Sauteed Mushrooms on a Bed of Grilled Polenta

I was trying to create something a little different for my recent book club meeting, and decided I wanted to use polenta. I have never made it before, but always enjoy dishes that contain in, so I thought why not? I searched a little online, and ended up using this recipe as inspiration, although I sort of did my own thing.

I began by cooking the polenta according to the instructions on the package, but subbed chicken broth for water and added parmesan cheese. Once cooked, I let cool and then cut into small squares.

I chopped up 2 packages of mushrooms, one package of cremini and one package of baby bellas. I added them to a warm pan with a small amount of SmartBalance Light spread and a few sprays of olive oil. I let cook for about 5-6 minutes, and then added 2 shallots, finely diced, as well as 3 cloves of garlic. I gave those an additional 2-3 minutes to cook before adding a few turns of balsamic vinegar to the pan. I let the vinegar cook in pan and begin to caramelize, and then added a few squirts from a slice of lemon, and some white wine. I finished it off with salt and pepper, as well as some fresh rosemary and flat leaf parsley.

I then took the polenta squares and browned on both sides in a pan using olive oil spray. Once browned, I arranged on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. I placed a small mound of the mushroom mixture on top of each polenta square and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of parsley. Everyone agreed that these little bites were unique and delicious! We also agreed that our book of the month, Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, was amazing and we can’t wait for the movie (starting Julia Roberts) to hit theaters!

Spaghetti & Meatball "Stoup" (courtesy of RR)

Rachael Ray. I have a love-hate relationship with the woman. EVOO. Yum-O. Sammies. Stoup. I could go on and on with reasons why I can’t stand her! But, then I think about the fact that she is pretty much a marketing and multi-media genius, and I have to give her credit. My husband watches her show from time to time and will sometimes request meals. Recently, he requested her Spaghetti and Meatball Stoup, and I gave in. I am always a little uneasy about making one of her recipes, simply because I don’t really care for her that much. But, for the most part, we do enjoy her meals when I decide to make them, and tonight was no exception. My camera was missing when I made the first batch, so these pix are from the leftovers and therefore, do not look that appetizing. But, this meal was quick, SIMPLE, and a definite pleaser!

The only change I made was to make turkey meatballs and use slightly less spaghetti. I also broke the spaghetti in thirds, which I found more manageable. So, in true Rachael Ray fashion, I must say that it was YUM-O!

Spinach Ravioli with Lemon White Wine Sauce

This is really more of a “semi-homemade” meal, although I hate to use that term because I do despise Sandra Lee! My husband hates ricotta cheese. It is one of my favorites! That makes for a tough life for me, let me tell you! But, he was away on business the other night, so I was able to indulge in some spinach and ricotta ravioli from Trader Joe’s. I boiled according to the directions on the package. I knew I wanted some sort of sauce, and based on a quick inventory of items in my cabinets and fridge, I came up wit the following…

I started by heating a handful of frozen spinach as well as a handful of artichoke hearts in a sauté pan with a little water. Once heated through, and once most of the water had been absorbed, I poured some (sorry, not good with measurements on this one) white wine (chardonnay to be exact) into the pan, followed by a quick turn of extra virgin olive oil. I let the wine cook out a bit, then added the juice from half of a small lemon. I let simmer for about 5 minutes. While simmering, I added some minced garlic (1 clove) to a pan, and added to the sauce after the 5 minutes, along with a dab of SmartBalance Light buttery spread. I finished it off with some fresh flat leaf parsley and grated parmesean cheese and viola, dinner for one was served!

Lots of Minty-Chocolately Goodness!

Chocolate Chip and Peppermint Crunch Cookies

I made this recipe way back in December as I was eager to try out some new cookie recipes. I found this recipe on epicurious.com and thought is sounded intersting and different, unlike the typical cookies I make during the holidays. I followerd the recipe nearly exactly. I made the batter and refrigerated overnight. The batter was incredibly tough and sticky, so it was a bit hard to work with and quite messy, but really it was the perfect consistency to create the right shape and texture. I made this and arranged on plates along with my bark and some peppermint brownies that I threw together and gave as Christmas presents to a bunch of people at work and some neighbors. These cookies got 2 thumbs up all the way around, so I guess they are a keeper!


Peppermint Brownies

The brownies were really an afterthough, but made a nice addition to my holiday treats platter. I used Ina's "outrageous" brownie recipe and just made a few small additions. I added a few drops of peppermint extract to the batter, as well as mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and some of the crushed peppermint from the recipe above. Yum!

Very Sad...

I left my camera in Boston on New Year's Eve. It is safe, it is at a friend's apartment...but it contains many pictures I have been anxious to upload so I could blog. Also, I have been DYING this week not being able to take pictures of some of the dinners I have made. I think I am going to get it back this weekend! Let's hope!

Chocolate, Dried Cherries, and Pecan Bark

I saw this fabulous bark creation on Emeril Live last week, but could not for the life of me find the recipe when I searched by episodes that aired last week, so I decided to create my own. Know that Emeril served as my inspiration, although I ad-libed in terms of how I concocted this delicious treat! But, bark itself is such a simple concept, you could really whip it up on a whim any time!

