Baked Pear Spinach Salad With Mascarpone, Cashews, And Champagne Vinegar Dressing

Here it is Tuesday, October 22nd already.  How did this happen?  Where is it going?  Why am I not ready for cold weather or the fact that I had to put on closed shoes on Sunday because it suddenly got cool?  Bye bye sandals until next spring.  Sigh.  It makes me so very sad when sandals have to go.  My feet are not very happy.  I'll be waiting until the first warm day to drag them back out.  Believe me.

One of the really nice things about fall though is the abundance of tree fruit like apples and pears.  YUM!  I like apples, but I LOVE pears.  Dan is not a fan.  He doesn't like the texture which to me is unfortunate, but to each his own.

My daughter and I were talking about pears last week and she mentioned she had baked some.  Baked pears?  Why had I never thought of that.  When I got home, I headed straight to the world wide web and researched some baked pear recipes.  This is one I created by combining several things together for this fabulously delicious salad for dinner.  (The dressing recipe is my own.)  Are they good?  Let me count the ways.  My, oh my.  Here is what you will need:

Pears - as many as you want to bake (I used Bartlett)

1/2 to 1 stick butter

1 container Mascarpone cheese

Cashews, rough chopped (I used about a cup)

Home made Champagne Vinegar Dressing - recipe below

To check if pears are ripe, push around the stem to see if it's soft.  If so, they are good to go.  You want ripe pears for baking.

First, if you have never baked pears, this is how I did mine.  I used Bartlett pears and cut the pears in half, scooping out the core in each half.  I used a teaspoon to core the pears.  You can bake 2 halves, or as many as you want.  I did 3 pears the first time which was 6 halves.  Sunday, I did 5 pears for 10 halves.  I melted a half stick of butter in a baking dish for the 6 halves and a whole stick for the 10 halves.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put the butter in an appropriate sized baking dish and melt the butter in the oven.  As soon as the butter is melted, remove the baking pan from the oven and coat the pears in the melted butter.  I rolled them on the skin side, then placed them cut side down in the butter.  Bake for about 45 minutes until they are fork tender.  Sunday, I baked these and this is how they look when they come out of the oven.  Heavenly.

Now, turn the pears over to expose the cut and cored side.  Place large dollops of mascarpone cheese in each pear half and stick them back in the oven for about a minute or two until the cheese melts.  Don't let it all run out of the pears.  It's the really good part.

If you are not familiar with Mascarpone cheese, it is an Italian cheese that sort of has the consistency of cream cheese but tastes like whipped cream.  Double yum.

I decided I wanted salty and sweet to go with the fresh spinach, and I had a can of cashew halves on hand.  I rough chopped them and sprinkled them over the melted mascarpone cheese.  I put several hands full of fresh baby spinach on salad plates and put a pear in the middle of the spinach.  I sprinkled more chopped cashews on the spinach.  Now to make the dressing.  I don't always measure when making dressing, but this is pretty close and you may want to adjust it to fit your taste.  It is sooooooo good, especially the tanginess with the sweet and salty.  Yummo.

Champagne Vinegar Dressing

Finely mince about 1/4 of a small shallot, super fine.

Using a large clove of garlic, make a paste out of it by putting about 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt on a cutting board and mashing the garlic with the flat side of the knife.  Work the knife back and forth, pressing and mashing until you have a paste made from the garlic clove.

In a bowl, pour about 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil in and add the shallot and garlic paste.  Add about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. (two big squeezes) Add the juice of one lemon and two big splashes of champagne vinegar (probably about 2 TBSP).  Add one small pinch of salt if needed and fresh cracked black pepper.  Whisk until combined and drizzle over the spinach and the pear.  Serve.  Consume.  Just try to savor each bite.  Delicious.  (The dressing is so good I could probably drink it with a straw.)

