Steak Feta Pasta

The other day we had some leftover grilled steak, so I sliced it up real nice and made up this yummy pasta dish. I went through the kitchen adding whatever sounded good, and ended up with quite a large ingredient list! Don't be scared though- I love that a pasta dish like this is one that can be changed to suit your tastes or needs. Omit or substitute whatever you want. Since I used one pound of pasta, it made a ton, and we had a lot of leftovers. Next time I might cut down on the pasta a little. The leftovers are really good though! For the balsamic dressing, I used this delicious recipe from the blog Eating, Etc. We had used it the previous day for salads, and we really enjoyed it.

I don't add any salt because of other salty ingredients, but if you think it needs it, salt to taste at the end. Makes a nice dinner with some steamed lemon garlic broccoli.

Steak Feta Pasta

1 pound dried pasta (I used bowtie)

2 TBS. olive oil

1 very small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

9 oz. leftover steak, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup pine nuts

6 TBS. balsamic dressing

2 TBS. sun-dried tomatoes (I like the oil-packed ones)

fresh pepper, to taste

dried basil and oregano, to taste

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 can (6 oz. dry weight) black olives, chopped coarsley

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

2-4 TBS. fresh parsley

6 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Meanwhile, sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil under tender. Add the steak, pine nuts, and cook and stir for a few minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic dressing, black pepper, and dried herbs, and turn off the heat. When pasta is done, drain and place in a very large serving bowl. Add the steak/balsamic dressing mixture, and toss to coat. Then add the lemon juice, olives, fresh tomatoes, parsley, feta, and parmesan, and mix together gently.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Caramel Fudge Tart

Last week, we had some friends over for dinner, and that's always a good excuse to make a dessert. I had been eyeing this particular dessert for a while, and had fun making it. This went over very well with company, and we loved it too. A couple notes: in the caramel layer, I would use either salted butter nex time, or add a pinch of good salt. I found the caramel layer too one-dimensional and sweet without any added salt. I did use salted mac nuts for this recipe.

Caramel Fudge Mac Tart from Mrs. Fields Best Ever Cookie Book

Pastry:

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sold unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Layer:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed

2 tablespoons butter, at room temp

Chocolate Fudge Layer:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 tablespoons sour cream

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
chopped toasted macadamia nuts, for garnish (about 1 cup)


Make the pastry: In a food processor, grind the macadamia nuts with the sugar into small pieces. Add the flour and butter, and process until the dough resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the water and vanilla. With the machine running, add the egg yolk mixture and process until the dough gathers into a ball.


Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Scrape the dough into the pan and press into the bottom and up the sides. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, make the caramel layer: In a small heavy saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water over low heat, stirring costantly. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; then let boil without stirring until until the syrup turns a light amber. While the syrup is boiling, brush down the sides of the pan from time to time with a wet pastry brush. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the hot cream, carefully (it will bubble rapidly). Continue stirring, over low heat if necessary, until all of the caramel is dissolved into the cream. Stir in the butter and set aside to cool to room temp.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the tart dough all over with a fork, and bake for 18 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Cool to room temp.


Meanwhile, make the chocolate fudge layer: In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the cream, egg yolk, sugar, and sour cream over medium heat. Stir until the mixture just begins to scald (the point right before boiling- do not let it boil). Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Pour the fudge into the cooled crust.


Pour 3/4 of the cooled caramel over the fudge layer. Top the caramel layer with chopped macadamia nuts. Drizzle the remaining caramel over the nuts.


Cover the tart and chill in the refrigerator to set. Let the tart sit at room temp for 20 minutes before serving.

Rosemary-Lemon Roast Chicken

I love roast chicken, and so does my whole family. Last weekend, I made one and didn't use a recipe; I just threw in whatever we had around that sounded good. During roasting, I basted once or twice, and the skin was a nice crispy golden brown. (The crispy skin is almost my favorite part.... although it's so bad for you!)

Rosemary-Lemon Roast Chicken

1 whole roasting chicken, guts-in-a-bag removed

1/2 lemon

4-6 sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 garlic cloves, crushed and sliced in 2 or 3 pieces

olive oil, for drizzling

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Lay the chicken in a large baking dish (such as a 9x13) and squeeze the lemon juice all over it. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the used lemon, the rosemary, and garlic. Drizzle olive oil on the breast and legs of the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast until chicken is done and interior temperature reaches 170-175. Mine roasted about an hour and a half.

Lemon Meltaway Cookies

I was looking for a fast and yummy treat to bring to a friend who had just had a baby. Lemons are very plentiful here this time of year, so I've been baking and cooking with them a lot (you might have noticed). I love lemon! I saw this recipe online a while ago and have been wanting to make it ever since- this was the perfect excuse! This is a Taste of Home recipe, and comes to us via Allrecipes.com. I added more juice to the frosting, and also added a little natural lemon extract to both the cookies and the frosting. I left out the food color. Instead of refrigerating for 2 hours, I froze the dough for about 40 minutes. These cookies have a shortbread-like texture and taste- they are wonderful!

