Pasta Primavera with Buttermilk Sauce

The only reason I am posting this otherwise uneventful (but still delicious) pasta, is that the sauce includes … buttermilk. Buttermilk gives it a sour note that it would otherwise get if you included a splash of white wine. So, yes, eureka! You can substitute or supplement heavy cream for buttermilk.

Ingredients:

chopped snap peas

chooped red and yellow bell pepper

green peas

chopped onions

grated garlic

broccoli (finely chopped)

fennel (finely chopped)

ham (don’t judge me) – grated in a blender  – then browned in a pan – just for taste

3/4 of a cup of buttermilk

1/4 heavy cream

2/3 cup grated parmesan (added to the sauce itself) and more for sprinking on top

parsley as a topping

linguine

Preparation:

While the linguine is boiling per the instructions on the box/bag, heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. Saute them until they are translucent (or slightly browning). Add the remaining vegetables and the garlic, and saute for 5-6 minutes. They shouldn’t be mushy. Add the cream and buttermilk and grated parmesan. Bring to a boil for a two to three minutes. Take off the heat. Take a cup of ham (cubed) and put in a food processor. Grind it so that it resembles coarse bread crumbs (like panko). Then heat some oil in another pan, and saute it until its edges brown just a little. After your boiled pasta is ready – mix it with the ham, then top with the sauce, add extra cheese if it needs it. Chopped fresh parsley on top makes it taste quite fresh too.

Poached Egg Ratatouille with Fennel

I get so many cooking ideas from the Disney Jr. channel, it is starting to get embarrassing. This is one of them. With a twist that paid off – I added butter-braised fennel. Just chopped the fennel bulb and fried it with butter until it naturally caramelized. I think it enriches the ratatouille greatly! Some sprinkled fennel leaves on top worked well too. This is a damn fine brunch centerpiece.

Here is the video recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwN2CxS5sLU

Strawberry Almond Scones

Probably the easiest scones I have ever made. They are not too sweet and they rely on the buttermilk/confectioners sugar frosting for sweetness. I suspect cherries are a better match for the almond flavor, but I am certainly not complaining. Plus, the fact that half the flour is whole wheat makes me delude myself this is not necessarily unhealthy. Was consumed with an espresso con panna. Sunday is for splurging.

Recipe:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/strawberry-almond-scones

Pina Colada Pancakes

When you live in Miami, its only natural you eat your pancakes like this every day 😉

No, not really, but it is a welcome reprieve from maple syrup and standard toppings. The cream is made of Coco Lopez http://www.cocolopez.com/cream.html,  rum and sour cream (Greek yogurt would work to tone down the coconut cream too).  Some coconut flakes, and chopped fresh pineapple finish it off. For the pancakes the mix was 2 cups flour, 1 cup buttermilk, a tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking soda, and 2 teaspoons baking powder (yeah these guys rose like nobody’s business and got super fluffy).

Followed (distractedly) this recipe – minus the pina colada yogurts which I didn’t add to the mix, hence the batter became somewhat thick but still excellent:

http://www.caciqueinc.com/blog/2016/02/pina-colada-pancakes/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=pp#.VxJIkuArKJd

No need for extra syrup, would honestly be too sweet.

Carrot and Chickpea Indian Salad

Instead of with salad dressing, you mix this salad up with a magical paste made of lemon juice, cumin, garlic, cilantro, roasted almonds and smoked paprika. You get an Indian spice flavor explosion which is extra refreshing when you eat this with something spicy. Note to self: I might add jalapenos next time.

Recipe here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/carrot-and-chickpea-salad

Roasted Brussels Sprout and Green Onion Quiche

The green onions are the stars of this otherwise straightforward recipe:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-brussels-sprout-and-gruyere-quiche

The quiche is yummy on its own, but its even better with this unusual sauce described in this recipe:

http://www.closetcooking.com/2015/12/ham-and-cheese-rolls-with-caramelized.html

The sauce (not pictured here, but licked off the plate) is made of butter, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and grainy mustard. Truly a great match with the bitter Brussels Sprouts and “stern” Gruyere 🙂

Blackberry Angel Food Cake

Mad props to Wanda Howe for this idea. Not sure I executed it optimally, but the taste is addictive. You mix a box of Angel Food Cake dry mix with a can of pie filling (blackberry in my case), and bake at 325F for 40ish minutes. I had prepared to make a blackberry coulis or syrup to top the cake off, but it definitely does NOT need anything extra. Of course it is denser than a plain Angel Food Cake, but that is because all of the mashed fruit and syrup. Plan to experiment with key lime filing next time. Thanks once more, Wanda!

No-Bake Walnut, Biscuit and Fig Cake

This is one of those buttery, dense, nutty cakes that are half-cake/half-cream.

It is also rather sweet, so I had to “temper” it with some bitter chocolate and sea salt flakes on top (yes, I am tired of the sea salt wit everything trend, but this was an emergency).

The recipe is in Bulgarian. It calls for 250g biscuits (crushed in chunks), 120 ml creme liquor of some kind, a can of condensed milk (it always feels like cheating when using this), 180g finely chopped walnuts, 160g softened butter at room temperature, vanilla essence, and pecans for topping (which I didn’t use). I also added mission figs run through a food processor (about half a cup at least). You can watch the video, but you mix this all together, and put it in a mold overnight in the fridge. Crazy lazy 🙂

https://www.bonapeti.bg/recepti/Orehov-sladkish-bez-pechene

Bread Rolls with Caramelized Onion and Gruyere

Usually not a fan of using Pillsbury rolls, but in this case it is a shortcut that pays. You roll out a tube of crescent rolls keeping its rectangular shape, then spread a layer of caramelized onions (which I had to drain from the oil/butter a bit before placing on the dough), next comes a layer of cheese of your choice, in my case – Gruyere, then roll, cut into rounds and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Burrito with cauliflower rice

The single goal of this post is to proclaim that cauliflower rice is superior to ordinary rice when it comes to burrito fillings. There are tons of recipes for “Mexican” style cauliflower rice, but essentially, you rice it in a food processor, then saute it in a pan with garlic, spices, herbs and some tomato paste (some suggested recipes are listed below). And as for this particular burrito (the pic is pre-rolling), it has shredded chicken, cauliflower rice with corn, cilantro, sour cream and chimichurri sauce, and pickled red onions.

http://www.paleocupboard.com/mexican-cauliflower-rice.html

http://thefoodcharlatan.com/2016/01/07/spanish-cauliflower-rice-to-eat-with-mexican-food/

And here is the recipe for the pickled red onions:

http://www.canningacrossamerica.com/recipes/pickled-red-onions/