Homemade Pasta

Our good friend Ashley was in at Thanksgiving from school and asked if she could come down and make pasta when she came back for Christmas and we replied you bet.  So she came down along with her mother and grandmother and the ladies had a not so traditional (at least for us) Christmas Eve pasta making party.  The recipe we used was a combo of several basic recipes which makes six good servings.

Pasta Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/3 tablespoon olive oil

1-1/3 tablespoon lukewarm water

Directions:

Insert the metal blade of the food processor.  Place all of the ingredients in the bowl.  Pulse until the mixture begins to come together and form a ball, adding more water if needed.  Remove the dough and knead lightly until is smooth and elastic.  Divide the dough into 4 balls, cover, and let rest 30 minutes.

From this point, we used the pasta machine and followed the process from this link.  

We hung them on our professional pasta rack to dry – it doubles as a clothes rack at times.  We allowed it to dry a little too long and some of it broke as we were removing it from the rack - Coco cleaned up the pieces that landed on the floor.

For the sauce, I used our standard marinara recipe to which I also added some meat balls the last hour of cooking.

Since Ashley’s mom is not a fan of tomato sauce, we whipped up a little Alfredo Sauce for her using this recipe, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, mashed a little to peel

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped parsley

Directions:

1. In a 3-quart saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Make sure the butter does not brown -- one of the hallmarks of this sauce is its creamy white color.

2. Carefully pour the cream into the saucepan with the melted butter. Add the garlic and S&P to taste.

3. Bring the butter-cream mixture to boiling; reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the sauce gently until it begins to thicken, stirring frequently. This will take about five minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the heat, take out the garlic, and stir in the Parmesan cheese until it is fully incorporated into the sauce.

We sided the pasta with a delicious Ashley salad and a loaf of bread from the Marco Island, FL farmers market via the freezer.  This is my plate which I had stirred a little before remembering to take the shot.

Everything was delicious and got rave reviews from the diners plus Ashley got her pasta making fix.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/24/14 event date

Veal Marsala Ala Karen

We never buy veal for our table as Bev doesn’t think it is beefy enough and it’s usually pretty pricy, but when it becomes available for free and it can be used in a flavorful dish, now that’s a whole nother story.  I’ve mentioned on here many times that our neighbor across the street raises cattle and when he had a calf that was seriously injured and had to be put down, he had it butchered and put it in his freezer.  The neighbors are also not big fans of veal and I think it’s the same beefy issue that Bev has, so when I saw Karen’s recipe for Veal Marsala on her Back Road Journal blog, I thought this might be the perfect way to use some. 

While we have a Marsala recipe that we have used for both chicken and pork, we decided it would be nice to try a different one – check out Karen’s blog for the original recipe and a tempting photo.  I amended the recipe for five servings and the meat we had and that is the recipe I’ve shown below.

Veal Marsala – Adapted from Back Road Journal

Ingredients:

12 veal rib chops, bone, tail, and outside fat removed (we ended up with 1½ pounds of meat)

Salt and pepper to taste

Flour for dusting

3 Tbsp. butter plus an additional 6 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3 shallots, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

24 oz. mushrooms, sliced (I used Baby Bella)

1 7/8 C. Marsala wine

18 oz. container of veal demi glace or beef stock (see note)

2 Tbsp corn starch

5 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley, divided

Note:  I roasted the trimmed bones and scraps along with some onion, garlic, carrot, and celery for about 45 minutes in a 350* oven.  Then I added this to a sauce pan, covered with water, and simmered for a couple of hours.  After straining, I ended up with four cups of rich stock.  I reduced this to two cups, added a can of beef consommé and reduced to the 18 ounces I needed.  Since it wasn’t demi-glace, I dissolved two tablespoons of cornstarch in it before adding it to the dish.

Directions:

1. After trimming, flatten the meat to about ¼ inch (I used my rubber mallet)

2. Pat the veal dry with paper towel, season each side with salt and pepper then dust lightly with flour, shaking off any excess.

3. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 Tbsp. butter with 1 Tbsp. oil over medium high heat. Without crowding, add some of the veal and sauté briefly 1 to 1½ minutes per side just until it turns a light golden brown, being careful not to overcook. Remove the veal from the pan and set aside.  (I kept it warm in a 120* oven)

4. Repeat as needed with another Tbsp. butter, olive oil and the veal until it’s all cooked. 
5. Using the same pan, add 2 Tbsp. of butter, the shallots and garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds.

6. Add an additional 2 Tbsp. of butter, the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. 
7. Sauté until the mushrooms are golden brown.

8. Add the Marsala and cook over medium high heat, stirring often, until the wine is reduced by half.

9. Dissolve the corn starch in the beef broth, add to the pan, and simmer until reduced by half.  (The sauce would have been too thin without the cornstarch).

10. Stir the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter into the sauce, taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Add three tablespoons chopped parsley.

11. Return the veal to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Turn to coat and simmer the veal no more than a minute to heat through as the veal will dry out if even slightly overcooked. 

We served it over a pound of narrow egg noodles, which had been cooked al dente, drained, and added back to the hot cooking pan.  I tossed it with three tablespoons each of butter & EVOO, and two tablespoons of chopped parsley, then added the lid to keep it warm while the veal finished.

The meal got rave reviews from everyone as we all really liked Karen’s recipe.  Before she even got out of bed the next morning, Bev commented again about how much she liked it.  Thanks Karen for an outstanding meal.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/11/14 meal date

Mediterranean Chicken and Potatoes

We had five large chicken thighs left from a package of ten and I wanted to try one of the recipes I’d been saving from Pam’s, For The Love Of Cooking blog – her Mediterranean Chicken.  Since the oven was being used, I also wanted to try the Pizza Potato recipe from Cathy at Noble Pig but since I wanted everything to be Greek, I didn’t use the pizza seasoning.  I also wanted to keep both dishes simpler by using Cavender’s rather than the herbs and spices in the recipes.  Please stop by their sites for the original recipes and good photos.

Mediterranean Chicken – Adapted from For The Love Of Cooking

Ingredients:

5 bone-in chicken thighs

To taste – Cavenders Seasoning

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1/2 cups of grape tomatoes, all we had on hand

1 cup of Greek olives

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced (I used a little more than the recipe called for)

1 tbsp capers

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Trim thighs to remove extra skin and fat, peel back the skin from the top and add seasoning to the top and bottom sides, then replace skin and season top of it.

3. Heat the two teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down and cook until skin side is golden brown then flip. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes to brown the bottom.

4. While the chicken is cooking, combine the tomatoes, olives, onion, capers, sliced garlic, and more Cavender’s, to taste, in a small bowl then drizzle with remaining olive oil and toss to mix well.

5. Place the chicken pieces, skin side up, into the prepared baking dish then surround the chicken with the vegetable mixture. 

6. Place into the oven and bake until chicken is cooked through – 180*F for thighs. 

7. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Pizza Potatoes – Adapted from Noble Pig

Ingredients:

2 lbs baby potatoes, any color, sliced in half lengthwise

1-1/2  Tablespoons olive oil

To taste Cavender’s

To taste – S&P

1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heaping 1/4 cup mini pepperoni (or chopped regular – what we had on hand)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  Add potatoes and drizzle olive oil right on potatoes, followed by seasoning, salt and cheese.  Use your hands to completely coat your potatoes well with the mixture.

3. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

4. Remove from the oven and immediately add pepperoni, stirring carefully. Serve right away.

I really enjoyed both dishes and would definitely make them again with two exceptions:

1. I would use the herbs and spices that either Pam or Cathy used on both dishes as neither of ours were as flavorful as we would have liked by using the Cavender’s.  I should have known better than tinker with recipes from these two great cooks.

2. I would deal with the skin differently and either remove it or cook it crispier in the skillet then keep it exposed during the baking process so it will stay crisp.

