shrimp & pancetta over polenta

Last night I was in the mood for something different. I've been in the chicken/beef rut lately. I was pondering shrimp, then pork, then I came across this recipe that combine both, so I figured why not? Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup instant polenta
• 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 (14-ounces) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 pound cleaned large shrimp
• Parsley for garnish

Cook the polenta according to the package instructions in a medium saucepan until thickened and creamy, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt, then cover and set aside.

Cook the pancetta, garlic and red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat, stirring until the garlic is pale golden and the pancetta begins to crisp a bit, 5 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes with their juice and simmer until the liquid is reduced, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Spoon polenta into bowls and top with shrimp mixture. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil, season with pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Done and done.

Bon chappétit!

chicken w/roasted grapes and shallots

Roasted grapes? You might think that equals raisins. I did. However, that was not the case. The case was that they baked with a chicken breast and some shallots to create a great tasting dish. Here's what you'll need:

• Chicken breast
• 2 shallots, peeled and halved
• A handful of seedless grapes, halved (I used a mixed of red and green)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• Salt and pepper

The recipe I based this on said to just straight-up bake the chicken. However, baking chicken always scares me. It always seems to take way longer than the recipe calls for, and even then, the chicken isn't quite done. Because of this, I decided to sauté the chicken for just five minutes or so with half the oil, the garlic, salt and pepper.

While that's going, cut up the grapes and shallots and chopped the thyme. Combine all three into a small both and mix with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.

When the chicken is browned, place it in a piece of tinfoil in a glass baking dish and surrounded it with the grape mixture. Loosely cover and bake at 400 degree for about 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Super easy to prepare, and the flavors really complimented each other. I don't even normally like grapes that much, but I wish I'd put even more in because they were just that good. Give it a try.

Bon chappétit!

steak w/pomegranate glaze

I'm back! Truth be told, I never left. I've still been cooking, but I haven't been trying anything new or adventurous the past few weeks - just sticking to old standbys that have already been posted. Tonight though - lo! - I was back on the foodie horse, trying out some new ingredients that haven't been featured on the blog before. As usual, it was delicious (otherwise I wouldn't post it here). Here's what you'll need:

• 1 top sirloin steak
• Peppercorn mélange, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 2 teaspoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, divided
• 2 cups arugula
• Salt

Begin sprinkling each side of the steak with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Give each side a pat to really make them stick. Heat 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet. Add the steak and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, flipping only once for medium to medium-well doneness. When finished, place the steak on a cutting board and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

While that's going, toss the arugula with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

Once the steak is done, add the pomegranate juice, remaining teaspoon of balsamic and brown sugar to the skillet to deglaze. Lightly boil for about 5 minutes or so. You want this to reduce down to a thick glaze.

Slice the steak, pile on to the arugula salad and drizzle the pomegranate glaze on top. A delicioso meal in under 20 minutes.

Bon chappétit!

tilapia w/ prosciutto & sage

Tonight was another one of those great little meals that was complete - start to finish - in under 20 minutes. And delicious to boot! It also only took 3 ingredients (plus oil and pepper). Bliss. Here's what you'll need:

• Tilapia fillets
• Prosciutto (2 paper-thin slices per fillet)
• Sage
• Olive oil
• Pepper

Begin by cutting the fillet in half and patting each half dry. Sprinkle with a little pepper - not salt needed due to the prosciutto. Tear off a few leaves of sage and hold them against the tilapia with one hand. With the other, wrap a couple slices of prosciutto around the fillet, securing the sage. The prosciutto should hold itself together pretty nicely.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Place the tilapia in the skillet (prosciutto seam side down) and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the size of your fillet.

Remove and serve. Really simple flavor combinations for a great weeknight meal.

Bon chappétit!

beef, shiitake & snow pea stir-fry

If you follow the blog regularly, you know that there's nothing that pleases me more than a delicious meal that takes less than no time to prepare. This evening I decided to go for an Asian stir-fry dish that I haven't tried before. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 lb. top sirloin steak, cut into 2"x1/4" thick slices
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thickly sliced
• 8 ounces snow peas
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced, divided
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ginger and mushrooms and stir-fry until the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef to the skillet and stir-fry until the beef browns but is still a little pink in center, about a minute or so. Toss in the snow peas, green onions and cilantro and stir-fry another minute. Stir in the hoisin and chili-garlic sauce and sauté until peas are crisp-tender, another 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Bon chappétit!

broccoli chicken casserole

I know many people dread the end of Summer. I sympathize with them to an extent, but come every September, I'm more than ready to trade in shorts for sweaters. I also get excited for meals that were simply too hot to make for the past 4 months. The temps finally dropped this week - into the friggid 70s - imagine! - so I broke out the casserole dish and threw together an old standby, straight from the back of the Stove Top box. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 package of Stove Top stuffing (chicken), made per the box directions
• 1 lb. chicken
• 1 bunch of broccoli
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the chicken into 1/2" cubes and sauté for just a few minutes in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil. You only have to get it about half way cooked, as the oven will take care of the rest.

