Shepherds Pie with Snappy Horseradish Potatoes

When it's chilly outside and you need a hearty dish- heck, even when it's not chilly- Shepherds pie just rocks! It's like goulash and that's fantastic!

In these economic times, I have been trying to cut corners and cook with cheaper items; we could say I'm being frugal- but cheap really describes it better.

Rather than by a nice, expensive piece of meat for this dish, I actually spent 2 bucks on a soup bone. Yup- that's it. I looked the soup bone over and decided there was quite a bit of meat on that bone. Cooked properly and long enough- there is enough meat on these things to make a hearty meal; I think I ended up with almost 3 cups of shredded meat for $2!

This should make about 7 servings (of course, this all depends on your serving size)- but if you do need to stretch this a bit then add a few extra potatoes to the top, add a little more broth, carrots and celery at the middle- the base flavor of this is fabulous! The addition of the creamy horseradish to the potatoes is addicting! We ate it so fast I didn't even get a photo of it until the next day!

Feel free to get a better cut of meat - but honestly the soup bone gives such great flavor to this dish and like I mentioned - I got enough meat off that bone I would not have wanted any more in it. Be frugal, make a goulashy dish and be fat and happy any time of the year!


Shepherds Pie topped with Horseradish Potatoes


Brown two soup bones
add:
1 cup onions
1 stick celery

add and sautee:
3 crimini mushrooms

When the onions are softened, add:
1 tbls tomato paste
stir, cook 1 minute
add flour (2 -3 tbls) and 1 Tbls dried thyme

add broth enough to cover everything and 1 cup red wine
simmer 1 1/2 hours - or until meat is ready to shred. Now remove the bones- shred off meat and return to pot with:

1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup of fresh green beans
Simmer (add more wine and broth if need to cover everything).

In the meantime, boil:
4 medium sized potatoes, quartered, skin on (boil in broth for more flavor)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped.

Strain when potatoes are tender, but save the broth. Place the potatoes in bowl or Kitchen aide Mixer. Mix, add:

1/4 cup cream
Reserved broth -just add enough to make creamy
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbls creamy horseradish
2 Tbls of chopped chives
fresh pepper and salt

Taste the potatoes, adjust seasonings if needed.

Stir 1/2 cup frozen peas in the stew.
Now place potatoes on top of the stew- just plop spoonfuls down, spread and make little mounds and waves. Place in oven until bubbly and browning on top. Enjoy!

Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette

There are those times when nothing but a fresh, crisp, healthy salad will do. You know those days-- when you've overindulged and need something light but delicious.

My friend Lesley picked up this fabulous Tomato Balsamic Vinegar for me and it came in handy on this day that I needed something ... fresh.

This is a super simple salad, playing off the vinegar I wanted to add highlight that tomato portion of the vinegar-so I picked up roasted tomatoes at Whole Foods in their fresh olive section and I have to say they were fabulous! I was quite surprised. You can easily make your own, but not until tomato season. Be sure to pack some of the garlic slivers, capers and brine along with the tomatoes.

There's thousands of salads and dressings out there and I make up new ones all the time. But not all are blog worthy, I felt this one is. It's back to real basics with salad- not all the extras that can overwhelm. Give it a try! It's a great winter break and it will be even better in the summer! It's being fat and happy through the seasons.


Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup diced Roasted Tomatoes
2 Tbls brine from the tomatoes (with the garlic and capers)
2 Tbls chopped parsley
1 Tbls lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil (or more if needed)
4 Tbls of Tomato Balsamic Vinegar

Whisk all the ingredients together, let rest for a minute.

Toss with fresh romaine, toasted pine nuts and large peels of Romano cheese (or asiago or Parmesan would work too).
Top with fresh ground pepper.

Pumpkin Ricotta Cheese Pancakes

Pancakes remind me of our cabin in the mountains. There is something about the smell of pancakes, syrup and bacon (cuz you can' t have pancakes without bacon!) and the way it plays of the fresh chilly outdoors with the river tumbling in the background and the pine trees creaking in the wind. Ah, that is the life.

Meanwhile, back in the city, I wanted pancakes but they needed a twist- something that sets them apart and helps fill the void of the crisp outdoors. At the restaurant, we made Ricotta Cheese Pancakes; sweet, moist pancakes. These are not like typical pancakes. They are extremely delicate and often hard to maneuver until you get used to them. And the insides are extremely moist and completely melt in your mouth. Delicious. Having some extra pumpkin in the fridge brought it all together. These are fun enough to have in the summer too- not reason to wait until the fall.

