Easy Spinach Lasagna

It has been years since I last made this dish. Funny how something that used to be a staple has been forgotten and ignored. So easy to make too!

Ingredients:

3 T extra virgin olive oil

half a head garlic, minced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

800 g can crushed tomatoes

27 oz. fresh baby spinach

1/4 t black pepper

2 t chicken granules

1 t italian seasoning

5 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 C shredded italian trio cheese

no bake lasagna noodles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare spinach while oven is heating up.

Heat olive oil in a sauce pan.

Add garlic and onion, saute until onions are transparent

Add crushed tomatoes and spinach. Mix well

Season with pepper, chicken granules, italian seasoning and cream cheese

Cook until cream cheese melts. Set Aside
In an oven proof dish, layer lasagna noodles

Spoon a layer of sauce according to desired thickness of filling

Cover with noodles again and continue to layer away

Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 20-25 mins until cheese is golden brown.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ragù di Carne con Cioccolato

Haven't posted anything in awhile. The past few months have been a blur. But when I finally got my mojo back, I could think nothing but pappardelle (my current pasta fav) with a rich savory meat sauce. I was bored with the usual bolognese so I decided to create something with a twist....why not with chocolate?

Ingredients:

2 lbs Pappardelle pasta, cooked using package directions

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 pound ground pork

1 1/2 pound ground beef

salt & pepper to taste

2 small carrots, finely grated

2 small onions, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6 sprigs thyme, stems discarded and leaves finely chopped

2 bay leaf

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 t ground cloves

1 c whole milk

1 c dry white wine

1/2 c tomato paste

3-4 c chicken stock

2 c grated pecorino romano cheese

Directions:

While the pasta is working, in a dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking.

Add the pork and beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until browned.

Stir in the carrot, onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, cocoa and cloves; mix well.

Add the milk and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the milk is completely evaporated.

Add the wine and simmer until evaporated.

Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock a cup at a time. Lower the heat and simmer until slightly thickened.

Discard the bay leaf.

Stir in the cheese. Mix well

Adjust seasoning, serve over pasta

Mark's Amazing Dinner

This is easily one of the best home-cooked meals I've ever had. Mark made it all look so simple as he was cooking but I wonder if it's really THAT easy. The Risotto was al dente & savory, the asparagus crisp yet tender and the Swordfish fillet was oh so succulent. Everything was just perfection! I feel very honored to have been invited to partake in this delicious fare and witness first hand, Mark's culinary skills.

Risotto -- requires 45 minutes

1 cup of Arborio rice

1 mushroom bouillon cube

1 small finely diced onion

4 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 cup of olive oil

2 teaspoons of salt & crushed pepper to taste

finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon of butter

1/2 cup of white wine

Lightly saute garlic in olive oil until nicely brown (not crispy) on medium heat;

Add onion, let brown slowly and add salt and pepper;

Let onion and garlic mixture cook down until sticky;

Dissolve mushroom bullion into two cups of boiling water;

Begin adding bullion slowing (adding only small amounts at any one time);

Continue adding bullion for 45 minutes stirring consistently (only add bullion as liquid absorbs into the rice);

Once bullion runs-out, continue to add approx. 1 cup of hot water, stirring until rice is cooked (to taste);

3-4 minutes before rice is finished, add white wine, slowly stirring;

Once risotto is ready, add Parmesan cheese to taste and serve (each person can always add more so add just a small amount).

Swordfish -- requires 4-5 minutes

Two 1/2 pound swordfish steaks

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

Capers

Butter

1 small lime

Olive oil

20 minutes after you start the Risotto, pre-heat your gas to 550 degrees;

Add cooking pan and place it directly beneath the flame to ensure the pan is hot;

Clean fish in cold water, dry and then add a small amount of good quality sea salt and freshly ground pepper to the swordfish;

5 minutes before the Risotto is done, place swordfish onto pan and place directly under gas flame;

1-2 minutes later, remove swordfish and add a small amount of olive oil (do not cover entire fish - just for flavor), and place back into the oven;

2 minutes later, remove swordfish and squeeze a small amount of lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon of butter and 10-12 capers to each steak and the place swordfish on a lower rack (remove it from being directly next to the flame); Cook for 1-2 minutes and then serve.

