Golden Winter Vegetable Soup

I have made this soup for every Thanksgiving dinner, many a Christmas and New Years dinner since 2008 when it appeared in Cooking Light.  It is a great soup for special dinners or for a weekday paired with a grilled cheese sandwich.  It is just as good left over.  Potatoes and leeks are the base and butternut squash adds a bit of sweetness.  The recipe calls to serve it with a toasted baquette slice but that step can be skipped without compromising the recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
12 ounces baguette, cut into 16 slices
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.
Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until golden. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Serve 2 bread slices with each serving. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Mariangela's Olive Oil Banana Bread

I have always turned to the banana bread recipe on the back of the Bisquick box for a quick use of overripe bananas. I found this recipe on Bay Area Bites .  She had this bread while visiting a friend in Italy. It is a very quick, simple recipe with no need of a mixer.  It is great for breakfast, snack, or dessert.


Mariangela's Olive Oil Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup yogurt
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, olive oil, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until everything is combined. Pour into a well-greased or parchment paper-lined pan (8.5″ x 8.5″ pan, bundt cake pan, skillet, or traditional loaf pan would all work).
5. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

No Spread Sugar Cookies

These sugar cookies are great for cookie cutters as they do not spread while baking.  I like to cut out squares or circles because they are easy to decorate.  These I made for Halloween.  At Christmas time squares can be decorated into packages and circles into ornaments.  I use dough spacers to roll the dough which keeps all the cookies uniform in thickness.  I use royal icing to decorate.

No Spread Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

6 c flour

1Tbs baking powder

2 c unsalted butter

2 c baking sugar

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, five minutes.
2. Add eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix well.
4. Mix dry ingredients and add gradually to butter mixture.
5. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
6. Chill for 1 to 2 hours
7. Roll to desired thickness on Parchment Paper and cut into desired shapes. 1/4" is ideal.  
8. Bake on Parchment Paper-lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges.

Mario Batali Penne all'Arrabbiata

This is almost as simple as Trader Joe's frozen penne in Arrabbiata but food always taste better when prepared fresh.  This was in the New York Times Magazine.  I did not use the whole tablespoon of red pepper flakes and it still had a nice kick. So adjust that to suit your taste.  Even though it is not traditional in an Arrabbiata sauce but some Italian sausage makes a nice addition.

Mario Batali Penne all'Arrabbiata

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 4 more tablespoons
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon hot red-pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, like Pomì
• 1 pound penne
• Maldon or other flaky sea salt
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving.

PREPARATION

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 3 tablespoons kosher salt.
2. Meanwhile, put 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, and then add the tomato paste and pepper flakes; reduce the heat to low and stir just until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and remove from the heat.
3. Drop the pasta into the boiling water, and cook until al dente.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
4. Add the pasta and the reserved pasta water to the tomato sauce, stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated.

Season with salt if necessary, then add the remaining oil, tossing well. Serve immediately, with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

YIELD

Serves 6

Parmigiano Reggiano Broth

With my youngest in New York and my oldest now in Connecticut I have been eating my way through NYC for the last few years.  On this last trip I had a wonderful dinner at a neighborhood restaurant in the Upper West Side called Telepan.  I had burrata stuffed mezzeluna pasta with parmigiano broth.  It was so good I had to come home an find a recipe for the broth.  I make a lot of pasta dishes with chicken stock but this adds so much more flavor.  It is very simple to make but does need time to simmer.  I found this from chef Michael White of Marea. I did half chicken broth and half water.  It can have many uses.  It makes for a light pasta sauce with sausage and spinach or broccoli rabe or for any filled pasta.  It could be used to cook risotto or in soups. It can be used in place of chicken stock in many recipes. It is a great use for the rinds of parmigianio reggiano. But it must be the rind of parmigiano reggiano as other parmesans can have inedible parts to the rinds. After the rind has been cooked it can be chopped up and added to your pasta or soup. It adds a nice flavor to the dish.  The longer it simmers the better but it's okay because it makes the kitchen smell wonderful.


Parmigiano Reggiano Broth
Ingredients
2-3 Tbs olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 fennel bulb, chopped (can
 substitute leeks if preferred)
1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind
2 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp whole black or white peppercorns
1/2 parsley bunch, stems and leaves
2 quarts water (or 1 quart chicken broth and 1 quart water or non chicken chicken stock)

Directions
1.  Heat 2 to 3 Tbs of olive oil in a large soup pot.  When hot, add the onion, garlic, and fennel.  Cook over moderate heat until the vegetables have softened and beginning to brown.  The more caramelized the vegetables are, the deeper the flavor your broth will be.

2.  Add 2 quarts water and the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a simmer and simmer for at least one hour, more if you have the time.  Strain the broth before use.

Orange Olive Oil Cake

Orange Olive Oil Cake
This recipe is from Saveur Magazine with some changes by a blogger I like to follow. The oranges take some time to prepare but the cake batter is done totally in a food processor.  It is a dense but moist cake.  It can be finished with the glaze, dusted with powder sugar or use your favorite chocolate frosting.  Be sure to sprinkle the sea salt on the chocolate frosting.  It has become one of my favorites.

Ingredients
2 oranges
2⅓ cups sugar
Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
2½ cups flour, plus more for pan
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp orange blossom water
4 eggs
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup  fresh orange juice
2 Tbs reserve cooking syrup
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Sea salt, for garnish

Instruction
1. Trim about ½" from the tops and bottoms of oranges; quarter oranges lengthwise. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan; add oranges. Bring water back to a boil; drain. Repeat boiling process twice more with fresh water. Put oranges, 1 cup sugar, and 4 cups water into a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and orange rind can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature.

2. Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 10" round cake pan with butter and dust with flour; line pan bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Set pan aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Remove orange quarters from syrup, (set aside reserve syrup)  remove and discard any seeds, and put oranges into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until oranges form a chunky purée, 10 to 12 pulses. Add remaining sugar, reserved flour mixture, vanilla, 1tsp orange blossom water and eggs and process until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add olive oil; process until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk orange juice, 2 Tbs syrup, 1tsp Orange blossom water and confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate. Using a pastry brush, brush orange glaze over top and sides of cake; let cool completely. Garnish cake with salt.

Tomato Basil Pizza

I came across a recipe for pizza rolls in Better Homes and Garden using cherry tomatoes and basil and have made it according to the recipe and it was delicious.  Than I modified it to make it simpler.  I have made it with pizza dough and bread dough.  Both ways are good.


Ingredients
1 store bought pizza dough or frozen bread dough defrosted (I like Bridgeford brand)
2 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 large clove garlic
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved and/or quartered
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 cup basil leaves
Balsamic glaze
Course sea salt


Directions
1. Roll out pizza dough or bread dough on a floured surface into a rectangle 20 x 12 or to desired thickness.  It is best to keep it thin.
2. For sauce, mince and mash garlic with a large pinch of salt to make a paste. In a bowl stir together garlic paste, tomatoes, Parmesan, 1/4 cup oil, lemon peel, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of an oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
4. Scatter basil leaves on dough. Place tomato sauce on dough.
5. Bake rolls 25 to 30 minutes, rotating baking sheets between racks midway through baking time, until crusts are golden and hollow sounding. To serve, drizzle rolls with balsamic glaze and course sea salt.