Thanks ladies for an excellent meal.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/7/14 event date

Chicken & Peppers for Supper and Breakfast

Due to our travel plans, we didn't really have a garden this year but we did plant a few tomatoes and peppers to eat on.  As usual, we have a large fall pepper crop and while we’ll freeze a few, we are planning dishes around eating them fresh - like in the old days when folks ate whatever was ready in the garden.  For this meal, we decided on a recipe from Allrecipes for Chicken and Peppers with Balsamic Vinegar.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips

Salt and pepper to taste

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried basil (we used fresh)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, divided

Directions:

1. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides. Remove from heat, and set aside.

2. Heat remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat, and stir in the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper, and onion. Cook about five minutes, until tender. Mix in the garlic, and cook and stir about one minute. Mix in the basil and two tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

3. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Stir in remaining balsamic vinegar just before serving.

While I really liked the concept of this dish and it made for a colorful presentation, the basil and balsamic were not my favorite so I would use something different next time.  The green and orange peppers are Cubanelles at different degrees of ripeness (nice to get green, orange, and red from the same plant) and the yellow one is a bell.

The following morning, Bev turned an okay supper into a delicious breakfast by chopping the chicken and peppers, warming them in the microwave, and using them to stuff an omelet along with some hot pepper cheese.  After folding the omelet, she topped with more cheese and a little salsa.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/21- 10/22/14 meal dates

Chicken Marsala for Pat’s Birthday

We managed to let Pat’s (SIL) birthday slip by us and to make up for it, we offered to cook her a meal of her choosing and she selected chicken Marsala and invited four of her friends for the event.  

We had made this dish back in Sep. 2011 and again in Feb. 2012 using pork loin but we liked them so well, I thought it was worth a re-post.  Our recipe is a slight adaptation of a Carrabba’s Restaurant copycat recipe we found on Food.com.

The recipe can be found at the Sep. link and several shots of the cooking process are at the Feb. link so I won’t repeat them here.  Because of the size of the meal, I ended up using two 12” skillets and made one recipe in each pan, using one stainless and one cast iron so I would be sure to get a little fond in the pans – they tasted the same to me.  It’s times like this that I know why we have a six burner cook top as I used two for the meat, Bev used two for the veggies and we didn't have to reach over each other.

We served the chicken with some hand mashed potatoes using our favorite recipe from The Pioneer Woman, steamed (til done of course) broccoli with butter and cheese, and homemade rolls, which I missed getting in my plate shot.

We topped it off with some homemade pineapple/coconut ice cream.

The food was a big hit with the diners and Pat seemed well pleased with the event.

And what about leftover mashed potatoes and gravy you asked - breakfast may have been better than the supper meal.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/7/14 event date

A Little Time With Roz – Italian Cheesy Tomato Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

As soon as I saw Roz’s post on this with the yummy photo and advising that she had won a competition in Charleston, SC with it, I knew it had to be tried – especially since we love tomato pie – please pop over to La Belle Vita Cucinafor the recipe and nice how-to photos.  We made it per her recipe, except we used a 12” dish to cook it in and since it was larger and my tomatoes were perhaps a little thicker, it took longer to get everything bubbly.

This is it hot out of the oven and resting.

Since we could not get out a clean piece, I waited until the next day and cut this piece cold then reheated to have this for breakfast – way better than Wheaties for a champions breakfast. 

I loved it both times and can only say if you plan to eat only one tomato dish this summer, this is the one I recommend.  The crust was so flavorful, we plan to try it as biscuits and when I threw away the paper recipe, Bev retrieved it and stuck it in her recipe drawer, commenting she may want to make it again soon.  As for the leftovers, it tasted about the same but as expected the bottom crust was moist but not soggy.  Thanks Roz for great meal number two and I’m looking forward to the next three or four.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/21/14 meal date

Our First Stromboli

When we made the Pizza Margherita yesterday, we had an extra ball of pizza dough that needed using and decided to make our first ever Stromboli.  Even though this is “Time With Roz”, I couldn’t find a Stromboli recipe on her site but the dough needed to be used.  At least it's Italian and includes tomatoes in the sauce.

