Tag: recipe

Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

I love Gnocchi and when I saw this recipe being prepared on Cooking Channel’s Extra Virgin, by actress Debi Mazar and her husband, talented Italian chef Gabriele Corcos, I went out immediately bought the ingredients and made it for Mom and Spence.  It was a huge hit – the fried fresh sage leaves from my garden made it extra delicious.

Fast forward to last night.  My lifelong BFF were attending a Harvest Meal, all plant based, locally sourced and delicious.  She has been a longtime advocate of meat free Mondays (and primarily eats vegetarian/vegan meals). It so happens that we are spending the next three days at her beautiful second home in the gorgeous Traverse City Michigan. Over dinner we discussed what we’d like to do while there and I suggested that I prepare dinner for Monday night.  I’d told her about this meal and she readily agreed.

I’ve kept the recipe very close to the original with only a few modifications.

Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi – serves 2 as an entree, 4 as a sidedish

  • 1 lb fresh spinach
  • 8 oz ricotta cheese (not low fat)
  • fresh grated Parmesan
  • 2 egg yolks – beaten
  • 4 T butter
  • sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
  • fresh grated nutmeg
  • fresh lemon zest
  • fresh sage leaves

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I use a huge pasta pot with a strainer.

IMG_7744

Add the spinach to the boiling water, pushing it down over the next minute to wilt it.

Pull the basket and drain the spinach immediately, plunging it into an ice water bath to halt the cooking.  Drain the spinach and squeeze out the water completely.  (I wrap it in several paper towels, then place that bundle inside a clean kitchen towel and squeeze it)

IMG_7772
Squeezed out, it looks much smaller

Chop the spinach very fine.

IMG_7773
Chopped

Place the spinach in a large bowl, add the ricotta, 4 T of parmesan, eggs yolks, salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon zest.

Stir to combine.  Shape the mixture into balls about the size of large walnuts.

IMG_7782

Butter a casserole dish and lay the gnocchi in it, dressing it with a few thin slices of buttter and more parmesan (I use a generous amount of parmesan).

Bake the gnocchi for 20 minutes then set under broiler for 5 minutes to brown the top.

In a medium skillet, melt 1 1/2 T of butter and saute the sage until it starts to brown.  Serve the gnocchi, dressed with the sage and butter sauce, sprinkle on more of the parmesan.

IMG_7785

Prepare to fall in love….so yummy.

IMG_7786

Chef’s note: You could use frozen chopped spinach in this recipe.  If I weren’t retired, I think I might do that as the blanching step is time consuming (but worth it).  I added the nutmeg and lemon zest which really puts this into the “over the top” amazing category, in my humble opinion. 

THE WORLD’S BEST CHICKEN

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

Tonight I’m having a couple of dear friends (former co-workers) over for dinner and a long overdue girl’s night. I’ve had my eye on a recipe for sometime whose title The World’s Best Chicken was a claim that I decided is worth testing.  I love a recipe that doesn’t require me to miss out on cocktail hour with my guests by simply baking in the oven – easy right?

The simplicity of this recipe with a few select but flavorful ingredients including fresh herbs from my garden made this the right choice for tonight.  Here’s how easy it is:

IMG_7660
INGREDIENTS
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – cut into 2 tenders each
½ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Fresh rosemary

Fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and rosemary to garnish before serving.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, syrup, and vinegar plus some chopped fresh rosemary and pepper.

OMG! This is so tasty...
OMG! This is so tasty…

Place chicken breasts into 9×13 lined baking dish (I doubled lined it with foil for easy clean up).

IMG_7662

Season with salt & lots of pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated.

IMG_7663
Bake for 30 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

IMG_7667
Season with fresh rosemary and chopped flat leaf parsley just before serving.

Adapted from rachelschultz.com

Mole Sauce/Wet Beef Burritos with Mole

~ Spence's Girl ~ 4 Comments

I have loved Mole Sauce since I was first introduced to it at age eighteen.  My co-worker Loretta,  was of Mexican descent and one evening after work made us homemade cheese enchiladas with Mole sauce from scratch.  I was hooked.  Over the years, I’ve experienced everything from average mole sauce to spectacular mole sauce when dining at Mexican restaurants around the world. What I’ve never done is attempt to make this complex and richly nuanced sauce myself. That is until yesterday….

