4   Bacon slices; chopped thick
4   Green onions chopped
½  cup Whipping cream
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup Romano
1/3 cup    Basil chopped fresh
½ lb Fettuccine
2 Tbs Olive Oil
ground pepper to taste
Parsley

Cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
In a skillet over medium heat cook bacon until beginning to brown. Drain grease. Set Bacon aside.
Heat Olive Oil, add green onions and cook until softened.
Add cream and simmer until beginning to thicken. Mix in Romano and Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil.
Add pasta to skillet and coat with sauce.
Serve on platter topped with parsely garnish

Serves 4

Cook ziti according to directions rinse and set aside
In a pot, brown sausage and drain grease and set aside.

In the same pot add a bit of olive oil, sauté mushrooms, green pepper and onion in until just tender.
Add Spaghetti sauce and cook over medium heat until hot. Add a pinch of sugar and basil. Continue to cook and stir for 1 minute.
Add Ziti and Cheddar stir well.  Pour into greased 2-3 quart casserole. Top with Mozzeralla and Parmesan.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Gör så här:

Sätt ugnen på 200 grader. Skala potatisen och skär den i cirka 3 mm tjocka skivor. Ansa och skiva champinjonerna och fräs dem i smör. Pressa i vitlöksklyftorna och låt steka med ett par minuter under omrörning. Häll över mjölk och grädde och koka 3 minuter. Smaksätt med salt och peppar. Varva potatisskivorna och svamp med gräddmjölken i en smörad gratängform. Ställ in i ugnen och grädda potatisgratängen i 45 minuter. Strö över parmesan och gratinera tills potatisen är mjuk och gratängen har fått fin färg. Strö över hackad persilja. Gott att servera till kött och korv.

Du behöver:

Pasta lagom till fyra personer
300 g chorizo
200 g shiitake eller annan svamp
2 vitlöksklyftor
1 piri-piri
0,5 dl persilja (finhackad)
olivolja
1 dl vitt vin
1 dl matlagningsgrädde
parmesan att riva över

Finhacka persilja, vitlök och piripiri och fräs i olivoljan. Skiva svamp och korv och låt det fräsa med i pannan. När korven fått fin färg häll på vinet. Låt fräsa några minuter och häll sedan på grädden. Sänk värmen, lägg på ett lock och låt sjuda på svag värme så lång tid som det tar för dig att  koka pastan.
Blanda ner korvröran i pastan, eller servera den vid sidan av. Servera med färskriven parmesan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Lightly grease a small casseole dish. Soften cream cheese in microwave.
Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Fold in artichoke hearts and spinach.
Transfer to the prepared baking dish.. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Serve with toast points or a good crusty bread..

1 large Tomato
3 fresh basil leaves, juliane style cut
Kraft Parmesan cheese
1 Bag Spring Salad Mix
Extra virgin olive oil
1 French baguette cut into 32 (1/4 inch) slices
1 tub Aloute' garlic cream cheese spread
1/4 Lb Sandwich pepperoni sliced thin

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
Cut French baguette in 1/4 inch slices and place on a baking sheet and drizzle with Olive Oil.
Toast until just golden in the oven.
Slice tomatoe thin
Juliane Basil leaves.( Roll up basil and start to cut going from top to bottom while laying length wise on cutting board.

Layer each piece of toast with Aloute' cream cheese spread, pepperoni, salad mix, tomato, sprinkle a bit of basil and top with Parmesan
Serves 6

The basket spend for the ingredients far outweighed the cost of buying ready made tortellini, for instance, but in the pursuit of making an affordable, memorable meal and enriching my culinary skills, the end result was far better value.

discuss ...

