Tag: Recipe

Side Dishes

Recipe—Tropical Macadamia Nut Rice

Diva di Cucina

How many times have you served a side of plain white rice with your favorite dishes? With how quick and easy this macadamia nut rice is you will be looking to spruce up your rice more often. This takes rice to a whole new level. It is sweet and salty and has a great balance of textures with the crunchy nuts mixed in. This is a great side dish if you are looking for food for a luau. I love to serve it with teriyaki chicken and grilled pineapple. Yummy in my tummy! This rice pairs nicely with my homemade halibut fish sticks, any grilled fish, or even grilled pork or shrimp with Caribbean seasonings. Try this out and give your taste buds a real tropical treat. Aloooooohaaaaa!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups jasmine rice, uncooked
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 c green onions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup roasted macadamia nuts, chopped
salt

STEPS

  • Cook rice according to package instructions.
  • While the rice is cooking, lightly toast your coconut in a skillet over medium heat until it turns a nice golden color.  Set aside.
  • After the rice has sat covered per the package instructions, drizzle with olive oil and gently fluff with a fork.
  • Stir in toasted coconut, green onions, macadamia nuts, and season with salt.
Brunch, Salads, Side Dishes

Recipe—Creamy Persimmon Pomegranate Salad

Diva di Cucina

During the fall and winter months it can be difficult to find quality ripe fruit for a fruit salad. And when you do find some, you pay an arm and a leg. This is a fabulously simple salad you can whip up in minutes using some seasonal fall fruits. This sweet and creamy salad is great for breakfast or even as an addition to your Thanksgiving meal. I think the walnuts and pomegranate seeds give it a nice little crunch and best of all, it is really healthy!

Note: You may or may not find seeds in your persimmons. I have found them both ways. When you chop them be sure to keep a watch for them and discard any you find.

INGREDIENTS
6 fuyu or amagaki persimmons, chopped
3/4 c pomegranate seeds
1/2 c candied walnuts, chopped
1 c plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp honey

STEPS

  • Combine the persimmons, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts in a medium bowl.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the honey and yogurt.
  • Pour the yogurt over the fruit and gently stir to combine.
Dinners, Side Dishes

Recipe—Quinoa and Cheese

Diva di Cucina

I am a huge fan of macaroni and cheese; I mean come on, who isn’t? It has to be one of my all time favorite comfort foods. Problem for me is that it is not the healthiest item to be consuming on a regular basis. I thought to myself, there has to be a way to enjoy a healthier version of this classic comfort food. So here it is, quinoa and cheese!

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a super grain comparable to couscous or rice and has been around since ancient times. The Incas called it “The Mother Grain.” It contains more protein and fewer carbohydrates than any other grain. It’s also an awesome source of calcium, iron, phosphorous, and vitamins B and E. Quinoa is a great ingredient to work with if you are watching carbs or are on a gluten free diet.

This recipe has all the great qualities a person loves about macaroni and cheese, the rich creaminess, the cheesiness, the crunchy topping, except it makes it healthier. (Shhh don’t tell the kids!) You can even spruce it up by adding in some steamed broccoli or fresh chopped jalapeños. While I wouldn’t call this an equal to macaroni and cheese, it certainly is a great alternative.

Note: If you are only feeding a couple of mouths divvy it up into two 8″ x 8″ dishes and freeze one for later. I love the disposable foil containers you can get at the grocery store. 

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups quinoa, uncooked
1/2 c milk
1/2 c sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c crushed croutons (optional)

STEPS

  • Cook quinoa according to the package instructions.
  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Grease a 7” x 11” baking dish.
  • Whisk together milk, sour cream, eggs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Stir in cheese and then the cooked quinoa.
  • Transfer the quinoa and cheese mixture to the prepared baking dish.
  • Top with the crushed croutons if you are using them.
  • Bake for 30–35 minutes or until it is a nice golden brown on top.
Dinners, Side Dishes

