Ratatouille

After watching the movie and seeing how amazing a cartoon version of Ratatouille can be, I started researching recipes.  Some were way easy and some were super complicated that took a lot of ingredients.  I took the medium level route. It was pretty much amazing.  The vegetables really shrunk down and Nick felt like he didn't get enough to eat so the second time I made this, I put it in one large baking casserole dish rather than individual ramekins.  It made it much easier, but it didn't have a much liquid.  I like the liquid on the bottom to dip my bread in.  I think I'll leave the seeds in the tomatos next time so there is more liquid on the bottom.  Kind of like a vegetable french onion soup.  Yummy!







Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 small onion (sliced into thin circles)

1 zucchini (sliced into thin circles)

2-3 small Japanese eggplants (sliced into thin circles)

1 bag of baby peppers from the veggie stand

2-3 plum tomatoes (seeded and sliced into thin circles)

6 cloves of garlic (peeled)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or soy parm cheese!)

2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

1 tbs thyme

1 tbs oregano

1 tbs parsley

3 tbs fresh basil

3 tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 and roast garlic and peppers for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and slice the peppers, mash the garlic.

Turn oven down to 350.  In large casserole or oven save dish, layer the onions to cover the bottom.  Drizzle balsamic vinegar over them.  Add a few sprinkles of the thyme, organo, parsley, and basil.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and sprinkle some cheese over the top.  Repeat this process with remaining vegetables (I only put one dash of balsamic vinegar since it has a really strong flavor).  Top with remaining cheese.

Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.  Remove cover and bake for 10 minutes, to brown cheese.

Great with French baguettes!!  

Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry

I really wasn't expecting this meal to be all that great.  It was just one of those "not a lot of thought" meals.  Um... it was absolutely delicious.  I can't wait to make this again!  Not a lot of ingredients, amazing flavor, a little kick.  It was glorious.  I think this may even be my new "go to" stir fry dish.   You can totally skip the mushrooms and make it with beef (grass fed steak) if you absolutely have to have meat in your diet, but the mushrooms are a perfect substitute! I don't really like cooking with broth very much either because of all the sodium, but just buy organic, sodium free vegetable broth and you add the flavor without the sodium.  Enjoy!

Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped and slightly minced

1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced

A generous splash of red wine (I used Pinot Noir)

A small splash of soy sauce

1-2 Tbs. garlic chili sauce

1 head of broccoli, chopped

1 red pepper, cubed

½ cup sliced almonds (you can roast them in honey for more sweet flavor, but I didn’t have honey so put them in raw)

2 cups of brown rice

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

Directions:

Cook the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil for a minute or two over medium high heat.  Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the splash of wine, soy sauce, and chili sauce and cook on high for about 5 minutes.  Add chopped broccoli and red pepper, turn to low and cover for about 5-10 minutes or until broccoli is cooked to your liking (I like mine crunchy). 

Meanwhile, pour the rice into a pot (or rice cooker) with the vegetable broth and water.  Cook until rice is done and liquid is absorbed.

Mix the rice and vegetable mixture together and top with chopped almonds.  Yummy!!!

Cheese Pizza

I've been watching a lot of Man Vs. Food lately, which causes me to crave some serious junk food.  I don't understand how they can make a twelve patty burger look so amazing... even to someone who doesn't eat meat very much.   I saw an episode this week for home made pizza and wanted to make it (I've been having these cheese pizza with bread stick cravings).  I have this really really good focaccia bread recipe and wanted to use it for the crust.  I actually made this pizza once before with a recipe, but the sauce was way to salty and the dough was way too thick (and I LOVE thick pizza dough).   So I decided to make up my own sauce and crust.  This was one of the best pizza's I've ever had (and I'm kind of a pizza snob).  

Please make and enjoy and share with others. 

Cheese Pizza
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce: 

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs. dried oregano (or to taste)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup water

Toppings:

1 block of fresh mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Crust:

Place the 1 cup of warm (115 degrees) into a large mixing bowl.  Add sugar and yeast and let sit for 10 minutes till foamy. (I heard you can skip this step, but I like it... so I do it).  Meanwhile, pour flour, salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil, and pepper in a mixing bowl and gently combine.  When yeast is ready, pour water mixture into flour and mix with hands (or a fancy expensive mixer).  Knead with flour for a couple of minutes and place in a bowl with a damp towel over it (I make sure to put a little olive oil in the bowl) and put in sunlight for about 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes, punch down dough and knead some more, then place outside for another 20 minutes to rise about double in size. Take out of sun and punch down dough.    

