Pomegranate Sherbet

When I saw this recipe featured on the Kitchn – I immediately knew I wanted to make it.  I already had all of the ingredients on hand – and honestly, plain pomegranate juice is not that exciting on its own.  I knew it was meant to be – when I realized I had 1/2 cup of heavy cream left in my fridge – exactly what is called for in this recipe.  I love love love Orange sherbet – so I am definitely a sherbet fan, but once I churned this in my machine I didn’t have the same must.eat.now feeling like I get when I make a traditional ice cream recipe. 

So regretfully, I waited about two days after I churned this before I actually tried the final result.  And I’m trying to be emphatic when I say this – it is utterly amazing!  So smooth, yet tart and so refreshing.  I can’t wait to eat this on a hot summer day. The best part too is that it is very easy to make.  I’ll have to make a double batch next time – because this was gone too quick and I still have more pomegranate juice in my fridge.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/2 tsp. gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Put the water in a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let it sit for a few minutes, then turn the heat on low.

2. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the gelatin dissolves.  Pour in the pomegranate juice.  Add the sugar and salt.  Stir gently until the sugar is fully dissolved.

3. Transfer the juice mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until completely chilled. Stir in the cream.

4. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to your manufactures instructions. Then put it in the freezer to firm completely.

Source: The Kitchen, who adapted from The New York Times

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Chicken and cheese Lasagna

I haven’t made a real lasagna in a while – so I knew it was about time.  When I found this recipe – I knew it was perfect – since it was healthy and pretty easy to make.  My sister only eats turkey or chicken, so this was great recipe to try when she was visiting since it contains ground chicken.  I wanted to use whole wheat lasagna noodles – but my store didn’t carry any.  I actually did find some, but it wasn’t until after I made this – figures! 

I made this to serve with the rolls I made with my niece.  She was also watching me take the photos of this piece of lasagna – and again I turned my back and she grabbed the basil off the top and ate it!  Too funny – I said to her “you stole the basil” and she was so happy and ate it right up!  I think she’s a budding foodie in the works!

Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat ricotta cheese
• 3 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 12-15 whole wheat, no-boil lasagna noodles
• vegetable oil spray

Directions
1. Mix together the ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, parmesan, 1/2 cup basil, egg, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a bowl until well combined; set aside.
2. In a dutch oven or stockpot, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the ground chicken and cook until no longer pink, breaking up with a wooden spoon. 
4. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices and bring to a simmer.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. 
5. Off heat, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Adjust the oven rack to middle position, and preheat to 375 degrees F.  Coat a 13 x 9 inch pan with vegetable oil spray.
7. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the sauce over the bottom of the dish.  Layer 3-4 lasagna noodles over sauce.  Spread 1/4 cup ricotta over each noodle then spread another 1 1/2 cup of sauce over the ricotta.  Repeat layering two more times.  On the final layer, top with remaining 2 cups sauce and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.  Spray a large sheet of foil with vegetable spray and cover the lasagna.
8. Bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 40 to 45 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and starting to brown.   Let rest 10-15 minutes before serving.
Source: America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
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Sun-dried tomato & parmesan dinner rolls

My sister, niece and nephew were coming over for dinner one Saturday.  So I wanted to make something that my niece could help me with – since she loves to help Aunt Christine in the kitchen.  I decided on these glorified version of dinner rolls – that have the addition of sun-dried tomatoes and topped with parmesan cheese would be a great side to the lasagna I made.  When it got to the time to roll the dough into balls – it was the perfect job for a 3 year old to help with.  She loved getting her hands in the dough and she did a great job rolling them in her hands.

While these were cooling on the counter she managed to sneak one to try – just like the did with the halfway bars she helped with before!  

When we sat down to eat dinner she said aloud “I made all of this myself and it is so good”.  I just love her so much!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (110 degrees)
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 2 tsp. salt
• vegetable oil spray
• 3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 large egg, whisked together with 1 Tbsp. water
• 1/2 grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Whisk the milk, butter, honey, and egg together in a liquid measuring cup.

2. Combine the whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

3. With the mixture on low speed, gradually add the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

4. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic – about 8 minutes.  If more flour is needed so that the dough clears the sides of the bowl – add in remaining 1/2 cup flour, 2 Tbsp. at at time.

