To be or..or not to be Italian!!!

I wanted to try something new with out a recipe, just put things I like to eat together.. and it turned out really well.

The way this dinner really came about, I was in the grocery store and decided that I wanted a nice fresh pasta and bruschetta bread for dinner, so i started tossing things in the cart, as I got to the isle with the pre made bruschetta in it, they had three different kinds and all looks like some form of a chunky salsa or worse soup....well I was grossed out and figured why not just make my own, it can't be that hard..

So back I went wondering again, picking out all the ingredients I need to make bruschetta...I did this all from my taste of Bruschetta, I also made a very nice pasta based on what I was craving with cherry tomatoes, crimini mushrooms, shrimp and garlic..I cannot believe how well this all turned out, it was so good I have two plates full and my husband and I polished off the bruschetta..

here is what I did :)

For the Bruschetta

1 large tomato

1 medium red onion

6 leaves fresh basil

4 cloves of garlic

1 tbls balsamic vinegar

2 tbls olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 Baguette 

Cut the tomato and red onion into small diced pieces. Take the basil and stack the leaves together and roll into a log shape, cut into thin strands..crush the garlic, I found that the best way to get this nicely done is using a zester or micro plane..Put all the ingredients in a NON METAL  bowl and mix to combine, add balsamic and olive oil, salt and pepper, ensure you taste to see if you need more of the vinegar, oil salt and pepper.. let set in fridge for at least 30 minutes, this allows the flavors to combine..and TASTE AGAIN I find I usually need to add a bit more salt before serving.

 *Note -Please do not use dried basil it does not have the same flavor.

Put oven on Broil,cut baguette into 1/2 inch slices place on baking tray, toast in oven just till browned on top then flip and do the same, Make sure you do not over toast them as they become very hard and that doesn't make for Delicious Food.

Take toasted bread out of oven and top with the Bruschetta mixture or let people top their own :)

Bruschetta after setting in the fridge

 

Yummy Ready to serve

Delicious Bruschetta

Now for the Pasta, now this was by far the best pasta dish I have ever made..or at least that is what I think, as I am not a big fan and runny tomato sauces or Alfredo sauces..don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that, but i enjoyed the simplicity of this dish and the fact it wasn't the everyday pasta with sauce. 

you will need

1 pint of cherry tomatoes , half them if you like or leave them whole

6 crimini mushrooms thinly slices

4 cloves of garlic crushed

1 small red onion diced

10-15 medium shrimp , de-veined, skinned and tails off

1 tbls of Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

handfull fresh basil chopped

Your favorite pasta

Parmesan cheese to finish

Put you water on to boil for the pasta, add pasta and cook till al dente - just a little bite not squishy.. at the same time as putting the pasta in the water, heat a large frying pan on medium high heat.. once pan is heated add olive oil and onions, sweat the onions for 3 mins and then add the garlic..add mushrooms and tomatoes, cook for 5 mins stirring frequently..add shrimp to pan and cook till each side turns reddish about a minute a side DO NOT over cook the shrimp, take cook pasta and put in frying pan with the shrimp, tomato mixture add fresh chopped basil and toss, plate add Parmesan cheese and serve..viola a beautiful pasta dinner :)

Cooked ready for pasta to be added

pasta added and mixed

parm added..yummy

plated

Happy Cooking!!!

Fran :)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Pineapple Skewers with Butternut Squash and Rice

I've been trying out a lot of new recipes lately, and here is one that was pretty good, minus the sauce that I used.

what you'll  need to feed 2 people is the following...

2 chicken breast, de-boned, skin removed and cut into chunks

1/2 a pine apple cubed

8 portions of bacon cut in half

Take the bacon and wrap each chunk of chicken with it, and then put them on a skewer-I use metal skewers as they don't make much waste and there is no soaking involved, alternate between bacon wrapped chicken and pineapple.. and viola your skewers are ready, heat BBQ and cook till chicken is cooked through- this varies depending on the head of your BBQ, about 15 mins with turning every few minutes.

I tried out a new sauce that wasn't very tasty, so you can add BBQ sauce or any sauce you like, personally I think just the bacon and pineapple flavor was enough :)

For the Butternut Squash you will need..

1/2 a large butternut squash cut into small chunks

and a 1/4 inch slice of onion

tin foil

and vegetable oil (in a spray bottle if possible)

Take the slice of onion and wrap it in a nice little package of tinfoil and use a fork to poke holes in it, thus allow steam to escape. 

Take another piece of tin foil and lay flat on the counter, place the onion pack in the middle and spray the area with vegetable oil to prevent sticking.

Take the chunks of butternut squash and place on top of the onion pack and close up the tin foil ensuring all sides are sealed close, cook on the BBQ for 10-15 mins till squash is cooked through :)

Steam your rice according to package directions- I always make my husband make the rice as his is the tastiest :) and fluffy..

