Beer Batter Fish and Baked Chips with Garlic Aioli

Monday the 31st was a national holiday here in the States. Memorial Day. In many ways it signifies the start of summer. As well as being able to break out the grill, having the day off. Luckily this past weekend the weather has been great in SoCal. Keyword of the day was relaxation. But more importantly to remember our fallen soldiers in the military. Now since I live in an apartment building where grilling is prohibited...total bummer. I can't wait for the day when I own my own house. Anyway... I wasn't in the mood to lug out ol' Georgie, so I went for one of my most recent cravings. Fish and chips. 

This recipe is a slightly improved version of my Guinness Batter Fish and Chips that I posted sometime last year. Made several tweaks here and there and what you got here is fantastic. I decided to serve it up with some garlic aioli, which is relatively easy to make and really good. I made the aioli and prepped my "chips" (aka home fries) the day before as I didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. I did a little search of various aioli recipes and the basic ingredients are garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil. Some recipes use a hint of dijon mustard and vegetable oil. I mixed and matched and experimented until I found something much to my liking.

I cut the chips into near shoe-string thickness. I soaked the chips in some cold water spiked with some distilled white vinegar. It help keep the firmness of the potato as well as remove any excess starch. The recipe called for 3 russet potatoes. Depending on how you cut it, if it seems too much, you can freeze them for a later time. My fish of choice in this was cod, which is what is traditionally used. For the batter, beer of choice was none other than some Guinness Stout. Yeah...that's how I roll. When it came time to cook up the fish, rather than have to deep fry I decided to pan-fry the pieces. I tend to move away towards deep frying most of the time. Once in a while I'll make an exception.

So the day came and the cooking began. Pan-fry the fish while the chips cooked. Multi-tasking in the kitchen. The end result... a tender flaky fish with a nice crispy crust. The chips were herb-y and delicious. I made a small batch of tartar sauce as well, but I really like the malt vinegar and aioli combo for some reason. Oh...must not forget the side of lemon wedges. You can't have with without the lemon.


Serves 2-3

Beer batter Fish and (Baked) Chips with Garlic Aioli

Fish
1 to 1 1/2 Lbs  cod, haddock, tilapia (any fillet of white fish)
salt and pepper (for seasoning fish)
1 c flour
1 Tbsp paprika
1/3 c water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 c Guinness Stout
cornstarch
Canola or peanut oil

This can be done while the chips bake. The batter. In a bowl combine the flour, salt, pepper, water. Lightly stir to combine. Then add the Guinness. Mix well removing any clumps. Set aside and prep the fillets.

At this time preheat enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet, at least 1/5-inch or more. You may cut your fish into sizable pieces. Season with salt and pepper and dredge the pieces in some cornstarch. Place the dredged pieces in the batter. When the oil is really hot, slowly and carefully place the fish and pan-fry for 2-3 minutes per side for 1/2-inch fillets. Cook until crispy brown. When cooked, place the fish on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.

Baked Chips
3 russet potatoes
4 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dry basil
1 tsp paprika
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

peel and cut the potatoes to your desired thickness. (I chose to cut mine 1/8th-inch thick.) Place the sticks into a large bowl of cold water spiked with 4 Tbsp of distilled white vinegar. Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge overnight or chill for at least an hour before cooking. This will help remove the extra starch in them.

Preheat your oven to 400˚F.

Remove the chips from the water and pat dry with a paper towel. Place into a bowl or large ziplock bag and add the salt, pepper, paprika, and olive oil. Toss together and coat evenly. Place the sticks on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until crisp (depending on thickness of potato).  For extra crispiness, you can place the chips into the broiler for a minute or two. When the chips are done baking, remove from the pan and season lightly with a little salt.

Note: you may freeze any uncooked potato for later use.

 tartar sauce on the left, aioli on the right

Garlic Aioli
3 garlic cloves
2 egg yolk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 c extra virgin olive oil

Mince and mash the garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste-like consistency. You may use a mortar and pestle for this. Or mash the the garlic with the edge of a large knife.
Place the garlic paste in a bowl and add the egg yolks. Whisk together until combined, then add the lemon juice and dijon mustard. Next slowly, while constantly whisking, drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. When all the oil is added, whisk until it is slightly thick. (If not serving immediately, cover the bowl and chill in the fridge until ready)

Makes 1 cup


Tartar Sauce

2-3 c Mayonnaise or Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp sweet relish
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 tsp paprika
pinch of salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients together and stir well to combine.

