PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM

I came up with this idea one afternoon and (right out of the chute) it was a keeper.  Whipped cream that has a mellow peanut butter taste... the perfect addition to ANY dessert!!

Make this part a few minutes ahead of time, so it can cool just a little:

1 cup Reece's Peanut Butter Chips
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Microwave the above just until the cream gets steamy hot, but not boiling. In my microwave this takes about a minute. Remove from the microwave and whisk until the melted mixture is smooth.

Add
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool a little.

With electric mixer, start whipping 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream.
When it gets about "half way" to being whipped cream, slowly drizzle in the peanut butter chip mixture.

Continue whipping until it gets to the consistency you like.

ENJOY !!

Homemade Traditional Potato Gnocchi - Italian Dumplings

Homemade gnocchi made with potatoes: smooth and soft, and so incredibly delicious!

Today I'm ready to share the recipe for one of my favorite Italian dishes: traditional potato gnocchi, also known as Italian dumplings.
When I was little this was probably the one food I asked my mom to cook most often. And my kids absolutely love them too. You can serve them topped with a simple melted butter, sage and Parmesan cheese. Or they are also perfect with  Bolognese or tomato/basil sauce for a more savory taste. No matter what I choose, gnocchi are always welcomed at my table,
And would you like to know the secret to the perfect potato gnocchi? Do I hear a YES?!?
Here we go: to keep the gnocchi soft and smooth, not hard and too chewy, you need to use the least amount of flour that you can, without the gnocchi falling apart when you boil them. And it's simple: do not overcook the potatoes or they will absorb too much water. More water in the potatoes, more flour is needed when making the dumplings. What I generally do, is peel the potatoes before boiling to make my job easier and quicker later. If you do so, you have to pay close attention, and remove the potatoes from the water as soon as they are ready. The alternative is to boil the potatoes with their skin on. But you will need to peel and mash them when they are still hot.... Not as easy!
So the second part of my secret: don't wait to mash the potatoes when they cool down. This might be no secret to you if have made mashed potatoes before and decided to wait a bit before mashing. You end up with a grainy and coarse-y texture. Not so yummy!
Now that you know my secrets, you are ready to make the most amazing gnocchi you have ever tasted. Believe me :-)


Ingredients: makes 3 servings.

• 3 russet potatoes, around 1.5 lb
• 3/4 cup of all purpose flour, plus about 1/4 of a cup 
• 1 egg
• salt

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Directions:
Step 1: Peel the potatoes and cut in half. Place the potatoes in a large enough pot, and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, lower the flame to medium-low, and cook in a slow boil for about 15-18 minutes based on the size of the potatoes. Test with a fork. When ready, you should be able to stick the fork all the way in.

Step 2: Remove the potatoes promptly from the water, and pass them through  a ricer. In a large bowl, mix the 3/4 cup of flour (some at the time!) and the egg with the mashed potatoes. Don't overdo with the mixing, just combine until it holds together. Add more flour if needed.

Step 3: Move the potato mixture to a clean, lightly floured counter. Take some of the dough at a time, and roll it into a rope about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the gnocchi, about 3/4 inch length. Place the gnocchi over parchment paper, lightly floured. Don't overlap the gnocchi or they will stick together.

Step 4: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi - some at the time if necessary. And let cook for about 2 - 3 minutes. You can remove them as soon as they rise to the surface. Drain well and serve with your favorite sauce.

Here are my gnocchi with melted butter, sage and lots of Parmesan cheese! Buon Appetito!

BACON HASSELBACK POTATOES

As I understand it, Hasselback potatoes originated in Sweden as far back as the 1700's and there are a lot of variations. Basically it is an unpeeled baking potato that has been partially sliced, buttered and baked. The outside is crispy, salty and chewy but the inside of the potato is smooth and moist. They are very easy to make, delicious to eat and pretty enough to serve over the upcoming holidays.

A word of warning about these photographs: I didn't realize that the photos were on the blurry side until we finished dinner, so I couldn't re-take them. Sorry about that.

 

This version has bacon in it !!

