Spinach Garlic Pasta

I made it today for dinner ;)

Spinach Garlic Pasta


Ingredients

* 1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
* 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Add the spinach and the cooked pasta. Mix well, and cook for approximately 2 minutes, stirring often. Serve.

White Bean Salad

Mustard Vinaigrette

* 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 cup olive oil

White Bean Salad

* 1/2 red onion
* 1-1/2 cups cooked white beans (or chickpeas)*
* 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
* 1/2 pound salami, preferably Genoa, diced
* 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

* Equivalent to one 15-ounce can, drained, although freshly cooked beans are preferable. You may also wish to try Kate's Classic White Beans recipe.

1. To make the mustard vinaigrette: Put the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until the dressing is emulsified (or blend all ingredients in the work bowl of a hand blender or mini-chopper). Set aside.

2. To make the salad: Slice the red onion into thin rings, then cut the rings in half. Set aside half of the rings, then chop the remaining rings into small pieces. Put the chopped onion and the white beans, green pepper, salami, parsley, and oregano in a serving bowl. Pour in the mustard vinaigrette and toss to coat. Marinate for 15 minutes before serving. Serve sprinkled with the grated Parmesan and garnish with the reserved red onion slices.

Roasted Asparagus Bundles/Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

I made it today:

1- Roasted Asparagus Bundles:

Ingredients

* 1 pound fresh asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed and discarded
* 4 scallions, root end trimmed
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place asparagus and scallions on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 25 to 30 minutes, until tender. Wrap individual portions of asparagus with scallion to tie into bundles.

2-Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

Ingredients

* 1 scallion, minced
* 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
* 1 pound center-cut salmon fillet, skinned (see Tip) and cut into 4 portions
* 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (see Tip)

Directions

Whisk scallion, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.

Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.) Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

How to skin a salmon fillet: Place salmon fillet on a clean cutting board, skin-side down. Starting at the tail end, slip the blade of a long knife between the fish flesh and the skin, holding down firmly with your other hand. Gently push the blade along at a 30° angle, separating the fillet from the skin without cutting through either.

To toast seeds: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Salmon Baked in Foil

I don't like salmon, but in this recipe it tasted really nice! I recommend. It's very easy to make and clean afterward also.

Ingredients

* 4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
* 2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
* 2 chopped shallots
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, atop a sheet of foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.

Chicken Balls!

ingredients:

1lb ground chicken
parsley as you like, chopped
garlic salt or salt to taste
black pepper to taste
olive oil (about 3 table spoon)
tomato paste
tomato sauce (anyone you like)
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1-In a large bowl mix the ground chicken with garlic salt, pepper. Then, add bread crumbs, egg and mix everything.Add parsley. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil (about 3 tablespoon)in low/medium heat. make balls with the mixture and fry it.
2-In a sauce pan, deep enough for all chicken balls. Add hot water and 2 to 3 tablespoon of tomato paste. Add tomato sauce to give some texture in the sauce. Add garlic salt, black pepper.
3-As soon as the chicken balls are ready from outside, throw them at the sauce pan in tomato sauce. the tomato sauce must cover all chicken balls.
4- cook for 10 min. in low heat.

Bucatini with Sausage/Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding with raspberries

Bucatini with Sausage

Ingredients

3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, preferably without fennel seeds
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup whole pickled peperoncini, drained, preferably Tuscan-style
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
3 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 pound bucatini (or another long pasta)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese, plus more for passing
Procedure

1. Slit the casings of the sausages lengthwise and turn the meat out into a bowl. Break it up into small pieces with your hands, then add the wine and toss until the meat is moistened. Remove the stems and seeds of the peppers, then slice into 1/4-inch rings, crosswise.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic slices and cook until golden, then add the sausage mixture. Spread it out, breaking up any clumps, and cook until the moisture has mostly evaporated. When the sausage begins to render and sizzle, add the pepperoncini and cook for an additional minute or two.

3. Pour in the tomatoes plus 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook until the liquid dramatically reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. It should be a thick enough consistency to cling well to the pasta.

4. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salty water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente. When it it done cooking, drain and add it to the skillet, reserving some pasta cooking water. Toss the pasta and sauce together for another minute, adding pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce. Turn off the heat and transfer to bowls. Top with Pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
• 9 ounces (2 cups) chopped bittersweet chocolate (not chocolate chips)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl until blended.
2. Combine milk and 1 cup cream in medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat until hot. Gradually pour hot milk mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula, for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens and coats the spatula or until candy thermometer reads 180°.
3. Remove saucepan from heat. Add chocolate, and let stand 10 seconds; whisk until smooth. Transfer chocolate cream to a clean bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream, and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours.
4. Combine remaining 1/2 cup cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. (Do not overbeat.) Dollop onto each serving of pudding.

*Serving suggestion: Divide half the whipped cream evenly among six wineglasses. Spoon about 2/3 cup chocolate pudding over the cream in each glass, and top with remaining whipped cream.

Ropa Vieja

Sorry I haven't been posting here. We have been ordering delivery from restaurants in Hoboken ( Its greek to me, karma kafe) or I have been doing the recipes I posted here before. So, no new recipe to post this last 2 weeks. I made this recipe last year for the first time when I didn't have the blog yet. So, I made it today again and here's how I made:

Ingredients

· 1 pound skirt steak or flank steak

· 1 medium onions, coarsely chopped and separated into 2 parts

· 1 carrots, coarsely chopped

· 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped

· 2 bay leaves

· 1 tablespoons olive oil

· 2 garlic cloves, minced

· 1 jalapenos, minced

· 1 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped or 1/3 big cans chopped tomatoes

· 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

· 1 teaspoons dried oregano

· 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. In a large stock pot, put in the meat, 1/2 chopped onions, carrot, celery and bay leaf. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

2. When meat is very tender, turn off heat and let meat cool in liquid for 20 min, remove from broth. Set aside. Discard vegetables and strain broth through a sieve. Return broth to heat, and boil to reduce by half, about 20 to 30 minutes. When meat is cool, cut off any fat and pull into shreds about 2 inches wide.

3. While broth is reducing, heat oil in a large skillet. Over medium heat, cook the remaining half of onions, the garlic, jalapenos, green peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of salt.

4. Stir in 1 cup reduced broth and tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir in shredded meat, parsley, oregano, and cumin. Cook 10 minutes more.

Serve with white rice.