Linguine with Basil-Pea Cream

Not all cooking adventures turn out the way we planned.  This was one that was a bit of a disappointment.  It wasn't a hundred percent failure; however, if I made this again, I would make a few tweaks to the recipe. 

Linguine with Basil-Pea Cream
Serves 6 (approximately 370 calories per serving)
Source:  Cooking Light: The Essential Dinner Tonight Cooking published by Oxmoor House



3 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped leek
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth, divided
2 (10 oz) packages frozen green peas
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon EVOO
2 (8 oz) packages of presliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups hot cooked linguine (about 12 ounces uncooked pasta)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add leeks to pan and cook 3 minutes.  Stir in 1/4 cup broth and peas; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Keep the skillet partially covered.  Meanwhile, place 1 1/2 cups pea mixture, 1/4 cup broth, 1 cup basil leaves, and oil in a blender.  Process mixture until smooth.  Pour pureed peas into a bowl and mix in remaining pea mixture. Melt remaining butter in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and garlic.  Saute for 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.  In the pan mix together mushroom mixture, pea mixture, and pasta.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss together well.  Once pasta has been plated, top with 2 tsp of chopped basil.  Serve immediately. 

Notes: As I mentioned, I wasn't in love with this dish.  I think it has good potential though.  I would cut the peas in half.  I would also only add about 1/2 cup of the pea mixture to the blender for the sauce.  Instead, I would add Parmesan cheese and a bit of whipping cream to make the puree thicker and more flavorful. Another add that would add some great flavor would be roasted onions.  You could roast them in the oven or on the skillet in some EVOO.  Add them to the blender to get some additional flavor in the sauce. 

- Miss J

Roasted Red Peppers and Steak salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

For Valentine's day, Moe and I decided to cook the steak that we got from our sister-in-law.  Her family owns a farm, and the quality of the meat is always outstanding.  It had been frozen for quite awhile so I was bit nervous it wasn't going to taste very good; however, it turned out perfect! 

Roasted Red Peppers and Steak salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves: 2
Source:  Miss J

16 oz strip steak
1/4 cup Gorgonzola crumbled cheese
a handful of pine nuts
1 red bell pepper (de-seeded and cut into quarters)
3 cups of spinach (or romaine) lettuce
1 grape vine tomato (diced in 1inch squares)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper

salad dressing (serves 10)
1 garlic clove
1 shallot (finely diced)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp (plus or minus depending on desired sweetness)
pepper

Whisk together salad dressing and let sit for a half hour.  This allows the flavors to meld together while the rest of the meal is prepared. Turn on grill to high.  Once heat is roaring, reduce heat on grill to medium.  Brush steak with olive oil on both sides and lightly season with pepper.  Place steaks on the grill.  On a cast iron skillet, place the four bell pepper slices on skillet and lightly coat with olive oil.  Place bell peppers slices on the grill rack next to the steaks.  Cook on the steaks on the grill until internal temperature reads 140 -145 degrees (medium), approximately 10 minutes.  Flip the bell peppers about half way through.  Add a drizzle of the salad dressing on the bell peppers with 1 minute left to cook on grill.  Bell peppers are done when they are soft and the skin has loosened.  You do not want the skin to peel off.  If it does then the temperature is too high for the bell peppers. 

While steaks are cooking, toss spinach in salad dressing. Be sure not to use all the salad dressing as this recipe makes more salad dressing which you can keep at room temperature for up to a week. Divide the spinach across two plates.  Top with Gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes and pine nuts. When the steak and roasted red peppers are done, slice and divide up across the two salads.   Serve immediately.

Notes:  You could also cook the bell peppers in the oven at 400 degrees in an aluminum foil tent with some drizzled olive oil.  They should cook for about 10 minutes or until soft.      

- Miss J

Bile duct surgery or aortic valve replacement????