Recipe—Baked Acorn Squash

Diva di Cucina

I have a confession to make, I know this will make me sound like a total blonde but I want to be sure you all know I’m human and that I don’t know everything about cooking. I am still learning every day. So here I go… until I got my first acorn squash in my organic produce box a few weeks back I thought they were a decorative item. Seriously. Okay, go ahead and laugh now.  I remember seeing them in the grocery stores with all the gourds and pumpkins every fall but I was oblivious to the fact that people actually ate them. I am so glad I discovered that these were in fact edible because they are delicious and I now love cooking with them. I am sharing a recipe for a classic oven baked acorn squash. This is a really sweet treat and a fun way to enjoy the veggie. These squash remind me of my favorite Thanksgiving side dish, sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans. Yum! Depending on how many people I have over for turkey day this year I may just even make these instead. Why not mix it up and break out of tradition?

INGREDIENTS
1 acorn squash
1 tbsp butter, softened
salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp maple syrup

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 400º.
  • Carefully cut acorn squash in half and using a spoon clean out the seeds and stringy pulp.
  • Coat the inside of each squash half with the softened butter and sprinkle with salt.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar to the cavity of each half.
  • Drizzle a teaspoon of maple sugar over each half.
  • Put a 1/4” of water in a baking dish (This keeps the squash from drying out.)
  • Place the prepared acorn squash in the water cut side up.
  • Bake squash for 1 hour or until they are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
  • Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Dinners, Sauces

Recipe—Peppercorn Crusted Steak with Bourbon Cream Sauce

Diva di Cucina

Usually when we have steak in our house my hubby does his magic on the grille. The other weekend he was taking his first of many architectural exams. I wanted to surprise him with a nice steak fit for a king to reward him for all his hard work, without having him fire up the barbie. These really turned out to be some great skillet cooked steaks. The sauce was rich and creamy and really dresses up what is already a fabulous cut of meat. This recipe is perfect for a romantic dinner in or a special indulgence.

STEAK INGREDIENTS
2 New York steaks, rib eyes, or filets
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp yellow onion, minced
1 tsp peppercorns
2 tbsp bourbon
1/2 c beef broth
1/2 c heavy whipping cream

STEAK STEPS

  • Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper making sure to rub it in.
  • Heat a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add olive oil to the pan and heat.
  • Carefully add the steaks to the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to medium and flip the steaks.
  • Cook the steaks for another 4–5 minutes.
  • Transfer the steaks to a large plate and cover with foil.

SAUCE STEPS

  • Add oil to the skillet the steaks were cooked in.
  • Add garlic, onions, and peppercorns to the skillet and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent.
  • Carefully add the bourbon to the pan to deglaze. It may ignite so stand back and poor in slowly.
  • Use a whisk to stir and break up all the bits in the bottom of the pan.
  • Add the beef broth and the heavy cream to the pan and bring to a gentle boil.
  • Turn heat to low and simmer.
  • Cook sauce for 3–5 minutes until it begins to thicken, stirring occasionally.
  • Plate the steaks and pour the sauce over the top of them.
Brunch

Recipe—Blueberry Cream Cheese Danishes

Diva di Cucina

I have posted a few recipes now that call for puff pastry. As I have said before it is a great ingredient! I always keep it on hand in the freezer because it is incredibly easy to whip up some quick breakfast pastries. Here is a fabulous recipe for blueberry cream cheese danishes. One thing I love about these is that you can prep the rolls the night before, refrigerate them and then when you wake up in the morning all you have to do is slice and bake. Perfect for all the company you will be having over around the holidays!

Note: You can substitute the blueberries and jam for any flavored fruit jam you have on hand. I’m really fond of apricot too.

