Homemade Gnocchi

I do not have a food mill or ricer, so I used my colander and pushed the potatoes through the holes. It was a little time consuming, but I was not going to rush out and buy a ricer just to see if my family likes gnocchi. I may buy one now!

The sauce is a hearty vegetarian sauce with lots of mushrooms.

It was a little messy to make, but worth it.

I served the gnocchi with a fresh baguette that I ordered from Barefoot Bread.

For the gnocchi:

From the Food Network Magazine

• Kosher salt
• 3 large russet potatoes (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour a mound of kosher salt onto a rimmed baking sheet. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and nestle them in the salt; this prevents the potatoes from browning and draws out their moisture. Bake the potatoes until fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Let sit until just cool enough to handle.

Halve the potatoes lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a potato ricer; discard the skin. Press the flesh through the ricer onto a floured counter or cutting board; let cool 3 to 4 minutes.
Spread out the potatoes slightly. Beat the egg with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and drizzle over the potatoes.
Sprinkle the potato mixture with 1 cup flour and knead until a smooth dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if the dough is sticky. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes.
Lightly flour your surface. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll into "snakes," about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2-to-1-inch lengths with a bench cutter or knife; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly dust with flour.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi; wait until they float to the surface, then simmer 30 more seconds. (Taste one to make sure it's cooked through.)

For the sauce I used one of Giada's vegetarian bolognese recipe.  You could also do a brown butter and sage sauce with freshly grated parmesan cheese as well. For Giada's recipe, I felt the onion over powered the recipe so next time I will only use a half of an onion. Hubby loves onions so he really liked the sauce the way it was. I did add a can of tomato sauce to tone down the onion flavor for me and I really liked that. I also added a little red chili flakes once I plated mine.

Dog Biscuits

I made dog biscuits for our dogs and the neighbors dog for Christmas. They were very easy to make and the dogs love them! I thought next year I will make a couple of batches and give them out to all of our neighbors with dogs. This makes a cute gift!

1 cup water

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt
1 egg

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup peanut butter

3 cups whole wheat flour

Glaze:
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

1. Boil water and add rolled oats and butter, turn off burner

and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until it becomes stiff like dough.

3. Put on a floured surface and knead for 3 minutes adding flour if needed.

4. Roll out 1/2" thick and top with egg wash.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
6. Cool completely.

Black Magic Cake

I found this recipe for black magic cake from allrecipes.com. It has a cup of black coffee in it, so I wanted to give it a try (plus little missie wanted to bake something with me). The frosting recipe comes from one of my new favorite blogs Glorious Treats.

Black Magic Cake

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin, pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup butter room temp.
8 oz cream cheese (keep cold)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder (add before powdered sugar)
4 cups powdered sugar
1-4 tbsp heavy cream

1. Combine cream cheese and butter and whip. Add vanilla and cocoa powder. Make sure the cocoa powder is incorporated into the cream cheese before adding the powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add 1-4 tsp of heavy cream to desired consistency.

Love This Recipe!

 

I made this recipe this past week and now it is one of my favorites. I added baby bok choy in the dish and the leftovers were even better!

Photo: Turkey and Vegetable Chow Fun Recipe

 

Turkey and Vegetable Chow FunRecipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces wide rice noodles, pappardelle or fettuccine
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced into rounds
• 4 ounces mixed mushrooms, cut into pieces (about 1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 pound ground turkey
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Sriracha or other Asian chile sauce, for serving (optional)

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil; add the noodles and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the cooking water, then drain and rinse the noodles. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Mix the oyster sauce and vinegar in a cup; set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in large skillet over high heat. Add the eggplant and stir-fry until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Push the vegetables to one side and add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the turkey and stir-fry until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir the turkey and vegetables together; add the scallions and half of the oyster sauce mixture and cook 1 more minute.
Add the noodles, 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and the remaining oyster sauce mixture and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Stir-fry until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Top with cilantro and serve with Sriracha, if desired.
Per serving: Calories 520; Fat 16 g (Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 34 mg; Sodium 167 mg; Carbohydrate 72 g; Fiber 15 g; Protein 33 g
Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

©Television Food Network G.P.
All Rights Reserved.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Cake: (made 12 mini-bundt cakes)
1 package devils food cake mix
1 5.9 oz. package instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk (for pudding)
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Make pudding with 3 cups of milk.
2. Mix all the ingredients together making sure it is well blended.
3. Pour into mini bundt cake molds or regular size bundt cake.
4. Bake 350 degrees mini bundts for 20-22 minutes, large bundt 55-60 minutes. Cool and top with chocolate icing (recipe follows).

