For the Love of the Stove

Food Network Magazine, May 2012

Yet again, I read this and had to have it. (I think that seems to be my MO.)  I love asparagus, but adding bacon, what could be better??  If asparagus isn't your favorite, think again.  Now the recipe says to steam the asparagus, but I always roast my asparagus because I think it really enhances the flavor.  Your choice.

Ingredients
1 lb asparagus 
Salt and pepper to taste 4 strips of bacon, chopped
4 egg yokes
3 T water
1 T white wine vinegar
1 t dijon mustard
Pinch of cayenne
Salt
1 - 2 T chopped chives (optional - I didn't add them because my grocery store didn't have them and honestly, I didn't miss them.)


Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 F.  Snap ends off of asparagus.  Lay on a baking sheet and spray with Pam (or coat with olive oil), salt and pepper.  Cook for 10 - 20 minutes depending on how big they are. 
2. Cook bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels, reserving the drippings.
3. Combine egg yokes, water, white wine vinegar, dijon and cayenne in a heatproff bowl set over simmering water; whisk until thick, 4 minutes.  
4. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 T of bacon drippings, and salt to tase.  
5. Serve over asparagus and top with bacon and chives.
 

from Family Circle

I was looking for something healthy to go with a lemon-herb rice salad and this sounded perfect.  Huge success and super easy.  I like the idea of having such a quick, easy, delicious and really affordable way to make fish.  I could definitely eat this once a week.  Different sides would really change it up and there are so many things that would go with this main dish.  Two thumbs up.

Makes 4 servings
Prep: 5 minutes 
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes (My pieces were small so I went for a 400 degree oven.)

Ingredients
4 fresh or frozen tilapia fillets (about 1 1/2 pounds)
18 rich round crackers (such as Ritz)
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
3 T olive oil
3/4 t dried basil
2 T Dijon mustard
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
Lemon wedges (optional - but I thought added a great flavor to the fish)
Tartar sauce (optional - I can honestly say that I didn't read this part of the recipe but if you like tartar sauce it couldn't hurt for sure.)

Directions
1. Thaw fish if frozen.  Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels.  Heat oven to 425 F.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Place fish on prepared baking sheet.
2. In a plastic bag, crush crackers.  Add cheese, oil and basil; shake to combine. 
3. Brush top side of each fillet with about 1/2 t of the mustard and season with salt and pepper.  Press cracker mixture onto mustard coated side of fillets.
4. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  If desired, serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce. 

Big surprise, I was watching Food Network, one of Giada's shows and I watched her make this.  I had to make it.  It's a bit time consuming because you have to saute all the vegetables in batches but it smells divine! 


By Giada De Laurentiis
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min
Inactive: 8 hours
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 large zucchini (about 2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch rounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
10 medium carrots (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar


Directions
1. Heat 1/3 cup oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Working in batches, add the zucchini and fry until golden, about 2 minutes per side. 
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried zucchini to a baking dish. 
4. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. 
5. Sprinkle half of the garlic, basil, and mint leaves over the zucchini.
6. Add the remaining oil to the frying pan. 
7. Add the carrots to the hot oil and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. 
8. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried carrots to the dish of zucchini. 
9. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. 
10. Sprinkle the remaining garlic, basil, and mint leaves over. 
11. Drizzle the vinegar over the vegetable mixture and toss gently to coat. 
12. Cool to room temperature. 
13. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. 
14. Allow the vegetables to come to room temperature before serving. 
15. Transfer the scapece to a platter. Serve with bread, fish or chicken.

Yum!  Perfect for a cold and/or rainy night!  My one change is that the recipe calls for diced tomatoes and then you have to blend the sauce.  That means an extra thing to clean and I don't ever notice a difference between diced and crushed.  Your call.

Fine Cooking
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 t crushed red pepper flakes; more to taste
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes 
3 T vodka
1/2 c freshly grated Parmegiano-Reggiano (I used already grated cheese)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 T heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 lb dried rigatoni (about 4 cups)

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until it's just tender to the tooth, 10-12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the garlic and red pepper flakes in the oil over medium-high heat until they're fragrant and sizzle steadily for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes and their juices and the vodka, and bring to a boil.  
4. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook to intensify the flavors and reduce the sauce slightly (by about one-quarter), 10-15 minutes.
5. Stir in 1/4 of the Parmegiano, the parsley, cream, 1/2 t salt and pepper, and more red pepper flakes if you like (I added a little bit more and it was really spicy - make sure you taste it first)
6. Simmer to incorporate the cream and reduce the sauce slightly, about 5 minutes.  
7. Reduce the heat to low, cover and keep warm.
8. Drain well and return the pasta to its pot.
9. Add the sauce, set the pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring, to let the pasta absob some of the sauce, 1 minute. 
10. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cups Parmegiano.