Makes 1/2 cup


Serve together and enjoy with some malt vinegar, the aioli, ketchup, or your preferred dip.

Pace Pepper Pineapple Pizza

The other day, I received a nice little package courtesy of the Tastemaker Program from Foodbuzz. Inside the package were two free 8oz bottle samples of Pace Picante Sauce.

You know...that stuff that compared itself to other stuff that's made in New York City. Here's a refresher. Remember this commercial?

"NEW YORK CITY?!" -- Imagine me as a child running around yelling that over and over annoying those around me. Oh yeah...Those were the days. Ha!

Now I used to eat up straight with some tortilla chips and nachos. But I found an alternative to use pace as a base for pizza. It's got tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, onions among it's ingredients. I do like that that is has chunks of the ingredients in them. You can see the sauce trying to escape from the layer of cheese. It's not just good as a dip, but as an added flavor to you favorite foods. It's actually got me craving for some nachos right about now. Oooo... I think I know what I'm making this weekend.

Pace Pepper Pineapple Pizza

1 premade pizza dough
1/3 c mild Pace Picante Sauce
2 c shredded cheddar
1 small red bell pepper - seeded, remove wax bits and sliced into strips
1/4 c pineapple tidbits drained of juice
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Roll out the pizza dough onto a baking sheet. Perforate the dough with a fork all over to help for even baking.

Spread evenly the Pace Picante Sauce, leaving room for the crust. Then sprinkle the shredded cheddar over and place the pineapple tidbits and bell pepper sliced accordingly.

Brush the edge of the dough with a little extra virgin olive oil to help bring a nice brown crust.

Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and crust has browned.

Best served warm.

Shrimps & Scallops with a White Wine Broth

So this was the lovely dish I wanted to post yesterday, but couldn't due to my internet fiasco. What a bummer that's been. But much like many an afternoon, i spent some quality time in my local Panera sipping on some fresh brewed coffee with my laptop on the table, answering emails messages, catching up on blogs. I swear the people that work there know me by now. haha...

Anyway... I asked my mom the day before Mother's Day what she would like to eat. I asked sometimes early in the afternoon. Several hours later...still no decision. But I waited patiently and patiently and patiently. Ain't I a loving daughter? Finally...Pasta. Scallops. Shrimp. Ok, so brain turns and what do you get? Angel hair pasta with sauteed shrimp and scallops in a white wine broth.

Delicious? Why...it's pasta-licious. Sorry...that last bit was corny.

 Serves 3-4

Shrimps & Scallops with a White Wine Broth

1/2 box angel hair pasta
6 oz diced tomato
2 large garlic clove - rough chopped
5 oz evaporated milk
1/2 tbsp oregano
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 c white wine
1/2 lb shrimp - deveined and shelled
1 lb scallops

In a sauce pan, heat a small drizzle of olive oil and saute the garlic for 30-60 seconds. Add the shrimp and scallops and saute until the shrimp have turned a nice shade pink and the scallops are slightly whiter in color. Some of the juices will be released. Stir several times to cook all the seafood.

On a high to medium heat, add the wine and bring to a slight boil. When the wine has reduced slightly, lower the heat and add the evaporated milk. Add the tomato and oregano. Stir occasionally. Let it simmer for a good 15 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste.

While that cooks, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Season with salt and cook the pasta until al dente roughly 8-10 minutes.

Place some of the paste in a large enough plate and ladle some of the shrimp, scallops and sauce over. Serve warm.

Four Cheese Spinach Bake and A Winner

First, we've got a winner!! A week ago I announced a giveaway for the 1-year birthday of B + B. I got some interesting and diverse responses to what you favorite dishes are. It was nice to read a variety of tastes.  Thank you to everyone who entered. I was going to do it the old fashioned way by pulling a name out a bowl, but things happened in the last couple days that prevented it. So I used my back up via random.org.

And the winner of the really cool sushi book and kit is....................................

