Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that until now, I have never made manicotti!  As a member of the stuffed pasta family, this recipe is sure to please anyone who is already a fan of ravioli or stuffed shells.  While some manicotti fillings include meat (Italian sausage is most commonly used), this recipe features spinach. While some may shy away from Popeye's vegetable of choice, I assure you that when it is mixed with delicious cheeses, stuffed into a tube of pasta, and layered with homemade marinara sauce and more cheese, you can't go wrong :-)

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti
Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

1 package manicotti - about 14 tubes - cooked al dente and rinsed under cool water

For the marinara sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 - 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil

For the ricotta filling:
1 - 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 - 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 large egg
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper

For topping:
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly chopped flat leaf parsley


Directions:

In a medium size saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion with a pinch of salt until translucent.  Add in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano and cook for another minute.  Pour in the tomatoes, stir, and simmer over medium-low heat for about 1 hour, or until the tomatoes start to break apart on their own.  When the sauce is finished simmering, turn off the heat and tear the basil into small pieces and stir it into the sauce.  Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients, mixing well until everything is evenly distributed.

Spoon a thin layer of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a rectangle baking dish.

Using a very small spatula or spoon, carefully fill the manicotti tubes with the ricotta filling mixture, leaving no air bubbles.  Lay the filled manicotti side-by-side in the bottom of the pan to create an even layer, if possible.  Top the pasta with a thin layer of marinara sauce, and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.  Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese on top begins to bubble.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the top of the manicotti with freshly chopped parsley.

We had steamed carrots with a sage and butter sauce alongside the manicotti, as well as a delicious red wine made with a blend of French Rhone grape varietals grown in California :-)

Librarian turned Foodie

Moroccan Tagine Chicken and Chickpeas

This recipe is adapted from several Moroccan Chicken recipes I have come across over the years.  My first experience tasting Moroccan flavors was at a local Minneapolis restaurant called Saffron.  I ended up purchasing their signature Tagine Spice Blend because my husband and I loved it so much!  The restaurant serves a delicious fried cauliflower appetizer using this spice blend.  I could never hope to recreate that amazing cauliflower recipe at home, so I am sharing with you my go-to recipe in which to utilize these delicious ingredients. Not only is this dish simple to make, but it also qualifies as a healthy one-pot meal that can be prepared in under 1 hour!  Make a little or a lot... the leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day, and can also be frozen for up to 3 months :-) 

Moroccan Tagine Chicken and Chickpeas

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Salt and Pepper
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 teaspoons of Tagine Spice Blend (about 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, dried ginger, cayenne, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, cardamom)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 - 8oz can tomato sauce

6 prunes, chopped or 1/4 cup raisins
1 - 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup water

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion for about 2 minutes.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the pan, and brown it for about 2 minutes on each side.  Stir in the garlic, spices, and tomato sauce.  Simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes.  Add the prunes, honey, and chickpeas to the pot, stir to combine, cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.  In the last 5 minutes before serving, add about 1/2 cup of water to the mixture if it needs more liquid.  Serve alone or with a side of steamed vegetables and naan bread!

Not the most photogenic of meals, but it sure tasted great!

Librarian turned Foodie

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars

If you are looking for an easy and scrumptious dessert to make this year for Halloween, I have just the thing! I won't go into how much I LOVE all things pumpkin, but there is a back-story to my love of Pumpkin Cheesecake...

Over the past 10 years (give or take) it has been a tradition for me and my best friend Erin to visit The Cheesecake Factory in downtown Chicago, IL every Fall to indulge in a slice of their Pumpkin Cheesecake.  I'm telling you, it is to die for!  Unfortunately, when I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, Erin and I didn't have time to stop for a slice of heavenly cheesecake.  So, I decided to search for a pumpkin cheesecake recipe that I could master at home in my very own kitchen :-)

If you are like me, you may not have a spring-form pan on hand to make the classic cheesecake recipes.  Fear not, fellow bakers!  This recipe uses a basic 8 inch square pan instead... hallelujah!

The original recipe for these cheesecake bars comes from Martha Stewart, whom I admire greatly for the fool-proof recipes she has created and passed on to home cooks like myself.  Yet, I did find myself making just a few simple changes to this recipe.   Below is how I made this dessert, but you can find the original recipe here :-)

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust...
1 package of graham crackers (about 12 rectangles)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling...
1 - 8oz. package mascarpone cheese
1 - 8oz. brick cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup canned solid-packed pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with parchment or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.  Set aside.

2.  In a food processor, blend graham crackers until they are finely ground (you should have about 1 cup of crumbs).  Add the melted butter and pulse until crumbs are moistened.

3.  Transfer the crumbs to a prepared pan and press into an even layer in the bottom.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until firm.  Set aside to cool.

