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Archive for the ‘Tasty Tidbits Tuesday’ Category

Zucchini Soup -Sooooo Good!!!

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 21, 2011| 2 Comments »

TASTY TIDBITS TUESDAY

Don’t want to eat your veggies? That’s just so…what? 50’s? Nowadays everybody knows you just gotta eat a lot of vegetables and this one easy and delicious way to ingest a bunch of vitamins and anti-oxidents and it is absolutely delicious.

1 TBS Olive oil

1 pkg (8 oz) chopped onion

1 TBS peeled garlic

4 small (2 lbs) zucchini, 1/2 inch dice (about 6 cups), divided

1 carton (32 oz) Chicken stock

1/2  bunch of cilantro, stemmed, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (about 1 cup) divided

Salt and pepper to taste

You’ll need: Handheld blender/Immersion blender

Heat olive oil in stock pot on MEDIUM-LOW. Add onion and garlic; reduce heat to LOW.  Cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes, until onion is soft and translucent, but not browned.

Add about 4 cups zucchini to pot.  Cook 5 minutes.  Add stock; bring to a simmer on HIGH.

Add half the green onions. Reduce heat to MEDIUM; simmer 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add cilantro.

Puree soup carefully with handheld blender until smooth.  Return to MEDIUM heat. Add remaining 2 cups zucchini.  Simmer 8-10 minutes until zucchini is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper; ladle into warm bowls.  Garnish with remaining green onions.

Option:  Garnish with Creamery Goat Cheese and thinly sliced radishes.

Recipe from Wegman’s

Wegman's cilantro, zucchini, green onions,

Zucchini Soup


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Tasty Tidbits Tuesday – Summer Tortellini Salad

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Tortellini

Tortellini

This seemed like the perfect Sunday night supper, however that never happened! It turns out that this very night, this Tuesday was the perfect night for this meal.  I made the components of the dish during the day and put it together when we got home from the movies.  The time spent is all in the prep so it is a good dish to serve if you are going to be busy at night but have some free time during the day or night before.

TORTELLINI SUMMER SALAD

1 pkg  (20 oz) of cheese tortellini

1 red sweet pepper, cored, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1 red onion, peeled, thinly  cut ( about 3/4 cup)

1 small bunch of asparagus, trimmed, cut in 1  1/2″ pieces

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

2 TBS Wegman’s basting oil*, divided

1 zucchini, trimmed, 1/4″ dice (2 cups)

3 TBS pine nuts

1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved

1 pkg (7 oz) Italian Basil Pesto Sauce

1/2 tsp Tobasco Sauce

15 basil leaves finely sliced

Preheat oven 450 degrees

Cook pasta according to directions, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside,

Season pepper, onions, and asparagus with salt and pepper;  toss with 1 TBS basting oil.  Transfer to baking sheet; arrange in single layer.  Roast 10-12 minutes, turn halfway thru cooking time. Remove from baking sheet and set aside.

Season zucchini with salt and pepper; toss with remaining 1 TBS oil. Transfer to baking sheet arranged in single layer.  Roast 5-7 minutes until tender but not browned.  Remove from oven.  Add to pepper mix. Chill 1 hour.

Toast pine nuts in small pan on MEDIUM, 3 minutes, stirring till slightly toasted.  ( I used a toaster oven). Remove, set aside.

Add tomatoes, pesto, Tobasco sauce, basil, pine nuts, and veggie mix.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chilled

* Basting Oil is basically Olive Oil and chopped basil and parsley.

Chef Tips – Prepare 1 day in advance for the flavors to meld.  You can substitute  Tomato Pesto sauce .









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Little Neck (Littleneck) Clams with Asparagus

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , on June 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Littleneck clams, small hard clams, species Me...

Little Neck Clams

You know I LOVE shopping at Wegman’s and one the best features of the store is that fact that often when you walk in, you see Gus over to the left and you know to make a bee line directly to him to see what he is cooking up!  Well the other day it was clams!  Gus was grilling some Little Neck clams and preparing them in a way that never occurred to me.  He handed me a warm little half clam shell with the clam and a tiny piece of steamed asparagus in it and it was drizzled with Wegman’s  Garlic Cheese Finishing Butter.

If you recall my very long Memorial Day blog, you know that I served these clams as an appetizer.  They were different, delicious and fairly easy to make.  Of course it is easier to do when you have the ingredients available the way Wegman’s does;  The clams were in a net bag, the asparagus were a gorgeous green, uniform in size and packaged in a micro-wavable pouch and Wegman’s carries a line of finishing butters which come in small round containers, slightly bigger than a disk of cream cheese you might get at a restaurant.

Steam or grill the clams till they open.

Steam your asparagus for a couple of minutes in the microwave.

Melt a container of Wegman’s Garlic Cheese Finishing Butter.

I put the clams on the stove to steam open.   I put the asparagus in the microwave and then put the finishing butter in the microwave to melt.