This is such a pretty salad to present with whatever entree you are serving.  Perhaps you will just want to eat the salad with some good crusty bread.  Or, maybe you would prefer the baked pear without the spinach and dressing and consider it dessert.  It all works and it is wonderful any way to choose to eat it.  Truly.  They also keep nicely in the refrigerator (covered) and can be eaten the next day.  I ate mine cold and it was delish!

Sometimes things just come together in an oh so right way.  If you like pears, this is a great way to enjoy them.  Yes indeedy.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Pears have been cultivated and enjoyed for thousands of years.  Homer referred to them as a "gift from the gods" in the Odyssey.  healthdiaries.com

  

Cheesy Macaroni With Chicken and Spinach

Do you have picky eaters in your family, especially children who are suspect of any food that has the color green to it?  Will they eat salad, or raw vegetables of any kind?  We were fortunate.  Our children were all adventurous eaters who loved crudite, salad, most every vegetable.  One of them didn't like green peas, and one of them didn't like lima beans.  Other than that, they would eat about anything.

Our grandsons on the other hand, do NOT fall into that category.  We have two who are pretty good eaters, two who are middle of the road, one who is only 18 months old and finding his way in the food world with a few texture issues and one who is suspect of any and everything that isn't "white".  Do you know what I mean?  He likes chicken, pasta, cheese, eggs, he will eat shrimp oddly enough, fish, turkey, rice - do you see the pattern here?  He just turned 10 and he has been like this since he was a little bitty fella.

I have seen him gag and retch at things his mother would make him taste and it was downright comical at times.  When he was about 4 his mother made him taste canteloupe during dinner.  I truly wish I had a video of his facial contortions, his gagging, shivering, and complaining.  Yes, he would literally shiver every time he got the canteloupe close to his mouth.  After probably 20 minutes, he finally licked it and I thought his dinner was going to end up on the table.  You know that "pre sound" that comes with regurgitation?  Yep, that's the one.  It still makes me laugh to think about it.  To our daughter's credit, she makes him try.  The pronouncement is usually, thanks, but I'll pass.

Their pediatrician said these are what they call "the white" kids who are suspect of colored foods and they think it is an evolutionary thing from the hunter/gatherer times when men did not always know which foods were edible.   Makes sense, but it does not make feeding such children easy.

All that was to say H will eat this dish AFTER he picks the spinach out.  He loved it otherwise and so did the other boys.  It is cheesy, and filled with chicken and pasta.   Perfect.  I added the spinach for some color and extra nutrition.  H is the only one who picked the spinach out, so you might luck out and get your family to eat it with the spinach.  You never know.

I made this dish using one of the herbed chickens I wrote about in my blog on August 19.  You can find the recipe there.  Or, you could use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery or cook the chicken breasts like in the recipe.  It is a great way to use leftover chicken.  The original recipe came from AllRecipes.com.  Here is what you need:

3 TBSP butter
salt and pepper
1/2 pound pasta (penne, fusilli, or bow tie, cooked al dente)
2 - 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts or leftover chicken from a rotisserie or roasted chicken
1/4 cup + 1 TBSP flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups milk
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella (I used one ball of fresh mozzarella from Aldi's)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups fresh baby spinach

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta in boiling water just until al dente, drain and put aside.

If you are cooking chicken breasts, season the chicken with some salt and pepper and put some olive oil in a medium skillet.  Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink.  Remove and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Slice thin.  Put aside.

In a medium pot, melt the butter and add the flour and garlic.  Cook about 1 minute to cook out the raw flour taste.  This makes your roux for the sauce.  Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously until thick.  Stir in the cheese and whisk until melted and sauce is smooth.  Remove from heat and add the pasta.  Pour into the prepared baking dish and add the chicken.  Add the fresh spinach and stir to incorporate the chicken and spinach.

Bake uncovered for 25 - 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.  Remove from oven and serve.

