I’m back with yet another new ice cream recipe that I’ve been dreaming about for months: Strawberry Basil Ice Cream.
As the weather gets warmer, the in season produce just gets better, which means a bunch of new inspiration for ice cream flavors. We are entering the beginning of strawberry season now, so I was excited to make this Strawberry Basil Ice Cream!
This recipe for Strawberry Basil Ice Cream steeps fresh basil in the cream and sugar base, which adds a subtle basil flavor under the more prominent strawberry flavor. If you want a more prominent basil flavor, you can absolutely mix in some freshly chopped basil when churning your ice cream!
The weather hasn’t quite turned cooler yet, but I am already starting to shift into more comfort food type cooking. Every Sunday is pasta night in my house, so this past Sunday, I decided to make something a bit more special than my usual Spaghetti and Meatballs. This recipe for Sicilian Braciole is very loosely based on the Braciole my mother-in-law makes.
I’ve made Braciole in the past, but the addition of pine nuts and raisins is what makes this recipe specifically Sicilian Braciole. The pine nuts become nice and soft in the sauce, and the raisins appear to almost melt away, adding just a touch of sweetness to balance the dish.
This recipe takes a good 5 hours to make, so plan accordingly!
Ingredients:
Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red or white wine
4 (12.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
Sicilian Braciole:
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup dry red or white wine
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup olive oil; divided
1 medium onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 pounds braciole meat (at my butcher, they were referred to as beef roll ups)
Note: I was sent samples of Rovagnati Charcuterie Trio in order to make these Antipasto Skewers. Opinions are mine alone.
I love a handheld party appetizer. And I also love a charcuterie or cheese board. So it should come as no surprise that I think Antipasto Skewers are absolutely delightful.
Luckily, Rovagnati gave me the perfect excuse to share this recipe for Antipasto Skewers, featuring their Charcuterie Trio!
source: rovagnati.us
Rovagnati, the renowned charcuterie company committed to preserving Italian traditions, recently introduced their No-Nitrites-Ever Salami Line and their Antipasto Italiano Trio. Crafted at Rovagnati’s U.S. factory, the No-Nitrites-Ever Salami Line utilizes selected noble cuts of the finest meat, following a USDA-approved Italian curing and fermentation method. The long and slow curing ensures a high-quality product that maintains the authentic flavors synonymous with Rovagnati’s heritage.
source: rovagnati.ussource: rovagnati.us
Rovagnati sent me samples of two of their Trios: The Charcuterie Trio and The Salami Trio.
The Charcuterie Trio includes sliced Prosciutto Crudo, Salame Milano, and Salame Napoli
The Salami Trio includes Salame Milano, Hot Soppressata, and Salame Napoli
Both Trio’s are the perfect size for making Antipasto Skewers; one 6 oz container is enough for about 9 skewers. I used the Charcuterie Trio below, but you can easily substitute in the Salami Trio.
A friend reached out to me with a food challenge: how to make baked ziti that will be hot and ready when they come back from a christening. A Slow Cooker Baked Ziti recipe seemed like the perfect solution!
Naturally, I had to do some experimenting so that I could give her a recipe to use that I know will work for her needs.
This recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Ziti involves layering ingredients in your slow cooker (paid link). letting it cook for 2 1/2 hours, and then adding some mozzarella cheese on top for ultimate cheesiness!
Note: This post for Lobster Pasta in a Caramelized Fennel Sauce is sponsored by Wildgrain. Opinions are mine alone.
It probably comes as no surprise that one of the ways I show my love for my husband, family, and friends is through cooking. When cooking for those I love, I try to use high-quality ingredients so that the food is the best it can be. In the winter, my recipes become more comfort food-like, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to skip on quality!
Wildgrain is here to help me out on my quest for high quality ingredients that can be used to make oh so comforting winter dishes, like this recipe for Lobster Pasta in a Caramelized Fennel Sauce, adapted from a recipe on Food52.
