Tomato Basil Pasta

This recipe is a modification from the Barefoot Contessa's recipe and I cooked it when we visited Heather 2 weeks' ago. I have delayed to post it on line because I was busy and have also forgotten the password and user name which Heather created for me.



This dish calls for:



1 bunch of chopped basil

1 lb of angel hair pasta

3 to 4 gloves of diced garlic

2 lbs of cherry tomato

1/2 bunch of chopped flat leave parsely

1/4 to 1/2 lb of parmaesan cheese (depends on your taste)



Because lately tomato is expensive, so I only put in 1 lb of tomato, instead, I put in 1 lb of asparagus and 1 lb of sliced kobasa sausage as variation.



First cook the pasta as directed. Put oil in a pan and sautee the kobasa sausage slices until they are done. Take the sausages out and set it aside. Heat oil in the pan again and put garlic in. Cook the garlic for a little while, then put cherry tomato in, sprinkle on top with some salt and pepper and let it cook for a couple of minutes until soft. At the same time, put the asparagus onto a cooking dish, drizzle olive oil onto top and sprinkle on it salt and pepper. Put the dish into oven to roast for a few minutes, then take out to cool and slice into 2 inches long pieces. When the tomato look soft, put the angel hair pasta, asparagus slices, kobasa sausage slices, parmaesan cheese, flat leave parsley in and mix well. Turn off the heat and sprinkle basil on top and toss well. Then the dish is done!!!



Since my pictures are in my thumb drive in the office, I have to insert the photos tomorrow.

Baked Shrimp

This recipe is actually Michael's but I convinced him to let me put it on. What I love about this recipe is that it's a pretty healthy version of baked shrimp. Here is the recipe:

20 medium to large size shrimp pealed, butterflied and cleaned

5-6 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes

1 teaspoon of parsley

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

3 tablespoons of plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup of wine

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 teaspoon of butter

Sauté olive oil and garlic over low to medium heat. It's a lot of garlic so make sure you have enough olive to cook the garlic in so that it doesn't burn. When the garlic softens add in red chili flakes, parsley, lemon and bread crumbs, mix together and add half of the white wine. Mix the wine and mixture together, let it cook for another few minutes and then remove to a separate bowl.

Place the shrimp into a oven proof pan (we use our cast iron pan). Put a little olive on the bottom and place shrimps in the pan. Bake shrimp at 375 until it's pink or almost pink. Take the shrimp out of the oven and put the breadcrumb mixture you made earlier on top of the shrimp. Place back in oven for 5 more mins and add the remaining 1/2 cup of white wine. Mix together and voila! it's done.

We normally serve the shrimp with some rice and a vegetable. Tonight's vegetable is broccoli rabe.

Sunny Day in Orange County

Dan loves the outdoors, and most of all he loves to RELAX. And unfortunately, he doesn't find house chores relaxing. So I decided to treat him to a lovely day outside in nature. We went to Corona Del Mar and we had a fun picnic where we read books and played games and unfortunately I got a sunburn. I made a fantastic Antipasto Salad and a Chicken Caeser sandwich.

- Antipasto Salad -

1 Pound Fusili
Cubed Asiago (about 1/2 - 1 cup)
Cubed Provolone (about 1/2 - 1 cup)
Cubed Salami (about 3 oz, although I put more)
Diced Hot House Cucumber
Sliced Smoked Turkey (about 3 oz)

*These are all interchangeable with any ingredient you want and you can use as much or as less as you want, I used more because I really wanted to stretch out this pasta salad for Dans lunches.

- Basil Vinagrette -

1 Bunch Fresh Basil, Stemmed and leaves chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 clove Garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Cook the Fusili, once it cools add all the ingredients in a bowl and add the vinaigrette on top, mix well and enjoy!

- Ceaser Chicken Sandwiches -

2 split (1 whole) Chicken Breast bone in skin on
Good Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 oz thinly sliced Pancetta
1 large Garlic Clove, chopped
2 Tbs chopped fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
1 1.2 tsp Anchovy Paste
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 Tbs freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2 cup good Mayonnaise
1 Large Ciabatta Bread
2 oz Baby Arugula, washed and spun dry
12 sun dried tomatoes, in oil
2-3 oz Parmesan, shaved


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Rub chicken breast with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast skin side up for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool, discard skin and bones, slice thickly and set aside.

Place pancetta on another sheet pan in single layer, roast 10-15 minutes until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Caesar Dressing - Place garlic and parsley in food processor until minced. Add anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, mayonnaise and process again to make smooth dressing. (Can be made ahead along with all other components of the sandwich, except I would buy the bread the day of serving)

Slice Ciabatta in half horizontally and separate the top from bottom, toast the bread cut side up for about 5-7 minutes in the oven.

