Posts Tagged ‘Parmesan’

  1. Eat Your Greens!

    March 6, 2013 by The Squishy Monster

    Remember that’s what mama said but today, I’m sharing a recipe with you that not only pacifies this request, it makes it a pleasure to consume your greens.  Bursting with fresh spinach and basil, there’s nutty “butteriness” from the toasted walnuts and parmigiano-reggiano with a bit of zing from garlic and lemon to really brighten everything up.  It truly is a fresh and vibrant pasta dish that will be a perfect accompaniment to any Spring picnic.

    How to Make Pesto & Goat Cheese Pasta

    5.0 from 3 reviews

    Eat Your Greens!
     
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    Ingredients
    • 4 c fresh spinach (or arugula)
    • 2 c fresh basil
    • ¼ c toasted walnuts
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • ½ c freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Juice of half a lemon
    • ½ c *extra-virgin* olive oil
    • 1 lb pasta of any shape
    • 4-6 oz goat cheese
    • Few tablespoons of reserved pasta water

    Instructions
    1. In a food processor, blitz together your greens, nuts, garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, lemon, and oil. Blend until smooth (or chunky).
    2. To your hot pasta, add your pesto, goat cheese, and dribble in enough pasta water to thin it out a bit.
    3. Serve warm with crusty buttered bread.

    Make your very own homemade goat cheese!

    {A very big thank you to Stilphen for guest editing}

    For the love of veggies,

    Your Squishy Monster ^.~

    Categories: Pasta Pasta Veggies or Vegan Veggies or Vegan Videos | 30 Comments

  2. A Sunny, Delicious Morning

    October 30, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    I often get asked, what’s your favorite ingredient?  That’s a toughie.  I’m partial to automatically (and most enthusiastically) exclaiming my allegiance to Butter or Bacon, but not far behind is the humble Egg.  Experts ping pong back and forth on whether or not they’re good for you, but my loyalty to the Egg remains firm.

    Legend has it that a Chef’s hat held as many folds as s/he knew how to cook an Egg, a 100-fold hat being reserved only for the heads of the most knowledgeable culinary experts.

    Eggs are affordable, versatile, convenient, and yummy!  Not to mention, they’re high in protein and have 13 essential nutrients.

    Fresh Eggs are the best and lend themselves beautifully in everything from my Quiche and Steak & Eggs to Bibimbap!

    I’m fairly unhappy when my fridge doesn’t hold any Eggs and with an abundance of them, (they had a mega-super-deal on Organic Eggs this week) I was happy to whip up another satisfying Egg based dish.

    Smothered with hot, gooey cheese, the yolks underneath are still rich and runny, spilling it’s butteriness onto a bed of robust, herbed tomatoes, happily pooling with more cheese.

    (Fyi, I had mine for breakfast, but paired with a salad and some rustic bread, it would also make for an amazing supper)!

    What else can you make with Eggs?

    • My favorite breakfast sandwich: Bacon, Egg, and Jam (crazy yes, but crazy good)!
    • Omurice/Fried Rice
    • Soft Boiled, paired with Asparagus and Cheese (another one of my fave ways to eat Eggs)
    • Frittatas
    • Crepes
    • Spanish Tortilla
    • Deviled Eggs
    • Eggs Benedict/Poached Eggs
    • Soft Scrambles
    • Custard/Zabaglione
    • Herbed Egg Sandwiches
    • Eggs in a Hole/Egg Nests
    • Breakfast Soufflé/Casserole
    • French Toast/Bread Pudding/Strata
    • Huevos Rancheros
    • Egg Drop Soup
    • Croque Madam
    • Eggs Sur le Plat
    • Steamed Eggs
    • Loco Moco
    • Cheesecake/Flan
    How to Make Baked Eggs {Shirred Eggs}

    Baked Eggs {Shirred Eggs}
     
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    Ingredients
    • 1 tb Olive Oil
    • 2 cloves minced Garlic
    • 1 ts Thyme (or Basil)
    • ½ ts Crushed Red Pepper
    • 12 oz Crushed Tomatoes (I like San Marzano)
    • Salt and Pepper
    • 1 Bay Leaf
    • 2 ts Sugar (or ½ c diced Carrots)
    • Eggs (as many as you like)
    • 2 tb Cream
    • ¼ c Parmigiano
    • Slices of Fontina, Gruyere, Mozzarella, etc
    • Fresh Tomatoes, Toast, Parsley

    Instructions
    1. In a heavy bottomed pot, slicked with oil, soften your Garlic, Herbs, and Pepper Flakes.
    2. Slowly add in your Tomatoes, season, tuck in your Bay Leaf and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
    3. Sprinkle in your Sugar.
    4. Ladle in sauce on bottom of baking dish and crack as many Eggs in as you want.
    5. Drizzle over cream and sprinkle over and layer with lots of cheese.
    6. Broil at 350 for 5 minutes (less or more depending on how you like your Eggs).
    7. Serve bubbling with fresh, seasoned Tomatoes, buttered Toast Points, and garnish with fresh flat leaf Parsley.

