LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
This yummy cake comes from Regina Schrambling in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Regina wrote, “This buttery almond cake with lemon curd baked inside is like the ultimate citrus tart, without the heartbreak of pie crust. It's fancy enough to be served as a dinner party dessert, yet substantial enough to be served with Sunday brunch. (Bonus: you'll have several tablespoons of lemon curd left over. It's delicious on toast or pancakes.)” Makes 8 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
For the Lemon Curd:
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
For the Cake:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
About 1/2 cup heavy cream for garnish
1 tablespoon almond liqueur (optional)
Preparation
For the curd, combine zest, juice, sugar and eggs in a heatproof bowl, and beat well. Add butter, and place over a saucepan full of simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until mixture thickens into curd, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, and press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch spring-form pan with 1 tablespoon butter, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour, shaking out excess.
With an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter and 1 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt, and stir in. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough. Add eggs and ground almonds to batter, and mix well.
Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons lemon curd around perimeter of batter, leaving a 1-inch border, and taking care to space drops evenly. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons curd into center of batter. Refrigerate remaining curd for another use. Sprinkle cake with toasted almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste.
Bake until cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick inserted into cake (not curd) comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool on rack 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan, and cool completely.
Whip cream with almond liqueur. Present cake at table, and offer whipped cream on the side.
PASTA PRIMAVERA
This absolutely yummy recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis of The Food Network’s Everyday Italian. Total Time: 45 min; Prep: 25 min; Cook: 20 min; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Easy
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pasta-primavera-recipe.html?oc=linkback
Ingredients
3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.
LIGHT POTATO SALAD
This is from Nigella Lawson in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Nigella wrote, “I know the potato salad I suggest is in culinary terms very un-American. I resolutely believe, however, that potatoes are so much better dressed in oil and vinegar (but it must be good wine vinegar) than blanketed in mayonnaise.” Time: 45 minutes; makes 8 to 10 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
Salt
5 pounds new potatoes, creamers or other small (1-inch to 1 1/2-inch diameter) potatoes
6 scallions, thinly sliced into rings
2 tablespoons garlic-infused oil
10 slices (1/2 pound) bacon
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1/4 cup good-quality white wine vinegar
Preparation
Bring a large wide pan of salted water to a boil, and add potatoes. Boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, cut in two, and place in a large bowl. Add scallions, and toss gently to mix.
Return dry potato pan to medium heat, and add garlic oil and bacon. Cook bacon until very crisp, and transfer to paper towels.
Add mustard seeds to bacon fat in pan. After a few moments, they will begin to pop. Immediately turn off heat, and add vinegar and potato mixture. Toss together, then transfer back into bowl.
Cover salad with plastic wrap, and allow to rest at room temperature for about an hour. To serve, transfer to a serving bowl, and crumble crispy bacon on top.
SLOW COOKER BOLOGNESE SAUCE
This comes from Erin Chase in The Today Show’s Food Club e-newsletter. Erin also has her own blog, called $5 Dinners. I highly recommend checking it out. Seriously. I’ll wait…(Can you hear me tapping my foot?) Well, if you didn’t just check it out, please do so sometime soon, before you forget.
For this recipe, Erin wrote, “The slow cooker saves my sanity on a weekly, and sometimes daily basis. One of the favorite ways to use my slow cooker is for making double batches of sauces, like this Bolognese sauce. My large 7-quart All Clad slow cooker allows me to make big ole batches of our family’s favorite recipes. I can serve a portion of the batch for dinner that night, and let the rest cool so I can package it up for the freezer. This particular bolognese sauce is perfect for just this...eat some, freeze some for later. To make it super quick to load up in the morning, I recommend browning the ground beef and cooking the bacon the night before, ideally when you’re prepping dinner. If you really want to get ahead (so it will take you less than 5 minutes to load up in the slow cooker), you can chop the onion, celery and carrots too. If you can manage all of that prep the night before, dinner will be a cinch to get going in the slow cooker on a frantic weekday morning. Here’s my favorite doubled up version of bolognese sauce recipe for the slow cooker…” Yield: 8 servings; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cooking Time: 8 hours.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
2 lb. ground beef, browned
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 - 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning blend
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced onion
4 carrot sticks, peeled and finely chopped or shredded
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
12 to 16 oz. pasta, for every 4 servings
Fresh veggies or side salad, as side dish
Preparation
Brown the ground beef, ideally the night before.
Cook and crumble the bacon, ideally the night before.
To a 6-qt. or larger slow cooker, combine the browned ground beef, cooked bacon, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, minced onion, the chopped carrots, celery and onion. Mix together in the slow cooker insert.
Set on low and cook for 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste, when the sauce is finished cooking.
Just before dinner, prepare the pasta and veggies.
Serve Slow Cooker Bolognese over pasta with side of veggies or salad.
To Freeze Remaining Sauce:Let cool completely before adding to plastic freezer baggie or container. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in skillet or small saucepan.
ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP
This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “Here's a simple, robust, cold-weather soup that you can make with almost any mixture of root vegetables you have to hand: carrots, parsnips, celery root, turnips, rutabaga, sweet or regular potato. Flavored with garlic, rosemary and bay leaves on top of a saute of onions and celery, it's an earthy, sweet, and warming meal for days where the air has some bite. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice, some grated cheese, flaky salt and a shower of black pepper.” Time: 1 hour; makes 6 to 8 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion or 2 leeks (white and light green part only), chopped
2 to 3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 rosemary or thyme branches
2 bay leaves
3 1/2 pounds mixed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, sweet or regular potato), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons fine sea salt, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more for serving
Extra-virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Crushed Aleppo, Urfa or other chile flakes, optional
Grated Parmesan or pecorino, optional
Preparation
Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, rosemary and bay leaves; cook 1 minute more. Add root vegetables, 8 cups water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove and discard rosemary branches and bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. (Alternatively, you can purée the soup in batches in a blender or food processor.) If the soup is too thick, add a little water. Season with lemon juice and more salt to taste.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, flaky salt and crushed chile or grated cheese, if desired.
ACADIAN RIGATONI
This is from FamilyTime.com. The recipe starts out, “Three ingredients form the foundation of this Acadian dish - onion, celery, and green bell pepper. It's delectable!” Prep. time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 28 minutes, Serves: 4. To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 pound hot Italian sausage, or andouille, casings removed, sausage cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree, one 16 ounce can
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3/4 pound rigatoni
Directions
In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic. Cover the pan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes longer.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until just done, about 14 minutes. Drain and toss the pasta with the sauce.
VEGAN PUMPKIN RISOTTO
I think this came from About.com, but I'm not completely sure, since it's been kicking around my email account for more than five years with not note. The person who sent this wrote, “A vegetarian and vegan twist on classic Italian risotto - pumpkin! Why not? Pumpkin adds a sweet and unique flavor perfect for fall, as a vegetarian Thanksgiving entree, or anytime. This Italian risotto recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.”
Ingredients:
1 onion. diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
1 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp margarine
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sautee the onion in olive oil over medium heat for three to five minutes, or until soft. Add the rice. Allow to cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Slowly add the wine. Start to add the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Allow the moisture to cook off before adding the next 1/2 cup. Stir frequently. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well, and cook for just a few minutes, until heated through.
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