Pasta Primavera with Arugula

Life has had ups and downs for awhile, some pretty major.  But in all of it, "I'm a lucky woman!", as my mom would say.   I have children who are there for me and, I'm sure, the most amazing grandchildren anyone could have.  When I'm home, I often eat alone.  I decided it was important to still make meals something special, whether I'm eating alone or cooking for friends or family.  I was driving back home tonight from working in Birmingham, Alabama and Greensboro, NC and had a hankering for a really fresh pasta dish.  So I stopped at the grocery store, picked up some pasta, shredded carrots, sliced and washed mushrooms, asparagus, and arugula.  All of these combined with tomato,  olive oil, lemon and a couple of glasses of wine that made, for me, a really fresh dinner...lot's better than picking up a hamburger and fries!

Pasta Pimavera with Arugula 

2 hand fulls of arugula
1/2 lemon juiced (save rind to zest)
1 cup of your favorite pasta 
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup shredded carrot
6 asparagus spears sliced, 1 inch
1 tomato, diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper to taste

Arugula

Toss arugula with lemon juice and zested lemon rind...set aside

• Cook pasta as directed on package, drain and set aside
• Bring olive oil to saute temp in saute pan
• Add carrots, asparagus, mushrooms, and saute for 5 minutes adding tomatoes and saute' for another 2 minutes
• Combine vegetables with pasta, seasoning with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
• Toss pasta and vegetables with seasoned arugula
• Pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine and enjoy!

I'm back! Eastern NC Gumbo

So... a lot has happened since my last post.  My wonderful husband and perfect sampler for my meals lost his fight with leukemia and left us February 1.  I worried that my love for cooking and creating meals would be lost, because my best audience was gone.  He loved that I loved to cook and was so appreciative of my efforts at providing us with special dinners.  I miss him, terribly, when I prepare something that I know he would love.  But, I am so thankful, that I still love the adventure in creating something new.  I do miss his review of the dish which was always a positive one..." Please do this again!".

So here's what happened tonight that inspired me to post again after more than a year.

I had several great leftovers...smoked ham, a baked chicken. chicken gravy,  dried sausage (a NC special), some shrimp, then some celery that was near its end, onion, and green, yellow and red peppers that would have to be thrown out when I return from my trip to Seattle this weekend.

The recipe, and it's kind of open...like I think a gumbo is supposed to be:

Ingredients:

3 tblsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, choppped
1 cup green, yellow and red pepper chopped (combined amount)
1 large link dried sausage (I know, you can;t get this, then add any smoked link sausage)
1 12 oz. package sliced okra
1/2 cup white wine
1.5 cups chicken gravy (I guess you could buy already prepared gravy if you don't bake your own chikcen and make your own gravy)
2 cups smoked ham, cubed
2 cups baked chicken, cubed
1 # shrimp
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
2 cups of liquid from cooking corned ham ( a rarity, I know, you could use chicken stock or seafood stock)
2 tblsp. creole seasonings

Heat olive oil in large (really large) skillet or in dutch oven.  Add celery, onion, garlic, and peppers and saute til soft.  Add sausage and saute for 20 minutes.  Add okra and start to sweat.  When the okra gets soft, add the white wine. Saute for another 10 minutes.

Now this is tricky...last night I had baked chicken wrapped in bacon...I used the drippings to make a gravy.  the gravy that was left was used, almost like a roux, in this recipe.  I added the gravy and stirred all together and simmered for 20 minutes.

To this I added the cubed chicken, and ham...cooked together for another 10 minutes, added the tomatoes and the shrimp...cooked for another 30 minutes over medium heat.

I cooked some yellow grits...my sister, Diane and I had the gumbo over the grits, and my son, Joel, had his over some left over rice.

Served with some sour dough bread and a nice Pinot Grigio...I'm happy!!!

Chicken Saltimbocca, Country Kale, Fried Grits

Sorry, no picture!  I fixed this for dinner tonight and was just not prepared for how good each of these dishes would be and what a great combination!  Most of the ingredients I used are probably available anywhere with the exception of the "corned side meet" I used to season the greens.  Corned hams and side meet, I think, are a specialty of Eastern North Carolina.   Acre Station Meat Farm  www.acrestationmeatfarm.com.

So here are the three dishes:

Chicken Saltimbocca

The Greens

2 quarts water
2 pounds of kale
2 strips of corned side meat  or 2 slices of thick slice bacon cut in strips
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• Add corned side meat to 2 quarts of cold water. 
•  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes
• Add greens and pepper flakes; cook for 45 minutes; salt to taste.

The Chicken

• chicken Breasts,  pound to thickness of  1/2"
• Fresh sage leaves, 1 large for each chicken breast 
• Prosciutto slices (1 for each breast)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup chicken broth

1. Place a bay leave on each thin or flattened chicken breast; wrap the breast with the prosciutto; dust with flour.
2. Melt butter in skillet
3. Fry breasts in butter 4 minutes on each side
4. Remove breasts from pan, cover with foil
5. To the drippings in the pan add chicken broth  and simmer until reduced to a nice gravy

The Grits

A couple of nights ago a fried oysters for dinner.  I prepared cheese grits to go with the oysters and had a good amount left over. Wayne, the leftover guru, saved the grits.  Hence, this recipe!