Spread the cut sides of each piece with the Caesar dressing. Place half the arugula on the bottom piece of bread, then layer in order: sun dried tomatoes (or regular tomatoes), shaved Parmesan, crispy Pancetta, and sliced chicken. Finish with another layer of arugula. Place top slice of bread on and then cut sandwich into desired lengths. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

Our friend Danielle came by with her doggie, Turbo too! They said that it was the BEST Pasta Salad they ever had and they LOVED the sandwich too. I actually think it was the best pasta salad I ever had too! Happy Cooking!



Dan drinking beer out of the mug we sneaked=)

Escarole and White Bean Soup

Michael and I have been trying to eat healthier for the past month (ever since Aruba and those evil Pina Coladas.) So this past weekend we made Escarole and White Bean Soup - although it's not very soupy but there is some broth to it. It's a very simple dish but its filling, has lots of veggies and you won't end up feeling like you can't move after you eat it. Here is the recipe….

1 head of escarole
1 pack of spicy Italian sausage (you can opt to get the sweet one too if you don't like spicy)
1 medium onion diced
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
1 can of white beans (discard water in can)
Olive oil
One can of chicken broth

Wash head of escarole very very thoroughly. Like spinach, escarole can have a lot of dirt at its base. Chop the cleaned escarole to 3 inch pieces. (Basically rip the leaf into 3 parts)

In a medium size pan or deep dish pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Take the sausages out of it casing and sauté until you have sausage crumbles. Place cooked crumbles on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess fat.

In the same pan, discard all of the oil from cooking the sausage but leave approx 1 tablespoon in the pan. Over low to medium heat sauté the garlic and onions. Once the garlic and onions become translucent add the crumbles, escarole and half a can of chicken broth. Stir to combine all the ingredients and place lid on the pan to let the escarole cook down. When the escarole is cooked add half to whole can beans and let it simmer for another minute or two.

Season with salt and pepper, add additional hot pepper flakes if you like, and serve. You can serve the dish over pasta or just eat it plain with some crusty bread to soak up the broth.

Note: We also had it the next day but the dish didn't have enough escarole. We added a bunch of broccoli rabe to the left over dish which also worked beautifully.

Another day in the life .. Breakfast Bake and Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms

Every morning around 7:30 to 7:40 I get up, walk sleepily into the kitchen, and fix Dan breakfast and pack his lunch for the day. Sometimes, well let’s face it, a lot of the times I am too tired to get up, but when I hear him clamoring for a bowl of cereal, a pang of guilt strikes me. And then when he doesn’t take lunch to work and has to go out and get food, another pang of guilt hits me.

Usually I get up and make him a breakfast sandwich with toast, eggs, turkey, cheese and sometimes tomatoes but it’s kind of a pain because it’s early, and I’m sleepy, and then I have to do dishes afterwards. So I thought about making him something where he can heat it up himself and then I thought, aha! Lets put a breakfast sandwich in a casserole! At least if he can microwave his own breakfast I can throw together his lunch in the morning and crawl back to bed! So here we go .. a Breakfast Bake! …

One onion, diced

Sliced Mushrooms (I used one package)

Ground meat (I used turkey to be healthy,

okay okay and I added some Bacon for flavor!)

**You can put in anything you want with your casserole, I already had ground turkey and bacon in my freezer, so it saved me some money (well, not that I didn’t already pay for that meat, but you know what I mean)

Pan fry all of these ingredients together, I suggest doing the Bacon, then add the onion, and then add the ground meat and then the mushrooms. If you find you have excess liquid I would drain it so that the meat mixture isn’t all soggy, but most of the liquid should evaporate by the time you’re done, it just depends on what meat you use. I had some liquid that I had to drain out but I think that’s because I dumped the turkey in at the same time I added the onion, just use your best chefs judgement.

As far as seasoning, I added some Lawrys seasoning to make it tasty and also fennel seed and fennel pollen because I really love sausage and fennel always gives meat that flavor of sausage.

10 Eggs

2 tsp ground mustard

3 cups milk (I used 1.5 cups 2% and then 1.5 cups non fat)

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Chopped Green onion, about 3 stalks, white and green parts

Whisk all these ingredients together

Diced tomatoes (I used about 4 tomatoes)

Day old bread, chopped (luckily for me I had about half a loaf of garlic ciabatta from my fish stew)

Cheese (I used lowfat cheddar and peperjack you can use as much or as little as you want, I did about 2 cups)

Get a 13x9 baking dish, grease it (I used a light spray of Pam), layer half the bread, then half the tomatoes, then half the meat, then half the cheese and repeat. Pour the egg mixture on top.

