1. Preheat the oven to 320 F.
Don't you just hate it when real life gets in way of your blogging? This past week has been very hectic and busy...I have barely had a chance to read a few blogs here and there let alone do something for my own.
Last weekend, my sister graduated from college. I met my family in Boston for a long weekend of eating, drinking, and some more eating. It was a really fun weekend but when I got back late Monday evening, I was exhausted and sick of eating so many large meals. I decided to take a couple more days off. Tonight, I finally found my desire to cook again and just in time for the event Taste and Create IV. This month I was paired with Veronica of La Recette du Jour. My job was to look over this beautiful blog, pick some recipes to try and report back. After much reading and deliberating, I decided upon two...the Rocket Mousselines and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
When I was living in Rome, my friends and I would see Rocket on the menu but, showing our American ignorance, had no idea what it was. Eventually, we ordered some pizza with Rocket and discovered that Rocket is Arugula!
I really liked this recipe because it seemed like a perfect light dinner. I struggled a little bit with converting the gram measurements (I really do need to invest in a scale) but I think it turned out great. Also, I halved the recipe and it made two ramekins. I took Veronica's suggestion pairing it with a salad and drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette. Delicious! Exactly what I was craving!
Check out La Racette du Jour's recipe for Rocket Mousselines
Arugula Mousselines
1 cup arugula leaves
1/2 cup soft cheese such as ricotta or goat's cheese
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 egg
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan
fresh basil (about 6 large leaves)
salt, pepper, nutmeg
2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and have ready a bowl of iced water.
3. Throw the rocket into the boiling water, blanch for 30 seconds, drain, and immediately tip into the bowl of iced water.
4. Food process the eggs, cream, and cheese with the seasonings.
5. Squeeze out the rocket, add to the liquidizer with the basil and parmesan, and mix again.
6. Pour the mixture into buttered muffin tins or ramekins and bake for 25-30 minutes until set.
7. Turn out onto plates and serve warm.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Taste and Create Part 1: Rocket Mousselines!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
My Second Dollar Dish: Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo
My dad always makes the Fettucini Alfredo in our family. Once, I walked into the kitchen to discover my mother making Fettucini Alfredo for dinner. It puzzled me. How did she know what to do? It was Dad's recipe. I asked her about it and she looked at me like I was crazy. But in my young mind, only Dad could make Fettucini Alfredo.
In my family, we can all cook. Even my sister, who has now made her fame through Ramen, bakes amazing orgasmic Pots du Chocolate. Due to work, my father rarely has time to cook but he has invented some delicious dishes such as his famous ham-cucumber stuffed pork chops. Today, as I was craving his creamy alfredo sauce, I began to think about how my father has influenced my culinary development. He has always encouraged me to do what I love, be creative and push myself to do well. These values have spilled into my kitchen and impacted my own cooking. In my dad's honor, I decided to tweak his original alfredo recipe by making a Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo.
I, also, really wanted to post another Dollar Dish since tomorrow is the deadline. I had bought ingredients to make stuffed red peppers for under $5 but I could not get excited for the dish. Instead, I found myself craving this alfredo sauce. So, I hope you will forgive me but this sauce was not exactly under $5 but it is possible. When I first created my Dollar Dish Duel, I went to the dollar store to check out what kind of food one could find for a dollar. I stumbled across a huge jar of roasted red peppers but I did not have any cash on me and paying a dollar with a credit card seemed silly. So when I had this idea for the alfredo today, my options were to either waste gas to go back to the dollar store or use the red pepper that I bought last week. I opted for roasting my own pepper. If you factor in the dollar jar of roasted red peppers with the whipping cream ($1.25), 1 cup of Parmesan (about $1), and pasta ($1), the dish comes to about $4.25. The dinner was great and there are leftovers for me to take for lunch tomorrow! There is still time to enter the duel...email me your submissions by tomorrow (May 5th). For details, click on the logo...
Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo
1 roasted Red Pepper, chopped
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 cup whipping cream
1 box of pasta
Staples:
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Prepare pasta according to directions.
2. Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.
3. Saute garlic and red pepper in butter.
4. Add pasta to the saucepan.
5. Stir in whip cream and paremsan.
6. Cook until thickened and season with nutmeg.
P.S. How to roast a pepper? Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Please the pepper on a baking sheet and roast until the top begins to blacken. Rotate the pepper until all the sides are blackened. Remove from oven and place in a brown paper bag to cool. This helps the skin come off easily.
Click Here for Recipe...
