The Stuffed Tomato That Almost Wasn't

When you meet me, you will know 10 minutes into our conversation that I love food. Before the week is out I will have shared at least one of my favorite recipes with you. By the following month you will have tasted one of my creations and our friendship will be cemented like cookie batter that has been mixed WAY too much. And occasionally, you will share a recipe with me.

A mate at work came in raving about his family’s stuffed tomato/mushroom recipe. Before I could even say, “What’s in it?” he promised me a copy of the recipe. I was so excited to put this recipe to the test! The next day I sprinted from work to the store, grabbed all my ingredients, and went home to plan what I thought was going to be a rather delightful meal…it was not.

Somewhere along the way my taste buds did a 360. Everything tasted sweet to the point of making me nauseous. I thought it must have been the recipe, but my dining companion assured me everything tasted just fine. I ended up throwing everything into some Tupperware containers and making a bowl of pasta instead, declaring the recipe a failure.

The next day, being too tired to cook, I fumbled around the fridge looking for something to quench my hunger so I could get back to work. Upon seeing the stuffed tomato that had failed me yesterday I thought I’d give it another try…and it was so much better.

So I heartily recommend this recipe…with a few small additions. The recipe had said to cook the insides of the tomato with the meat and the rest of the filling. That is a big mistake! Throw it out, there’s absolutely no need for it. Also, who only uses 1 clove of garlic?!

Italian Stuffed Tomatoes (or Mushrooms)

4-6 large tomatoes or 1-2 pints baby bellas (or a combination of the two)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine + a little olive oil

½ lb. milk Italian sausage, removed from casing and crumbled

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped parsley

My recommendation is to do half of the stuffing recipe in tomatoes and half in mushrooms.

1.       Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.

2.       Core the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp, leaving ¼-inch shell. Turn the tomatoes over on a paper towel and let them drain. Brush off the mushrooms with a paper towel and core them. Small dice the stems and ¼th of the mushrooms (or more depending on your love of mushrooms); set aside.

3.       Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the onion and heat until the pieces are somewhat translucent. Add the diced mushrooms and sauté for another 5-7 minutes. Next add the sausage, salt & pepper; cook until the meat is browned.

4.       Take off the heat and stir in bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Spoon the mixture into the tomato shells and mushrooms. Bake in the oven, 20-25 minutes for the mushrooms and 30-35 minutes for the tomatoes, or until lightly browned.

5.       Sprinkle with additional cheese and chopped parsley, if desired.

Enjoy!

Check out my "Clutch Kittchens" board on Pinterest for useful tools and interesting kitchen designs!

Speaking with Scallops

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a meal is worth exponentially more.

Whenever I want to thank someone or let them know I care it usually comes out in cookies. When I wanted to thank my friend and his roommates for letting me stay with them for two weeks out in California however, I knew I had to go above and beyond.

Here’s the menu from our lovely little dinner:

1^st Course

Gazpacho

2^nd Course

Parmesan Encrusted Scallops with a Shallot-Lemon Beurre Blanc

served with Risotto with Leeks and Shiitake Mushrooms and Roasted Asparagus

3^rd Course

Red Wine Poached Pear with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis

My vision for this dinner was spurred on by a story of a delicious pear dessert that my friend once had in Grenada. With my mouth watering at his description, I spliced a few recipes together to form our 3^rd course. The poached pear recipe is my new favorite and I plan on possibly adapting it for the peaches that tantalize me every time I go to the farmers market.

The recipes for all these wonderful dishes are below. Happy cooking!

Gazpacho

1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled

2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded

4 plum tomatoes

1 red onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup good olive oil

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Parmesan Encrusted Scallops

Scallops

Flour

Egg

Panko

Grated parmesan

Oil

Dry scallops and dust them with flour. Brush them with an egg wash. Mix the panko and the grated parmesan and coat the scallops. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and sear scallops.

Lemon-Shallot Beurre Blanc Sauce

1 to 2 shallots, chopped fine

16 tablespoons white wine

4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon heavy cream

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

Salt and white pepper, to taste

Combine the shallots, white wine, and lemon juice in a non-reactive saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons.

Add the cream to the reduction. Once the liquid bubbles, reduce the heat to low. Add the butter, one cube at a time, whisking first on the heat and then off the heat. Continue whisking butter into the reduction until the mixture is fully emulsified and has reached a rich sauce consistency. Season with salt and white pepper. Store beurre blanc in a thermos until ready to serve.

Risotto with Leeks and Shitake Mushrooms

Leeks:

2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved, thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)

3/4 cup whipping cream

Mushrooms:

1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices

½ large onion, halved, thinly sliced lengthwise

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 tablespoon white truffle oil

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

Risotto:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided

½ large onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

5 cups (or more) hot vegetable broth

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons shaved or chopped black truffle (optional)

Chopped fresh parsley

For leeks:
Bring leeks and cream to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until leeks are tender and cream is thick, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm before continuing.

For mushrooms:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss all ingredients on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until mushrooms are tender and light brown around edges, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. (less time) DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

For risotto:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup hot broth. Simmer until broth is almost absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring often, until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes longer. Stir in leek mixture, mushroom mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, cheese, and truffle. Transfer to large bowl, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Roasted Asparagus

24 large asparagus spears (about 2 pounds), trimmed and peeled

Extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Aged balsamic vinegar

Parmesan, for shaving

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle oil over asparagus and turn to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, turning occasionally, until lightly browned and just tender, 18-20 minutes.