Wildgrain is a bake-from-frozen membership that has two different box choices: Mixed Wildgrain and Bakery. The Mixed Wildgrain comes with an assortment of sourdough bread, hand-cut pasta, and artisanal pastries. The Bakery Box comes with an assortment of sourdough bread, breakfast baked goods, and artisanal pastries. All products are ready-to-bake from frozen, no prep required!
source: wildgrain.com
Everything included in the box is made with clean ingredients with no preservatives. The items are vegetarian, non-GMO, and contain no artificial colors.
Wildgrain has provided an exclusive code for I Can Cook That readers! You can receive $10 off your first box by using discount code ICANCOOKTHAT so you can try out Wilgrain for yourself!
I received a box chock full of awesome products, including two pastas, breads, croissants, and cookie dough. The pasta and bread in my box inspired me to make a pasta dish with plenty of sauce to sop up with bread! The addition of lobster makes this dish perfect for date night, or for a dinner party. The sauce can also be made ahead of time so that when you’re ready to cook, it takes no time at all!
Ingredients:
7 oz lobster meat, thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
the juice of one lemon
12 oz container fettuccine, or other pasta of your choice
Seafood is a favorite weekday dinner of mine because it usually takes under 30 minutes to make a seafood dish. This particular recipe for Sheet Pan Balsamic Fish with Roasted Tomatoes has become a staple in our home because of the relatively easy clean up as well – most of the meal is made right in one sheet pan!
I like to serve this over rice or couscous to soak in all of the juices on the sheet pan. This makes 2 hearty servings, with plenty of the tomato mixture to enjoy!
I originally started this blog as a way to learn to cook and to catalog recipes I enjoyed. So, recently, I have been revisiting recipes from early in my blogging journey and remaking them, like this recipe for Salmon with Lemon Parsley Pesto, served with orzo.
Warmer weather is nearly here, and we can all use more recipes that won’t heat up the whole house. This recipe for Herb Rice with Peas Prosciutto and Ricotta is largely a no-cook recipe – you only have to make the rice!
Ideally, you can use day old rice so there is no stove use at all, but I personally have a hard time thinking a day ahead for a meal, so I wrote the recipe below to be made all in the same day. Feel free to make the rice the night before, refrigerate, and assemble everything the night you plan on having this for dinner for a quick and easy make ahead meal.
If you follow my posts somewhat regularly, you know that pasta is a very important part of my life. In fact, it gets its own day each week. Every Sunday is pasta night in my house!
I tend to make big batches of Meatballs in Tomato Sauce so we always have some on hand in the freezer, but there are many a Sunday where I open my freezer only to realize I am completely sauce-less. So this recipe for Rigatoni Sausage Arrabbiata is perfect for the nights I want to whip up a quick pasta dinner in no time without sacrificing flavor!
I started making this recipe when I came across Wilmington-based Rockford Catering‘s Tomato Sauce, made by owner and Chef John Wigton. John grew up in Northern Delaware and received his Culinary Arts Degree from Delaware Technical Community College. He has worked in the hospitality business for 20+ years and established Rockford Catering in 2017. And his sauce is legit!
The chunky tomato sauce is flavored with onions, garlic, and basil, and is really great on its own heated up over pasta.
Rockford Catering also (obviously) provides catering services, like this tasty Valentine’s Day menu currently available. Even better, they deliver! The tomato sauce can be delivered (at no additional cost) anywhere within the state of Delaware and within a 45-minute radius of Wilmington or Rehoboth Beach. Order online here.
Rockford Catering’s sauce is vegetarian (they also sell a vegan version), so I decided to add in some hot Italian sausage from my local butcher to enhance the flavor. The result is this super easy Rigatoni Sausage Arrabbiata recipe!
Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) box rigatoni
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb hot Italian sausage, removed from its casing (I love that Primal Supply sells it already out of the casing!)