 

There really isn't a specific recipe, but I do have a few tips that will help you in the process.

Things to do ahead of time: 

Lay 1 strip of good quality smoky THICK bacon (for every 2 potatoes) on a flat surface and freeze for about 30 minutes. This will help you slide the bacon down into the cuts of the potato.

Use meaty bacon

Bring a pot of water (large enough to hold the potatoes) to a full boil.

Wash the unpeeled potatoes, scrubbing them with a vegetable brush, then drying them with a paper towel.

Next, it's time to cut the slices into the potato. Because it is easy to cut too far, it's better to use some sort of cutting depth guide. Personally, I lay the potato between 2 spoon handles and use a sharp (thin bladed) knife to cut down only as far as the spoon handles.

 

Next, put the potatoes into the pot of boiling water. Let boil 4 minutes for larger potatoes and 2 minutes for medium potatoes. Gently lift them out and pat them dry.

Coat the potatoes with melted butter, making sure it gets down into every cut (just don't try to PRY the slices apart too much).

After you've buttered the potato, insert 3 pieces of frozen bacon (evenly spaced) into the potato. Make sure the bacon is big enough to be a little wider and taller than the potato because it will shrink as it bakes.

Butter again and then sprinkle with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper.

Bake at 350° (2 hours for large potatoes and 1 1/2 hours for medium potatoes). Dab them with a little butter about half way through.

The last 5-10 minutes of baking, melt a little butter and add a finely sliced green onion(optional) and half a clove of minced garlic. Let the garlic toast in the butter JUST A LITTLE, then drizzle the garlic butter over the potatoes and bake a few minutes more.

Carefully lift the potatoes out of the baking dish with a sturdy utensil.

The potatoes have a smooth and slightly smoky flavor. Picky-picky husband loved them.  Like I said, sorry about the poor quality of todays photos.

ENJOY !!

Tartines with Veggies and Goat Cheese

Make a tasteful appetizer or a quick and light dinner with these perfectly crispy and savory tartines

It's late and you are exhausted after a long day at work. For sure you don't feel like spending too much time around the stove. Here is an amazing idea for a super fast, light and healthy dinner. These tartines topped with organic spinach, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives and goat cheese are your answer!

Also, this open-faced sandwiches could be also cut in smaller pieces and served as a deliciously enticing appetizer. Perfectly crispy and oh-so delicious!


Ingredients: making 8 slices (2-3 servings)

• 8 slices of French or rustic freshly baked bread 
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 handful of fresh baby organic spinach
• about 8 oz grilled red peppers (jar)
• about 16 kalamata olives
• 4 oz goat cheese

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Quickly grill the slices of bread, sprinkled with olive oil, on both sides. Over medium-high heat should only take a couple of minutes.

Step 2: Brush each side with garlic - cut the clove in half to make it easier.

Step 3: On each slice, place some spinach cut in pieces. Top with few strips of red peppers, a couple of olives (cut in half) per slice. And top with a thick slice of goat cheese.

Step 4: Place the tartines on a baking sheet and bake on the top shelf at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. Delicious :-)

Traditional Italian Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce

In this traditional Italian lasagna, the savory bolognese sauce and the creamy besciamella come together in a perfectly cheesy, meaty  and saucy dish. So yummy!

Now that you have learned from my last post how to make the Italian ragu' alla bolognese, here is the next recipe you will want to know For sure! Traditional lasagna with bolognese sauce.
This classic Italian oven-baked pasta is unmatchable. Don't get scared by the long list of ingredients. It is not hard to prepare! But it can be a bit time consuming. No worries though, all the time spent on this is well worth your while!
You will need to prepare the bolognese sauce first,which takes at least an hour, and then the besciamella (white) sauce, which is much faster. When these sauces are ready, you will just juggle all the ingredients, add some cheese and pasta at the right time, and end up with the perfect lasagna. The creamy and soft besciamella together with the flavorful and savory bolognese sauce will make this lasagna to die for. No ricotta cheese is needed, only lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Here is a step-by-step recipe:


Ingredients: to make 13 x 9 inch lasagna.
For the Bolognese sauce: to make about 6 cups (1.5 quart)

• half onion
• 1 small carrot (or 6 baby carrots)
• 1 small celery stalk
• 1 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 lb of ground beef
• 1/2 lb of ground pork
• 1 can  of 28 oz crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
• 3/4 cup of white wine
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 whole clove (optional)
• salt

For the besciamella sauce: 

• 6 cups of milk
• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter 
• 1.25 cup of all-purpose flour
• salt to taste
• 1/3 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

Additional ingredients:

• about 16 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 box of oven-ready lasagna pasta - I ended up needing 2 extra lasagna sheets from another box.. I use Barilla

Preparation time: about 2 hours
Directions:
Step 1: Start by preparing the bolognese sauce following this recipe, using the quantities listed above.You can always prepare this ahead of time and refrigerate (or freeze).
Step 2: When there are about 15 minutes left before the bolognese sauce is ready, prepare the besciamella sauce following this recipe. using the quantities listed above.
Step 3: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and start assembling the lasagna. In an oven pan, add a couple of tablespoons of besciamella for the bottom, add a layer of pasta, topped with  some bolognese sauce (about 1.5 cups), about one forth of the mozzarella, and some besciamella.

Step 4: Repeat the same layers three more times (if you can!): pasta, bolognese sauce, besciamella and mozzarella. Then on top (the last layer): only pasta, besciamella and all the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with small pieces of butter.

Step 5: Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Move the pan to the higher part of the oven, so that the Parmesan cheese melts and forms a nice golden layer.

Step 6: Let cool down for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. This will allow the besciamella sauce to set a little, and not run off the plate making the lasagne too soft. You can also prepare the lasagna ahead of time, and warm it up (really hot!!) before serving. In this case you don't need to wait before cutting and serving.

Buon Appetito!

Traditional Italian Bolognese Sauce - Ragu' alla Bolognese

Try this hearty and traditional Italian bolognese sauce over your favorite pasta. 

You will love its deep and rich flavor!

This is a must-know recipe for any Italian cook. The ragu' alla bolognese is a meat based sauce originating from the Italian town of Bologna. It's very versatile: used in lasagna, over gnocchi or over pasta (pappardelle, linguine, spaghetti or any of your favorite!).
It starts with sauteing some vegetables (carrots, onions and celery), adding ground meat and slowly cooking with crushed tomatoes and white wine for about an hour. I like to use both ground beef and ground pork, which I find gives the sauce its deep and rich flavor. If you prefer, you could also only use ground beef and add a bit of pancetta or bacon for added aroma.
When I make bolognese sauce, I generally make a lot of it! Enough for a large lasagna and a couple of pasta dinners. It's probably the only sauce that I store in the freezer. It's easy: place enough for a family dinner in a freezer bag, remove as much air as you can, and seal tightly. It's very quick to defrost and the flavor keeps very well. Enjoy!

Ingredients: to make about 3 quartz (12 cups) of sauce

• 1 medium onion
• 1 carrot (I used 12 baby carrots)
• 1 large celery stalk
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 lb of ground pork
• 2 cans of 28 oz (total 56 oz) crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
• 1.5 cups of white wine
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2 whole cloves (optional)
• salt

Preparation time: 15 minutes to prepare, at least 1 hour to cook

Directions:
Step 1: Chop the onion, carrots and celery in small pieces. Saute' the vegetables in a large sauce pan, over medium heat with two tablespoons of olive oil, for about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Mix in the ground pork and beef. Stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until all the meat is brown.

Step 3: Add the crushed tomatoes, white wine, rosemary sprig and whole cloves (if you use them). Cover the pan, and simmer the sauce for about 50-60 minutes over medium heat. Check and stir once in a while.

Step 4: If the sauce is too watery, uncover the pan and cook uncovered for the last 5-10 minutes. Remove (if you can or if you like) the rosemary and whole cloves. 

Cook your pasta following the direction on the package. Mix the pasta with some bolognese sauce and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

Buon Appetito!!