This is my husband's favorite way to eat fish. And why not? You can't go wrong with cheese! :) I grew up in a home where we ate fish a lot, but Chris wasn't too keen on it. Tilapia is very mild tasting and is a good choice when you're trying to get a fish-hater to eat fish.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets
olive oil or melted butter
salt & pepper
1/3 - 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c bread crumbs
2 T fresh chopped parsley

1. Preheat your oven to 375. Cover a cookie sheet with foil (I just do this to make clean-up easier) and coat the foil with cooking spray. Lay the fillets on the prepared cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil or melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt since the cheese itself is salty.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, bread crumbs and parsley. Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly over the fillets and press lightly to make sure it sticks.
3. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Cooking times will vary depending on the size and thickness of the fillets.

I typically use Italian bread crumbs since they're already seasoned, but sometimes I'll use panko which produces a lighter crust if that makes sense. If I use panko, I add whatever dried seasonings I feel like.

Gör så här:

Baka potatisarna mitt i ugnen (200 grader) 40-45minuter. Ta ut dem och höj värmen till 225 grader. Skär ett lock och gröp ur bakpotatisarna. Lägg det urgröpta i en skål. Tärna tomaterna smått och mosa samman med potatisen. Tillsätt basilika, oliver, vitlök och smör. Smaka av med salt och peppar. Fyll potatisarna med moset och strö över parmesanost. Gratinera mitt i ugnen cirka 5 minuter.

I've had a whole week of producing bleh from the kitchen- and let me tell you it's been a terribly long week. I planned on developing a dense fig and apple cake with pistachios, buttermilk, orange and honey- a little Middle Eastern, if you will. I cannot even begin to tell you how dull it tasted. How so many well-suited elements could bake into nothingness is beyond me. Just complete and utter bleh! Mediocrity at its finest.

I absolutely abhor waste and so I let it sit on the counter for days hoping that Don would one day feel so peckish that I he would no longer be able to avoid it. Alas, he is so well-fed that nothing became of it and I was forced to accept that my once inspired cake idea was only inspiration for the rubbish bin. Then followed the almond and apple torte, which had so many things going for it- except for the apples, which couldn't hold their weight in flavour, sandwiched in a rich butter almond casing. Oh, how I pine for the unmatchable Bramley apple. So tart, so crisp and so pertinent in baking. I found myself reluctantly admitting defeat and accepting that my remaining apples would be for dipping in peanut butter or morning porridge only. I was in a state of kitchen block- nothing to cook and nothing worth writing about.

And so it was to my great delight that a recipe calling for pistachio and Parmesan crusted chicken came up at work and I found myself swooning over the crispy shards of Parmesan, the salty pistachios and the freshly chopped herbs- who needed the chicken? You certainly couldn't taste it once topped with such a mighty crust. I altered the quantities, omitted the chicken and baked off little mounds until cripsy and golden. Perfect as an accompaniment to soups and salads but absolutely impeccable paired with a glass of wine- which is just what I needed after a mediocre week in the kitchen.

Pistachio & parmesan tuilles

Inspired by Art Smith's pistachio and Parmesan crusted chicken I made them more cheese and less nuts to keep them crispy. Best served on the day- and absolutely at their best paired with a glass of bubbly.

Makes 10, easily doubled

Diet Facts: Gluten Free and not fried!

50g/ 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

50g/ 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp chopped pistachios

one rounded tsp chopped rosemary

one rounded tsp chopped thyme

1/4- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (the more the spicier the tuilles will be)

1/ Heat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas 6. Mix together all of the ingredients and spoon ten tablespoonful-sized mounds onto a nonstick baking pan. Bake in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven. If you want to make them into a curved shape, immediately drape them over a rolling pin and allow to cool. If you want flat disks allow to cool on the tray.

Hubby is a HUGE fan of eggs.  We buy the big pack of eggs at the supermarket (I think it has 18) and they are usually gone in just over a week.  This morning we wanted eggs for breakfast but I didn't want to do the usual scrambled or fried egg.  For our wedding we got this little omelet pan.  It is a small egg pan that closes and it two sided.  So I decided to spray the pan with some non-stick butter spray and drop two eggs in, then I sprinkles grated sea salt, cracked pepper and a bit of garlic powder.  I then diced some fresh basil and tomatoes, sprinkled them on top, drizzled a bit of balsamic vinegar and sprinkled fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  I closed the the pan and let is cook for a few minutes without flipping it.  If you like an soft yoke becarefule not to cook it to long.  Serve with toast. Yum!