Sauce:

In an oiled medium sized pot, add minced garlic and cook until lightly browned.  Add herbs, salt sugar, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.  Add water until desired consistency.  Simmer for about 20 minutes to combine flavors.  

Pizza:

Tear dough in half and roll out two crusts to fit in a 9x13 baking dish.  Place dough in oiled baking pan.  (I didn't do this last night, but I might let it rise for another 10-20 minutes before baking. 

Top dough with slices of fresh mozzarella, then top with sauce (should make 2 pizzas... maybe a little extra depending on how much sauce you like).  Then top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  Bake in a 350 oven for about 15-20 minutes. 

Enjoy!! I absolutely LOVE this pizza recipe and can't wait to make it again!  

Eggplant Parmesan

I think this is my favorite meal of all time.  Well... my favorite home cooked Italian meal of all time.  It's so delicious.  I'm one of those really annoying people who talks about how awesome her food is the whole time she's eating it every time I eat this.  I strongly suggest this meal. 

Eggplant Parmesan

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 medium sized egg plant cut into about 1/4 inch thick circles

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbs. milk

1 pkg. linguine noodles

olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

Sauce:

1 can tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

1 tsp. organic sugar

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. oregano

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Dredge the eggplant in flour, then dip in egg and milk mixture (gently beat egg with milk), followed by the panko bread crumbs.  Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the eggplant and place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil noodles until Al dente. 

To make the sauce:  In a medium sized sauce pot, add onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add oregano, basil, salt, sugar, and tomato sauce.  Simmer for 20 minutes (or longer... the longer the better). 

To plate:  Place a heaping scoop of noodles on your plate, followed by a ladle of sauce, then top with the crisp eggplant.   Top that with Parmesan cheese.  (You may also put the Parmesan cheese on, then melt it in the oven.)  Enjoy!!

Chocolate Ravioli

I got this recipe from lovely Giada DeLaurentiis from the Food Network.  I just couldn't believe that I could actually recreate something that she cooks.  I highly recommend this ravioli.  It's super good if you need a sweet treat and don't mind deep frying (which we don't do very often).

Chocolate Ravioli

Ingredients:
20 wonton wrappers

1 cup of Nutella

powdered sugar

20 mint leaves (didn't have)

oil for frying

Directions:

Place a nice sized spoonful of Nutella in the middle of a wonton wrapper and pinch the edges to seal.  Fry in hot oil and dust powdered sugar over the top.  Garnish with mint.  SO EASY!!! Enjoy!!

Beet Ravioli

This one was really good, although a lot of work for a really mild beet flavor. Plus, my blender didn't work so well so we had beet chunks in the pasta (very thick pasta).

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• Beet Ravioli
• Makes: 4
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• Ingredients:
• For the pasta:
• 3 beets
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 5-8 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
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• For the filling:
• 1/3 c. ricotta cheese
• 1/3 c. goat cheese
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp. olive oil
•  salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
For the pasta, I boiled the beets, peeled them, and pureed them with eggs and flour to form the dough. Again, my blender didn't work very well and there were chunks.  I suggest using a food processor (which I don't have at this point). Form into a ball of dough and roll out with a rolling pin (or pasta maker).  

For the filling and ravioli, I Mixed all ingredients together until smooth.  Season to taste.  Place a teaspoon of filling inside a 3 inch square of pasta dough.  Fold one edge over and seal edges, pressing together firmly with fingers.  Boil ravioli for 2-3 minutes in a gently boiling, salted pot of water.

You can make a sauce to pour over this dish, but we were so sauced out from the "brown butter" sauce that we just used olive oil and parmesan cheese. 

