Agnolotti with artichoke sauce

It's been too long. I don't want to talk about it.
Here's an awesome recipe we made for dinner tonight. I didn't substitute or omit ANYTHING, so here it is in it's purest form, straight from the Food Network Magazine. I definitely recommend getting a subscription, if you don't already have one. Although, that may cut my readership down considerably.....
Agnolotti are moon shaped stuffed pasta, so if you can't find any, regular cheese ravioli will do just fine!
This sauce has a bit of half and half in it, but it's not heavy at all. The lemon zest and juice give it a fresh, bright flavor that works well with the artichoke hearts tartness.

1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 C half and half
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1/8 t red pepper flakes
salt
1 C frozen peas
1 t lemon zest
2 t fresh lemon juice
1 lb refrigerated cheese agnolotti
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the artichokes, half and half, garlic, red pepper flakes and 1/4 t salt in a large skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the frozen peas and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest.
Meanwhile, cook the agnolotti according to the package directions. Reserve about a half cup of the pasta water, then drain and add the pasta to the artichoke sauce. Add the parmesan and gently stir until the agnolotti are coated. If the sauce seems to thick, add a little pasta water until it reaches desired consistency.

For those who care, this dish has 22g of protein! I'm keeping track of my protein intake, so I always like to know how much is in what I eat.

Andrea's Famous Tortilla Soup

There are no words for this soup. Seriously. I have been on a quest lately to find tasty tortilla soup, and have encountered nothing but disappointment. The soups either already have actual meat in them(I'm ok with chicken stock or boullion) or are disgusting. I had one that was basically a chicken stock with carrots(!), celery, cilantro and melted cheese. It was.. terrible. I've had this recipe in my collection for quite some time, but hadn't ever made it. I gave it a whirl this weekend and was blown away. I have never been so full and satisfied by a soup. I'm really not doing it justice here... It's amazing!

Tortilla Soup
1 C rice
2 T chicken boullion granules
2 tsp lemonade powder (with sugar)
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp cilantro (you can used dried, but I use fresh and add it last with all the other fixins)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C dried chopped onion
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
10 C water
Diced cooked chicken (OPTIONAL! who wants chicken anyway? psh.)

Dump everything in a big pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken, if using, and cook five minutes more. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado and tortilla chips.

Soooo good!

Lemon Meringue Pie

I've always been intimidated by meringue, and pies in general, but this one was so easy. Almost too easy. Easy enough that I thought I was doing something wrong. But it's not a lie, (it's a pie... ha ha ha... sorry) it is in fact that easy.

This comes courtesy of my Merm's mail order "McCall's Cooking School" cards. I was laughing to myself at how old and funny the pictures in the recipe looked, until I saw the date was 1991. I was six, and I remember that year quite well. Not so funny anymore. Good thing the pie is tasty enough to take away the bitterness of the being 25 :)

Lemon Meringue Pie

One store bought pie crust
Lemon Filling:
1/4 C cornstarch
3 T flour
1 3/4 C sugar
1/4 t salt
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 C lemon juice
1 T lemon zest
1 T butter

Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/2 C sugar

If you bought the roll out pie crust, then... roll it out. Onto a pie plate. Fold the edge of the crust under and pinch rim decoratively with thumb and finger. If you bought the frozen kind, just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Prick the pie crust with a fork and pop it in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 450. Let it cool. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees.

For the lemon filling, combine cornstarch, flour, 1 3/4 cups sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Gradually add 2 C water and stir until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for one minute until shiny and translucent.
Stir some of the hot mixture into the egg yolks to temper them. Then stir the eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, lemon peel and butter. Pour into pie shell.

To make the meringue beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Add sugar, 2 T at a time, beating after each addition. Once all the sugar is added, beat on high until stiff peaks form. Spread it over the lemon filling in the crust, sealing the edges. Swirl the meringue around so it looks pretty and decorative. Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown on the highest points. Let it cool for at least 2 hours and when you serve it, cut it with a wet knife!

Now, wasn't that easy??

Pumpkin Time!

