Noodles with Mushrooms and Lemon Ginger Dressing

Ingredients:
Lemon Ginger Dressing
3/4 teaspoon Asian chlli powder (or cayenne)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons olive oil
The Noodles
9 ounces dried noodles (spaghetti, linguine, udon, soba)
7 ounces fresh mushrooms (enoki, shimeji, sliced button, sliced shitake)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (parsley, green onion, cilantro or basil)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds


Direction:

1. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients, except for the sesame oil and olive oil in a food processor or hand blender. Run the blender for a few seconds, until all ingredients are combined. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.
2. In a pot, cook the dried noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Add the butter and when the butter starts bubbling, add the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms for 2 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, toss the cooked noodles with the mushrooms, fresh herbs, sesame seeds and some of the dressing (to taste.)

Lasagna Bolognese

Ingredients:
Bolognese Sauce:
2 oz. Diced pancetta, finely chopped
1 Medium Spanish onion or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 Stalk celery, finely chopped
1 Carrot, finely chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
11 oz Ground beef
4 oz Ground pork
4 oz Ground Italian sausage
1 freshly ground clove
Dash of freshly ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 lb peeled and chopped tomatoes (or 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Béchamel Sauce:
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
Lasagna:
Enough lasagna noodles to make four layers in a 13x9-inch baking pan with the lasagna pieces overlapping each other a little bit.
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Direction:
Prepare the Bolognese Meat Sauce

 

1 Make the soffritto. Combine pancetta, onion, celery, and carrot in sauté pan with butter and cook over medium heat until onion turns pale gold.

2 Add the beef, pork, sausage to the soffritto, and increase the heat to high; cook until browned. Sprinkle with the clove, cinnamon, and pepper.

 

3 Stir in tomatoes, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. If you are using whole canned tomatoes, break them up as you add them to the sauce.

4 Add milk and season with sea salt. Then turn down the heat and let simmer for 2 and 1/2 hours. Stir at least every 20 minutes. Whenever the sauce simmers down to the point that it is sticking to the bottom of the pan, just add 1/4 cup of water and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom and continue to cook.

Make the Béchamel sauce.

5 Heat the milk until almost boiling in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. In a separate pan melt the unsalted butter with the flour over low heat. Stir rapidly with a spoon. Cook this for 1 minute and then remove from the heat. (See Wikipedia on Bechamel Sauce for more information on this sauce.)

6 Slowly add half the hot milk to your butter and flour mixture. During this process stir constantly.

7 Return the milk, butter, flour mixture to low heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining milk slowly while stirring working it into the thickened sauce. Continue to stir until it comes to a boil.

8 Season with some sea salt, and continue stirring until the right consistency has developed. If any lumps form, beat them out rapidly with a whisk until they dissolve. Remove from heat.

Prepare the Lasagna

9 Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook the lasagna according to instructions. About 8 minutes in 6 quarts of boiling salted water. Drain, rinse with cold water. Lay the individual lasagna noodles out on kitchen towels, not touching, so they do not stick together while you layer the casserole.

 
 

10 Spread a little olive oil around the inside of a 13x9-inch baking pan.Make sure your baking pan is non-reactive - pyrex or stainless steel. Do not use an aluminum pan as it will react with the acidity of the sauce and ruin the flavor. Put a layer of lasagna noodles down first. Layer on a third of the bolognese sauce, then a third of the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Repeat two more times. Top with a final layer of noodles and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

11 Tent the casserole with aluminum foil. Put lasagna into the middle rack of a pre-heated 375°F oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the top begins to get lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 pound spicy or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup whipping cream
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbsp dried sage
3/4 pound fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add sausages and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up the sausages a bit, about 5 minutes. Add cream; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices. Add sage. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
3. Return pasta to same pot; add sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Stuffed Chicken Breast Wrapped in Pancetta

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast, skinless and boneless

4 tbsp cranberry sauce

300g/10½oz  gorgonzola cheese

24 slices of pancetta

Italian olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper 

For the green been salad: 

