Have you ever purchased an ingredient at the supermarket that you have no clue how you’re going to end up using it? Months ago, I purchased a tube of prepared polenta and honestly just forgot I even had it. During a recent cleaning of my “pantry” (also known as a cabinet that holds dry goods), I came across it again and decided it was time to find a use for it! So now, I present you Grilled Caprese Polenta Rounds!
Prepared, or tubed, polenta is firm and can be sliced into rounds which makes it perfect for grilling. I figured it would make a great summery appetizer, topped with melted mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and a balsamic reduction!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 (16 oz) tube prepared polenta, sliced into 16 rounds
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 (8 oz) container cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (directions below)
Note: I was sent Northwest Cherries in order to write this post. All opinions are mine alone.
July is peak cherry season, which means I have A TON of cherries in my fridge! I was sent quite a few bags of cherries from Northwest Cherry Growers, and had to dive right in to using them! Fun fact: Northwest Cherry Growers is a group of 2,500+ farms that produce at least three-quarters of the nation’s entire sweet cherry crop.
Source: nwcherries.com
Northwest-grown sweet cherries tend to boast the highest fruit sugar content of any cherries. The naturally high sugar content makes them such a yummy snack on their own, or great in baked goods and other recipes. They are also one of the lowest fruits on the glycemic index. (In case you’re wondering, a general rule of thumb is that the darker the cherry, the sweeter it is.)
Cherries are also a superfruit and have been credited with reducing the risk of some serious diseases. Published research points to the health benefits of sweet cherries, including a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The study discovered consuming sweet cherries can help prevent chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. These powerful superfruits also contain melatonin, which may increase your quality of sleep and reduce jetlag.
Cherry season is pretty short, from July to mid-August, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to use these beautiful cherries in a bunch of different recipes. Fresh cherries keep for approximately two weeks when refrigerated in a sealed bag or container. If you want to enjoy them year-round, you can also freeze cherries by rinsing, drying, and packing them up in freezer bags.
Source: nwcherries.com
I’m kind of in a canning state of mind after making my Blueberry Chia Seed Jam a few weeks ago, so I wanted to can some of these beautiful cherries. You may have noticed I’m a fan of cocktails, so I just had to make homemade maraschino cherries!
Maraschino cherries are named for the Marasca cherry grown originally in Croatia, which when distilled, produce a liqueur. Whole cherries that are preserved in this liqueur became known as Maraschino Cherries.
These maraschino cherries are not those bright red guys you’ll find in a Shirley Temple. No no, these are the adult, more refined version. There is no artificial coloring, and much less sweetener added. And they are perfect for cocktails and adult ice cream sundaes!
But I’m sick of waiting for spring to arrive to make delicious spring food!
So this recipe for Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pasta has spring ingredients that are still comforting in chilly weather – spinach with a lemony ricotta sauce over fettuccine.
I’m sure this happens to everyone: you go out and buy ingredients for a specific recipe, but then are left with “extras” from that recipe. Normally, it’s not a big deal and you can just incorporate it easily into another recipe. But when I went to make Sheet Pan Paella recently, my supermarket was only selling 50 packs of clams. That’s a lot of clams!
To use them up, I decided to make Linguine and Clams, but used what I had on hand to make it work. So, technically, I made spaghetti and clams. And it tasted just as good. 🙂
I love the relative simplicity of this dish. It also reminds me of my grandpa; linguine and clams were his favorite. So I was surprised that I hadn’t posted a recipe for Linguine and Clams on my blog yet. Time to fix that!
I adapted this version of Linguine and Clams from Bon Appetit.
Ingredients:
1 heaping tablespoon salt
12 garlic cloves, divided
4 oz day old bread, cut into smaller pieces (I used half of a sandwich roll)
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
the zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 dozen clams, scrubbed
1 (16 oz) box linguine (or spaghetti)
1/2 cup chopped parsley (I randomly had curly parsley on hand. Flat works too)
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara is the definition of simple, elegant decadence.
Carbonara is typically made with pork fried in olive oil, grated hard cheese, raw eggs, and pasta. Versions use pancetta or bacon for the pork, pecorino romano or parmigiana reggiano for the cheese, and spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine for the pasta.
With just a few (ok, 6) ingredients, you can make this oh so delicious recipe.
I made a more traditional version of this, using a Mario Batali recipe as my inspiration.
Note: This post for Meatballs in Tomato Sauce is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
Sunday night in my house is pasta night, which almost always means pasta with a meaty tomato sauce. I tend to make Meatballs in Tomato Sauce in batches about once a month and freeze it for future Sundays.
It’s funny, I make this Meatballs in Tomato Sauce recipe all the time and yet
I had no clue what measurements I was putting into my sauce, and
never posted the recipe to my blog!
Continuing my partnership with Moyer Beef, I decided it was about darn time I actually figured out what exactly I make every month and to share it on here.
These meatballs are half ground beef and half hot Italian sausage. It adds a touch of heat to the overall sauce without being actually spicy.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
1 lb 80% lean ground beef (I used Moyer Beef’s 81% lean ground beef chuck)
Tomorrow is one of my favorite events of the year: Flavors on the Avenue! I’ve written past posts about this event, but this year, they are switching things up a bit. The event, usually held under a tent, is coming out onto the street to make for what should be a pretty awesome five block street festival tomorrow, April 30 from noon to 5 pm. The event will be held around the Singing Fountain at the intersection of S 11th, Tasker and Passyunk.
Tickets aren’t required to attend the event, although they are strongly encouraged. Cost is $50 each and include all of the dishes, two glasses of beer or wine, and valet parking – a $130 value. You can also pay as you go; each dish will be priced at $3 to $6. Further details can be found here.
East Passyunk Avenue is known for its fantastic restaurants, and a bunch of them (27!) are participating in this event. There will also be free kids’ activities and a crafter’s market. Here is a list of participants and the food they will be serving: (note: options shown in photos above are in bold)
Bing Bing Dim Sum: Pork Buns, Corn Rangoon
Birra: Pizza slices, plain and pepperoni
Brigantessa: Chorizo Cotto with whipped ricotta and peas
Cantina los Caballitos: Tacos al Pastor, Elote, Classic and Cucumber Margaritas
Chhaya: Fried chicken and waffles, Iced coffee
El Sarape: Tacos al Pastor, Pina Coladas
Fond: Salmon Tartare with sesame, nori and avocado
Izumi: Pork Gyoza
Laurel: Chocolate egg cream pudding pops
Le Virtu: Octopus and chick pea salad
Mamma Maria: Cheese ravioli
Marra’s: Mozzarella pizza
Noir: Arancini balls, watermelon salad
Noord: Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs with nutmeg and mustard)
Paradiso: Arancini Di Riso
Perla: Pork Belly, Adobo with garlic rice
Plenty Cafe: Choripan (Traditional South African sandwich with chorizo, chimichurri, and pickled red onion on a baguette)
Will BYOB: Caramelized onion crepes, Banana and caramel crepes
I had the opportunity to go on a media tour a try a bunch of these bites. Noord’s Bitterballen remains one of my favorites (they serve it every year, and every year I love them). New to Flavors is Sate Kampar, and all of their offerings are fantastic! Absolutely go try the Achat, Sago Hula Melaka, and Chicken Sate.
One of the restaurants on the media tour was Brigantessa. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my high praise for their Charred Ramp Arancini. They were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, Brigantessa is not serving these for Flavors, but is serving Chorizo Cotto with Whipped Ricotta and Peas that sounds right up my alley as well. There will be plenty of arancini available though, a few restaurants are serving it.
I wanted to try my hand at making the Brigantessa Aracini, so here goes! I adapted this recipe to include charred ramps, which adds a slight onion flavor to the cheesy rice ball.
One of my favorite parts of this blog is challenging myself to use new and different ingredients and/or new and different techniques. So when I was contacted to participate in CFE’s International Saltfish Blogger Recipe Challenge, I jumped at the chance.
So what exactly is saltfish? It is fish, typically cod, pollock, or other white fish cured with dry salt to preserve it. This method of preservation dates back centuries, as it helped preserve fish without refrigeration.
CFE International offers a number of brands of salt fish: Buena Ventura, Cristobal, BacalaRico, and Isla Brisa. For this challenge, I was sent some Isla Brisa Salted Alaska Pollock Fillets to use in a recipe. (You can find these brands of saltfish in your local Cousins, H-Mart, Jetro, Price Chopper, and Price Rite supermarkets.)
I decided to do a spin on Brandade (Whipped Salt Fish Spread), a salt fish spread popular in Mediterranean countries. It’s also known as Brandada in Spain, and Baccala Mantecato in Italy.
The spread is whipped salt fish, potatoes, olive oil, and cream with seasoning and is served with crusty bread. My version below adds in some roasted garlic, caramelized onions, and horseradish to add new layers of flavor.
Pasta night at my house is a very important night. Every Sunday, we have a pasta dish, but like to switch up what exactly the dish is. It’s always fun to experiment with new ingredients, with pasta always being the constant.
So it is pretty important for me to use premium pasta, like De Cecco Authentic Italian Dry Pasta. Since 1886, De Cecco has made its pasta in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The 130-year-old company still uses its original family recipe and high-quality ingredients to create a variety of pasta types.
De Cecco pasta is made with only the best coarse durum semolina, whereas flour is used in most other ordinary pasta brands. This translates into De Cecco being a firmer pasta that doesn’t get mushy or fall apart, even if you overcook it by a minute or two.
This week, I had a hankering for eggplant, so I decided to make Pasta Alla Norma. Pasta Alla Norma is a pasta dish with fried eggplant slices tossed in a chunky tomato sauce. The dish is topped with grated ricotta salata and basil.
