Zucchini Lasagne

February 3, 2011 by 46 Comments

I know it’s winter, believe me we’re still recovering from The Blizzard of 2011, and now it’s freezing out but I’ve had a craving for zucchini, maybe it’s because I’m longing for warm weather again but until those days arrive Whole Foods happened to have some beautiful organic zucchini that was on sale the other day, so I guess this lasagne was meant to be!

I have a little problem though, I always buy entirely too much produce for just two people to consume so I’m always on the lookout for ways to use it all up and in this case Zucchini Lasagne solved my problem!

This lasagne is filled with zucchini, layers of ricotta, mozzarella, romano and parmesan cheese, a generous dose of roasted garlic bechamel and a simple basil marinara, a nice piece of this with a wonderful Italian salad will satisfy all your senses!
I sliced all my zucchini about 1/4 of an inch thick then salt and peppered both sides and sauteed each piece in a little bit of olive oil to acquire a nice golden color.

Lasagne is all about the layering, as far as I’m concerned, the deeper the pan the better! I was able to get four nice layers from mine, the key is to let your lasagne rest for about 30 minutes before you cut into it to insure the perfect slice.

I’m normally not a fan of the no boil pasta noodles but I had a box of Barilla so I though I’d give it another try, this time I soaked my noodles in warm water and that seemed to make a big difference, I think I saw Lydia doing that on her cooking show once, so between the soaking and saucing up of the noodles really good, (dare I say) we couldn’t tell the difference! I may just be a semi-convert now!

I alternated between the marinara and the bechamel sauce spooning some onto each layer, into my basic bechamel consisting of butter, flour and milk I squeezed a bit of roasted garlic and a nice handful of parmesan cheese. After spraying my baking dish with olive oil the layers went like this;
Pasta noodles
Bechamel
Ricotta cheese mixture ( ricotta, basil, egg and romano cheese)
Fresh and shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated romano or parmesan cheese
Marinara sauce
Zucchini slices
Repeat!
End with pasta on top and a generous amount of marinara to cover. P.S. If you’re carb conscious just eliminate the pasta all together!

Bake in a 375F oven uncovered for around 45 minutes. Don’t forget to let it stand for a while before you cut into it!

Buon Appetito!

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46 Comments Filed Under: Pasta, Vegetables Tagged: , ,

Pears for Dessert, 3 Ways!

January 26, 2011 by 27 Comments

Here’s a few simple desserts using fresh pears which I happen to have an abundance of!
Marsala Baked Pears, doesn’t that sound good to you? Believe me when I tell you, it was!

The flavor is out of this world because what happens here is while the pears are baking their continually soaking up butter and Marsala to the point where they become beautifully caramelized, when finished and still warm they become the perfect companion to ice cream,
whipped cream, or luscious mascarpone! You can garnish with something crunchy like nuts or crumbled biscotti, need I say more?

 

Not really a recipe, here’s what you do;
Peel and slice pears lengthwise, place them in a baking dish, pour in sweet Marsala wine half way up the side of the pears, place dabs of butter all around and sprinkle wine with sugar or you can even use honey just to sweeten everything up a bit. Place in a 350F oven for around a good hour basting them often, you’ll know their done when the liquid becomes caramelized.
Pear and Ricotta Tart, This is a standard recipe I use whenever I want to bake a fruit of any sort with ricotta. I use a 9″ tart pan with a removable bottom then place a good pre made pie dough into the bottom, ( I told you it was simple!) of course you can make your own if you like. To insure the dough being crusty and cooked on the bottom I like to blind bake the dough for a five minutes in a 425F oven by placing a piece of parchment paper on top and then adding some beans or pie weights, then remove, take off the weights and reduce oven to 375F.
For the filling;
1lb ricotta cheese
6 0r 7 ripe pear halves, sliced lengthwise and cored
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
Fresh orange zest or 1 heaping tablespoon of apricot preserves
Pinch of cinnamon

Mix everything together in a bowl until well blended, (except the pears of course). Place filling into pie shell and position pears all around. ( optional, sprinkle and swirl more cinnamon on top) Bake at 375F for around 30 minutes. While still warm brush apricot preserves on top of pears. Let it cool down while you put on a pot of espresso!

And last but not least, Chocolate Ricotta Filled Pears. Turning creamy white ricotta into chocolate is so quick using cocoa powder and then pairing it with orange is a match made in heaven! I can’t wait to try this with strawberries, because we all know how good chocolate and strawberries are!
Poach 3 whole peeled pears in 3 cups of water and 1/4 cup of orange juice, cook around 10 minutes in a covered pan , when pears are tender remove and cool down.When cooled, slice them lengthwise and remove cores.
Ricotta Filling:
1 cup ricotta
1/3 cup of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mini chocolate chips, ( as many as you like)
Combine everything into a bowl then spoon the mixture into the center of the pears. Garnish with orange zest and more chocolate chips.
Recipe adapted from BHG
Note: For a real quickie, use purchased bottled pears, I tried it, it’s good too!
Buon Appetito!

 

 

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27 Comments Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit Tagged: , , , ,

Comfort Food

January 21, 2011 by 41 Comments
It’s cold here today! Chicago is in the single digits and that requires some comfort food and I can’t think of a more fitting dish than Chicken with Fennel and Olives, and to make it even more comforting it’s served on top of Creamy Warm Polenta.
This is a simple rustic dish, nothing fancy, cooked in one pan and packed with flavor, I guarantee it will make you all warm and cozy inside.
I used chicken thighs but you can use whatever chicken parts you like.
Here’s the recipe.
Chicken with Fennel and Olives
6 chicken thighs
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 onion, sliced
8 cloves of chopped garlic
1 14 oz can of cherry tomatoes ( or diced)
Jumbo green pitted olives
Parsley, thyme, oregano and basil
White wine
In a large oven proof skillet brown up your chicken which has been seasoned with salt and pepper until it has a nice deep golden color, remove and drain the fat. Drizzle in some olive oil and saute the garlic, onion and fennel and then deglaze with a healthy splash of white wine. Add in your herbs, salt and pepper then place the chicken back in. Spread your olives all around then place the pan in a preheated 375F oven for around 45 minutes uncovered.
Creamy Polenta
1 1/2 cups of half and half, cream or milk
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
3/4 cup of polenta, I used the instant kind
1 tablespoon butter
Grated parmesan ( a nice size handful) and chopped basil
In a deep sauce pan heat your milk and broth until boiling then whisk in the polenta until it starts to bubble and splatter, be careful! Take it off the stove add in butter, cheese, snipped basil, salt and pepper to taste. Tastes best when served immediately, if it thickens up just add more liquid to loosen it up.
Enjoy your weekend, we’ll be home Sunday rooting for the Bears! Go Bears!
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41 Comments Filed Under: Poultry Tagged: , ,