Cobbling together multiple recipes and then pulling ingredients from my pantry, fridge and freezer, I went to work.  It turned out incredibly well (Spence rated it A+ and 5 star). Of course, I neglected to write it down precisely while making it. That said, I’m going to share the steps I followed and what I used.  I’d encourage you to try it and play with these flavors until it tastes perfect to you. Was it alot of work? Yes.  Was the effort worthy of the outcome?  Oh yeah.

Mole Sauce

  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • olive oil
  • 2 T chili powder
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1 t cumin
  • salt & coarse ground pepper

Place the garlic, olive oil and dry ingredients (above) in a sauce pan set at a medium-low heat, warming and softening the garlic – not browning it – for 7-10 minutes. Into the same sauce pan, add the following:

  • 1/2 c chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1 – 2 T Chipolte in Adobo
  • 1 16 oz can of chicken broth
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T grated or finely chopped sweet onion

After adding these items, bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Pour through a strainer, place liquids back into sauce pan, discard solids.  Increase heat (not to boiling), adding these next ingredients:

  • 2 T tomato paste
  • 2 T smooth peanut butter
  • semisweet chocolate chips – between 1/4 to 1/2 cup (start with less, add more to taste)
  • 1-2 T sesame seeds – lightly toasted in a dry skillet

Stir together until smooth and allow to simmer at a low temp for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  The sauce will reduce and if it becomes too thick, add a bit more chicken stock.

Wet Beef Burritos with Mole

  • 1 recipe Mole Sauce – heated
  • Taco Meat – Ground Beef seasoned with garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, pepper & Mexican seasoning blend
  • Finely Shredded Mexican Four Cheese Blend
  • Flour Tortilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat each tortilla, one at a time, on the burner of your stove until soft and pliable (20-30 seconds).  Assemble by spooning in meat, then cheese – rolling up like a burrito. Place in baking dish. Continue assembling the remaining burritos. Spoon a generous amount of mole sauce over each burrito covering top and sides, top with more cheese.

IMG_7574

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted on top.  IMG_7576

My Mission – Find these Products

~ Spence's Girl ~ 1 Comment

For those who’ve visited my blog, it’s obvious that I’m food obsessed.  I admit it freely. I love to cook and (pat on the back) am really skilled at it. Since retiring, Spence has benefited more than ever from my endeavors. I frequently cook from scratch, often make up recipes and even before I started the blog, photograph my culinary creations. My Pinterest page is a testament to my obsession as are the countless cookbooks and voluminous recipes I’ve clipped or have on cards in my old-school recipe box.

It is rare that I need to buy food staples at the grocery store as my pantry and freezer hold a myriad of items.  Recently I started a list of things that I needed to replace. To my shock, several mainstays and comfort foods were missing when I visited my local Kroger store.

  • Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp Soup 
  • Stouffer’s Spinach Souffle
  • Stouffer’s Welsh Rarebit

Out of a shopping list of ten items, this seemed a dismal failure but I chalked it up to the condition of the store which has been undergoing an endless “renovation” and is in a state of turmoil.

“Perhaps they are so disorganized that they don’t even know what they need to order” I surmised.  I went online and let them know of my concern.

A few days later, we traveled north to Traverse City for a few days with family. Since Spence had to make a beer run I asked him to look for these items at their local IGA store. Struck out – not one of the missing items to be found.  My concern was escalating. Gloria, their next door neighbor, stopped by and heard my tale of woe.  She’d be at the Traverse City Meijer store that day and offered to do reconnaissance for me. If she was successful, she’d buy every can of the elusive shrimp soup and report back on the frozen items. It’s a huge store but that evening we learned the sad truth.  NO LUCK – not one of the items to be found. I felt a rising sense of panic but not to be deterred, committed to searching all grocery stores in our county upon returning home.

Last Saturday, I was on a mission. I drove to the nice, newer Meijer store in the neighboring community of Davison.  STRUCK OUT.  Next, I went to the Davison VG’s and while the soup and Welsh Rarebit eluded me, I hit gold with the Spinach Souffle, snagging six of them!

I was encouraged.