ValleyWriter from Adventures in the Pioneer Valley!!!!!!! 

Email me your address (jenn@jenniferrazon.com) and I'll get this fab prize your way. Congrats!!!

--

Now, onto today's dish. I still had that second Bertolli sauce to try out courtesy of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and Bertolli. The Four Cheese Rosa. It tastes much like an alfredo sauce with a hint of tomato. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It a nice creamy texture and smooth at the same time. I cooked this up with some pasta. And I remember that I had some frozen spinach left in the freezer that I need to use up.

The pasta I used for this are some small shells. I find that they scoop the sauce really well. Mix in the spinach and well as the sauce. Topped it with some shredded cheese that I mixed with some panko crumbs to give it that nice cheesy and crunchy crust. Simple weeknight meal.

Serves 4-6

Four Cheese Spinach Bake

2-3 c uncooked pasta
1 c leafed spinach - from frozen (defrosted and squeezed of water)
1 jar Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa
1 tbsp garlic powder
pepper to taste
2 c panko crumbs
1 c grated parmesan cheese


Preheat your oven to 375˚F

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, season the water with salt and a small drizzle of olive oil. Drop in the pasta and stir a couple times to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other. Cook until al dente, roughly 8 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together the panko and cheese.  Set Aside.

Once the pasta as cooked drain most, but 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the spinach, garlic powder, and Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa sauce. Season with a little pepper and mix well. Pour the pasta mixture into an oven safe dish and spread evenly.  Then pour the panko-cheese mix on top.

Place the dish in the oven and bake for 15 tto 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and crumbs lightly browned.

Serve warm.

Ramen in Shiitake Alfredo Sauce

First off, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone for the birthday greetings. I had a simple birthday with no plans what-so-ever. I went with the flow and was happy with the outcome. I was planning on baking something, but I got lazy. I'm allowed to be lazy on my b-day, right? But I sis have some good food. Don't worry I'm working on that post right now.

Today's dish is part one of two of my Valentine's/Chinese New Year meal for the single. Rather than going out. I stayed in. I still had a few ramen noodle packets and I had the right ingredients to make the alfredo sauce, I just added some sliced shiitake mushrooms. This dish accompanied number two which will be tomorrow.

Serves 2

Ramen in Shiitake Alfredo Sauce

2 ramen packets (minus flavorings)
3/4 c shitake mushrooms - sliced
1/4 c shredded mozzarella
1/2 c parmesan - shredded
1 5 oz can evaporated milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves - fine chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley - chopped for garnish - optional 
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan on medium flame, melt the butter then saute the garlic for roughly 30 sec. Then add the milk and heat. Stir occasionally. Add both cheese. Stir occasionally again until the cheese has melted. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Add the shiitake mushroom and  combine well. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes to let the mushrooms soften.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and season liberally with some salt and a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Cook the ramen noodles to al dente. Roughly 8 minutes. Drain completely.

Place the noodles on a place and pour some of the alfredo sauce on top. Garnish with a little parsley.

Serve with some garlic bread.

Spaghetti

This is one tomato filled spaghetti. You can resist the power of spaghetti. As my job was to make the meatball, it was my mom's turn to make the spaghetti. Nothing like a little mother-daughter time in the kitchen. Awe, those precious moments. I do love my mom's cooking. I think if it weren't for her, I wouldn't know how to cook. A lot of the basic and traditional way of cooking I learned from her.

This is a relatively super easy sauce to make since most of the ingredients involve tomatoes and nothing else. Aside from a little onion, herbs, a dash of sugar and a little sweet relish. It helps balance out the sweet and tart flavors. The Filipino way is to mix in the noodles rather than spooning the sauce over. That way you can just pick up the fork and eat up rather than having to spend another minute or two mixing things around. You can add extra sauce, if you want. I added some of the oven steamed meatballs into this and a sprinkle of chopped cheese.

Serve 4-6

Spaghetti


1 box spaghetti

1 15 oz diced tomato
2 12 oz can tomato sauce
1 5 oz can tomato sauce with basil, oregano and garlic (Hunt's brand)
      ( if you can't find this, simple add 1 Tbsp of each -- dry basil, dry and garlic powder)
1 large fresh tomato
1 small onion
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp sweet relish
1 tsp dry oregano
salt and pepper to taste.

saute the onions in a tiny drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add the diced tomato, tomato sauce, fresh tomato. Stir to combine. Then add the brown sugar, relish, dry oregano. Bring the sauce to a simmer and finally season with salt and pepper. Add more if needed.

