Tag Archives: cream

Saucy

Posted on by

I’m so sick of the typical red sauce in pasta dishes. Legit I get acidity these days from eating too many tomato based sauces so I figured I would try and mix it up in case anyone else out there is just as over it as me. I wanted to do an alfredo like sauce but hopefully keep it figure friendly as well. Luckily there are so many skinny variations out there in the world wide web and I found this yummy cauliflower based one! I legit roast cauliflower on the reg and even make the Indian sabzi version of it all the time so now thatI can utilize it in one more way is #winning in itself. Anyway, next carb craving try this sauce over marinara and don’t tell me if your pasta doesn’t sing!

  • 1 medium head of cauliflower (approx. 450g)
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic (ok I did 3 obvi)
  • 1 tbsp. of butter
  • 5 cups or 1.2 L of broth (chicken is what I did but vegetable is fine)
  • 3/4 cup of milk (or almond milk)
  • 1/2 tsp of salt (I added a pinch of black pep too).

Cut the onion & garlic into thin slices and sauté in butter for about 20 minutes or until caramelized. Boil the cut up cauliflower florets until tender in the broth (Save a 1/2 to 3/4 cup for the sauce) . Combine milk, broth, cauliflower, and veggies and blend until smooth. I added a tbsp. of grated pecorino romano because sauce should have cheese IMO.

IMG_9752

FYI makes about 3 cups of sauce.

IMG_9753

Tip: If sauce is too thick, loosen with broth when reheating.

Happy Eating, XO

Soup obsession continues…

Posted on by

For all you haters who think soup isn’t a meal, wait till you try this one. It’s so filling I can guarantee you wont need anything else! There is a starch, a protein, some veggies, etc. Its a meal in a bowl so save your judgments for something else.

Yo on a real tip- grab a big soup pot/pan! Ideally, like a dutch oven type cookware move. Don’t pull a me and start in something too small for all the ingredients and have to transfer to a bigger item half way through. Its going to mess up your whole soup making mojo. Trust me.

  • Chop a medium to large yellow onion into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp. of minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 tbsp. of light cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 box of low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 package of uncooked, raw, store bought cheese tortellini
  • 1 bag of kale
  • 1/2 bag of spinach
  • 1 package (about 1-1.5 lbs.) of spicy Italian chicken sausage (remove meat from casing and create mini meatballs so they can cook evenly in the broth).

Anyway, once you have figured out your cooking vessel, sweat the onions and garlic with salt, pepper and some olive oil for about 10-15 min on high heat. Add the can of diced tomatoes (whole can, with liquid) and the chicken broth. Once the liquids are brought to a boil, reduce heat and add cheese & cream while stirring add in “meatballs”. Raise heat back to high to bring liquids to a boil again and add the greens. Simmer for 10-15 min (greens will be wilted and meat will be cooked) before adding the tortellini, let that cook for 5-7 min (once they rise to the top of the soup, cut the heat & serve).

Total cook time should be about 45 min, prep is very short max 5 min.You will have multiple meals out of this recipe so its worth the time.

Happy Eating, XO.

Peaches and Cream

Posted on by

One of my favorite memories growing up is the dessert my sister and I used to get just before bed. Most of the time I would choose vanilla ice cream…and not much has changed since then. I may not eat dessert right before bed anymore, but I still looove vanilla ice cream. I wanted to put a fresh twist on my fav dessert by adding some hot cooked peaches. It makes this cool dish, cozy. Who knew a summer dish could actually be cozy?!

  • 3-4 fresh peaches, pitted and thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp of water
  • 2 tbsp of brown sugar
  • A dash of salt
  • 1 sprig of mint leaves
  • 1 pint of vanilla bean ice cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover a cookie sheet in foil with enough slack on the sides to form a packet. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, cinnamon, vanilla extract, water, sugar, and salt. Slowly add in the sliced peaches and mix until fully coated. Lay the peaches flat on the cookie sheet and close the foil over top. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly soft and they have a glaze on them.