5. Add sun-dried tomatoes and knead by hand to incorporate into dough.  Form into a smooth round ball. 

6. Place into a lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place, until doubled in size – about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

7. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and press into a 10-inch square.  Cut the square into 16 pieces.   Working with one piece of dough at a time – round the dough into smooth round rolls and lay them staggered on the baking sheet.

8.  Spray the rolls lightly with vegetable oil spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap, let rise until doubled in size – 45 to 75 minutes.

9. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Brush the rolls with the egg-water mixture and sprinkle evenly with parmesan cheese.

10. Bake until the rolls are golden – 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking.   Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Source: America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

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Daring Bakers: Chocolate Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I’ve missed the past few Daring bakers challenges for one reason or another.  But I am so glad to be back.  I was extra excited when I saw that this months challenge was something that I’ve never made or even tried before.  I decided to try the chocolate version of panna cotta that was given, and wanted to pair it with my favorite compliment to chocolate – strawberries!   I also thought the chocolate panna cotta would go better with the florentine cookies.   The panna cotta reminded me of a mix between ice cream and pudding.  The ingredients were very similar to an ice cream base and the final result was more like a pudding.  Overall, the end result was smooth and creamy deliciousness – which was the intention of this challenge. 

It was slightly more difficult to make the layered version of panna cotta, since you had to harden the layers in the fridge before you could add on the next layer.  And the hard part is that you need to try to portion out the mixture to ensure that you still have enough to top these off.  It ended up taking a few hours to harden the bottom layer (and I left the extra panna cotta and strawberry gelee on counter).  So when I was ready to add the next layer those were still liquid.  But with a little planning ahead – you have a beautiful and delicious dessert.

The florentine cookies were about as easy to make as they get.  And even though they spread out really thin in the oven – they were still soft and chewy in the centers.  They were a really great snack throughout the week.  

Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see the other fun varieties of panna cotta they came up with this month!  And thanks to Mallory for hosting this month!

Ingredients

Chocolate panna cotta

• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Strawberry gelee

• 1 cup (8 oz.) strawberries (or other fruits - raspberries, mango, blackberry, etc. DO NOT use pineapple or kiwi)
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin

Florentine cookies

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups dark or milk chocolate

Directions

Chocolate panna cotta

1. Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, set aside for 2-5 minutes.

2. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir in cream, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a low boil.

3. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. 

4. Whisk the milk and gelatin mixture into chocolate cream mixture. Whisk until gelatin has completely dissolved.

5. Transfer to ramekins, or nice glasses for serving.  Cover and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight.   [Note: If layering with gelee – only chill bottom portion and keep remaining at room temperature until layers are set]

Strawberry gelee

1. Sprinkle gelatin over water.

2. Place fruit and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until sugar has dissolved.

3. Mix the gelatin into the strawberry mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved.

4.Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature until use for layering panna cotta.

Florentine cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan or microwave.

3. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.

4. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches apart, onto your prepared baking sheet.  Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.

6. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave, or stovetop in a double boiler.  Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

Source: chocolate panna cotta from Bon Appetit, gelee from A Soft in the Kitchen and Florentine Cookies from Nestle

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Sausage, white bean and escarole Soup

Although it is the time of year that I wish that winter was over with already – there is no denying that it is still here to stay for a while, at least.  So in order to warm up a bit, a hearty soup is definitely the answer.  I’ve never cooked anything with escarole before – so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I was skeptical when I added it to the pot of soup – since it first looked like romaine lettuce and I thought it would be gross all wilted.  But it cooked down really nicely and reminded me more of cooked spinach than romaine lettuce.   The soup was really hearty and I thoroughly enjoyed the balance of flavors – the spiciness of the sausage, sweetness of the tomatoes, and bitterness of the escarole.   Enjoy – and let’s hope winter is ending soon (oh wait – another winter storm arriving tomorrow – just great (*sarcasm*)!)

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage links, casings removed
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Head escarole, cleaned and chopped
• 36 to 48 oz. low sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped
• parmigiano-reggiano cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium high heat.

2. Add sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up clumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

3. Add additional tablespoon of oil, then add the onion and the rosemary to the same pot; cook over medium heat stirring until onion is softened about 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Add sausage, beans, escarole, broth, and tomatoes.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

5. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and serve.

Source: adapted from My Tasty Treasures

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