With slotted spoon, I removed the clams to a colander in the sink and proceed to remove one half of the shells.   I quickly sliced a few asparagus into tiny pieces and put one piece on each clam and then just drizzled the melted butter on each.  It was a great presentation to bring a platter of these to the table

Here’s what I learned – I should have used just the tips of the asparagus because it would have looked nicer and you can always serve the rest of the asparagus minus the tips as a side dish later.  The clams didn’t stay hot while I went through the process of opening and discarding one shell and then topping with asparagus and butter.  A good chef has every component prepped so he or she can just add the ingredients as needed.  I thought I had but I found myself cutting up asparagus or trimming pieces to make them smaller because the clams are tiny.  Next time I will put the finished clams on a baking sheet and warm them up a bit before putting them on the platter.  I was using my Melmac so that wasn’t going in the oven and was too large for the microwave.    To improvise if you can’t find finishing butter, for this dish, I believe melted butter with some garlic powder or garlic salt in it and maybe some finely chopped Italian parsley would be fine.

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Cucumber Coolers – Delightful and Refreshing

Posted in Everyday Food, Marthaspeak, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2011| 2 Comments »

I guarantee you will be delighted with this crisp and thirst-quenching non-alcoholic drink.  I served it with dinner the other night, however my intention had been to serve it in the afternoon with some light refreshments or with lunch.  And when you are hot in the afternoon the way I was when we came home from the beach, this drink really hit the spot.  The prep work is a little bit of work but the end result is terrific.

Cool and Refreshing Cucumber Cooler

3 cucumbers – peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped

1/4 -1/2 cup water

1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves

1 lime thinly sliced

1 bottle of club soda

2 TBS agave nectar or honey

Puree the cucumbers and water in a blender.  Pour through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids – you should have about 2 cups of cucumber juice (it will be slightly thick)  Refrigerate overnight if desired or for at least a couple of hours.  

When you are ready to serve, place the mint leaves in the pitcher and bruise lightly.  Add the cucumber juice and the lime slices.  The recipe called for 24 ounces of club soda, I used a whole bottle of seltzer instead.  Add the agave nectar and stir to combine.

To serve: Pour over ice-filled glasses and enjoy!

recipe from Martha Stewart Every Day Food

Footnote: I prepared my batch in a covered pitcher (although not airtight) and even the next day there was enough fizz in the mixture to make it delicious and refreshing.

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Strawberry Shortcake with Basil

Posted in Marthaspeak, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A bowl of Strawberries.
Luscious Red Strawberries

May and June and early July are the best months to get local strawberries! Sweet, luscious, juicy red strawberries and what better time than the upcoming holiday weekend to have real strawberry shortcake?  There’s a twist or two in this old standby dessert  and I think it will make a world of difference and bring a level of sophistication and delight to the dish.

Depending on when you plan to serve, read the recipe carefully because the cream is prepared at least 5 hours prior to serving.  Good to do first thing in the morning for an afternoon or evening picnic or barbeque.

2  1/4 cups cold heavy cream, plus 2 TBS for brushing

20 large basil leaves plus 1/2 cup small or torn basil leaves

1/4 cup sugar

4  1/2 cups strawberries (1 lb 4 oz) sliced

3 TBS  confectioner’s sugar

Bring 1  1/2 cups of cream to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bruise the large basil leaves by hitting repeatedly with the dull side of a knife and stir into the cream.  Remove from heat, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let steep for 25 minutes.  Strain through a fine sieve, pressing solids to extract liquid.  Refrigerate till very cold at least 5 hours.

Macerate strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar, plus more if needed, depending on sweetness of berries. Stir occasionally, for at least an hour.  Toss the berries with small basil leaves.

Whisk basil cream with confectioner’s sugar in the chilled bowl of a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

Mound basil cream on shortcake.  Spoon berries with juice on top

Recipe from Martha Stewar

I never thought of putting the whipped cream on the shortcake before the berries!  Which just goes to show you that you are never too old to learn a new trick.  This recipe is from Martha Stewart and I purposefully omitted her recipe for shortcake because I figure at least 75% of the people will buy those ready-made sponge cakes and maybe 10% will make their own short bread and I and the other 15% will make shortcakes from Bisquick.  And if you do use Bisquick, their recipe suggests you split the shortcake, fill with berries and top off with cream.  I’m going to sort of lightly break my shortcakes apart, then put the cream on and then the berries.  Can’t wait till this weekend.




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Tasty Tidbits Tuesday- A Day Late BUT then again…

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 18, 2011| 1 Comment »

A very dear and old friend of mine poked me and cheered me on and up about my blog.  So this one’s for her, Susan Celtic Lady!

This side dish is perfect for  a quick meal.  Well in NYC, you know it’s pretty easy to order in and also very easy to buy a Roasted Chicken;   Seems like all the grocery markets have them as well as little chicken shops.  I know the phrase little chicken shops sounds funny to anybody outside of the City, but we really do have little storefront shops that cook and serve chicken, mainly grilled or whole roasted AND they deliver.   So a couple of Sunday nights ago, I had the roasted chicken and needed a quick and healthy (always)  side dish to go with it.

