I wanted to give port another try after the delicious Pan-Seared Wild Duck Breast with Port Wine Reduction I just made, so I picked up a second bottle to make this Affogato recipe. What is Affogato? I’m glad you asked! It’s espresso poured over gelato, and many versions add a bit of liquor to the mix. Affogato translates to “drowned” as in the gelato is drowned in coffee. I like the sound of that, so let’s give it a try!
A great combo of espresso and gelato. You can also add in a little adult beverage touch. Dessert and cocktail all in one!
Recipe Author: Jay and Leah at Gastronom Blog Get the recipe
The Ingredients
I love recipes with options, and this recipe has a lot of them. It lists dark rum, port wine, amaretto, and whiskey as options for the liquor component. I like them all, but I wanted to stick with port as this week’s theme.
The flavor of gelato is also flexible, but I stuck with vanilla. You just can’t go wrong with vanilla!
Lastly, you need freshly brewed espresso. I don’t have an espresso maker, so I reached for the I have in my pantry. It makes a decent cup, and it’s quick. I could have dragged out my French press, but I admit that I got lazy.
Port wine, espresso, and vanilla gelato
The Process
I started off by making the espresso. That took about a minute and a half thanks to my microwave.
With the espresso brewed, I measured out 3 ounces and added an ounce of port to that. then I scooped the gelato into the glass and poured the coffee-port mixture over it. Done! With brewing the coffee the whole thing took 3 minutes as listed.
If you opt for brewing the coffee in a French press, I’d say you’re looking at a total of 5-6 minutes for the coffee and Affogato. That’s still pretty quick and just slightly more complicated.
I’m always on the lookout for new things to try. Familiar things are always comforting, but new things are exciting. And let’s face it, life is full of the familiar. I need a little excitement now and then. That’s why today’s recipe sounded so appealing to me. I’ve never tried duck, but I’ve always wanted to. It looks so different from the chicken breasts I’m used to! Shoot, it looks different than any poultry I have ever had. It’s red breast meat. What could it possibly taste like? Well, I’m about to find out with this Pan-Seared Wild Duck Breast with Port Wine Reduction recipe. Join me!
Seared Duck Breast with Port Wine Reduction — it’s a dish fit for a bistro menu. Truly, the sauce tastes as if it took hours to prepare, as if pans loaded with veal bones had to be roasted, as if those bones then had to simmer into a rich stock, and as if that stock had to reduce to a syrup. It’s the sort of sauce that elicits comments such as, “I could bathe in this.” I promise you, anyone could make this sauce. It’s foolproof.
Recipe Author: Alexandra Stafford at Alexandra’s Kitchen Get the recipe
The Ingredients
This recipe is actually two separate recipes: one for the duck breasts and one for a port wine sauce. I made sure I had both saved and started making my grocery list.
The most important part was the duck breasts, and I was able to find them at Wild Fork. They had individually packaged 7-ounce Pekin duck breasts for $7.28 each. A little pricey, but not too bad for a special dinner.
I had kosher salt, black pepper, and sugar in my pantry. And I had some homemade chicken stock in my freezer. I never thought I would be one of those people who makes their own stock, but I have gotten into the habit. It’s leaps and bounds better than the boxed stuff!
That left me to buy an orange, a couple of shallots, a package of fresh thyme, and a bottle of port. Like the author, I couldn’t find anything labeled “ruby port” so I just bought the cheapest bottle I could find. I believe it was around $8 for a 750ml bottle.
Muscovy duck breasts, thyme, pepper, kosher salt, sugar, port wine, chicken stock, orange zest, and shallots
The Process
I divided this recipe into three phases: marinating the duck breasts, making the port wine reduction, and cooking the duck breasts. I have to say that I had no idea what to expect, but it was really easy!
Day One
Things kicked off with seasoning and marinating the duck. The spice rub was so simple to make, and the whole process took me all of 3 minutes. The recipe gives the option of marinating for as little as 4 hours, but I allowed the duck to marinate overnight.
Duck breasts sprinkled with spices
The author also gives tips on making the port wine reduction ahead of time, so I decided to go that route. With only three ingredients, the sauce was even easier than the spice rub. Just slice the shallots, add them to a saucepan with the port, and wait.
Most of the “work” is simply waiting for it to reduce. You do have to keep an eye on it, though, to ensure it doesn’t reduce too much. Otherwise, you might end up with a burned syrup.
Day 2
The next day, I decided I would have duck breast for lunch. I just couldn’t wait until dinner! I took the seasoned duck breasts and sauce out of the refrigerator so they could warm up for 20 minutes. At the same time, I preheated the oven and a cast iron pan (my stove is electric, and I set it at 4).
This step is the only place I had a pause, but it was not the recipe’s fault. Step 2 says to use a paring knife to remove the tenderloin. I’m familiar with that cut on a chicken breast, but I didn’t see one on the duck breasts. I’m pretty sure the tenderloins were already trimmed, so I just skipped this step.
The instructions call for the duck to be briefly fried on the stove then moved into the oven, flipped (tongs are handy for flipping), and cooked a bit longer. Everything went according to the instructions, and I soon had two beautiful duck breasts prepared in no time.