Lemon Meltaways from Allrecipes.com

3/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy; beat in lemon juice. Combine the flour and cornstarch; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Shape into two 8-in. rolls; wrap each roll in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
2. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-12 minutes or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Remove to wire racks to cool.
3. For frosting, in a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and food coloring if desired; beat until smooth. Frost cooled cookies.

Lemon-Paprika Chicken with Parsley Mayo

Tonight for dinner we had a yummy chicken dish and roasted baby potatoes with it. The Parsley Mayo went well with both the chicken and potatoes. The baby potatoes I used were so cute- they were tiny red fingerling potatoes, and I hope I can find and use them again; they were so delicious! Sometimes baby potatoes are hard to find; use whatever potatoes you want and just cut them small (less than 1-inch pieces). With dinner, we also had green beans- the ones available here are very long and flat; after some internet research (30 seconds worth!) I've come to the conclusion that they're Italian flat beans.

Parsley Mayo

1/2 cup mayo

2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

sprinkle of salt

Lemon-Paprika Chicken Tenders

5-6 boneless, skinless, chicken tenders

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon paprika

flour, for dredging

1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Mix together mayo ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sprinkle lemon juice over chicken tenders and then sprinkle with paprika. Lay out three separate shallow plates (such as pasta plates). In one, place flour. In the next one, place the beaten egg with salt. In the next one, place the breadcrumbs. Take chicken tenders and first dip in flour, then egg, and the breadcrumbs, on both sides. At this point, you can put them on a large plate, cover, and place in the fridge until ready to use. When you are ready to cook, heat the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with Parsley Mayo and lemon wedges.

Lemon-Garlic Potatoes

1 1/2 pounds baby red fingerling potatoes, cut in half

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes and other ingredients together in a large bowl, and transfer to a lightly greased 7x11 baking dish with sides. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until fork-tender, turning a few times. (My potatoes were tiny... if yours are in larger pieces, you may need to bake them for a longer amount of time). Add parsley and toss with potatoes.

Volcano Cheese Bread

After seeing this recipe on a friend's blog, I decided I needed to make it as soon as possible. I made her recipe pretty much exactly, except I added 2 cloves of minced garlic to the cheese and I used one cup of whole-wheat flour. I also brushed the freshly baked loaves with melted butter. I couldn't help myself. For the cheeses, I chose sharp cheddar, colby-jack, and "Queijo Ilha Curado"; a type of Sao Jorge cheese.

As we were eating this today, my husband and I were talking about how these would make amazing appetizers at a restaurant, in smaller portions. I'd rather eat these than the meal- which is what we did tonight! We had our fill of Volcano Cheese Bread along with some Yogurt Fruit Salad. Sometimes you just gotta live on the wild side!

Try this recipe- it was easy to make, delicious, and so satisfying.

Volcano Cheese Bread

Starter
1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup cool water

Dough
All of the Starter
1-1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Filling
2-1/2 cups grated cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Starter: In a medium-sized bowl, mix Starter ingredients together till well-combined. Make sure all ingredients are well-mixed; batter will be stiff. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature. (I had to add about a tablespoon of extra water).

Bread Dough:
1.  Combine risen starter with Dough ingredients. Knead (using your favorite method--I used my KitchenAid dough hook) until smooth dough is formed. Put dough in lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or till nearly doubled.

2.  Gently press on dough with your fist to deflate it, then press it into a 9" x 12" shape. Mist with water; sprinkle with grated cheese. Starting with long side, roll carefully into a log and seal seam by pinching. Place seam-side down on lightly oiled or floured surface. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until puffed but not necessarily doubled.

3.  Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut dough crosswise into 2 halves or four pieces, depending on the size of loaf you prefer. Place cut side up on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, using one sheet for two halves or two sheets for four pieces. (I cut mine into 5 small loaves and baked for 18-20 minutes). Gently spread apart to expose cheese.

4.  Mist with warm water and bake immediately, 20 minutes for smaller loaves or 35 minutes for larger loaves, or until the cheese is melted and loaves are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven, cool (only slightly, so you don't burn yourself!) and dig in!

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Bife à Portuguêsa

I've been wanting to cook more Portuguese food, so I did an internet search and found this delicious looking recipe online, from the blog "Once Upon a Feast". There's beef, garlic, red wine vinegar, garlic again, and presunto- Portugal's version of prosciutto. Click here to go to this delicious recipe. When we've had restaurant meals here in the Azores, common sides are small, peeled, boiled yellow potatoes and steamed broccoli, so that's what we had with it. (Yes, we had broccoli again.... we really do have it often!). I chose not to peel the potatoes, and when they were done, I tossed them in a bit of butter. Let me just say that presunto is delicious. Our local grocery store had a ton of brands and varieties of presunto- I'm excited to use it again.