As for the debate, it wasn't the laugh-fest we expected, but was certainly riveting! What did you think?

Popcorn with Parmesan and Pepper

2 TBS corn oil

1/3 cup popcorn kernels

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp kosher salt (or more to taste)

1. Make fresh popcorn by heating olive oil in a tall pot over medium - high heat. Add one popcorn kernel, and when it pops, add the remainder. Put the lid on the pot and gently slide the pot back and forth over the heat. When the popping stops for 15 seconds, remove from heat.

2. Drizzle olive oil over popcorn while stirring.

3. Add cheese, salt, pepper and toss gently. Serve.

Note: Yes, you really do want to make your own popcorn and not just do the prepackaged microwave thing. (Have you ever opened one of those bags before popping? Eek!) If you have a popcorn maker, of course that will do just fine.

Striking beauty and actress Debi Mazar, is well known as her role in the film GoodFellas, and currently stars in the series Entourage on HBO.

Tall and handsome Italian chef Gabriele Corcos is her husband, and together they are Under The Tuscan Gun, preparing delicious authentic Italian food together with an undeniable passion.

In this video, Gabriele and Debi prepare Melanzane alla Parmigiana, otherwise known as Eggplant Parmesan, a dish they recommend you cook "not to impress", but for someone you love.

Just start to watch the video and I promise you'll be hooked!

Visit their site here for more love, italian kisses, and the complete written recipe.

Gratzi Debi and Gabriele!

[blip.tv ?posts_id=1273311&dest=-1]

Serves 4

1 head garlic,cloves seperated,peeled

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 half inch thick baguette slices,1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 1tablespoon dried oregano

2 tomatoes cut into 1/4 slices

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine garlic and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor. Process till smooth.Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Arrange bread on baking sheet. Brush on some of the garlic mixture.Top with tomato slice,season with salt. Brush each tomato slice with garlic mixture. Mix cheese and oregano in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cheese mixture over each bread slice.

Bake until cheese melts and bread is golden brown,about 20 minutes. SERVE

My mother-in-law Barbara makes this incredible brisket for holiday meals.  If we can’t be at home with Matt’s family for the holidays, at least we can feel a little closer by eating the food we love.  We started this Rosh Hashanah meal with Matt's favorite food ever -- Barbara’s chicken soup with matzo balls.  We ate the soup with Challah.  Thankfully, the soup was the real thing since Barbara left some with us when she came to visit and it’s been waiting in the freezer for this special occasion.  That recipe is super double secret, but I will share her wonderful brisket recipe. I basically halved this recipe and cooked it for half as long because the brisket I used was a little under two pounds.  The brisket and the applesauce can both be made a day or more ahead of being served.

Barbara’s Brisket

4-5 lb. first or flat-cut brisket
3 large onions
1 clove garlic, crushed
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup water
3 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 325.  Slice onions and sauté in a little bit of oil until soft.  Remove from frying pan and sear brisket on both sides.  Season meat and rub with garlic.  Put into roasting pan with onions on top. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and water – pour over brisket.  Put bay leaves on top.  Cover tightly and bake at 325 for 3.5 to 4 hours.

Remove from oven.  Discard bay leaves.  Separate meat from gravy.  Mash gravy and onions through strainer. (I didn't have a strainer, so only mashed up the onions somewhat.)  Refrigerate meat and gravy overnight.  Remove fat from meat and slice against the grain.  Combine with gravy after fat is removed.  To serve, reheat covered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Leek Latkes

Latkes are probably associated with Hanukkah more than Rosh Hashanah, but leeks are a traditional Rosh Hashanah food, so I thought I would try out this recipe from Tipuach Zahav (Golden Apple) restaurant in Tel Aviv.  The latkes turned out really well.  They’re not too heavy because they’re lightly fried on each side, not deep fried. These are very flavorful, with the cilantro especially standing out.  They're also great little appetizers if you make the “mini” version described in the recipe.  The parmesan cheese can be omitted to make them non-dairy.

