Minestrone

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minestrone

We’ve had a slight chill in the air this week. As you might be able to tell from my last post, I’m thinking about fall. I’ve really been trying to go through my collection of cookbooks, as I have collected such a wonderful assortment over the years. This one is no exception. It’s written by Henry Hill, the notorious mobster that the film “Goodfellas” is based off of. Now, let me just say what a great “food movie” Goodfellas is. The razor thin garlic? The cannoli incident? So many good scenes. But, I digress. You get me talking about any classic mafia movie, and I could go on for days!

There are so many great recipes in this book, I diddn’t even know where to begin. After much deliberation, I decided on this wonderful minestrone. It was delicious, and a relatively easy. It wasn’t super quick as far as cooking time goes – at 2 hours. But, for me, as a general rule of thumb – a good soup can’t come together quickly. Just the way it is folks!

I like to pre-cook my pasta first. I find that it doesn’t get quite as overcooked in the leftovers that way. I used elbow macaroni in this batch – but feel free to use whatever you like or have handy. This is really a “clean your fridge” out kind of meal. Lots of room for additions and substitutions. I kind of felt like maybe it would benefit for corn? Or some canelli beans perhaps? I was out of Parmesan cheese (I know! I know!), but I’d definitely top the soup with some before serving. Or, if you happen to have a rind laying around in the refrigerator or freezer, feel free to toss that into the mix as well. Just make sure you remove it before dishing it up!

Serve with a nice green salad and some crusty bread. Perfect for the cool fall evenings we have ahead of us!

Minestrone

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 lb bacon or pancetta, diced

1 large onion, peeled and coarsley chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 leek, white and green parts, sliced

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes and juice

2 10.5 oz cans beef broth

2 cups water

large handful green beans

1/2 pound cabbage, sliced and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 small zucchinis, diced

1 cup pasta, cooked according to package directions

1/2 fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp dried basil

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Heat oil in a large pot. Add bacon or pancetta and cook, stirring, over medium heat 5-8 minutes (do not brown). Add carrots, celery, and leek and cook 5 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft. Crush or quarter the tomatoes. Add tomatoes and juice, broth, and water to the pot and stir well. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Snap off ends of green beans, break into approximately 2-inch pieces and add to pot. Add the cabbage, potatoes, zucchini, parsley, and dried herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour, taste for seasonings  and cook for 1 more. After the second hour, add the cooked pasta and stir. Remove bay leaf and Parmesan rind if using.

Source:  adapted from The Wiseguy Cookbook by Henry Hill

Chicken Lo Mein

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lomein

Whenever we order Chinese carry-out, I usually end up getting lo mein. When I saw this post on Annie’s site, it looked so delicious, I couldn’t wait to try it. Very glad I did! It was a delicious dinner that came together in a matter of minutes. Not to mention, it’s pretty figure friendly! Any vegetables would be wonderful in this. I kind of used what I had on hand. Also, I cannot wait to try it with Chinese roasted pork (you know – the red tinted stuff?). I’ve seen it at my local grocer, have wanted to try it, but just wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Now I know!

I sort of had a hard time finding the lo mein noodles. Chances are you will find them in the International or Asian aisle of your supermarket. It seems to be hit or miss! You could use spaghetti noodles, but semolina pasta doesn’t absorb the sauce as well. I was shocked how much soy sauce goodness that these babies absorbed. It really was delicious!

This was plenty for myself and my husband, with a small portion leftover for leftovers. If you’ve got more than 2 folks to feed, I’d double the recipe.

Chicken Lo Mein

6 oz. lo mein noodles
1 tbsp  oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1/2 small onion, largely diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
1 cup snow peas
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sesame oil

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Cook the lo mein noodles according to the package directions.  Drain and set aside.  In the meantime, make the sauce by combining the oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.  Whisk well and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned and cooked through.  Add in the vegetables, each a few minutes apart, starting with the onion, carrot and bell peppers and ending with the snow peas.  Cook until tender, but retains a slight crunch.  Add in the garlic and saute just until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the sauce to the pan, and then the cooked lo mein noodles.  Toss the mixture well to coat everything.  Drizzle with the sesame oil and toss once more.  Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats and Elly Says Opa!

Spicy Turkey Panini

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turkeypanini

I came across these panini sandwiches while I was expecting our son Andrew. It was an instant hit with both myself, and the husband. I couldn’t believe how flavorful this sandwich was, or how easy it was to throw together. In fact, in the last week before Andrew was born, Jon took over all cooking duties for me. It might sound simple enough, but it’s actually quite a feat for him.

He cooked the usual things that men (well, most of them!) are capable of cooking…spaghetti, hot dogs, tacos. In other words, processed/ground meat central. But, he also decided to go out on a limb for himself and made these paninis. I did assist him a little in the chopping of the jalapenos. I would have been waiting all night for him to chop up 2 of them – bless his heart. My point is they are wonderfully easy. Takes 20 minutes to throw together…tops!

Spicy Southwest Turkey Paninis

1 sourdough boule or loaf, sliced in pieces 1/2″ thick

3/4 lb oven roasted deli turkey, sliced thin

2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into 1/4″ thick slices

1/2 lb Pepper Jack cheese, sliced (sandwich size is ideal)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp hot sauce

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

kosher salt and ground black pepper

Whisk mayonnaise, hot sauce, jalapeno, and cilantro in a small bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, toss red peppers with the olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Heat large non-stick grill pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange peppers in a single layer in the pan, place a square of aluminum foil on top (that way you don’t kave to wash the pan you weigh down with!), then place a dutch oven, or any other heavy bottomed pan on top of the peppers to weigh them down. Cook, stirring peppers occasionally, until peppers are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and wipe out pan.

To assemble the paninis, spread mayonnaise mixture evenly on each slice of bread. Lay 2 slices of cheese onto one side of the bread. Top with turkey, red peppers, and remaining cheese. Arrange remaining bread, mayonnaise-side down, over cheese.

Heat grill pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Place 2 sandwiches in pan and weight down with Dutch oven (you can use the aluminum foil trick here as well). Cook sandwiches until golden brown and cheese is melted, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to wire rack and repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Source: Cook’s Country

Blueberry Muffins

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blueberrymuffins

My mother-in-law was visiting with us last week. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see her often as her current job has her based in California. So, when she comes to visit…it’s always a real treat. I had thought that I would get a lot done while she was here, as far as gardening and cooking goes. But, sometimes it’s just nice to take a break from it all, and that’s kind of what I did. Hence, the lack of recent blog posts.

One thing I did manage to make while she was here are these blueberry muffins. I’m very glad I did, because this will be my go -to blueberry muffin recipe from now on. I have tried several recipes before, and every time, have been let down. The muffins were either too dense, not sweet enough, or dry. Not these though; they were perfect in every way, shape, and form.

Streusel-Topped Bluberry Muffins

Yield: 18 standard size muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

For Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 muffin tins with baking spray or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Make well in center of ingredients.

Place 1 vegetable oil into a small measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to make 1 cup of liquid. Mix this into the flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 way full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 10 1-second pulses, or until mixture resembles wet sand. Alternately, you could use a fork or pastry cutter.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com