1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Directions
Dissolve 1/4 cup salt and the sugar in 3 cups warm water in a large bowl. Insert a paring knife into the curved side of each pork chop to make a deep pocket, about 2 inches wide. Soak the chops in the brine, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely chop the escarole and garlic. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the chops from the brine and pat dry. Fold each cheese slice and tuck into the pocket of a pork chop, then stuff with the escarole mixture. Brush the pork with olive oil, sprinkle with the sage and season with salt and pepper.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork in batches, turning once, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the beans and 1/3 cup water to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits; season with salt and pepper. Return the pork to the skillet, cover and cook over medium heat until no longer pink, 5 to 7 more minutes. Serve the pork with the beans.
My whole family came to visit my apartment on Mother's day, and I made a nice spring dinner. For dessert, I made this recipe for Strawberry Tiramisu, but didn't realize till I had made it that it needed to cool overnight. So I made chocolate mousse from a package for that day instead, and my roommate and I enjoyed the tiramisu during the week. Mother's day dinner still turned out great. :-)
Menu: Sauteed Chicken with Tomato Vinaigrette on Frisee Parmesan Garlic Noodles Strawberry Tiramisu
Sauteed Chicken with Tomato-Saffron Vinaigrette on Frisse From Bon Appetit
Ingredients 3 tablespoons white basalmic vinegar or rice vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons hot paprika, divided 1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1/2 cup minced shallots 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided 1 1-pint basket cherry tomatoes, havled 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves 1 head of frisee, torn apart
Directions Mix vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and saffron in medium bowl. Mix in 3 tablespoons oil, shallots, and 1 tablespoon thyme. Stir in tomatoes, Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken breast halves with remaining 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon thyme, and salt and pepper. Add to skillet; saute until cooked through, turning often, about 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to work surface. Divide frisee among 4 plates. Slice chicken; fan atop frisse. Spoon vinaigrette over.
**Note: I did not include the saffron when making this recipe and use regular basalmic vinegar. It still turned out delicious. Great recipe for impressing people with not too much work since it's not too hard but has great presentation!
Strawberry Tiramisu From Bon Appetit
Ingredients 1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves 1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons Cointreau or orange liqueur, divided 1/3 cup orange juice 1 lb mascarpone cheese, room temperature 1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 lb fresh strawberries, divided 52 (about) crisp ladyfingers
Directions Whisk preserves, 1/3 cup Cointreau, and orange juice in 2-cup measuring cup. Place mascarpone cheese and 2 tablespoons Cointreau in large bowl; fold just to blend. Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons Cointreau in another large bowl to soft peaks. Sitr 1/4 of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
Hull and slice half of strawberries. Spread 1/2 cup preserve mixture over bottom of 3-quart oblong serving dish or 12x9x2-in baking dish. Arrange enough ladyfingers over preserve mixture t ocover bottom of dish. Spoon 3/4 cup preserve mixture over lady fingers, then spread 2 1/2 cups mascarpone mixture over. Arrange sliced strawberries over mascarpone mixture. Repeat layering with remaining ladyfingers, preserve mixture, and mascarpone mixture. Cover with plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.
Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange over tiramisu and serve.
**Note: I didn't use any of the liqueur since it is expensive and it is not a cooked dish (the alcohol wouldn't cook off). It was delicious anyway! I took some home for my mom since she couldn't have any on mother's day, and she LOVED it.
I made this when my sister visited over the weekend, and it was a big hit with her and my roommate! Menu: Steak with Bearnaise sauce Garlic Mashed Potatoes Spinach salad with strawberries
From Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten
Steak with Bearnaise Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sauce: 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 1/4 cup good white wine 2 tablespoons minced shallots 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 3 extra large egg yolks 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
6 (1 in thick) rib-eye steaks Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Olive oil
Directions: For the sauce, put the champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon of tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about five minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.
Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With the blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature while you cook the steaks.
Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. reduce the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the bearnaise sauce. (You can make the sauce up to an hour in advance and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.)
**Note: I halved this recipe and it still turned out great since there was only 3 of us and it serves 6.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes Ingredients: 1/2 cup garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 head) 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered Kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or creme fraiche
Directions: In a small saucepan, bring the garlic and oil to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, or until the garlic is lightly browned. Turn off the heat and set aside. The garlic will continue to cook in the oil.
Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water, bring to a boil, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. With a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes from the water, reserving the cooking water, and remove the garlic from the oil, reserving the oil.
Process the potatoes and garlic through a food mill fitted with the medium disc. Add the reserved olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, the pepper, cream, and 3/4 cup of the cooking water to the potatoes and mix with a wooden spoon. Add more cooking water, if necessary, until the potatoes are creamy but still firm. Season to taste and serve hot.
I was so excited to be in charge for the Easter menu that I went a little overboard: I made brunch, dinner, and cake for dessert. Luckily, everything turned out great!
Menu: Brunch: Paula Deen's Baked French Toast Casserole Dinner: Dearborn Ham, Grandma's Hot German Potato Salad, & Steamed Asparagus Dessert: Todd's Orange and Raspberry Cake
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.
**NOTE: We found that the maple syrup wasn't necessary at all, this french toast is sweet enough!
For the cake: Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of 2 nonstick, 8-inch round, baking pans. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the cake mix and orange zest. Mix for 20 seconds at low speed until the zest is incorporated. Add the orange juice, egg whites, and vegetable oil. Blend at low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour.
For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and creme fraiche at high speed until smooth, about 10 seconds. With the machine running at medium-low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Add the raspberry jam and increase the speed to high. Beat until the frosting is smooth and spreadable, adding water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed.
To assemble the cake: Arrange 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting on top leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread 1/4 cup of raspberry jam on top of the frosting. Arrange the other cake layer on top. Using a spatula, frost the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with fresh raspberries. Cut the cake into wedges with a slightly wet knife and serve.
Store the cake in a plastic container in the refrigerator. Allow the refrigerated cake to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
**If you like citrus-flavored cake and homemade frosting, this cake is to die for!
