Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Hello Fall.  Fall?  Did I hear you say Pumpkin?  This country has gone pumpkin obsessed.  Mostly sweets and lattes are the appeal for everyone.  I like using pumpkin and other squash in savory dishes as well.  This recipe is adapted from one I earmarked in an old Food Network Magazine.  It makes a great side dish for a grilled chicken or fish; or pair it with a big green salad and you can feel less guilty (this is NOT diet food) for eating a bowlful!

Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce
printable recipe

Kosher Salt
12 oz. frozen cheese tortellini
1 1/2 frozen peas
1 T. butter
1 small onion, diced
1/2 c. pureed pumpkin
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 c. heavy cream (do not roll your eyes, I told you it was a side dish, simply control yourself!)
1/4 grated parmesan
fresh ground black pepper

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the tortellini and peas for 5 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.  Drain, reserving 1/2 c. pasta water.
In a large skillet melt the butter over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute until soft.

Whisk in the pumpkin and nutmeg cook for 1 minute.

Reduce the heat and add the cream.  Simmer and stir until the cream begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Add the cheese and cook until melted.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tortellini and peas.  Use the reserved water to loosen the sauce if it is too thick.

Pot Roast Carbonnade

This rich, tasty stew was my Monday treat to take to the kids yesterday.  Easily made ahead (actually like most soups and stews, better after they sit overnight in the fridge), this was an ideal meal to feed us all.  A classic Carbonnade is beef and onions cooked in Belgian beer-the Belgians get props for this one!  The inexpensive cut of beef, the heady flavor of the stout beer and the sweet carrots, created a wonderful Fall dinner on a blustery day.  There is no need to splurge on more costly cuts of beef when doing a braise.  The slow, low cooking process makes the cheaper cuts tender and delicious.  And, I know prunes seem like an unusual ingredient, but they disappear in the cooking process and combine perfect sweetness with the sharp taste of the beer.  This recipe gets double thumbs up!  I see it in my head already for a cold January day when this year's challenge is complete.

Pot Roast Carbonnade
printable recipe

1/2 lb. slab bacon cut in 1/2" pieces
2 medium onions, sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. beef chuck, cut into large cubes
5 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
Generous T. of flour
12 oz. of dark beer
6 prunes
1 T. dried Thyme
1 c. beef stock

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large dutch oven over medium high heat cook the bacon until it renders the fat and is almost crispy.  Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and reserve in a small bowl.

Add the onions.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat until deep in color and caramelized, about 30 minutes.  Remove the onions and reserve.

Raise the heat to high.  Season the beef pieces with salt and pepper.  Sear in batches until nicely browned on both sides.  Do in two batches if necessary.

Add the bacon, onions and carrots to the pan.  Sprinkle with the flour.  Stir and cook for about a minute.

Deglaze the pan with the beer.  Add the prunes, thyme and stock, and bring all to a simmer.  Cover the pot and cook in the oven until the beef is tender, about 2 hours.

Serve over noodles. 

Roasted Pork Loin with Cider and Chunky Applesauce

After a long day and late night at yesterday's family wedding, we were in the mood for 'stay at home' comfort food.  I wanted the flavors of Fall-apples, pork and roasted sweet potatoes.  I thought this recipe would be difficult and time consuming.  It turned out to be easy and delicious.  You could easily substitute the first step of making a paste for the outside of the roast by using your own regular meat rub; however, the garden fresh herbs and garlic brought ordinary pork roast to extraordinary.  Although I used bone-in roast as the recipe called for, you could easily sub a boneless roast which are usually such a protein bargain this time of the year.

Roasted Pork Loin with Cider and Chunky Applesauce
printable recipe

Roast:
2 sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of sage, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Pinch of crushed red pepper
kosher salt
olive oil
1 (6 chop) pork loin
2 large onions, sliced
1 bundle thyme, tied with a string
3 bay leaves
2 quarts apple cider
1 recipe chunky applesauce

Chunky Apple Sauce:
3 T. butter
4 tart apples such as Cortland or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 c. cider juices from the pork
1/4 c. apple cider
pinch of cinnamon
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a food processor, mix garlic, red pepper, rosemary and sage with enough salt and olive oil to form a paste.
Brush the paste on the outside of the roast.

Toss the onions with a drizzle of olive oil.  Place on the bottom of a roasting pan.  Set the roast on top of the onions.  Add the bay leaves and the thyme bundle.

Add enough cider to cover the onions.

Roast for 30 minutes until the outside of the roast begins to brown and crisp up nicely.
Reduce the heat to 375.  Stir the onions and add more cider if necessary.
Roast for an additional 30 minutes or until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Remove the roast and tent with foil for 15 minutes.
Discard the bay leaves and thyme bundle.  Put cooked onions in a small serving bowl and reserve the cooked cider for the applesauce.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan.  Add the apples and saute until the apples start to soften.

Add the pinch of cinnamon, the reserved juice from the roast, and the 1/4 c. apple cider. 

