kitchen discoveries

I decided that the next couple of recipes on my blog would be from my newest cookbook, Laura Vitale's Laura in the Kitchen.  To buy the cookbook, click here or visit your nearest bookstore to see if they have it in stock! My Barnes and Noble had it, and I was happy to see it featured!  I am loving the recipes so far; I really really recommend getting this cookbook, especially if you are looking for one that has simple Italian recipes.

This particular recipe is an incredibly simple one, perfect for another weeknight sort of meal.  The beans are a great substitute for a starchy side dish, such as rice or pasta.  I did modify this dish, so if you want to see the original recipe, you definitely should check her cookbook out.  Anyway, without further adieu, I give you Cannellini Beans with Bacon and Greens (recipe adapted from Laura Vitale's Cannellini Beans with Pancetta and Spinach).

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 (15-oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

6 cups mixed spring greens, including spinach

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

First, I heated up the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once the the oil was heated through, I added the bacon.  The original recipe called for either bacon or pancetta, but I was on a budget this week and decided to use bacon, the cheaper alternative.  

Once the bacon got crispy, which took about 5 minutes, I added in the garlic.  I cooked the garlic for about one minute; be careful not to burn your garlic!  

Once the garlic is lightly browned, I added in all of the beans.  MAKE SURE TO DRAIN AND RINSE THEM.  I cooked them for a few minutes until they were heated through.


Once the beans were heated through, I added in the greens, salt, and black pepper.  I used a mixture of spinach and spring greens that I found at my supermarket.  Use whatever fresh greens you like!  I think the mixture of greens went really well with the saltiness of the bacon.


Once the greens are wilted, your dish is done!


This recipe was so surprisingly flavorful and was a great side dish to my pan-fried swai (a type of mild white fish)! The light fish paired really well with the tasty beans and the crunch of the bacon.  I also loved the freshness of the wilted greens; when making this dish, I think I'll continue to use the mixture of greens rather than just all spinach.  This dish really goes with anything, from beef to seafood.  I totally recommend trying this out! If you love garlic and bacon, these beans will hit the spot!

Stay tuned for my next kitchen discovery:  SALMON WITH BACON SAUTE!

I don't know about you, but I am exhausted at the end of the work day.  Although I love cooking, I sometimes just feel like whipping up a quick meal and will not be bothered.  Instead of warming up a frozen dinner or canned whatever, I recently decided to try Laura Vitale's Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe! I got the recipe from Laura's newly released cookbook! It is full of simple, delicious recipes, and I can't wait to dig into it.  To purchase her wonderful cookbook, click here!

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is basically spaghetti with cheese and pepper.  It's super easy and simple to make; think of it as a less creamy version of mac and cheese! It goes great as a side dish; I personally think this would pair well with chicken.  I really recommend taking a look at the original recipe in the book since I may take shortcuts or make adaptations to the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS
12 oz dried spaghetti
4 tbs (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

When cooking pasta dishes, I always get a pot of water boiling first; it's usually the thing that takes the longest.  I did exactly that for this recipe.  I also decided to put my butter in a heatproof bowl next to the stove to soften while I prepped the rest of my ingredients.  Note: I always use real, good-quality butter;  it makes a huge difference in the taste.  I would not recommend substituting the butter for margarine or "fake butter" in the tub! It will not taste the same.  I used my Challenge Unsalted Butter this time.


While the pasta water was boiling, I decided to prep my cheeses.  This recipe calls for both Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  In the below photo, the Pecorino is to the right and the two chunks of Parmigiano are to the left. The Pecorino is a really sharp and salty cheese and is often used with pasta dishes, like this one. Parmigiano is a little grittier in texture than Pecorino.  It is also sharp and has a little more savory/nutty flavor to it.  I love both, but I actually prefer Pecorino! Anyway, make sure to use good quality cheeses in this dish. They are the STARS of this dish (well, also the black pepper, but I'll get to that).  Do NOT use that parmesan in the canned aisle; I beg of you.