I finished reducing the sauce while the duck sat for 5 minutes, then I sliced it and served. Here’s how my time was spent on everything:
3 minutes to prep the duck breasts
8 minutes to prep the port wine reduction
45 minutes to cook the reduction
8 minutes to cook the duck
5 minutes to stand
1 hour 9 minutes total (not including time to marinate)
The overall time was a little longer than what was listed on the recipes. However, the cooking times for the duck breast and sauce were perfect.
Both sides of the duck breasts fresh out of the oven
That Winter Detox Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup was ah-ma-zing, and I just have to keep with the Mediterranean theme. Well, Mediterranean-ish with these Zaatar Spring Rolls. Just like Korean Tacos, they’re a fusion cuisine that I was surprised and intrigued by. Eastern Asian meets Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine. I like (love!) all those things, but are they going to be a good combination? Well, as usual, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to hit the grocery store then get cooking. Please join me!
This za’atar spring rolls recipe is a Lebanese inspired oven-baked appetizer that’s savory, crunchy & incredibly easy to make with wonton/egg wrappers.
Recipe Author: Yumna Jawad at Feel Good Foodie Get the recipe
Update (April 24, 2024)
I was finally able to find eggroll wrappers so I could make this recipe with the proper ingredients! It was actually an accident, and I found them while I was picking up some guacamole in the refrigerated section of the produce department.
Positioning the halloumi and mint diagonally on the wrapper made it easier to wrap up
Egg roll wrappers reminded me of a piece of fresh pasta that’s been lightly dusted with flour. Unlike the rice paper wrappers I used the first time, egg roll wrappers were soft right out of the bag. There was no need to soak them in water before using them, so making them was much easier. Quicker too, I’m sure, but I forgot to set my timer while I did the prep work.
The technique was very similar otherwise. Simply lay the mint and halloumi on the wrapper, wrap, and dampen the edge with a little water to seal it closed. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle on some of that delicious za’atar, then bake for 15 minutes.
All the closed rolls topped with olive oil and za’atar
The texture of this batch of Za’atar Spring Rolls was much crisper, and I liked it a lot. More than the original method? They were both so good, but I’m leaning toward yes. I liked the chewiness of the rice paper wrappers, but the crisp egg roll wrapper was a little better.
My original review is below, so you can have a look at the first time I made this recipe and get more details on making it with the rice paper wrapper. the main photo at the top of this post shows the results of using eggroll wrappers, and the original photo has been moved to the bottom of the post.
The Ingredients
So, this recipe had a lot going on because I had to make a couple of the ingredients. I found the halloumi cheese in the deli/gourmet cheese section of my usual grocery store. The mint was also no problem. However, I couldn’t find a few important items.
Rice paper wrappers, labneh, halloumi, olive oil, mint leaves, and za’atar spice mix
Eggroll Wrappers
The first was the eggroll wrappers. The only store locally that had them was Fresh Market. They’re usually my savior when it comes to hard-to-find gourmet ingredients. Unfortunately, they were out of the square Nasoya wrappers that the author recommends.
They only had Dynasty brand 22cm circular rice paper wrappers. I assume that’s 22cm in circumference because the diameter was about 8.5 inches. The shelf label said “spring roll wrappers”, and the packaging did say they could be used for deep frying. I took a chance since that was all that was available, and they worked out pretty well.
Za’atar Spice Mix
The next item I couldn’t find was the za’atar spice mix. Again, I thought Fresh Market had it, but it was out of stock. All was not lost, however, because I had a recipe for Za'atar Substitute Spice Mix.
What was even better is I had all the spices needed in my pantry. My pantry is so overstuffed that I take every opportunity to use up what I have in it. Thankfully, I had just enough sumac left to make the za’atar.
The finished Substitute Za’atar Spice Blend
Labneh Yogurt Cheese
Finally, there was no labneh to be found anywhere near me, and I didn’t even try Amazon since it’s perishable. Pinterest to the rescue again! I found a ridiculously easy three-ingredient recipe and learned How to Make Labneh. I had to order some cheesecloth to do it, so I combined it with my anise seed order. A tub of Greek yogurt (full fat) and a lemon were easily found at my usual grocery store.
The labneh after the excess moisture has been squeezed out
The Process
When I went into this recipe, I imagined it would be a long and difficult process. I even bought two packages of rice paper wrappers in case I messed things up! It turned out to be pretty far from what I envisioned (in a good way). Here’s how my time was spent:
18 minutes to prep the spring rolls
23 minutes to cook the spring rolls
41 minutes total
That’s just a little longer than the 30 minutes listed, but I had some minor issues. I changed the type of spring roll wrapper, and that caused me to have to cook them longer than the recommended time.
I split this recipe into a two-day process since I had to make the za’atar spice mix and labneh too. They were both very simple to make, but I completely forgot to time them, so they are not included in the times above.
Prepping the Za’atar and Labneh
The za’atar spice blend was as simple as measuring out the ingredients and toasting the sesame seeds in a small skillet. Once they were fragrant and turned golden brown, I removed them from the heat to cool for a minute. Then I mixed them with the rest of the herbs and spices, and the za’atar was ready to go.
The labneh was just as simple. I mixed the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and salt, then I put it into a cheesecloth-lined strainer placed over a mixing bowl. I folded the corners over the yogurt mixture and placed a heavy ceramic bowl on top to lightly press out the moisture. This all went into the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, I removed the ceramic bowl and gently twisted the cheesecloth to press out any remaining liquid (there wasn’t much). The result was a mild-tasting soft cheese that reminded me of cream cheese.
