Creamy Parmesan Basil Spaghetti with Pepperoni

I just got back from BlogHer Food 2012 in Seattle.  What a fantastic conference!  The information was terrific, the food was amazing, and the swag was epic, thanks to an array of generous sponsors.

One of those sponsors was Progresso, and they were launching an exciting new product: Progresso Recipe Starters cooking sauces.  They're based on the five "mother" sauces that are the foundation of classical cooking:

• Bechamel - a smooth, white, creamy sauce made from milk thickened with roux
• Veloute - a mild, velvety smooth sauce made from stock and thickened with roux
• Tomato - a red sauce with no thickening beyond tomato solids
• Espagnole - a dark, rich sauce, based on meat stock
• Hollandaise - a sauce made with egg yolk and butter, accented with lemon juice

I had the good fortune of packing home two of the five Progresso sauces: creamy Parmesan basil and creamy three cheese.

This was my first recipe using the sauces, and it's a variation on the Creamy Chicken Alfredo recipe provided on the label of the Parmesan basil can.  Instead of using fettucine, I went with leftover spaghetti, and rather than chicken, which my husband doesn't like, I used turkey pepperoni. I also subbed evaporated fat-free milk for the cream or half-and-half that the Progresso recipe calls for.  Cutting down those dairy calories allowed me to add an extra 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

It smelled heavenly while the pepperoni and garlic were cooking in the butter. Because I made this for Mike's lunch tomorrow, the flavors will have plenty of time to blend overnight.  It's going to be lip-smacking good!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups leftover spaghetti (or approximately 8 ounces uncooked)
• 1/2 package turkey pepperoni, torn in halves and quarters
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 18-ounce can Progresso Recipe Starters cream Parmesan basil cooking sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk

Directions:

• Remove leftover spaghetti from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
• Add chicken and minced garlic, stirring gently until pepperoni begins to crisp.
• Stir in cooking sauce, Parmesan cheese and evaporated milk.
• Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.
• Pour sauce over spaghetti and toss well.

Pain au Chocolat: a Father's Day Treat

I belong to two book clubs in Vegas: Destinations Book & Dinner Club and the Las Vegas Non-Fiction Book Group.  I love book clubs because they introduce me to books I might never read - and people I might never meet - otherwise.  However, I have had a lot of trouble finishing the assigned books.  Not sure why; I'm a reasonably fast reader.  Maybe I have too much going on; maybe I just don't focus as well as I used to.  Regardless, it's become a trend for me not to finish the book, and it's been bumming me out.

I have been determined to turn things around, and I've succeeded! Oddly enough, it's with a Destinations book that we're not due to discuss until August.  Nutty!  The book is "Tout Sweet: Hanging Up My High Heels for a New Life in France" by Brit Karen Wheeler.  I'll share more about the book, and our corresponding restaurant outing to Marché Bacchus, later.  For now, though, reading about la anglaise's experiences with French cuisine inspired me to make something French for my husband Mike for Father's Day.  Problem was, I didn't have too many appropriate ingredients in the house, or so I thought.

I remembered the leftover chocolate chips I had from the day before's Flower Power Fudge and thought a chocolate pastry would be ideal.  A quick scan of online pain au chocolat recipes revealed that I didn't have the time - or the inclination - to make a proper dough, but I gleaned a tip that proved helpful in my semi-homemade version.  I rolled out a tube of refrigerated pizza dough and slathered it with butter before folding it over, re-rolling it, and repeating the process.  This little step resulted in a rich, somewhat flaky crust that tasted fantastic.

Ingredients:

• 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
• Butter, softened
• Chocolate Chips (I used 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips, to better mimic an authentic French pain au chocolat, which is generally less sweet than an American pastry.)

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll out pizza dough.
• Spread a thin layer of softened butter on the dough.
• Fold in thirds, turn and roll out flat.
• Spread another thin layer of softened butter on the dough.
• Fold in thirds again, turn and roll out flat.
• Using a serrated knife, cut dough down the middle and then in thirds.  You'll have six pieces of dough.
• Spoon some chocolate chips into the center of each piece of dough.
• Fold over, carefully pressing the edges to seal them.
• Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 11-15 minutes until golden brown.

I'm linking up this recipe with It's a Blog Party.

Beads & Brunch

 

I have very stylish girlfriends.  They know how to accessorize and make an outfit stand out.  Me, not so much.  I'm not horrible at it; I'm just a little too safe, too conservative.  Yeah, I know; conservative and me don't seem to go together, especially considering my penchant for adventure.    

