Spring Pasta with Asparagus, Lemon and Shallots…and Some Chicken, too

Guest Dish Nicole is an account executive for Honora pearls. She says: “I went to school for fashion merchandising and moved to NYC directly after I graduated. I live in Greenpoint Brooklyn and love to cook and host for friends and family. In addition to my “account” work for Honora, I also do a weekly pearl pick on Honora’s face book page called “Nic’s pick of the week”. Every week I choose a new item from our line that I personally love and model it for the page to get fan feedback!” Let’s give Nikki some love!

Spring has finally arrived! Like most people all winter long I was indulging in my favorite carbohydrates: bread and pasta. But just because it is warm outside doesn’t mean you need to give pasta the old boot. I for one cannot stand the spring-induced diets my friends have all started without consulting me first (how dare they). Low-carb diets are no fun and way overrated if you ask me. Pasta can be healthy and light depending upon how you prepare it. Whether it is as a main course or a side dish, I love taking my friend pasta along for the ride.

Recently I’ve been browsing cook books for lighter dishes and came across this gem. It screamed SPRING (maybe because it’s in the name) and I had to try it:

Ingredients:

4oz Penne (whole wheat penne is also great with this recipe)
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup whole milk (you can sub in 1or 2% milk for a lighter version)
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic- minced
1 shallot diced
¼ cup thyme
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Shaved or shredded parmesan cheese

Prep:
First boil water in a large pot and cook pasta most of the way and add in asparagus for the last 3 minutes. Drain and return to the pot and set aside.

Next I made the sauce mixture by whisking the milk, mustard, flour, salt and pepper together and set aside. Heat the oil in a sauce pan over medium heat and add garlic and shallots and cook until golden brown. I added quite a bit more garlic and shallots due to the plethora I had at my house. The more the merrier I say, and believe me the outcome was perfection. Whisk the milk mixture into the sauce pan with the garlic and shallots.

Simmer for a few minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. The mixture will start to thicken, pull from heat and add thyme, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Now we are in the final stages: pour the mixture into the large pot of pasta and heat over medium heat until coated.

For my dish, I decided to add a protein. I pounded 3 chicken breasts, coated with olive oil salt, pepper and a pinch of Aleppo pepper for added kick and baked for 20 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees. I was prepared to grill but was out of propane, much to my dismay.

Now for serving: Just throw the pasta in a bowl, slice up the chicken and serve the hot pasta immediately garnished with parsley and parmesan. The pasta was met with rave reviews by my guinea pigs I mean friends. This is one dish I will be serving up again.

Oh pasta my dear – to know you is to love you…

Recipe adapted from Eating Well.

Read Full Post »

Salmon Cakes

From Dish Rachelle:

I’ve been sick the past week, and my diet can be summarized in three items: chicken soup with rice, hot tea, and ice cream (apparently I once told the Boy that ice cream was good for sick people. In retrospect, I’m not sure if I stand by the combination of dairy and a head cold, but it’s certainly good for morale.) I was all set to get my SLD done well in advance, but then this seasonal sneeze-fest hit, and I was begrudgingly glued to the couch. Cut to last night: with the help DayQuil (a wonderdrug) I’m feeling better, ready to prepare and eat real food, provided it wasn’t too labor intensive. I wanted something healthy and colorful, so this quick meal, which rates high on deliciousness scale and low on work, was perfect. It’s also a great way to stretch a good piece of fish – sort of the upscale meatloaf of salmon preparation.

Ingredients (makes 4 cakes):

1 boneless salmon filet, roughly 3/4 of a pound
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed (to taste), chopped
1 tsp. (+/-) capers
1-to-2 tbsp. chopped dill
1-to-2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 egg
Italian breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

With the sharpest knife available, remove silver salmon skin by peeling back a corner and following it, slowly, with your knife, staying as close to the skin as possible. On an angle, slice filet into very thin pieces, and drop into a large bowl.

Add garlic, jalapeño pepper (more seeds = more spiciness), capers and chopped herbs.

Crack an egg over the fish and mix until white and yolk are well combined. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the mixture until desired consistency is reached (the cakes should be moist enough to manipulate into patties, but not too wet). Form salmon cakes and position on a baking sheet, either with a dribble of olive oil or aluminum foil underneath to prevent sticking.

Bake salmon cakes for 20 minutes. I served them with some pan-fried sweet potato (cut into 1/2-inch squares, sauteed over medium low heat with some chopped onion, a dash of cayenne, S&P, and then finished over high heat to caramelize the sides) and asparagus spears (baked for 9 minutes with olive oil, S&P). As I write, I’m enjoying a cold salmon cake on an english muffin, with two kinds of mustard – dijon and grainy – and some baby spinach. Great for dinner, great for the leftovers, so that I don’t have to push this recovering body too hard and actually leave the house.

Read Full Post »

Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Oven Fries

From Dish Paige!:

The other night at about 4am I was woken up by what sounded like a lawnmower in my kitchen. Turns out, the motor of my fridge decided to go nuts, and so in a bleary-eyed fit I unplugged the crazy machine and tried to go back to sleep. The next morning, knowing how poorly my fridge worked anyway (no really I don’t think it actually froze stuff, my ice cubes were always really soft), coupled with the understanding that it was going to take a miracle to get a replacement any time in the near future (I don’t have to tell you how unresponsive landlords/repair people are), I threw out the entire contents of said broken refrigerator. And so this Saucy Little Dish is brought to you by the letter C for Condiments, which I am replacing one by one, beginning with the basics: mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.

Ingredients:
1 roasted chicken breast
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon mustard
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
ketchup
whatever you want to put on your sandwich (I topped mine with a slice of swiss cheese and some bibb lettuce)
whatever bread you want to use (I used rye)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into French fry shaped pieces, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and place the fries in one layer on a aluminum-foil lined baking sheet. Place on the top rack of the oven. At the same time, place the chicken in the oven – roast it however you want to – there are some great recipes on this site here and here, but whatever you normally do will totally work. I like to slice a few lemons and an onion and lay those on the bottom of the roasting pan, placing the chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) on top, and then into the oven on the bottom rack.

Once the sweet potatoes are crispy and golden brown on top, flip them over and put them back in the oven.

If the universe is on your side, both the potatoes and the chicken will be done at the same time.

For this recipe, you’ll only need one chicken breast from the whole roast, so save the rest for something else (might I recommend chicken pot pies?). Cut the chicken breast into small cubes, and mix with mayonnaise, mustard, red onion and salt and pepper and you’re ready to make your sandwiches (there will be enough for 2)!

Serve with the sweet potato fries and some ketchup. Enjoy!!!!!

Read Full Post »