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Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

27 Feb

I’m sorry for leaving you a bit in the dark for a few weeks…

I was just away on back-to-back trips – one for business to Houston and one for a skiing vacation in Vermont.  During both trips and also the time in between I was so busy I just was not inspired to write…  but I was inspired to eat and cook.  So I collected and photographed a bunch of recipes I made or ate during that period and here you’ll have them all.

This is something I made for lunch a few weeks back.  You know when you learn about a new recipe, something that just entices you in such a way that your mouth salivates… and then you realize that you have ALL the ingredients available at home.  It was a beautiful moment…    This is based on Ina Garten’s recipe for Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts.  I saw it on Food Network and the next day I had it for lunch.

But I have to be completely honest; this recipe has a little bit of not-so-good karma attached to it…  It’s made with refrigerated puff pastry, something I do not use often, but I do from time-to-time and I have never been able to find it in a whole-grain or whole-wheat version.  So, this is a sporadic treat… if any of you is able to find whole wheat puff pastry – let me know where I can get it…

 

tomato-and-goat-cheese-tart

TOMATO AND GOAT CHEESE TARTS

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
1 onion, sliced
A drizzle of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A squirt of apple cider vinegar
The leaves of 2 small sprigs of thyme
3 tbs of Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 ounces of garlic and herb soft goat cheese, crumbled into small pieces
2 slices of the best tomato you can find, the larger the tomato the better
8-10 slivers of Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste
 
  1. Pre-heat oven to 425 F.  I use my toaster oven for this…
  2. Heat a small drizzle of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic.  Cook for about 10-12 minutes until the onions are soft and cooked, but not browned.  Add salt, pepper the apple cider vinegar, thyme and cook for a few minutes longer until the onions have absorbed the vinegar.
  3. While the onions are cooking, prepare the puff pastry.  You need to leave it defrosting in your fridge overnight to be able to handle it now.  Unfold one of the two sheets that come in the package – do this carefully as the pastry can tear easily.  Unfold it onto a lightly floured surface.  With a rolling pin, roll the pastry so yo can fit 2 saucer plates inside it. Using the saucer plate, cut out 2 rounds of pastry, and set onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  I can fit these two in the baking tray of my toaster oven.
  4. Using a small paring knife, score the puff pastry rounds with a 1/4″ border.  Prick the inside of the circle border with a fork.  Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese within the scored circle. 
  5. preparing-tomato-tart
  6. You will now divide all the remaining ingredients and place within the scored circle of each tart shell…  Place the cooked onions on top of the Parmesan cheese, add the crumbled goat cheese on top of the onions and then place the tomato slice on top of the goat cheese.  Now drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the tomato and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a few extra thyme leaves.  Using a vegetable peeler, slice a few thin slices of Pecorino Romano cheese and place on top of the tomato slice.
  7. preparing-tomato-tart-2
  8. Bake in the oven for about 18 minutes.  When you see the puff pastry has a nice, golden color just turn off the oven and leave it inside there for a few minutes.

 

Serve this with a nice green salad for a spectacular, very Provençal  lunch.  This would work great for a gathering with friends because it’s so simple and quick to make. And not to mention DELICIOUS!!!

tomato-and-goat-cheese-tart-2

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Arugula Pasta Salad

11 Feb

Because eating more salads is one of my New Year’s resolutions… this is one of the versions I came up with.  They not all have to be with only fresh vegetables, you know.

 arugula-pasta-salad1

ARUGULA PASTA SALAD

¼ pound of whole wheat pasta – I used penne, but any short tubular pasta will do
1 fresh tomato, peeled and diced small
5-6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
5-6 fresh basil leaves, torn small or cut thinly
About 3 tbs of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp of fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, smashed
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 handfuls of arugula leaves, washed well and dried
½  cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced small
  1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic clove, salt and pepper.  Mix well together and let the mixture marinate while you set up the rest of the ingredients.  While you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients, toss the mixture every so often to mix well.  You can do this a bit in advance if you want to let the mixture marinate more time… that’s up to you.
  2. Set water to boil pasta.  Boil pasta in plenty of salted water according to package directions.
  3. While pasta cooks, wash arugula lettuce well and spin dry.  Set aside.
  4. When pasta is ready, drain well and return to pot where you boiled it.  Add the tomato mixture, removing the smashed garlic clove, and coat well.  Add the parmesan cheese and toss together.
  5. Serve the lettuce in a salad bowl and place desired amount of pasta on top of the lettuce.  The olive oil in the marinated tomatoes will be your salad dressing.  Add the cucumber and sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top if you’d like.

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Fresh Baby Spinach Pasta

4 Feb

I’ve had this recipe in my Food Network Recipe box for the longest time…  Penne with Spinach Sauce  is a recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis that I have found fascinating since I first saw it on TV.

I did this recipe off the top of my head for my French conversation class group, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I actually made it almost the same as the original.  Two of my friends asked me for dish using spinach… so I knew they would enjoy it.  But Katherine is not a spinach fan, and she loved this dish.  She said the goat cheese in the sauce made it for her.  So this can be something to try on your little ones…  Call it Shrek’s pasta.

