Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta

If there's one thing I miss the most (besides bread) with going gluten free; it's pasta. Gluten-free pasta just isn't the same as good ol' grain filled pasta. But, one of my favorite discoveries is spaghetti squash. I already made this recipe, which was really delicious. But, I'm looooving this Pistachio Pesto with spaghetti squash. The pistachios gives the pesto such great flavor. And, I added whole pistachios to my chicken which helped give the dish additional texture. It is so flavorful and tastes great the next day. I found it from PaleoOMG's blog, which is a great blog that you should definitely check out. I'm definitely not missing pasta with this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash, halved, seeds and excess threads removed
½-2/3lbs chicken, sliced or cubed
1 cup pistachios, unsalted and shelled
1-1½ cup basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
½-1 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
handful of sundried tomatoes, sliced, to garnish

First set your oven to about 400 degrees; take your halved, seeded squash and place on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and let roast for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Next, take out your food processor and combine the pistachios and pulse. Then, add your garlic and basil and pulse again till combined. Turn on the food processor, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil and then the lemon juice. I believe I used about a half cup of olive oil. Set the pesto aside. Take out a skillet and place on your stove with the heat at medium. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then place in the skillet. Cook until almost cooked thru, and then add the pesto to the skillet. Now, take a fork and shred the spaghetti squash. Place the squash in with the chicken and the pesto. Combine well. Enjoy!

Summer Squash Saute

As I mentioned in the previous post; I love to peruse Bon Appetit's Magazine on the weekends to find new recipes. The June issue of Bon Appetit was a good one. I pulled out several recipes including this one for Summer Squash Sautee. I love when squash is in season. There's so much you can do with it; saute, grill, fry, etc. You can spice it up by adding red pepper flakes, create a sauce for dipping, or add a little melted butter and eat it grilled. Well, I have to say this was awesome. It was spicy, crunchy, and just plain good. It was very simple to make and I highly recommend this as a side dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 lb. summer squash and/or zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1 tsp kosher salt plus more
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced (I minced mine)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or a half teaspoon more if you like spicy)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

Cut your squash into matchsticks, and place in a colander. Toss with a teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, then squeeze well to remove as much excess water as possible (do not rinse). Next, toast almonds in a skillet over medium heat. Toss occasionally until lightly browned. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Then, heat oil in the same skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until fragrant but not browned. About a minute or two. Add squash and cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp and tender, about 5 minutes. Fold in Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Fold in almonds. Serve and enjoy!

Martha Washington Candies

Who doesn’t love candy? And, who doesn’t love chocolate, pecans, butter, and coconut? Well, if you are like me and you love all 4 of those ingredients then you will love these Martha Washington Candies. I used to make these candies all the time at Christmas back in my college years, because they are really super simple to make. But, be warned; they make a ton. And, you will probably find yourself popping a few in your mouth; you know, just to make sure they taste okay. This is another recipe where I think my mother got it from her mother. But, either way it’s super creamy and delicious. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Ingredients:

4 sticks butter, melted

1 2 pound bag of powdered sugar

2 cups chopped pecans

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla

10 oz bag of coconut

1 12oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ block of paraffin wax (find in the canning section of your grocery store)

Take a large bowl, and combine all these ingredients thru the coconut. Mix well. Set in the fridge for a couple hours to cool.

Around the 2^nd hour, take out a small saucepan and combine the wax and the chocolate. Let  the mixture melt over medium heat. Once the mixture is melted; set the heat on low/warm. Now, remove the candy mixture from your fridge, and using a small ice cream scooper; scoop out the candy, roll into a ball, and dip into the chocolate mixture. I used a slotted spoon to help coat the candies in chocolate. It can get pretty messy with your hands. Then, place the candies on a wire rack with parchment paper under it so the candies can set. It should make around 60+ candies. Best to keep in the freezer as they can get really soft if left at room temperature. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Clusters

You know what’s good? Simple. Easy. Uncomplicated. Especially during the time of year when things are often busy, difficult and stress-inducing. And these little clusters are the epitome of simple. Just 4 ingredients, a microwave, and some wax paper and you’ve got a simple little chocolatey candy that tastes really impressive. I love to include these in my Christmas cookie gifts because I always overcommit myself to difficult cookies and these are a lifesaver to fill out the tin at the last minute. (And hey, I hear Santa is a big fan as well).