Some tips on how to handle these pancakes: You will whip the egg whites, and then gently fold them in into the batter. Dollop them onto a hot, well greased pan, you may need to slightly spread them out. Do not touch until the bottom is set- then in one quick motion- you need to swoop up the pancake in one scoop and flip it- no hesitation. Keep a paper towel close by and wipe your spatula off after each flip. These pancakes will remain tall and extremely moist.

When I say moist- I really mean moist. You may even think these are not fully cooked- but don't be nervous- you'll require no butter and less syrup, but these are sweet none the less. It's a great way to start the morning, perfect to sit on your balcony and watch the traffic roll by; the honking of the horns will just make you slip into the pancakes that much more. The city is a wilderness all it's own and these pancakes fit right in. Be fat and happy in the city.

Pumpkin Ricotta Cheese Pancakes

Made about 18 medium-sized pancakes

3 eggs separated

3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin, canned is fine
1/8 cup sugar (white)
4 Tbls brown sugar
3 Tbls flour (sift in)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground clove
pinch of allspice
pinch of salt

Mix the egg yolks with all the remaining ingredients. Whip the egg whites until stiff; fold into the pumpkin mixture.

Drop spoonfuls onto a hot, greased griddle. Carefully flip. Serve immediately with warm syrup.

Cheesy Baked Eggs and Pasta Casserole

Left overs, love them or hate them- they are unavoidable. Personally, I love the challenge of finding a way to present to them so that it doesn't feel like you're eating the same meal over again.

In this case, we had leftover olive pasta and I knew from the moment I got up that morning that a baked egg casserole would was calling. I am from the Midwest (Minnesota) after all; we can make a casserole out of anything!

Next time you have leftover pasta -any kind of pasta will work- tomato, cream or oil based- throw this together for a super easy breakfast or a scrumptious lunch that can pair with a salad. You can even make this extra healthy by using all or mostly egg whites. The sauce of your pasta will the the base flavor for your eggs, and it's gonna be great!

Portion sizes are huge these days; save some for breakfast and see how early in the day you can be fat and happy!


Cheesy Baked Eggs and Pasta Casserole

You're going to need to assess how much pasta you have- and adjust accordingly. Below is what my version- use this as your base and go from there.

2 cups of left over pasta
Place in the bottom of a small casserole dish

Layer 1/2 cup of grated cheese across the pasta (use whatever, cheddar, Parmesan, goat)

whisk and pour into the casserole dish:
4 eggs
1/4 cup cream
2 tbls water
salt and pepper to taste

*you want enough egg liquid to cover the pasta

Place into preheated oven (375 degree) until the eggs are set in the middle. They will puff slightly, but don't overcook or you'll have dry eggs. Let rest for a minute and then serve.

Tequila-inspired Mexican Pasta

While making homemade ravioli the other day- I ended up with a little extra pasta, both a plain and spinach pasta. The easiest thing to do of course, is roll it out for back-up noodles, but as always, I wanted something slightly different. Recently I've had a craving for parpadelle pasta- it's simple a flat, ribbon shaped pasta. You'll see this often used with a hearty beef or boar ragu.

Our friend Hoss sent us a bottle of tequila as a thank you for the visit- Any time Hoss! We had eaten a lot of Italian food recently, so the ragu was not of interest, but the tequila was. My goal was to make a Mexican type of dish, incorporating peppers and the tequila. I think this was a success; and it goes well with a margarita too!

Of course- please feel free to purchase parpadelle pasta rather than making your own. And substitute other peppers - these are just what I had on hand. And don't forget the salt on the rim! Ahh to be fat and happy with 'cultural' food. Nice.

Tequila-inspired Mexican Pasta

Start a large pot of salted water for the pasta....cook pasta (parpadelle) accordingly, reserve a cup of the pasta water.

Sautee
1/2 spanish onion, chop into large pieces, 2x2
Olive oil

add, continue to sautee until edges begin to caramelize (want the peppers to retain a slight crunch when served):
1/2 red pepper, large chop
1/2 yellow pepper, large chop
1 roasted poblano pepper, large chop
1 tbls ground cumin
Fresh black pepper


Deglaze pan with:
1/2 cup tequila (remove the pan from heat when add alcohol!)

Add to the pan:
1 can of diced tomatoes
dash of chili oil or ground red pepper
4 tbls fresh oregano
2 tbls fresh parsley

simmer until warmed throughout.

Add your freshly cooked pasta to the pan, toss. Add a few spoons of pasta water to help give a little more moisture to the dish.

Top with a little grated cheddar cheese, or chihuahua cheese.

