Easy Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 package Philadelphia cream cheese (NOT LOW FAT!! OR ANY OTHER BRAND!!)
2 c whole milk (can replace with 2%, half and half, or cream, but not skim)
6 oz finely shredded Parmesan cheese (NOT KRAFT!!)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste

Directions:

1. NOTE: have pasta ready before making sauce
2. Heat butter on stove over medium heat.
3. Add garlic.
4. Add room temperature cream cheese. Whisk. Get it as smooth as you can.
5. Add warm milk. Whisk till smooth. DO NOT boil.
6. Add parmesan. DO NOT bring to boil or it WILL separate. Whisk till smooth.
7. Take off heat.
8. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
9. Sauce will get thicker as it cools.
10. Add sauce to pasta and enjoy!

Tofu Salad Dressing

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces cubed Parmesan
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
11/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
11/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 cup silken soft tofu
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Starting on the lowest speed, chop the cheese cubes in the blender jar until it settles into the bottom of the jar, gradually increasing the speed. Add the garlic down the chute and chop until minced.

Next, add the mustard, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and tofu to the blender and blend until smooth. While the blender is running, drizzle olive oil down the middle of the vortex that has formed. Add more or less of the olive oil and blend until it reaches salad dressing consistency.  Add in the lemon juice.

NOTE: For vegan, omit parmesan.

NOTE2: Vegetarian/vegan worcestershire sauce is available.

Andhra Spinach

From Saveur and Madhur Jaffrey

SERVES 2-4

Ingredients

1⁄4 cup oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1⁄4 tsp. fenugreek seeds (methi)
12 fresh or frozen curry leaves (limdo)
9 cloves garlic, 3 halved lengthwise, 6 minced
1 yellow onion, minced
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. red chile powder, such as cayenne
1⁄2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 (2″) piece ginger, peeled and grated
Kosher salt, to taste
3 lb. baby spinach

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a 12″ nonstick skillet over medium-high.
2. Cook cumin seeds until they pop, 1–2 minutes.
3. Add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, and halved garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add onion; cook until golden, 10–12 minutes.
5. Add minced garlic, the coriander, chile powder, turmeric, ginger, and salt; cook until garlic is golden, 2–3 minutes.
6. Stir in spinach; cook until wilted and slightly dry, 6–8 minutes.

NOTE: This was terrific. Even the spinach haters in my family loved it. Five stars!!

Quick Pickled Sweet Peppers

Ingredients:

2 c sliced sweet peppers (1 bag of those peppers they sell at Costco)(you can slice lengthwise or in circles)
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1 c water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
4 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 tsp Diallo bottled minced garlic which they sell at Costco)

Directions:

1. Place peppers in a jar.
2. In saucepan over medium high heat, mix vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Let boil.
3. Remove from heat. Add garlic.
4. Pour over peppers in jar. Top off with more water if necessary.
5. Cover jar, refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
6. This will keep in the fridge for about a week.

H/T Simply Whisked

This tastes AMAZING on pizza, sandwiches, by themselves.

Sesame Seed Sticks

From Serious Eats.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (about 5 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) cup fine cracked wheat (or ground oats)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
1-1.5 teaspoons salt (to taste)
4 tablespoons sesame oil (plain, not toasted finishing oil)
1/4 – 1/2 c water (as needed to form loose dough)
1/4 c honey (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine flour, sesame seeds, cracked wheat, turmeric, beet powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine.
2. In a small bowl, combine water and oil. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Combine thoroughly, kneading any remaining bits into the dough by hand.
3. Divide dough in half and wrap each in plastic, flattening into inch-thick squares. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow dough to firm up before rolling. Once dough has chilled, heat oven to 350°F.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness and, using a knife or pizza wheel, cut into small rectangles (approximately 1/4-inch by 3/4-inch). Alternately, roll and cut dough to your desired shape. Uniformity is more important that size to assure even baking.
5. Leave the pieces as they are or roll each one quickly between your palms to form thin rods. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for ten minutes, then flip or roll the pieces around on the sheet so that both sides brown evenly. Continue baking 8-10 minutes more, until sticks are crisp and a light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Manchego Cheese Sticks

From Bobby Flay.

Because I bought manchego cheese on sale from Costco and don’t know what to do with it.

CHEESE STICKS:

Three bowls:

Bowl 1: 1/4 c flour, salt, pepper

Bowl 2: 1 egg, 1 tbsp water, salt, pepper OR yogurt, salt, pepper

Bowl 3: 1/4 c bread crumbs, 2 tbsp ground almonds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Cut manchego cheese into lego sized one inch pieces.
3. Dredge in bowl 1, then bowl 2, then bowl 3.
4. Place cheese stick on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bale 5-7 min until cheese is soft and light brown.
5. Serve with garlic dipping sauce.

GARLIC DIPPING SAUCE

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp sherry vinegar OR rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saucepan on stove on medium heat.
2. Add oil.
3. Add garlic, let brown.
4. Remove from heat, add vinegar, salt and pepper.
5. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Whole Loaf Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

1 whole loaf of bread (I use the hoagie rolls they sell in Sams’ Club for something like 5 for $4)
1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp salt (to taste!!!!!!! amount is approximate!!)
4 cloves garlic (to taste!!!)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (or bottled italian seasoning)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Mix butter, salt, garlic, and rosemary until well blended.
3. Cut slices in hoagie roll vertically, not all the way through.
4. Place hoagie on aluminum foil on top of cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
5. Stuff slices with spoonfuls of butter mixture.
6. Top hoagie roll with any leftover butter after stuffing the slices.
7. Roll up the aluminum foil around the hoagie. It should be completely covered. You can use a second sheet of aluminum foil if you have to.
8. Bake covered for 30 min.
9. Uncover hoagie roll. Bake uncovered for 15 min.
10. Enjoy!

NOTE: You can also add cheese to the butter mixture – cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack.