Sunday, June 28, 2009

Indian Food and Friends

Last night my husband and I had a some friends over for dinner.

The menu:

Samosas with Cucumber & Cilantro Dip
Tagine Style Chicken
Peach Cobbler with Maple Cream Sauce
(Recipe from Pioneer Women )


We started preparations early as the Samosas have several steps in the recipe. The recipe we used for the Samosas came from a class we took at the Vicking School of Cooking. There are several Samosas recipes oniline. We filled our Samosas with a mixture made up of potato, peas, serano pepper, onion, and spices like Garam Masala and corriander.



The table was set.



The Samosas:








The Tagine Chicken:



The recipe for the chicken can be found at
http://birdfood-sharona.blogspot.com/search/?q=Tagine+Chicken


Peach Cobbler with Maple Cream Sauce:





All the food turned out excellent!! We enjoyed a great evening sitting around the table with good food, telling stories and laughing.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Creamed Corn

Ahh the sweet taste of summer corn.





Creamed Corn

6-8 fresh ears of corn (slice kernels off)
1/3 - 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
1 -2 green onions, diced
kosher salt to taste
pepper to taste

Start by slicing the kernels off the corn cobs. Place the kernels in a casserole dish. Add the heavy cream, butter, paprika, sugar and salt and pepper. Mix well. Add in the green onions. Bake at 350 for about 30 - 40 minutes. You don't want to overcook. You want the dish to be creamy and the corn to be crunchy.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Summer Time Pasta

This is a wonderful, light pasta dish for the summer.
It is packed full of healthy vegetables which provide
a variety of flavors to the dish. A perfect side dish
to bring to a cookout or a nice, light, summer dinner.



Herbed Vegetable Pasta


1/2 lb penne pasta
6 tbs. oil
1 can of artichoke hearts quartered
2 cups (6 oz) green beans, cut into 3-inch pieces
1/2 yellow pepper , diced
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup kalamata or black olives, crushed or quartered
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp chopped oregano
1 tsp chopped thyme
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
10 oz orange, yellow and variegated tomatoes, cut into wedges
Directions
1. Cook pasta in lightly salted water and drain. Heat 1-�� tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add artichoke hearts and cook, stirring occasionally until golden, about 4 min.

2. Transfer artichokes to a large bowl, then cook green beans in skillet for 2 min; add beans to artichokes and remove skillet from heat. To make vinaigrette, stir together vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in skillet, gathering browned bits from bottom of pan. Whisk in remaining olive oil.

3. Add pasta, olives, onion, oregano, thyme and parsley to bowl with artichokes and beans and toss. Coat with vinaigrette, then gently stir in tomatoes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.


Chicken,Tomato, Goat Cheese and Artichoke Pizza

I have to thank my friend Cheri for this delicious recipe.
She made this pizza few weeks ago and once I tried it
I knew that it would be a favorite at our house!






Chicken, Goat Cheese, Tomato and Artichoke Pizza


Take one chicken breast and saute it in a little oil. Sprinkle
the chicken with a little salt, pepper oregano and basil.
After the chicken is cooked cut it into long, thin pieces.

On the pizza crust of choice - pour and spread a little olive oil.

Add 3-5 oz. of crumbled goat cheese to the crust.

Chop a jar or can of artichoke hearts and add those on
top of the goat cheese.

Add the diced chicken next.

Sprinkle the pizza with Italian seasoning: basil, oregano, parsley.

On the top add sliced tomatoes.

Place in oven and bake at 400 for about 15- 20 minutes.



YUMMY!