Banana Semifreddo

I just can't stop. I cannot stop with the frozen treats! It's like I'm fricken' addicted! Dave wanted a treat one night- and all I could come up with was bananas and whipping cream. Aha!

This one is a super quick, simple, mock ice cream. It's like a half frozen mousse- which is exactly what semifreddo means in Italian (half frozen). My recipe below is about as simple as it gets. Most semifreddo recipes call for either whipped whites or yolks and sometimes both. I skipped the eggs in my variation because I don't think they are needed for this.

This semifreddo does not become totally frozen. I'm thinking you could use some cookie cutters, like a monkey, or a tree, and it would be real fun for kids!

But never does this dessert need an ice cream maker. It just quick and easy! A great trick I do is take bananas that are turning brown, and place them in the freezer- you don't even need to wrap them! This works great for this recipe, and even banana bread.

If you want to jazz this up a bit- drizzle warm chocolate or caramel sauce across it and serve with coffee and Baily's.

Banana Semifreddo

Mash one ripe banana until smooth (you may find using a hand held blender or small Cuisinart is easier).

Whip:
1/2 cup cream
add 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla

Fold the whipped cream into the mashed banana; Place in small pan or muffin tins lined with plastic wrap. Freeze for 2-4 hours. Slice and serve.

Rosebud Restaurant- Theater District

As a former restaurant owner, I do understand when a kitchen has an off day and will typically give a restaurant two tries before vowing to never return. And if we receive service that is outstanding- this will also give us incentive to return, even if the food was sub par. Service can make or break a place!!

This will not be the case today- the Rosebud Restaurant will never get anther dime from me. Every ingredient came from a can! The roasted red peppers, the green bean in the pasta dish- both from a a can. And the ricotta gnocchi was basic flour pasta - not even close to a ricotta gnocchi. The side of sauteed broccoli was straight from a frozen bag- it had all the stumps and everything! There was a ridiculous sauce on the steak that it think they made from some leftover breakfast pancakes... that's not really the wine sauce it was advertised as.

But what about the service? Let me just say this- upon ordering a 2nd bottle, our waiter tried to bring us 'different' bottle of wine; we watched him purposely turn and hide the label as he filled our glasses.

This is a part of the Rosebud chain here in Chicago, and I've honestly heard decent things about these restaurants in the past ... if the Theatre District is indicative of the rest- ick! ...

Another experience which again solidifies my disinterest in chains. This place gets a red dot in our restaurant map list- STOP, do not return and I suggest you save your money as well.

Rosebud Theater District, 70 West Madison. Chicago, IL

Ditalini Olive Pasta Dish (hot or cold)

Drinks after work at Club Lago tends to make us super hungry, if you can believe that! Even though Guido let us sample the new meatball sandwich he's working on, for the second time- we still needed more food. I blame our hunger it on the walk home in zero degree temperatures.... and the liquor.

The absolute quickest thing to make in a situation like this is a quick pasta dish; in the time it takes for the pasta to cook- you'll have the rest of your ingredients chopped and ready to go.

This pasta dish is really another variation of my mock macaroni and cheese dishes. So easy to change up the type of pasta, the cheese and the veggies being used. Using the pasta water helps give it a cheap 'sauce-effect.' You'll love the bites that have a warm crumble of goat cheese, mmmh good. And what's even better, this particular recipe works great as a cold salad as well.

The ditalini pasta is a tiny tubular pasta that works great in soups, and I like it on cold pasta salads as well. And it's real tasty after a couple of glasses of vino! Now that you know how easy and cheap it is to throw a meal together, you can afford to go out and support your local clubs with a drink or two. Keeping the neighborhood joints like Club Lago alive- that is the Fat and Happy way!

Ditalini and Olive Pasta

Boil a large pot of water (always use more water than you think you have to when you cook pasta) add salt and cook according to package directions:
2 cups of uncooked ditalini pasta

In the meantime, sautee in a oil oil until softening begins:

1/4 cup chopped red onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots

add:
2 cloves garlic

Drain pasta, reserving pasta water. Add a drizzle of oil oil to the bottom of the pasta pot, return to stove, but turn off the heat. Add the past back in. Add in the onion mix, and:

1/2 cup chopped deli olives
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated Romano or asiago cheese
1 cup of the pasta water (add more or less to your liking)
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss well. Add:
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Serve immediately with a hunk of bread.

*if you want to make this a cold/room temperature dish, simply cool the pasta after draining and the toss with all ingredients, skip the pasta water but do add more olive oil with the sauteed veggies.