I was lamenting my lack of bodacious bling to my colleague Christina, after having told her for the hundredth time that I loved her long and chunky necklace and wished I could wear something like that.  Apparently, she'd had enough of my whining because she told me she was arranging a party for me and her other jewelry-challenged pals.

Christina knows people, and one of those people is a Paparazzi consultant.  If you aren't familiar with Paparazzi, it's a direct sales jewelry and accessories company where every item is just $5.  Turns out, many of the pieces I'd admired of Christina's were from Paparazzi.  So, it was on: we were having a Beads & Brunch party with pretty little things and, of course, good food and drink.

Along with my wallet, I brought three dishes: Bloody Mary Salad, Cheese Pizza, and Flower Power Fudge.  Christina supplied the Sangria and Mimosas, and the other ladies brought delectables like Monkey Bread and Chicken Salad in Phyllo Cups.

What's more perfect for brunch than a Bloody Mary? I hear you shouldn't drink your calories, and so I turned it into a salad, inspired by Smitten Kitchen's Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad.

The pizza was kind of an accident.  Well, actually, it was totally an accident.  I had bought some refrigerated pizza dough just to have on hand, and it fell on the counter and opened up.  Use it or lose it, right?!  The key to a great basic pizza is the sauce.  I used Victoria Trading Company Tomato Basil, which is well seasoned with onions, garlic, basil, sea salt and other spices.  There are chunks of tomatoes, and NO funky ingredients (like high fructose corn syrup, blech!). 

Sweets are a must at a brunch, or any event or riding in the car or bedtime or in the tub or...  I found a sinfully simple recipe for fudge that I jazzed up with edible decorating flowers with a chocolate chip center.  

Bloody Mary Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons vodka (I only had Whipped Cream vodka.  I was worried it'd be too sweet, but it worked just fine.)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 pints grape or cherry tomatoes (I used a mix of red and golden tomatoes.)
• 5 stalks celery, cut into small slices
• 1 bag fajita steak strips

Directions:

• In a large bowl, whisk together horseradish, oil, vodka, lemon juice, pepper sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.
• Add tomatoes, celery and steak strips, tossing to combine.
• Cover and refrigerate for two hours or until ready to serve.

Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 tube of thin crust refrigerated pizza dough
• 3/4 cup pasta sauce
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Roll pizza dough out on baking sheet.
• Pre-bake for 5 minutes.
• Spoon sauce over pre-baked crust.
• Spread shredded cheese on top of sauce.
• Bake for 6-10 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly.
• Cut into squares and serve.

Flower Power Fudge

Ingredients:

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• edible decorating flowers
• extra chocolate chips for the center of the flowers and for melting (to use as glue on the flowers)

Directions:

• Melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a microwave-safe bowl.
• Stir until thoroughly blended.
• Spread onto baking sheet and chill.
• Using a round cookie cutter, cut fudge into small circles.
• Place an edible flower on top of each fudge circle. (Because they are designed to be used with frosting on cakes, they will not stick on the top of the fudge.  That's okay, though, because it allows people to easily remove the flowers, if they want to, before eating the fudge.)
• Put a tiny drop of melted chocolate on to a chocolate chip and place in the center of each flower.
• Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I'm linking up this recipe at It's a Blog Party and Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday.

Indulge your dark side at the Sin City chocolate festival

It may not be Christmas in July, but it's sure gonna seem like it when the Las Vegas Chocolate Festival & Pastry Show arrives on Saturday, July 7, at the Venetian & the Palazzo.

The event will feature the best chocolate and pastry chefs in Las Vegas, including Jean Marie Auboine, Alicia Boada, Michael Gillet, and "Cupcake Wars" winner Annette Starbuck.  I'm especially excited to meet Taryn Mumpower of Pick Your Poison Bake Shop, since I've been wanting to sample her cocktail cupcakes for a while now.

As if the chocolate and other carb-laden goodies aren't enough, the edibles will be paired with champagne, wine and other spirits.

If you're inclined to feel guilty about such a hedonistic evening, the fact that the event benefits St. Jude Children's Hospital should ease your concerns.  The charity will receive the net proceeds from this amazing show.

General admission tix are only $25 per person.  If you want to start noshing an hour earlier, you can spring $75 each to go VIP.  We don't mind starting at 9 p.m., instead of 8, so it'll be a budget-friendly - if not waist-friendly! - outing for me and Mike.  Hope to see you there!