Icing:
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

Put into a microwave safe bowl and microwave 15-20 seconds, stirring afterwards. Do this until chocolate is melted and drizzle over cooled cake.

Buttermilk Biscuits

I have made 3 different batches of biscuits lately trying to find one that we really like. I have made some with whole wheat (which was okay) and some without buttermilk. Buttermilk biscuits are the best and I came across this recipe in The Food Network Magazine from Bobby Flay. I made them for brunch today after church (since we got out early because of the fire alarm).

 This is a simple recipe:
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces plus 4 tbsp melted
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients and cut in cold butter using a pasty cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and mix gently until the mixture comes together.
3. Scrape the dough onto a lightly surfaced flour counter. Pat into a 10-by-12 inch rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Use a 2-inch round pastry cutter to cut out biscuits. Press scraps together and repeat.
4. Place the biscuits 2 inches apart on the baking sheet; brush the tops with cream. Bake until golden brown 12-15 minutes. Brush the biscuits with butter and cool slightly.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

I love making corn salsa and there are so many versions out there. My sister made this one when I was over for dinner and I ended up making it the next day since it was so good and easy.

1 can corn, drained or 2 fresh corn on the cobb (I like fresh)
1 can black beans rinsed
1 can diced stewed tomatoes rinsed
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lime juiced
1 cup cilantro chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up and let it sit for 30 minutes for all the flavors to come together.

Kimchi Quesadillas

You can find Kimchi at Whole Foods

The Salsa Roja is very good.

Just click on the image to view the recipe on a new page so you can read it. It is a long recipe, but most of the process is for the salsa which is worth it and did not take too long to make. I found this recipe in Clean Eating Magazine. My husband really liked these:) I added pork, since I did not put the Kimchi in the kids quesadillas since it said spicy. Next time I may try a little in the kids because it was not too spicy once I added in all of the ingredients (it is spicy by itself).

Finger Lickin' Ribs

HERE is a great recipe for pork spare ribs

The BBQ sauce is now one of my favorites!

I added 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper for some heat.

Recipe by the Neely's on Food Network.

Salmon Tostadas

Salmon Tostada

Bake Salmon 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes.
Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over the top.

Corn Salsa

If you have not noticed, we like salmon. I make it all different ways and this

recipe is a great summer recipe. If you do not want to heat your house with

your oven then grill your salmon on the BBQ.

Recipe:

1. Cook salmon 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes. I love the non-stick foil for baking fish. Makes for an easy clean up and the fish does not stick at all.

2. Cook corn on the grill or the stove top and cool. Cut the kernels off of the corn. The best way is to use a bundt pan and stick the corn on the center part and the corn kernels will drop into the bowl.

3. Grill 1 jalapeno until charred and slice taking out the seeds. Put into a blender with the juice of 1 lime, 1/4 tsp salt, hand full of cilantro and stream in 1/4 cup olive oil while on puree.

4. Mix the cilantro jalapeno olive oil onto the corn leaving a small portion aside for the dressing. You can mix more cilantro in, chives, grilled red bell-peppers also are great in the corn salsa. Let it rest on the counter for the flavors to come together.

5. For the dressing add 1/2 cup buttermilk ranch dressing to the cilantro jalapeno olive oil mix and juice 2 limes into the blender. Puree and taste to see if you need to add any salt.

6. Mix 1 cup of sour cream with the juice of 1 lime.

7. Bake or fry corn or flower tortillas until crispy and set aside.

8. Mix the dressing and salad together.

9. Put it all together:

    Crispy tortilla

    Salad

    Salmon

    Corn salsa

    Lime sour cream