Boil some water and cook the pasta to al dente. After draining, add the noodles into the sauce and caefully stir to combine.

Serve warm with a sprinkling of cheese.

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Dish #4. The cranberry sauce. It brings a nice tart flavor saltiness of the turkey or poultry. It balances it out perfectly. In my version,  I decided to add another flavor. My favorite POM juice. I still had some homemade grenadine in the fridge and felt that this was the perfect opportunity to jazz up the traditional sauce. I made this the day before along with the Sweet Potato Bread and Kabocha Biscuits This gave me a little more time to focus on the main dish for the next day, which will be coming very very very soon. You won't want to miss that. Trust me.

Oh, sorry for the other two photos being a little blown out. I had forgotten that I had changed the settings to my camera when I was taking pictures at an event.

Makes roughly 3 cups.

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

12 oz fresh cranberries
2 c POM juice
1 1/2 c sugar
    (Or 2 c grenadine in place of the POM juice and sugar)

Place the the cranberries, pom juice and sugar in sauce pan. On a medium to high heat until sugar has melted and cranberries begin to pop and release their juices. Stir occassionally. Bring the mixture to a boil. once boiling lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thick.

Pasta in Spam Sauce

While I reorganize and get my post-Thanksgiving self together. I'm still in that food coma phase, here's a little something I had cooked up several days ago. I can imagine the look your faces now. SPAM SAUCE?!?!?!? So here's how it came about. I was tempted to try and make spam meatballs. I ground the meat in the food processor and turned them into balls and started to cook the. This is where it had gone wrong. As I cooked the spam balls, it began to fall apart on me. Oh, how disappointed I was as the cute little golf sized balls crumbled before my eyes as I tried to keep them in tact. I guess I should have put a binding agent into the mix like an egg and some panko crumbs.

Anyway, since it was too late to salvage the spam balls, I decided to go ahead and turn my supposed marinara sauce into a meat sauce. You don't need to add any salt since the spam already has a saty taste to it. Just added some herbs, tomato chunks and green onions. I boiled some farfalle pasta and ladled a generous serving of the sauce on top and chowed down. You can't taste the spam as the tomato and herbs compensate for that. I'm happy with how it turned out. I shall give the Spam balls another try some day. Luckily, I still have one can of Spam in the pantry. But for now I'm content. Who knew processed meats can be a little more interesting?

Serves 4-5

Pasta in Spam Sauce

1/2 box of uncooked pasta
1 12oz can spam lite - finely chopped
1 12oz tomato chunks
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano
1 c fresh parsley - chopped
3 green onion - chopped
1 large garlic clove - finely chopped
 pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil, Season the water with some salt and a little bit of olive oil. When the water is bubbling, add the pasta. Stir a couple of times to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other. Cook until al dente. Roughly 8-10 minutes.

In a sauce pan, saute the green onions and garlic in a tiny drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for 30 seconds. Then add the chopped spam. Cook until they slightly start to brown. Add the dry and fresh herbs (basil, oregano, and parsley) Mix them in and cook for roughly 2 minutes. Season with a little pepper. Add the tomato chucks and stir. Bring to a slight simmer.

When the pasta is ready ladle some the sauce on top and enjoy!

Roasted BroccoBean in Garlic Browned Butter Sauce

There's no such thing as a broccobean. But wouldn't it be cool if there was? What would it look like? Would it have the florets of the broccoli with the thin body of the green bean? What about the taste? We can only imagine. Let ponder that for a moment. ...  ... Ok, back to out regularly schedule recipe.

Whatever it may be, the broccoli and green beans are the stars of this dish. Slightly accentuated by the browned butter sauce. It actually reminds me of a garlic broccoli dish I would always get from Whole Foods. I would be happy with a small to-go box of that from their hot foods section. I tossed the vegetable in some extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. To put a little kick to it, I spiked it with a teeny bit of tobasco. While that roasted, I made the sauce. The key is to let the butter cool after removing from the skillet before adding the garlic. Or else it will cook and burn pretty quick. No need to go to Whole Foods to get the garlic broccoli. I can now make it at home.