Feeling the "Kitchen Love"

A proper place setting

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Dipping Sauce

Pear, Toasted Walnut & Mixed Green Salad with Champagne-Cranberry Vinaigrette

Mediterranean Kale & White Bean Soup with Sausage

Dry-Rubbed New York Strip with Mushroom Sauce, Creamy  Mashed Potatoes & Glazed Baby Carrots

Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream

Gayle & Katie (and me doing some cooking)

My good friend Kimberly shares my love of cooking, and cooking classes in particular.  My brother-in-law Patrick, a close pal of Kimberly's as well, also loves cooking, although for some reason, his brother, my husband Mike, does not.  Too bad, because Patrick is a really good cook, and I'd be a lucky lady if Mike was into it like Pat.  Thankfully, Mike has oodles of other wonderful attributes that make up for any of his culinary deficits. ;)

So, anyway, back to Kimberly.  For Christmas, she gave me and Patrick a fabulous gift: Living Social vouchers for something called Kitchen Love.  Among other things, Kitchen Love offers private cooking classes in the comfort of your own home. Gayle and Katie take over your kitchen and teach you had to make five delicious courses with your utensils and equipment.  In early June, the stars governing Kimberly's, Patrick's and my schedules finally aligned for our gastronomic get-together.

Katie, a smiley brunette with a twinkle in her eye, began the class by showing us to set a proper place.  I learned a few things I didn't know and will now feel much more confident when dining at a high-brow eatery.  Gayle was delightful in her red and white apron, answering our multiple questions with soft-spoken patience. Come to find out, our constant queries and sharing of our own cooking stories were much appreciated by the ladies.  Apparently, their usual students are not nearly as interactive.  Gayle and Katie told us how much they enjoyed it.  Good thing because we are not a timid trio, especially when food and wine are involved!

I was amazed how simple it was to prepare the Coconut Shrimp and how quickly the crustaceans went from preparation to oven to table.  They've always seemed super fancy and slightly unapproachable to me, so this was an exciting discovery.  Another surprise was the Kale & White Bean Soup.  I was under the impression that soup, especially one with beans in it, needs to be the consistency of paste, kind of like split pea or bean dip at a Mexican restaurant.  This soup was made up of chunky, un-blended elements in a thin broth base, and it was outstanding.  Just as warming and comforting as a thicker soup, but also crisp.  Another revelation was how easy it was to make a vinaigrette.  As Gayle said, why would you ever buy it pre-packaged?  Watching the ingredients transform in the saucepan was fun and reminded me that good things come to those who wait...just as few minutes, in this case.

Every course of our Kitchen Love dinner was delicious, although my faves remain the the shrimp and the soup.  Gayle and Katie make learning fun and accessible. They're well organized and clean up as they go so the whole experience flows seamlessly and on time.  Kimberly, Patrick and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, learned a lot, and came away with detailed recipes for each dish.  I highly recommend Kitchen Love to anyone who wants to have a fun night with friends and up their cooking game in the process.

Basic Blondies

I wanted to bring a treat into work for my colleagues.  Being short on time and money, I was looking for something that I could whip up using stuff I already had in my pantry.  These little goodies were on the Whipped blog.  Super simple and easy and super yummy, according to my work peeps.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Liberally spritz an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick buttery spray.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Stir brown sugar into butter.
• Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
• Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
• Spoon batter into the prepared baking pan.
• Bake until they are just set in the center, about 25-30 minutes.
• Let cool completely. Turn out onto cutting board and cut into slices.

Adapted from http://whippedtheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Pantry-Blondies.pdf.

Whole Wheat Biscuits

After another action-packed week, Mike and I enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning.  We woke up happy but hungry, and I realized I didn't have much in the house for breakfast.  Not wanting to leave the bed, I visualized what I had in the pantry and fridge and then Googled recipes for whole wheat biscuits.  That, combined with eggs and leftover steak, would make a hearty breakfast any man would appreciate. I found a great, super simple recipe for the biscuits, and voila, I had a well-rested AND well-fed man at my disposal.

Although Mike was happy with them, I felt the biscuits were lacking in flakiness.  In doing some reading, I've learned that I could have handled the dough too much, or perhaps my baking powder was past its prime, or perhaps I should have used cake flour, which has less protein.  I'm going to BlogHer Food 2012 in a few days, and I intend to ask the experts there.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces
• 1 cup evaporated fat free milk (or any milk you'd like to use)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.
• Mix the butter pieces into the flour mixture, mashing it together with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Pour in the milk and mix together.
• Knead the dough 8 to 10 times.
• Turn out onto lightly floured cutting board.
• Pat it flat to about 3/4 of an inch thick.
• Using a biscuit cutter or glass, cut out rounds.
• Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.