- Fresh Tomato and Brie Pasta

FRESH TOMATO AND BRIE PASTA


Bow tie pasta for 4
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 c quartered, fresh roma tomatoes
2 T olive oil
½ c fresh basil, chopped
½ lb Brie cheese, (remove rind)
½ c pine nuts, toasted
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Sauté garlic and tomatoes in oil. Add basil and pinched-off pieces of Brie. Stir until Brie is partially melted. Add pine nuts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta to pan and mix gently. Place in a pasta bowl and sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan.

Notes:

(i) This is quick, easy and yummy.

Thanks Carla!

- Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

CHICKEN SATAY WITH SPICY PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
12 small wooden skewers, (soaked in water for at least 1 hour)

Garlic Soy Marinade:
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ c soy sauce
¼ c lemon juice
2 T oil

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:
½ c chunky peanut butter
½ c coconut milk
2 T sweet hot chile sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp cumin

Skewers:
Cut chicken in ½ inch cubes and thread 4-5 pieces onto each skewer. Combine marinade ingredients; pour over skewered chicken and marinate for 1 hour. To serve, grill or broil until brown, turn as needed.

To prepare sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If sauce becomes too thick, add more coconut milk.

To serve:
Arrange skewered chicken on a platter around a bowl of peanut sauce for dipping.

Serves 4 – 6.

- Chicken Pot Pie

CHICKEN POT PIE



¼ c butter
¼ c flour
Salt & pepper to taste
2 T finely chopped onion
3 c chicken broth
2 carrots, chopped in small pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped in small pieces
2 potatoes, cubed in small pieces
½ c frozen peas
3 c cooked and diced chicken
Frozen puff pastry dough (1 square only)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and onion. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Add carrots, celery and potatoes. Cook until fork tender. Add peas and chicken to vegetable mixture. Mix well and pour into large casserole. Cover with rolled pastry and slash to allow steam to escape. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden. If pastry becomes too brown, cover loosely with foil.

Notes:

(i) I sometimes make individual pies and this works really well also.

- Blueberry Bonanza

BLUEBERRY BONANZA



Crust
1 sleeve (about 27) of Digestive biscuits, finely crushed
1 tsp white sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ c butter, melted

Cheese Layer
8 oz. pkg cream cheese
½ c white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Blueberry Layer
3 c frozen blueberries
½ c white sugar
½ c water
1 T lemon juice
4 tsp cornstarch
½ c cold water

Topping
2 c whipping cream
2 T white sugar
3 Digestive biscuits, crushed

Preheat oven to 325º.

Crust:
Mix ingredients together and pat lightly into a 9 x 13 pan (I use a Pyrex baking dish) and bake at 325º for 10 minutes.

Cheese Layer:
Mix ingredients together and spread over crust. Bake at 325º for 20 minutes.

Blueberry Layer:
Combine blueberries, sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in the cold water and add to the blueberry mixture. Stir until thickened and pour over baked cheese layer. Cool completely.

Topping:
Whip cream with sugar and spread on top of blueberry layer. Sprinkle with Digestive biscuit crumbs and refrigerate until serving time.

Notes:

(i) You can easily make this the day before – it lasts for a couple of days at the very least.

- Borscht

BORSCHT


1 medium onion
2 quarts canned tomatoes
1 medium carrot, grated
2 small beets grated
6 medium potatoes
1 carrot, diced
1 c. (250 mL) diced celery
1 potato, diced
½ lb. (250 g) or more butter
2 c. (500 mL) whipping cream
1 green pepper, diced
1 small head cabbage
salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp. (10 mL) dill (or more to taste)

In stock pot, melt half of the butter, add onion and fry until shiny. Add cabbage and fry until limp. Add tomatoes, grated carrots, beets and ½ green pepper - boil for 2 minutes. Add diced potatoes, carrot and celery and boil until diced veg­etables are tender.

In separate pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add 6 potatoes and boil until done. Drain off water into large pot with vegetable mixture.

Mash boiled potatoes adding salt & pepper, ½ green pepper, dill, whipping cream and half of the butter. Add to pot with vegetable mixture.

Add dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill when serving.

- Oriental Cabbage Noodle Salad

ORIENTAL CABBAGE NOODLE SALAD


2 T. soya sauce
½ c white sugar
¾ c peanut oil
¼ cup rice vinegar

Mix all in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute then remove from stove and allow to cool.


1 cup sliced almonds
2 T. sesame seeds
2 pkgs chicken flavoured Ramon noodles (break up before opening packages)
½ c. butter or margarine

Sauté all of the above (excluding flavour packets) in a frying pan for 5 minutes, add the flavour packets and then sauté for a further 5 minutes, remove from stove and allow to cool.


1 large Nappa (use Savoy if Nappa not available) cabbage - sliced thinly
3 green onions - (chopped)

Mix together



Mix all ingredients together just before serving.

- Easy Sole Meunière

EASY SOLE MEUNIÈRE


½ c all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 fresh sole fillets, 3 to 4 oz each
6 T unsalted butter
1 tsp grated lemon zest
6 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
1 T minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200º. Have 2 heat-proof dinner plates ready.

Combine the flour, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with salt.

Heat 3 T of the butter in a large (12 inch) sauté pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add ½ tsp of the lemon zest and 3 T of the lemon juice to the pan. Carefully put the fish fillets on the ovenproof plates and pour the sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining 2 fillets. When they’re done, add the cooked fillets to the plates in the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley, salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 2

- Bruschetta

BRUSCHETTA

2 large garlic cloves, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 c olive oil
6-8 firm, ripe red Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
handful of chopped fresh basil
24” baguette
Grated cheese (provolone, fontina or mozzarella)

In a shallow bowl, combine garlic, salt, pepper and a few drops of oil. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon to make a paste. Stir in olive oil. Add tomatoes and basil. Toss gently and set aside. Cut bread into ¼ inch slices and lay them on a sheet pan. Brush each with additional oil and place under a preheated broiler until golden brown. Remove from oven and spoon tomato mixture onto each piece of bread and drizzle with remaining oil and grated cheese. Broil and serve.


Notes:

1) I use parchment paper on the sheet pan because the cheese can make a mess.