Prepping the Za’atar Spring Rolls
Now it was time to get down to the real work of making the Za’atar Spring Rolls. I have never made eggrolls or spring rolls, so I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be pretty simple.
The rice paper wrappers I bought had to be moistened before they could be used, so I set my workspace up accordingly. I had a large cutting board for a work surface with a plate filled with water next to it. I sliced the halloumi into 16 pieces, chopped up a bunch of mint leaves, and I was ready to get rolling.
The wrappers had to be soaked in water for around a minute before they became pliable. I began by working with one at a time. Soak a wrapper, add the cheese and mint, roll, repeat. As I got the hang of it, I was able to soak the upcoming wrapper while I was assembling a spring roll. It was a lot like rolling a small burrito with a much more delicate wrapper.
Rolling a Za’atar Spring Roll using a moistened rice paper wrapper
Baking the Za’atar Spring Rolls
I added the Za’atar Spring Rolls to a sheet pan that had been sprayed with olive oil. I gave them a generous spray with more olive oil and sprinkled on the za’atar spice mix. Then it was into the oven to bake for 15 minutes.
The prepped Za’atar Spring Rolls on a sheet pan
The spring rolls weren’t golden brown on the outside, so I added another 5 minutes. That didn’t do much to brown them either. I’m guessing that was because the spring roll wrappers I used were wet.
My solution was to turn the broiler onto high, reposition a rack right under it, and allow the rolls to brown that way. The za’atar looked like it was at risk of burning after 3 minutes, so I called it. The spring rolls didn’t exactly get golden brown, but they were a little crispy on the outside.
The inside was just fine. Halloumi cheese has a high melting point, so it softened nicely without melting. It was nothing like the mozzarella stick stringiness I imagined it would become, and that was a good thing. These spring rolls were easy to eat as finger food dipped in the creamy labneh I made to go with them.
The first time I made this recipe using rice paper rolls
I’ve been eating some delicious but heavy foods lately, so I thought I would switch things up. I’m sure I packed on a few holiday and post-holiday pounds, but it was fun! Still, I’m kind of over it. My body is craving something with less fat, butter, and all that good stuff I treat it to at the end of the year. That’s why this Winter Detox Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup appealed to me. I think the author was on the same wavelength, and this vegan-friendly recipe sounds like exactly what I need. Let’s find out if it hits the spot!
A soul-warming Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup recipe. This soup is made in the slow cooker and requires hardly any work at all. Plus, it makes the whole house smell warm and cozy!
Recipe Author: Marzia at Little Spice Jar Get the recipe
The Ingredients
This recipe has a long-ish list of ingredients, but it’s really not that bad. A good amount of them are dried spices, and I had them all in my pantry. Even if I didn’t, none of them are specialty spices that you would need to search for or order. They’re all likely to be found at a well-stocked grocery store.
I had to shop for the rest of the ingredients, but they were also easy to find. We’re talking sweet potatoes, carrots, lentils, chicken broth, etc. Nothing exotic or unusually expensive. There’s even a note that you can add ground meat as a protein, but I skipped that this time.
While I’m on the subject of adding things, you can easily switch them too. Changing the chicken broth to vegetable is all you need to do to make this recipe vegan. Whether you do that or not, I still recommend serving with a loaf of crusty bread on the side. It’s the perfect accompaniment to this hearty soup!
Green lentils, baby spinach, garlic, chicken broth, sweet potato, curry powder, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and onion
The Process
Making this Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup was ridiculously easy, but there was some prep work to do before I got to that point. Tip: Make sure you have a sharp chef's knife, a big cutting board (or multiple small ones), and a good vegetable peeler and you’ll be ready to take on this recipe. Here’s how my time was spent:
18 minutes to prep
6 hours to cook
4 minutes to blend and season
30 minutes to stand
6 hours 52 minutes total
The recipe lists 6 hours 15 minutes, but I don’t think that includes the 30 minutes to stand at the end.
The prep work wasn’t difficult, but it needed my full attention. No starting this recipe and finishing the prep work as I went. This one is a prep almost everything before you begin kind of thing. Then you toss everything but the spinach and lemon juice into your slow cooker, set it, and forget it. For a few hours, anyway.
Chopped sweet potato, onion, celery, red bell pepper, and carrots
The spinach and lemon juice can wait until the soup is ready for them. That’s 4-8 hours, depending on how you set your slow cooker. I wandered into the kitchen a few minutes before the time was up and decided to take care of them.
Finishing Up
The soup was ready by the time I was done with the last bit of prep work, and it was time to blend it. I decided to use my immersion blender instead of ladling half the soup into a blender. It was so easy!
The soup was very thick, and I think that helped. I put the immersion blender in, briefly pulsed it, then moved it to another spot and repeated. The soup was so thick that I could clearly see what was blended and what wasn’t. That made it easy to make sure I only blended half and didn’t thin the soup too much.
After that, I added the spinach and lemon juice, adjusted the salt and pepper, added another cup of chicken broth, and let the soup sit for another 30 minutes. I left my slow cooker on warm for this part. I’m sure it would have been fine if I turned it completely off too since the crock holds heat very well.
