Rigatoni Ottavio's recipe

Just in case you want the recipe for your own special dinner:

Rigatoni Ottavio's

Bolognese Meat Sauce

1/4 c. finely chopped pancetta, salt pork or bacon (about 3 slices)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground veal or pork (an additional 1/2 lb. of ground beef can be substituted)
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. carrot, finely chopped
1/4 c. celery, finely chopped
1/4 c. parsley, snipped
1/4 c. tomato paste
1/2 tsp instant chicken bouillon granules (I use 1 chicken bouillon cube)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. water

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook pancetta (or other meat) until crisp. Add ground beef and veal or pork; cook until meat is brown. Drain fat.

If desired, pass undrained tomatoes through food mill or sieve. (I don't do this) Add undrained tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery, parsley, tomato paste, bouillon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to meat mixture. Stir in wine and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes or until desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

Rigatoni Ottavio's

2 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. Romano cheese, grated
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. parsley, chopped
1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 pound rigatoni pasta, cooked to package directions
1 batch Bolognese Meat Sauce
additional mozzarella

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In large pan, heat Bolognese Meat Sauce. Add cheeses, stir until cheese is melted. Slowly stir in cream. Add in parsley and basil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Toss with cooked pasta. Transfer to a greased baking dish. Top with additional mozzarella. Bake until cheese melts. (this amount makes enough to fill both a 9x13 AND an 8x8 dish. I bake the large pan and put the smaller one in the freezer before baking to use another time.)

Queen of Hearts Valentine dinner

I knew that this year I wanted to make a special Valentine's Day dinner for my family, and was delighted when I found this cute idea with free printables for a Queen of Hearts dinner. You can even watch a video segment about it HERE (it won't let me embed for some reason). The Queen of Hearts is significant to The Mister and me (it was the first Valentine I ever gave to him!), so I knew that I wanted to use the ideas.

For our dinner, I made a special meal. There was a local restaurant in Provo called Ottavio's that The Mister and I loved to visit while we were dating, and my favorite dish was called Rigatoni Ottavio's. A few years later, I was able to get the recipe through a column in a local newspaper that would contact local restaurants for readers. The dish is a lot of work, expensive, and has about a zillion calories so it's definitely a special occasion food! I'll post the recipe separately because it's long.

To go with the Rigatoni Ottavio's, I intended to make garlic bread, but then remembered that at Ottavio's they served fresh focaccia bread with olive oil and vinegar for dipping. I've never made it before and am generally scared of making yeast breads, but I was able to find an Easy Focaccia bread recipe that truly was easy and turned out great! It tasted just like the bread we used to get at the restaurant.

For dessert at Ottavio's, we always used to order the enormous slice of chocolate cake. I didn't want to make a huge cake this time, so I made another treat that I've been craving: individual Molten Chocolate Cakes. I've never been able to make the little cakes before because I didn't have any ramekins. A quick trip to Home Goods the other day solved that problem!

Because of the cute ramekins, I didn't bother unmolding the cakes. One thing I did from another recipe was to coat the dishes with white granulated sugar after I buttered them--this gives a slightly crunchy texture to the outside of the cake that contrasts nicely with the gooey chocolate center.

As it turned out, I didn't go as much with the Queen of Hearts card theme as I had originally intended. I was so busy cooking all day and I didn't have a pack of cards that I was willing to use up! I think it all looked nice anyway and I know my family appreciated the good food and my hard work, and I was happy to do it to show my love for them!

Lemon Chicken and Artichoke Pizza

A few weeks ago I found my new favorite pizza recipe and wanted to share it with you because I made a few tweaks to the original recipe. I love the flavors, and I think the lemon sauce is nice and springy! You can view the original recipe here.

The original recipe was shared by Amy Richardson on a tv show called Studio 5. You can watch a video of her making the pizza below.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Her version had stalks of whole roasted asparagus laid across the top which looked pretty, but was seriously impractical when it came to eating! I used nice skinny asparagus and cut it in half, but it was still awkward to eat and although I like roasted asparagus, I didn't think it added much to the pizza itself. So--in my version, you can eat the asparagus on the side, or skip it altogether! I didn't include instructions for roasting but you can visit the link to find them if you wish.