Transfer asparagus to a platter. To serve, drizzle vinegar over hot asparagus and use a vegetable peeler to shave Parmesan over the spears.

Poached Pears with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis

4 Bartlett pears, firm and almost ripe

2 cups dry white wine (Riesling or Pinot Grigio) + water to cover the pears

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

1 cinnamon stick (more for garnish)

2 whole cloves (optional)

1-2 star anise (optional)

1 2-inch piece of lemon zest

1 pint cinnamon, caramel, or vanilla ice cream

Ground cinnamon (for garnish)

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 tsp powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

Peel pears, but leave the stems intact. Place in cold water or rub with a lemon to keep from discoloring. Cut the pears in half (with one half equaling 2/3rds of the pear) and scoop out pits/center with a spoon or melon baller. Cut a slice off the bottom to allow the pear to stand.

In a large saucepan combine the wine, water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and lemon zest. Dissolve sugar, reduce heat, and add the pears. Cover and heat until a knife slips in easily, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the pears and place in the refrigerator. Remove the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, and lemon zest. Reduce the remaining liquid to about 1 cup, approximately 20-25 minutes.

Combine the raspberries, powdered sugar, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender until pureed. Pass through a fine sieve or cheese cloth to extract all the juice.

Plate each slightly chilled pear and scoop ice cream into the prepared bowl. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with raspberry coulis and reduced syrup. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Facile Italian Cooking

'Facile' is Italian for easy and this recipe sure makes good use of this adjective.

Tomato Basil Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 box of angel hair pasta (whole grain opt.)
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 2 shallots, minced
• Basil, fresh (chopped) and dried
• A few dashes of cream (light or heavy depending on how calorie conscious you're feeling)

Fill a small/medium sauce pan with water and put over high heat. Make 2-4 slits on each of the tomatoes and when the water is boiling throw them in for about 3 minutes. When they are done take them out and run them under cold water for about 30 seconds. Peel off the skin and dice the tomatoes. Be sure to save the juice along with the diced pieces.

In another sauce pan boil water for the pasta and prepare according to directions on the box.

Slightly heat a shallow saute pan on the stove over low-medium heat. Add olive oil and shallots. Saute until translucent. Do NOT burn them at any time during the cooking process or else you will have to start all over again! Add some of the dried basil and continue to saute. Add the diced tomatoes, juice, and more dried basil. Saute for another few minutes and then add some fresh, chopped basil. Saute for another 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Add a few dashes of cream until the mixture is a pinkish-orange color.

Add the pasta a little bit at a time. When I was younger my mother always used to yell at me because i would make a whole box of pasta and then add it all to the cream-tomato mixture. There would be too much pasta and not enough sauce. You want to make sure you have a good ratio so that the sauce covers all of the pasta that you add in.

The key to this recipe is to add basil throughout the cooking process. I don't tell you how much to add because this is something you have to do at your own discretion. Each time you add the basil only add a few "shakes."  I don;t think you can ever have too much basil, but don't go over do it on my account.

For a more hearty meal add shrimp before you take the dish off of the stove. Make sure that the shrimp are touching the bottom of the pan. Cook until pink and then flip over. You do not want to keep them on either side for too long or else they will dry out...and no one likes dried out shrimp.

Life of the Party

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This was posted on one of my other blogs, but I thought I would move it over here so that everything is a little bite more organized.
***

So let's talk guacamole...

Guacamole is fantastic with chips or on a sandwich, chunky or smooth, basic or spicy. I find that the chunky kind is better with chips while the spicy, smooth kind is better on a sandwich. One sandwich option that I (used to) love is guacamole with fillet on ciabatta or french bread.

Here's a recipe for great guacamole which I adapted from one on Epicurious.com.

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 - 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice (bottles is okay too for a quick fix)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• A heaping handful of cherry tomatoes, diced (chunky if pairing with chips)

Remove the pits and skins of the avocados and mash (coarse if pairing with chips). Stir in the onion, garlic paste, lime juice, cumin, cilantro, and tomatoes.

Epicurious says "The guacamole may be made 2 hours in advance, its surface covered with plastic wrap, and chilled."

The lime juice helps preserve that lovely green color. You can also use vitamin C crystals,  which is what I do. You can use any type of tomato. I just like cherry tomatoes because they are so sweet. Another addition you can make is minced jalapeño. Be careful not to add too much!!! Add 1/4 - 1/2 a jalapeño and then taste your creation. Add more as need be.

Enjoy!

To Be Or Not To Be

So what is être epicurean?

Let me break it down for you:
être - (v.) to be; to exist
epicurean- (adj.) devoted to the pursuit of sensual pleasure, especially to the enjoyment of good food and comfort

These two words combine to bring you my philosophy on food:

"Eating is a requirement; eating well is a choice."

Eating shouldn't be taken for granted. It should be exciting, enjoyable, and one of the best parts of your day. A meal that combines simple, fresh, and occasionally organic ingredients should be a focal point in the daily diet. There is no excuse for not eating well in a society where we are provided with so many choices. However, it is understandable that many people don't eat well because they don't know where to get healthy ingredients or what to do with those ingredients that they find.

I created this blog as a way to share recipes with a friend who is away at college and for those who have a passion for cooking. I hope that it will be a useful tool as you expand upon your cooking knowledge.

May every day be delicious!
x,
Chace