INGREDIENTS
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp sugar, divided
2 tbsp blueberry jam
1/4 c fresh blueberries, chopped
1 package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, room temperature
flour for work surface
1 egg
1 tbsp water

STEPS

  • In a small mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, butter and 1 tbsp sugar until smooth and creamy.
  • Fold in blueberry jam and blueberries making sure not to over stir.
  • Sprinkle flour on the work surface and unfold puff pastry.
  • Evenly spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over the pastry leaving one edge exposed about an inch back.
  • Starting at the edge opposite from the exposed edge roll up like a jelly roll.
  • Wrap your roll in saran wrap and chill in freezer for an hour or fridge for a couple of hours. (This will make it easier to slice through.)
  • Preheat oven to 400º.
  • Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl.
  • Remove the saran wrap and cut roll into 1/2” slices.
  • Place the slices cut side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Brush the top of each spiral with the egg wash and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
  • Bake for 14–16 minutes or until just starting to turn a golden brown.
  • Remove the spirals from the baking sheet and allow to cool.
Appetizers

Recipe—Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Diva di Cucina

I am a girl who loves her boneless buffalo wings, just not all the calories that come with the batter fried chicken. This is a fabulous adaptation of the classic American appetizer. My husband isn’t really a fan of buffalo chicken but he really enjoyed these to my surprise. To be honest, the two of us finished off the entire batch over some Sunday football and I was guilt free! This is a really great appetizer that is not only quick but incredibly easy. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c flour
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 c buffalo sauce (I love Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce!)
1 tbsp butter, melted

GARNISHES
bleu cheese dressing
celery and/or carrots

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a large bowl whisk together buttermilk, flour, and garlic salt until smooth. (If the batter seems too thick add more buttermilk a tablespoon at a time. You want it to be slightly thick so that it sticks to the cauliflower. If it is too runny the batter will all drip off while baking.)
  • Place the cauliflower into the bowl of batter and gently toss to coat.
  • Spread the battered cauliflower out on a greased baking dish making sure to shake off any excess batter.
  • Bake for 20–25 minutes turning once until some of the edges turn a nice golden color.
  • While the cauliflower is baking combine the buffalo sauce and melted butter in a small bowl.
  • Remove the cauliflower from the oven and drizzle the buffalo sauce mixture over the top and toss to coat.
  • Return the cauliflower to the oven and bake for an additional 5–10 minutes.
  • Remove the finished cauliflower from the oven and plate with some fresh veggies and a side of bleu cheese dressing.

 

Note (added 01/13/14): Many people have asked about the texture. The batter becomes more like a soft breading on the outside rather than crispy. To get a crispy texture try frying the battered cauliflower. And be sure to shake of excess batter as you place it on the baking sheet so that the cauliflower is lightly coated.

Beverages

Recipe—Grapefruit Margarita on the Rocks

Diva di Cucina

Happy Friday folks! What better day to share a margarita recipe than on a Friday. Now that my organic produce deliveries are shifting more towards winter crops I have been seeing lots of great citrus. While I certainly love to eat my fruit, it is fun coming up with fabulous drinkable concoctions too. Last weekend I used fresh squeezed orange juice to make mimosas. They were superb! This week I had some extra grapefruit and limes on hand so I came up with this grapefruit margarita recipe. It was the perfect refreshing beverage after my long day at work. If you like the tartness of fresh grapefruit give this a try. I loved that this margarita was nothing like the syrupy, too sweet, premade margarita mixes you get at the store. These ones are actually good for you! Grapefruits are low in calories and are a great source of inositol, which helps the body to maintain a healthy metabolism. They are also a member of the vitamin B complex and are an excellent source of vitamin C, which everyone needs more of during the cold and flu season. So next time you are craving a refreshing adult beverage give these a try. Cheers!

Note: If you don’t have fresh grapefruit on hand you can substitute the hand squeezed grapefruit juice for some store bought. Just be sure to leave out the added sugar.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 c fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (I used 3 medium Ruby Red grapefruits)
juice from half a lime
5 oz silver tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 tsp sugar (optional)
margarita salt
grapefruit slice or lime wedge for garnish

STEPS

  • Pour your margarita salt onto a small plate.
  • Moisten the rim of a margarita glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into the salt until it coats the rim.
  • Fill the glass with ice.
  • In a large cocktail shaker combine the grapefruit juice, juice from lime, tequila, triple sec, and sugar.
  • Fill up the rest of the shaker with ice.
  • Holding the lid firmly in place, shake the margarita until the outside of the shaker has condensation.
  • Strain the margarita into the glass and garnish with a slice of grapefruit or a lime.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Lemon Crackle Cookies