Serves 2

Roasted BroccoBean with Almonds in Garlic Browned Butter Sauce
1 lb green bean - rinsed with ends removed
1 head of broccoli or one small frozen bag.
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp tobasco
1/4 c sliced almonds
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
garlic-almond browned butter sauce (recipe below)
shredded cheese topping - optional

Preheat your oven to 375˚F

Toss the green beans and broccoli in a light drizzle of olive oil. Season with some salt, pepper, and paprika. Add the tobasco as well. You may add more to your liking.

Place the green beans and broccoli on a foil-lined baking pan and roast for 25-30 minutes.

When roasted toss it with the garlic-almond browned butter sauce, add the almonds and serve.

Garlic Browned Butter Sauce
3-4 Tbsp butter
2-3 large garlic cloves - finely chopped

In a saucepan, melt the butter.  Heat it until it begins to foam. Carefully remove the top foamy layer, then transfer the melted butter into a small bowl and let it cool for 2 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic. Let it sit for for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I had one lone chicken breast left in the freezer. The poor thing has been waiting for me to gobble it up for a while. Next to him, I didn't realize that I had a couple of bacon slices left. What the...? I thought I had used all my bacon already. How can that be? I stuffed bacon into the chicken, so why not wrap it around this time. I had an idea to stuff the chicken with a cream cheese mixture. So I prepped that. A simple filling of cream cheese, sweet onion and garlic powder.  Rolled the chicken as tight as I could without having the filling ooze out, then wrapped it with a couple slices of bacon. I then baked it in a 375˚F oven.

Then my smoke alarm decided to wig out and scare the crap out of me. When there's no remote sign of smoke or the smell it. My windows are open to let the heat out and it's pretty chilly in my place, so I can't find a reason why it would do that. I was baffled. I swear once in a while that thing has a mind of its own. Or it's telling me that it want a piece of my chicken. I say, "No chicken for you!!"

I also made a white wine sauce as well with a side serving of some oven-steamed mixed veggies. It's the frozen kind from the grocery. Nothing special about those. I considered it a lazy Sunday and I didn't feel like chopping anything. I have to cut some corners sometimes. Anyway, the chicken was juicy and tender. The bacon with a slight crisp. It definitely adds to the flavor of the dish. It was awesomeness!!

Serves 1-2

Cream Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

1 large chicken breast
2-3 sliced of bacon
2 Tbsp Cream Cheese
1/4 c sweet onion - chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
parchment paper
tooth picks
white wine sauce (recipe below) - optional

Preheat your oven to 375˚F

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, onion, garlic power. Set aside

Butterfly the chicken breast. Place it in between two pieces of parchment paper and pound it lightly to flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Then spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the chicken and roll it up. Next wrap it with two or three slices of bacon strips. Pierce it with a tooth pick to keep it together. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Drizzle some of the white wine sauce on top and enjoy.

To get the bacon a little more crispy, place it in the broil for 5 minutes after baking.

White Wine Sauce

1/2 c white wine
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 large garlic clove
1 Tbsp fresh parsley - chopped

In a sauce pan on medium heat, melt the butter and saute the garlic for 30 seconds, Add the white wine and bring it to a slight boil and the wine reduces slightly. Once boiling, lower the heat and add the rice wine vinegar and fresh parsley. Bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes, then serve.

Mashed Baked Sweet Potato with Aioli

I was trying to make sweet potato fries, but what I ended up with a smashed mess. I made the fries the same way I always do by seasoning with some olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika. Then I added some shredded cheese into the mix and that's when it took another direction. As I baked the fries, the cheese melted and cooked faster than the sweet potatoes, just to the point when the cheese became crispies. So in a last ditch effort to salvage what I had on the baking sheet, I decided to mash them. They were slightly soft and the consistency was just right for them. I added a little bit more shredded cheese and...voila! Baked mashed sweet potatoes.

