour dressing over pasta and vegetables and toss it all together.

Serves 5-6

*Perfect dish to take with you to the lake or picnic since it's oil base dressing...