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Fast & Easy Dinner: Penne With Mushrooms

partysugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:50:30 -0800

Although some people may think all pasta dishes are loaded with carbs and cheese, this recipe proves them wrong. It's chock full of mushrooms and kale, and combines whole wheat pasta with a rich sauce made from hazelnuts. Most grocery stores carry whole wheat pasta these days; you can find it in the regular pasta aisle. There's no meat, but the mushrooms and nutty gravy give this dish a complex heartiness. To check out this vegetarian-friendly, cheese-free pasta recipe, read more.

Penne With Mushrooms
From Everyday With Rachael Ray

Ingredients

Salt
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
A handful dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups vegetable or mushroom broth
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
Freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped peeled hazelnuts
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.
While the pasta is working, in a small saucepan, soften the dried mushrooms in the broth over low heat.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil, over medium heat. Add the portobellos, shallots and garlic and cook until tender, 6 minutes. Add the kale, cover the skillet and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and the nutmeg and toss.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the porcinis to a cutting board and chop, then add to the kale mixture.
Pour the porcini broth into a bowl or cup, discarding any grit at the bottom of the pan; set aside.
Wipe out the pan, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the hazelnuts and rosemary and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the reserved porcini broth and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
Toss the pasta with the kale mixture and gravy; season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

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Dark Chocolate and Red Velvet Make a Scrumptious Sandwich

YumSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:15:02 -0700

I celebrated the season premiere of True Blood this weekend with a southern classic: red velvet cake. Rather than make a layered cake, I opted to try a cookie variation. Traditionally the cake is iced with a vanilla cream cheese frosting; however, I was in the mood for something more decadent and concocted a dark chocolate cream cheese frosting. In addition to the sinful filling, to add a little crunch I sprinkled each cookie sandwich with roasted hazelnuts. The cookies are simple to make, but take into account that they spread, so avoid overcrowding the baking sheet. Don't feel limited to cream cheese frosting filling; a variety of ice creams would be a delectable Summer treat. I definitely want to make these again to celebrate the Fourth of July - the color is perfect! Whether you make them now or later, you'll need the recipe. Get it when you read more.

Red Velvet Cookies With Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and Roasted Hazelnuts
Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients

Cookies
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups roughly chopped dark chocolate (72% cocoa)
2 squares of baking chocolate
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time.
Then beat in the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food coloring.
Once combined, add the dry ingredients to wet. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Onto a parchment lined sheet tray, drop batter using an ice cream scoop, forming 2-inch round circles.
Bake for 10 minutes, until baked through. Cookies should be cake-like and light. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the dark chocolate cream cheese frosting: Melt all of the chocolate in the microwave roughly 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally.
Let chocolate cool. Add cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat on medium low until well combined.
Spread frosting evenly on a cookie. Top with hazelnuts and another cookie.

Makes 12-15 cookies.

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Go Bananas For Frozen Chocolate-Covered Banana Bites

YumSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:09:22 -0700

Every so often I come across a simple recipe and wonder - why on earth didn't I think of that?! While browsing a recent issue of Bon Appétit, this was the case with frozen chocolate-dipped bananas. Frozen chocolate banana Popsicle are a fave, but, with their variety of toppings, these bites are even better!

The banana bites are quick to make and once the dipping and coating starts, things get messy. Kids would have a great time preparing them.

Toasted hazelnuts, shredded coconut, crushed creme-filled cookies. and chocolate covered pretzels were my toppings of choice. Be sure to remove the bites from the freezer at least 10 minutes before serving, so the frozen banana can slightly soften. If you have extra candy from Easter lying around, melt it down or crush it up to get started on your own scrumptious banana bites! For the recipe, read more.

Frozen Chocolate Dipped Banana Bites
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons canola oil
Assorted toppings (such as crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, toffee bits, Butterfinger candy bars, chopped salted peanuts toasted shredded coconut, crushed chocolate dipped pretzels, crushed pretzels, chopped hazelnuts)
3 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Directions

Stir chocolate and oil in heavy small saucepan over low heat just until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes to cool.
Place each topping in separate shallow dish. Line baking sheet with foil. Arrange banana slices on foil. Using fingers or utensil, dip 1 banana slice in chocolate, coating completely. Shake off excess chocolate.
Drop dipped banana in 1 topping. Using clean hand or utensil, sprinkle more topping over banana to coat; transfer to foil-lined sheet.
Repeat with remaining bananas, chocolate, and toppings. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours, then serve.

Makes 36 banana bites.