I've added chopped fresh tomatoes to my version, because I love the bright fresh flavor they add to any pizza and the pretty color is nice too. I love artichoke hearts on just about anything, but I think the lemon in the sauce is an especially nice pairing for them. Just be sure to give them a quick chop before you sprinkle them on.

Heidi's Lemon Chicken and Asparagus Pizza

Crust:
I'll confess, I used premade dough for my crust. I was in a hurry, and my grocery store sells whole wheat pizza dough so I went with that. If you have a recipe you love, just make enough for two 12" pizzas or one 14" thick crust pizza. When I made this at my mom's house, she used the dough recipe that came with her Cuisinart food processor and it was yummy!

Sauce:
The recipe says it makes enough for two 12" pizzas and I didn't believe it because it doesn't look like much in the pan--but it will be enough, trust me! It thins a bit when it hits the warm crust.

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic
zest from 1/2 lemon
2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Warm the oil in a small saucepan. Whisk in flour until smooth.
2. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens.
3. Whisk in the garlic. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper to taste.

Toppings:
2-3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded (cook breasts or use a rotisserie chicken)
1 can artichoke hearts, cut into quarters
2-3 fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, snipped
2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on your pizza pan, stone, or cookie sheet and place the rolled out dough on it. Prebake the dough for 7-9 minutes.
3. Remove toasted crust from the oven and spread on half of the sauce. Layer with chicken, artichoke hearts, chopped tomatoes, thyme and cheese.
4. Bake pizza for 7-9 minutes, just long enough to warm the sauce, crisp the crust and melt the cheese.

Makes two 12" crusts or one 14" thick crust pizza.

Lemony Chickpea Dip

Last weekend I had some friends over to chat, make a Valentine and eat yummy food. I wanted to offer some healthy choices alongside the not-so-nutritious options, but my challenge was that I wanted everything to fit within my chosen color palette of red, pink and white. I knew I wanted to offer fresh veggies (red bell peppers, radishes, jicama and grape tomatoes) and some kind of dip, so I turned to a recipe I made quite a while ago and had marked as "yummy + healthy!" It was just as good as I remembered--maybe even better--and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a pinkish-red, so it fit in with my color scheme! The things that make my little OCD self happy. ;)

It's a bit like hummus, but without the tahini. The lemon juice gives it a nice bright flavor and the sour cream smooths out the texture. Even Porter likes it!

Lemony Chickpea Dip 
from Cooking Light magazine

1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot paprika (I used regular)
1/2 tsp hot sauce (this doesn't make it spice, I promise)
1/4 tsp salt
1 19-oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine all ingredients except cilantro in a food processor; process until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Stir in cilantro. Yield: 1 1/2 cups (serving size: 2 Tbsp)

Each serving only has 40 calories and 1.7g of fat, which is so low that you can have several and not feel too guilty. I promise you're not going to be able to limit yourself to just 2 Tablespoons! It's excellent as a dip for fresh veggies or with pitas or pita chips.

Christmas Leftovers

Hello again! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with lots of good memories--we did! We spent the week in Utah visiting our families and just got home last night. Now begins the unpacking, laundry, and cleaning up the mess we made when we were getting ready to go! Before I get started I wanted to share a few more photos of Christmas stuff before I forget and move on.
These fun treats are the Snowman Hats I made to take to Maren's preschool party. I used the same idea as these Pilgrim Hats, (I used chocolate bark instead of chips) and decorated them with a strip of Fruit by the Foot for ribbon and cinnamon candy holly berries (I wanted to use mini M & M's but they're not peanut-safe). They were a huge hit with the other parents and teachers and they were yummy too! If I'd remembered when I was doing my shopping, I'd have used a little tube of green frosting and made a little holly leaf to accompany the berries, but they were still pretty darn cute even without it.

