Tomato, Arugula, and Pancetta Pasta

I watch Food Network a lot and one of my favorite shows is “Giada at Home”.  I love Giada.  I love pasta and cheese and vegetables and everything Italian.  I am Italian after all.   One day I was watching “Giada at Home” and she made this dish that was out-of-this-world-yummy looking!  Since it was a pretty simple looking meal to make, I decided to give it a whirl.  I’m always looking for a quick and easy meal to make on a weeknight after work!  If you’d rather visit Giada’s recipe, please feel free!

**Sorry for the lack of pictures.  I’m having trouble locating my camera!**

Tomato, Arugula, and Pancetta Pasta

1 pound filled pasta (i.e. ravioli, tortellini, etc)
6 slices pancetta, thin sliced and chopped
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups arugula
1/2 cup basil
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Bring water to boil for the pasta.  Cook pasta according to manufacturer’s directions.  While the pasta is cooking, heat a pan to medium high heat and cook the pancetta until crispy.  Remove from the pan and drain.  (I took the rendered fat out of the pan as well because I didn’t want all that added grease.)  Add the tomatoes, oil, salt, and pepper to the pan and cook until tender and warmed through.  Add the arugula and basil and cook until they are wilted.  Add the butter to the pan and let melt.  Add the ravioli and cooked pancetta to the mixture and toss to coat.  Serve immediately.

A few notes…
1.  You can use whatever kind of filled pasta you like…cheese, vegetable, meat, etc.  You can even choose to make it with some regular type pasta like bowtie.  I’m sure it would be good no matter what you use.
2.  I did not read the directions carefully before going to the store to get my pancetta and I ended up getting it thick sliced.  I chopped it up into pretty small pieces, but I think the thin sliced would have been better.  The thick was very crunchy and sort of dominated the rest of the dish as far as texture.
3.  Jeff is not a huge fan of bacon-type meats and made the suggestion that it would be better with a different type of meat.  I think turkey sausage would go great with these flavors.  Ground chicken flavored with some garlic and/or pesto would do nicely too.  You wouldn’t get the crunch from either of these two meats, but that is something Jeff was not keen on with this dish.  You could also make this with regular bacon if you didn’t have pancetta on hand.
4.  Giada’s recipe on the Food Network website has a breakdown of times, so if you are curious about that, please check out the site listed above.

I hope you try this dish. It took less than 30 minutes to make from the time I started the water for the pasta to the time we sat down to eat.  It is a great go-to meal.

Get Into That Christmas Spirit

If you’re anything like me, I spend most of the holiday season compiling a list of my favorite Christmas songs only to delete the list come January, thus forcing me to repeat myself in November/December!  Last year, I got smart.  We had an external hard drive, so I saved my songs in a folder labeled “Christmas”.  This year, all I had to do was move the folder back onto my computer and voila!  Instant Christmas playlist!  I thought I would share some songs with you to get you into that holiday spirit.  (I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but since I work retail it has been Christmas since before Halloween!!!) 

**Just a warning…I listen to a lot of traditional music at my job, so a lot of my songs are the “different” Christmas songs.  I do have some traditional music, but usually they are sung by a newer artist or have a twist of some sort on them.  It’s just what I like. 

All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan-Kenny Chesney
The Angel At the Top of My Tree-Kenny Chesney
Baby, It’s Cold Outside-Leon Redbone & Zooey Deschanel (from Elf)
Believe-Josh Groban (I cry every time I watch “The Polar Express” and hear this song.  It is so beautiful.)
A Candle In The Window-Alabama
Christmas-Leona Naess
Christmas in America-Melissa Etheridge
Christmas in Dixie-Alabama
Christmas in Dixie-Kenny Chesney
Christmas is Going to the Dogs-Eels
Christmas Memories-Alabama
The Christmas Song-The Raveonettes
Elf’s Lament-Barenaked Ladies
Feliz Navidad-Jose Feliciano
Green Christmas-Barenaked Ladies
Happy Holidays-Alabama
Hard Candy Christmas-Dolly Parton
Here Comes Santa Claus-Bing Crosby
Holly Jolly Christmas-Burl Ives
Homecoming Christmas-Alabama
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas-Dr. Demento
It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas-Perry Como
It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year-Andy Williams
Joseph & Mary’s Boy-Alabama
Last Christmas-Jimmy Eat World
Maybe This Christmas-Ron Sexsmith
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays-N’Sync
Mistletoe-Colbie Caillat
The Nutcracker Suite-The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Please Come Home for Christmas-Charles Brown
The Polar Express-Tom Hanks
Rockin’ On Top of the World-Steven Tyler
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree-Brenda Lee
Run Run Rudolph-Chuck Berry
Santa Baby-Britney Spears
Santa Baby-Eartha Kitt
Santa Claus (I Still Believe in You)-Alabama
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town-Frank Sinatra
Sleigh Ride-Gap Commerical Version
Suite from the Polar Express-Alan Silvestri
Tennessee Christmas-Alabama
Thistlehair the Christmas Bear-Alabama
Tonight is Christmas-Alabama
Twelve Redneck Days of Christmas-Jeff Foxworthy
We Need a Little Christmas-The Muppets
When Christmas Comes to Town-Matthew Hall & Meagan Moore (I cry during this one too!!  lol)
Where Are You Christmas?-Faith Hill