This is soooooooooo good.  The sauce is amazing with the mozzarella and parmesan.  One of the best mac and cheese type recipes I have found.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  The only thing I might add next time are some crushed red pepper flakes for just a little zing.   Feel free to leave the spinach out if you have eaters who are suspect of green things in their food.  Or, add some broccoli if they would prefer that, or green peas.   Spinach was just my addition and we loved it.  Next time, I might try another vegetable.

Serve this with a nice green salad and you have a complete meal.  Oh, maybe some crusty bread too.  Oh yeah.

This recipe is super easy to prepare, especially if you have some chicken on hand that is already cooked.  It reheats beautifully.  We had leftovers the next day and it was just as good as the first day.
Give this recipe a try.  I think it will be quite a hit.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Dude, macaroni and cheese if the food of the gods!  Haley James Scott

Tortellini Salad Or Entree, You Choose

Happy sunny Tuesday to you all!  Are you as excited for warmer weather as I am?  For flowers and gardens and strawberries, fresh tomatoes and peaches and melons and all the wonderful things of summer?   Do you look forward to grilling summer fare?  To eating outside with gentle breezes blowing?  We love eating on our deck, enjoying balmy evenings, listening to the boats on the river.

There is that issue with cooking in the warm weather.  No one wants heavy food that requires turning the oven on and things that have to cook for hours.  That is winter fare.  We want to soak up every moment of daylight, of sun, of time outdoors with the family, playing, eating, laughing.  Recipes that you can make ahead and enjoy!

Today, I am sharing a recipe with you that is perfect for warm weather.  You can serve it as a side dish or as an entree.  It is full of protein, vegetables, pasta - all the good stuff.  And, it is served cold.  Total warm weather perfection.  Do you love tortellini as much as I do?  Makes my mouth water.  You get a bite of tortellini with some tomatoes and a banana pepper.  I want to make this now.

Here is what you need:

1 16 ounce package tortellini, cooked, drained, and cooled (I used spinach, use your favorite)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, cut in rings (I used banana pepper rings)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans)
black olives, sliced (optional, use as many as you want)
6 or more Tablespoons fresh Parmesan cheese, grated  (fresh is best)

dressing:

2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil

Cook the tortellini according to directions in salted water.    Drain, rinse, and let cool.  Put in a salad bowl.  Add the cherry tomatoes, chopped spinach, banana peppers, black olives, and cannellini beans.

Mix all the ingredients together.  Make the dressing by mixing the lemon juice and EVOO.  Pour over ingredients in the bowl and mix until everything is coated.  I added some fresh cracked black pepper.  Grate fresh Parmesan all over the bowl, as much as you like.  (The more, the better.)

Wowsa, this is a fabulous salad.  You could also add some chicken, tuna, ham, or sliced pepperoni if  you wanted.  This is an excellent side dish or could be eaten as an entree, you decide.  It is SO good.

When there is fresh basil in my herb garden, I will toss in some chopped fresh basil too.  Yummmm.

Actually, this is one of those recipes where you could add a number of your favorite things.  Otherwise, make it like this and it is delicious.  Keep this recipe handy.  You are going to use it a lot this summer.  It's a nice twist on the everyday, ordinary pasta salad.  Keep it refrigerated and you can enjoy it for several days.  I had it for dinner, lunch, and dinner again.  It's that good.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

If you have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side, you might be a redneck.

 Jeff Foxworthy

 

Fried Polenta With Sauteed Spinach And Lardons Of Bacon

Do you ever get tired of the same old side dishes over and over?  Corn, peas, beans and carrots fixed 5 different ways to Sunday.  And of course, potatoes and rice done to death.  Sometimes I just want something different, with a little punch of flavor - a hint of spice or heat.  I whipped this up one night to go with a pasta dish we were having and it was such a hit, I have continued to make it.

We do love spinach in our household - baby spinach to be exact.  I often saute' it with garlic and olive oil to serve as a side.  We also eat a lot of fresh spinach in salads which is super delicious.  But, this dish is something different and is excellent served with pasta.