4.  Place the cream cheese and the mascarpone cheese into the food processor and blend until smooth.  Add in the sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, flour, spices, and salt.  Process until well combined.

5.  Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted.

6.  Add 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture to the melted chocolate and stir to combine.

7.  Pour the remaining pumpkin mixture over the crust in the prepared pan.

8.  Drop dollops of the chocolate mixture onto the pumpkin mixture and swirl with a toothpick.

9.  Bake the cheesecake in the 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes until it is set, but jiggles slightly in the middle.

10.  Cool in the pan, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours until firm.  Using the overhanging foil or parchment, lift the cheesecake out of the pan and transfer to a flat work surface.  With a knife dipped in water, cut the cheesecake into squares and serve.

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This cheesecake was baked to perfection!  The chocolate was a wonderful compliment to the pumpkin and spice flavors.  The crust held up perfectly, and it was very easy to slice.  

These bars would be a great dessert for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or even Christmas.  You'll be sure to impress your guests with this recipe, which can be prepared ahead of time and sliced into pretty little squares for a fork-free dessert!  Pumpkin and chocolate lovers alike will devour this holiday treat :-)

Happy Halloween!

Librarian turned Foodie

Decadent Scalloped Potatoes

This was my first time making homemade scalloped potatoes, and I am amazed by how incredibly easy it was!  I did have the help of a little kitchen tool called a mandoline, which did the majority of the work for me :-)

Zyliss Mandoline and Julienne Slicer

I absolutely LOVE this time-saving gadget!  Before owning my mandoline, the tedious task of slicing potatoes super thin while trying to keep all my fingers intact was somewhat daunting, not to mention time consuming.  Granted, it is important to be very careful when using a mandoline, as it has an extremely sharp blade that will easily slice through a finger. I made the one-time mistake of foregoing the use of the red slicing guard (shown above) and will never do so again! 

Note:  If you don't own a mandoline, you can get a great one for about $20... it is worth every cent. The Zyliss I own doubles as a julienne slicer too!

Now for the recipe...

I loosely followed Tyler Florence's Scalloped Potato Gratin recipe, using the ingredients I had on hand.  

Decadent Scalloped Potatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dash of salt

1 tbsp. salted butter (for greasing baking dish)

2 large red potatoes, sliced into 1/8 inch thickness

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

1 piece of crisp cooked bacon, for crumbling on top

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the cream, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, nutmeg, and black pepper and warm over medium-low heat.

While cream is heating, butter a shallow ceramic or glass baking dish.  Add the sliced potatoes into the pan with the cream and stir gently to coat the potatoes.  Season with salt.  

Spoon a little cream into the bottom of the buttered baking dish and layer the potatoes evenly in the bottom.   Pour the remaining cream over the potatoes.   

Top the potatoes with the grated parmigiano reggiano and crumbled bacon. 

Cover the dish with aluminum foil, pulling back one corner to allow steam to escape.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes and enjoy!

I savored each delicious bite of these potatoes, which were served alongside pan-fried whitefish and some steamed veggies.  Due to their richness, you really only need a small serving to satisfy that comfort food craving.  You could try making these with half heavy cream and half lowfat milk next time if you are seeking a slightly lighter version of scalloped potatoes.  

Make these potatoes for your next dinner party or holiday gathering with family and friends... they won't disappoint :-)

Librarian turned Foodie

Chocolate Prune Cake... don't knock it before you try it!

Prunes. If you like them, and you are under the age of 60, you are probably in the minority.  Prunes are all too often associated with the geriatric crowd.  Nevertheless, I'm here to share a recipe that will make you reconsider your aversion for/apathy toward those little dried plums with a bad reputation.  Yes, prunes are dried plums... and who doesn't love a good plum?

In my search for what to make with my excess of prunes, I came across this recipe for Chocolate Prune Cake.  If it's good enough for David Lebovitz and his French friends, it's good enough for me :-)

Not only was David's recipe easy to make, but it was also flourless!  I happen to adore the texture of flourless chocolate cakes, and this seemed like the perfect way to transform those sad looking prunes into something fantastic!

Here's what you'll need:

For the prunes:
6 ounces (170 g) pitted prunes, diced into small pieces
1/3 cup (80 ml) rum, or another liquor (I used Southern Comfort)
1 tablespoon sugar (I omitted this due to the sweetness of the Southern Comfort)

For the cake:
12 ounces (340 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used a dark chocolate)
12 tablespoons (6 ounces, 170 g) unsalted butter, cubed
6 large eggs, separated
large pinch of salt
3 tablespoons sugar
Additional soft butter and flour, or cocoa powder, for preparing the pan (I used cocoa powder)


Directions:  

1. Simmer the prunes with the liquor and 1 tbsp. sugar in a small saucepan until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat, cover, and cool.  Note:  I decided to place the prunes and remaining liquid in a food processor and blend until smooth instead of leaving them chunky.  This is all about personal preference.  If you want to be able to identify the prunes, leave them chunky, otherwise, blend away!

2. Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan (I used a regular cake pan).  Dust the inside with flour or cocoa powder and set aside.

3. In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.

4. Remove from the heat and stir in the prunes and any liquid that is leftover.  Stir the 6 egg yolks into the chocolate mixture.

5.  In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites with the salt until they begin to hold soft peaks.  Continue whipping, adding the 3 tablespoons of sugar, one at a time, until the whites hold their shape.

6.  Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks of whites are visible.  Don't over-fold!

7.  Pour cake batter into the pan and bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is set. Let cool completely.

8. Slice and serve plain or with freshly whipped cream lightly sweetened with powdered sugar.  This cake was also amazing served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top :-)

Plain... yet so delicious!  Perfect for all you chocolate lovers out there :-)

With lightly sweet whipped cream dusted with cocoa powder... decadent!

If you need extra convincing, my husband didn't detect the "secret ingredient" in this chocolate cake, and together we didn't have any problem polishing off every last bite!  I think this would be a wonderful holiday desert to share with family and friends.  This cake also happens to be Gluten Free if you use the cocoa instead of the flour for dusting your pan.  Be sure to use a GF liquor if you decide to go with something other than Southern Comfort.  Here's a link to a GF alcoholic beverage guide :-)

Viva la prune!

Librarian turned Foodie

Puff Pastry with Fig, Goat Cheese, Fennel, Walnuts, and Prosciutto!

This was the most decadent, light, and delicious dinner I have ever made!   It was full of complex flavors that complimented each other unlike anything else on a pastry crust... and who doesn't love puff pastry?! This incredibly easy dinner that was prepped and ready to eat in under 30 minutes!

Here is what it took to create this masterpiece :-)

Puff Pastry with Fig, Goat Cheese, Fennel, Walnuts, and Prosciutto!

Ingredients:
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
Flour for rolling out
1/4 cup fig jam (if you can find fresh figs, by all means, USE THEM :-)
1 - 3.5 oz. package crumbled goat cheese
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thinly on a mandolin
4-5  slices of prosciutto (about .20 lb.), sliced into 1 inch strips
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp. butter, melted (for brushing around the edges of the pastry)

Directions:  
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a floured surface until 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

Step 2:  Prick the inside of the pastry with a fork, leaving a 1 inch border around the edges.

Step 3:  Spread a thin layer of fig jam over the pricked surface of the pastry.

Step 4: Sprinkle the goat cheese crumbles, chopped walnuts, and fennel slices over the fig jam.  Brush the exposed edges of the pastry with the melted butter.

Step 5:  Bake the prepared pastry in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Step 6:  As soon as the puff pastry is removed from the oven, sprinkle with thinly sliced pieces of prosciutto and freshly cracked black pepper.

Step 7:  Slice and serve with a green salad and a delicious glass of wine!  We had an Arugula and Spinach salad with an evoo and balsamic dressing, and a yummy White Rhone Blend from France...

I sliced the pastry into 4 equal portions, but you could slice it into smaller pieces if you plan to serve this as an appetizer... and it would be a definite crowd-pleaser!

Roussanne was a very unique, complex, and delicious grape with low acidity, prominent floral notes, and a rich mouthfeel that paired very well with our meal!

The next time you have some puff pastry on hand, think about turning it into a delicious dinner!

Librarian turned Foodie

Easy Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars

Okay, so I have made it my mission to start baking more often... or rather, my cravings dictate that I bake more often ;-) These days, it is rare that we don't have something sweet in the apartment, and if we are going to indulge, I feel much better about making/eating homemade goodies.  That way, I can control exactly what goes into them, and into me and my husband :-)  So, this afternoon I decided to search for ways I could use up some off-brand peanut butter cups (I wouldn't usually buy them, but they happened to be free with a coupon at our local grocery store). The recipe I found hails from the magazine Real Simple and is, well, simple, for lack of a better word!

The original recipe is for peanut butter cup cookies, but I decided to make cookie bars.  The truth is that I have always dreaded the process of making cookies.  I am usually the one standing in the kitchen babysitting batch after batch while everyone else (or just my husband) gets to enjoy eating the cookies while they are still warm and delicious.  Solution?! Make bars instead!

Here's what I did...

Easy Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (recipe called for 3/4 cup, but 1/2 cup adds plenty of sweetness!)
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
15 mini peanut butter cup candies, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease/spray the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugars.

Then beat in the egg and vanilla.

Stir the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture until well combined, then fold the peanut butter cups into the batter.

Press the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan using your fingertips.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

These cookie bars are the perfect combination of crunchy and chewy, and had just the right amount of sweetness, with a tasty piece of pb cup in every bite.  Enjoy... with a glass of milk if you prefer :-)  

Librarian turned Foodie