Summer Kick- off

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend.  Can you believe we are already kicking off summer?  How did you spend your long weekend? 

Mine was spent visiting with some of my dearest friends and family.  Naturally there was a lot of food involved…

For our Memorial Day BBQ, I prepared my favorite pasta salad recipe.  It was a hit!  Ingredients like sundried tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers, and feta cheese give the dish a Mediterranean flare- a nice update to the standard pasta salad recipe.

The recipe is as follows:

{***** } Pasta Salad

 Serves: 4 to 6

Kosher salt

1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusili

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Freshly ground pepper

2/3 to ¾ cup extra- virgin olive oil

1/3 cup diced sun- dried tomatoes

¼ cup basil, julienned

¼ cup diced onion

2-4 large pickled pepperoncini peppers, diced

3 tablespoons halved black olives

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

1 ½ ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1 ½ tablespoons grated Romano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl.  Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smooth dressing; season with salt and pepper.

Combine the sun- dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives and oregano in a bowl.  Add the cooked pasta, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Add the vinaigrette and both cheeses and toss.  Chill until ready to serve.

*Original recipe per Nick Anthony

Sunday Supper

In my world, Sundays are reserved for relaxing and trying new recipes.  During the week I am often pressed for time and feeling a little low on energy come five o’ clock.  But, on Sundays I like to cook from scratch and experiment with new ingredients. 

Recently I made my own ravioli with… wait for it… wonton wrappers!  They were delicious.  I was inspired by a recipe from Sunset Magazine.  I wasn’t quite sure how the recipe would pan out, but I would definitely make these again.  I look forward to experimenting with new fillings and toppings!  Perhaps I will sub in a little butternut squash & burrata next time?

All in all the ravioli required less time & work than anticipated (approximately 1 hour -including prep time).  I think this would be a fun family dinner project… making ravioli from scratch (kind of).

Cheese Ravioli

Serves 4

1 cup ricotta

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup finely chopped flat- leaf parsley, plus ½ cup leaves

1 large egg

About ½ tsp kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

48 round wonton wrappers

6 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

{To make the ravioli filling combine cheeses, chopped parsley, egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.}

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Lay 8 wrappers on a flat surface and spoon 1 tablespoon cheese mixture onto center of each.  Working with one wrapper at a time, moisten edge with water and top with another wrapper, press to seal tightly.

Transfer ravioli to a greased baking sheet, cover, and repeat to make more ravioli.  Preheat oven to 250F.

Cook 4 to 5 ravioli at a time in boiling water until dough is tender, 3 minutes.  Transfer to greased baking sheet in a single layer, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven.

Meanwhile, make sauce: Melt butter in large frying pan over medium- high heat.  Cook, swirling until light- golden, three minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and parsley leaves.  Layer ravioli and sauce on platter. 

Serve!

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

First, I must apologize for my irregular posting behavior.  Life is happening & sometimes it is difficult to keep up.  I was in the midst of a big move, which unfortunately left me with little time to post about my culinary adventures.

Please stick with me and I promise to post scrumptous updates from the new kitchen on a more regular basis. For now, you should know that while I have not been posting much, I have been doing my homework. 

I have been on a quest for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie recipe.  After many bake tests, taste tests and research I found that I had the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in my back pocket all along.

This recipe, a family recipe, has proved to be a fan favorite.  It was the top choice among my taste testing panel and my personal favorite.  The key ingredient is Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips.

World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips (milk chocolate chips by Guittard)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover well with plastic wrap & refrigerate for 24- hours.

Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.