Do you ever use polenta?   Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal (ground maize), which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.   Wikipedia   You can buy it in tubes like in the picture below and you can get it in different flavors.  For this recipe, you just want plain old polenta.  Delish!

 We love it sliced and  fried all crispy and brown around the edges and topped with something delicious.  Just slice it in rounds and fry in a pan with a little oil.  I use olive oil for this recipe.

 Growing up my mom used to fix what we called fried mush and topped it with maple syrup for breakfast.  Well, mush meet polenta.  Same thing, just a much fancier name.  Polenta - has a nicer ring to it doesn't it?  We had polenta for dinner.  Yes.  We had mush for dinner.  Nope.

Actually, polenta was considered peasant food in Italy just as mush would have been considered poor man's food here in the good old USA.   My research tells me that mush was a southern staple, so that explains why my "Kentucky" side of the family ate it.  Polenta now has achieved a new place in the world of cuisine, being served in many fancy restaurants.  If you watch the Food Network, you will see polenta prepared by many of the chefs and I must say, I do love it!

Now, let's talk about smoked bacon.

I buy smoked bacon at the farmer's market in fragrant little chunks like the one above and it is so fabulous to use for adding amazing layers of flavor to any recipe.  You get so much "oomph" with just a few little lardons cooked all crisp and brown.  Now "lardon" is a fancy term I learned on the Food Network.  It is pronounced lar-DONE (long O) and is a French term.  It means to cut little match stick pieces of bacon.  That's it.  Yeah, fancy huh?  Learn the term and use the technique in your next recipe!  You will impress everyone when you ask if they love the lardons of bacon.

Here is how you make lardons.  Just cut a piece across the bacon about 1/4 inch thick.  Then, you slice that piece into little match stick pieces to cook.  If all you have is strip bacon, just place a few strips on top of each other, place them parallel to you and cut across the strips in about 1/4 inch pieces.  It is just not as thick as the country bacon, but will serve the purpose.  Remember - lardons!  Use the term to impress!!

Now, place the lardons in a saute pan with just a few drops of olive oil and cook until crispy.  Cutting them this size lets them cook at the same time.

When they are nice and crispy, remove the bacon lardons from the pan.   This keeps them from getting soggy while you cook the remainder of the dish.

Add 2 cloves of garlic that you have minced and quickly saute'.  Now, add 1 bag of spinach a few hands full at a time and let it wilt down, stirring as it does.  Throw in a couple pinches of red pepper flakes for a little kick.  Remove from the pan and add the bacon.  Place a few rounds of fried polenta on a plate and cover with some of the sauteed spinach (and be sure and get some of that bacon in there),  It's all garlicky and bacony and spinachy and  yummy.  Mm Mm Mm

This is really an easy recipe to make and it is wonderful as an alternative to always serving a salad with pasta.  The contrast of the crispy fried polenta is so good with the sauteed spinach.  Actually, you could serve this with just about any entree.

Give this recipe a try next time you want something a little different.  And, if you want to try polenta for breakfast with some maple syrup, give it a shot!  It's very tasty and a nice alternative to all the regular breakfast fair.  Polenta - the new mush.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

"Polenta? Oh, you mean Italian grits."    unknown

Confessions of a Soup-a-holic (and A Tuscan Inspired Soup)

Is it a childhood thing?  Or, is it because there is something comforting and totally soul satisfying about soup?  Growing up, we usually just had good old Campbell's soup and sometimes some home made vegetable soup.   Nevertheless,  I have always loved soup.  Maybe it's because it is relatively easy to make, and you can get by with one pot, and it feeds a lot of people and there are left overs. Of course, the perfect meal!  Or, it could be the simplicity and honesty that soup brings to the table.   I don't really know why or how I came to love soup so much, but I really could eat it every day.  Really.  Seriously.  Every day.

I am not a big fan of leftovers per se, but soup is the one thing I don't mind reheating and eating again and again.  Actually, home made soup gets better with a little reheating, don't  you think?  The flavors all meld together and it just tastes good - plain old good.  Just don't give it to me luke warm - I want my soup "burn your mouth" hot!