I used local fresh spinach, with a somewhat larger leaf than the one you get at the supermarket.  Remember to wash your spinach well before using it in this recipe…

 

fresh-spinach-penne

 

FRESH BABY SPINACH PASTA

¾ pound of whole-wheat pasta – I used penne, but any tubular pasta would do
2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves, loosely packed, divided
3 ounces of goat cheese
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 small garlic clove, cut in small pieces
2 turns of the food processor of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top to taste
 
  1. Boil the pasta in salted boiling water according to packaging directions.
  2. Wash and dry well the spinach leaves.  Set aside a small bunch aside and chop.
  3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, add most of the spinach leaves you have not chopped, goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic clove, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes a light green paste.
  4. When pasta is done, drain well while reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.
  5. Return the pasta to the pot and add the spinach mixture.  Mix well so the sauce loosens with the heat of the pasta and pot.  Add pasta water little by little to loosen the sauce to a creamy consistency.  Add the chopped spinach leaves and the Parmesan cheese and mix well.
  6. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top.

 

To reheat this pasta, I added a small amount of milk to a small pot together with the left-over pasta.  I also added a bit of cream cheese and more Parmesan cheese.  The sauce was creamy and delicious again as it was when done originally.

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Easy Fettuccini Alfredo

31 Jan

I heard that when Italians feel “under the weather” all they want to eat is plain white pasta… and what I mean by white is with no meat or tomato based ragú or sauce.  Maybe some olive oil, salt and pepper and that’s it.

Ever since I learned this, when I do not want to eat something heavy I always think of these “white pastas”. So the other day I fixed myself a very easy version of a Fettuccini Alfredo.  Granted, it’s not the lightest of dishes, but it was super simple to make and it only takes the time it takes to boil the pasta.

 

fettuccini-alfredo

 

EASY FETTUCCINI ALFREDO

1/3 pound of whole grain fettuccini noodles – I used a brand with flaxseed for added fiber
3 tbs of butter
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste

 

  1. Boil the pasta according to package directions.
  2. While the pasta boils, mix together the butter and the grated cheese.  Create like a paste with these two ingredients.
  3. alfredo-paste
  4. When the pasta is done, drain it reserving about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.  Return the pasta to the hot pot and add the butter/cheese mixture.  Mix together so the butter and cheese melt with the heat of the pasta and pot. 
  5. Add some of the reserved pasta water in small increments to create a creamy sauce.  Add as much water you feel is necessary to reach the desired sauce consistency.  I added about ¼ cup of water, but I eye-ball it all the time.
  6. Sprinkle additional cheese and cracked pepper to garnish and season lightly.

 

Serve with a nice salad on the side for a quick lunch or dinner alternative.

I had some pasta left over and when I reheated it on the stovetop, I added a bit of half and half to bring the sauce back to its creamy consistency.

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Open-Faced Veggie Hot Dog

25 Jan

These days I am on a hot dog kick… don’t know why, but I get these sometimes.  Not often, but I do.

I love these Smart Dogs… to me, they taste like the hot dog that has a first and last name and moves around in a wiener mobile. I love them on these sprouted wheat hot dog buns.  But I can’t eat that much bread when I make myself a hot dog, so I started making them open-faced.  That way I can eat 2 dogs and only one bun…  you know, trying to keep ourselves in shape.

So now that the hot dog is exposed on top of the bun… what are we going to do so the dog does not roll away from the bun???  Easy, butterfly them.  And while we’re at it, why not crisp up the hot dog to give it more taste and texture???

So here’s my version of a great veggie hot dog…

 open-faced-hot-dog

OPEN-FACED VEGGIE HOT DOG

2 Smart Dog hot dogs
1 sprouted wheat hot dog bun, defrosted and sides separated
Egg-free mayonnaise to taste
Ketchup to taste
Mustard to taste
Canola oil spray
 
  1. Bring to a boil a small amount of water in a small pot, about 1″to 1 ½” of water.  When the water is boiling, insert the two hot dogs and retreat from the heat.  Leave the small pot standing covered with the hot dogs submerged for about 2-3 minutes.  Do not turn off the stove…
  2. In the same burner you were boiling the water, place now a small non-stick skillet.  Spray lightly with canola oil spray and let it heat through.
  3. When the 3 minutes have passed and the skillet is hot already, take the hot dogs out of the water, pat them dry and cut them open in half length-wise.  Place them on the skillet to brown.  Turn them once the first side is crispy and golden brown.  When the second side is about to be done, turn off the stove.

butterflied-hot-dogs

4.  Meanwhile, toast the two halves of the bread.  Spread them liberally with the mayonnaise.  Place the hot dog pieces on  the bread and drizzle to taste with ketchup and mustard.

 

This goes great with a nice side of Lay’s Natural potato chips and a cola-flavored Ginseng-Up…  yummy!!!  Great vegetarian junk food, don’t you think???

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