Wow, it's been another long break since I last blogged - too long! The end of summer and start of fall have been very busy and unfortunately my blog got away from me. From enjoying the US Open with friends to seeing one of my favorite artists Jason Mraz live, training for and running my first half marathon to spending a few weeks traveling around Europe, it's been a busy but fun few months. Now that fall is really starting to set in, my favorite time of the year, I'm more than ready to start cooking and blogging about my favorite fall dishes!
I couldn't decide what I wanted to make for dinner other than something comforting and quick to make, and all of a sudden, a childhood favorite popped into my head - hamburger helper! What's better than a 20 minute meal that's meaty and cheesy? After cooking the ground beef and adding in the spices, the entire mixture simmered together until it became a pan of thick, creamy goodness. I even added a full two cups of cheddar cheese to make it creamier.
The hamburger helper turned out delicious, reminiscent of my childhood but even better since it didn't come out of a box. I will definitely make this again when I'm craving some comfort food. What's your favorite childhood dish to recreate? Let me know in the comments section!
Happy three day weekend to all my lovely readers! I'm so happy that today is still my Saturday since I don't have to go to work tomorrow! I had a productive morning, running a 10 mile relay race with two girlfriends in Prospect Park. I definitely wasn't prepared for the cold - 20s with wind - I thought my toes were going to fall off! I was happy to have a delicious post race lunch - pulled pork sandwich, fries and a beer to wash it down.
I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day as well! Matt and I cooked dinner at home and watched Rush, which was a really good movie. I would definitely recommend checking it out! Our dinner menu was comprised of bruschetta, champagne risotto and chocolate cake, with a lemon raspberry champagne cocktail to finish off the night.
The champagne risotto was definitely the star of the evening. After blanching the asparagus in the chicken broth and cooking down the shallot, the time intensive (but completely worth it!) creation of this dish could really begin. I was glad to have some extra chicken broth since I ended up needing more than three cups to cook the rice enough without being too chewy.
The absolute best part of this dish had to be the crispy prosciutto. I've had prosciutto on its own, or with figs, but never cooked to a crisp. The crunch, the smoky bacon flavor...I could go on forever. I'm going to have to find ways to incorporate this into other dishes, or maybe I'll start sprinkling it on top of all pasta dishes. I think that's the right way to go!
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| Matt approves! |
The risotto turned out wonderfully. The dish was creamy and pepper-y, with a crunch and freshness from the asparagus and smoky crunch from the prosciutto. If you're willing to put in the time for this dish, you'll be so happy with the outcome!
I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, celebrating with friends and family! Matt and I had a quiet Christmas, just the two of us, and it was perfect. We cooked a delicious meal on Christmas Eve - glazed ham, brussel sprouts with a balsamic glaze, mashed sweet potatoes, and chocolate pudding pie. On Christmas day, I was given an amazing present from my love - a new camera! I can't wait to learn the ins and outs of it and I really really can't wait to start taking awesome pictures for my blog!
Matt was craving lasagna right before the holidays so I decided to try a spin on traditional lasagna by making lasagna roll-ups! They were really fun to put together and even better to eat!
After cooking the ground beef/onion/garlic mixture and the lasagna noodles, it was time to layer each roll-up! This was the really fun part, being so hands on while cooking. Sometimes I forget the fun you can have with cooking and then a recipe like this comes along - such a great refresher to just slow down and get your hands dirty! The first layer was ricotta cheese, topped with pasta sauce, a sprinkling of parsley, and finished with the ground beef. Are they ready yet? I was so ready to eat at this point!
They were really easy to roll up, without all of the ingredients popping out the side, and twelve roll-ups fit perfectly in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. When I was getting to the last batch of three, I was a little worried they wouldn't fit in very easily, but it was perfect fit!
My favorite part was the ease in removing each roll-up when they had finished cooking. It's always really hard to get a nice piece of lasagna out of the pan without the cheese and sauce melting all over the place, making for an unattractive presentation. This was perfect - each portion stayed intact and looked really pretty from the side. I hope you enjoy!
I'm back! Matt and I had a whirlwind weekend with Adrienne, one of my good friends from high school and college, visiting us in NYC for the first time. We packed so much in - had one of the best meals of my life at David Burke Townhouse, a great day in Central Park, ran a glow in the dark 5K at Citi Field, brunch, bagels, shopping, and many late nights in the city. It was so much fun and I still haven't caught up on sleep.
I recently made a very light and flavorful summer dish that didn't require too much heat in the kitchen - no oven required! For this goat cheese, arugula and lemon pasta dish, I only had to cook pasta and peas and put all of the remaining components together. Beware - the recipe is in Dutch so you'll need to use the translate setting. I also had to make some manual conversions from grams to ounces, but this dish can easily use a little more or less of the ingredients based on your liking (I definitely added extra goat cheese because it's soooo good).
I've never been a big cheese person (I know, I know, blasphemy!), but over the past few years, I've come around to enjoying some varieties on their own. Usually I just like cheese that's baked into dishes or masked with other flavors - lasagna, pizza, quesadillas - but I never appreciated it as a star ingredient. I never even ordered cheeseburgers, just the basic beef patty, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles for me. My husband has played a huge part in my conversion to cheese and I have discovered my love for goat cheese, maybe even a bit too much for his liking. This dish makes great use of goat cheese, adding a creamy texture and salty bite.
This dish really balances out between the heartiness of the pasta, the pepper-y kick from the arugula, the fresh pop of the peas, the creamy, salty bite from the goat cheese, and the refreshing hint of citrus from the lemon zest and juice. I highly recommend this dish for an easy-to-make light, summer meal!