This morning, I woke up early and had soup on my mind.  Couldn't tell you why, but I did.  I knew today would be a home made soup day, just didn't know what kind.  We did a lot of running around today -  lunch with the grandsons who were out of school for a teacher in service, a foray to a new toy store that is absolutely wonderful, and then a quick stop at Trader Joe's because we were on that side of town.  One pass down the first aisle and I knew it was going to be a Tuscan inspired soup with Italian sausage in it.  Why?  Because Trader Joe's sweet Italian sausage is delicious and it is in a case in the first aisle. ( Using Italian sausage is like having little meatballs in your soup without having to make them.) I picked up a bag of baby spinach, a fresh bagguette, and a couple of other items and headed home.  A recipe was formulating in my mind.  There were some fire roasted tomatoes and red kidney beans in the pantry, some Butoni three cheese tortellini in the fridge and there are always onions and garlic, so I was good to go.

If you don't know a lot about Tuscan cuisine, it is hearty and rustic food made with seasonal ingredients grown in the region.  This is a little info I found about Tuscan food.

Tuscan cooking is characterized today by simple food without heavy sauces. Cooking is done with olive oil, which is used as salad dressing, poured over bread, and used in soups and stews. Beans are a staple. Sage, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram are popular herbs. The farmland produces olive oil, wine, wheat, and fruits. Chickens, ducks, rabbits, cows, and pigs are raised on small estates. Vegetables grown there include artichokes, asparagus, spinach, beans, and peas. There are also a great number of wild mushrooms, including porcini and morels.    www.annamariavolpi.com

Now, who can have a problem with good, wholesome rustic food - especially soup?   Not me!  Here is what you need for the soup I made today.  I don't mind saying, it was so good that we were both bordering on overeating.

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage links
1 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (use dried if you don't have fresh)
1 14 ounce can red kidney beans, drained
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1 6 oz. bag baby spinach
1 6 oz. package Butoni 3 cheese filled tortellini
1.5 boxes chicken stock
Extra virgin Olive Oil

Remove the casings from the Italian sausage and discard.  Cut the sausage into 1 inch pieces.  Pour one good round of olive oil in the bottom of a 5 qt. dutch oven.  Add the sausage and brown.  When sausage is about half done, add the diced onion and cook until translucent.  Add the garlic, 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, the potato chunks, 1 can of red kidney beans and one and a half boxes of chicken stock.  Strip the leaves from the thyme stems and add to the soup.  Put the lid on the pan and let simmer about 30-40 minutes.  Next, add the tortellini and cook until done, about 15 minutes.  It will puff up and get very tender and delicious.  Add the spinach a few hands full at a time and let it wilt down, stirring to incorporate into the soup.  You are ready to serve as soon as the spinach has all been added.

I added some big shavings of fresh parmesan cheese to the top of the soup, and if there had been a parmesan rind in the refrigerator, I would have added it to the soup while it cooked.  Using a parmesan rind adds so much flavor to any soup.  Never throw away the remains of a piece of fresh parmesan!  I will tell you that I did not add one grain of salt to this soup because it did not need it.  Taste first before you add any salt!

I sliced some of the crusty bagguette and rubbed a smashed garlic clove over the slices and drizzled a little olive oil on it.  Put it in the oven at 350 until it starts to brown (watch closely).  Now, serve it with your soup and don't be shy about dipping this delicious crusty bread in the fabulously tasty broth of the soup.  I really think I could have eaten just that for my meal it was so good.  Yummmmmmmmy yum!

This is a delicious and flavorful soup that I will make again and again.  The tomatoey broth with the vegetables and creamy cheese filled tortellini was truly outstanding.  Sometimes, being a little adventurous when cooking pays off.  Hopefully, you will give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we did.  Maybe, we could start a group for fellow soup-a-holics and just try out recipes together.  Hmmmm, note to self.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.
Abraham Maslow