Some traditional dishes eaten on New Year’s Day have less to do with the new year and more to do with a country’s history. So this year, I’m sharing my adaptation of an Independence Stew from Haiti. Celebrated every January 1, Haiti proclaimed independence from French colonials on New Year’s Day 1804 following a 13 year revolution. Soup Joumou, a comforting stew traditionally made with beef, pumpkin, pasta, and a bunch of veggies and spices, has become a New Year’s Day dish to commemorate Haiti’s independence.
I adapted this recipe from Epicurious, scaling it down quite a bit and swapping butternut squash for the pumpkin because I couldn’t find any pumpkin that wasn’t already pureed.
Ingredients:
Marinade:
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), coarsely chopped
1 scallion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1 basil leaf
the juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Remaining Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, divided
1 pound stew beef cubes
7 cups chicken or beef broth, divided
2 beef bones
1 pound butternut squash, cut into cubes
2 medium russet potatoes (about 1 pound), finely chopped
1 large carrot, sliced
1/4 small green cabbage (about 1/2 pound), very thinly sliced
1/2 small onion, sliced
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped
1 small turnip, finely chopped
1 teaspoon habanero chile hot sauce, or to taste
1 cup uncooked rigatoni
3 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 parsley sprig (optional)
1 thyme sprig (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (omit to make dairy free)
Note: I was sent vinegar from Lindera Farms, including their Ramp Vinegar, in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
Hands down, my favorite summer produce are tomatoes. Peak tomato season in the Philadelphia area begins just after July 4th and continues through mid-October, so it is the perfect time to share a recipe highlighting tomatoes like this Homemade Bruschetta!
Luckily, tomato season has coincided with the opportunity to try out a bunch of yummy vinegar from Lindera Farms, a small artisan vinegar producer in Virginia.
source: www.linderafarms.com
Lindera Farms takes locally and sustainably sources agricultural products and ferments them into wines which are then aged into vinegar. They have a wide selection of vinegars (nearly 30 types!) and pantry goods, including soy sauce, hot sauce, and syrups.
The ingredients from Lindera Farms are raised in a non-interventionist process, meaning they don’t introduce anything to the growing process. The process is subject to the whims of the environment completely; think Darwinian farming. The positives of this practice are that you get these stronger, more resilient, more flavorful fruits, herbs, and flowers with no carbon footprint or residual impact to the environment.
The results speak for themselves. The few vinegars I’ve sampled so far all have incredibly different flavors, acidity, and finish than what you can typically find in your supermarket. For example:
The Gardener Vinegar came about through Lindera Farms’ continued efforts to curb food waste. They collect organic summer vegetables from small local farms to make a complex and vegetal vinegar. The result is a very high acidic, savory vinegar with notes of cucumber, tomatoes, peppers and leeks. Lindera Farms suggests using it with salad greens, summer veggies, fish, or poultry, or even adding it to your favorite Bloody Mary recipe (I love this idea!)
Lindera Farms’ Apple Cider Vinegar is made with organic Virginian Heirloom Apples, and then is aged with applewood, adding a smooth, smoky finish. The Apple Cider Vinegar has a medium acidity, and medium-low sweetness, and can be used anywhere you’d use traditional apple cider vinegar, or just for probiotic consumption. (I used it in a pulled pork recipe, and it was fantastic)
I used the Ramp Vinegar in the recipe below. Ramps are a garlicky wild onion, and the ones in this vinegar are foraged in the woods of the Shenandoah valley. The result is a savory vinegar with notes of garlic, ramps, and onions with medium acidity. Lindera Farms suggests using it as a substitute anywhere you might use lemon and garlic in a dish. (I recently used it in my Italian Pasta Salad)
I have yet to tap into the other Lindera Farms vinegars, but I’m sure they are going to be just as delicious.