Recalling that there is a Kroger in Davison, I trudged on.  And to my delight, snagged the last six Cream of Shrimp soups and five Welsh Rarebits.  As I drove home victorious, I declared “I must blog about my quest“.  Spence was impressed with my coup but said “don’t put this in your blog“. What does he know about blogging?

Proof!
The elusive soup

Please watch in the future for a post of the recipe – my Famous Shrimp Bisque – using the elusive but not discontinued Cream of Shrimp soup as the base! 

Chicken Parmesan topped with Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

IMG_6953

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

  • Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • sea salt & coarse ground black pepper
  • flour
  • egg – beaten
  • Italian bread crumbs
  • peanut oil
  • fresh mozzarella – sliced
  • Parmesano Regianno – grated

Place chicken breasts into a ziploc bag, use a meat tenderizer to pound into a uniform thickness. Set up a breading station as shown below – one for flour, mixed with salt and pepper, one for beaten egg, one for italian bread crumbs.

IMG_6955

IMG_6956 2

Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shake off excess. Then dip into egg, then into the Italian bread crumbs.

IMG_6959

Heat an electric fry pan, pour in peanut oil – enough to cover the bottom and with a depth of 1/4 inch. When heated to 400 degrees, place the chicken in the oil.  Flip after a few minutes, when the coating is browning.

Remove chicken and place onto a broiler pan, top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Turn your oven to BROIL.

IMG_6967

Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melting.  Remove and plate with the Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (see recipe below), Parmesano Regianno and fresh flat leaf parsley.

IMG_6969

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • salt, pepper, garlic seasoning (I use The Melting Pot Garlic & Wine Seasoning)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place cherry tomatoes into a cast iron skillet (or oven safe pan), drizzle olive oil over top, add salt, pepper and garlic seasoning to taste.  Place in oven for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes burst.  Serve hot, spooning over the Chicken Parmesan.  These are also excellent tossed with pasta.

How To Make Great Seafood Even When The Catch Of The Day Is Far Away!

~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

Spence and I adore sea scallops and this post by a blogger I follow was too good not to share. The Tickled Pink Shrimp Salad looks like a perfect light dinner on these hot summer evenings. Check out her blog, it’s great!

Grilled Zucchini & Summer Squash with Goat Cheese

~ Spence's Girl ~ 8 Comments

With the bounty of fresh produce from farmer’s markets and gardens, veggies are plentiful this summer. Recently, using a summer squash, zucchini and some imagination, I came up with this recipe and may I say – it was fabulous. The combination of fresh herbs, grilled squash, sweet sautéed onion, creamy goat cheese and a burst of fresh lemon make this a new favorite for Spence and I.

Grilled Zucchini & Summer Squash with Goat Cheese

Weight Watchers Smart Points 3*

  • Zucchini
  • Summer Squash
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Seasoning (I love Melting Pot’s Garlic & Wine Seasoning)
  • Coconut Oil

Step One: Slice the squash into 1/2-inch “planks” (on the diagonal). Lay the planks on a paper towel, season with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning on one side. Brush a grill pan generously with coconut oil and bring to a searing heat. Place the planks on the grill pan, flipping only one time after 2-3 minutes (you’ll see grill marks). Allow another 2-3 minutes of grill time, remove and place the planks into a baking dish in a single layer.

  • Diced Sweet Onion
  • Butter

Step Two: Saute the onion in butter on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Top the squash with the onions.

  • Fresh Herbs: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme & Chives – chopped together
  • Goat Cheese
  • Lemon Wedge
  • Red Pepper Flakes
Just before baking.....
Just before baking…..

Step 3: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Top the squash with chopped herbs, followed by crumbled goat cheese. Squeeze fresh lemon over the top. Bake for 10 minutes – just to soften the goat cheese. Top with red pepper flakes and serve.

Note from Spence’s Girl: I purposely left the recipe without quantities as you can adjust based on how many servings you’d like. If you don’t have access to these exact herbs, use what you have – basil, oregano, tarragon – have fun with it. While not vegan, this would be a lovely vegetarian entree.  

* To calculate the Weight Watchers Smart Points, I used 1 oz of goat cheese and 1/2 tablespoon of butter, based on 2 servings.