Mushroom Ravioli wth and Asparagus Cream

I do realize that I'm about 2 months late with this continuation of ravioli week.  We were so excited for that week and then it just got to be soooo much.  I LOVED most of the ravioli we had, but 5 days in a row of ravioli for lunch and dinner got to be a lot.  On Wednesday (or Thursday? I can't even remember!) we had mushroom asparagus ravioli.  I remember it being good.  As you can see, my sauce didn't quite turn out.  Probably because I tried to take the healthy route. 

 

Mushroom Ravioli with Asparagus Cream Sauce

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

18-20 wonton wrappers

Mushroom Filling:

1/2 minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 package of chopped crimini mushrooms

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sage

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Sauce:

4 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups asparagus, cut into 1/2″ lengths

2 cups spring onions, cut into 1/2″ lengths

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cream

Directions:

For the filling, in a medium bowl combine onion, garlic, mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, salt, sage, and ground pepper. Stir ingredients gently until well combined. Place about 1 tsp. of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper and fold over, pinching the edges to seal.  For a better seal, brush with water or egg.

For sauce, Add butter and olive oil to a skillet. Once butter is beginning to foam, add asparagus and onions to the pan. Saute until asparagus is al dente and onions are tender, about 4 minutes. Add cream and turn to low until thickened.  Pour over ravioli.  

Lamb and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Wow. This Ravioli was amazing. Nick and I agree that it's the best ravioli of the week so far.

It's extremely hard to go from cooking all vegetarian to roasting a lamb. I felt so bad from the moment I picked out the meat from the freezer at the store (yes we bought frozen lamb, it was half the price man!). While standing over the crock pot, shredding the lamb butt, I couldn't get "bah bah black sheep" out of my heat. The version that I sang to my dad in front of the video camera after a performance at pre-school. So cute. So innocent. I"m so glad that it tasted amazing, I would have felt so bad if that little lamb sacrificed its life for crappy ravioli.

Definitely felt like a food critic after eating this one. The lamb and creamy goat cheese just worked perfectly together. And when I added the honey... wow, it was completely amazing. I couldn't believe how awesome everything ended up being. This is going to be a hard ravioli to beat. I've never really truly tasted food that worked together so well.

Lamb and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 lamb shanks, salt and peppered

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stock of celery, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup red wine

1 tsp dried thyme

salt/pepper

1/2 cup goat cheese

2 tablespoons honey

40 wonton wrappers

Directions:

Place lamb, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, stock, red wine, thyme, salt, and pepper in a crock pot. Turn heat to low and cook for 8 hours. Remove the lamb and shred. Strain out the vegetables and reserve the liquid for sauce.

Place the shredded lamb in a bowl and mix in goat cheese and honey. Place a tablespoon of mixture in the middle of a wonton wrapper and top with another. Seal with fork. (make sure to rub water along the edges of the ravioli to help seal.)

Pour the reserved liquid into a saute pan and let simmer on medium high for about 25 minutes.

Place the ravioli into a pot of gently boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove and plate. Pour some of the remaining liquid over top and drizzle with honey.

Yum!

Edamame Walnut Ravioli

This ravioli was pretty delicious. Of course after the first bite, I ask Nick if he likes it more than the lobster ravioli from Monday. He said that the lobster was better, but it was close. I actually may have liked this one better than the lobster (note that I don't enjoy seafood as much as most), but again it was a close one.

I was worried at first because this recipe didn't have a sauce, and really what is a ravioli without a sauce. I actually even drizzled olive oil over the top because I'm sure a non-sauce aphobe... if that makes sense.

Next time I make this, I think I would add a little brown sugar to the filling and a splash of soy sauce. I just LOVE garlic edamame with brown sugar and soy sauce so I think adding it to the filling would make it even more amazing. And even though it was great without sauce on top, I might have to add a little something, I'm a dipping person.

Enjoy!












Edamame Walnut Ravioli
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 cup Edamame, shelled and frozen 
1 small garlic clove
1 tbsp white wine
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
3 tbsp white wine
4 cups fresh baby spinach tightly packed
2 tbsp fresh chives chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Filling:

1/4 scant cup walnuts 

18-20 wonton wrappers

Spinach and Mushroom Saute:

8 ox carton of mushrooms (I used bella)

1 small garlic clove 

Directions:

Place the walnuts in a large pan. Toast the walnuts on medium heat until they are lightly browned. To the pan, add frozen, shelled edamame, garlic clove, white wine, salt and pepper.