    Wishing you a golden delicious morning, noon, and night!

    Love,

    Your Squishy Monster

    Categories: Breakfast Breakfast Videos | 44 Comments

  3. May 15, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    One of my absolute favorite things to do is to peruse the aisles of my Market.  A bystander might scoff at the excruciatingly slow process of me picking up beautiful jars of this and that, just to stare, turn over in my grasp, and ponder.  The adventure of the Grocery Store begins from the get go.  Where else can you melt nuggets of softened cheese bites in your mouth proudly displayed next to ripened, local fruit, also begging to be tasted?  If Nordstrom’s started doling out Chocolate samples while you shopped, I would reconsider going shoe shopping but if not, forgettaboutit!

    My most recent trip had my eco-bags burdened with the weight of bulky Short Ribs.  I’m particularly fond of fatty striped Meats.  I’m not too fond of the incommensurate price of them.  Wearing more Bone and Fat, Short Ribs seem to have a pretty high ticket (to me) so I don’t often buy them, but alas!  These were on sale, and I’m always a sucker for sales!  In Squishy-verse, food sale = larger quantity for my belly.  I can’t even begin to express the pure joy I felt from hauling in my 4 lbs of free-range Short Ribs and smugly setting them on my counter, knowing just what to do with them…

     

     

    Rigatoni & Braised Ribs
     
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    Ingredients
    • 4 lbs Beef Short Ribs + Flour to dredge
    • 1 Onion
    • 4 Garlic Cloves
    • 1 ts dried Thyme
    • 2 Bay Leaves
    • ¼ c Kalamata Olives
    • 1 c Roasted Red Peppers
    • 1 c Beef Broth
    • 1 c Red Wine
    • 2 tb Red Pepper Flakes
    • ½ c – 1 c reserved Pasta Water
    • ¼ c Heavy Cream
    • 1 lb Rigatoni (or Pasta shape of your choice)
    • ½ c Parmigiano Reggiano
    • ¼ c fresh Parsley

    Instructions
    1. Set out your Ribs 30 minutes prior to cooking. Rinse and dredge in a mixture of Flour, Salt, and Pepper. Shake off excess and sear all sides in a hot pan, glossed over with Canola/Veggie Oil.
    2. Remove your Ribs, set aside and in the same (completely heat proof pan-will be transferring the entire pot to the oven later), drizzle over some Olive Oil and soften your Onion, Garlic, Thyme, and Bay Leaves. Salt and Pepper. Make sure to scrape up all the delicious brown bits with your wooden spoon.
    3. Tumble in your Olives, Peppers, Broth, Wine, Pepper Flakes. Allow it to come to a fierce bubble. Salt and Pepper.
    4. Snugly fit in your Ribs into the pot and transfer to your oven, loosely covered with foil and bake at 350 for 2½-3 hours.
    5. After this time, extract your Ribs and set aside. About 20 minutes later, begin shredding with your hands or 2 forks.
    6. Take your Sauce (sans Meat) and blend it to a thick, chunky consistency with your blender/food processor. At the last moment, twirl in your Cream.
    7. Cook your Pasta and transfer to your Sauce with a slotted spoon (reserve 1 c water), and top with Cheese, directly on top of your hot Pasta. Combine.
    8. Toss in your shredded Beef with your cheesy Pasta.
    9. Pour in your Sauce, drizzle in your reserved Pasta water as needed, Salt and Pepper and sprinkle with Parsley or more Cheese.

    Notes
    This is also stellar over Polenta, Mashed Potatoes, Rice, or Buttered Egg Noodles. If you’re worried about fat, allow just your Sauce to cool a great bit and skim off the top that floats up.

    Proud to bring you some Meaty, Cheesy Goodness on a boring ole’ Tuesday!

    Love,

    Your Squishy Monster ^.^

    Categories: Comfort Foods Comfort Foods Meats Meats Pasta Pasta Videos | 21 Comments

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    Welcome to The Squishy Monster!

    Here, I'll share the stories of my on going love affair with food as well as step-by-step tutorials/cooking videos featuring original recipes. I'm a firm believer that despite our differences, our one commonality as humans? Food.
    I'm 100% Southern & 100% Korean. My name is Angela and my friends call me The Squishy Monster.

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