Blending half the soup in the slow cooker using an immersion blender
Optional Garnishes
It’s not on the ingredient list, but several garnishes are suggested. Things like whipped Greek yogurt, fried pita bread, and fresh herbs. I had some cilantro and parsley in my crisper, so I used a combination of the two.
The Greek yogurt sounds wonderful, but I missed it when I did my grocery shopping. I’ll have to add it to the ingredients list in my recipe software so I don’t do that again. Yes, there will be an again.
It’s been a while since I blogged a pasta recipe, and I think it’s about time I added another. I don’t think I have ever met a pasta dish I didn’t like! Spaghetti, macaroni, rigatoni—it’s all good! Plus pasta is versatile enough to be made as a main or a side and can be eaten plain, with sauce or with other toppings, and in soup. Today I decided to try this Creamy Mustard Chicken recipe. It’s chicken cutlets in a Dijon mustard and cream sauce served over angel hair pasta. Yum! If that wasn’t enticing enough, it’s ready in about half an hour. I do love those quick and easy recipes, so let’s find out if this one is as good as it sounds.
In this healthy, creamy mustard chicken recipe, thin-sliced chicken breasts cook quickly and are delicious smothered in a velvety, light mustard sauce and garnished with fresh chopped sage.
Recipe Author: EatingWell Test Kitchen from EatingWell Magazine, September/October 2013 Get the recipe
The Ingredients
Shopping for this recipe was simple, and I didna have any trouble finding the ingredients I needed. As usual, I had a few things in my pantry like salt, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and olive oil.
I even had some Dijon mustard, mini bottles of white wine for cooking (sorry, I forgot to put it in the ingredients photo), and half a package of angel hair pasta leftover from the last time I made Lemon Garlic Pasta.
That left me to buy the fresh sage, shallot, light sour cream, and chicken. I found them all at my usual grocery store with no special trips or online orders needed.
Chicken cutlets, shallot, flour, extra virgin olive oil, flour, angel hair pasta, fresh sage, garlic powder, and Dijon mustard (not shown: dry white wine)
The Process
My Creamy Mustard Chicken started out smoothly, got a little confusing, then straightened out. I began by putting a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta and moved right into the chicken.
Things started out with seasoning the chicken and dusting it with flour. I did those steps and put it into a large saute pan to cook for 3 minutes per side. Since I used chicken cutlets, I chose the shortest time because I didn’t want to overcook them. It was perfect!
I finished the rest of the prep work while the chicken browned, but that took my attention away from the pasta. Nothing bad happened—I just had to turn the heat down to low so it didn’t boil over while I was busy.
The chicken and sauce had my full attention until it was finished, and this is where things got a little confusing. Step 4 is all about the sauce, and it’s a lot. I had to keep re-reading it to make sure I was at the right place in the process.
Once I was at the end of Step 4, things got back on track. I finished up the sauce, added the chicken to it, and finally got started on the pasta. Angel hair pasta cooks fast, thank goodness, so finishing up only took a couple more minutes. Here’s how my time was spent:
22 minutes to make the chicken and sauce
5 minutes to cook the pasta
27 minutes total
That’s just under the 35-minute total time listed so I was well pleased.
Chicken cutlets that have been seasoned, floured, and pan-fried
Well, another year has passed, and it sure seemed to go by fast! This time of year is full of mixed emotions for me, but I try to keep positive. I tend to look back and try to celebrate the good things that happened while looking forward to the coming year. With that in mind, I wanted my last post of 2021 to be something fun, healthy, and new. This Strawberry Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail sounds like it encompasses all those things. It’s colorful, filled with fruit and veg, and I have never made ceviche before. Plus I have to find out if strawberries and shrimp work—it’s so weird that the combo might work!
Strawberry Shrimp Ceviche Cocktails are fresh, healthy with the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and a little spice! Made with Fresh Florida Strawberries, this appetizer is sure to start the year and any party off with elegance and lots of flavor!
This Strawberry Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail recipe has a long-ish list of 15 ingredients, and most of them are fresh items from the produce section. There are a few pantry staples in the dressing, and I was fortunate enough to have them all.
I even had leftover peeled, de-veined, cooked shrimp in my freezer! They were medium-size (41-50 per pound), and that size ensured most every bite has at least one shrimp in it. They did have the tails on, though, and I highly recommend removing them before mixing into the ceviche.
As far as produce goes, I easily found everything needed, but I over-bought. Most of the quantities were given in cups and tablespoons, and it’s hard to judge quantities that way. Here’s what I used:
1/4 red onion
1 jalapeno pepper (1/2 for ceviche and 1/2 for dressing)
1/2 cucumber (or 1 if you can’t find jicama)
1 thin slice of jicama
1 small Haas avocado
16 ounces (1 pound) strawberries
1 plum tomato
Cilantro, cucumber, red onion, avocado, lime, plum tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, jicama, strawberries, peeled and deveined shrimp, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and salt
The Process
I always thought ceviche was made with raw seafood that was marinated in citrus juice for a long time to “cook” it. However, this recipe uses a more modern method that’s quicker and resembles a cold salad. Here’s how my time was spent:
14 minutes to prep
30 minutes to marinate (6 minutes to finish prep during)
44 minutes total
I started things off by putting the frozen shrimp into a large bowl of cold water so they could thaw, then I got started on the dressing. It involved a little chopping, but mostly it was adding everything to a blender and blending. I used my bullet blender, but a mini-prep would have also worked.