For the "gravy" I made a simple aioli. I know you wouldn't find it paired together, but I've been known to pair sauces and condiments with dishes that don't really match. Some of you readers probably do the same thing. I also had some leftover egg yolks that I needed to use up. I was tempted to make a hollandaise sauce, but I didn't want to lug out another pan to clean, so I opted for a simple aioli. Again, this is something you wouldn't necessarily see paired with mashed sweet potatoes, usually you'd find them with meats and certain vegetables.

This is going to sounds totally weird, but they taste really great together. They really do. I dare not lie. You're just going to have to try this for yourself to see what I'm talking about.

Serves 2

Mashed Baked Sweet Potatoes with Aioli

3 small sweet potato (peeled and cut into strips)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
1 c shredded cheese
aioli (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375˚F

Season the sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well to combine. Then add half the shredded cheese and mix.

Place the sweet potatoes onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. The sweet potatoes should be soft and cheese melted.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the baking pan and mash with in a bowl. Mix in the remaining cheese.

Serve with the aioli.

Aioli
1 large garlic clove - crushed
2 egg yolks
juice of half lime
salt
pepper
1-2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp horseradish mustard

Whisk together the garlic and olive oil. Whisk in the egg yolks. Continually whisking add the lime juice and horseradish mustard. Season with some salt and pepper to taste.

Veggie Lasagna Egg Rolls

I had a craving for lasagna. But then I saw some eggrolls, I decided that would be what I'll have. But then Mr. Lasagna barged in and said "oh no you don't!" and stomped on my hopes of having a delicious eggroll for dinner. But I was determined to have my way whether Mr. Lasagna liked it or not. So I bargained with Mr. Lasagna and made a clever compromise. I combined the two together and made a hybrid of sorts. A food marriage meant to be.

Mr. Lasagna was happy and I was happy, even Ms. Eggroll was happy. Happy, happy, happy all around. Happy, happy, joy, joy as I do my little Ren and Stimpy dance.

Here's what the compromise consisted of: I sauteed some mushrooms, zucchini and green onions in a tiny bit of soy sauce and then carefully wrapped them up in some egg rolls wrappers with a little of ricotta on top.   Rolled them up like a traditional egg roll and basted them with some egg wash to give the wrappers a nice little crisp. Rather than deep-frying the egg rolls, I baked them instead. While that baked I cooked up a simple tomato sauce/dip to pair this with using some tomato chunks and sauce with a blend of dry herbs. Lasagna with an semi-Asian twist.

Mr. Lasagna was happy, indeed.

Makes 10-12 rolls.

Veggie Lasagna Egg Rolls

2 medium zucchini - chopped
1 lb mushrooms - chopped
2 green onions - chopped
10-12 egg rolls wrappers
ricotta cheese
salt
pepper
olive oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 egg - lightly beaten
1 Tbsp water
Shredded cheese (optional)

Tomato sauce
1 12oz can diced tomato
1 6oz tomato sauce
1-2 garlic clove - finely chopped
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp dry thyme


Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Combine the egg and water in a small dish. Set aside.

In a skillet, saute the green onions, zucchini and mushrooms until they are tender and slightly darker in color. Add the soy sauce and season with a little pepper. Remove from heat and let it cool for a couple minutes.

Take an egg roll wrapper and lay it on a flat surface like a diamond in front of you. Scoop some of the zucchini mixture onto the wrapper slightly 1/3  from the corner closest to you. Then top with some ricotta cheese. Gently roll the corner 1 1/2 towards the other corner, then fold in the sides. Baste the top corner with the egg wash and seal the egg roll.

Place in a lightly greased baking sheet. Do the same for each.

Before baking baste each egg rolls with the egg wash. Then bake for 10-12 minutes.

While the egg rolls bake, make the sauce. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the tomato chunks followed by the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer on a medium to low heat. Season with a little salt and pepper. Then add the dry herbs.

When the eggs rolls are ready serve on a place a ladle over some of the sauce. Top with some shredded cheese.

Bacon Stuffed Chicken with Tomato and Bell Pepper Sauce

Bacon is good. Bacon wrapped or stuffed into something is good. I realized that I haven't made anything involving bacon on this blog. I needed to remedy that situation asap. So last Wednesday after getting my errands done and over with too a little side trip to the grocery and bought myself a package of bacon. I have plans for this delicious bacon aside from reminiscing the many bacon-filled sandwiches I had as a child.

