an adventure in cooking
I love, love, love cooking for friends and family. It is such a release to me and a great excuse to have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in hand with the music blasting (and not the TV).
Last night we had some friends over because I planned to cook this week’s Food Matter’s Project dish “Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs & Bleu Cheese.”
Continue reading “Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, Pears, Apples, Fontina & Gruyère”
:::Twisted Chicken Parmesan w/ Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Pesto:::
We ate really well last week. Well we had a few good excuses with Peter’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, and I was home for a week from work travels.
It started with Jambalaya for Peter’s birthday.
We have been making Sarah’s TO DIE FOR jambalaya recipe since she posted it a year ago, if you love spice please make this ASAP. You should also visit her fabulous blog to wish it a happy 2nd birthday!
Then we had filet, lobster (that we caught ourselves in the Keys!), and whole artichokes for Valentine’s Day…
…and then what I am calling “Twisted Chick Parm” with the Roasted Red Pepper Walnut “Pesto” from the Food Matters Project. {The pesto recipe was chosen by Heather from girlichef this week and can be found on her blog post today.}
I first made the “pesto” from scratch on Valentine’s day, with hopes it would be a nice dip or sauce for our steak. It is really red peppery and rich, so I decided it would taste better with chicken and whole wheat pasta the next day.
The FMP is expanding my ideas for cooking fresh veggies, but I will say we are still eating a lot of meat and non whole wheat carbs. Hopefully once we are through a few months of the recipe book I will be able to combine some of the favorites for more full meals.
Pre-heat over to 350°F. Crack the egg into a prep bowl and whisk. Mix bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt & pepper in separate prep bowl.
Wash and clean chicken breasts. Place each in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumbs, and then on a nonstick or greased baking pan/sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes. Top with parmesan and mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 more minute.
Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and set aside.
In a food processor, blender, or mixer; mix the parmesan with the Roasted Red Pepper Walnut “Pesto.” Then in a saucepan on medium heat, sauté 1/2 of the pesto with whole wheat pasta until warm. Pour the second half of the pesto over the chicken and serve.
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Oh man! I am home this week from almost 4 weeks of travel and I am pretty thrilled to relax at home with Peter for his birthday tonight. Happy Birthday baby!
This week kicks off, as it will for the next few months, with my Food Matters Project post.
Tell me: WHO goes 28 years NEVER having made any popcorn but MICROWAVE popcorn?!
Well Kate, from COOKIE + Kate, made sure we all knew what we were missing with this week’s The Food Matter Project recipe.
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Not really sure why we all grow up just eating the microwave kind. This was fast and simple, no bag necessary.
I chose to make my rendition a bit “spicy and sweet” {my favorite combo!}- with some melted butter, fresh cracked black pepper, salt, and sugar.
I actually cannot stop eating it right. this. minute…
After the popcorn is made, melt 3 tablespoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of fresh cracked black pepper. Toss the popcorn in the mixture and add more black pepper, to taste. I added more because I love how the cracked black pepper balances the sweet buttery sugary taste.
Follow the recipe to make the simple homemade popcorn over at COOKIE + kate and check out the other FMP members’ renditions here.
I also decided to make a handful covered in red candy coating for some Valentine’s Day love. <3 <3<3
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Interrupting your :::Super Bowl Hangover Monday::: with your new favorite butternut squash dish.
When I saw that Sarah chose Chipotle-Glazed Squash Skewers as the first recipe for The Food Matters Project I was really curious to see what’s used to make the “Chipotle-Glaze.”
The glaze is pretty simple, made using a mix of chili peppers in adobo sauce (canned at your grocery store), olive oil, honey, and garlic. These squash skewers are a great dish to bring to a BBQ or potluck and a fantastic main dish if you are eating more vegetables and less meat.
Head over to 20somethingcupcakes for the full recipe.
The glaze is a blend of smoky, spicy, and sweet. I added an extra tablespoon of honey after tasting. I was a little worried because there are not many dishes I make that call for so much olive oil for, but a lot if it drips off while you roast the skewers. The recipe calls for the glaze to be muddled, but somehow I am without a muddler (makes no sense with my love of mojitos!). I used the chop option on a food processor for a few seconds.
{TIP: I had a hard time getting the bamboo skewers in the squash without breaking them, I think I soaked the skewers in water too long. So instead I used metal skewers. They were long enough to sit on the sides of my baking sheet which was perfect for roasting the squash cubes. The skewers suspended in the air above the baking sheet, which made it easy to turn them once in a while.}
Next time I make these I will add some pineapple and green bell pepper to the skewers for color & variety in flavor. Since I’m not used to eating only vegetables for a meal (especially not just 1 type of vegetable), adding something else to the skewers would make it more interesting and I think the flavors would go really well together.
You can also head here to see how the other members of The Food Matters Project fared.
::: Chipotle-Glazed Squash Skewers Recipe :::
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I am beyond excited to announce that I am teaming up with a talented group of food bloggers to launch a project that is extremely meaningful.
This year I want to eat more veggies and less red meat & processed foods. This is easier said than done since I am always on the road traveling, so educating myself is the first step.
Mark Bittman, the author of the book Food Matters, believes that what we put into our body matters. It matters for our own health and it matters to the world. The idea is that meats and pasta/bread (not whole grain) should be seen as a treat, not the main meal. That vegetables, healthy fruits, and whole grains should take center stage in your life and should be the largest portion on your plate. The less “industrial meat” we eat, the less greenhouse gas we produce so we are helping our planet.
Hence, The Food Matters Project. My very good friend Sarah from 20somethingcupcakes had this wonderful idea to create a blogger group project where we will each post a recipe a week from Mark Bittman’s Cookbook The Food Matters Cookbook.
Each week 1 blogger chooses a recipe and writes a post on it, including the full recipe. All the bloggers that are part of the project will also write a post about the dish and link to the blogger of the week’s recipe. There will be a new post every week.
I bought the cookbook last week and I have to say, I have never seen so many interesting takes on veggie and whole grain dishes. Don’t worry, I am not going 100% veggie on you (I don’t think I could). The recipes include fish, chicken, and many meats…just less than what we eat normally.
Monday we launch and Sarah kicks it off with Chipotle-Glazed Roasted Squash Skewers. I am making them for Super Bowl Sunday, so if you want to try them come over! 😉
::: The Food Matters Project :::
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