I then grated the cheeses using my handy grater/measuring cup. It's pretty awesome. You snap on the "grating" lid and you can grate whatever you want directly into a measuring cup.  I forgot where I got this; it may have even been a gift!


By the time I grated my cheeses, my water was boiling and ready for the pasta.  For this recipe, I used a corn, quinoa, rice, and fiber pasta by Garofalo that I found at Costco; it's gluten-free as well.  This is my first time trying this gluten-free pasta, and it did not taste bad at all! The consistency was a bit different, but I would buy it again! I still prefer regular pasta, but I would give this a try if you want gluten-free. To buy it, click here or visit your local Costco (not sure if they still have it in stock).


This recipe called for the pasta to be cooked 2 minutes less than the designated cooking time, so I boiled the pasta for 8 minutes.  I also reserved 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water before draining the pasta.  While the pasta was draining, I placed the same empty pot on the stovetop over medium heat.  In the pot, I added the drained noodles and the reserved cooking water.  Then I tossed in my Challenge butter, the grated cheeses, and loads of black pepper.  To be honest, I think I added wayyyyy more than 1 tsp of pepper.  I just kept grinding my pepper mill until I couldn't grind NO' MO'! Also make sure to use freshly ground black pepper for this dish; the flavor is just a million times better. I cooked this mixture for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so that it wouldn't burn and the cheese wouldn't stick.


After the 3 minutes, I turned off the heat, covered the pot, and let the pasta sit for 1 minute.  After the minute, I quickly plated the dish! Here it is in its glory:


I loved this dish. It was milder than I was expecting but satisfying nonetheless. I added a bit more salt to it after making myself a full plate. If you make this dish, make sure to thoroughly salt your pasta water. OR, alternatively, add more grated cheese on top of your personal serving.  I recommend this for a quick, easy dinner on a weeknight or a side dish to a grilled marinated chicken breast or even some leftover chicken parm!

Stay tuned for my next kitchen discovery: CANNELLINI BEANS WITH BACON & SPINACH!

I haven't baked in a while, and when I saw this wonderful recipe on YouTube, I felt the need to get my hands (and my apron) dirtied with some gorgeous flour. I found this recipe on my favorite YouTube cooking channel, Laura in the Kitchen.  Her recipes usually never fail me and are super simple and easy. Although I live in Hawaii, I love to get into the spirit of fall, and I thought this recipe was a perfect way to do it! FYI, this recipe will be a little longer since it is a bit more involved.

As always, the link to the full recipe and YouTube video will be found at the end of this post.  I really recommend taking a look at both since I may take shortcuts or make adaptations to the original recipe.

INGREDIENT LIST for MUFFINS  

2 cups all purpose flour                     

2 tsp baking powder                           

1/2 tsp baking soda                   

1/2 tsp salt                       

3/4 cup granulated sugar                             

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice                                

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup of milk

4 chai tea bags

2 eggs

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

I first preheated my oven to 350 degrees. I also lined one medium-sized muffin pan with cupcake/muffin liners; I chose the pastel ones I found at the grocery store because they were 1) cheap and 2) cute.

I then poured my milk into a saucepan and heated it on low on the stove. It took about 3 minutes to get to a simmer. While the milk was heating up, I combined the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a big bowl.

By the time I had measured and mixed the dry ingredients, the milk was ready.  I took it off the heat and then added the tea bags to the hot milk.  I steeped the tea bags for 5 minutes.

While the tea was steeping, I placed the chopped walnuts in a small bowl and mixed it with about 1/2 cup of the dry flour mixture. I didn't toast my walnuts (GASP); I bought a bag of chopped walnuts and felt too lazy to toast them. I was baking late at night; forgive me.



In another bowl, I whisked (by hand) the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract together.  It was pretty easy to do by hand, so an electric mixer wasn't necessary.



Then, I poured in the wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture.



 By the time I was done with mixing the wet and dry ingredients, the milk was ready. I removed the tea bags and squeezed them to get all the wonderful chai tea flavor before discarding them.  I then added the milk little by little to the mixture until the milk was fully incorporated.




