Summertime Orzo Salad

April 18, 2024 by Leave a Comment

summer orzo salad

Spring is officially here and the warmer weather has arrived and so has grilling season. I know you can grill all year long but I much prefer doing it in the warmer weather. This orzo salad is the perfect side dish to anything you’ll be putting on your grill.

orzo pasta

It’s bright, fresh, colorful, easy to serve, and great for summer parties because you can leave it out and eat it at room temp and you don’t have to worry about it spoiling.

pasta salad

You might want to throw some colored bell peppers on the grill and cook them ahead before you assemble this salad. I usually grill a red, yellow and  orange pepper ahead of time, a day or two before, the grilled peppers really give the salad a nice flavor.

grilling shrimp

And like I said this orzo salad goes with anything you put on the grill from seafood, veggies, pork, beef and chicken.

grilling chicken

This will be your go to summer entertaining salad and side dish, hope you enjoy!

Summertime Orzo Salad
 
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This orzo salad is your go to summer side dish and salad with whatever you're grilling outside.
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Ingredients
  • LIST OF INGREDIENTS, YOU CAN USE MORE OR LESS, DON"T WORRY ABOUT EXACT AMOUNTS.
  • 1 lb. orzo pasta, cooked and drained and cooled
  • 1 red yellow and orange bell peppers, grilled then diced
  • a mix of green castelvetrano and either nicoise or kalamata olives, you can slice them in half
  • 1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
  • ½ can or so of canned artichoke hearts, drained
  • red onion, chopped
  • feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 or 2 handfuls of arugula
  • lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
  1. Toss everything together in a big bowl, adjusting for salt and pepper.
  2. FOR THE DRESSING
  3. /4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  4. small grated garlic clove
  5. teaspoon of dijon mustard
  6. /3 to ½ cup of olive oil
  7. salt and pepper to taste
  8. Place in a jar and shake or whisk it all together until it all emulsifies
  9. You can double the dressing if you like if you don't have enough

 

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Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Spring Vegetables

April 11, 2024 by Leave a Comment

springtime pasta

This creamy mushroom pasta is packed with spring vegetables and those chunky meaty mushrooms make it so cozy and delicious.

As far as mushrooms go feel free to chose your favorites, you can do all of one kind or a mix of a few different ones. Here I used a chef’s sampler of wild mushrooms that I bought at Costco.

spring vegetables

Fresh asparagus is in abundance right now and it’s the perfect addition along with fresh or frozen peas.

mushroom mixture

Sautéed together with shallots, garlic, some white wine and heavy cream which creates a rich and velvety cream sauce.

creamy mushroom mix

Oh and don’t forget to add in a healthy measure of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano to enhance the sauce even more!

spring veggies with pasta

Pick any pasta shape you like for this, it all works, although I wouldn’t do any small or tiny shape pasta.

pasta with peas

This spring pasta dish would be great for a weeknight meal or even a special occasion, especially if you add in some of those “fancy ” mushrooms.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Spring Vegetables
 
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a meaty mushroom pasta dish loaded with spring vegetables.
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Ingredients
  • 12 oz. of dry pasta, a shape of your choice
  • 1 lb. of mushrooms, either a mix of a few or one kind, use your favorite, sliced
  • 1 bunch of fresh asparagus cut into 1 inch slices
  • 1 heaping cup of fresh or frozen peas
  • 2 shallots, finely diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • splash of white wine
  • 1 cup of heavy cream
  • 1 half a stick of butter
  • 1 cup of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
  1. In a large wide skillet melt the butter and add in the shallots, garlic and mushrooms, saute til wilted and mushrooms are cooked down.
  2. Note:
  3. Now if your skillet isn't big enough it's ok to saute the mushrooms and peas and asparagus one at a time, then put them altogether after they shrink down a bit and add your splash of white wine and let it cook a little bit.
  4. When vegetables are cooked down put your water on for the pasta.
  5. On a very low heat pour your heavy cream into the vegetable mix, stirring til it thickens, then shut off the heat and add in the grated cheese.
  6. Toss all that goodness into your cooked pasta and adjust with salt, pepper and more cheese if you like!
  7. Enjoy

 

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Pistachio Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

March 18, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Pistachio cake

This pistachio cake is the perfect dessert for any occasion but especially for pistachio lovers. It has a dense crumb, sort of like a poundcake and it’s subtly sweet, it’s filled with finely chopped pistachio’s along with rich and creamy pistachio butter.

The frosting is in a league of it’s own, the mascarpone cheese takes it over the top, it’s my new favorite frosting right now, move over cream cheese!

pistachio cream

This is the star of the show, pistachio cream, pistachio butter, it’s also called pistachio paste, you can fine it at Italian markets or online, it has such concentrated pistachio flavor, the same as you would have in peanut butter, almond butter or any nut butter.

cake ingredients

The pistachio cream gets mixed into the batter along with some finely chopped pistachio’s, the batter will be rich and thick.

The pistachio cream also makes you able to put this cake together in no time, so it’s not labor intensive baking at all.

sliced up cake

The mascarpone frosting is the perfect topping for this cake and it holds up very well for a few days after being frosted, that is if you have any leftover cake.

pistachio cake served

You won’t find any green food coloring in this cake, pistachio pudding or cake mix like in days of old when that was a very popular way to make pistachio cake. You’ll only find the natural color and true essence of real pistachio.

Make this for Easter, Mother’s Day, a girls luncheon or a special birthday, you can even double everything and make it a 2 layer cake if you wish.

cake slice

Grab a fork and have a slice!

Pistachio Cake with Mascarpone Frosting
 
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Pistachio lovers, this cake is for you, subtly sweet with the true essence of pistachio, easy to make and perfect for special occasions. This recipe is adapted from a couple of different ones I found on the Internet that used pistachio cream.
Author:
Ingredients
  • ½ cup of softened unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup of flavorless oil
  • ¼ cup of whole milk or sour cream
  • 1 t. almond extract
  • 2 t. vanilla extract
  • 4 T. pistachio cream, butter or paste
  • 1½ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ t. baking powder
  • ¼ t. baking soda
  • ¼ to ½ of salt, depending if you're using salted pistachio's
  • 2 T. of small but coarsely ground pistachio's, I used salted
  • you'll be adding more ground pistachio's for garnish on top or just use large chopped pistachio's instead so you'll. need extra
  • FROSTING
  • ½ cup of cold mascarpone cheese
  • ½ t. almond extract
  • 1t. vanilla extract
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ cup of cold heavy whipping cream
  • NOTE: If you want to make the frosting look green add a little bit of the pistachio cream into the mix, I would just fold it in little by little not making the frosting too loose.
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350
  2. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 inch pan, glass can also be used.
  3. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until nice and creamy.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating to combined.
  5. Add the oil and milk or sour cream then the vanilla and almond extract, mix well and incorporate it all.
  6. Add the pistachio butter, mixing it in on low.
  7. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  8. Add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix til all combined, batter will be thick.
  9. Toss in and fold the 2 T. of the small coarsely ground pistachio's into the thick batter.
  10. Pour into your baking pan spreading it out with an off set spatula from corner to corner.
  11. Bake 45 minutes, less if using a glass dish, I used glass and it was 7 minutes less.
  12. The key is to check the center if it comes out clean and golden brown on the bottom.
  13. Ovens do vary so check accordingly, make sure cake is completely cooled before frosting it.
  14. For the frosting beat together the mascarpone with the extracts, then incorporate the powdered sugar, now pour in the heavy whipping cream and beat until you get stiff peaks form into a fluffy consistency. Be careful not to over beat.
  15. Frost your cake and garnish with ground or chopped pistachio's.

 

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