Tortellini(s) with Italian Sausage & Spinach

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who will be posting on her own here on Tastebuds very soon.

When I think of
comfort foods, many come to mind... too many to name. Truth be told, my number
one go to comfort food when in a time of need is Hungry Jack Mashed
Potatoes.

Also on my list of
comfort foods would have to be most Italian dishes... one being tortellini(s). I
never knew if that "s" should be at the end but I have a habit of pronouncing it
with it on there.

Back to the
tortelline(s)... today I bring you: Tortellini(s) with Italian Sausage &
Spinach.

Unless you are
going to make your tortellini(s) from scratch, I suggest you use Barilla. They
have a very homemade, classic taste & come in several varieties... I prefer
the Cheese & Spinach.

Next comes the
sauce. Again I am going to stress, if you are not going to make your sauce from
scratch, I suggest Bertolli sauces. I sometimes make my own sauces, & on the
Italian side it is customary to make sauces homemade, but when I do not have the
time to make my own, I choose Bertolli all the way. It's perfectly made &
you do not have to add anything to it like "other" store bought
sauces.

I personally keep
several jars, of several different varieties in my food pantry at all
times.

Now that we have
established that, it's on to browning the sausage. I use a mild Italian
sausage.

After the sausage
is browned thouroly, add fresh spinach. Only add a handful at a time & allow
it to wilt down before adding the next handful. This takes only about 10
seconds so keep your eyes on it at all times.

Now it's time to
add the sauce. I used the Bertolli Vadilla Onion Sauce.

Allow the sausage
& spinach to simmer in the sauce on low. While that is simmering, begin to
boil the tortellini(s). This take aprox. 8 - 10 minutes.

The tortellini(s)
should be prepared el dante (delicate). Drain, but DO NOT rinse. After draining,
place the tortellini(s) back into the empty, warm / hot pot that you boiled it
in.

Now it's time to
pull out that fabulous pasta dish set from Pottery Barn, that is just perfect
for the occasion.

Serve the sausage,
spinach & sauce over the tortellini(s) with a slice of garlic
bread.

Vegemite Cookery

Most people think that you can only have Vegemite on toast and of course most non-Australians think Vegemite tastes horrible, well it is if you spread it like peanut butter thick, the trick with vegemite is to spread it thin especially if you haven't tried it before

Most australian homes have Vegemite not just for use on sandwiches or toast but for stock and as a drink
This recipie comes from the Kraft vegemite website and uses Vegemite as stock

Roast Pumpkin And Leek Risotto
Serves: 4
Preparation: 10-15 mins
Cooking: 40 mins

500g butternut pumpkin, cut into cubes.

olive oil spray.

1 teaspoon butter.

1 leek, sliced and washed.

125g rashers bacon, rind removed and chopped.

1 clove garlic, crushed.

11/4 cups short grain rice.

1 tablespoon VEGEMITE.

1 litre (4 cups) boiling water.

pepper, to taste.1/4 cup finely chopped parsley.

40g butter.

shredded Parmesan cheese.

SPRAY pumpkin with olive oil spray and bake at 200ºC for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Heat butter in a pan and cook the sliced leek, bacon and garlic for 2-3 minutes or until bacon is browned.

ADD rice and stir for 2 minutes or until coated in butter mixture. Stir in combined Vegemite and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until water is absorbed and rice is cooked.

REMOVE from heat and stir in pepper, parsley, and butter. Spoon into serving bowls and top with shredded Parmesan. Serve immediately

photos from the Kraft Vegemite website

White Sauce

White sauce was the first thing I ever did in the kitchen, standing on top of the kitchen stool at 5 years old I stood and stirred the sauce on top of the stove
Didn't actually make it myself till much later but the stirring is the important part, you have to stir it constantly or it sticks
White sauce is a basic thing its the things you add that make the different sauces
If you want to make Macaroni Cheese add cheese
Or parsley sauce add parsley
Or go fancy french like here, just add the different things

Basic White Sauce
2 Big spoons of plain flour
1 Big spoon of butter or margarine
1/2 cup of milk (may need a little more than that, it depends on how big your spoon is)