I'm so excited that it's fall! I know some of you may already be experiencing fall-type conditions, but here in Austin, it's still in the 80s. I think tomorrow it's supposed to hit 90! So while it may not feel like fall with flip flops and A/C, I'm making room for it anyway. Here are two recipes that call for pumpkin; one is an old favorite that I just can't get enough of, and the second is something new we tried this weekend. Both were absolutely amazing.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe comes from a cookbook titled "Cookin' with the Crazy Lady" that my Auntie Carol gave me and Evan for a wedding gift. I halved it and still got 4 dozen cookies from it, but here I have included the recipe in it's entirety. These are hardly cookies. If you've had them before you know they're more like tiny, moist, tender cakes dotted with smooth and melty chocolate chips.

1 C butter or shortening
3 C sugar
3 eggs
3 C pumpkin
4 1/2 C flour
2 t baking powder
2 t salt
2 t baking soda
2 t vanilla
2 t cinnamon
2 t nutmeg
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter/shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and pumpkin. Stir in remaining ingredients and drop onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

Pumpkin Waffles
This recipe comes courtesy of October's issue of the Food Network Magazine. They ask you to slice, scrape, roast and puree your own pumpkin, but we were starving and decided to spend that time doing something more.... worthwhile. Here is the modified recipe, including sweet whipped cream to dollop over the hot waffles.

Waffles:
1 1/2 C pumpkin
2 1/4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
2 t pumpkin pie spice (if, like me, you don't have this, check below for a quick way to make your own)
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/4 C plain Greek yogurt (put regular yogurt in a damp paper towel and let the liquid strain out)
1 C milk
4 T melted butter

Pumpkin Pie Spice(makes 1 t):
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t cloves

Whisk flour, baking powder, soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. You'll be adding the wet ingredients to it later, so make sure it's big enough to hold it all. Whisk sugar and egg yolks in a separate bowl, then add the pumpkin, yogurt and milk. Then mix in melted butter. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture in two batches, stirring until just combined. Beat the egg whites until stiff and GENTLY fold into batter. Pour into a pre-heated waffle iron (greased if it's not non-stick). Keep waffles warm on a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven until you're ready to eat them. Waffles may take longer than you're used to, they'll be super soft if you try to pull them out early. They really aren't as crispy-on-the-outside-soft-in-the-middle as regular waffles are. But they are SO good. And how many times a year can you have pumpkin waffles??

Curried Salmon Cakes and Spicy Ginger Chutney

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary! I can't believe how fast it's gone! We decided to stay home and cook together to celebrate, and it was amazing. We had a perfect evening enjoying each others company and this delicious food! We also had egg rolls with these two dishes, but those came from the freezer (shhh!). Some things are worth the time, and some are not!


Curried Salmon Cakes with Mango Salad
1 lb skinless salmon fillet, halved crosswise
2 t curry powder
s&p
8 T store bought tartar sauce
1/4 C saltine or ritz cracker crumbs, plus a bit for sprinkling
2 T grated, peeled ginger
1 bunch scallions finely chopped
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 red bell, seeded and diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 mango peeled and diced
juice of 1 lime
vegetable or canola oil for frying

Put the salmon, 1 T water, 1 1/2 t curry powder, s&p in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2-3 min, or until fish is opaque. Flake with a fork and let it cool slightly, you don't want the egg to cook when you put it in.

Add 1 T tartar, cracker meal, ginger, half the scallions and the egg. Form into 4 patties and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Whisk 7 T tartar and 1/2 t curry powder(I like to dump some extra in, I LOVE curry powder) and set aside. Take 1 T of the curried tartar and combine with bell pepper, mango, celery, remaining scallions, lime juice and s&p to taste.

Heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle both sides of salmon patties with cracker crumb and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve topped with mango salad and tartar sauce on the side.

I substituted the celery for carrots because Evan doesn't like celery, and it tasted just as good. The mango salad makes this dish, so don't leave it out thinking it'll be the same. You need it!



Spicy Ginger Chutney
3 T vegetable oil
3 T rice vinegar
1.5 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
2 t grated fresh ginger
2 minced garlic cloves
1 t sugar
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 scallions thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro

Combine all. You can serve it room temperature over hot brown rice, or refrigerate and serve cold over Udon noodles or the like.