Mama Grande’s Homemade Applesauce

Applesauce is great with just about any kind of latke and this continues with the Rosh Hashanah apple theme.  Since I was a little girl, I’ve loved the homemade applesauce Mama Grande, my grandmother, makes with McIntosh apples from New York.   The recipe is very simple and can be frozen.

4 large McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped
½ cup water
3 tablespoons sugar

Cook apples and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat until apples are soft and the consistency you want in the applesauce.  Stir in sugar to taste – I used about 3 tablespoons in this batch.  Makes 4 servings.

We finished this meal with Apple Crisp.

Déposez la pièce de boeuf dans une grande marmite.

Versez l'eau et ajoutez tous les légumes et autres ingrédients sauf le parmesan.

Laissez mijotez de 4 à 6 heures à feu doux.

Vérifiez régulièrement le niveau de l'eau et ajoutez-en au besoin.

Rectifiez l'assaisonnement.

Ajoutez un peu de concentré de boeuf au besoin.

Enlevez la pièce de boeuf du bouillon, parez-la en enlevant les os et le gras.

Coupez la viande en gros cubes.

Replacez les morceaux de boeuf dans le bouillon et servez le minestrone en le décorant de copeaux de parmesan.

Vad är det för fel på krabba? Med en kall romsås med parmesan i? Eller kantarellsoppa för den delen? Går dessutom att köpa färdigt i lokala delikatessbutiken.

Men nä, åter till choppandet av femtioelva tillbehör medan oset av tacokrydda täpper till varenda por i ansiktet.

I'm not going to waste time justifying that claim, nor the culinary glory represented by the above picture. If you believe me (and you should), I'll show you how I did it after the jump.

Where to start? I guess the recipe would be a good place. It's another from the Bon Appetit files, and although I had to make some significant adjustments, the finished product was nothing short of phenomenal.

Above are some of the main ingredients. Personally, I would have rather had a better grade ricotta (I used to see about eight different kinds in Philly supermarkets), but I think the Sorrento turned out just fine.

In keeping with the recipe, I drained the 1 cup of ricotta for 2 hours. Because it was a more commercial brand of cheese (or at least I think that's the reason), it didn't produce too much in the way of liquid runoff. If I were to do it again with the same brand, I probably wouldn't waste time draining it.

Here's where the problems started. After microwaving and skinning the two yams, I was left with a paltry amount of orange flesh. The recipe makes reference to 3 cups worth, but I only barely scratched out 1.5 cups. I decided to carry on by halving all the remaining ingredients. Since I was only making this for me and my wife, I didn't think the smaller output would be too disappointing.

After combining the sweet potato flesh with the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, brown sugar and salt (I didn't have nutmeg), I went about adding the flour and "doughifying" the mixture. Even though I initially halved the flour, I found that I needed to add quite a bit more to make things workable. I continued adding flour as I formed the six balls and snaked them out as shown above.

This was the most difficult part of the procedure. Making anything near a uniform shaped snake was nearly impossible. I don't know if it was the consistency or my lack of practice, but this was semi-embarrassing for a former Play Doh rolling champion like myself. I ended up cutting the bigger snakes into smaller snakes and rolling them even thinner. The other problem was that every time I cut the darn things, they would pinch at the ends. It looked like I was making wrapped taffy candy.

At right is what some of the cut gnocchi looked like before cooking. This was after rolling them over fork prongs in an attempt to achieve the same ridged style portrayed in the magazine. As you can see, except for a few of the blobs, this method did not work out. But as my great aunt would say, "whadayagonnadoo?"