Diva di Cucina

The other day when I dropped my son off at daycare there was a signup sheet for a bake sale. I signed up because, well… I love doing that sort of thing! I didn’t even pay attention to the date until I got to work and went to write it on my calendar. Holy smokes! It was the next day! That meant that after I got off working a long day I had to pick up my husband from work, go get my car from the shop (this is why I had to pick up the husband from work that day), go to the grocery store, swing by daycare to get the munchkin, cook dinner, bathe the little rascal, and THEN bake something for the bake sale! And being a mom there is always dishes and laundry in the mix too. What had I gotten myself into?!? I am not one to flake out so I just decided I had to come up with one heck of a quick and easy item to make. That’s when I had remembered seeing easy chocolate cake cookies. Basically you use boxed cake mix as the base for the cookies.

There always seems to be plenty of chocolate at bake sales so I mixed it up and made what I am calling Lemon Crackle Cookies. These were so incredibly quick and easy to make. They were super cheap and they turned out really good! Think of a fluffy version of a lemon bar. This recipe makes between 3 and 4 dozen cookies so they are perfect for a bake sale or even a cookie exchange. I recommend you give them a shot whether or not you are strapped for time.

INGREDIENTS
2-18.25 oz boxes Duncan Hines lemon cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 c vegetable oil
grated rind from one lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • In a large bowl mix together dry cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon rind, and lemon juice.
  • Put the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or plate.
  • Form small balls with the dough and then roll them in the powdered sugar. Be sure the cookies have a really thick coating of the sugar if you want them to have that crackle look.
  • Place at least 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 7–9 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
  • Allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cutting board or cooling rack.
Soups

Recipe—Best Ever Butternut Squash Soup

Diva di Cucina

I know the title of the recipe carries a big name, but it’s true, this is the BEST EVER butternut squash soup. Most butternut squash soups taste like squash puree and not much else, but this soup has so many flavors and a lot of depth. I absolutely love this stuff. It actually worked out that this recipe was my best use yet of my delivered organic produce. I ended up having the first five ingredients in last weeks box. Score! It was a sign that this soup was meant to be. One thing that I really love about this soup is that it is thick because of all the veggies in there, not because of any flour or cornstarch like most soups. If you are looking for a fabulous fall soup, look no further. This will fit the bill.

Notes: Most of your time making this recipe will be spent chopping veggies. To save some time, you can buy packages of pre-chopped butternut squash at the store. It will cost a little more but will shave off quite a bit of prep time.

This soup can be made vegetarian but cutting out the bacon and replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

You can use a hand mixer or blender to process the mixture. The hand mixer will give you a slightly chunkier soup and the blender will give you a really smooth one. If you use a hand mixer be sure you don’t use a non-stick pot, as the hand mixer will destroy it. If using a blender you will need to do it in batches. I recommend placing a towel over the top of your blender and holding the lid firmly in place as the heat will make the lid blow off and it makes a huge hot mess and can burn you if not secured.

INGREDIENTS
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 green apple, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped
32 oz chicken broth
2 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 c heavy whipping cream
crème fraîche or sour cream (for garnish)

STEPS

  • In a large soup pot, cook bacon over medium-high heat.
  • Remove bacon and drain off grease leaving 2 tbsp in the bottom of the pot.
  • Sauté onions and carrots in the bacon drippings for about 5 minutes.
  • Add in the celery, apples, and garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes.
  • Add in the squash and broth.
  • Bring pot to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes or until all produce is fork tender.
  • Remove pot from heat.
  • Using a hand mixer or blender process the mixture until smooth. (See above note) If you use a blender return the soup to the pot.
  • Stir in the lime juice, honey, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and whipping cream.
  • Simmer soup for 10–15 minutes or until thickened.
  • Using a ladle serve the soup into a bowl and top with crumbled bacon and a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living.