Prepping the fruit and vegetables
With the dressing prepped, it was time to start on the rest of the produce. I got my zen on and took my time peeling, chopping, and measuring the ingredients in Step 2. It was really peaceful, and I was done before I knew it.
The shrimp were thawed by this time, so I drained them, mixed them in, and put the mixing bowl into the refrigerator to marinate. I finished chopping the strawberries and cilantro next, then all I had to do was wait for the timer to go off.
The final step was gently mixing the strawberries and cilantro with the rest of the ceviche. The avocado was very soft, and I wanted to keep it from getting smooshed too badly. Then it was into some champagne saucers for a cute presentation, and voila! I have made ceviche for the first time ever, and it was easy!!
I make soup all the time because it’s an easy way to have healthy meals for a few days. Sometimes I make it on the stove, but a lot of the time I use my slow cooker. I love that thing! It’s not at all unusual for me to make some type of vegetable, ham, or chicken soup. I’ll occasionally use beef, and rarely seafood. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just a bit pricey. Well, today I am indulging in two types of seafood with this Slow-Cooker Shrimp & Crab Bisque. Let’s find out if it’s a Pinterest success!
OK, so I know it sounds kind of weird to top a hot, rich, creamy soup with a cold crab salad, but this is one of those weird things that you’re just going to have to trust me on. It works, people. It just does.
This recipe has a long list of ingredients, but I didn’t let that stop me. A quick look through my pantry, and I found I had a few of the staples like olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and mayonnaise.
I even had the tomato paste, a small bottle of dry white wine, and some peeled and deveined frozen shrimp. Score! This recipe does call for uncooked shrimp, but I did fine with cooked. Really, the final 15 minutes just warmed them through.
That left me with a long grocery list, but I found everything at my usual grocery store. They didn’t have Old Bay brand seasoning, but they did have another brand that tastes similar.
I was expecting to have trouble finding seafood stock, but they had that too. The only other might-be-hard-to-find ingredient was the crab, and they had that too. An 8-ounce tub of crab meat was $24.99. It was huge chunks of crab, but it was barely enough for this recipe. I would say it was more like 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups instead of 2.
Peeled and deveined shrimp, diced tomatoes, white wine, olive oil, seafood stock, Old Bay seasoning, tomato paste, lump crab meat, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, leeks, half and half, flour, pepper, butter, salt, and sugar
The Process
There was a little bit of prep work to be done before the bisque made it to the slow cooker, but it wasn’t bad. Here’s how my time was spent:
16 minutes to prep
2 hours 16 minutes to cook
2 hours 32 minutes total
The bulk of the work for this recipe involved the leeks. They can hold a lot of dirt and sand, so it’s important to wash them thoroughly. To do that, trim off the roots and thick green leaves. Then thinly slice the white part and place the slices in a large bowl of clean cold water. Gently swirl them around with your hand then let them sit while you finish the prep work.
The dirt that collects inside the layers will settle to the bottom of the bowl, leaving the clean leek slices at the top. Remove them with your hands or a large slotted spoon, trying not to disturb the settled dirt. I like to place them into a colander and give them a final rinse before I use them—leeks can be pretty dirty.
After that, the rest is cake. Just sautee the leeks and garlic with some seasonings, then place them into your slow cooker. Add everything but the shrimp, crab, cream, and parsley, and cook for 2-4 hours (I chose the 2-hour option).
I placed the shrimp into a bowl of cold water to thaw while the bisque cooked. It took about 30 minutes, and I removed the tails too. Oh, I also took 3 minutes to mix up the crab salad topping (ridiculously easy).
After 2 hours, all I had to do was add the rest of the bisque ingredients, stir, and set a timer for 15 minutes, and anticipate eating the yummy-smelling bisque.
Ever since I can remember, pears have been one of my favorite fruits. My love affair with pears began with fruit cocktail when I was a child. I was perfectly happy with those syrup-soaked bits until I finally tried a fresh pear. If the fruit cocktail pears were good, this was phenomenal! I’m perfectly happy eating fresh pears like apples, but I have recently discovered pears are also good when cooked. Really good! I’ve tried roasted pears topped with granola and yogurt for breakfast, and wow! But today I’m going with a (probably) less healthy roasted pear dessert with this Roasted Pears with Espresso Mascarpone Cream recipe.
I was craving tiramisu one day, but needed to find a good substitute now that I’m gluten-free. Instead of trying to make wheat-free ladyfingers, I made a dessert inspired by tiramisu rather than a bleh recreation. The roasted pears were adapted from Smitten Kitchen. (This is really good with amaretto substituted in for the espresso, by the way. It gives the dish a whole different character.)
Recipe Author: Amy ay Minimally Invasive via Tasty Kitchen Get the recipe
The Ingredients
As usual, I did a quick search through my pantry and found that I had a few of the ingredients. Mostly the basics like sugar, butter, and cocoa powder, but I even found a vanilla bean.
That left me to shop for pears (I used Bartlett), mascarpone cheese (an 8-ounce container was perfect), heavy cream, and a few other basics. Nothing unusual, so no special trips or online orders were necessary.
