Pasta al Tonno (Pasta with Tuna)
Posted by: cinnybear on: January 31, 2010
A lovely Italian couple served this dish during a get together a few months back and I couldn’t believe how tasty and simple it was. Dessert was a bowl of chopped fresh peaches – and I’m still dreaming about the meal…
I would never think of adding tuna to a pasta (especially a tomato based sauce) but the combination is just beautiful. Luckily, tuna, pasta, frozen peas are always available in my kitchen/pantry so my frozen dinners/dumplings can take a breather….for now ;)
Here’s my version of the dish – enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ onion, chopped finely
- Pinch of crushed red chile peppers
- ¾ cup of peas
- 2 6 oz cans of tuna, flaked (preferably packed in olive oil)
- A jar of tomato-based pasta sauce
- A package of your favorite pasta
- 2 tbs of chopped parsley (optional)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, for garnish.
Directions
Note: while you are cooking the pasta, start cooking the pasta (follow directions on package) so your pasta and sauce will be ready at the same time.
- In a large pan, heat olive oil until hot. Add in garlic, onions, and red chile peppers. Saute for 5 minutes and add in peas. Stir for a couple minutes and add in tuna. Stir mixture for another couple minutes.
- Add in pasta sauce and cook until heated (2-3 minutes). Stir in parsley.
- Serve over pasta and garnish with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano and a pinch of crushed red chilies.
I need a life
Posted by: cinnybear on: January 29, 2010
Spiced Apple Pumpkin Muffins
Posted by: cinnybear on: January 28, 2010
It may be pumpkin season but in our backyard, it’s apple season. Our apple tree is producing its last batch of Fall apples before Winter approaches. As usual, we have too many apples for our own good (and for our family, neighbors, coworkers good!) I didn’t even see any fat squirrels hoarding the tasty treats. Wait, I don’t know if squirrels hibernate actually but it seems logical. If I were a squirrel, I would stash away a bunch of apples…but then they’d rot. This is why I’d make a bad squirrel…
This is one of the moistest and tastiest muffins I’ve ever eaten. Eat the muffin plain or add the streusel goodness for some texture.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups finely chopped peeled apples
Streusel:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons cold butter or margarine
Directions
- In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
- If using streusel, in a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown (start checking at 30 minutes!) Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Perfection – revisited
Posted by: cinnybear on: January 27, 2010
Things that make me mad:
• People that wear sunglasses inside (too cool celebrity? Lose a bar fight?)
• Bad recipes
• Good recipes that turn bad (when brilliant ideas go wrong)
• Weight loss due to diet of cheese, bread, chips, and candy.
• A streak of mediocre recipes
• Lack of daylight to take food pictures
• People talking about business on the plane
Things that make me happy:
• Good recipes that never go wrong (like this recipe!)
• Color
• Pretty plates
• Yummy food pictures
This is a chocolate chip cookie that I dare never alter and I’ve blogged amount multiple times – because it’s just that good.
Make me! http://cinnybear.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/chocolate-chip-cookies-perfected/
Spare Ribs with Sauerkraut and Cabbage
Posted by: cinnybear on: January 25, 2010
Apparently the West Coast has been hit with a nasty storm for the past weeks. This is a recipe that screams comfort food and pairs wonderfully with being inside next to the fire while the outside elements take a toll on anything unfortunate to move and or feel pain (I guess, trees and cars included).
I was in the East Coast/Midwest so I was just dealing with below freezing temperatures and scraping ice off my car. Yipee.
As strange as it may sound, eat this with ketchup and be amazed that ketchup can be used for more than meatloaf or fries!
Ingredients
- 3 to 3 1/2 pounds pork spare ribs, bone-in
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp caraway seeds
- 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 32-ounce jar of sauerkraut, drained
- 4 cups thinly shredded cabbage (about 1 medium head)
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 bottle of your favorite beer
- 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
Method
1 Rub the ribs with garlic, caraway seeds, and cracked black pepper. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours (if you have time, otherwise skip).
2 Preheat oven to 400°F. Unwrap ribs from plastic wrap. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Wrap the ribs with aluminum foil and place them on a roasting pan. Bake for 2 hours, or until tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
3 Place sauerkraut, onion, caraway seed, brown sugar, and cabbage in a Dutch oven. Stir in beer, water, and chicken stock. Add pepper to taste. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake the sauerkraut cabbage mixture, covered, for 3 hours.
4 Lower the oven temperature to 325°F. Place ribs over sauerkraut, cover, and cook for an additional hour. Add more liquid if needed.
Serve the ribs with the sauerkraut. Add ketchup if desired.
From simplyrecipes.com
Pancake Perfection?
Posted by: cinnybear on: January 1, 2010
I have been stubborn. I have tried for years to make the perfect pancake recipe without buttermilk. When those random pancake cravings strike, buttermilk is not there in my fridge to save the day. Why try a recipe with buttermilk then? Mixing lemon with milk requires too much thought and I am simply just lazy sometimes.
It’s been a long wait for the perfect pancake recipe. After tens of recipes (it sounds better as hundreds but I’d be exaggerating if I’ve tried hundreds of recipes), I’ve given in and tried buttermilk. This one is worthy of sharing. I’m still reluctant to say it’s the perfect pancake recipe because it’s just so impractical to have buttermilk in the fridge. I just found another recipe that looks promising…and I have to see if it’s better… :)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tbs vanilla
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 pinch salt
Directions
Mix all of the ingredients til combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Preheat a skillet over medium heat and melt a little bit of butter in the pan.
Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes. The flipped side should be golden brown. Cook the pancakes on the other side until they are also golden brown.
Serve with butter, syrup, jam, compote, whip cream, fruit, or whatever you fancy!
Grand Marnier Crepe Cake
Posted by: cinnybear on: December 20, 2009
Sometimes blogging about good food gets repetitive: deliciousness, heaven, yum, drool, superb, tasty, fantastic, perfection…. help me out here, I’m running out of adjectives. Just to ruin the streak of recipes, here’s a recipe that I’ve been debating whether to post on my trash-worthy page or whether to tweak and remake the recipe. It sounded so heavenly (yes, I’m reusing my adjectives) but turned out quite boring despite the two ingredients tasting superb separately.
I’m posting the recipe because I think it has a lot of potential. Perhaps I needed to double the cream to make it more moist and flavorful; but I’m thinking adding Nutella between the layers of crepes would have brought more depth to the cake. Let me know if you have any success with this! I halved the recipe due to not having enough eggs so the picture is only half a cake :)
This is a delicate cake in terms of structure and taste. Do not expect a cake bursting with attitude and flair!
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs (yes, 12)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 cups chilled heavy cream, divided
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, divided
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cup confectioners sugar, divided
- 4 teaspoons grated orange zest , divided
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoon Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Directions
Blend eggs, milk, 1 cup cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with flour, salt, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, and 2 teaspoon zest in a blender until just smooth.
Brush a 10-inch nonstick skillet lightly with some of melted butter, then heat over medium-high heat until hot. Pour in a scant 1/4 cup batter, immediately tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. (If batter sets before skillet is coated, reduce heat slightly for next crêpe.) Cook until underside is golden and top is just set, 15 to 45 seconds. Loosen edge of crépe with a heatproof rubber spatula, then flip crêpe over with your fingertips and cook 15 seconds more. Transfer to a plate. Continue making crêpes, brushing skillet with butter each time and stacking on plate.
Beat remaining 5 cups of cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1.5 cups confectioners sugar, 2 teaspoon zest, and Grand Marnier in a large deep bowl with an electric mixer until cream holds stiff peaks.
Center a crêpe on a serving plate and spread with 1/4 cup cream. Continue stacking crêpes and spreading with cream, ending with a crêpe. Chill, covered, at least 4 hours and up to 24. Serve with remaining dollops of crème and berries if desired.
Filet Mignon Vegetable Stew
Posted by: cinnybear on: December 18, 2009
Therapeutic.
Recipe revisit – because I need it.
Right now it’s just me and my piano with pages of sheet music strewn around me. The beef stew is cooking in the kitchen and right now, I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.
Ingredients:
2.5 to 3 lbs of filet mignon (whole), cut into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes (of course you can always use beef round or chuck).
3 tbs vegatable oil
1.5 tbs Italian seasoning
2 large onions
1.5 cups baby carrots
15 small red/white potatoes.
3 stalks of celery
1 package of whole mushrooms
1 .25 cups red wine
3/4 cup Guinness
2 bay leaves
2 cups water (2.5??)
3 tbs tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 bunch of kale, cut into 1.5 inch strips
Warning: you need a big pot for this.
Directions:
1. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce over the meat and let sit for 10 minutes. Add a few dashes of salt.
2. While meat is marinating, cut onions into thick wedges and cut celery into 1 inch sections. If you prefer your mushrooms sliced, slice mushrooms in half (I prefer them whole). Dice 4 potatoes.
3. In a large soup pot, add 3 tbs of oil and 1.5 tbs of italian seasoning. Cook herbs for 30 seconds and add beef chunks. Brown meat on all sides, remove from pot,and set aside.
4. In the same pot, add 1 tbs oil and onion wedges,carrots, and potatoes. Saute until some of them are slightly browned. Add meat back into pot.
5. Toss tomato paste, bay leaves, celery, mushrooms into pot and saute for 5-7 more minutes.
6. Add red wine, Guinness, water, and stewed tomatoes. Let soup simmer for 1.5 hours.
7. At the 1.5 hour mark, add in kale and cook for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Nutella Pound Cake
Posted by: cinnybear on: December 16, 2009
Butter may cure all but a whole jar of Nutella with butter is the elixir of happiness.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- One 13-ounce jar Nutella
Tips:
• Nutella is a pain to spread on batter. I would have recommended microwaving the jar a bit but the annoying tin foil that seals the Nutella jar will cause sparks and eventually cause a fire :) Be careful or just patiently spread the Nutella
• Ensure the first layer of batter is thicker than the other layers. Since nutella is quite dense and sinks a bit when in the oven, it will cause the cake to fallapart if it’s too close to the bottom of the pan (even if you dust the pan well!)
• Just try not to eat the whole thing.
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed utnil fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.
3. Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not overmix.
4. Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.
Make ahead: The pound cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Unmentionable.
Posted by: cinnybear on: December 10, 2009
Tiffanie pan fries a bug and decides to talk in third person. She feels queasy and decides to eat carrots and blueberries the rest of the day.
Washing dishes was out of the question. All the pans were dirty (trust me, there are a lot of pans) and the only pan that was left was the pan that’s used for camping. I pull it out, turn on the heat, pour some oil, grab some eggs from the fridge, crack the eggs, admire the sizzle and pop of poached eggs, and…
There’s a bug frantically running along the edge of the pan. It runs and runs, until it hits the hot oil.
Pop goes the weasel.
Gross.
There will be no more eating of cooked things today.