Ingredients

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

10 oz peanut butter chips

3 cups (give or take) unsalted peanuts

Sea salt for garnish

Are you ready for this? Simply empty the bags of chocolate and peanut butter chips into a large microwave safe bowl. Melt them. This is really easy if you have a melt setting on your microwave, but if not, just make sure to keep the power on fairly low and check it often. Melt until you can stir it together with no lumps and make sure the chocolate and peanut butter is completely combined. Then pour in your peanuts. You might want to start with fewer nuts and stir it in, then see where you are as far as your nut to chocolate ratio. You can always add more.

Once your nuts are stirred in, set out some wax paper on your countertop. Use a big spoon to drop clusters of these chocolate nuts. This will get messy, I promise. Just go slow and don’t lick your fingers until you’re done. Once you’ve laid out your clusters, go back and sprinkle just a touch of sea salt on top before they’ve completely set. If you wait too long, the salt will not stick, so you may have to work in batches. And that’s it! I guarantee you’ll get lots of compliments and guess what, you don’t have to tell anyone how easy it is to make. I won’t tell. 

Pecan Pie

Continuing with the dessert theme; I made a Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving dinner for my dad and I. Now, I wasn't always a big Thanksgiving dessert fan. Throughout the years, my families dessert menu consisted of Pumpkin pie (yuck), Apple pie,(double-yuck), and Pecan Pie. Growing up, I'm not sure I even ate dessert after our dinner. I've never been a fan of cooked apples, didn't care for the taste of pumpkin pie, and I don't think I even tried pecan pie. Eventually, I came around, and even though I still don't like cooked apples; I'm definitely a fan of Pecan and Pumpkin pies. This recipe is similar to the one my mother baked for our traditional Thanksgiving dinners. The recipe is from Joy of Cooking and the crust is from Cook's Illustrated. Unfortunately, I tad over-cooked the pie, but it still tasted great! If you want a traditional pie for Thanksgiving then I definitely recommend this Pecan Pie recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Crust:
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 pieces and chilled
4-6 tbsp ice water


Ingredients for Pie filling:
1/4 c butter (room temperature)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c light corn syrup or molasses
1 to 1 1/2 c  broken peanuts or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla or 1 tbsp rum
1/2 tsp salt

For the Pie Crust
To make the pie crust, process the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor until combined. Scatter shortening on top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses.
Transfer the mixture into a medium bowl and sprinkle 4 tbsp of the ice water over the mixture.  Stir and press the dough together until it sticks together. If dough doesn't come together then add more water a tablespoon at a time until it does.
Get out a plastic sheet, and turn the dough unto the plastic sheet and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly and then refrigerate for about an hour. Before rolling out the dough, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling it out.)
Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured surface. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over the edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into the bottom with the other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond the lip of the pie plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined pie plate loosely in plastic and place in your freezer until the dough is fully chilled and firm, about 30 minutes, before using. Once pie is fully chilled, remove from the freezer and poke some holes into the dough using a fork. This will help it to not bubble up while cooking. Cook the pie for about 5 to 8 minutes. It will be fully cooked once the filling is poured into it. Remove pie from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Then, we'll add in the filling and cook for an additional 45 minutes.

For the filling:
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the light corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Fill the partially baked pie shell. Cover the edge of the pie plate with foil, so that the outer pie crust doesn't burn. I wish I had done this because my crust burned. The Joy of Cooking cookbook says to turn the oven up to 450 degrees, but I felt that was a bit too warm. I would set it to 425, instead. Let bake for 40 minutes until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the filling. Enjoy!