I mentioned earlier in December that I'm a bit obsessed with red and white toadstool ornaments. I must not be the only one who loves mushrooms because I found them at Pier One, World Market, Wal-Mart, Anthropologie, and Macy's this year! Here's a photo of some of of the shrooms I've collected:
Kkeep in mind that this photo doesn't show the 5 toadstools I found at Macy's (including a few giant Martha Stewart versions) or the really neat vintage toadstool guy I bought at an antique store in Utah on Saturday.

I also found this kitschy decoration at a thrift store earlier in the month:It's a little wooden crate with a few flocked toadstools, plastic greens and vintage glass beads. I totally dig the red velvet ribbon and it's even painted my favorite color of shabby aqua blue! It's like it was made just for me!To go along with the toadstools I found these little wooden gnome ornaments (in a bag from the thrift) and some of these glass guys like Sarah found at Macy's. More toadstool love can be found with Sarah's woodland tree, Suzy's mushroom tree, and Hannah's giant sequined toadstool.

Just before I left for vacation I received a delightful box from a dear friend which included this little glittered house in my favorite turquoise and red that I just had to show you! Isn't it darling? Shara even included some little brown toadstools! Does she know me or what? Thanks again Shara, I love it!

And now, I have a couple of overflowing laundry baskets calling my name!

Crafty links for a cold day

My lands, it is cold here today! The heater has been running just about nonstop and I've had cold hands since the minute I woke up. I had hot soup for lunch, planning to make more hot soup for dinner and I'm on my first cup of hot chocolate with more sure to come. Brr! It's the perfect day to stay in and decorate!

The tree is up and hung with my most precious of vintage ornaments. Oh, it's pretty! I say this every year, but when the afternoon sun comes in the window and hits the tree it's just like a big jewel box with all the sparkle and the colors. This is a photo from last year, but it looks pretty much the same this year too:It makes me so happy to walk in there and see the glitter! Now that's done, it's time for the rest of the house to get festive.

I don't know about you, but I'm totally in the mood to do some Christmas crafting! Last December I was in such a bad humor that I don't recall doing nearly as much crafting as I would have liked, even though I was filled to the brim with inspiration from Silver Bella. This year is different, and it seems that Blogland is just filled with no end of crafty ideas! Some of my favorites from this past week alone are:

• This fun white fur wreath from The Nester
• Barbara's darling glass bead and bell garland at Oodles and Oodles
• All of the tutorials on Joli Paquet have been top notch, but I'm especially in love with Sunday's tart tin ornaments and cookie cutter garland!
  

I am so in love with that cookie cutter project that I must have gone back and looked at it a hundred times already. I immediately dug through my big jar of vintage cookie cutters to see if I have enough to make a garland of my own. I do, but that didn't stop me from heading to Home Goods on Monday to see if I could find the vintage repros that Jeanne used in her tutorial. I did find them in the aisle where the cooking bowls in case any of you want to look for them as well. I was just tickled to see this garland idea because last December I tried to think of something decorative to do combining my cookie cutters and big silver jingle bells, but due to my aforementioned BAD MOOD and a lack of time, I never did anything. Now I have a plan!

By the way, here is the Chocolate Pie recipe that Blogger wouldn't let me post yesterday:

Creamy Chocolate Silk Pie

One 9" pie crust shell, baked and cooled
1/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. heavy cream
2 tsp powdered sugar

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and milk. Whisk ingredients together until well-blended. Heat just until it starts to thicken, remove from heat and add chocolate chips and vanilla. Allow them to melt into the milk mixture a minute or so before stirring. Let cool about 10 minutes, cover with a lid and place in the fridge to cool for at least another 30 minutes.

Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Combine half of cream with the cooled chocolate mixture, folding together gently to keep it light. Fill the pie crust. Use the remaining whipped cream for the topping, either piped from a bag or just spread over the top like icing on a cake. Sprinkle with shaved chocoalte or mini-chocolate chips. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before serving and serve cold.