I used my ice-cream scoop to evenly divide the mixture into the 12 muffin tins, doing my best to be as neat as possible.The recipe is supposed to make 18 muffins, but I decided to fill the muffin tins more generously and simply discard the rest of the mixture.  I don't have two regular-sized muffin baking dishes, and there really wasn't much left over due to my generous fillings (maybe just enough for one muffin).  I placed the muffin pan into the oven and set my timer for 20 minutes.



After exactly 20 minutes, I took my muffins out of the oven and let them cool on my countertop for about 30 minutes.



On to the frosting:

INGREDIENT LIST for FROSTING
3 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 cup confectioner sugar
3 or so tbsp milk

This frosting is incredibly simple to make, and I made it while the muffins were baking. I mixed together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice until everything was incorporated.  (TIP: while you are making the muffins, leave the cream cheese and butter on your counter to soften!) Then, I added all the sugar and mixed.  Next, I added the milk a splash at a time, mixing well after every splash.  In total, I added about 2 1/2 tbsp of milk; I wanted my glaze a little thicker rather than runny.  Once mixed, I kept it in the fridge until the muffins were cooled. Then, I spread the glaze on each muffin with a butter knife and VOILA:



I loved this recipe so so so so much. I think I may have overmixed the batter for the muffins just a tad, but they still tasted so delicious and warm and comforting. Also, despite my generous pouring of the batter, the muffin was definitely fully cooked through. The muffins have a hint of chai tea flavor, enough to make you take notice but not too overpowering.  The frosting/glaze, though, was my absolute favorite part! You could really taste that cream cheese and pumpkin pie spice. It's so good and soooo pretty on top of the muffin; the frosting is translucent and has specs of spice running throughout! I ate these for breakfast and gave some to my co-workers for an afternoon nibble; they loved them! I have also commented that I could swim in a tub of that frosting. Laura Vitale, you are genius.

For the video recipe, click here. For the full online recipe instructions, click here.

Stay tuned for my next kitchen discovery: SPAGHETTI CACIO E PEPE!

I have decided to make my first recipe/food blog post about this simple, delicious dish! The original recipe/instructions are by the wonderful Laura Vitale, the chef of the Cooking Channel's Simply Laura and the creator of the YouTube Channel, Laura in the Kitchen. I came across this wonderful video recipe on her YouTube Channel, which I will link at the end of this post. This video was so heartwarming too, since she was at home in Italy, cooking with her Grandmother. I don't know about you, but cooking with family is something that just makes my heart whole. 

Here are the ingredients she used:

INGREDIENT LIST

eggplants

salt

pepper

olive oil

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (get the good quality kind!)

Then, I heated up some olive oil in a saucepan (with high sides) on medium-high.  Once the oil was heated up, I dropped in the eggplant and cooked them for about 6 minutes, flipping them over and stirring them in the oil occasionally.  Since I had a lot of eggplant, I did the frying in two batches to avoid boiling them and to get them nice & crispy. I also adjusted the heat as I went on so as not to burn the oil and the eggplant too quickly; I wanted a nice, even fry! 

While they were frying, I got my freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano ready to sprinkle over the eggplant.  I keep a block of good-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano in the fridge, ready for any amazing pasta dish! This time, I had a bunch of grated cheese already left over from another recipe I made earlier on in the week. I vow to never use the cheese from the can-aisle; fresh, good-quality cheese makes ALL the difference.

After scooping the eggplant out with my handy dandy spider (my name for this contraption), I laid them out on a paper-towel lined plate to drain the excess oil.  While they were nice and hot on the plate, I hit the eggplant slices with the salt and pepper.




Once cooled for a couple minutes, I placed the eggplant on my serving platter and topped the slices with about 2 tablespoons of my grated Parmigiano-Reggiano! The eggplant was crunchy on the outside, and soft & sweet on the inside! The cheese gave a special salty and flavorful bite to the vegetable.  I loved this dish, and I will definitely make it again!