Throw it in a preheated oven of 325 and bake for 50-55 minutes until cooked through, you'll know when a knife is inserted in the middle and comes out clean.

**I did mine this way and all the green onions ended up on top, so if you want you can take the green onion and layer it after the tomatoes, instead of putting it in the eggs to make sure you get green onion flowing in your dish. You could alternatively used roasted potatoes instead of bread too, I’m sure that would taste good, or a whole wheat bread to be healthier.

While this dish had flavor and tasted good, I found the bread in the dish to be soggy, but you can’t do anything about that except omit it. I also found my tomatoes to be a little bland so next time I will season the tomatoes first before layering it. This dish got the job done and now Dan can heat up his own breakfast while I dream a little longer!

Oh and if anyone is interested … here is what I made for dinner, Balsamic chicken and mushrooms over pasta.

It’s really basic, you take chicken breasts, about 4, season with salt and pepper throw it in a hot pan with olive oil. Takes about 5 minute per side, then take it out of the pan and cover with foil. Turn the heat down in the pan, add some butter, maybe 1-2 tablespoons, and add mushrooms (I used 1 package sliced white mushrooms, 1 package sliced cremini and 1-2 cups of shiitake that a rehydrated and sliced). Once mushrooms cook, add thyme (I used dried because I didn’t have fresh), salt, pepper, chopped shallots (about two) and chopped garlic (one to two cloves). Once that comes together add to the pan, one tablespoon of flour, then add one can of chicken stock, a few turns of the pan of balsamic vinegar and then a turn or two of the pan of cream or anything you have in the fridge to make it creamy (half and half, marscapone etc.) or you can omit cream and thicken with cornstarch slurry but the cream helps tone down the bite of the acidity of the balsamic vinegar. Slice the chicken, throw it back in the pan, toss altogether and serve over rice, orzo or any pasta you want. This dish is easy and quick to make especially when you have chicken breast already in the freezer (we go to costco and buy it in bulk). It tastes really good too!

Poor Dan, this is his lunch for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! =)

Don't worry I also add carrots, yogurt, and a dessert to his lunch too!

By the way I apologize that the pictures aren't so good on this post, I had to make both these dishes after work and I was too tired to make it all pretty

Soft Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Saturday night we had mom and dad over (our first guests!) to eat dinner at our new house. Well that and we needed dad’s help to put up our big mirror on the wall. Since I know my mom loves Chocolate and Raspberries I decided to make this Soft Chocolate Raspberry Tart. This tart was SOOO GOOOD, it was velvety deep chocolate with bright bursts of tart raspberry flavor offset by a sweet crumbly crust. I would definitely make this OVER and OVER again, SO GOOD!! The recipe comes from Dorie Greenspans “Baking From My Home To Yours”, a FABULOUS book if you love to bake! Here is the recipe ...

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 cup (6-ounce container) fresh raspberries ( I used about 9 ounces because I like more raspberries)

1 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough (Recipe is down below)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, add the bittersweet and milk chocolates and heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring the cream, and butter just to a boil. Pour the cream-butter mixture over the chocolate. Working with a whisk or a rubber spatula, gently stir the liquid into the chocolate-start stirring in the center of the bowl and work your way out in ever-widening circles. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the sugar, then the eggs and finally the yolk. Rap the bowl against the counter to break any bubbles that might have formed.

Scatter the berries over the bottom of the crust, then pour the chocolate ganache over them.

Bake the tart for about 30 minutes-the filling should not jiggle if you tap the pan and a knife inserted into the center of the tart should come out a little streaky. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before serving.

Sweet Tart Dough
Makes enough for one 9-inch crust

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons)
very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in—you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change—heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To press the dough into the pan: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don't be too heavy-handed—press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. If you need to, patch the crust with your saved dough.

To fully bake the crust: Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. (I dislike lightly baked crusts, so I often keep the crust in the oven just a little longer. If you do that, just make sure to keep a close eye on the crust's progress—it can go from golden to way too dark in a flash.) Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

To patch a partially or fully baked crust, if necessary: If there are any cracks in the baked crust, patch them with some of the reserved raw dough as soon as you remove the foil. Slice off a thin piece of the dough, place it over the crack, moisten the edges and very gently smooth the edges into the baked crust. If the tart will not be baked again with its filling, bake for another 2 minutes or so, just to take the rawness off the patch.

OPTION - Sweet Tart Dough with Nuts: This dough has a slightly more assertive flavor than Sweet Tart Dough above, but you can use the two interchangeably. For the nut dough, reduce the amount of flour to 1-1/4 cups and add 1/4 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, pecans or pistachios).