I'm afraid I didn't write down the source of this recipe so if it's yours, thanks for sharing! :)

The Goblet speaks & yummy chocolate pie

Thank you all for commenting and entering to win the cute Mickey puzzle! I consulted the Goblet of Fire and it said...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6 

Timestamp: 2008-12-02 21:20:09 UTC

Comment #6 was left by Mabel! Email me at fraulein_h at hotmail etc. etc. with your address and I'll get it in the mail post haste!

*************************************

A few more words about Thanksgiving...so many of you left me wonderful advice about how to cook a turkey, which I appreciate and will put to good use when I finally get around to cooking Birdzilla, which is still in my freezer. :) Once I got to Costco and saw the price of turkey breasts (as much as a whole turkey! Sheesh) I marched myself over to the meat case and bought some lovely filet mignon instead! Not traditional, but I didn't get any complaints from the menfolk who ate it so I think it was a fine substitution.

Everything else turned out pretty yummy with the exception of the rolls--but then yeast breads and I have never gotten along well, so I shouldn't have been surprised. That may have been the Lion House recipe but those weren't no Lion House rolls, let me tell you! Lion House hockey pucks was more like it. I know that I just need to practice more to get good at making yeast breads but really, who wants to "practice" making something that takes all day and leaves your kitchen a floury mess, without the promise of a yummy payoff for the work? Not me, and that's why my rolls were terrible!

My rolls might not have been great but at least the Chocolate Silk Pie was a winner! It was easy and SO yummy; very light but with a very rich chocolate flavor, and perfect for breakfast. ;) Here's the recipe in case you want to make it for dessert (or breakfast!):

Okay, nevermind. I've tried and tried to post this darn recipe but Blogger is having a temper tantrum so I'll try again later. Boo.

First Snow of the Season

A week ago I was in Phoenix enjoying sunshine, green grass and flowers, warm air and temps in the mid-70s.

Which made it all the more bitter when his morning I woke up to this:Bleh.

I'm going to go make a batch of my new favorite Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins and I'll be back later to share details and pics from my trip!

Recipe share: Salmon-Potato Cakes

Just a quick recipe share--this is what we had for dinner tonight. It's so quick and easy and yummy. The recipe originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of Better Homes & Gardens and can be found here as well. Here is the recipe with my changes:

Photo from BHG.com

Salmon-Potato Cakes

14 oz fresh skinless salmon fillets Here is my biggest change: I am lazy, so I used a 14 oz. can of salmon instead of fresh. I will admit that canned salmon is right on the high end of my gross-o-meter because I hate having to pick out the bones and skin, but once I get over that I'm okay.

2 cups refrigerated sour cream and chive mashed potatoes This would also be a great way to use up leftover homemade mashies. Also, I don't care for the Country Crock brand as I thought they were a bit dry.

1/2 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
3 Tbsp snipped fresh dill I used dried, about a teaspoon
Nonstick cooking spray
fresh mixed salad greens enough for 4 people
bottled Honey-Dijon salad dressing

If you prefer to cook your own salmon, refer to the BHG link for the microwave cooking directions. If using canned, dump it into a big bowl and pick out the skin and bones, then break up with a fork. Add mashed potatoes (I find they mix better if they're not ice-cold from the fridge), bread crumbs, and dill. Form mixture into 8 cakes.

Heat a skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray over medium-high heat. Cook cakes 3-4 minutes on each side, until heated through and browned. Place salad greens on plates. Top with salmon cakes; serve with dressing.

The recipe yields 8 cakes which they call 4 servings, but the cakes are quite large so if you eat a lot of salad, you might just need one. That would also help cut the calories & fat on the NI.

Nutritional info for 4 servings of 2 cakes: 503 calories, 31 grams of fat (7 g saturated), 2 grams fiber

Enjoy! Don't forget, you still have until Friday (tomorrow) at noon MST to enter your name in the October giveaway. Just leave a comment on the post below!