Asparagus

1/2 pound of Asparagus

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Lemon or Lime juice

20 minutes after you start the Risotto, pre-heat your gas to 550 degrees;

Add cooking pan and place it directly beneath the flame to ensure the pan is hot;

5 minutes before the Risotto is done, place Asparagus onto pan and place directly under gas flame;

Remove after 2-3 minutes and add a small amount of olive oil and lemon or lime juice and then return it to the oven for 1 minute;

Remove, add small amount of Sea salt and pepper and serve.

Molly's Fried Rice

When we had the first PJ party, Molly brought fried rice. We all loved it, it was delicious! She told us spam was the secret ingredient. She's been so busy so it took months of hounding her...pleading even until she finally had the time. Enjoy!




3 cups of cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoon minced green onions or onions
1/2 lb ham (i like spam), ground meat OR shrimp
1 cup of mixed veggies (diced)

1/2 teaspoon each: salt, sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
dash of pepper

Heat 4 tablespoon oil then stir fry eggs until cooked. add green onions and stir fry until fragrant; add meat and stir fry until cooked. Add mixed veggies, rice, and salt, sugar, soy sauce, pepper; stir fry until rice is hot and all ingredients are mixed well, about 3 min.

PJ Party v.2.0

PJ party version 2.0 was Bern's turn to host. Knowing her passion for French cuisine, it came to no surprise on the chosen theme. Her and Jerms impressed everyone with their culinary talents. Everything was absolutely delicious. I normally would have a favorite but this time around, I could not choose from one or the other....plate lickin' good!


Chicken with Morels



Ingredients
1- ounce dried morels, soaked for 30 minutes in 3 cups very hot water <~~~ we used dried chanterelles in place of the morels before and it still came out yummy.
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1⁄4 cup clarified butter <~~~ people said they used regular butter and it came out fine.
1⁄3 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1 cup Madeira wine <~~~ we used dry sherry as a substitute
1 cup (8 ounces) creme fraiche <~~~ found this at trader joe's
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lift the morels carefully from the hot water in order to leave any grit behind in the liquid. Rinse a few times to be sure all the grittiness is gone. Discard the liquid and dry the morels lightly with paper towels. Set aside.
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off the excess. Heat half the clarified butter in a large saute pan and cook the chicken in 2 batches over medium-low heat until browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to an ovenproof casserole.
Add the rest of the clarified butter to the pan along with the shallots, drained morels, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes, tossing and stirring constantly. Pour the Madeira into the pan and reduce the liquid by half over high heat, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the creme fraiche, cream, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3⁄4 teaspoon pepper. Boil until the mixture starts to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 12 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through. To make ahead, refrigerate the chicken and sauce in the casserole and reheat slowly on top of the stove.

Sautéed Prawns in Pastis with Lemon and Cherry Tomatoes



2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds of shrimp (15 per pound), shelled and deveined
10 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 tablespoons pastis, such as Ricard or Pernod
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1) Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.
2) Add shrimp and sauté for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently
3) Add the tomatoes and the pastis, then flambé until the flame dies out.
4) Add the lemon juice, butter, basil, parsley, and chives and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5) Swirl the pan over the heat just until the butter is completely melted into the sauce. Take care not to boil, or the sauce may separate.

Herbed Basmati Rice
(Jerms thought this was a little dry, so you may want to adjust cooking time or add more butter, I also doubled the recipe).



Ingredients
1 cup uncooked long-grain (white) basmati rice (recommended: Texmati)
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced fresh curly parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh scallions, white and green parts
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Combine the rice, 1 3/4 cups water, the salt, and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low, stir once, and simmer, covered tightly, for 15 minutes. (I need to pull the pot half off the burner to keep it from boiling over.) Turn off the heat and allow the rice to sit covered for 5 minutes. Add the parsley, dill, scallions, and pepper. Fluff with a fork, and serve warm.

Michele's Winner PJ Party

Last Saturday night, Michele hosted her PJ party...needless to say, it was filled with awesome company, great food, good wine and delish desserts. Although everyone brought something to add on to the menu, here are the dishes Michi personally prepared for her guests. We filled our tummies with these palatable indulgences until we can hardly breathe...


Killer Whole Dungeness Crab Roasted in Garlic Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
2 whole crabs (2 plus pounds each)
Crab butter
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped medium shallot
1/2 sprig rosemary (chopped)
1 sprig thyme, leaves chopped
2 tablespoons Szechwan peppercorns
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon garlic salt
8 to 10 garlic cloves, roasted and pureed
Chopped parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
Crabs:
Depending on where you get the crabs they could be alive or preboiled (I recommend live crab because it tastes fresher). If they're alive, place the crabs in boiling water for 5 minutes (until red in color). Remove from pot and cool them in iced water (quick cool). With your thumb and index finger pry open the head, remove innards and save. Under running water wipe clean the head area.