Pistachio and Goat Cheese Grapes

This recipe was a hit at our iron chef nuts. Kim made this for her appetizer and she ended up grabbing second place. I believe this was my first time trying goat cheese and pistachios, and I couldn't believe how much they worked with the red grapes. I loved this so much that I've been making it ever since. I decided to make it today because I had some goat cheese and pistachios. I just needed the grapes, so a quick trip to the Kroger proved fruitful. Heh, heh. Anyway, if you are going to a party this is a delicious option that will prove to be a hit. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
4.5 oz goat cheese, chilled
5 oz red seedless grapes
6 oz pistachio nuts, chopped

First, make sure you have clean hands. Now, all you do, is take a piece of goat cheese and kind of pat in your hand. Take a grape and roll it in your hand so that the goat cheese covers the grape. You may have to add some more goat cheese to the grape so that it is completely covered. Then, roll the grape in the chopped pistachios. Once all the grapes are covered with goat cheese and pistachios; place on a plate and chill in the fridge for about an hour. You may serve whole or sliced. Enjoy.

Spicy Rosemary Nuts

Nuts really don’t need much improving. Or at least, that’s what I thought before trying these at a friend’s baby shower. I had a couple. And then my hand just kept going back to the bowl. Again and again, completely out of my control. To say these are addictive is an understatement. They are just a bit spicy, fragrantly herbal, and a touch sweet. And served warm, they are out and out marriage material.

5 Cups of Nuts

4 Tbsps. Fresh chopped Rosemary

3 Tbsps. Butter

2 Tbsps. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Cayenne

Use any nuts you like. The original recipe called for mixed nuts but I really only like cashews, so that’s what I used. The recipe also called for a teaspoon of kosher salt, but since it’s impossible to find cashews that aren’t pre-salted, I omitted it.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get out a large rimmed cookie sheet. Cover it with foil. Melt the butter and combine the rosemary, brown sugar and cayenne in a large bowl. I highly recommend using fresh rosemary, and can’t guarantee good results if you use dried. Make sure the brown sugar clumps are all gone, and then add in the nuts. Stir well, until every nut is coated with sugary spiciness. The rosemary tends to stick together so spread it out as much as you can.  

Pour the nuts onto your baking sheet and spread them out to one layer so they cook evenly. Then bake for about 15 minutes. If you want you can stir halfway through, but I didn’t and they turned out great. Then pour them in a bowl and start eating them warm. You may want to invite some people over immediately or it’s possible you’ll find yourself with 5 cups of nuts in your belly before you know it. 

(click here for printable recipe)

Walnut Fudge Tart

Just in time for Christmas, I have a couple dessert recipes to post. Christmas is that fun time of year where you get to look for presents for your friends and family. Hang up Christmas lights, the tree, and all your Christmas decorations; having the opportunity to spend some quality time with your family and favorite friends, too. But, the best part of Christmas; is all the baking you get to do! Recently, at my work; some co-workers hosted a Pig Fest. What pray tell could that be; you ask? Well, everyone (in our IT department) gets together and makes some of their favorite dishes and brings it to our 8th and 5th floors. I decided to participate this year, and I stuffed myself silly eating all the glorious food. I decided to make this brownie-like tart from a local chef here in Richmond. I found this recipe when Richmond.com was featuring some “favorite” Thanksgiving recipes from our local Chefs. I thought this pie sounded delicious, and I was definitely right. It was a big hit at the Pig Roast and everyone wanted the recipe. So, here it is. Enjoy!

Crust:• 1¾ cup flour,
• Pinch salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¾ cup butter (chilled & cut into 12 pieces)
• 1/3 to ½ cup cold strong coffee

Filling:
• 12 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 2 tsp. Kahlua (I used Frangelica since I didn’t have Kahlua)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 2 eggs

First you need to get your oven nice and heated, so set this to 350 degrees. Next, you want to get going on your crust. Take your flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt and toss in your food processor. Pulse until it starts to look like coarse cornmeal. Then, add about 1/3 cup of coffee and blend just until it’s incorporated. If the dough appears too dry feel free to add coffee one tablespoon at a time. Once the dough is ready; press it into your lightly oiled 10” tart pan (with a removable bottom) and chill.

Now, for the filling: combine your chocolate, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and walnuts into a bowl and stir to blend. Pour into a chilled tart shell and bake until top is firm and dry. About 30 to 40 minutes. You can always insert a toothpick and see if it comes out clean, too.


(Click here for printable recipe)