Caramelized Onion Goat Cheese Crostini with Garlic Roasted Green Beans

I bought some goat cheese recently and wanted to make something with it, so this is a relatively quick and definitely easy recipe to make.  A chicken cutlet would really go well with this meal, too.

You will need…

◦               A little less than half a yellow onion

◦               ½ tbs butter

◦               1 tbs brown sugar

◦               1tbs honey goat cheese

◦               1C green beans

◦               2 cloves garlic, pressed

◦               2 slices thinly slices bread

◦               Olive oil

◦               Salt and pepper to taste

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- Preheat the oven to about 415F

- On a baking pan, evenly spread out green beans.  Drizzle with olive oil, pressed garlic, salt and pepper

- Bake for 10-12 minutes, occasionally turning the green beans

- Thinly slice onion

- In a small frying pan, melt butter.

- Once butter is melted, add onion and brown sugar.  Cook until golden.

- Toast bread

- Serve caramelized onion on toasted bread and crumble goat cheese over it.

- Enjoy!

Sean's Pancakes

I normally don’t like pancakes, but these are really great.  My brother, Sean, improved on an old recipe we had by adding honey and yogurt.  This adds the right amount of moistness to the pancake and a great flavor.

You will need…

◦               2C flour, sifted

◦               ½ tsp baking soda

◦               ½ tsp salt

◦               ¼ tsp cinnamon

◦                1C milk

◦                1C vanilla yogurt

◦                2 eggs

◦                1tbs honey

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- Sift flour into bowl and then add all dry ingredients (baking soda, salt,     cinnamon)

- In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients (milk, yogurt, eggs, and honey)

- Mix well, and then combine wet and dry

- Pour about a ladle-full of mix onto a hot, well-greased griddle or pan

- Cook until golden

- Enjoy!

Balsamic Vinaigrette with Mixed Greens Salad

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is a really easy recipe to make.  It tastes great on salads, but you can also put it on a mozzarella and tomato sandwich.

You will need…

◦               A little less than ¼ C olive oil

◦               ½ C balsamic vinegar

◦               2 cloves garlic

◦               1tbs honey

◦                salt and pepper to taste

◦                Mixed greens

◦                Walnuts

◦                Goat cheese

◦                Craisins

◦                Tomato

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-Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic in a bowl.  
Crush garlic using a garlic press.

-Add about a tablespoon of honey

-Add salt and pepper to taste; mix

-Add mixed greens, craisins, walnuts, goat cheese, and diced tomato

-Enjoy!

Penne Alla Vodka

Penne alla vodka is a delicious and easy to prepare sauce.  I had a little bit of left over sauce from the other night and used it to start my new one.  You will need to start the recipe with tomato sauce that is already made.  See the “San Marzano Gravy” recipe a few posts down. Though this recipe uses vodka, you can easily make it without. 

Vodka Sauce

You will need…

◦               About 16oz prepared tomato sauce

◦               ½C vodka

◦               1C heavy cream

◦               ½ - ¾ C fresh shredded Parmesan cheese 

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-On a medium-low flame, pour enough tomato sauce to cover the

 bottom of a large pot.

-Add the vodka and stir

-Cover the pot and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes

-Add the remaining tomato sauce and heavy cream; stir

-Let simmer for another 5 minutes to heat all the way through

-Before serving, add Parmesan cheese.  Stir so the cheese is melted throughout.

-Enjoy!

Meemaw's Kitchen Sink Cookies (Paula Deen Recipe)

These cookies are from Paula Deen's Deen Family Cookbook.  My brother has an autographed copy.  


We made a batch of these last year, and they came out delicious. They are only made once a year everybody, merry Christmas, everybody. The cookies themselves feel pretty light, but don't be fooled- the recipe (in typical Deen tradition) calls for two sticks of butter! Regardless, they are a favorite. 

