Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Pasta

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Belinda

This recipe is from the food blog “Damn Delicious.” It’s such a great time of year to serve this soothing, creamy and tasty dish.

 
Screen Shot 2018-10-18 at 9.59.57 AM

Serves 6

8 oz medium pasta shells
6 slices bacon, diced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped sage
1 1/4 cups half and half
1 cup whole milk
1 (15-ounce) can butternut squash puree. (You can also use sweet potato puree)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
10 oz shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, about 2 1/2 cups
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to the package instructions; drain well.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain the excess fat; transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the garlic and shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in the flour and sage until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in the half and half, milk, butternut squash and Dijon.
Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the pasta and cheese until melted, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and chives, if desired.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Meat · Rice

Spiced beef and rice pilaf

Belinda

The food blog “Matters of the Belly” is super. Noha is Egyptian and lives in Australia. Well worth signing up, if you love Middle Eastern food.

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 3.04.39 PM

Serves: 6

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1lb lean ground beef
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. mixed spice (any general mixed spice will work)
1 tsp. ground turmeric
½ tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
2.5 cups basmati rice
4 cups beef stock
7oz frozen peas
4 oz toasted almonds (blanched whole, or flaked, or slivered)
4 oz raisins
2 oz barberries (optional if you can find them)*
salt & pepper to taste
half a bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Place the oil, onion & garlic into a large pan on medium heat (use a pan that is nice and wide, moderately deep and has a tight fitting lid). Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until softened.

Turn the heat up to high, add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently to break up the beef, until it’s starting to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the spices and cook a further 2 minutes till the spices are fragrant.

Add the rice and stir for a minute to evenly distribute the ingredients; get all the rice grains nicely coated in spices & oil, then add the stock.

Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat to the lowest possible setting and place the lid on the pot. Leave it covered for 10 minutes.

Take the lid off, add the peas, almonds, raisins & barberries (if using), scattering them onto the surface of the rice, then put the lid back on and let it cook a further 5 minutes.

Take the lid off and use a fork to fluff up the rice. Have a taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Top with the chopped parsley & serve right away.

NOTES
*Barberries are a lovely Persian sour berry that can be found dried in most specialty Middle Eastern stores. It gives nice tangy pops of flavor and color, but the recipe will work absolutely fine without it!
Feel free to change the type of nut and dried fruit in this recipe, such as hazelnuts, pine nuts, chopped dried apricot or prunes etc.

Meat

Baked spaghetti squash with Italian sausage, basil and mozzarella

Belinda

Spaghetti squash is a great way of feeling like you’re eating pasta without the carbs. This is a recipe posted by the website “Delish” and is super easy and tasty.

Screen Shot 2018-10-15 at 12.16.01 PM

Serves 4

2 large spaghetti squash, halved
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (or more) shredded fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400°.
On a large baking sheet, rub insides of spaghetti squash with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
Bake until tender, 55 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and heat the broiler.
Once cool enough to handle, shred the spaghetti squash with a fork.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until browned. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the tomato sauce and fresh basil.
Divide the tomato/sausage/basil mixture between the halves.
Mix the two cheeses together and top with the cheese mixture.
Broil until the cheese is browned and the squash is warmed through, 4 to 5 minutes.
Serve hot.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Baking · Holiday Food · Nuts

Mini cranberry-brie bites

Belinda1 Comment

These are simple and fabulous and the rosemary and chopped pecans really take them up a notch. Another beauty from the website “Delish”

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 1.02.51 PM

1 tube crescent dough
Cooking spray, for pan
Flour, for rolling out dough
8 oz. wheel Brie
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans
6 sprigs of rosemary, cut into 1″ pieces.

Preheat oven to 375° and grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the crescent dough, and pinch the seams together. Cut into 24 squares.
Place the squares into muffin tin slots.
Cut the brie into small pieces and place inside the crescent dough.
Top with a spoonful of cranberry sauce, some chopped pecans, and one little sprig of rosemary.
Bake until the crescent is golden, about 15 minutes.
Serve warm.

Uncategorized

We’ve moved to Pasadena, California.

Belinda

Well, we finally moved from the Westside of Los Angeles to beautiful Pasadena and are absolutely loving it. This is our front upstairs balcony that looks over a very quiet, tree-lined street.

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 10.47.31 AM

It’s so peaceful, the local traffic is a breeze, the homes are beautiful and elegant with tons of mature trees, the people are very friendly and community-minded and they seem to be more interested in cooking rather than eating out all the time.
Pasadena seems to have better and more interesting restaurants than the Westside of LA too. (I may get some push-back on that comment, but I stand by it)

We love our new home, but knew pretty much straight away that we would be doing a big kitchen/dining room renovation and reconfiguring a laundry room, maid’s room and bathroom behind it, hopefully installing a good-sized butlers pantry that would also hold my 1000+ recipe books and many folders of downloaded recipes from various websites.
I will be posting pictures as the work progresses but at this point we are narrowing down an architect. All suggestions and recommendations for new kitchen ideas would be extremely helpful.
Someone suggested an “appliance station” the other day which sounds fabulous, so that has gone onto our “dream list”

To be continued…

Appetizers

Pizza Nachos

Belinda

I love this combination, especially as it’s without all the dough pizza comes with. From the recipe blog “Delish” It’s a great recipe for your kids to make too.

