I was feeling a little fancy this week so I decided to challenge myself with a protein I rarely use: duck! I’ve actually only worked with duck twice (Duck Breasts with Cider Farro Risotto and Grilled Duck with Warm Mushroom Salad and Truffle Vinaigrette), but I tend to order it at restaurants quite a bit. I am also on a berry kick at the moment (if you missed it, go check out the Blueberry Coffeecake I posted recently!) so I was really excited to try this Cooking Light recipe for Duck Breasts with Blackberry-Port Sauce. I served mine with some sauteed green beans but Cooking Light also suggests serving the duck over a bed of lettuce. Ingredients:
I live near-ish Kennett Square, PA, the “mushroom capital of the world.” For the last 28 years, Kennett Square has hosted an amazing Mushroom Festival the first weekend following Labor Day. I love this festival. There are cooking demonstrations, contests, farm tours, and of course, a ton of mushroom filled dishes. But honestly the best part of the festival is the ability to stock up on all different kinds of mushrooms.
Beef and Mushrooms are really wonderful together, which is why you see them paired so often. To get the most flavor out of these ingredients, I wanted to sear steak (I used filet tail), cook the mushrooms in the same pan, and then make a sauce with some of the browned bits left in the pan.
I made this one-pot dish in a new offering from Calphalon and Williams-Sonoma: the Elite Nonstick line of pans. I received a 3-piece set which includes a 10″ Fry Pan and a 3 quart Saute Pan with a lid. These are some snaz-zy pans. I literally swooned when I opened them up. There are a bunch of great qualities to these pans that make them perfect for this recipe. The Elite Nonstick line of cookware has a textured sear nonstick surface, which seals in flavor when browning or searing. The pans are metal-utensil safe, so you can use your metal whisk or spatula without scratching the cookware. The cookware is also dishwasher safe, making cleanup a breeze.
Source: Williams-Sonoma.com
Elite Nonstick just launched on Williams-Sonoma.com on September 12 and will be available in Williams-Sonoma Stores on September 27. The cookware is sold as an 11-piece set, or as individual pieces. But I am excited to announce that Calphalon is giving one I Can Cook That reader a 10″ Elite Fry Pan, valued at $150! I’ll have more on the giveaway at the end of this post.
Source: Williams-Sonoma.com
So let’s see what these awesome pans can do! I used the 3 quart saute pan for this recipe.
Cannolis always remind me of my Italian/German side of the family. I can’t think of a Christmas that these little delicious desserts didn’t make an appearance. My sister was downright obsessed with them as a kid, if she got to the dessert table first, there was no chance of getting one. So when I was sent Grace’s Sweet Life: Homemade Italian Desserts, I was really hoping to find a recipe for cannolis so I could make some for her. Well, the cookbook did me one better: Vanilla Cupcakes filled with Ricotta Cream, topped with Marsala-Chocolate Whipped Cream. And to make them even better, they are topped with a mini cannoli!
Grace is a blogger over at La Mia Vita Dolce. The website is absolutely fantastic. Just the names of the recipes are enough to make your mouth water. Her new cookbook is no different. It is filled with recipes for the very traditional (Pizzelles – those Italian waffle cookies that look like snowflakes) to the super creative (Chocolate Salami, you read that correctly!) The photography is stunning. The titles of the desserts are in both Italian and English which I thought was a nice touch. (The title of the cupcakes in Italian is Piccoli Torta alla Vaniglia con Crema di Ricotta, Panna Montata al Cacao e Marsala in case you were wondering.) Grace breaks down the recipes into easy to follow steps, which is really helpful, especially for a recipe like the cupcakes I made. I changed bits and parts to her recipe just due to what I could and couldn’t find.
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (you can substitute all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk (I used skim milk)
For the ricotta cream:
1 1/2 cups ricotta
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
For the marsala-chocolate whipped cream frosting:
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon marsala
24 mini cannolis
Superfine sugar is just normal sugar that is ground into a finer grain. If you can’t find it in your local supermarket, just add a little more than 1 1/4 cups sugar to a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes. Just make sure that you have 1 1/4 cup of sugar at the end.
So, I really wanted to make my own mini cannolis. I really did. But I couldn’t find anything to wrap the cannolis around to make mini ones, all the places I looked only had the metal tubes for regular sized cannolis. So then, I tried going to bakeries to ask for mini cannoli shells. They all either didn’t have any or were unwilling to give them to me without filling them first. Sigh. So the cannolis on top of these lovely cupcakes are not my own making. But, they are the best cannolis in Philly (in my humble opinion), from Termini Bakery. On to the cupcakes!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed for about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and egg yolks to a measuring cup with the vanilla extract. Lightly beat with a fork.
With the mixer running (if you’re using a hand mixer, you might need a baking buddy for this step), gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture.
Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time alternating with adding the milk in two additions. (1/3 flour, then 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour). Beat until just combined after each addition.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin cups. Fill each tin 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
To make the ricotta cream, beat the ricotta on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar as beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the frosting, sift the cocoa and the confectioners sugar into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Beat the heavy cream, cocoa mixture and the marsala on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until cold, about 15 to 30 minutes.
To assemble, use a pairing knife to cut a 1 1/2 inch deep cone shaped piece of cake from the center of each cupcake. Trim off the top of the cone piece into a round, flat disk that you’ll use to top off the cupcake. Add the ricotta cream to a large pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with a corner cut off). Pipe the cream into each cupcake, filling almost to the top. Top with the disks of cake.
Add the frosting to a large pastrry bag or ziplock bag. Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.
Top with the mini cannolis. How fun are these??
