Entries Tagged as 'martha stewart'

Martha Stewart’s Linguine With Ham and Broccoli

April 27th, 2011 · No Comments

This recipe for linguine with ham and broccoli was a quick and easy weeknight dinner. This photo is kind of odd, but the pasta turned out pretty tasty.

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Spinach Linguine with Ham and Broccoli
From: Martha Stewart

Choose a good, strongly flavored Parmesan cheese for this recipe, and grate it yourself. Also, save time by cooking the broccoli in the same pot with the pasta. And you’ll have one less pot to clean. Serves 4.

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 ounces cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups low-fat (1 percent) milk
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 ounces reduced-fat bar cream cheese
10 ounces spinach linguine
1 head broccoli, stems peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick, florets cut into bite-size pieces
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

In a 3-quart heavy-bottom saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add ham, and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute.

Stir in milk, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until mixture is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese; cook until melted, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions, adding broccoli during final 3 minutes. Drain; transfer pasta and broccoli to a large bowl. Add cream-cheese sauce and Parmesan, and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

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Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

April 19th, 2011 · 3 Comments

I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart (dot com) and it stuck with me. I couldn’t shake it til I made it. Dallas helped me and we used a springform pan we got for a wedding gift. I thought it was fun to make and something unique. We added some chicken breast to the mix and we did not use as much cheese as was recommended. Yumyum!

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Tortilla and Black Bean Pie
From: Martha Stewart

Serve this brightly colored, layered tortilla pie with salsa and sour cream on the side. You can assemble the pie ahead of time, then bake it just before serving. Note: To trim tortillas, center the bottom of a springform pan on top of a tortilla. Trace around it with a paring knife. Remove excess. Serves 6.

4 flour tortillas (10 inches)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans drained and rinsed
12 ounces beer or 1 1/2 cups water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (2 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add beans and beer, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove side of pan; sprinkle pie with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

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Superbowl XLV – We Are The Champions!

February 7th, 2011 · No Comments

This year for the Superbowl my brother came down to visit and to go to Trent and Loden’s house for their party. For a half a second after we beat the Bears in the last game, I thought maybe Dallas and I should host a Superbowl party, but we’re leaving for Hawaii next week (!!!!) and we quickly came to our senses about the timing of that. We have enough plans and money and everything to worry about, no need to pile on a Superbowl party! We’d gone to Trent and Loden’s Superbowl party last year, though, and it was a lot of fun, so no need to worry. I knew they’d do it right. Actually, Dallas wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed home. Danny and Caroline came and picked my brother and I up and we were off.

I was surprised when we arrived because I didn’t know that Trent’s friend Andy was a Packers fan from Wisconsin! Limey was nice enough to take a photo of all the Packers fans together.


Caroline, Andy, Richard, Rachelle

Not a bad showing for a Superbowl party in Chicago!

Another great part of having parties at Trent and Loden’s house: They have a kegerator in their dining room! Yesterday Trent had Brooklyn Lager and Founders IPA on tap and it was awesome. I didn’t think I was going to drink on Sunday because of the weekend I had (more on that later), but the Brooklyn Lager was delicious.

Loden always makes such delicious food! This photo is of one of her specialties: Chocolate covered bacon! We also had pulled pork, mac & cheese, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, and taco dip that had crack in it. It had to be crack. So addictive. Ed also brought his famous S’Mores dessert. Loden’s friend Mike made this appetizer dip that was basically a vat of bubbling hot cheese. Of course, this made it onto the coffee table that the Packers fans were sitting around… along with a big bowl of cheese curds that my brother brought from Wisconsin. If that’s not enough, someone may have pushed off the tortilla chips and used cheese curds to dip into the hot cheese dip! Hey, we’re from Wisconsin. What can we say? We like cheese and cheese on cheese! (I have a photo of this somewhere, but I forgot to upload it.)