Crab innards:
In a blender add the innards with 1/4 cup of white wine, blend on pulse, strain, and save. In a pot on medium heat add olive oil, shallots, rosemary, thyme, and peppercorns. Cook until light brown, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of wine. Add the blended crab innards, the canola oil, and the garlic salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Skim the top, remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes. Strain through a sieve or cheesecloth. Whisk in the garlic puree and let rest.


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the 2 crabs in a large oven-proof skillet, ladle the crab butter over them, (be generous) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Set the crabs on your serving dish, sprinkle with garlic salt, put the empty head shells back on (you can brush the shell with olive oil to shine) sprinkle. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.



NOTE: I strained the crab innards in the first step, but in the second step, insteading of straining, I blended everything including the roasted garlic in a blender. I found that you lose valuable sauce if you strain it.

Garlic Noodles



INGREDIENTS:

For the sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sriracha
2 tablespoons michiu (rice cooking wine)
3 tablespoons kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
2 tablespoons mirin

For the noodles:
1 pound fresh egg noodles, chow mein thickness
3 ounces unsalted butter
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 pound meat from a 1 1/2- to 2-pound Dungeness crab (Optional)
Reserved crab "butter" (Optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Chopped cilantro, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside. Boil 3 quarts of water, and cook egg noodles to al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse in cold water and set aside. Combine butter and garlic in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Once butter begins to brown and garlic gets fragrant (about 1 minute), add the egg noodles and stir until butter coats them evenly. Turn heat to high. Continue to saute for 3 minutes, adding the sauce mixture and combining evenly with the noodles. Once noodles have been cooked through (2 minutes), add the crabmeat and "crab butter" (if using), and cook for an additional 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice. Serve noodles on a plate, top with cilantro.

Green Papaya Salad

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups shredded fresh green papaya, use a Pro-Slice Thai peeler or Miracle Knife.
3 medium roma tomatoes, or use a few more if you can find cherry tomatoes
A handful of fresh string beans cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons dried shrimp4-6 fresh Thai chiles, remove stems3-4 cloves garlic2 tablespoons fish sauce2 tablespoons palm sugar2 tablespoons fresh lime juice2 tablespoons juice of pickled mud fish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Peel fresh green papaya, rinse the white milk off, pat dry, then shred the whole papaya. Sprinkle with a bit of salt then rinse it off and drain. Keep 2 cups shredded papaya out, and put the rest in a sealed container for later use. Slice tomatoes thinly. In a clay Lao-style mortar & pestle, coarsely pound the fresh chiles (whole) and garlic. Add string beans and sliced tomato, and pound it lightly (do not over-crush). Add dried shrimp, fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice. Add these items spoon-by-spoon, and taste as you go. If you want to add peanuts, add now and lightly pound (optional). If you want to add pickled mud fish (pla ra), add two tablespoons of juice (optional). Add shredded papaya and pound together until mixed well. Serve on a dish with fresh cabbage and string bean
NOTE: I did not pound the ingredients together. I only mixed them. I also did not use the pickled mud fish.

Bern's Savory Mushroom Risotto

Bern made this mushroom risotto for our NYE party. As much I said to myself I'm not going to eat anymore that night, after the first taste, I just caved and gave in. I couldn't help but come back for seconds...even thirds!




Mushrooms:
1 pound sliced mushrooms (any variety will work)
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 tablespoon white truffle oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For mushrooms:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss all ingredients on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until mushrooms are tender and light brown around edges, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Risotto:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, divided
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups (or more) hot vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons white truffle oil, or to taste
kosher salt, to taste

For risotto:
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Add wine and without stirring, let simmer 2- 3 minutes. Stir until almost all liquid is absorbed. Stir 2 – 3 to "toast" the rice. Add 1 cup hot broth and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Simmer until broth is almost absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring often, until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes longer. Turn off the heat and stir in remaining 4 tablespoons butter (cubed), parmesan cheese, truffle oil, and more salt, to taste. You can either add the mushroom mixture to the risotto or use it as a topping.