Here are some links to great websites. There may be time during the colder months to do more cooking but it doesn’t have to take more preparation time. Nothing smells better than a pot of broth or soup simmering on the stove! Below are some of my favorite recipes for fall and winter. Stay warm and enjoy!
http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/Rick has some really great recipes for salsas, meats, seafood etc. Many things can be cooked on the grill. Look for his TV show on PBS.
http://lidiasitaly.com/welcome/ Lidia has lots of great recipes and her series of shows on PBS over the years have been a source of delicious meals prepared for my family.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/ Always a source for lots of great recipes, many different versions from different cooks.
http://www.marthastewart.com/food Loads of good stuff and lots of variety.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/about-us/get-cooking-fine-living-fans/index.html They just put on The Cooking Channel with some of my favorite old shows that I’ve learned so much from like Cooking with Julia, Molto Mario or Jamie Oliver at Home but also new ones too David Rocco’s Dolce Vita and Indian Food Made Easy. Emeril Legasse has a new show coming that focuses on making meals fast. Check this channel out, there is something for everyone here. My 22-year-old son has been spending a lot of time watching! He’s a great cook along with his 2 older brothers. (The secret is to get them in the kitchen early helping out and make the impression on them that eating healthy food is important and easy too!)
Fettuccine Verde con Mascarpone
¼ c. butter
½ c. pignoli (pine nuts)
1 clove garlic, sliced
8 oz. green fettuccine
½ c. mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp sliced basil, try substituting spinach for the basil in the colder months
Grated Parmigiano
Cook fettuccine in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and add to serving dish, spoon mascarpone over pasta and lightly stir until incorporated.
Melt butter in a small pan and add pignoli and garlic, stir until lightly golden. Stir basil into the pine nut mixture, pour over noodles and toss lightly. Grate Parmigiano over pasta and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Red Peppers or Onions “melted” with Balsamic Vinegar
Seed and slice 4 peppers thinly and cook slowly in a little olive oil and ¼ cup olive oil until very soft, about an hour. Stir occasionally; the peppers should almost “melt.” Season with salt and pepper. Add oil and balsamic once or twice if they look dry. Try the same method with thinly sliced onions, adding a teaspoon of brown sugar to the balsamic and letting the onions slowly caramelize. Both versions of this recipe are rich accompaniments for roast chicken. Leftovers are good on pasta or polenta. With cheese and/or grilled eggplant, very savory sandwiches can be made quickly.
Pasta e Fagioli
1 lb. dried borlotti or cannellini beans
8 cups of water
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ c. carrot, shredded
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 tbsp. minced, fresh parsley
1 14 oz can tomatoes
3 lb ham hock or ham bone
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. penne rigati
Grated Parmigiano
Soak beans overnight in water. (or alternatively use 2 cans of beans but then you’ll cook the ham hock in the 8 cups of water with the vegetables then add beans and cook for 20 minutes before adding pasta to the pot) Add crushed garlic, tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery and ham hock. Bring to a boil than turn down to a simmer and cook covered for 2 to 2 ½ hours. Don’t add salt until after the beans are cooked, taste first before adding because the ham may be salty enough.
Lift out ham hock and pull meat from the bone. Whirl about ½ the soup in a blender and return to the pot with ham and pasta. Cook until pasta is tender. Turn off heat and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Chicken Easy Does it Sauce: A great dish for a Sunday Family Dinner
2 chickens cut up and skin removed 3 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
2 large onions, sliced thinly into rings dried oregano, salt and pepper
2 pounds spaghetti
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Place the chicken pieces in a baking pan or casserole dish. Arrange onion rings on top of chicken. Crush tomatoes with your hands in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with oregano salt and pepper.
Cook at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve over spaghetti with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Serves 8-10
Maman’s Soufflé
Jacque Pepin’s mother’s recipe: When my mother got married, she was seventeen and my father was twenty-two. She did not know how to cook, except for a few simple dishes that she had learned from her mother. Yet she was willing and fearless. My father liked cheese soufflé, so my mother graciously obliged. She had never made a soufflé before, but a friend told her that it consisted of a white sauce (béchamel), grated cheese, and eggs a cinch! To the béchamel, that staple of the French home cook, she added her grated Swiss cheese and then cracked and added one egg after another to the mixture, stirred it well, poured it into a gratin dish, and baked it in the oven. Viola! No one had told her that the eggs should be separated, with the yolks added to the base sauce and the whites whipped to a firm consistency and then gently folded into the mixture. Ignorance is bliss, and in this case it was indeed: the soufflé rose to a golden height and become a family favorite. This is a great recipe: it can be assembled hours or even a day ahead, and although it is slightly less airy than a standard soufflé, it is delicious.
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus more to butter a 6-cup gratin dish
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups cold whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 extra-large eggs, for this recipe I love to use duck eggs!
2 1/3 cups grated Swiss cheese, preferably Gruyere (about 6 ounces)
3 tablespoons minced fresh chive blades
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Butter a 6-cup gratin dish, and set it aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour, and mix it in well with a whisk. Cook for 10 seconds, and add the milk in 1 stroke, and mix it in with a whisk. Keep stirring with the whisk until the mixture thickens and comes to a strong boil, which will take about 2 minutes. It should be thick and smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the salt and pepper. Allow about 10 minutes for the white sauce to cool.
Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl, and beat well with a fork. Add the eggs, the cheese and the chives to the cooled sauce, and mix well to combine. Pour into the buttered gratin dish and cook immediately, or set aside until ready to cook. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the soufflé is puffy and well browned on top. Although it will stay inflated for quite awhile, it is best served immediately.