Plate and serve :)

Happy Cooking!!!

                                       

Fran :)

Pecan and Raisin Butter Tarts

I have to say, I wasn't going to attempt to ever make these, but I was having a craving for them.. So I looked up a recipe and yes I used Anna Olson's again :) Her show is awesome..but can make you crave sweet food like crazy.. I went into this thinking, it can't be that hard, can it? the mixer does most of the work.. well for someone who has never made them before , this is one treat I am probably never going to make again.. Don't get me wrong they were good..but time consuming and difficult .. I actually almost had scrambled eggs instead of filling :( 
they turned out, but learned some lessons, number 1 being , BUY THEM!!!
but here is the recipe and my photos.. they were very good, but if it is your first time making them, easy to screw up...baker beware!!!

Ingredients

Two-Crust Pie Dough

• 2 1/4 cups cake and pastry flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar

Butter Tarts

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed dark brown or demerara sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup lightly toasted pecan pieces

Directions

Two-Crust Pie Dough

1.  Stir the flour, sugar and salt to combine in a bowl or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cut in the butter by hand with a pastry cutter or on low speed until just small pieces of butter are visible and the mixture as a whole just begins to take on a pale yellow colour (indicating that the butter has been worked in sufficiently).

2.  Stir the water and lemon juice together and add this to the dough all at once, mixing until the dough just comes together. Shape the dough into 2 discs, wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before rolling. Alternatively, the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed in the fridge before rolling.

3.  Shape into 2 logs and chill.

Butter Tarts

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 F and lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Pull the chilled dough from the fridge 20 minutes before rolling.

2.  Cut each of the logs of chilled pie dough into 6 pieces. Roll each piece out on a lightly floured work surface to just under a ¼-inch thick and use a 4 ½ inch round cookie cutter to cut each into a circle. Line each muffin cup with the pastry so that it comes about ½-inch higher than the muffin tin, and chill the lined tin while preparing the filling.

3.  Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepot over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is bubbling. Remove the pot from the heat.

4.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture while whisking constantly until incorporated. Sprinkle a few pecan pieces into the bottom of each tart shells and ladle or pour the filling into each shell.

5.  Bake the tarts for 10 minutes at 400 F, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust edges have browned. Cool the tarts in the tin and after about 5 minutes, carefully twist them around in the pan to prevent sticking and keep them in the pan until completely cooled.

6.  The butter tarts should be stored refrigerated but are best served at room temperature. The tarts can be stored chilled for up to 3 days.

Happy Cooking!!

Fran :)

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

I finally summoned the courage to try making Cinnamon Buns, with the help of Anna Olson's recipe from her show Sugar on Food Network Canada.

These were the most tender, tasty, sweet, sticky cinnamon buns I have every had!!! 

My husband ended up bringing some of these into his office, and everyone there thought they were good too.. So I want to share my photos and the recipe with you as well as how easy this was to make.

If you have a stand mixer it is so quick.. this took me 5 mins to make the dough, considering most of the work to make dough is in the kneading and pulling of the dough..the mixer does this all very quickly, the rest is all wait time, till you need to make the goo and roll out the dough..but OMG was it ever easy.. I am so happy about how these turned out! Here is the recipe .. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

Dough

1 1 /4 cups 2% milk, just above body temperature (1 05 F)

2 1 /4 teaspoons (1 pkg) instant dry y east

1 /4 cup sugar

1 large egg at room temperature

1 /4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 1 /2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

Goo

1 /2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 /2 cup maple syrup

Filling & Assembly

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Dough

1 . For the dough, measure all the ingredients into a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon, or blend in a

stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment until evenly combined. If mixing by hand, turn the dough

out onto a work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes, or if in a mixer, knead for about 3

minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size,

90 minutes to 2 hours.

Goo

1 . For the goo, add the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring

until melted and the mixture is bubbling. Pour this into a greased 9-x -1 3-inch pan the prepared pan

and set aside.

Filling & Assembly

1 . For the filling, stir the brown sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. Have the melted butter

ready .

2. Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about 1 8-x -1 2

inches. Brush the entire surface of the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon

brown sugar mixture. Roll up the dough from the longer side and then cut the roll into 1 2 pieces. Place

these into the prepared pan, evenly spaced, cover with plastic wrap or tea towel and let rise for an

hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Uncover the risen sticky buns and bake them for 40-45 minutes, until they

are a rich golden brown. It is recommended to cool the sticky buns for 1 5 minutes in the pan before

inverting to serve.

4. The sticky buns are best served the day they are baked.

Rolled and cut

in the pan, ready for rising

out of the pan after cooking

look at that goo run down..yummy

close up :)

Happy Cooking!!!

Fran:)