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Archive for April, 2011

Celery Root Puree

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

I am in love with celery root. I first had it last February when I was having dinner in San Francisco and haven’t been able to get enough of it ever since. I have even turned my friends on to it by stuffing it in some raviolis. For those of you who do not what celery root is it actually is the root of a celery stalk. It’s what grows underground but yet it is completely edible well minus the rough skin. It is a nasty looking thing that most people would stay clear from but I swear it tastes really really good. This puree (you can make it as smooth or as chunky as you want) is a great way to try out celery root for the first time and it makes a really good side dish. I will make this over and over again and plan on experimenting more with celery root. Enjoy!

1 celery root

3 cups of heavy cream (approximately)

Salt

Pepper

First you have to take of the outer rough skin off the celery root. The easiest way to do this it to cut it off with a knife after you cut off the root portion to make the celery root flat on one side. A peeler just isn’t strong enough for this task. Once you have removed the skin dice the celery root into pieces that approximately the same size.

Place the celery root in a large pot and then add cover with enough heavy cream to just cover all the celery root. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook the celery root until it is fork tender.

Place the celery root and some cream into a blender and puree until smooth adding more cream as needed. You can also place the celery root into a large bowl with some of the cream and use a hand blender to make it smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm and Enjoy!

Tags: celery root, celery root puree, side dish, vegetable
Posted in Recipes | 4 Comments »

Roasted Leg of Lamb Over Potatoes

Monday, April 18th, 2011

It’s almost Easter time and I have never made a leg of lamb before. The only thing I have made are lamb chops. Those apparently are harder to do than a leg of lamb. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make a leg of lamb and how little time it took. It was quite a successful first attempt at leg of lamb. This is the time of year when you won’t pay an arm and a leg for this leg so go ahead and make this recipe. I promise it’s much easier than it looks.

1 leg of lamb (this one is approximately 6 pounds)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 sprigs of rosemary, minced

4 yellow potatoes, thinly sliced (I used mandoline, watch your fingers)

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut slits in the leg of lamb. Stuff the slits (cuts) with the garlic pieces and the rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle and rub olive oil over the leg of lamb. Set aside.

Put the potatoes in a large bowl. Toss with salt, pepper and olive oil. Line the bottom of a large baking dish or roasting pan (one big enough to hold the leg of lamb) with the potatoes.

Place the leg of lamb on top of the potatoes. Cook in oven for an hour. Remove from heat and check the temperature. It should be 135 degrees in the thickest part for medium rare. I placed it back in the oven and cooked it for an additional 20 minutes before it reached that temperature. Remove from oven and tent with tin foil. Allow to rest for 14 minutes. Cut the lamb of the bone in thin slices.

Serve with the potatoes and Enjoy!

Tags: dinner, easter, easter dinner, entree, garlic, lamb, leg of lamb, main dish, roasted leg of lamb, rosemary
Posted in Recipes | 12 Comments »

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

This is another recipe inspired by what was in my fridge the other night. We eat a lot of chicken in my house. We have it at least twice a week if not more. I am always looking for new things to stuff the bird with and have come up with quite a few. I also am experimenting with spinach. It was only this year that I really started to eat spinach. I always thought that it was too bitter a vegetable for my liking. I guess I just wasn’t trying good spinach. So now that I have added it to my repertoire of vegetables I figured hey not stiff the chicken with the spinach and so I did. This recipe isn’t one of my quickest but it is very flavorful. Enjoy!

Olive oil
1 bag of fresh spinach
1 garlic clove, minced and 2 garlic whole and peeeled
Salt
Pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (you should be able to use 6)
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup grated cheese (I use Pecorino Romano)
Toothpicks
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add in garlic and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Stir around the spinach until it is coated. Cover the pan and allow the spinach to cook turning it every so often. Once spinach has wilted remove from pan and set aside.

In a medium size bowl mix together the ricotta and grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut a slit in the chicken breasts to create a pocket. Don’t go all the way through the chicken. Stuff the ricotta mixture inside the slit. Then stuff it with the spinach. You can mix the spinach in with the ricotta too but I wanted a separate layer of spinach. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Place the egg mixture into a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish place the breadcrumbs. Dredge the chicken in the egg mixture and coat on all sides. Dip the chicken with the egg on it into the breadcrumbs and coat on all sides. Close the pocket up with some toothpicks by placing them in at an angle. Repeat for each piece of chicken.

In a large sautée or fry pan that is oven proof add in the garlic and about 1/4 cup of oil. Turn the heat to medium. When the oil is hot add in the chicken. Brown on both sides. If needed add more oil to the pan. Once browned place the pan in the oven and cook 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

Serve over pasta and Enjoy!

Tags: breaded chicken, chicken, chicken cutlets, dinner, entree, main, main course, ricotta, spinach, stuffed chicken
Posted in Recipes | 10 Comments »

Mushroom and Scallion Rice

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

I am always looking for new ways to spruce up white rice. My newly purchased rice cooker has allowed me to do some experimenting. This recipe was inspired but whatever was left over in my fridge that I didn’t want to go to waste. I feel like a lot of recipes are created that way. Cooking all the ingredients together allowed the rice to pick up the flavors of the ingredients. I made it in my rice cooker but you can also make it on the stove. Just follow the ratios on the box of white rice replacing the water with chicken broth. I hope you enjoy this take on white rice.

1 rice cooker cup of white rice
Chicken broth
4 scallions, minced
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt

In the rice cooker add in the rice. Next add in the chicken broth till it reaches the 1 line. If cooking the rice over the stove follow the directions on the box for 1 cup of rice. Add in scallions. Then add in mushrooms. Season with salt. Stir to combine. Turn the slow cooker on or follow the cooking directions for your rice. Cook until rice is cooked through.

Serve warm and Enjoy!

Tags: chicken broth, mushroom, mushroom rice, rice, rice cooker, scallion, side, side dish, white rice
Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments »

Stir Fry Beef with Onions and Zucchini

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

I guess I can say that I am in a quick and easy meal streak. My life has been really busy over the last couple of weeks so I’ve been trying to make meals as quickly as possible. I started to take a molecular gastronomy class, went to Washington, D.C., enjoyed some great dinners with some great friends and many other things. However, there is only so much eating out or ordering in a girl can do. I finally decided to stay in tonight, I just needed to be home. I made this for myself it was really quick and I didn’t have to think about what I was doing. That’s a really good thing because my brain is fried. So if you just as tired as I am and want a home cooked meal this is a great option. Enjoy!

1 pound of stir fry beef strips
Salt
Pepper
Canola oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 zucchini, minced

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large fry pan over high heat. Add in onions and cook until they begin to brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Season beef with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add in beef, garlic and ginger. Cook until the beef starts to brown moving the beef every so often so it doesn’t stick to the pan.

Add in reserved onions, hoisin sauce, beef broth, red pepper flakes and zucchini to the pan. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Bring the broth up to a boil and cook until the beef is cooked to your desired doneness.