After boiling and cooling the gnocchi, I had to taste them. I was more than pleasantly surprised that they were of a good, slightly chewy consistency; neither gummy nor falling apart. After browning the butter, achieving the "toasty aroma" that the recipe describes, I added rosemary, salt and pepper. I know the recipe calls for sage, but I didn't have any and I think the rosemary actually worked out just as well.

Here's the finished deal, right before sprinkling with a bit more of Parmesan. The simple butter sauce added a nice richness to the gnocchi without overpowering their already delectable flavor.

I'm not kidding when I said that this was the best thing I've ever made. Though the preparation takes a lot of time, there's nothing more comforting than a plate of these sweet potato gnocchi on a cold winter's day.

I guarantee it.

]]> http://bonavita.wordpress.com/?p=679 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:58:38 +0000 momofnine http://bonavita.de.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/dont-count-your-chickens/ One of my family's favorite entrees is a dish they fondly refer to as "Chicken Fried Chicken".  I prefer to refer to this as "Crusted Parmesan Chicken". 

Crusted Parmesan Chicken is transformed when topped off with a delicious marinara  sauce or a lemon-caper sauce. It is also tasty standing alone.

Here is the recipe for this savory family favorite.

Crusted Parmesan Chicken

5 pounds skinless, boneless, trimmed breast halves

1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs ( I usually work with Progresso Brand)

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, very finely grated

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon ground pepper

5 eggs

2 cups milk

 1/2 cup olive oil ( add additional oil if needed when sauteing the chicken)

Flatten the chicken breasts with a kitchen mallet to about 1/2 inch thick.

In a medium mixing bowl whip the eggs, milk, garlic, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Mix the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese together on a large plate or shallow baking dish.  Meanwhile, heat the oil on medium in a skillet.

Dip each chicken breast in the egg-milk mixture and then dredge the breast in the bread crumb-cheese combination. Repeat the process so that the chicken breast has two coatings of the milk mixture and the bread crumbs. Place the breaded chicken breast in the heated olive oil and saute until both sides of the breast are light golden brown.  Repeat with all of the breasts. You should be able to work with 4 or 5 chicken breasts at one time, depending on the size of your skillet.

Do not over-brown the chicken breasts. Traditionally, sauteing is a process in which the chicken would be completely cooked  in your skillet. However, you will bake the chicken in the oven after you saute the breasts. Thus, you only need to brown the chicken, not completely cook it.

After each breast is sauteed, place them on a baking sheet. Once all of the chicken is sauteed, place the baking sheet in the oven on 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with a garnish of lemon or parsley.  Serves 10-12.

"One can say everything best over a meal." - George Eliot

First, check this recipe for the leftover risotto.

Risotto Balls Stuffed With Steak

2 cups of cooked and cooled risotto
1/4 grated parmesan
a few inches of cooked and rare steak, chopped (If you aren't bashful and finished that shiv, you can skip it)
1/4 kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/8 cup of italian parsley, roughly chopped
pine nuts to your liking
salt and pepper
1 cup of panko flakes
fresh lemon juice for garnish
This makes 15-ish.

Mix all ingredients together except the steak, panko flakes and lemon juice, and form little balls about the size of golf balls. Grab a piece of steak and smoosh it right in the middle. Don't be scared, this is still fancy. Throw the ball a bit between your hands to form a sweet, sweet roundness. Dredge through the panko flakes which have been salted and peppered. When evenly coated, lay on a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue to ball till there aint no mo. This should yield about 15. Bake at 300 for 20 minutes. You are looking to heat through, melt the cheese, and crisp the bread crumbs. When done, serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

One other thing, you can obvi make this with any leftover risotto or rice and throw in your favorite ingredients - just make sure they are small pieces. Try asparagus, mushrooms, bacon, shreemps, etc.

Jag hade inte hjärta att säga att jag typ har ett ½ kilo Parmesan i kylen....