{the dish} Italian Sausage a' la Matt

What a treat to come home to my man in the kitchen. It doesn't happen very often, but occasionally Matt will get the cooking bug and take over...man style. Messy, messy. Ha.


Tonight he cooked Italian Sausage with pepper and onions adapted from cooks.com


Italian Sausages a' la Matt

2 large red peppers
1 med spanish onion
2 T. olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
3/4 t. dried thyme
6 fresh Italian sausages(gluten free of course) about 1 1/2 lbs
1/2 c. water
1/2-1 c. dry white wine

Cut the pepper into 12 wedges. Cut onion into 1/2 inch slices, separate into rings and add to pan with olive oil over medium heat for 5 min. Stir in onion, garlic, thyme and cook until onions are limp. Meanwhile, in another pan add sausages to pan with water. Cover tightly and cook over medium heat for about 12 minutes. Remove cover and cook for 18 min longer until browned, flipping as cooking. Add white wine to de-glaze pan, add veggies and stir all well. Continue to cook for about 5 more minutes.

*serve with rice.


This was a great man-meal if you will. We will definitely be adding this to our recipe box.

{delightful} red velvet cupcakes

It starts with a craving... a need to bake ... last week it was apple pie and this week the irresistible red velvet cupcake!

What is it about this cake that everyone seems to love? The childhood memory? The beautiful contrast of red and white? The rich buttermilk in the batter? The luscious icing?

all of the above friends all of the above!

red velvet cupcakes by ann west

2 1/4 cup sifted cake flour

4 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbls red food coloring

1 tsp distilled vinegar

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter - room temp

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake liners and set aside. Sift the dry ingredients together. Whisk buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla together. With a stand mixer - cream butter with sugar. (let this go awhile and your cupcakes will have fewer holes) Add the eggs one at a time - make sure to scrape the batter down off the sides of your bowl. Beat in the dry ingredients and alternate with the liquid ingredients. Divide the batter into the cups. I would fill a little shy of 3/4 full. Bake for 18 minutes and let cool.

Ice with cream cheese or a whipped cream icing. Here is a cream cheese recipe for you!

1 1/2 packages 8oz cream cheese

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 tbls vanilla

3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

enjoy!

photo by amy twomey




photo by ann west

photo by ann west



photo by amy twomey

{the dish} Mother Daughter Quick Spaghetti

It was a late night neither my daughter or I had eaten. Hmmmmm what to fix?

We had some left over whole wheat pasta from earlier in the week. She took half and I took half and here is what we came up with. It was fun creating with my daughter... I think I will try hers next time!

Moms Basic Tomato Basil Pasta by ann west

spaghetti

cherry or grape tomatoes

garlic

fresh basil

red pepper flakes

olive oil

parmasean

salt & pepper and a squeeze of lemon

Saute your garlic in some olive oil. Add your tomatoes and let them simmer. (I like mine to even get brown. Add you spices. Add your pasta and toss to heat through. This is a key element and will infuse your pasta with your yummy sauce. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese. Enjoy!

Peanut Spaghetti by Claire

peanut butter

garlic chili paste

sesame oil

rice wine vinegar

orange juice

honey

crushed peanuts

Mix 2 large spoonfuls of peanut butter with a tsp of garlic chili paste, 1/2 tsp of sesame oil, 2-3 Tbls rice wine vinegar and the same amount of orange juice. Add a little honey and mix well. Taste and adjust your seasonings. Top with crushed roasted peanuts. Heat the pasta and mix with sauce. Can be topped with chicken, peppers, carrots and more. enjoy!

{companions} icelandic grilled corn

by amy twomey


Ok. So the truth: It has been an extra busy week. I am digging here for recipes. smile.


We are making what I am calling "Icelandic grilled corn" this week because my oldest kiddo had to pick a place to study which he, or shall I say "I", then cooked a meal that represented this place for the International Festival Lunch held at the kids school. He picked Iceland. I know, random. And so we made Icelandic Mashed Potatoes which are basically regular mashed potatoes but we used this fabulous Icelandic butter I found at Whole Foods, and added a few t. of sugar. hmmm.... So, lots of butter left and what to make? Oh yes, corn! So here we are.


My little one helped peel the corn husks. Dad turned on the grill, and walla....we wrapped the corn with Icelandic butter, salt and pepper in tight tin foil and popped those suckers on the grill.


Everything is better with a side of buttery grilled corn. right?



And lastly, I feel that I owe a huge thank you to ann for all her time she gave to help with the school International Festival Lunch! I however skipped out and took full advantage on being kid-less and had a romantic lunch over hamburgers with my amazing husband. You are awesome ann, and you are very, very appreciated. I don't know how you do it!