Bife à Portuguêsa
from Once Upon a Feast

Ingredients:
4 large peeled garlic cloves, 2 crushed, 2 cut lengthwise in half
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 beef tenderloin steaks, ¾ “ inch thick (rib eye is another good choice)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 large bay leaf, crumbled
4-6 thin slices presunto ham, prosciutto or other smoked ham ( thinly sliced back bacon or pancetta are other options)
¼ cup red wine, optional
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon cut into 8 wedges

1. Preheat oven to 250° F.

2. Mash the crushed garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper to a smooth paste with a mortar and pestle or in a bowl with the back of a spoon. With your fingers, rub the paste into the steaks, pressing firmly into both sides of the meat.

3. In a heavy 10-12 inch skillet (preferably not non-stick), melt the butter in olive oil over moderate heat. When the foam has almost subsided, add the garlic halves and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove and discard the garlic and bay leaf. Add the steaks and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, turning with tongs and regulating the heat to they color quickly and evenly. The steaks should be well-browned, but still pink inside.

4. Transfer the steaks to individual baking dishes or fairly deep plates and keep them warm in the oven. Add the slices of ham to the fat remaining in the skillet and cook over high heat, turning them frequently for 1-2 minutes.

5. With the tongs, place 2 slices of ham on each steak. Pour off all but a thin film of fat from the skillet, add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile scrape in any brown particles clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan.

6. Pour the sauce over the steaks, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve at once surrounded by roasted potatoes.
 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

Lemon Catfish and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

I had thawed some catfish fillets in the fridge, and needed to use them last night. I decided to just sautee them in some butter/olive oil, and then add fresh lemon juice. To go with, I made Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and steamed broccoli. I've never made catfish before (although I've had it in restaurants) and it was easy to cook, and has a very mild flavor. It was popular with the whole family.

The potatoes I used were very small, thin-skinned yellow potatoes that grow in Portugal (mainland Portugal, I believe). I love them. They're similar to Yukon Golds, so that would be a good substitute. I always leave the skins on when cooking with these potatoes. Actually, I leave the skins on always, unless I'm using a potato that has a rough or thick skin. The measurments of butter, milk, sour cream, and cheese are just estimates, so add as much or little as you want.

Lemon Catfish

4-5 small catfish fillets

1 tablespoon salted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted and hot. Add catfish and cook about 4-5 minutes per side (may need more or less time depending on thickness of filets). During the last 3 minutes of cooking, pour the lemon juice over the fillets and let it reduce a little. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

2.5 pounds yellow thin-skinned potatoes, cleaned

2 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised

2-3 tablespoons milk (I used 2% for this)

2 tablespoons softened, salted butter

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese

salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes or until easily pierced with fork. For small potatoes, I just left them whole, but if your potatoes are large, you can cut them up before cooking. During the last 5-7 minutes of cooking, add the garlic cloves. (I left them whole, but you can cut those into large pieces if desired). Drain. Using an electic mixer (I used my stand mixer since this was a large amount), mash, adding milk, butter, and sour cream. Mix until mostly smooth. Then, add cheeses and mix until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Old Man

As we were driving the other day, we pulled up behind this man riding side-saddle on his donkey. He was waiting to cross the "Via Rapida", which is kind of like a small freeway. We see guys riding donkeys like this often- it's kind of a cool sight.

Pasta with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This was a pasta that the whole family enjoyed. I used whole wheat angel hair in this, but use whatever pasta type or shape you want. Fresh basil or parsley would have been a welcome addition, but I didn't have any on hand. Olives would have been tasty, too. I didn't add any salt; feta and parmesan cheeses provided plenty of salt for our tastes. Use a good quality olive oil for this dish. We had this with steamed broccoli. (I know, we have pasta and broccoli a lot for dinner.... it's good stuff!!)

Pasta with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
3 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and coarsley chopped
1 (6 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

pepper to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water, according to package directions. Meanwhile, mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Drain cooked pasta; add to large serving bowl with oil mixture and toss. Add feta, Parmesan cheese and pepper. Serve warm.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

White Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

I love cookies, and love white chocolate. These cookies are very yummy and not hard to make. My 4-year old son helped me make these and we had a blast!


White Chunk Oatmeal Cookies


1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups chopped white chocolate
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Then, stir in the rolled oats, white chocolate chunks and pecans. Drop by tablespoons (or use a cookies scoop) onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.
Note: These don't flatten much while baking. You may want to slightly flatten them with the bottom of a drinking glass before or right after baking.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Happy New Year!

I hope your new year is filled with joy and peace. Here is a pic of a pointsetta, which is more Christmas-y than New Year-y, but I liked the photo and I don't have anywhere else to put it, so here it is. :D