Loden asked me to bring dessert and I thought a long time about what kind of green and gold dessert or football-themed dessert to bring. I originally wanted to make football-shaped brownies, but couldn’t find a football cookie cutter without running around all over town. I ended up with these:

The colors are not quite right, but close enough. These were Zesty Lemon Bars and Lime Squares. I actually had to make the lemon bars twice because the first batch did not turn out. I used this recipe first. I should have known to never stray from Martha!

Charlie is Trent and Loden’s dog. He’s so nice and lovable. He is a Cockapoo. So soft and snuggly, he’s a huge baby. But so chill. Nothing phases him. Not even when his “sister,” Sugar Bear, gets out and wanders around the house:

Anyway, the game! OMG what a great game! This is the first Superbowl in a long time that I actually cared who won! Everyone was nice enough to let the Packers fans sit on the couch at the TV and watch the game. Other were mingling and eating snacks. A bunch of my friends were at first cheering so hard against the Packers, but eventually they just started cheering for their numbers. Dallas wasn’t even there and he won $200 in a Guthrie’s pool! Trent and Limey were also betting on everything. Who will score next, the next play will be a pass or not, who will fumble next, etc. I guess that’s what you have to do when you don’t care about the game. Limey did not come out ahead on all those bets!

I’m so happy the Packers won, I think it’s still sinking in! Packers are the Superbowl champions!

One more thing. I made a bet with Sean, an old NY blogging friend who is a huge Steelers fan. When I emailled him to “pay up,” he told me his wife gave birth to their baby boy yesterday! Their first born. What a gracious loser. He’s already posted to his blog!

I bet this is the last time he makes this sort of bet with someone who can do a bit of Photoshopping! hahahha

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Two Spreads and a Dip

January 29th, 2011 · No Comments

For my annual December cookie party I always make sure to have some savory snacks to offset all the sweetness. For my last party I made two spreads – Pimento Cheese and Blue Cheese and Walnut Spread – and a dip – Dill Dip.

I liked all three of them, but I must say, the dill dip is very nostalgic for me, this was my mom’s go-to dip for every party we had, and I ended up making another whole batch of it as soon as the leftovers from the first batch were eaten up. So good.. on everything.. vegetables, crackers, even spread onto sandwiches. Actually, I remember spreading the leftover pimento cheese on sandwiches too! And Dallas, of course, loved the blue cheese spread. Blue cheese is his favorite! So, take your pick with these, they’re all great.

Pimento Cheese
From: All Recipes

1 1/2 cups shredded processed American cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 (2 ounce) jar chopped pimento peppers
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 dash garlic powder

In a bowl, mix the processed American cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and pimentos. Season with onion powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Cover, and chill until ready to serve.

Note: I used shredded cheddar and reduced fat cream cheese and mayo and it was great.

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Blue Cheese and Walnut Spread
From: Martha Stewart

4-ounce bar of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 ounces (1 cup) cold crumbled blue cheese, such as Stilton

In a medium bowl, stir cream cheese with a wooden spoon until softened. Mix in walnuts; season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in blue cheese, breaking up as little as possible. Transfer mixture to a small bowl; smooth top. Serve with crackers or crostini. To store: Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, up to 1 week.

Note: This was sooooo thick, you couldn’t spread it at all, so I thinned it out to a good consistency by mixing in sour cream, just a little at a time. Worked great!

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Dill Dip
From: Memory (with the aide of recipes from Yummily and All Recipes)

1 c mayonnaise
1 c sour cream
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp grated onion
1 Tbsp dried dill weed
2 tsp bon appetit seasoning

In a medium bowl mix all together, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

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Martha Stewart’s White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies

January 28th, 2011 · 1 Comment

I made these on Christmas day. Since it makes a big sheet, when I cut them up I put them on two trays. One tray was for my family who were visiting us in Chicago and one tray was to bring to Aunty Gail’s Christmas dinner. I wasn’t sure they turned out right, but people at both places said they loved the bars.

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies
From: Martha Stewart
Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch squares

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
10 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 17-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment cut to fit, and coat parchment. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Beat butter and brown and granulated sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares or desired shape. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

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