Pears, heavy cream, instant coffee, mascarpone cheese, cocoa powder, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and almonds
The Process
When the day to make my Roasted Pears with Espresso Mascarpone Cream came around, I have to confess that I was quite tired. I had put off making this because I have had a lot of busy days, and I had to use the pears before they over-ripened. I ended up overcooking them, but they still tasted amazing. Here’s my time was spent:
11 minutes to prep
1 hour to roast pears & infuse the cream with vanilla
6 minutes to mix the espresso mascarpone cream
1 hour 17 minutes total (not including time for the pears to cool)
Cored pears with leveled bottoms
Prep Work & Roasting the Pears
I started off by roasting the pears. I didn’t peel them, and I cored them with a round teaspoon (a melon baller would also work). It’s not in the recipe, but I cut off a sliver of the rounded part to make the pears sit level. Then I sprinkled them with lemon juice and sugar, added some butter and water, then popped the roasting pan into the oven.
While the pears were roasting, I scraped the vanilla bean seeds into the heavy cream and placed the covered container into the refrigerator. The recipe also calls for the mixing bowl and beaters to be chilled, so I also added my stand mixer’s bowl and whisk attachment.
I basted the pears twice over the next half hour, then used a spatula to flip them. I repeated the same basting steps for the next half hour. But remember I mentioned I was tired? This is where it got me. I didn’t remember to check the pears for doneness at the 40-minute mark, and I overcooked them.
They tasted fine, but they got so soft that most of them didn’t hold their shape. They also became very delicate, and I broke a couple when I flipped them. Not good when you need to take pretty pictures for your blog LOL.
Anyhoo, while my pears were overcooking, I used my mini-prep to grind a few almonds. Then I put them into a small skillet and let them toast over medium-high heat. I forgot to time this part because I am so used to roasting nuts and seeds this way. I know they’re ready once the aroma hits and they begin to darken. I’d say it takes about 5-7 minutes.
An hour later, I removed the pan from the oven and let the pears cool on the counter for a while. Then I popped them into the refrigerator to speed things up. I took out the cream, mascarpone, and mixing equipment at the same time and got started on the topping.
Cored pears sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar and topped with butter
Making the Espresso Mascarpone Cream
I used a regular mesh strainer to strain put the vanilla beans, and it didn’t work too well. My fine cocktail strainer did the trick, though, and restraining with it removed most of the vanilla seeds.
After that snafu, the rest was easy. My new stand mixer did most of the work, and I had a lovely mascarpone cream mixed up in 5-6 minutes. All I had to do was wait for the pears to chill.
The instructions say to top the pears with the mascarpone cream, but the photo shows them on top of the cream. I liked that, so I did the same thing. This Roasted Pears with Espresso Mascarpone Cream recipe makes a lot of the topping, so I had more than enough to serve them this way.
Have you ever tried octopus? If not, let’s give it a try today with the Spanish Style Octopus with Potatoes recipe! I’ve had it a few times in sushi, and I remember a grilled baby octopus salad that was superb. But all that was a long time ago, for some reason. I supposed I’ve been in a bit of a food rut since the pandemic since we eat out so much less. I tend to stick to easy favorites when I cook.
Well, I actually ventured out to grocery shop the other day, and I found a package of octopus in the frozen section. I bought it without having a recipe in mind at that moment. But frozen food keeps for a while, so I started searching my Pinterest boards for an octopus recipe. I have pinned several over the years, so it took me a while to settle on one. I finally decided this simple-sounding Spanish Style Octopus with Potatoes would be the one. Let’s find out what it’s like!
As I mentioned, I had a package of frozen octopus on hand. The package was only 10 ounces, and this recipe calls for 1 pound (16 ounces) per serving. I’m cooking for myself and my husband, so I had to buy another package.
That was okay because I also had to buy some potatoes and yellow bell pepper. The type of potatoes isn’t specified, so I went with red potatoes because they do well when boiled. I had everything else in my pantry, but I think I picked up some extra garlic and lemon to be safe. I can always use them.
This recipe calls for “oil” but doesn’t specify the type. I keep several types of cooking oil in my pantry, so I had a tough time deciding. I wanted to go with olive oil initially, but I ended up using canola. I thought it would be better for browning the potatoes.
Octopus, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, Dijon mustard, basil, oregano, paprika, lemon juice, potatoes, yellow bell pepper, cilantro, and garlic
The Process
I chose this recipe for its simplicity, and it didn’t let me down. The first step was to simply boil the octopus for 45 minutes. I wasn’t sure if I needed to cut the tentacles into smaller pieces, so I did a quick Google. Other recipe photos for similar recipes showed whole tentacles, so I left them. My 5.5-quart Dutch oven was a perfect size.
The potatoes were next. It wasn’t specified in the recipe, but I decided to peel mine. It only took 5-6 minutes and was simple to do. Once I cut them into large chunks, I added them to another pot of boiling water for about 20 minutes. Then I drained them in a large colander and set them into the refrigerator to chill.
I finished the rest of the prep work while the potatoes boiled, including mixing up the dressing. Then I got started on browning the potatoes and pepper when the timer was down to 15 minutes.
I used a large nonstick skillet so the soft potatoes wouldn’t stick to the pan. The goal was to keep all the browned bits on the potatoes. The 15 minute time was perfect, and I ended up with browned potatoes and peppers.