Place two scoops of ice cream in a small bowl for serving, and top with the hot peaches, garnishing with a mint leaf.

Peaches and cream.JPG

 

Happy Eating, XO

 

Date Night Dinner

Posted on by

We all need a lil night to indulge. Some yummy food, a good bottle of wine, and a night in to cozy up with your hunny. This is the ideal dinner for a candle lit night at home. So get the DVD ready, grab some fresh flowers and get this meal on the table. Lucky for you, there is wine in this recipe so the bottle will be open before your significant other even comes over. I restrained and didn’t use garlic in this dish (for the obvious reasons involving kissing & bad breath), but most certainly will next time. Anyway, Serves 3-4 so you will have left overs unless you double-date it..

  • 4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 2 Tablespoon of olive oil (I cut down to 1 tbsp. because I figured there was enough butter)
  • 2 Tablespoon of butter
  • 2 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves (you know if you have a herb garden or if you are normal and want to use 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (subbed for the half & half I had in the fridge for coffee)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

In a skillet over medium – medium/high heat melt butter and combine with olive oil. Prepare chicken breasts by sprinkling both sides with a little sea salt.
Saute the chicken breasts until golden and cooked through; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms until soft and starting to brown (5 minutes). Add the thyme, wine, and vinegar. Let the wine reduce, then add 2-3 Tablespoons of the half & half, and heat until warmed through. You can serve with a vegetable and some rice.

Chicken Marsala

Happy Eating, XO.

#teamtruffle

Posted on by

So the best thing I have been hearing from people is that Jess and Sonia have the same voice. No one can differentiate who writes what post, because we have the same sense of humor, writing style, cooking/recipe style. Let me fill you in on a little secret, that was kind of the point & reasoning behind our fab collabo. Anyway, instead of keeping up the cryptic façade of who is writing this post, I will have to go ahead and spill the beans. Only because Jess is obsessed with all things TRUFFLE (you name it: fries, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, popcorn-check out her recipe, it is DIVINE). Having said that, she has now gotten me on the truffle bandwagon. I, too, am now OBSESSED. So in honor of Jess and missing our last face time date, I wanted to share this recipe with y’all.

•Kosher or Sea salt (something course).
•1/2 cup heavy cream (I tried to lighten this up and did half & half, I mean can you blame a girl: butter, cheese, cream. It was getting a lil cray even for my fattie/foodie side).
•3 ounces white truffle butter (should be about $7, I bought a 4 oz package for $7.99. Yes its expensive, yes its different, you tell us worth it or not. Also if you aren’t a fan of truffle butter or have skeptics coming to dinner perhaps use 2 oz. It’s a strong flavor so no one will hate you for cutting back, I stuck with 3 though because its “damn delish”).
•Freshly ground black pepper
•1 (8.82-ounce) package tagliatelle dried pasta (or any other egg fettuccine, Trader joes has a cheap egg papardelle)
•3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
•3 ounces Parmesan (shaved thin with a vegetable peeler or be lazy like me and have them shave it at the cheese counter for you).

Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil & cook pasta.
Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) saute pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain & add the pasta immediately (you don’t want the starchy noodles to clump together sitting in a side bowl, not that it happened to me, ok gawsh). Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water, as necessary, to keep the pasta very creamy. (I added like 3 tbsp. not even). Serve the pasta & garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately so the sauce doesn’t over-thicken. Also the original recipe says that this makes 2 portions, but let’s be honest here…this dish is DECADENT! So I’d say it is realistically a starter course or side dish for 4 servings. Yup that’s it, can’t believe how quick such a fancy dish can be? Well, make it and find out for yourself. Make sure to comment below on your thoughts! Or tweet at us with your opinion: #teamtruffle worth the $ or not.

photo

p.s. less than one month till the dynamic duo’s birthday. #justsaying.

Happy Eating, XO.