You will need…

◦              3 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

◦              1 teaspoon baking soda

◦              1 teaspoon cream of tartar

◦              3/4 teaspoon salt

◦              1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened

◦              1 cup sugar

◦              1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

◦              1 cup vegetable oil

◦              1 egg

◦              1 teaspoon vanilla extract

◦              1 cup puffed rice cereal

◦              1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

◦              1 cup rolled old-fashioned oats

◦              1 (8-ounce) package toffee bits

◦              White chocolate, for dipping

15 peppermint hard candies, crushed, for garnish

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- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar,          

and salt.

- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars. 

-Scrape the sides of the mixer bowl and beat in the oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth. 

-Beat in the flour mixture in 3 small additions, scraping the sides of the bowl after each one. 

-Slowly beat in the rice cereal, coconut, and oats. Fold in the toffee bits and refrigerate the dough, covered, for 1 hour.

   

    

- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough on 2 cookie sheets, leaving at least 1-inch of space around each drop. 

 

- Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

- Using a double boiler, melt the white chocolate. 

 

-Dip the cookies into the white chocolate and sprinkle crushed peppermint to decorate. Allow to cool or serve warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Dave's San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Dave prepared a delicious gravy. Otherwise known as sauce.  Italian sauce.  It goes on your noodles and macaronis. Dave is currently studying at Duke Law, and is living a real deal 'fish out of water' style family comedy being an I-talian down south. 

San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Here in North Carolina, they don't sell Pastene brand tomatoes, which are always my go-to for a nice homemade gravy. However, I found canned San Marzano tomatoes, and the recipe came out delicious and very similar to my normal gravy. San Marzano tomatoes are grown in the ash of Mt. Vesuvius in Pompeii, so they have an especially rich flavor.  As you can see, this gravy is very simple and contains very little seasoning.  The purpose is so you can really savor the fresh, rich flavor of the tomato.

You will need…

• 1/2 Yellow Onion
• 1 good-size clove of garlic (fresh is important)
• Olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of your pot)
• 1 Can San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes
• 1 Can tomato puree
• Salt and Pepper to taste

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-Cover the bottom of a good-sized pot with olive oil. Don't be shy, it makes 

 a difference when you are cooking the onions- if you dont use enough oil, 

 the onions burn (and even if they don't, it doesnt taste right, trust me).

-Chop a half a yellow onion into tiny pieces (preferably, use a chopper to 

 turn the onion into mush so it will dissolve into the gravy)

-Once the olive oil is properly heated and shimmering, add the onions. It 

 should sizzle.

-Keep stirring the onions and make sure they don't burn. They should 

 caramelize to a nice golden brown (see picture)

-Take clove of garlic and put it through a garlic press to mash it into 

 dissolvable bits. (If you don't have a garlic press, mash and chop the garlic 

 into a mush, or cut the garlic into thin strips so it dissolves in the oil).

-Cook the garlic quickly until it turns slightly golden. Add a little bit of olive 

 oil if you have to. Make sure it doesn't burn, because then it will be bitter. 

 If you burn it, throw out what you have and start again. Good garlic is 

 THAT important.

-Open cans of tomatoes, and put them through a food mill above the pot of 

 sauteed onions and garlic as pictured. If you don't have a food mill, I'm 

 sorry, you really should. Your meal will be edible without one, but with the 

 food mill, you remove the seeds which can be very bitter and make the 

 gravy have a nice smooth consistency.  Or, you could just buy seeded 

 tomatoes.

-Take one can and fill it with water; add to pot

-Add a good amount of salt to taste

-Add pepper to taste.

-Get to a simmer, then turn off. If you overcook it, it kills the flavor.

-Meanwhile start cooking your pasta. Once cooked al dente, drain the pasta 

 and mix with the gravy and serve.

-You can also make some garlic bread. I took a french baguette, sliced it in 

 half, drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled on some garlic powder. I stuck it 

 in the toaster oven and it was delicious.

-Enjoy