This is my starter list.  There are more, I’m sure, but this is the playlist I have saved from last year.  What are some of your favorite Christmas songs you listen to over and over again?  As they are sent to me, I’ll add them to my list.  Thanks!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I love chicken cordon bleu.  My ex-boyfriend’s mom used to make it a lot and it was one of my favorite meals she cooked for us.  She made a frozen version, but nevertheless it was fantastic!  I tried to make chicken cordon bleu a while back and was upset when the filling fell out before it was even cooked.  This time I tried for a casserole version.  It was A-Mazing! So good!  Jeff and I both loved it very much.  And, bonus, it was really easy!

I’m sure making a french dish had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I saw “Julie & Julia” yesterday…

For casserole:
1 cup diced ham
2 cups diced chicken
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup milk

For topping:
3/4 cup ritz crackers, crushed
1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350*.  Heat ham in a pan until browned on all sides (4-5 minutes).  Remove from pan and saute onions in butter until soft.  Meanwhile, layer chicken, ham, and cheese to a prepared casserole dish.  (I used a 6×9 pan for this size casserole.)  Add flour, mustard, and nutmeg to the onions.  Stir to thoroughly combine.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.  Layer over the previous ingredients.

Combine the three topping ingredients until it becomes crumbly.  Spread evenly over the casserole.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is nice and brown.

Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Vinegar Glaze and Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

Yesterday, I went to see “Julie & Julia” therefore did not get home in time to make a meal that takes a long time to cook.  Instead, I picked up a few things from Dorothy Lane, our gourmet grocery store next to my house, and did my own little spin on them.  I made a beef tenderloin in the oven served with a wonderful red wine, balsamic vinegar glaze.  I also had roasted baby potatoes with rosemary and garlic on the side.  It was yum!  Here’s what I did:

Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

For the steak:

2 filet mignon steaks

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

salt & pepper

TIP:  When picking out your steaks, go for the darkest one you can find.  The darker the meat, the more flavorful it will be.

Preheat your oven to 400*.  Start by patting your steaks completely dry.  Something I learned from the movie is it’s easier to brown your meat if it is completely dry.  Who says you can’t learn things from the movies?!  So, pat your steaks dry, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary and really push the seasonings into the meat.  You want them to stick when you put them in the hot pan.  Heat your pan to medium high and add the olive oil.  When the oil is hot, place your steaks in the pan.  You’ll want to hear a wonderful sizzle when you put your steaks in.  After about a minute, flip the steaks over and let them cook for an additional minute, or until the other side is nicely browned.

If you have an ovenproof pan, you can just move the steaks (pan and all) into the oven to finish the cooking.  If not, you will need to transfer the steaks to something that is ovenproof and put that dish in the oven.  You are just looking to cook the inside of the steak to your desired temperature.  I like to use a meat thermometer to ensure the proper temp:

120-125: rare; 130-135: medium rare; 140-145: medium

Oddly enough, I didn’t use one last night, so our meat with well done (we like medium rare to medium), but I thought it was still yummy.  Pull your meat out just shy of it being cooked to your desired temperature so it can rest a little before you eat it.  It will continue to cook as it rests.  If you like it medium, for example, you’d want to remove it around 135 so by the time you cut into it, it would be perfect.  Remember to remove your steaks from the pan for the resting.

For the glaze:

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 large pinch brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients and heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until it has reduced.  After you pull the steaks out of the pan so they can rest, you should have a good amount of “stuff” left in the pan.  Pour your glaze mixture into the pan to “deglaze” it.  The red wine and vinegar combined with the pan drippings makes for a phenomenal sauce!  Remember, though, when you taste the sauce, it will taste super strong!  “A sauce is supposed to be strong.  If it wasn’t, they would call it soup.”  I believe this quote is from Alton Brown’s Good Eats television show.  Once you put the sauce on the steak, it tones it down and everything just flows.

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

12-14 baby red potatoes, quartered or halved depending on the size

1 T olive oil

2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

salt and pepper

Can you tell I like garlic and rosemary?  I wanted the potatoes to cook pretty fast, so I cut them either in half or in quarters.  Put them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with the oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Then put them in your oven (that should be preheated to 400*) to cook.  It should take about 20 minutes or so.  Just cook them until they are nice and done.  I usually try to flip them at least once so both cut sides brown evenly. 

REMEMBER:  Put your potatoes in the oven first.  Like I said, they will take about 20 minutes to cook and your steaks should only take about 5 at the most.  Get your potatoes started and in the oven before you even start on the steaks and you should be pretty good on time.  Enjoy!

