Leftover pizza topping pasta

   I had a few people over for pizza Sunday. The leftover toppings provided the flavorings for this impromptu pasta dish. What I had in the fridge was cooked spinach, mushrooms, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, slices of artichoke heart, sliced onion, and some shredded mozzarella.
   I kind of knew that this stuff alone might not be enough flavor so I added leeks and for my own tastes some fresh frozen hot pepper.
   I started by sauteing the hot pepper and leek till tender. then I added onion, spinach, mushroom, artichoke, roasted garlic, and roasted pepper.
   Then I boiled some penne pasta till just tender. Then all the ingredients were tossed in a large bowl to combine. I added some of the shredded mozzarella, some grated romano cheese, a little olive oil, salt and pepper and tossed some more, It all went into a glass baking dish, was topped with some more mozzarella and romano. Then I popped it into a 350  oven for 15 min. to heat through and melt the cheese.
   It was very enjoyable. A slight variation would be to just add a little tomato sauce or whatever might be lurking about.
   It's fun to just put whats available together and see what you come up with.

   Ciao for now, Garlichut

Chicken and Broccoli Rape

   As is often the case, I found myself with too many things in the fridge that needed to be used. One was a chicken that had been boiled and taken off the bone and was sitting in the cooking liquid. The other was a bunch of broccoli rape. They were not intended to be used together, but seeing both of them there sparked an idea. Could they effectively be combined to create a tasty dish.
   So the chicken was shredded like pulled pork. The broccoli rape was added to sauteed onion and garlic. A little water was added and it was covered and simmered till tender. Then the shredded chicken was added along with enough chicken stock to make kind of a thick soup. That was cooked for 5 min.. I cooked some rice, served the chicken and broccoli rape over it along with some romano cheese and had a pleasant surprise. Hope you do too.
     Ciao for now,   Garlichut

Quick chicken dish surprise

   When I was busy working on My thanksgiving goose, I put together a quick chicken dish that was a pleasant surprise.

   1 Tbls. Veg. oil
   Flour for dredging
   1 Chicken breast halved width wise (to make it thinner)
   3 cloves garlic diced
   3 sun dried tomatoes diced
   1 Tbls. capers
   Juice of  1/2 lemon
   1/4 cup white wine
   2 Tbls. butter
   S+P

   Saute dredged chicken breast halves in a pan in the oil over medium high heat. When the first side is lightly browned. turn over and when it is cooked slightly on the second side add the garlic, sun dried tomato, and capers. After about 1 minute, add lemon juice and wine. Turn down heat and reduce till a little liquid remains. remove from heat and stir in the butter till melted.
   The surprise in this dish for me was the combination of the lemon and sun dried tomato, which I thought was an unusual combination that I thought worked very well.

 Buon Apetitto   Ciao for now,  Garlichut

 

Thanksgiving Goose again

   OK, so not all things go according to plan. I wasn't thrilled with the Goose. Probably operator error. The goose was somewhat tough. I think it was due to the high heat I used at the end, trying to crisp the skin. I wouldn't call it a complete disaster though, the sauce that I made was really good and the flavor of the goose was what it should be.
   Here is the ingredient list for the sauce.
   Olive oil
   Onion
   Garlic
   Red wine
   Brown goose stock
   Diced prunes
   Diced dried cherries
   Diced dried apricots
   Simmered and sieved cranberries
   Black pepper
   Honey
   Salt

Salad Lomer

Salad Lomer

     Last night the Lomers came over for dinner. We had flounder Picatta, cremini mushroom and asparagus risotto, and what will now be known as salad Lomer. It had a particular combination of ingredients that I have been thinking of putting together for a while.

   2 cups Spinach
   2 cups Red leaf lettuce
   1 bulb of fennel sliced and blanched
   1/2 avocado diced
   1/4 cup thin sliced red onion
   1/2 can quartered artichoke hearts
   1/4 cup roasted red pepper sliced
   2 Tbls. fresh grated Romano cheese
   2 oz, crumbled feta cheese
   1/4 cup fine chopped parsley
   6  leaves fresh basil thinly sliced
   1/4 cup red wine vinaigrette
   S+P to taste

     Combine all ingredients and toss well. This salad was really good. Try it and enjoy!!

    Ciao for now Garlichut

Great Cauliflour

    1 Head cauliflower separated into bite sized pieces and blanched tender (set aside)
    3 Tbs olive oil
    1 leek cleaned and sliced
    1-8 oz. package cremini mushrooms cleaned and sliced
    3 garlic cloves sliced thin
    A sprinkling of romano or parm

    Saute the leek and mushroom in the olive oil until tender. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes
   Add the cauliflower and cook till heated through. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cheese and serve.
     Enjoy Ciao For Now Garlichut
   

New dish concept

Hi.
    About a week ago, I opened a large can of plum tomatoes. I only used a small portion and have had the remainder sitting in the refrigerator. I would usually just turn them into a sauce and use it over pasta. Since I'm trying to eat healthier these days, my plan was to make a new dish that could be served without the pasta.
    I wanted to use it with some kind of a protein, so the standard go to for me is chicken. In the past, I have used the tomatoes as a braising or stewing liquid, with great results, so I'll go with that again. I'm sure that not everyone will like this concept because of the anchovies, all you have to do is leave them out if they are not to your liking.
    I haven't made this dish yet, but this is how it's probably going to go.

   1 Chicken (skin removed and cut into about 12 pieces )
    olive oil
    1/4 cup Pancetta chopped
    1- 2 oz. can anchovies with oil
    1 small yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
    4-6 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
    Canned plum tomatoes with juice just coarsely broken up by hand
    1 cup red wine
    1/2 cup Kalamata olives pitted and halved
    2 tablespoons capers
    1/4 cup chopped parsley
    S + P to taste

    Brown the chicken pieces in about 2 Tbs. olive oil and set aside.In whats left of the oil, start browning the Pancetta. When it's almost crisp add the anchovies and mash thoroughly with a fork. After a minute add the onion, cook for a minute and add the garlic. After another minute, add the tomatoes and red wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 min. Add the chicken pieces and simmer about  25 min.. Add the olives and capers and simmer another 5 min.. Finish with the parsley just before serving.
    Now, what to serve this dish with. Of course pasta is certainly an option, but, here are some ideas to use as alternatives. Risotto, plain rice, polenta, potatoes, beans, such as canelinni, navy, great northern white, are all possibilities to use as a starch, or maybe pureed cauliflour and a side of greens. It just seems like you'll want something to sop up the sauce. So, I leave it up to you.

      Buon Appetito, CIAO for now Garlichut