Let the wine bubble away on medium heat, about 1 minute. When the wine has evaporated, transfer the walnut-edamame mixture to a food processor. Blend into a smooth paste.

Place a teaspoon full of the walnut-edamame mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Then sprinkle some chopped chives on top of the mixture. Place in gently boiling water and let boil for about 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms. Rise spinach leaves, and finely mince the garlic clove. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the chopped mushrooms in a single layer. Cook the mushrooms on medium high heat, moving them as little as possible, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Then add the minced garlic, salt, pepper and white wine. Let the wine bubble and evaporate a little. Then add the spinach leaves and saute till they are just wilted.

To serve the ravioli – place the spinach mushroom saute in a serving dish. Place the ravioli on top. Garnish with chives.

Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Champagne Sauce

Yay!!!

I love themed weeks! This week I'm doing 7 different types of ravioli. Why? Because ravioli is awesome and so versatile. You can put anything in between two sheets of pasta and call it ravioli. Also, I've been watching Masterchef a ton lately and want to create everything I see... so I'll start with ravioli.

Tonight I made Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Champagne Sauce. Nick raved about it the whole time we ate it. He rated it a 9.5. I never let him rate anything a perfect 10, so 9.5 is pretty amazing. I've never been a real seafood person, or a lemon cream sauce person, but this was delicious. Tonight, we thought of names for our restaurant. hee hee. The only complaint I have is that it didn't make more. We had 4 ravioli's each, which was plenty for dinner (they are so filling!), but now Nick is making mac and cheese for our lunch tomorrow. I wish it had been enough for 2 meals each. Oh well.

Since I don't have a pasta maker (which I'm registering for) and I've tried to make ravioli by hand and just can't get it thin enough, I cheated a bit and used won ton rappers. I mean, they are $1.50 for a huge pack... who would go through the trouble of making their own pasta (But don't worry! I do plan to later this week... stay tuned!)?

Please enjoy this meal and think of Nick cracking lobster claws with the back of a can opener when you try this recipe.

Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Champagne Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For Filling:

1/2 lb of cooked lobster (we used 2 claws), chopped 1/4 inch cubes

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

2-3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

16 wonton wrappers

For Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

4 minced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 cup champagne

juice from 1/2 lemon

2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream

1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Mix together lobster, ricotta and parmesan. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg slightly with a fork to create an egg wash.

Brush bottom wonton (or pasta sheet) with egg wash and place 1 tablespoon of lobster mixture in the center. Brush top of wonton with egg wash and place on bottom, sealing by pinching the edges with a fork.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the ravioli in the boiling water (gently boiling, otherwise it might break) and let boil for 2-3 minutes until ravioli begin to float. Take out of water and place in a large bowl.

Meanwhile to make the sauce, saute the garlic for a minute in the butter. Add champagne, parsley and cream. Boil for 3-4 minutes until it reduces. Lower heat to low and add a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese. Let simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Toss the cooked ravioli in sauce and serve with lemon slices.

Eggplant with Tomato Gravy

My lovely vegan friend from work would bring me her left over dinner from the night before while Nick was on the boat, and I would eat it for breakfast. It was all pretty amazing stuff, but one thing that I loved was this home made tomato gravy. It was so amazing and delicious and I felt like I was eating a pizza every time. So she gave me the recipe and I totally botched it because you're supposed to boil the tomatos first and peal them... and I totally just skipped that little step all together. Still, mine turned out pretty amazing. I'll definitely make this dish again.

Eggplant with Tomato Gravy

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant (or 3 small thai eggplants)

3 roma tomatos (you can use more, that's just all I had)

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon basil (or fresh basil. yum!)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

olive oil

Directions:

Slice the eggplant into thin strips. Dredge in flour, dip in egg, then bread crumbs. Lightly fry both sides in a little bit of olive oil and place in 9 inch square baking dish. Preheat oven to 350.

Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic until translucent and add tomato, sugar, and basil and boil for a couple of minutes. Turn down heat and let simmer 10-15 minutes (I really didn't keep track of time, but I think the longer the better).

Bake the eggplant in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Take out and add tomato gravy, and cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. Yum!