• leftover cheese grits cold, sliced
• butter

Fry sliced grits in butter until crispy on each side (That;s it!)

Serve greens in a bowl with some of the "pot liquor"; place breast and grit cake on plate a drizzle gravy over both.  ENJOY!

Grits with Blue Cheese and Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Not So Southern Grits with Blue Cheese and Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Last week I had dinner with a consultant friend at Nola's in Clinton, New York (  http://www.nolasinclinton.com/ ).  The highlight of my meal was polenta with blue cheese...just so amazingly good.  Of course, my Southern palette immediately thought...yellow grits!!!  So Friday night I tried my own take on this dish.   Sadly, the only blue cheese available was the already crumbled and not great quality.  But, even with that, the dish was great!  I can't wait to get over to Fresh Market and get some really great blue cheese and create this again, just better.  However, the lesson here is, use what you can find to create dishes that are different, tasty and enjoyed!

3/4 cup yellow grits

2 cups of water

1 tsp. salt

2 tbs. butter

1/4 cup vermont sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 pt. cherry tomatoes, cut in halves

2 tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup blue cheese

1. Place tomatoes on cookie sheet and toss with olive oil.  Roast in preheated oven (400 degrees) for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are browned. Remove from oven.
2. Bring 2 cups of water to boiling, add salt and grits, reduced heat to low cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add butter and sharp cheddar, cook on low for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Pour grits into serving bowl, top with tomatoes and sprinkle with blue cheese.

Tomato Tart

Tomato Tart

Good tomatoes are so plentiful this year.  Most nights we have them in a tossed salad of, my favorite, a tomato caprese salad that I create by layering fresh tomato slices with sliced fresh (or as fresh as I can get it) mozzarella, a little fresh basil, salt and pepper sprinkled between the layers and drizzled with olive oil and a balsamic vinegar reduction.  (an extra recipe for you!)

For this tomato tart I used phyllo pastry dough, tomatoes, and several herbs  I have growing right now. (chives, parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, and tarragon) I used some cherry tomatoes, a couple of heirloom tomatoes and a couple of plain ol' red ones from the local produce market.  All of this is layered over the dough, mozzarella cheese and feta cheese.(along with a hefty potion of garlic).  I recommend serving this with a Greek salad and, at least, one glass of pinot grigio!

Ingredients:

8 sheets of phyllo pastry dough 

1/4 cup of melted butter

3 medium tomatoes, sliced thin

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

6 oz. mozzarella cheese

6 oz. feta cheese

3 tbs. chopped herbs

3 cloves garlic chopped

red pepper flakes (to taste or optional)

salt and pepper   (to taste)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Place thin slices of tomato and halved cherry tomatoes on paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt
• Using a 13 x( inch baking sheet, begin with one sheet of phyllo, covering the bottom of the pan, overlapping about 1/2 inch.  Brush this layer with melted butter. Create a second layer and brush with melted butter.  Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes or lightly browned.  Remove from oven a cool for 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle cheeses over cooled phyllo
• Sprinkle garlic over cheese
• Arrange tomatoes on to top cheese.  I put all of the large slices first then arranged cherry tomatoes around them
• Sprinkle chopped herbs over tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper
• Top with parmesan and drizzle with some really good olive oil

Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!

Tomato Bounty Bake

I know, it;s been a while since I've posted...but tonight I created a dish with tomatoes that I have to share.  My friend, Shelley, brought me a basket full of fresh tomatoes from her garden.  I've always made a really great tomato pie, but I'm walking miles every day and really trying to watch carbs and calories and that pie, with the crust, lots of sharp cheddar and mayonnaise just doesn't fit into my "Get fit Loretta" plan. So I created this dish with roasted tomatoes, caramelized sweet onions, Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.  Please change ingredient amounts to suit your taste...I think any combination will work!

Ingredients:
8 tomatoes, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
2 large Vadalia onions, slices in 1/4 inch slices
1 tbs. fresh basil
1 tbs. fresh thyme
4 tbs. olive oil Parmesan Romano cheese
1/2 cup shredded

Preheat oven to 400

• Spread 2 tbs. olive oil on cookie sheet
• Place sliced tomatoes in one layer on cookie sheet 
• Place tomatoes in preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes
• Reduce oven temperature to 350
• While the tomatoes are cooking saute onions in remaining olive oil until nicely caramelized
• Remove tomatoes from oven and create a layer of tomatoes
• Salt tomato layer taste and add half of basil and thyme
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over tomatoes
• Add a layer using all of the caramelized onions
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over onions
• Place remaining tomatoes over onion layer
• Sprinkle with basil and thyme
• Bake for 20 minutes