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12 Days of Edible Gifts: Hazelnut Kiss Cookies

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:00:12 -0800

Every holiday season, I love indulging in those classic peanut butter cookies dimpled with a Hershey Kiss center. For our 12 Days of Edible Gifts, I experimented with this same concept to create a Ferrero Rocher-inspired treat. The combination of hazelnuts and chocolate is always divinely delicious and these crumbly hazelnut cookies with chocolate middles are no exception. They're simple to make and easily gifted in a festive basket or decorative to-go container. To make these delectable cookies for your friends and family, read more.

Hazelnut Kiss Cookies
Adapted from The Taste of Home Cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup ground roasted hazelnuts
48 unwrapped Hershey Kisses

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Place whole hazelnuts on a large cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes until fragrant. Be careful to not burn the nuts. Fresh from the oven place hazelnuts in a clean dish towel, rub against the towel to remove the skin. Grind or finely chop hazelnuts.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix eggs, yolks and vanilla well. Combine flour and salt and add a third at a time to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in nuts.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie baking sheets. Flatten each ball and place a Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes until cookies have set. Only the bottom of cookie will turn golden brown. Watch the cookies closely as the tip of the chocolate can burn. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

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The Amazing Rice: Chicken Rice Salad

partysugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:15:54 -0700

Rice isn't just for dinner; the staple grain also makes a delicious lunch salad. In this healthy recipe the rice is mixed with roasted chicken and nuts. A fresh cranberry vinaigrette brightens up the flavor of the dish. Although this salad takes time, it makes a huge batch. Put it together while you cook Sunday dinner and the entire family can eat it for lunch during the week. It's a versatile recipe that's easily adaptable to your needs. Don't like hazelnuts? Stir in almonds. The day after Thanksgiving it would be an excellent way to use leftover turkey and cranberry sauce. To look at the recipe, read more.

Chicken and Rice Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Four 4-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 medium oranges
2 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.
In a pie plate, toast the hazelnuts for 12 minutes, or until fragrant and browned. Transfer the nuts to a kitchen towel and let cool completely, then rub the nuts together in the towel to remove the skins. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts.

Increase the oven temperature to 425°.
In a small saucepan, simmer the fresh cranberries in the cranberry juice until the juice reduces by half, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a blender and let cool. Add the honey and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and puree. With the machine on, blend in the olive oil.
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and roast on a baking sheet for 10 minutes. Turn and roast for 10 minutes longer, or until just cooked through.

Let cool, then pull the meat into shreds and transfer to a large bowl.
Peel the oranges with a sharp knife; be sure to remove all the white pith. Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections. Dice the sections and add to the chicken. Reserve the juice for another use.
Add the rice, scallions, parsley, dried cranberries and vinaigrette to the chicken and toss.

Mound the salad on plates, sprinkle with the hazelnuts and serve.

Serves 4.

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Have Your Cake and Beet It Too

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:00:06 -0700

While looking through Gorgeous Cakes over the weekend, I found the perfect Fall cake recipe that included one of my favorite root vegetables, beets. I love roasted beets in a salads, so why not experiment with them in baking?The uncooked batter has a stunning magenta color that's unfortunately lost once baked. However, it turns to a lovely, golden-colored cake with delicious red speckles throughout.

The combination of beets and roasted hazelnuts results in a hearty cake with a delightfully light and airy texture. For extra zip, I added ruby red grapefruit zest to the luscious cream cheese frosting. To see the spectacular color of the batter and start baking your own cupcakes with this vegetable, read more.

Beet Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell

Ingredients

For the Cake
5 ounces raw beet, peeled and shredded (wear gloves and apron while shredding)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 medium eggs, separated
3 tablespoons 1 percent milk
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Frosting
2 teaspoon beets, shredded
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 cups lowfat cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ruby red grapefruit zest

Directions

Preheat the oven 350°F. Place the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Be sure to check the hazelnuts frequently to ensure they do not burn. Once roasted place nuts on a kitchen towel. Cover the nuts with half of the kitchen towel and gently roll back and forth to remove the skins. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Beat oil and sugar in large bowl, then beat in egg yolks and milk.
Fold in beets and hazelnuts. Sift flour and baking powder together and stir into the batter. Add spices.
Using a clean bowl and beater beat the egg whites until they are stiff and fold them into the batter in three stages.
Fill cupcake liners and bake for 18-22 minutes or until an inserted knife or skewer comes out clean.
For the frosting, cream butter, and powdered sugar using a hand mixer. Blend in the cream cheese, vanilla, and grapefruit zest until smooth.
Place the 2 teaspoons of shredded beets in a cup with 2 teaspoons of boiling water. Let sit for a couple of minutes. The red liquid can be added to the frosting to make pink frosting without the aid of food coloring.
Frost the cupcakes once cooled completely and enjoy.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

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Outdoor Salad Side: Summer Greens and Herbs with Roasted Beets and Hazelnuts

YumSugar — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:28:33 -0700

This week, I picked up some amazing looking beets at the farmers market. I've been saving them to make this weekend, as the weather is supposed to be great, and I want to invite folks over for a little gathering in my backyard. We'll have cool drinks and barbeque, but to start things off, I'm going to serve them a salad of summer greens, herbs, roasted beets and hazelnuts. To get the recipe, read more.