Note: Ricotta Salata in America doesn’t pack as much punch as its Italian counterpart. If you can find it, go for an Aged Ricotta Salata. If not, use a bit of grated pecorino Romano along with your Ricotta Salata.
Ingredients:
4 medium sized eggplants (look for ones that feel heavy for their size)
½ cup olive oil, plus more if needed
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (28 oz) can of San Marzano whole tomatoes, undrained
I recently received a nice email from Deiss Kitchenware, a German-based company that makes some snazzy kitchen products. They were kind enough to send me their Citrus Zester and Cheese Grater. I knew I had to make a dish that let me zest and grate my little heart out to try their product, like this recipe for Linguine with Lemon Sauce!
This recipe for Linguine with Lemon Sauce is so simple, and uses mostly ingredients you probably already have on hand. (What? I’m the only person with some Parmigiano Reggiano on hand at all times?)
Ingredients:
4tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter
the zest of 1 lemon
1 (16 oz ) box dried linguine
1/2 cup heavy cream
the juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus extra cheese to serve on the side
This Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu is the ultimate comfort food and is perfect for busy fall weeknights!
It is definitely feeling like fall in Philadelphia now. The days are getting shorter, and there is a chill in the air. Which means my slow cooker is back in full force!
I absolutely love my slow cooker (paid link). It makes me so happy to come back to an awesome comfort food meal at the end of the day. This recipe for Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu is basically a really thick meat sauce, made with shredded boneless short ribs. And. It’s fantastic.
This can be served over pasta, egg noodles, polenta, or even mashed potatoes (I went with pappardelle pasta for this round). The recipe makes quite a bit, so you can stock your freezer for nights you just don’t feel like cooking.
My mom recently put in a request for braciole. And by put in a request, I mean she went to Esposito’s in the Italian Market, purchased braciole, and told me I was going to make it. So. Slow Cooker Braciole it is!
I was excited to try; I’ve never made braciole before. Braciole is a thinly pounded meat that is topped with a filling and then rolled up and secured either with string or toothpicks. The rolled meat is browned and then added to a tomato sauce to cook.
I have to let you know. Braciole is a labor of love. There is so much prep work! The version I am sharing below is a recipe from a family friend that my parents have been using for years. I decided to make it in my slow cooker so that I could leave and run some errands while it cooked. Because of the prep work involved though, this is definitely a weekend meal.
Ingredients:
For Braciole:
3 eggs, hardboiled, diced
2 russet potatoes, boiled and diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
8 pieces of braiole, or 2 lbs top round, cut into half inch thick slices
One of my favorite things to throw on the grill are vegetables, something magical and delicious happens when vegetables are grilled. One night, we were doing a bit of a fridge cleaning meal and ended up with ingredients for chicken cacciatore — mushrooms, peppers, chicken, etc. But, we wanted to use my Coyote OutdoorGrill, so Grilled Chicken Cacciatore was born. I didn’t have 2 big enough grill-safe pots, so this entire recipe isn’t made on the grill, but it can be if you’d like!
(To see some of my other recipes I’ve made using my beloved grill, check them out here.)
I threw in some summer squash and zucchini too, because it’s summer and we had some in the fridge. Feel free to omit.
Ingredients:
For the grill:
2 bell peppers, any colors, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) container sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 summer squash, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
4 chicken breasts (or chicken tenders like I used)
4 chicken drumsticks
olive oil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
For the stovetop (unless you have oven-safe pots):
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DareToPair #CollectiveBias
Hooray for spring! The weather may be warming up, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my beloved pasta! However, I can at least lighten up my weekly pasta a bit. My favorite way to add a little spring to my pasta? Pesto, like in this recipe for Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta!
Pairing fresh ingredients with pasta can really lighten up a comfort food favorite like pasta. I added in some slow roasted cherry tomatoes to add a bit of tomatoey goodness to the dish.
Barilla has a few Better for You Pasta’s to make lightening up you pasta dish even easier. I picked up a box of Barilla ProteinPLUS Rotini Pasta from Walmart; other options available at Walmart include Whole Grain Pasta, Veggie Pasta and Gluten Free Pasta.
Note: there is a great Ibotta offer right now for Buy any 3 select varieties of Barilla Products and earn $1.00 at Walmart! Details can be found at the link above.
Barilla ProteinPLUS has 17g of protein from all-natural vegetarian ingredients, so it’s a great way to add more protein to your pasta meals without adding meat or seafood.
Ingredients:
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1 box of Barilla ProteinPLUS Rotini (or Spaghetti)
Happy New Year! Our unseasonably warm weather seems to have left with 2015, and colder temperatures are here to stay for a while. This recipe for Chicken Agrodolce with Creamy Polenta from Cooking Light’s December 2015 issue is great for cold nights — it’s comforting without being too heavy.
Agrodolce means “sweet and sour” in Italian. In this recipe, the golden raisins provide the sweetness while the red wine vinegar adds a touch of sour flavor to the sauce. The chicken thighs are simmered in the sauce and served with a creamy polenta to soak up the flavors.