I looked around the net and opted for an Emeril Lagasse recipe then adapted it for our dough amount and some things we had on hand to add to it – his recipe is for two Stromboli while the one below is for one that is a little larger than his.

Ingredients:

1/3 pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled

3/4 cup diced yellow onions

3/4 cup diced yellow bell peppers

2 tablespoons diced, seeded, and stemmed jalapenos

10 cremini mushrooms, halved and sliced

6 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained and rough chop

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Sliced ham to cover the dough

Sliced provolone to cover the ham

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/4 pound diced pepperoni

Italian 5 cheese blend to cover the toppings (this is what we had on hand)

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.

3. Add the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and jalapenos and cook, stirring, until very soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a large rectangle, about 12 by 14 inches.  

5. Add a layer of ham, overlapping the edges slightly and leaving a 1” border then top with a layer of provolone.  

6. Spread the cooled sausage, onion mixture, pepperoni, artichokes, olives, and cheese blend over the top. (As we often do, we had a little too much topping but managed to get it all inside by doing a little dough stretching).

We had a heck of a time rolling out the dough as it kept springing back, so we stretched out the front two corners to a rectangle to start rolling then did the same on the other side to finish it.

7. Using a pastry brush, paint the border of all but one long edge with egg wash. Starting at the side without egg wash, roll up the dough into a cylinder, pinching the edges to seal.

8. Place on the prepared baking sheet and brush the Stromboli with egg wash.

9. Bake until nearly completely golden brown and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the Stromboli with Parmesan cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the dough is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Slice thickly and serve with pizza sauce.

We both thought it was very good, especially for a first try.  It seems that Stromboli is basically a rolled up pizza and while it was delicious, we both prefer a pizza so this may be our last one – but I’m glad we made it.  

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/19/14 meal date

A Little Time With Roz – Pizza Margherita

As I’ve said before, I don’t read recipe books and use very few (although Bev will on occasion), as I prefer to let you who love them do the reading, make the meal, and post the recipe on your blog along with your comments and improvements.

We like both tomatoes and Italian food and this summer, Roz from La Bella VitaCucina has been posting some dishes we wanted to try, so I decided to just devote a week or so to them - first up is Pizza Margherita.

We made the recipe as she posted it, with a few deviations, and rather than recopy it here, you can click on the link above for the recipe and some hunger inducing photos.  This was a joint effort between Bev and I, where she handled the crust and I did the topping.

Now for the deviations.

1. We used Publix made-in-store pizza dough

2. We made a pizza sauce using The Best Pizza Sauce Ever recipe and really liked it as it was, so we omitted Roz’s sauce amendments.  This will now be our go-to pizza sauce.  

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 T butter

½ C onion, chopped

¼ C celery, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

8 oz. tomato sauce

6 oz. tomato paste

2 T grated parmesan cheese

1 t basil, dried

1 t oregano, dried

½ t salt

½ t sugar

¼ t black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 t fennel seed

Instructions:

       Melt butter and heat olive oil in a large pot over med heat.  
Add the onion, celery and garlic and saute until soft

             Remove to blender and puree until smooth then return back to the pot
Add in tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir
Add the rest of the ingredients and allow it to simmer on lower heat for 30 to 60 minutes
Remove the bay leaf before using on your pizza

      3.  I ran the sauce and toppings out to the crust edge rather than leaving a 1” edge - just because it never made since to me to do it that way.

4.  I adjusted the baking to suit our oven (I thought), using convection/bake and this was a mistake as the pie ended up spending too much time in the oven getting the crust bottom done – next time, I’ll do what Roz tells me.

Here are some shots but check Roz's site for some good ones.

I thought the pizza was outstanding and would make it again in a heart-beat – the dark sauce on the edges (due to the long oven time) tasted fine, as did the very dark basil (but both kept it from being pretty).  If you are looking for a Pizza Margherita recipe, this one is hard to beat – thanks Roz for a fine supper.

Tune back in for the another offering during Roz week or so.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/18/14 meal date