Julie & Julia

Today I decided to treat myself to a movie since I had the whole day off and had already gotten in my workout early.  I have been wanting to see “Julie & Julia” for quite some time because a. I’m a foodie and b. I have a food blog.  And c. Julia Child is synonymous with cooking.

I. Love. This. Movie.

Meryl Streep did an excellent job capturing the essence of Julia.  I do believe talking in Julia’s voice would give me a headache though!  Amy Adams was amazing in the movie too.  I was hungry the whole way through!  Good thing I ate before I went.

Seeing this movie made me want to learn more about cooking.  It really solidified my desire to do something in food.  I don’t know if I want to be a chef or a baker, but I would love to do something in food!  Maybe having a food blog is enough.  Maybe not.

Seeing this movie also enhanced my desire to travel to Europe.  I have always wanted to go to France and Italy.  Those two places top a long list of places I want to visit.  I will get there some day.  And when I do, I will try anything and everything I can get my hands on!

Hi. My name is Bethany and I love coffee.

When I was growing up, my mama and daddy had coffee every morning.  Some days I would even make it for them.  They taught me how to make it and they “took” it, and I would sometimes make their coffee and take it to them.  I would be so proud.

I never liked coffee growing up though.  I always LOVED the smell, but thought it tasted too bitter.  My roommate in college, Carolyn, and her then boyfriend, Barrett, would drink coffee all the time.  I secretly think Barrett’s veins contained coffee instead of blood.  I always wanted to be one of those people who would “run to Starbucks” and carry those little cups with them everywhere they went.  I still could not get on board with the coffee drinking.

Then, one day before APO (our community service fraternity we belonged to), Carolyn convinced me to try coffee again.  She suggested I get a Caramel Macchiato because most of the time they were sweeter than other drinks.  She also suggested I get it with one less shot of espresso.  Grandes come with two shots, so I would get a Single Grande Caramel Macchiato. 

I told her the drink seemed a little rich, so then she tweaked my drink to be a Single Grande Nonfat Caramel Macchiato.  I drank that same drink for about two years.  It was the best thing in the world and it was super yummy every day during our APO meetings.

Then a few years ago, I decided to branch out.  One day I went up to the Starbucks counter and nervously ordered a Single Grande Nonfat Hazelnut Latte.  I know…big difference, right?  Turns out, it was equally fantastic!

Eventually, I encountered a new problem.  Hot coffee drinks in the middle of summer don’t taste as good as they do in the middle of winter.  Problem was, I didn’t like iced coffee.  Or so I thought…  “Try it again!” Carolyn encouraged one day last summer.  “I bet you’d like the Caramel Macchiato iced.  The caramel gets all cold and you get big bites of it in your straw!”  I tried it and ended up drinking the entire drink in all of about ten minutes.  Yay!  New drink I love!

Today…ladies and gents…I have reached another level of coffee drinking achievement.  I did not “water down” my beverage by getting one less shot of espresso in my coffee.  Let me expain…

I have recently taken to ordering the Skinny Lattes at Starbucks.  I don’t get Starbucks often because I don’t like to “drink” my calories.  Carolyn told me the skinny lattes are suprisingly good, so I tried one the other day.  Basically I got the same drink I always get but with sugar free syrup instead of the sugary syrup.  I still got one less shot of espresso though.  It didn’t taste as good to me as a regular latte, but it was Starbucks and I was treating myself to a caloric beverage.

I decided I didn’t want to keep getting grandes, though, because that is an extra 2 oz of skim milk, therefore an extra 20 calories I didn’t need to have.  (I know what your thinking…it’s an extra 20 calories. Big deal.  But when you only get 1400/day and you’d rather have a chocolate bar and need those 20 calories, it is a big deal.  To me.) 

So today I got a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte.  No single shot, no other changes, just plain and simple.  And you know what?  It’s FANTASTIC!  It’s my new favorite drink.  And I know you all are laughing at me and telling me what a weird post this is.  But you know what?

I don’t care.  Cause I have a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte.  And you don’t.

November

Can anyone else believe it’s NOVEMBER already? 

54 days til Christmas!

Wow…

Halloween Candy…and a Turkey Burger

Carolyn came up on Friday to hang out with me for the weekend.  We decided to go to a yogalates class yesterday morning and then to the outlet mall in Jeffersonville for a little shopping.  After we came home, it was time to hand out candy to all the little neighborhood kids.  There were quite a few of them!  Well, needless to say, we had to help ourselves to a little Halloween candy.  We kind of overdid it, but what are you gonna do?  It’s Halloween!!! 

To balance out the candy, we decided turkey burgers would be a better alternative than going out to eat or ordering something unhealthy like pizza.  I thought I’d share the recipe with you guys!

Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
1 egg white
salt
pepper
chopped parsley

Mix all the items (excluding the turkey meat) together until combined.  Add the turkey meat and mix until just combined.  Don’t overwork the meat!  Cook over medium heat in a nonstick skillet until no longer pink.

We ate ours with American cheese, ketchup, spicy mustard, and avocado.  Yum!