Note: You can roast the beets earlier, I plan on doing them the day before, so that the oven is not on during the warm day. Or alternatively, I could have cooked them on the grill.

Also, consider saving time by using pre-seasoned nuts.

Summer Greens and Herbs with Roasted Beets and Hazelnuts
From Food and Wine Magazine, July 2002

Ingredients

3/4 pound medium red or golden beets (about 3), scrubbed
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 cup hazelnuts (about 4 ounces), lightly toasted
1 tablespoon simple syrup (see Note)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Twelve 1/4-inch-thick baguette slices
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound blue cheese, such as Roquefort, at room temperature
8 loosely packed cups mesclun (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons tarragon leaves
3 tablespoons chervil leaves
3 tablespoons snipped chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500°. In a small baking dish, toss the beets with 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and the water. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour, or until tender. Let cool, then peel the beets and cut them into 1/4-inch wedges. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°.
In a small bowl, toss the hazelnuts with the simple syrup and 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until the syrup-covered nuts are shiny and dry. Let cool. Leave the oven on.
Brush both sides of the baguette slices with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Let cool, then spread with the blue cheese.
In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 6 tablespoons of olive oil until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Add the mesclun, herbs, beets and hazelnuts; toss to coat. Transfer the salad to plates and serve with the Roquefort toasts.

Note: To make simple syrup, combine equal parts of sugar and water and simmer over moderate heat to dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate any leftover syrup.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Pesto Portobellos

partysugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:01:31 -0800

Portabello mushrooms make a wonderful meaty, yet meatless meal. They can be stuffed with just about anything, but a pesto-hazelnut filling is a fresh and delicious winter pick me up. Lemon zest and chopped parsley add layers of flavor. Shaved Parmesan cheese is the salty finish to this scrumptious baked entree. To see the recipe all you have to do is, read more.

Pesto Portobellos
From Vegetarian Times magazine

8 large portobello caps, about 6 inches round
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt to taste
2/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2/3 cup prepared basil pesto
1 Tbs. grated lemon zest from 2 large lemons
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, optional
1/3 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley or mint for garnish

Preheat oven to 450F. Line two shallow roasting pans or baking sheets with aluminum foil.
Gently wipe mushroom caps with damp towel. Use paring knife to pry out any bits of stems; chop stems finely.
Lightly brush tops of caps with oil. Set caps, gill sides up, in prepared pans. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
Combine chopped stems, breadcrumbs, pesto, lemon zest, vinegar and hazelnuts, if using. Spoon about 2 rounded tablespoons of topping into each mushroom.
Roast mushrooms on top rack 5 minutes. Switch to bottom rack. Continue roasting until tender, 10 to 15 minutes total.
Sprinkle grated cheese liberally on each mushroom, and garnish with parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8.

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Reader Recipe: Hazelnut Blondies

YumSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:31:31 -0800

Yesterday, I posted a link for hazelnut blondies, they looked great and were especially timely because today is World Nutella Day. It seems that I was not the only one who thought they looked good. Less than 24 hours later, TeamSugar member Twinkle, took the recipe and made it her own. If you like what you see then hurry up and act now! There's still a few hours left in World Nutella Day!

To see the recipe, read more.

Hazelnut Blondies
From TeamSugar member Twinkle

Yum posted a link to this fabulous recipe for Hazelnut Blondies yesterday and I jumped at the opportunity to bake something using my beloved Nutella and my Homemade Vanilla Extract :shamelesspimping:

The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart Living and goes a little something like this . . .

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen

* 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tsp. baking powder
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 3/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
* 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and chopped
* 1 heaping tbsp. chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella, plus more for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 8-by-11-inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper. Butter parchment.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Melt butter. Beat butter and sugar until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and stir until combined. Stir in hazelnuts and Nutella.
4. Press dough into pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 25 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve with additional Nutella. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.

The hardest thing about this amazingly simple recipe was not setting off the smoke detector whilst toasting the hazelnuts.

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Yummy Link: Hazelnut Blondies

YumSugar — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:15:31 -0800

World Nutella Day is right around the corner, so start celebrating now by baking up a batch of these simple hazelnut blondies. - Bake or Break