Place margarine and flour in saucepan on low heat, stir till margaine is melted, slowly add milk while stirring constantly keep stirring over low heat till sauce is consistency of condensed milk

Thats it, that is all white sause is the same sauce that you use in a fancy chicken dish or on the macaroni cheese or over the roast dinner
Or like my favorite parsley sauce and sardines on toast

Nursing Home BBQ - June 15,07

Recently, with much anticipation, our little family took ourselves off to have BBQ at the nursing home where my ML lives. The cost was $20 per person and the invitation said the menu was: Roast beef, Roast chicken, baked potato with fixings, a salad and dessert. Not anything over the rainbow but since ML was there, we thought it would be fun for us to attend on a lovely summer's night in June.

We were greatly disappointed. The beef was OK, no gravy - the chicken was dry and overcooked and the salad consisted of a green aspic and an orange aspic (gross) because the plates were hot and the aspic just melted into puddles making a psychedelic gravy for the tater and meat to float in. I won't even tell you about the dessert.

Anyway, the next time the NH has this little shindig, we plan to whisk ML out to a nice place and spend the $$ there.

Where, you are asking is a recipe, and I will oblige by putting in this one.






Roasting Chicken on the gas grill

1 or 2 chickens for roasting
pre-marinade:
2tbls extra virgin olive oil
juice from1 lemon
herbs like - basil, tyme, oregano, marjoram and any others you like
2 tbls Dijon mustard
my secret ingredient is about ½ cup coffee leftover from the morning pot.


Now mix this all together and put it and the chicken in a zip-lock bag. Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour or even overnight.



Time to cook:
1st cooking in the microwave oven
Place the chicken and the marinade in a mocrowave safe container that fits the oven; cook on high on one side for about 9 minutes, then turn her over and do it again for another 9 minutes. Toss the marinade after.

2nd cooking on the grill
Place the chicken on a spit and put on the grill - for about another ½ hour with a drip pan under to catch the fat. Watch carefully so the drippings don't ignite. We use BBQ sauce the last 5 minutes or so to get it all glazed and bbqee. AS usual, the chicken is done when pierced with a fork, the juices run clear.

I useally cut it up using big kitchen shears. Easire than a knife and no chance of slicing off a finger.

The marinade isn't written in stone, just make up a slurry of savory things to let her sit in for a while. It is all about your tastes.

Gve it a try, sorry no photo but I will remember to take one the next time I grill a chicken which will probably be this coming Sunday.

Tips and Hints

Not a recipe but a link to a lot of useful information. Of course, there are also recipes on this site as well. I have taken the liberty to post this site here and I am not sure if you want things like this on this "spot". I figure any kind of help we can get to keep our families healthy and happy is cool.
Barb

Edit: This post is linked on the side of this page, if you want to contribute in anyway either links for the usefull links section or your email address so you can post on this blog please feel free to post a comment here .
We welcome all contributions and/or feedback even anonymous ones
Missy A

French Baguette

These French bread baguette recipes will make you feel like you've stepped into a French bakery. Delicious, authentic, and easy to make!

Preparation Time: about 25 minutes
Cooking Time: about 25 minutes
Resting Time: about 4 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients for French bread baguette recipes:

4 cups Flour
1 tbsp. Dry Active Yeast
1-2 tsp. Salt
2 cups Warm Water
Oil for bowl

How to make it:

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour and the salt.
2. In another bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and half of the flour/salt mixture. Using your hands, mix until it forms a dough. Then, cover with a dish cloth and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. It should triple in size.
3. Gently incorporate the rest of the flour/salt, using your hands.
4. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. It should be supple and elastic when you stop kneading.
5. Lightly oil a bowl. Place dough in bowl. Cover with a dish towel. Let sit for 1 hour. It should double in size.
6. Preheat oven to 450°F. Knead again. Then cut dough into 3 parts and form each part into a long baguette. Place on a baking sheet. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.
7. Place a bowl of water in the oven. Bake baguettes for about 25 minutes (maybe less). Remove the bowl of water after 15 minutes of baking.
Voilà!