All that was left was to drain the octopus and mix it with the potatoes, dressing, and cilantro. It was just as easy as it sounds! A total time wasn’t listed, but this is how my time broke down:
10 minutes to prep
45 minutes to cook the octopus
While cooking the octopus:
20 minutes to cook potatoes
3 minutes to make dressing
15 minutes to brown the potatoes and peppers
1 minute to strain the octopus and mix with potatoes and dressing
I always want my holiday meals to be delicious and impressive, but I don’t believe that means they need to be complicated. Yes, I did get a little carried away with the fillable Christmas ornaments I serve the cocktails in, but the results were worth it. The rest of the dinner looked complicated, but it was really broken down into simple steps. This recipe for Dijon Tahini Green Beans is no different. The photos look beautiful, the ingredients sound tasty, and the total time to prepare it is listed at a mere 10 minutes. No, that’s not a typo: 10 minutes from start to finish. Can it be? I have to give this a try!
Get your greens in with this saucy side that’s oil-free with a creamy dijon tahini dressing. Perfect to complement your holiday spread.
As usual, I had a few ingredients just hanging out in my pantry. A bottle of sesame seeds, Himalayan pink salt, black pepper, and even an unopened jar of tahini (shout out to my Aunt Margie for that!).
That left me to buy the green beans, lemon, and Sir Kensington’s Dijon Mustard. The Fresh Market was the only nearby store that carried it, so I did the bulk of my shopping there to get it.
It was pricey at $6.49 for a jar, but I have to admit it’s better than my go-to Grey Poupon. I even used it on the pomegranate glaze for the Standing Prime Rib Roast that I served with these Dijon Tahini Green Beans. Okay, I tested it on a ham sandwich before using it in my 2021 Christmas dinner recipes, and it passed that taste test and then some!
Green beans, sesame seeds, lemon juice, tahini, Dijon mustard, black pepper, and Himalayan salt
The Process
I didn’t quite make the 10 minute time, but these Dijon Tahini Green Beans were pretty darn quick. Here’s how it went:
4 minutes to prep
8 minutes to cook
1 minute to sauce and garnish
13 minutes total
The green beans I bought were mostly trimmed, but I did have to go through them and make sure all the stems were removed. After that, it was into a 4.5-quart pan to boil for 3 minutes. I mixed up the sauce while the beans were cooking, and it was ready to go well before I had the beans drained and arranged on a platter.
I think I would have had everything done in 10 minutes, but I had a little oops with the sauce. The first batch I made was just too thin! I made it as instructed and I had a bad feeling as soon as I stirred in the 1/4 cup of hot water.
The photo below shows how thin the first dijon-tahini sauce was. Not cute! So I rinsed off the green beans with hot water so they wouldn’t cool down too much (good thing I still had my colander out!). Then I remixed the sauce and added the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time.
Two tablespoons gave me the nice thick sauce you see in the main photo. I think I could have added another tablespoon, but I was a little gun-shy after getting it too thin the first time. I decided thicker sauce was safer, and it really stayed on top of the green beans nicely.
My first attempt at the sauce was way too thin. I remade it with less water.
No special dinner is complete without some type of potato! And if you read my last post, then you already knew I had to include a potato dish in my 2021 Christmas Menu. I was torn between the top two: roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes. I decided to go with these Slow Cooked Garlic Mashed Potatoes because they seemed like the perfect accompaniment to the Standing Prime Rib Roast I chose as the main course. Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, and it’s all made in the slow cooker. Sign me up!
Super easy mashed potatoes! Potatoes are diced into chunks and added to a slow cooker along with garlic and water then cooked. Then you’ll mash, and mix in milk and sour cream. Perfect for a lazy weeknight side dish yet delicious enough for a holiday meal.
I knew these Slow Cooked Garlic Mashed Potatoes would be super creamy as soon as I read the ingredients! They use milk, cream, and sour cream plus plenty of butter. If that doesn’t say creamy, I don’t know what does.
I had to shop for all of dairy products except the butter. Additionally, I had to buy some garlic and a bag of red potatoes. The recipe calls for 4 pounds, but the store only had 5-pound bags. No worries, because I have penty of potato recipes I can use them with.
Red potatoes, butter, cream, salt, pepper, garlic, sour cream, and milk
The Process
These Slow Cooked Garlic Mashed Potatoes were so easy! Here’s how my time was spent:
18 minutes to prep
4 hours to cook
4 minutes to mash
4 hours 22 minutes total
It’s completely optional, but I decided to peel my potatoes. This was for a special dinner, after all. Once that was done I sliced them into 1/2-inch pieces. I misread the recipe, and it was supposed to be larger 1 1/2-inch pieces. The smaller pieces still did just fine, though.
Next, the potatoes went into my slow cooker along with the water, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and melted butter. My slow cooker’s lid has a small hole to vent steam, so I followed the advice in the notes and added an extra 1/4 cup of water.
After cooking for 4 hours on high, I had tender, garlicky potatoes that were ready to become the mashed potatoes they were always meant to be. This was done in the slow cooker without draining the excess water. Seriously!
I used my potato masher to mash the potatoes, then I blended in the warmed cream and sour cream with my hand mixer. I like my mashed potatoes a little chunky, so I also didn’t overdo it with the mixer. Also, I was pleased with the consistency, so I didn’t add any extra milk.
A quick taste test assured me that the seasoning was perfect as-is. All that was left to do was spoon the mashed potatoes into a serving bowl and add a little more melted butter and some minced chives. That’s it!