In a casserole dish, combine the broccoli, chicken, soup, milk and cheese. Top with a heaping layer of stuffing, and bake for 30 minutes. I like to do 25 minutes covered, and 5 minutes uncovered. This will give the stuffing a nice, crispy toast at the end.

That's seriously it. That's the beauty of most casseroles - you seriously just toss everything together and throw it in the oven. Thirty minutes later  you get a delicious, Fall-appropriate meal.

Bon chappétit!

peach ricotta spring rolls

Sorry for the prolonged absence. Way too much to do, way too little cooking going on as of late. In some odd twist of fate, I take a week off from blogging and make my return with ... something incredibly similar to last dish I posted! That's right, I'm back with another peachy dessert. I can't take any credit for this one though - it's lifted directly from Gabi over at BrokeAss Gourmet. Make sure you check out the site, it has tons of great looking food. As for the spring rolls, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 peaches, cored and diced
• 3 tbsp ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 8 large spring roll wrappers
• Oil for frying (you should probably use vegetable; Dan and I used olive, because it's what we had on hand)

Begin by warming up the balsamic vinegar over medium heat in non-stick pan. Stir often while you're preparing everything else, until it reduces to a nice, syrupy consistency. Remove and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the peaches, ricotta and sugar along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Then assemble the rolls by placing a healthy spoonful of the mixture in the middle of a spring roll wrapper. Tuck in the sides and roll it closed.

Place about 2 inches of oil in a deep, non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Gently place the rolls in the oil. You'll want to place them seam side down and hold them there for about a minute each until they start to harden in order to ensure that they don't just unroll (it happens really easily). Fry each for just a couple minutes until they turn crispy, golden brown. Drain on paper towels and let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with the balsamic reduction drizzled on top.

Bon chappétit!

stuffed peaches

While perusing some cookbooks for a dessert recently, I came across a recipe for baked, stuffed peaches and was instantly reminded of how delicious my last venture into cooked peaches turned out. These were totally different, but nonetheless delicious once again (and it doesn't require a grill!) Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 peaches
• 1/4 sugar
• 4 amaretti cookies, crushed
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Begin by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Peel, halve, pit and chop up one of the peaches and place in a bowl. Halve and pit the remaining peaches. Scoop out a little flesh from the cavity of each and add it to the bowl. Stir in the sugar, amaretti, egg yolks and cocoa powder.

Divide the mixture among the peaches, placing it in the cavity of each and piling into a dome. Dot each with a slice of butter, and place the peaches into a greased baking dish. Bake for one hour and serve hot.

Bon chappétit!

pizza arrabbiata

Last night I wasn't in the mood to make anything intense, but I didn't want to do take-out either. I'd had a great pizza at Adrienne's this weekend that I was craving again, so I decided to take my own (lazy) stab at it. It was your basic margherita pizza but with pepperoncini added in. In case you didn't know, as my waiter this weekend made abundantly clear, pepperoncini are actually peppers, not pepperoni. Here's what you'll need:

• 10" whole wheat flatbreads (these came in packs of 5 for $2 at my market)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I went for the roasted garlic variety)
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
• 10 pepperoncini

Begin by toasting your flatbread in the oven n 450 degrees for just a couple minutes while you prep the other ingredients.

Coarsely chop the mozzarella into thin slices. Slice your pepperoncini up as well and drain the liquid from your tomatoes.

Remove the flatbread from the oven and layer the tomatoes, cheese and pepperoncini on each piece. The above ingredients will get you about two 10" pizzas. Bake these for about 10 minutes each (still on 450 degrees) and let cool for a minute. Slice up and serve - delicious and done in under 15 minutes.

Bon chappétit!

avocado, tangerine and tomato salad

This Sunday's dinner with Dan had a dijon mustard theme. We tried out the new salad (below) and paired it with the dijon salmon with tarragon. The two went nicely together. We were especially pleased with how the flavors of this salad mixed. The tangy with the sweet was quite a pleasant surprise. Here's what you'll need:

• 2 avocados
• 2 mandarins or tangerines
• Arugula
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Begin by peeling, halving and pitting the avocados. Cut each into strips and set aside. Next, peel and divide the mandarins/tangerines and remove all traces of the white pith.

Arrange the arugula on the plate. Make a layer of tomato and scallion slices on the leaves, cover with avocado and top with the mandarin/tangerine slices. Sprinkle with parsley.

For the dressing, whisk together the mustard and oil, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste. Pour just a spoonful or two over the salad (it's potent!) and enjoy.

Bon chappétit!