Tip for French Bread Baguette Recipes:

Baguettes are particularly crusty and light because they are cooked at extremely high temperatures and are vaporized. Even though domestic ovens can't go as high a real French bakery ovens, you can still make an excellent baguette, by remembering to put a bowl of water in the oven. And, of course by baking at a very high temperature.

Variations:

Do you like whole wheat baguette recipes? Just use 1 cup White flour and 3 cups Whole Wheat flour!

Serving Ideas:

French bread baguette recipes can be used in a variety of ways: for breadfast with butter and jam, to accompany soups, for sandwiches, cut in thin slices for foie gras, to serve hors d'oeuvres… or really with anything at all because French bread baguette recipes are just so delicious!!!

Lamingtons

There are many stories about why they are called what they are but they are still Lamingtons.Some of the current dictionaries say that they are probably named after Charles Wallace Baillie, Lord Lamington, who was governor of Queensland 1895 - 1901
For many years lamingtons were served on state ceremonial occasions in Queensland and won universal approval. But Baron Lamington himself could by no means abide them. He invariably—and somewhat oddly—referred to them as ‘those bloody poofy woolly biscuits’
Do not under any circumstances say that Lamingtons are made with stale cake ,the ladies from the Women’s Guild get mightily upset if you say their Lamingtons are stale , they aren’t stale they just work better if the cake is a day old and taste better if they are mature

Lamingtons Recipe

Ingredients

1 slab sponge cake (one day old)

4 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

2 - 3 cups desiccated coconut

To make the icing
Cool the cake for at least half an hour in the Fridge or Freezer then cut into squares or fingers
Combine the Sugar and Cocoa in a large bowl
Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan until the butter is melted.
Add to the sugar/cocoa mixture and mix to a fluid yet not runny consistency

To put it all together
Make a production line of Sponge Fingers, Chocolate Icing mixture in a bowl, coconut in a shallow container or plate, and a cooling rack with paper underneath.
Using a fork dip the sponge fingers into the icing, roll it in the coconut covering it well, and then place on to the rack to dry.
Once they have dried, place in an airtight container and leave to "mature" for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, before eating.

Pavlova

So being the sweet person that I am (don’t believe that coz I don’t) and to continue the Australiana stuff here’s a post about Pavlovas.

Pavlovas of course are the main thing at any function in Australia no wedding, no fete, no school function even Tupperware party is complete without the obligatory Pav.
I actually dislike Pavs cant stand the meringue part but I will eat the fruit off the top and the cream.

Background on Pavlovas
In the 1930's an Australian chef, Herbert Sachse, invented this dessert when a soft meringue cake was requested for an afternoon tea at the hotel where he worked. This meringue cake, with its unusual soft sweet marshmallow center and crisp crust is produced by folding a little vinegar and cornstarch (corn flour) into the stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar. Once the Pavlova has been baked and cooled, softly whipped cream and fresh fruit (kiwi (fruit), raspberries, strawberries or passion fruit) are mounded in the center of the cake. The name, Pavlova, was chosen in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who visited Australia in the 1920s. Although Australia is credited with inventing this dessert, New Zealand also lays claim to it as a similar dessert was being served in that country around the same time

A little known fact about Anna Pavlova, apart from having a dessert named after her also stopped clocks from striking. During her visit to Adelaide she complained that the Adelaide town hall clock striking the hour was keeping her awake, so the clock was stopped from striking the hour between 9pm and 9 am it remained that way till the year 2000 when it finally struck midnight to bring in the millennium, the first time it had struck 12 since her visit 80 years earlier. If you think about it Y2K actually fixed the clock if it hadn’t been the year 2000 it probably would have remained silent.

Pavlova Recipe
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (130 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks .The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers). Sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, fold in.

Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. (The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.)

The cooled meringue can be made and stored in a cool dry place, in an airtight container, for a few days.

Just before serving gently place the meringue onto a serving plate. Whip the cream in your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, until soft peaks form. Sweeten with the sugar and vanilla and then mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue.

Arrange the fruit randomly, or in a decorative pattern, on top of the cream. Serve immediately as this dessert does not hold for more than a few hours



Obviously these are not my pictures ...

I don't realy like pav, made it but I won't eat it