And yes, we did have dessert, but it was weird and not very... blog worthy. So I'm not including it!

Coconut-Milk Cream Cheese Flan

I made this flan for dessert last night, and it was amazing. It was really more like a cheesecake-flan hybrid. Two of the pickiest eaters I know (Aleah and Anna) ate it. And they don't like some pretty tasty things!
This recipe is from a book my good friend Andrea gave me for my birthday called "Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey". It's a book full of decadent, guilt-inducing desserts that are well worth the work and the calories. This is one that needs several hours or overnight to chill, so plan ahead! This always something I don't take into account, and then end up with dessert a day later than I needed it.
It looks long and complicated, but it really isn't. Just don't burn the caramel and don't let the foil touch the custard! These are two things I learned the hard way!

Coconut-Milk Cream Cheese Flan

Caramel:
1 C sugar
2 T water
1/2 t fresh lemon juice

Custard:
16 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1 C coconut milk (asian section, easy)
1/2 C cream of coconut (in the pseudo-liquor section, like with all the margarita mixers and grenadine and stuff, surprisingly easy)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
7 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
boiling water

Place a rack in the middle level and preheat the oven to 300 F.

To make the caramel, combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, stirring carefully every so often. When the color changes slightly, turn the heat to high and cook to an amber color. Sugar still cooks once the heat is off so try to catch it right before it turns, about 4 minutes. If it starts to smoke or gets too dark, it'll just harden in the bottom of the pan and taste like crap. So don't do that! Pour the caramel into a 9 inch cake pan and swirl around to coat the bottom and up the side a little bit.

For the custard, combine all ingredients except boiling water in a food processor or blender. Make sure the cream cheese is completely mixed in and that there aren't big chunks floating around.

Ok, here's where the book had the steps all wrong. Rather than pouring the custard into the pan, putting the pan in the larger pan, pouring the water and THEN moving it to the oven (trying to balance a full custard pan and a pan full of boiling water), do it this way:
Put the caramel lined pan into a larger roasting pan(I had a big rectangular cake pan I used) BEFORE you pour the custard in. Cover with aluminum foil, making sure there's a little lift in the center so it won't touch the custard at all. Poke holes in it and remove it from the pans.
Place the whole thing on the oven rack, pulled out as far as it will go and still hold weight. First, pour the custard into the caramel pan, and be careful! Next, pour the boiling water in the roasting pan, so it comes halfway up the side of the caramelly pan. Finally, cover with the foil and CAREFULLY slide the rack into the oven. It's full of boiling water and you do NOT want to slosh that on you.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. If the center is still liquidy and jiggles when you move the pan, it's not done. Leave in for 10 minute increments until the center appears firm. It can be a little bit jiggley, but not too much.
Remove the pan from the water bath and put it on a cooling rack. Once completely cool, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for a least 5 hours, overnight if you can!
When you're ready to eat, run a knife around the edge, taking care not to slice into the custard. Put a platter or large plate upside down over it and flip the flan over onto it. Let the juices pool around the custard. Serve immediately!
This recipe says it serves 6-8, but if you only cut this into six slices, you will be hating yourself. It's far too rich for such huge slices! Not that I couldn't try to eat it all, but I think realistically it's in the 12-14 range.
But it's your flan! Enjoy!

Easiest. Salad. Ever.

This is one of my favorite summer time recipes. My Merm always makes it for me on my birthday, and I don't think I know anything easier to make. Other than cold cereal maybe :)

Spaghetti Salad

1 lb. spaghetti
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing (I don't buy the light or free kind because they have high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of nasty gook in them)
1 bottle salad supreme seasoning
Your choice of veggies- I use broccoli, bell pepper and grape tomatoes. My Merm puts big cut up red onions for flavor, and you can easily fish them out for those picky onion haters :)

Boil the spaghetti, drain and cool.

Cut up veggies into bite size pieces and toss in a large bowl with spaghetti, dressing, and seasoning. let marinate for a few hours or overnight.

That's it! Dee-licious.