So I cook and cut them into bits, letting them rest on a paper towel. I butterflied a chicken breast and pounded it lightly making it a little bigger. Then laid some finely chopped garlic, cheese and bacon bits and rolled it up as tight as I could.  and secured it with a piece of skewer. I basted the chicken lightly with the bacon fat, but you can use some olive oil, if you'd like.

While that baked, I made a simple bell pepper and tomato sauce that I pureed in a blender after cooking to give it that creamy texture. The sauce is also great with pasta.

I served this with a side of roasted basil baby potatoes. Nothing special in that on. Just a simple toss in olive oil and minced basil and roasted it at the same time as the chicken. 

Bacon Stuffed Chicken 


1 large chicken breast
3 bacon strips - cut into pieces
2 large garlic cloved - finely chopped
Shredded cheese (your choice)
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Tomato and Bell Pepper Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat your oven to 375˚F

Cook the bacon in a skillet until brown and the fat renders out. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon and place onto a paper towel to drain the excess fat.

Butterfly the chicken breast and lay it between two piece of plastic wrap. Lightly pound it into a thinner piece. But do not pound it too much. or the meat will begin to tear.

Season both side with some salt and pepper. Lay the chicken fillet flat spread the garlic, bacon, and cheese generously, the carefully roll. Use a toothpick or skewer to hold the chicken's shape. Lightly baste the chicken with the bacon fat or olive oil and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Tomato and Bell Pepper Sauce

1 yellow bell pepper
2 medium tomatoes - chopped
2 Tbsp fresh basil - finely chopped
1 tsp dry oregano
2 green onions - finely chopped
salt
pepper


Saute the green onion and bell pepper in some olive oil. Cook until tender. Then add the tomatoes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Remove from the heat then puree the mixture in the blender, food processor or hand blender. Or you can leave it as chunky sauce.

Gnocchi with Spinach & Tomato

Yummy gnocchi. Pillows of deliciousness. Now that I've gotten the hang of making these potato pasta, I figured I'd try having them with something else. I had some grape tomatoes and a bell pepper I had gotten from the farmer's market I've been planning to use. Okay, I'll make a kind of sauce. Cool.

But I didn't want to make it just a "tomato" sauce. During this time of the week, my fridge looks like a a near empty cave. Check the freezer. I do have some frozen veggies. Picked up one of the small boxes. Spinach, okay. I get one of those one eyebrow raised expressions on my face. I think this could work.

I boil the potatoes, while that's going I get the tomato spinach sauce going. I quickly roasted the tomatoes and bell pepper in the broiler for 15 minutes to give get the juices going. Saute some garlic and add the tomato and bell pepper. Drizzle a good helping of olive oil and bring the whole thing to a simmer.

Then I got to making the gnocchi. I made then in a wheat version by replacing half the required flour with wheat flour. It still tasted great. Turned them into little dumpling and boiled them in some salted water. Then tossed the freshly boiled gnocchi into the spinach, scoop out a nice serving and chow time. It's oh-so-delicious!
 
Serves 2-3

Gnocchi with Spinach and Tomato


For my Gnocchi recipe click here

Note: you can use your choice of pasta for this recipe as well.

Spinach and Tomato
1 lb grape tomato or 3 medium ripe tomatoes - quartered
1 medium yellow bell pepper - deseeded and quartered
1 lb spinach - fresh or frozen - washed and drained
1 garlic clove - finely chopped
1/8 c extra virgin olive oil (plus extra)
salt
pepper

Preheat your broiler.

If using large tomatoes, chop them into chunks.

Place the tomatoes and bell peppers on a baking sheet coat them in some olive oil and season with salt. Make sure to coat them evenly.

Roast for 15 minutes.

In a sauce pan, heat a nice drizzle of oil on medium heat.. Saute the garlic for about 30. Then add the tomatoes and bell pepper.

Add the spinach and stir to combine everything together.  Drizzle the 1/8 c olive oil. Stir again to combine.

Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes to let the juices of the tomato blend in, then mix in the cooked gnocchi or pasta of your choice.

Toss together

Serve warm with an optional sprinkle of parmesan cheese.