Peeled and diced potatoes. I misread the recipe and cut mine into 1/2-inch cubes instead of 1 1/2-inch cubes.
What do you normally have for Christmas dinner? Growing up, we always had turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. It was the same thing mom served for Thanksgiving, and we loved it. When I started The Hungry Pinner, I decided to change things up and serve ham for Christmas since my husband loves it so much. I’ve done that for the past few years, and I decided it was time to change things up again. After a lot of searching, I ended up choosing this Standing Prime Rib Roast recipe as the centerpiece of my 2021 Christmas menu.
I considered making a roasted goose, but then I discovered that a standing rib roast (A.K.A. prime rib) is also a popular main course. According to this 2020 survey of The Most Popular Christmas Dishes at Taste of Home, it’s far more popular than goose (#55) and even more popular than ham (#11). Prime rib comes in at #6, just below turkey (#3). The top two dishes? Roast potatoes and mashed potatoes, respectively. Gotta love those carbs!
This prime rib roast also called standing rib roast is marinated with a dry rub made with coriander, cumin, paprika. Cooked to a perfect medium-rare, then served with a pomegranate glaze. The perfect roast to serve on special occasions.
This recipe has a good-sized list of ingredients, and I had to do some shopping. I had honey, olive oil, and brown sugar on hand. I also had all the ground spices and some whole nutmeg that I grated.
That left me to pick up the garlic, thyme, rosemary, pomegranate molasses, and prime rib. The last two gave me a little trouble. I had to try two stores before I found a bone-in beef rib roast. It wasn’t Prime grade, though, and I had to settle for Choice. There’s a little less fat marbling and it’s $5 less per pound, but the butcher assured me the difference isn’t noticeable (he was right). I bought a 4.1-pound roast for $95. It’s the most expensive cut of meat I have ever bought, and I don’t mind telling you I was petrified I would ruin it!
The last item on my shopping list was pomegranate molasses, and I couldn’t find it at any of my usual grocery stores. I ended up ordering a bottle from Amazon for $8. I had to sample it when it arrived, and I can tell you it’s exactly what it sounds like. Thick, syrupy, and sweet with a tangy punch. I loved it!
Making this Standing Prime Rib Roast did take a while, but most of that time was inactive. Waiting for the roast to marinate, warm up, cook, and stand before carving gave me plenty of time to work on the rest of dinner and watch some TV. My active time was about 15 minutes. Here’s how my time was spent:
12 minutes to make and apply the rub
3 minutes to make the glaze
2 minutes to prep
1 hour 29 minutes to cook
15 minutes to stand
2 hours 1 minute total
Dry Rub
Slightly over the 1 hour 45 minute total listed, but not by much. I should note that the above does not include time for the roast to marinate overnight (optional, but I did it) or 3 hours to come to room temperature before cooking.
My Standing Prime Rib Roast started out with making and applying the dry rub. It’s not in the recipe, but the post gives the option of applying the rub and allowing it to marinate overnight. I decided to do that since it barely any extra work and would impart extra flavor.
The dry rub was incredibly simple. Lightly toast the coriander seeds, then mix them in with everything else and crush with a mortar and pestle or food processor. I opted for my mortar and pestle since I find it easier to control. It does take longer, though, so keep that in mind.
Once the spices were blended, I mixed in the olive oil, dried the rib roast, and applied the rub. Then I re-wrapped it and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Bone-in beef rib roast coated in the dry rub made with spices and olive oil
Pomegranate Glaze
The next day I was a bundle of nerves! It was time to cook the roast, but I had a few things to do first. I began by taking the roast out of the refrigerator a good two hours before I planned to cook it. The instructions emphasize this for even cooking.
I mixed up the pomegranate glaze at the same time. This was even easier than the dry rub. Just add all the glaze ingredients to a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Then set aside until it’s needed.
Standing Prime Rib Roast right out of the oven, before carving
Roasting
I loved the author’s technique for roasting. Using high heat to start off ensures the outside sears, sealing in the juices. I really appreciated not having to sear the roast on the stove first!
I made a small change to the recipe and put the meat thermometer in before putting the roast into the oven. The recipe says to add it after the first 15 minutes, but my way seemed easier. No worrying I would burn myself (I already do that enough!).
I also followed the suggestion of tucking some foil underneath the bones to elevate them. Additionally, I used my roasting pan with a rack.
After 15 minutes, I generously brushed the roast with the pomegranate glaze, turned the heat down, and waited for my meat thermometer to beep. I also set my phone’s timer because I’m paranoid. Hello, $100 roast on the line!
I followed the suggestion in the notes to cook the roast until it reached 120℉ because I had to spend some time taking photos. Despite taking it out of the refrigerator to warm up for a few hours, my roast took an extra 29 minutes to reach 120℉.
The recipe’s blog post gives the option to baste more than once, and I did baste a second time. I figured I might as well while I was checking for doneness after an hour. I was left with plenty of glaze, though.
Once the roast was done, I tented it with foil and used a large nonstick skillet to reduce the remaining glaze. Unfortunately, there were no pan juices to thin it. Instead, I had a big burned-on mess because I forgot to line my roasting pan with foil. Doh! Otherwise, things went pretty smoothly, and I ended up with a beautiful medium-rare roast!
Standing Prime Rib Roast served with Dijon Tahini Green Beans and Slow Cooked Garlic Mashed Potatoes