Although it seems like these cupcakes would be really heavy and overwhelming, they were actually light and airy (I have no idea how). The cannoli added a fun touch, but these cupcakes can hold their own without them.
The ricotta cream inside was fantastic. I loved the flavor of them with the vanilla cupcakes and the chocolate chips were a fun addition.
Be sure to go check out Grace’s Sweet Life cookbook!
I am a pasta addict. I love it. I will never ever be carb free because I don’t want to know what life is like without pasta. I am a huge fan of fresh pasta because 1. I personally think it tastes better and 2. takes about half the time to cook. When Buitoni contacted me about a new ravioli they were introducing (it should be available in early July), I was already sold. But then they told me what kind of ravioli it is: Chicken Marsala Ravioli. Chicken Marsala is one of my ultimate favorite recipes so I was beyond excited to work with this ravioli!
The Ravioli, “generously filled with all natural white meat chicken, roasted portobello mushrooms and caramelized onions with impastata ricotto, aged parmesan, and asiago cheeses accented with marsala wine”, is one of Buitoni’s new Riserva line of pastas. Other pastas include: Butternut Squash Agnolotti (which I will have a post on soon!), Chicken and Four Cheese Ravioli, Spicy Beef and Sausage Ravioli, Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti, and Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. How fantastic do they all sound?? The Butternut Squash Agnolotti and the Chicken Marsala Ravioli are only available in the Northeast, but the rest are available in grocery stores nationwide. Look for them in the refrigeration section, you can see if your store carries Buitoni products here.
This pasta would probably be fantastic just with a light butter sauce, but I decided to highlight the flavors of the ravioli that were already present in the pasta through a marsala sauce with mushrooms. Caramelized onions and marsala can both be pretty sweet, so I added some spinach to the mix to counteract that. Buitoni was also generous enough to send me a Buitoni apron, a Buitoni cutting board, and a few free coupons so one lucky winner can try these new pastas themselves! More information is below…
Ingredients:
1 package of Buitoni Chicken Marsala Ravioli
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves (or 1 garlic scape), minced
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 package of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1/4 lb pancetta, cubed (or prosciutto, that was actually my original plan!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 tsp or less of truffle oil (optional)
Parmesan cheese, grated, as garnish
Parsley, chopped, as garnish
Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a boil.
While waiting for the pot of water to boil, mince your shallot and garlic. I used a garlic scape from my CSA share, it’s perfectly fine to use garlic cloves. Slice your mushrooms. Be sure to remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, they can be really woody tasting.
In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. (You’re adding pancetta or prosciutto to this dish so have a light hand with the salt. You just need some to draw the water out of the mushrooms).
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms cook down and the liquid has evaporated.
While waiting for the mushrooms to cook down, cube the pancetta and add to a small saute pan over medium high heat. Cook for 4 minutes.
Your pot of water should hopefully be boiling. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pot of boiling water and add the ravioli. Cook for 6 minutes and drain.
Add the Marsala and the broth to the mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta to the mixture when it is finished cooking.
Don’t wipe down the saute pan that had the pancetta. Just add the 1 cup of spinach leaves and cover. Cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Add the ravioli to the mushroom mixture and toss. Remove from heat, add a very slight amount of truffle oil if using, and mix in the wilted spinach.
To serve, add the ravioli to a plate. Spoon the sauce, mushrooms, spinach and pancetta over the pasta. Top with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
The pancetta adds the perfect amount of saltiness to the dish to bring out the other flavors. The spinach works to counteract the sweetness of the Marsala. Mushrooms add an earthy flavor to the whole dish.
I loved the ravioli by the way. It has a ton of flavor and really did a great job of capturing the flavor of chicken marsala into a pasta! My boyfriend absolutely loved this recipe. In fact, he ate a good three servings of this in one sitting!
What kind of sauce would you serve with your Chicken Marsala Ravioli?
Now on to the giveaway. Please be sure to use the widget below to enter. Each person can enter up to 7 times, but only the first entry (writing in the comment section what Buitoni pasta you want to try and how you’d prepare it) is mandatory. Good luck!!
Chicken Marsala Ravioli with Spinach and Mushrooms
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 package of Buitoni Chicken Marsala Ravioli
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves (or 1 garlic scape), minced
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 package of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1/4 lb pancetta, cubed (or used prosciutto, that was actually my original plan!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 tsp or less of truffle oil (optional)
Parmesan cheese, grated, as garnish
Parsley, chopped, as garnish
Instructions
Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a boil.
While waiting for the pot of water to boil, mince your shallot and garlic. I used a garlic scape from my CSA share, it’s perfectly fine to use garlic cloves. Slice your mushrooms. Be sure to remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, they can be really woody tasting.
In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. (You’re adding pancetta or prosciutto to this dish so have a light hand with the salt. You just need some to draw the water out of the mushrooms).
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms cook down and the liquid has evaporated.
While waiting for the mushrooms to cook down, cube the pancetta and add to a small saute pan over medium high heat. Cook for 4 minutes.
Your pot of water should hopefully be boiling. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pot of boiling water and add the ravioli. Cook for 6 minutes and drain.
Add the Marsala and the broth to the mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta to the mixture when it is finished cooking.
Don’t wipe down the saute pan that had the pancetta. Just add the 1 cup of spinach leaves and cover. Cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Add the ravioli to the mushroom mixture and toss. Remove from heat, add a very slight amount of truffle oil if using, and mix in the wilted spinach.
To serve, add the ravioli to a plate. Spoon the sauce, mushrooms, spinach and pancetta over the pasta. Top with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
