Blackberry Crumbles from Martha Stewart Living Magazine – Recipe from Anne

Blackberry Crumbles from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Prep time: 15 min. Total time:60 min (inc. cooling time).
Serves 4 (big eaters)

4 cups fresh blackberries (about 14 ounces)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for ramekins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
6 store-bought sugar cookies (about 2 ounces), coarsely crushed
1/4 cup rolled oats

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Stir blackberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, and the lemon juice in a bowl; set aside.
2. Put butter, cinnamon, salt, and remaining tablespoon sugar into a small bowl. Stir vigoursly with a rubber spatula until creamy. Stir in cookies, oats,and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons flour. Work mixture through fingers until it forms coarse crumbs ranging in size from peas to gum balls.
3. Butter four 5-ounce ramekins (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter). Divide blackberry mixture among ramekins; transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake until juices are bubbling and topping is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack 20 minutes before serving.

Pesto and Co. – Shopping Tip from Colleen

There is a really nice little Italian store in the Rozodal apartment complex, on the Mliekarenska side. It sells a good selection of cheese and ham along with pasta, wine, creme caramel and lots more. It’s called Pesto and Co. It closes for lunch so it’s best to go in the morning or late afternoon. It opens for a couple of hours on Saturday morning. It is also close to the large market on Mileticova.

“Sunday is not a day of rest.”

Mom Puts Family on Her Meal Plan

Leslie Kaufman in a recent New York Times article says that the best way to put daily meals on the table for her family is to plan and prepare on Sunday.   She gives a detailed rundown on how she does this in the midst of being as busy as any of us.  Take a look: Mom Puts Family on Her Meal Plan.

Learn and Enjoy,
–E

Pasta with Smoked Salmon – Recipe from Valeria

Pasta with Smoked Salmon

1 packet of smoked salmon
1 small bunch of fresh dill
1 box of pasta (bow ties are best)
60 g butter
200 ml cooking cream

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box.
In the meantime, cut up the salmon into small pieces.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot. Add butter and stir until melted.
Add salmon, dill and cream and stir until heated through.
Serve immediately.

Creamy Pasta with Peas and Ham – Recipe from Valeria

Creamy Pasta with Peas and Ham
15 g butter
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup frozen peas
1 package of fresh fettuccine or 1 box of pasta
150 ml cooking cream
30 g grated Parmesan cheese
150 g sliced ham, chopped

Cook pasta according to instructions on the box and drain.
In the meantime, melt butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat.
Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add peas, cream, Parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon ground pepper and cook 3 minutes.
Stir in cooked pasta and the chopped ham.
Serve immediately.

Easy Roast Chicken with Vegetables with a Chicken Cooking Tip from Valeria

Easy Roast Chicken with Vegetables

1 whole chicken
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 lemon, cut in half
Dried or fresh rosemary, thyme, sage (optional)

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 onions, cut into quarters
2 red, yellow, or orange peppers, cut into strips
1 whole head of garlic, sliced lengthwise in half

Preheat oven to 425 deg F or 220 deg C.
Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
Place chicken in glass or metal pan that can go in the oven.
Baste the outside of the chicken with olive oil and juice from the lemon. Place the squeezed lemon into the cavity of the chicken. Add dried or fresh herbs, if desired.
Place cut vegetables around the chicken and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

How to tell if a chicken is cooked:
1. the leg will be loose and easy to move
2. if you stick a knife into the meat, the juices
will run clear, not red
3. if you pull the thigh away from the body you won’t
see a lot of pink.

Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after you pull it from the oven before cutting it.
It will continue to cook during this time.

Roasted Endive and Prosciutto Ham – Recipe from Amanda

Roasted Endive and Prosciutto Ham

This is something I stole from Jamie Oliver. Take fresh thyme and pound it in the mortar/pestle with garlic . . . add LOTS of olive oil, pour the whole mess into a large bowl, and then work it into endive which I cut in half long ways. Wrap the oiled/herbed endive in prosciutto ham, pour some good balsamic vinegar over it all, and roast. It also works with radicchio, but that turns an awful color when it cooks, although it tastes really nice.

Cooking time: I must confess, I’m not really sure. I’d say between 45 and 60 minutes, however.

Recipe Search Tip

Let’s say you have looked at the category list and the current posts but you only have a few ingredients in the cupboard.  Try plugging in a spice like basil or a vegetable like cucumber, for example, into the search box and voilà,  you’ll have a list of recipes with those ingredients.

Enjoy,

–E

Roasted Tomatoes – Recipe from Amanda

Roasted Tomatoes
I can’t seem to get tired of this. I blanch tomatoes in boiling water to remove the skins. Those oblong Italian tomatoes work best. Slice them in half. Sometimes I deseed them, too. I put them in a shallow dish and drizzle them with olive oil. If I am feeling ambitious, I make some basil pesto and put a small dab of that on each tomato half. If I am lazy, I just chiffonade some basil leaves and sprinkle them over. Lots of sea salt and black pepper and roast. I like the results best when I use a slow oven and they take on more of a sun-dried consistency, but you can also blast them quickly in a really hot oven until they start to blacken. Some parmesan cheese or mozzarella is good on these too . . . while they are still in the oven is best so it all melts.

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Toasted Pine Nuts – Recipe from Amanda

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Toasted Pine Nuts

I love beets. I had this salad at my friends’ restaurant and then recreated it at home. Not exactly the same, but very good.

I wrap the beets in foil and roast them in the oven. This time I did three beets, but that was really too much for just the two of us. Since roasting beets is not an exact science, I discovered that if they are still a little too crunchy, you can dice them and then finish them in the microwave. I add a little olive oil, lemon juice, crumbled feta, and the pine nuts. Chopped fresh herbs are nice if you have them: mint or oregano or both works well.