*We love to add sour cream, a touch of mayo, heavy on the Parmesan cheese & salsa picante all mixed up and spread over our corn. So good. So good.

photo by amy twomey

photo by ann west

photo by ann west

photo by amy twomey

{companions} baked cauliflower

baked cauliflower by amy twomey

one head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces

handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese

whipping cream

salt & pepper to taste

This is one of those recipes that is never the same as far as measurements and always great! So have fun playing around with guesstimating your measurements here because you simply can't go wrong. Heat the over to 375. Steam your cauliflower over stove top until done. Then cut it up into smaller pieces. Then place the steamed cauliflower in a baking dish, pour over a generous amount of whipping cream(about one fingernail high if you were to put your finger to bottom of pan), add salt & pepper, and add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese to top. Bake uncovered

for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

{the dish} Turkey Loaf

A month or so ago Amy and I were talking with a friend who wanted the recipe for turkey "meat" loaf. Amy and I both gave our advise and he said his turned out great. But that sparked and interest. Can you believe it took me this long to try my own. Well here it is. A so so review from the kids but my husband and I liked it a bunch.

Turkey Loaf by ann west

Fresh ground turkey

red pepper

garlic

red onion

parmesean cheese

2 eggs

1 tbls olive oil

1/3 cup bread crumbs

2-3 tbls tomato paste

poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp ground sage

salt and pepper

Start with fresh ground turkey. The turkey I bought was all white. Personally I think you need some dark meat in the mix for flavor and to lend some more moisture. Chop some onion (a couple of slices), some garlic (6 cloves - don't be shy here it gives a ton of flavor), and some red pepper and parsley.

Mix as you would a meat loaf. Everything goes in. Don't over work it. Form into a loaf and cook in a 375 degree oven for 45 min or until done.

enjoy!

photo by amy twomey

photo by ann west

photo by ann west

photo by amy twomey

{companions} eggcellent - deviled eggs!

I must admit those brightly color eggs of easter are so fun. Turquoise, yellow, orange, lime. They were so beautiful and seems to change daily. I loved our eggs and our low key time together. After our morning together it was off to Grandma for a feast to be reckoned with.

My husbands family loves their deviled eggs. His sister makes the best ... according to my kids at least. Deviled eggs made an appearance for many a meal over at Great Grandma's house and just I loved her egg dish. White, trimmed in gold, sweet and beautiful. Every egg had its own personal lounge chair.

How is it that foods like deviled eggs trigger wonderful memories. Really if you like deviled eggs, I just bet your favorite eggs come from a family member or close friend and is surrounded with memories. It's just one of those foods!

I don't make deviled eggs very often, come to think of it I am not sure I ever have. Well there is a first time for everything. Of course I have taken some liberty here and jazzed these up a bit but good ole deviled egg are fabulous. And come on I am never going to make them as good as grandmas anyway.

Italian and Chipolte deviled eggs by ann west

the egg base:

hard boiled eggs (don't over cook your eggs. In fact I like mine just cooker or slightly undercooked. More flavor and that gorgeous yolk stays and intense yellow) split and yolks removed to a bowl

mayonaise

sour cream

whipping cream

lemon juice

salt & pepper

Mix the mayo and sour cream into your yolks. I was making about 6 eggs and used about 1 tbls of mayo and 1/2 tbls of sour cream. Mix a little whipping cream to smooth it out... around 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. Mix this together add a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Make it tasty - like you like it.

The Italian Devil....

add a layer of prosciutto, your egg filling. Top with fresh basil, red pepper flakes, a shave or two of asparagus and a nip of lemon zest.

The Chipotle devil...

Mix 2 tsp of the chipotle sauce into the egg mix. Stuff your egg. Garnish with black beans, cilantro, a jalapeno and or avacado.

Enjoy!

{the dish} grilled veggies+ baked eggplant over pasta

There is nothing better in the world then grilled veggies + baked eggplant over Quinoa pasta! Talk about fresh, and crunchy, and perfectly delicious. This is a great meal for a busy night. It is so pretty it will even win over dinner guests. The wonderful thing about Quinoa pasta is that it is gluten free and my family can not tell the difference from regular pasta. A win/win at our house!

cut up your veggies of choice. I recommend cutting the squash up a tad more then what I photographed so that they will cook through equally in comparison to the other veggies. I had to burn a few asparagus pieces to get the squash cooked well. Had I cut the pieces smaller it would have been perfecto!


grilled veggies
by amy twomey

anything you have in the fridge or love together. There is no right amount here either! I just cut up as much as I can so that I am sure to have enough to fill the grill wok + have leftovers.

last night I used: butternut squash, asparagus and brussels sprouts


I stumbled across something recently at ikea that has changed my life :: the grill wok!
Buy one, you will thank me later. I heat grill on medium heat and cover it and shaking wok regularly. *remember to use oven mitts as handle gets HOT.


baked eggplant
by amy twomey

This is a recipe my mom made all throughout my childhood that I love. I make all the time and again this makes wonderful leftovers....so make as much as you can.

wash eggplant well and cut up in thin circles placing them on a baking sheet while heating your over to BROIL :: lo.

Add pre-jarred basil pesto on top of each slice.

Add fresh Parmesan cheese to the top of each circle. Broil until cheese begins to brown then change to bake :: 200 and continue cooking until tender. Add salt to taste.

Now :: cook your Quinoa pasta (we use 2 boxes of the Andean Dream brand for a family of 5). Stir constantly with a dash of olive oil while cooking so that the pasta does not stick. Drain and serve a pile of grilled veggies and baked eggplant on top. Seriously great! Let me know if your family loved it as much as ours does!

photo by amy twomey

photo by ann west