Also, I sauteed some shrimp and topped my portion with that.  I just sprinkled with garlic powder, salt and pepper and cooked on both sides until pink and curled.  Delicious. 

This was one of those recipes that I read and had to make, and had to make sooner rather than later.  Wow, is all I have to say, that and it's super spicy so consider this your warning. 
While I was cooking the risotto I realized that I didn't have any blue cheese dressing, but I just happened to have the ingredients to make some, so I did that in between stirring the risotto and ladling in more liquid.  (I'll include that at the end of this recipe.)
Cuisine at Home
 Ingredients
For the brodo, simmer:
4 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 c hot sauce (such as Frank's)
2 T honey
1 T Worcestershire sauce
For the risotto, sweat:
1/2 c minced celery
1/2 c minced onion
2 T unsalted butter
1 c dry arborio rice 
Degaze:
1/2 c lager beer, hot, such as Stella Artois (I used white wine b/c that's what I had)
Stir in:
2 c chopped cooked chicken (rotisserie works great)
Garnish with:
chopped celery
blue cheese crumbles
blue cheese dressing
Directions
1.  For the brodo, simmer broth, hot sauce, honey and Worcestershire in a saucepan over medium heat.
2.  For the risotto, sweat minced celery and onion in butter in a large saute pan over medium heat until slightly softened, 3-5 minutes.  Stir in rice and saute until each grain is coated in butter.
3.  De-glaze the pan with beer and stir until completely absorbed, 1-2 minutes.  Add brodo to the pan in 1/2 c increments; simmer and stir frequently until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next, about 45 minutes total.  Stir in chicken and heat through.
4.  Garnish each serving of risotto with chopped celery, blue cheese crumbles and blue cheese dressing.  


Blue Cheese Dressing
2 1/2 ounces blue cheese
3 T buttermilk (or more if you want a runnier dressing)
3 T sour cream
2 T mayonnaise
2 t white wine vinegar
1/4 t sugar
1/8 t garlic powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1.  In a small bowl, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork.  
2.  Stir in sour cream, mayonaise, vinegar, sugar and garlic powder until well blended.  
3.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.


 

It was a toss up between this recipe and buffalo chicken risotto....and this won, at least for this round.  Tough choice, but definitely amazing.  The directions for this is a little different than the original, but I'm going with it.  I don't stray that much from original - I do things like not skewer the shrimp and croutons, but just grill them on an indoor grill.  No worries, just go with it. 
Cuisine Tonight
Boil:
8 oz dry linguine (I used rotini because I think it's easier to eat than linguine)
Melt:
2 T unsalted butter
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 diced shallots
1 can anchovy fillets in oil, minced (2 oz.) - btw, no one at my dinner party had any idea these were in there and LOVED the dish so don't skip them, just don't tell anyone before they eat what's in the dish.
3 T minced garlic
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T minced lemon zest
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 - 1 t red pepper flakes (I used 1 t)
Off Heat, toss:
8 c chopped romaine lettuce
1/4 c grated Parmesan
Salt and black pepper to taste ( I never added these and it was delicious )
Boil:
Pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions; drain and set aside.
Melt:
butter with oil in saute pan over medium heat.  Add shallots and anchovies and melt, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.  Stir in lemon juice, zest, Worcestershire, and pepper flakes.  Toss pasta with sauce to coat. 
Off heat, toss romaine and Parmesan with pasta and season with salt and black pepper.  Serve pasta with Grilled Shrimp and Croutons

Grilled Shrimp and Croutons
Whisk:
1/2 c olive oil
1T EACH minced lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
1/2 t EACH kosher salt and black pepper

24 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on
24 cubes Italian baguette, 1-inch thick

Preheat: grill to medium.  Brush grill grate with oil.
Whisk: together 1/2 c to oil, zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.
Brush: shrimp and bread cubes with lemon oil.
Grill: shrimp and bread, covered, 2-3 minutes per side.  Serve shrimp and croutons with Caesar Salad Pasta.

Note: The recipe calls for the shrimp and the croutons to be grilled on skewers.  Whatever is easier for you is best.