Baked Angelhair Timbale

At the bakery I work at we try to have potlucks. For Christmas we had the "Very Merry Margarita" potluck and indulged in mexican food. This past one was our "Italian Stallion" potluck. I absolutely love potlucks but I always have a tough time deciding what on earth I want to make.

So I flipped through one of my Giada cookbooks (the first place I go when I want to make something Italian) and this timbale caught my eye. I was intriqued. I had never heard of a timbale, let alone made one....

If this isn't a recipe for disaster for me, I don't know what is.

I decided to make it because it was so different and I like to make things that are a little unexpected for potlucks. Well, a timbale takes over an hour to bake...which is fine. But I made the mistake of going to the gym while it baked...

As I returned from the gym, already short of breath and slightly hating my life because I really pushed myself (because I was anticipating the damage I would do to my body that night with all the carbs and meaty sauces). I opened my door to find an apartment filled with smoke....

My eyes instantly started to water and my heart dropped to me heels. "Oh my God I've burned it!" I was extra-panic stricken as I was supposed to leave for the potluck in an hour and had no back-up plans. I raced to the oven and yanked the door open, all the while inhaling pure smoke. As I waved the heat and smoke out of my face I got a peek at my timable and saw that is was fine...the floor of my oven on the other hand, was not.

The smoke was spiraling from the lovely black crusted liquid that was dripping from the springform pan...

Lesson learned; when using a springform pan, always line the outside with foil...Even now, a couple months later, when I turn on the oven you can smell the burning from the charred liquid. I can't seem to rid of it no matter how much cleaner or scraping I take to it...

On the bright side, the timbale turned out perfectly and everyone loved it. So there.

Baked Angelhair Timbale
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 Japanese eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound mild Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1/3 cup dry red wine
3 cups marinara sauce
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 pound mozzarella, diced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 (17 1/4-ounce) package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

Directions:

Heat 1/3 cup of oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the eggplant and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute the eggplant until it is golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium. Add half of the garlic and saute until it is tender, about 2 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant mixture to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the remaining eggplant and garlic.

Add the sausage and wine to the same frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine evaporates and the sausage is brown, breaking the sausage into pieces with the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes. Add the sausage, marinara sauce, and crushed red pepper to the eggplant mixture, and toss to combine.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the angel hair and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until pasta is still slightly crunchy and undercooked. Drain. Toss the angel hair with the eggplant mixture. Cool completely. Add the mozzarella and Parmesan and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface to a 13 1/2-inch square. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan, allowing the excess pastry to hang over the rim. Spoon the pasta mixture into the pan. Place the second pastry sheet atop the pasta filling. Pinch the edges of the pastry sheets together to seal. Trim the overhanging pastry edges to about 1-inch. Fold the pastry edges in to form a decorative border. Cut a slit in the center of the top pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Bake until the pastry is brown and puffed on top, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the pan sides and serve.

Strawberry Tiramisu

Clearly I survived the tornado...well barely...ok so I tend to overreact sometimes...whatever.

This dessert is something I really just dove into (boy do I wish that were literally). I like things that are different or unexpected. I love to try to put a twist on things that are classic. I had spotted a strawberry tiramisu recipe online but I just didn't like the recipe...I searched and found nothing and decided to take it upon myself...

Trust me, I am not usually this brave (see last post. tornadoes=panicked Tarrah).

I really really loved this. I don't know if thats because I really wanted to or what but I could not stay out of it. The combination of the cocoa, strawberries and coffee was just divine.

I got the idea to use vanilla wafers from a friend at work...genuis...truly genius. I had attempted to make lady fingers before (since they are impossible to find) and it was not pretty...not the kind of not pretty that all my food is...it was a disaster.

I had to experiment and tweak a lot with this one so I hope I got the final recipe right...crossing my fingers!

Strawberry Tiramisu
Dame Good

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh strawberries
12 oz box reduced-fat vanilla wafers
1/4 cup hot water
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons khalua
8 oz marscapone cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz fat-free whipped cream, thawed
1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 oz package fat-free sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
sliced strawberries for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Begin by placing the strawberries in a food processor. Pulse until the strawberries are pureed. Line a mesh strainer with a paper towel and let the strawberry puree drain out the excess water while you assemble the other ingredients.

Mix the hot water, instant coffee and khalua in a small bowl; set aside.

With a stand mixer on medium speed, mix the marscapone, vanilla and powdered sugar until combined. Divide the strawberry puree into halves. Add half of the puree to the marscapone mixture. Mix in the instant pudding. Fold in 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the mixture.

In a 8in x 8in square pan layer half of the vanilla wafers (about 30 wafers). Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the khalua and coffee mixture over the wafers. Spread the marscapone mixture on top of the wafers. Layer the rest of the wafers on top of the marscapone layer. Drizzle the remaining khalua and coffee mixture on top of the wafers.

Spread the reserved strawberry puree on top of the wafers. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top of the strawberry puree. Sprinkle the cocoa powder on top of the whipped cream. Garnish with sliced strawberries (optional).

Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Chops

Do tornadoes scare the crap out of anyone else? Anytime I hear those sirens or that awful screeching coming from the tv my heart races...

I remember tornado warnings as a kid and grabbing pillows and burrying myself in a bathtub full of them and crying about how much I hated "tomatoes". Now I know they are not in fact "tomatoes" but I still have the urge to pull my memory foam matress into my bathroom and barricading myself with a pint of ice cream and hard liquor.

We are under a tornado warning in various parts of Ohio right now and I find it terrifying. The thought of a dark funnel cloud plummeting from the sky sends me into an immediate panic. Not to mention the thought of the recent tornado that touched down and killed over a hundred people makes me so sad.

There is something extremely terrifying about the lack of control available to you when a tornado hits and how utterly destructive they can be.

I just have to cross my fingers that these warnings are nothing and everyone will be okay. :/

There, now I have poured my heart out and shared one of my biggest fears...

On a more positive note...these pork chops are one of my favorite dinners to make. I have made them a couple of times and am always impressed with how delicious they are each time I eat them. I love goat cheese. It's tangy and creamy and pairs really well with the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes...

The filling can be a bit of a pain in the "arse" when you are cooking the pork chops because it wants to ooze out onto the pan...so try not to overfill the chops and if the filling starts oozing just use your spatula to shove it back in or throw the lost filling on top of your pork chops. Either way, it's going to be delish...guaranteed.

Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Pork Chops
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions:

Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.
Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.
Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving.

Cinnamon Brunch Cake

I went putt-putting for the first time in a long time Friday. It was sunny with a slight breeze...aka perfect. My putt-putting "skills"...not so much.

I was terrible. By my 5th miss being 4 inches from the hole I was yelling profanities and threatening my golf ball forgetting that there were children around. Poor Shawn has to deal with my innappropriateness (I think I just made that word up) in public.

But I make food for him so that balances it out right?

I guess I need to brush up on my putt-putting though. I had rehearsed and was prepared to showcase my sweet victory dance...unfortunately I only got to put my moves into action like once.

Does this mean I'm getting old?

Guess I gotta stick with what I know...food.

This brunch cake was featured on food.com and I couldn't pass up how easy it was. For some reason my oven was not wanting to coorporate the day I made it and the cake baked unevenly but it was still tasty.

Cinnamon Brunch Cake
From food.com

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar (add in more for a sweeter taste)
1 1/4 cups milk
1 -2 teaspoon vanilla (optional) or 1 -2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 large egg (optional)

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar (can use more or less)
1 -2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter
chopped walnuts (optional) or pecans (optional)
Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish, or two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans (although the batter will seem like it will fit into only one 8 or 9-inch pan, this flop rises very high and will run over the sides if baked in just one pan).

In a bowl mix the 2 cups flour, 1-1/4 cups white sugar, milk, vanilla or almond extract, baking powder, pinch of salt and egg (if using) until just combined careful not to overmix. Pour into prepared baking pan/s.
Generously spread brown sugar and cinnamon on top. If desired sprinkle chopped walnuts or pecans over top. Drizzle melted butter over top.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes for 8 or 9-inch round cake pan, and about 30 minutes for a 13 x 9-inch pan.

Buffalo Chicken-Sausage Penne

This here is part two of my buffalo-chicken sausage experimentation. I love trying to make up new things and come up with my own recipes. It is super excitng when something works out...and not so surprising when something doesn't (as it is bound to happen, especially with me).

Luckily for me, this one worked out. Meaning this wasn't a repeat of the many times I threw stuff together as a kid expecting something out-of-this-world only to find myself gagging on whatever my concoction was at that time. I remember many times as a kid I tried to invent "soup" recipes by boiling water and throwing any and everything I could find in the pot. I'd say I've improved a bit since then...

I actually got the idea  for this recipe off of the package of buffalo-chicken sausage and ran with it from there. I came up with a greek yogurt blue cheese sauce and I really liked it...

Sounds weird I know...

But that's how I roll. Sometimes the unexpected is better than the expected. I think I held my breath the entire time I was throwing stuff together for this sauce and praying it would work. I hate wasting food...absolutely hate it!

Clearly, I was able to breath again...so here it is. Hope you like it.

Buffalo Chicken-Sausage Penne
Dame Good

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Pasta:
16 oz Al Fresco Buffalo Chicken-Sausage (4 links), sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped
12 oz whole wheat penne
1/4 cup fresh parsely, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
6 oz non-fat plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dry ranch seasoning
3 tablespoons Franks hot sauce
4 oz reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
1 tablespoon skim milk

Directions:

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, stir and set aside. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.

While the pasta is cooking heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium sized pan. Add the pepper, celery and onions and saute for about 8 minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken-sausage and stir until heated through. Remove from heat and set aside.

Rinse cooked pasta and toss together with the sauteed vegetables in a large bowl. Add the parsley and some salt and pepper. Stir the sauce into the pasta mixture until combined. Serve warm and enjoy!