Sauteed Spinach and Tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

4  small shallots, thinly sliced

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

2 bunches (1  1/2 lb)  spinach (trimmed and washed) – I used two bags

coarse salt and ground pepper

grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high.  Add 4 shallots and cook stirring often until soft and starting to brown, about 4 minutes.

Add  cherry or grape  tomatoes and cook until tomato skins are split and shallots are golden brown, from 2-4 minutes.

Gradually add the spinach, season with coarse salt and ground pepper, and cook until tender, 3 minutes or until all is in skillet and wilted. 

To serve, sprinkle with the grated or shredded cheese.

Recipe from Martha Stewart, Every Day Food

spinach

"I eats me spinach"

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Tasty Tidbits Tuesday on Wednesday-Omelettes in a Bag

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A breakfast.

Breakfast for a Crowd

Weekend guests?  Here’s a great way to simplify breakfast and let everyone make their own choices.  Have your guests write their names on quart-size plastic freezer bags with permanent magic marker.

Crack two eggs into the bag (not more than two); shake to combine them.  Put out a variety of ingredients such as cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc.  Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to his or her bag and shakes.  Make sure to get the air out and close it.  Place the bags in rolling boiling water for exactly 13 minutes.  You usually cook six to eight bags in a large pot.

Open the bags, and the mixture will roll out easily.  Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.  Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake;  everyone gets involved in the process, and it’s a great conversation piece.

These bags can be prepared the night before and really speed up breakfast preparation.

Source: Heloise Hints

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Chicken Thighs with Green Sauce

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , on April 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

TASTY TIDBITS TUESDAY

chicken thighs in green sauce

Italian parsley

This is an economical and tasty dinner entree, tasty too!  Tonight’s meal will be Chicken Thighs with Green Sauce, Quinoa, and sauteed Broccoli.

8 thighs, skinned**

1/2 cup olive oil

3 (or more) cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half

30 sprigs of Italian parsley

8 whole scallions

Salt and pepper

Arrange chicken in skillet, pour olive oil over them. Scatter garlic pieces around, lay parsley and scallions over top as to “smother” chicken while cooking Lightly   salt and pepper to taste.

Cover skillet and cook on very low for about an hour.

Uncover skillet, using a fork remove the parsley, garlic and scallions and put into blender and puree for a few seconds.  With blender still running, add the juices from the pan and puree until a smooth green sauce is obtained.  Remove chicken pieces to platter and pour sauce over them evenly and serve.

** if using thigh cutlets, cut cooking time in half or less until thighs are cooked through.

Related Articles

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A Very Simple Weekday Dinner

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , on April 6, 2011| 5 Comments »

Tasty Tidbits Tuesday

zucchini, carrots, snap peas, wax beans, string beans, celery, asparagus

Fresh Vegetable Medley

So many of  my Tuesday recipes are actual tried and true recipes and most often not original.  However, tonight I worked until 7:40 pm and needed to make a quick and healthy meal.  I have to admit that I had planned ahead for a couple of late evenings by purchasing an assortment of washed and trimmed and bagged fresh vegetables (Wegman’s) and a good size package of grilled chicken strips (Costco).

All you need is a boneless skin-less chicken breast or you can cheat and short cut your prepping the way I did.  And a variety of fresh veggies.

I put some olive oil in a large skillet, added a couple of garlic cloves (chopped) and turned up the heat to medium high.  Then I tossed in my chicken strips and a small bowl full of  cut up vegetables.  Tonight I used wax beans, string beans, asparagus, red onion, carrots and celery, baby zucchini squash, and snap peas.

I seasoned the mixture with sea salt and ground pepper, threw in some fresh tarragon, Italian parsley and fresh thyme.  Then, I squeezed a quarter of a lemon over all.

I stirred it occasionally for about 6 minutes and then covered the pan so everything could pan steam till vegetables were tender.

A glass of red wine and a tossed salad rounded out the meal.

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Red Pepper & Pine Nuts Quinoa – Side Dish

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , on March 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Cooked Quinoa (C. quinoa) seeds

Cooked Quinoa

TASTY TIDBITS  TUESDAY

First I had to learn how to pronounce it, then how to cook it and then I found a LOT of Quinoa recipes.  This delicious, heart-healthy, natural starch is gaining in popularity.  Quite frankly, I don’t know why I’ve never made it before.  It’s on this diet I’m trying to follow and so I decided to buy some and see what would come of it. Just in case you don’t know what I didn’t know, it’s pronounced Keen-Wah.

Although not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. .

Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient “grain” once considered “the gold of the Incas.”

Food Chart

2 1/2  cups cooked quinoa

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 cup black beans (optional)

2 TBS fresh parsley

1 TBS olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons

Zest of one lemon

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

4 oz crumbled feta (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pine nuts for 4 minutes

Combine cooked quinoa, red pepper, red onion, black beans (if using), and parsley and pine nuts.

In a small bowl combine minced garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and red pepper.  Stir in olive oil.  Toss dressing with quinoa mixture.  Top with feta cheese.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Recipe from Savvy Vegetarian

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