I agreed to go to osu campus and wait for Moe while he is at a medical school meeting. I figured that I can bring a book and catch up on my book club reading. So I get to the library and realize I forgot my book. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal as I am at a library, BUT it was a medical school library! I could read about bile duct surgery or aortic valve replacements... FML! - Miss J

Refresh

My life has been a spiraling mess of travel, work, stress, and more stress. As a result, my blog has been a low priority. However, I am hoping to get organized this upcoming weekend. The house is back on the market, I am settled into my new job (well new boss so by default new job), and I am done traveling until May. My goal is to find a way to ENJOY the next five months before Moe graduates instead of letting the fear of uncertainty control my life. Easier said than done. I'll leave it at that. - Miss J

Dinner Confession

Sadly my dinner consisted of a super sized bag of chex mix, a bag of raw almonds, a water, and a pack of gum. That's what I get for choosing to dine at the Hudson News Shop in the LGA Airport in NY :) And yes, the chex mix bag had 8 servings and i ate thrm all. Although I am exhausted and ready to sleep in my own bed tonight, I am NOT looking forward to boarding a plane to fly into a snow storm and then off to an empty house. Moe is staying another night in NY with his brother and Sky is with her grandma (yes mom.... That's you)! On a positive note, I AM EXCITED to fly to St. Louis tomorrow night to hangout with my college housemate!!!! After a long week of work, I'm excited to catch up and have some good fun this weekend!!!! - Miss J

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

The other night, Moe and I had another couple over for dinner.   I love dinner parties as they are so much cheaper than a night out on the town, AND often times is a much more relaxed atmosphere where you can let the dogs play and enjoy a nice glass of wine.  Most people think it is tons of work; however, I rarely get stressed about it. I think its because I feel blessed that Moe plays a very active role when we entertain.  Not only does he help get everything ready including setting the table, but we tackle clean up together.  This makes a world of a difference as you can throw the dishes in the sink while the guests are there and know that you won't be spending four hours cleaning up the kitchen once everyone leaves.  Last night as we were putting the dishes away, I looked at Matt and thought how happy I was to be married to him.  I feel like I take for granted the time we spend together so last night was one of the moments that I reminded myself how lucky I am to have him as part of my life. 

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Serves: 4-5
Source:  The Food Network - Tyler Florence
(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/shrimp-scampi-with-linguini-recipe2/index.html)

1 pound linguine (or angel hair pasta)

4 tablespoons butter  (unsalted)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 large shallot, finely diced

5 cloves garlic, sliced

Pinch red pepper flakes, optional

20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

Brine shrimp for 20-30 minutes.  Set aside in a strainer and place ice cubes on top to keep chilled until ready to cook shrimp. 

For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguine. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.

 Notes:  It is important to brine the shrimp to create the "pop" feeling when you bit into it.  I had never done this before, but decided to give it a try with the shrimp scampi.  It made a world of a difference!  I was worried that soaking the shrimp in salt water would leave the shrimp with a salty flavor.  However, this was not the case at all.  I strongly recommend it!

Directions for brining shrimp:  Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt in about 1 gallon of cold water.  Soak for 20-30 minutes if peeled shrimp and 40-50 minutes for unpeeled shrimp.  Remove shrimp and rinse with cold water.  Pack with ice until ready to use.

- Miss J

NY Trip

Last weekend, Moe and I went to NY to visit his twin brother and sister-in-law.  It was a short weekend visit, but we were able to pack in tons of fun in the two and half days!

1.  Dinner at Recipe (http://www.recipenyc.com/)

2.  Drinking and games (Connect Four) at Dive 75 on Upper West Side (http://nymag.com/listings/bar/dive_75/)

3.  American Museum of Natural History  (http://www.amnh.org/)

4.  Burger and frozen custard at the Shake Shack (http://shakeshack.com/)

5.  Two hours of Mario Brothers on Wii (I haven't played in years and it definitely was reflected in my performance)

6.  Dinner at Land Thai Kitchen (http://www.landthaikitchen.com/)

7.  Lunch at Lombardi's Pizza in Soho  (http://www.firstpizza.com/)

8.  Shopping at Lulu Lemon and Patagonia

9.  Yogurt at Pink Berry (I think they lace this with some sort of drug because I think I am addicted!)

I am actually going to be going back to New York for two days this week for work and then off to St. Louis to visit one my college housemates for the weekend!   I can't wait!

- Miss J

Dinosaur skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History