Traditional bruschetta uses balsamic vinegar, but I thought the garlic/onion flavors in Lindera Farms’ Ramp Vinegar would enhance the fresh flavors of the tomatoes and basil.
On to the recipe!
Ingredients (serves 4 as an appetizer):
4 plum (roma) tomatoes, evenly diced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
Note: I was sent a PDF copy of Beach House Dinners: Simple, Summer-Inspired Meals for Entertaining Year-Round by chef Lei Shishak in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
I think we could all use a bit of escape right about now. So what better way to get in a beach-state-of-mind than through easy home cooking? I recently had the opportunity to page through Lei Shishak’s new cookbook: Beach House Dinners: Simple, Summer-Inspired Meals for Entertaining Year-Round, which is filled with over 80 recipes perfect for summer cooking.
Lei Shishak is the founder of Sugar Blossom Bake Shop in San Clemente, CA and the author of Beach House Baking, heralded by USA Today as one of the top 10 cookbooks of summer 2014, Beach House Brunch and Farm-to-Table Desserts. She is an established pastry chef who trained at the CIA in New York and has worked in restaurants in Sun Valley, Los Angeles and Orange County.
I’m not going to lie, quite a few recipes caught my eye — Coconut Shrimp, Creamy Thai Curry Quinoa, Pot Roast Tagine, Israeli Pearl Couscous — this cookbook is filled with awesome sounding recipes! I decided to highlight a beautifully simple but oh so flavorful salmon recipe to show off this cookbook.
I adjusted Lei’s original recipe of Pan Fried Salmon with Green Lentils for what I had on hand, so be sure to pop over to her blog or to pick up this cookbook to try the original version. Green Lentils have a slight peppery flavor to them, so I bet they would make this dish even more amazing!
Ingredients: (serves 4)
Lentils:
3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup brown lentils
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, unsalted (or margarine, to make dairy free)
I am very much on the pressure cooker bandwagon. It’s awesome for tough cuts of meat, cooking beans, and other processes that can take forever, but my favorite use is speeding up recipes just enough to make them weeknight friendly!
We don’t actively follow the Mediterranean Diet, but following it can help reduce inflammation, avoid disease, and lose weight, making it popular for anyone looking to live a healthier lifestyle. The Everything Mediterranean Instant Pot Cookbook shows you how to recreate classic Mediterranean meals in under an hour using the much-loved multi-cooker, the Instant Pot. With more than 300 recipes for delicious meals, snacks, and even desserts, you’ll have everything you need to create healthy, fresh, and fast meals every day of the week!
As I mentioned, I’ve already made a few recipes in here, but I wanted to share this recipe for Lemon Orzo with Crab and Herbs, which I’ve slightly adapted from the original in the cookbook.
Ingredients (serves 2):
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 fresh parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, plus more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups water (or chicken broth for more flavor)
8 oz orzo
8 oz jumbo lump crab meat
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
I honestly don’t make pork tenderloin much. Unless I’ve slow cooked it, or wrapped it in bacon, I feel like it comes out pretty dry. Which makes it the perfect meat to make using a precision cooker! So since I’ve gotten a precision cooker, this recipe for Sous Vide Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin has become a staple in my house.
Cooking the pork tenderloin sous vide keeps the meat juicy and tender. Plus, it infuses the meat with whatever herbs you add!
One of my favorite cookbooks right now is Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. If you haven’t heard of it, be sure to check it out. It’s filled with awesome recipes geared toward athletes, so I reference it all the time to make quick meals for my runner husband on weeknights.
A favorite recipe of ours from the cookbook is Pesto Pasta with Sardines, which got me thinking about anchovies, and how awesome they would be incorporated into classic pesto for an added boost of omega-3s, vitamin A, protein, iron, and a whole bunch more (those little guys really pack a nutritional punch!)
This pesto is freezable so it’s perfect as a make ahead condiment for super busy nights. It’s also super quick to make!
Ingredients (makes 1 pint):
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for storing