4 handfuls green beans

½ lemon, juice only

3-4 tbsp olive oil

Direction:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Place each chicken breast between two pieces of cling film and, using a meat mallet, bash out the pieces until about 0.5cm/0.25in thick. Remove the cling film.
3. Spread one tablespoon of cranberry sauce over each chicken breast. Place a piece of gorgonzola in the middle of each chicken breast, season and roll up the chicken to enclose the cheese.
4. Place six slices of pancetta, side by side, on a chopping board. Place one chicken breast on the pancetta slices and tightly wrap pancetta around the chicken. Repeat with the remaining chicken and pancetta slices.
5. Place the chicken breasts on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and cook in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted.
6. Meanwhile, blanch the green beans for a few minutes in boiling water and then refresh in iced water.
7. Toss the beans with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Divide the bean salad between four plates.
9. Top with the cooked chicken and serve at once.

Chicken Curry Salad

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 heaping Tbsp yellow curry powder
1 cup raisins
1 apple (tart or sweet, your preference), peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (just lightly packed)
2 green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp mayonnaise optional


Directions:

1. Heat olive oil on medium/medium-high heat in a thick-bottomed sauté pan. Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring frequently until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken pieces while cooking. Check doneness by removing the thickest piece and cutting it in half. If it is still pink in the middle, keep cooking. Try not to overcook the chicken or it will be dry. Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon, set aside in a bowl.
2. Add yellow onion and cook. After a few minutes, when the onions are beginning to get translucent, add 2 heaping tablespoons of yellow curry powder. Cook a few minutes more, stirring frequently. If the curry sticks to the bottom or the mixture gets dry, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. As you stir, scrape up the stuck curry bits. Add raisins, and cook, stirring another minute. (If adding optional mayonnaise, remove curry from heat and mix in mayo.) Add raisin and onion mixture to chicken and mix well, coating the chicken pieces with the curry infused olive oil. Refrigerate until cool. At this point you can make the salad a day a head of time.
3. When you are ready to serve the salad, mix in the apple, green onions, and cilantro.

Butterscotch Pudding

Ingredients:

3 cups (720 ml) whole (full fat) milk

3/4 cup (160 grams) dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (30 grams) cornstarch(corn flour)

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoon (28 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Garnish: Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Directions:

In a large stainless steel (heatproof) bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks. Whisk in 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the milk until you have a thick paste. Set aside while you heat the milk. Have ready a fine medium-sized strainer and bowl as you will need to strain the pudding after it is cooked.

First, rinse a medium-sized heavy saucepan with cold water and then shake out the excess water. Doing this step prevents the milk from scorching. Then pour the remaining 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of milk into the saucepan and bring just to a boil. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean large, heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise (about2 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. Pour through the strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking.

Pour into 4 bowls or wine glasses. The pudding can be served warm or if chilling, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the warm puddings to prevent a skin from forming. If you like the skin, simply leave the pudding uncovered until cooled, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The puddings can be made a day or two ahead of serving. Garnish each pudding with a large dollop of softly whipped cream.

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch(corn flour)

1/3 cup (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder(regular or Dutch-processed)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups (600 ml) milk

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

4 large egg yolks

4 ounces (120 grams) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature (cut into small pieces)

Garnish: Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Grated chocolate

Directions:

In a large stainless steel (heatproof) bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Then whisk in 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the milk until you have a thick paste. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, whisking to blend into the cocoa paste mixture. Set aside while you heat the milk and cream. Have a fine medium-sized strainer and bowl ready near the stove as you will need to strain the pudding after it is cooked.

First, rinse a medium-sized heavy saucepan with cold water and then shake out the excess water. Doing this step prevents the milk from scorching. Then pour in the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) milk with the cream. Bring this mixture just to a boil and then remove from heat. (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Gradually pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean large, heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise (about 3 -5 minutes). Remove from heat and pour through the strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking.

Add the finely chopped chocolate, vanilla extract, and butter, stirring gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth. Pour into 6 to 8 bowls or wine glasses. Can serve warm or if chilling, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the warm puddings to prevent a skin from forming. If you are a person who likes the skin on their pudding, simply leave the pudding uncovered until cooled and then cover with plastic wrap. Can be made a day or two ahead of serving.