I started with caramelizing some pecans. I chopped pecans and added them to a mixture of melted butter and brown sugar. I used about 3 cups of pecans, half a stick of butter, and about 3/4 cups of brown sugar. I let the pecans coat thoroughly in the saute pan, and then transferred them to a parchment lined baking sheet where I baked at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. I let them cool for a few hours, sprinkled some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves over them, and then crumbled/separated the pieces a little bit.

Once the pecans were cool, I used a double boil to melt white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate (in 2 separate bowls of course). I used chips, for convenience, but of course you could also use chopped bars/squares. Once melted, I added a dab of butter to the mixtures for sheen (I remember Emeril doing that). I then poured the chocolates onto the parchment paper, and marbled them together. On top, I added the pecans and then chopped dried cherries. I worked the pecans/cherries into the chocolate mixture a little, but wanted them to stay mostly on the top. I then set the baking sheet in the fridge to cool. The next day I slammed the creation on the counter to break up, placed on decorative plates, covered in cellophane, and set them aside as gifts for my para-professionals at work.

I actually made 2 batches, one which I put together exactly as described above, and the other where I scattered the nuts and cherries on the bottom and poured, and then marbled, the chocolate on top...resulting in a more even distribution of the goodies. Both came out great and equally tasty!

(Here is a picture of the underside of the bark):

Sugar Cookies

I made sugar cookies tonight for one of my classes. I teach 7th grade English and have 5 classes of about 22 students each. We are currently reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and among other things, studying figurative language. Each class collaborated to create an image of the Ghost of Christmas Past according to the detailed description in the novel. I took pictures of each creation, had my team of teachers vote, and decided to reward the winning class with cookies! I decided to shape the cookies into a C because that is the class that won (our classes are labeled A, B, C, D, E). I told the kids they could look at the plate of treats to determine if they were the winners. The students didn't understand how they would be able to tell until they say that the cookies were shaped as the letter C. They went nuts. They also enjoyed the taste of the cookies, I think, although I found them a little dry.

I used this recipe from the Food Network, but added a few dashes of cinnamon to the batter. Like I said, it was a bit dry, but perhaps that was because I rolled them a little thinner than perhaps I should have. I decorated with some with an assortment of Christmas sprinkles, some with cinnamon and sugar, and some with rainbow sprinkles.

Anniversary Cake!!!!

Matt and I had the most delicious wedding cake EVER! Really. We did. Gretchen Ellison from Enchanted Wedding Cakes created our wedding cake, seen below. We loved the look and taste of it. It was phenomenal!

Instead of freezing the top layer, Gretchen gave us the option of a fresh mini-cake for our anniversary...we went the fresh route as we wanted to ensure deliciousness on our anniversary! She did not disappoint. Although there was only one layer of filling instead of a triple layer, it was still fabulous. We had alternate flavors on different tiers of our original cake, raspberry lemon torte and strawberry Grand Marnier. For our anniversary cake, we received the raspberry lemon flavor. It was SO GOOD!

Anniversary Breakfast!

Today was our 1st wedding anniversary! Yay us! We had a lovely dinner out on Saturday night, and actually had a gourmet dinner service come in and cook for us on Sunday, our actual anniversary. Sunday morning, though, we made breakfast together and enjoyed cinnamon french toast and mimosas. I used the unity candles from our wedding ceremony as a centerpiece for breakfast, as well as a "LOVE" sign that was on the guestbook table at the reception. I also used the toasting flutes from our wedding for the mimosas. Yes, I am the epitome of a sentimental SAP!

I don't have an exact recipe for the french toast, but here is the basic idea...

We sliced some amazing cinnamon swirl bread nice and thick. The secret to a good batch of french toast, I believe, is the thickness of the bread, which is why I like to use a loaf I can slice myself. This loaf was purchased at a hole in the wall country store in Waterville, NH while we were enjoying a fall weekend away. It had been sitting in the freezer waiting for the right morning to make an appearance. We beat 2 or 3 eggs with a little skim milk and a pinch of nutmeg and a little cinnamon together, dipped the bread in the egg mixture, let it saturate, and placed on the griddle. Once done, I served with powdered sugar and cinnamon sticks for garnish, and pure maple syrup for pure taste!

Oh Christmas Tree!

I was lucky enough to have my first snow day of the year on Monday (yes, teachers get JUST as excited about the first snow!), so it seemed like a perfect day to decorate our Christmas tree; the one we had searched for and cut down on the coldest day of the year thus far! We went to a local tree farm on Saturday, and aside from the cold, aside from my nephew hysterically crying, and aside from the fact that their tree selection was pretty poor, we had a great time! The cold certainly didn't chill our spirits!

In order to get into the festive mood, I played some holiday music and made these delicious egg nog cocktails. No exact recipe here, but here is what I did. I put some ice in a shaker. I then combined rum (or you could use whiskey, or perhaps even kaluha?) with a good amount of egg nog (I used the light version, didn't want to feel too guilty about it) and a little cinnamon. Shake the heck out of it, and pour over crushed ice in a martini glass. My favorite part was the cinnamon sugar rim I added before placing the ice and then drink in the glass. I finished off the cocktail with a sprinkling of nutmeg. Cheers!