Cook over medium heat until almost all of the liquid is evaporated and the apples are cooked through.
Add the walnuts and cream.  Continue to cook until the cream is reduced by half.

Serve the roast with caramelized onions and chunky applesauce.

Wedding Cookies

We enjoyed a family wedding this weekend.  Along with other women who are family and friends I baked cookies for the 'cookie table'.  Now this English girl with NY roots did not come from a family that even knew what a cookie table was until my own wedding 35 years ago!  During the frenzy of wedding preparations then, when my mother in law and her relatives offered to bake cookies, I politely said yes; I had no clue that this Pittsburgh phenom was an event in itself!  Over the years I have embraced this rite of passage and joined in the preparations for family and friends.  It is a tradition that's said to originate in Southwestern Pennsylvania by eastern European, Italian and Greek immigrants, who wanted to bring a taste of the homeland to their new home.  Today, tradition reigns supreme as wedding cookies are mostly homemade by family and friends.  There is family pride in the presentation of the cookies.  Guests swarm the table and pile high plates of their favorites.  In years past, you would see guests going home with paper plates filled with cookies and covered with a napkin to enjoy the next day.  Today, brides graciously offer small containers to carry home one's favorites.  So here are the 2 recipes I offered as my homage to the family 'cookie table'.

Snickerdoodles
printable recipe

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream together the sugar, butter and shortening.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and creamy.

Add the salt, cream of tarter and baking soda.  Stir well.  Mix in the flour.

In  a small bowl blend the 1/4 c. sugar with the cinnamon.

Shape dough into 1" balls and  roll in the sugar mixture.
Place 2" apart on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes until set.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
printable recipe

1/3 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. white baking chips

In a large bowl beat the sugars and butter until crumbly.  Beat in egg and vanilla.

Combine the flour, salt and baking soda and gradually add to the butter mixture.  Mix well.

Fold in the cranberries and chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Mushroom Pizza

I am doing some post catch ups today.  Junk Food Friday snuck up on us.  The week went so quickly.  It was one of those Friday nights you look forward to eating some food you can relax with and watching a movie.  Well, that didn't happen.  I was well prepared because of a busy day and I whipped up this pizza with what I had on hand.  Nothing to write home about, simply designed to eat something :( so sad-I am a fan of enjoying food!  Then the week really caught up with us and we decided to call it quits and catch up on sleep!!

Mushroom Pizza
No need to print!

1 recipe of Pizza Dough
10 oz. of white mushrooms, sliced
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
kosher salt & pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

Prepare dough according to directions.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large skillet melt the butter with the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the sliced mushrooms.  Saute until golden brown; remember patience is the trick, wait until all of the liquid is gone in the pan and the mushrooms will magically brown!

Add the thyme, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spread on prepared dough.

Top with cheese and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes until brown and bubbly.

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

I had a different recipe chosen for last night.  When I heard the weather was to be bad for the rest of the weekend, I decided to take advantage of the evenings weather and grill out.  Of course best laid plans just call for mix ups.  It was later than planned when we sat down to eat with interruptions during the cooking process.  The good thing was, these burgers were fast to put together, and I am still able to pluck all of the necessary veges from the backyard!

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
printable recipe

3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/3 c. crumbled feta cheese
1 cucumber, seeded and grated
1 T. chopped fresh mint
2 cloves of garlic, grated
kosher salt and course ground pepper
1 1/4 lb. lean ground turkey
2 T> olive oil
4 sesame hamburger buns
lettuce and tomato slices for topping

Combine the yogurt, feta, cucumber, mint, half of the garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl.  Refrigerate until burgers are cooked.

Combine the turkey, remaining garlic, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Form into 4 patties, about 1/2 inch thick.  Drizzle both sides with olive oil and grill on a medium hot grill until internal temperature reaches 165, about 6 minutes per side.

Arrange lettuce, yogurt sauce, burger, and tomato on the split bun to serve.

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

This colorful, crunchy salad can be served alone or with a grilled salmon or chicken.  The list of ingredients seems long and complicated but it goes together very quickly.  I rank this towards the top of the 2014 list; however if you have been following me, you know I am partial to Asian flavors!

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

printable recipe

1 package soba noodles

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 T. Rice wine vinegar

3 T. Soy sauce

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 T. Hoisin sauce

5 T. Olive oil

1 carrot, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

4 green onions, thinly sliced 

1 c. Thin sliced cabbage

1/2 red bell pepper, julienned

1/2 yellow bell pepper, julienned

1/2 c. Bok choy, thinly sliced

1 c. Bean sprouts

3 T.bchopped fresh parsley

3 T. Toasted sesame seeds

1/2 c. Peanuts. 

Bring a stock pot of salted water to boil.  Add the noodles. Cook 5 minutes.  When finished place noodles in an ice bathe to stop cooking and cool.  Drain well. 

Combine the vegetables in a big bowl. 

In a small bowl which together sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper, hoisin, and olive oil. 

Combine vegetables, noodles and dressing,  toss to coat.  Chill before serving.