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 9.09.09 AM

1 bag Tortilla chips
2 cups pizza sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 cup mini pepperoni
1/2 cup sliced black olives. (Try and buy Kalamata olives and slice them yourself, those tinned pre-sliced ones are pretty bad!)
1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
On the prepared baking sheet, add about half of the chips.
Drizzle about half the pizza sauce over the chips, then top with half of the mozzarella, half the pepperoni, bell pepper, black olives, and Parmesan.
Repeat to make another layer with remaining ingredients.
Bake until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Whole roast cauliflower with lemony yoghurt sauce

Belinda

This recipe comes from the food blog “Alexandra’s Kitchen”
I have roasted whole cauliflowers before, with spices rubbed in but this one is lovely as the lemony yoghurt sauce takes it to another level. (I personally love the charred top)

Screen Shot 2018-10-13 at 10.30.45 AM

Count on two people per head of cauliflower

1 (1 1/2- to 2-pound) head cauliflower with leaves
1/3 cup Kosher salt
1 to 2 tsp nice, flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
3 tbsp best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, divided

For the yoghurt sauce:
1 cup good Greek yoghurt like “Fage”
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil, optional
Za’atar or fresh chopped thyme leaves are an option to mix into the yoghurt

Preheat oven to 550°F with oven rack in center of oven.
Trim the stem of cauliflower, keeping the leaves intact, so it will sit level on a rimmed baking sheet—I line mine with parchment paper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil in a stockpot over high heat. Stir in the 1/3 cup kosher salt until dissolved.
Add the cauliflower to the water; place a heatproof ceramic plate on top of the cauliflower to keep it submerged or use a lid and partially cover the pot. Boil until tender and a fork inserted in the cauliflower meets no resistance, 10 to 13 minutes.
Gently lift the cauliflower from the water, transfer to a colander and drain in the sink. Let stand until the cauliflower has cooled slightly and is dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Place the cauliflower, stem side down, on a rimmed baking sheet.
Rub 1 tablespoon olive oil between hands, then rub over cauliflower to apply a thin, even layer OR: drizzle the cauliflower with some of the tablespoon of oil, then coat your hands with the remainder and rub the oil all over it.
Sprinkle 1 to 1 1/2 tsp sea salt over the cauliflower (salt might clump in some places). You may need to turn the cauliflower upside down and rub it in the salt that falls on the sheet pan.
Bake in preheated oven until dark brown, about 25 minutes—this may take longer depending on your oven. If you find it’s not getting as dark as you would like, you can run it under the broiler, watching closely the entire time.
Meanwhile, make the yoghurt sauce: stir together the yoghurt, lemon, and salt (and thyme leaves if using).
To serve, smear the yogurt onto a plate. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with za’atar.
Remove the cauliflower from the oven, and carefully rub with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Place on top of the yoghurt smear. Serve hot.

Asian flavors · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Soup · Vegan

Carrot gazpacho with lemongrass

Belinda

This recipe is from the first cookbook of the lovely food blog, “Love & lemons” #loveandlemons
It combines all my favorite flavors and is so easy to prepare.

Screen Shot 2018-09-24 at 9.07.52 AM

Serves 4

1 stalk lemongrass
16 oz carrots, peeled and sliced, about 2 bunches
1 (14-oz) can light coconut milk, reserve ¼ cup for garnish
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp red curry paste or freshly minced ginger
½ cup water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
optional garnishes: hemp seeds, toasted pepitas, microgreens

Prepare the lemongrass by cutting off the root end and tough upper stem of the stalk. Remove the first several layers of outer leaves and finely chop the tender, aromatic part of the lemongrass.

Using a high-speed blender, combine the lemongrass, carrots, coconut milk, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, red curry paste, water, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
If you’re not using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, strain the soup and blend again until completely smooth.

Chill for at least 4 hours. If the soup thickens in the fridge, stir in a little more cold water. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Drizzle with olive oil and serve with desired garnishes.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Vegan · Vegetable sides

Warm salad of roasted carrots with cilantro avocado sauce and chili salt

Belinda

Matt Wilkinson is known for his adventurous salads and this one is a beauty. The caramelized roasted carrots sit on the colorful, creamy cilantro/avocado sauce, kicked up with the chili salt.

 
Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 7.10.53 PM

1/4 cup + 4 tbsp olive oil
4 large carrots, quartered lengthways
Juice of 2 oranges
3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
3 star anise
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped,2 tbsp whole leaves reserved
1 good sized avocado, roughly chopped
1 long green chili, seeds removed, chopped

Chilli salt
3 tsp salt flakes
1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large frypan over high heat. In batches, cook the carrots, cut-side down, for 3 minutes each side or until golden.
Transfer to a roasting dish, pour over the orange juice, then add the cardamom and star anise. Roast for 15 minutes or until tender and caramelized. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whizz the garlic, cumin, sugar, lemon juice, chopped cilantro, avocado, chili and 1 tsp salt in a food processor to a puree. Stir through remaining 3-4 tbsp of oil.

For the chili salt, using a mortar and pestle, grind salt and chili to a rough powder.

Spread the puree over a serving plate and top with warm carrots, chili salt and extra cilantro leaves to serve.

Accompaniments · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Salad · Vegan · Whole30 compliant

Sweet basil dressing

Belinda1 Comment

This is a non-dairy, but creamy dressing (from blogger, littlebitsof.com) which is sweetened by the pureed dates and is gorgeous over chicken or salad.

Screen Shot 2017-06-04 at 7.16.49 AM

Serves 4

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
2 pitted Medjool dates, soaked in hot water to soften
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until the dates are broken down and the dressing is smooth and creamy.
Drizzle over salad or chicken.