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Posts Tagged ‘Olive oil’

Broccoli “Pesto” and Linguine

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , on September 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Tomato

Summer Sumptuous

TASTY TIDBIT TUESDAY

If ever there was a time to indulge yourself in tomatoes, this would be it!  Fresh garden grown tomatoes are everywhere.  Even the large grocery stores are featuring state-grown produce.  The Jersey tomatoes are plump, juicy, sweet and so available and so this is the time to use them in as many recipes as possible.  And if your basil plant is looking like mine, you know it’s time to use up the leaves that got left behind when you were making tomato and onion and basil salad.  You WERE making that weren’t you this summer because really if you live in the Northeast, summer is really the only time you can eat tomatoes.  The other 9 months you’re eating a dark pink, hard, ethylene-gassed tennis ball.

8 oz. / 4 cups broccoli florets

2 oz. grated cheese

1/2 cup packed basil leaves

2 TBS olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 ripe tomatoes

Bring water to boil in covered pot.  Trim stems of broccoli, steam for 5 minutes until tender.  Reserve 6 TBS of the liquid, set aside.

You can use a food processor for many of these steps, however I don’t think it’s necessary to grate the cheese to equal 4 TBS.  Set aside.

Wash and dry basil leaves and pack into measuring cup.   Mince the garlic.  Add basil, olive oil and pine nuts in food processor and process till all is minced.  Add broccoli florets to food processor, if mixture get too thick, add water.  Add cheese and process to blend.

Serve over drained pasta.  Arrange sliced tomatoes along the side.

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Gazpacho or This is WHY I LOVE JERSEY TOMATOES

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , on August 9, 2011| 3 Comments »

Tomato

Luscious Jersey Tomato

I think I have to do a blog post to pay homage to the Jersey Tomato, one of God‘s blessings on the Garden State.  But not tonight because I’m too tired to think creatively and clearly.  However, I made Gazpacho Sunday night, a dish that is truly a celebration of the fruits of the summer. Tomatoes are the main ingredient and I used some of the best beefsteak tomatoes Jersey has to offer.

And there’s a back story to the Gazpacho recipe.  A few years ago there was a health food store on Third Avenue that made the BEST Gazpacho ever! I would call them from work and ask that they put aside some for me. Once I even served it as a first course at a dinner party! And I would also bring some to New Jersey to give to my friend, Jane.  I never made Gazpacho before so I did some serious research and read several recipes until I found one I that sounded like what I remembered the store’s version to be.  I was RIGHT!!  I’m happy to share it with all of you.  It is easy to make;  the only real work is the prepping of the veggies.

6 tomatoes, cored, peeled and chopped

1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 purple onion, diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 TBS fresh parsley, chopped

2 TBS chopped chives

2 TBS lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

4 cups of tomato juice

1 tsp Worceshire sauce

6 drops of Tabasco sauce

Combine all ingredients in food processor.  Refrigerate overnight so flavors can meld.

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Marinated Zucchini with Mint-Tasty Tidbit Tuesday

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , on June 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Betty Crocker logo used until 2003

It's not a bake-off!!

It’s only Tuesday but my OCD is in high gear and I think today I made at least 2 new lists concerning the Fourth of July holiday weekend.  We are expecting my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, our friends Susan and Jim and Murray too for barbeque on Sunday – along with possible other couples showing up for a day here and there.  Well the here and there is not making me happy.  I plan, I list, I shop, I prep and I really NEED to know just who is coming on what day!!  I know this is part of my own neurotic behavior BUT it is you know who’s doing that I am up in the air and in the dark.  NOT for long, tomorrow he damn well better make some phone calls.  Whew, now that I got that off my chest….back to my list-making and menu-planning.

It started out simply in my mind with the usual cook-out barbeque fare then the Martha syndrome struck (better sooner than later).  Soon the very idea of having burgers and hot dogs seemed like a bad dream.  No, no, that wouldn’t do; Saturday night’s meal evolved into marinated chicken breasts, grilled asparagus and an orzo and zucchini salad.  Of course every thing is subject to change or whim and until I’m in the check-out line at Wegman’s … well this is what happens;  First it starts out simple, then it gets more involved and creative and then even more dishes are going to be made from scratch, sometimes to the point of the fact that there literally would not be enough time in the day to prep all.  At that point I get out the red pencil and try to be rational about the menu and remind myself that this is not a Betty Crocker bake-off!!

I think this dish is going to be a definite side dish on Sunday.  With an eye to the locavore movement, an easy philosophy to follow in the Garden State and ever vigilant to including green vegetables, this dish has it all.  I found it online at MarthaStewart.com under an enticing heading of 50 Great Side Dishes.

3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise

2TBS plus 2TBS olive oil

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 (I’ll use 2 or 3) garlic clove, minced

1 TBS white vinegar

2 TBS torn mint leaves

Preheat oven 475 degrees

Toss zucchini slices with 2 TBS olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread on two rimmed baking sheet pans and roast 10-15 minutes till undersides are browned.

On serving platter, sprinkle slices with minced garlic and drizzle with 2TBS of olive oil and vinegar.  Let stand 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.  Serve at room temperature – Scatter torn mint leaves on top and serve

Recipe from Martha Stewart


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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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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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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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Tasty Tidbits Tuesday-Dijonnaise-Crusted Cod

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on March 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

DIJONNAISE-CRUSTED COD

4 Cod fillets

2 TBS olive oil – divided

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 crushed garlic cloves

a few sprigs of thyme

3 TBS Dijon mustard

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 TBS minced chives

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in saute pan over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Season fillets with salt and pepper.  Sear the fillets with garlic and thyme about 3 minutes. Turn over cook 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and cook 3-4 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Spread mustard over fish. Mix breadcrumbs, chives, 1 TBS olive oil-pat evenly on fillets.  Broil till crumbs are golden.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Serve with garlic wilted spinach and basmati rice

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