Tag Archives: cheese

prosciutto parmesan egg muffins

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egg muffins

I had another post all lined up, but I got sidetracked this morning.  We woke up blessed by overcast skies and threats of thunderstorms, (wait for it…) so my obligation to work the baseball snack bar went POOF!  So I snuck downstairs while my kids were playing, and looked to see if I had any cinnamon rolls to make, but I didn’t.  We are not the breakfast family.  Cereal and oatmeal are really the only two things in my pantry.  Lately, my kids have been getting bored and have been making themselves peanut butter sandwiches or grabbing a snack bar in the morning.  That doesn’t make me all that happy.  But this morning, I remembered seeing pictures online for eggs made in muffin tins.  I know I can at least win my daughter over with them.  I know the same thing can be made scrambled, but now I have convenient  little snacks, or breakfast on the go for the next couple of days.  I love the fact that you can just plop any old topping in them and you are pretty much guaranteed success (within reason of course.)  They took about 25 minutes from start to finish and with a little salsa and my coffee, I was quite happy.  My daughter devoured three of them.  My son had a peanut butter sandwich.

prosciutto parmesan egg muffins

egg shellsred bell peppers

get started on the egg muffins:

nonstick spray
8  large eggs
1/2  cup low-fat milk
kosher salt
pepper
crushed red pepper
1/3  cup red bell pepper, diced
3  slices prosciutto, sliced thin
1.5 oz. shaved parmesan cheese (about 3-4 TB)

egg mixtureinto the tin

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat muffin tin with nonstick spray.  In a mixing bowl, add eggs, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper and stir with a whisk.  Pour mixture equally into muffin tins.  Do not over fill.  Divide red pepper among the twelve cups.  Tear prosciutto into each cup and top with parmesan cheese.  Bake in center of oven for 15 – 20 minutes.   They will deflate after you take them out of the oven.  You can check it with a toothpick to be sure level of doneness.

prosciutto toppingshaved parmesan

egg muffin plate

baked feta and romesco and olive tapenade

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two crostini

I can eat a whole loaf of crusty bread.  Add olive oil or cheese and I’ve just gained 8 pounds without blinking. I also get into trouble when my husband makes his big pot of ragù sauce.  That pot calls me…taunting me all effin day…while it simmers away.   He has to shoo me away from it, or else I will have ‘tested’ it 45 times before serving, and then all the bread will be gone for dinner.  He can even tell while he’s upstairs, that I have removed the lid of the cast iron pot to dunk some bread in the bubbling sauce.  I can’t help it.  Maybe this bread addiction stems from when I was growing up, my parents would snack on it after my father got home from work, and they would review their day before dinner.   The telltale ‘antipasti’ – the Boursin cheese (and if bought that week, dad’s stinky cheese…aka some sort of blue cheese), pepperoncini and green olives.  It wasn’t anything fancy – just a flimsy single paper plate, damp with dumped out olives and pepper tops.  It wasn’t put out for me or my sister either, but that didn’t stop us from cruising by, and ripping off some bread and smearing it with cheese and exiting the kitchen while our parents continued to talk.  Fast forward 20 years and marry an Italian.  The cycle has reset itself.  My husband has a soft spot for cheese and bread as well, but he brings soppressata and hot peppers to the mix.  After sampling this dip, he made the ‘eh’ face, which says to me he’s sticking with his toppings.  That’s ok, you can’t please everybody.  I liked this mix of cheese, olives and romesco.  I had never made a romesco sauce before and it was delicious!  Plus, it all was served warm with a crusty loaf of bread, which reminded me of dipping in his pot of tomato sauce…

baked feta with romesco and olive tapenade (adapted from Cooking Light October 2011)

romesco:

red bell pepper
cooking spray
1  28 oz. can San Marzano peeled whole tomatoes, chopped
5  garlic cloves, minced
1/2  cup low sodium chicken broth
2  TB chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1  slice wheat bread, chopped
1/4  tsp. black pepper

tapenade:

1/2  cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2  cup pitted fruity green olives (I used a large green olive in a spicy oil)
1/4  cup fresh flat leave parsley, chopped
1  TB extra virgin olive oil
2  TB sherry vinegar
1/4  tsp. fresh ground black pepper

remaining ingredients:

1 1/4  cups (5 oz) crumbled feta cheese, divided
2  TB fresh flat leave parsley

roasted pepperswhole peeled tomatoes

get started on dip:

Preheat broiler to high.  To prepare romesco sauce, cut red bell pepper in half lengthwise, and discard seeds and membranes.  Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet and flatten them slightly with hand.  Broil for 8 minutes or until blackened.  Place peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to steam.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Peel and chop peppers.
Reduce oven to 425.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray.  Add chopped tomatoes and garlic.  Cook 4 minutes or until garlic starts to brown slightly, stirring frequently.  Add red bell peppers and broth.  Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in nuts and bread and cook for 1 minute more.  Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and add pepper.
To prepare the tapenade, place olives, 1/4 cup parsley and the next 3 ingredients (through pepper), in a food processor.  Process until finely chopped.  Transfer to a bowl.  Coat a smaller size broiler safe casserole dish (1 1/2 quart) with cooking spray.  Spoon half of romesco sauce into prepared dish, and top with 3/4 cheese.  Dollop tapenade over cheese.  Spoon the remaining romesco sauce over tapenade, and top with remaining 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Sprinkle with parsley.

chopped olivesdip dish

note:  this dip serves 12 (which is hilarious).  Ok portion control….deep breath.  Oh, and I had Serrano peppers laying around…stuck them on there for ‘garnish’.

crostini

squash and ricotta galette

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squash galette

I had this recipe on my counter to try for two weeks.  I was dying to make it for some reason, and today was the day dammit.  It was miserable outside, so getting the stove or the oven going is always a good remedy.  I don’t know if I was drawn to recipe’s simplicity, or the anticipation to devour it because of its resemblance to pizza.  Whichever it was, it doesn’t matter.  This dish is perfection.  Period.  Next time I make this, I think I will pair it with a tomato coulis.  Ok, so that sounds fancy and I’m not fancy.   I actually had made the coulis a few weeks ago for the first time, as part of an artichoke appetizer, and I couldn’t get enough of it.  I think because of the obvious ingredient marriage (tomatoes, basil, garlic), it would send this dish over the top.  Even the kids walked in from school today and wanted to know what smelled so good.  They thought I had made cookies, which makes no sense, but hey – ricotta zucchini cookies could be the next big thing…

galette

squash and ricotta galette (adapted from Cooking Light July 2012)

1 2/3  cups all-purpose flour
1/2  tsp. salt
1/2  tsp. baking powder
1/3  cup plus 1 TB extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4  cup water
1  medium zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1  large yellow squash, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick rounds
2  garlic cloves, minced
pinch crushed red pepper
3/4  cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2  cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2  tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1/2  tsp. lemon rind, grated
1  tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4  tsp. fresh ground pepper
1  large egg, lightly beaten
1/4  tsp. kosher salt
1  large egg white
1/4  cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

olive oil

get started on dough:

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor.  Pulse two times to combine.  Combine 1/3 cup oil and 1/4 cup water in a small measuring cup.  With processor on, slowly add the oil and water mixture through the food chute.  Process until dough is crumbly but holds together.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead one minute and add additional flour if necessary in order to prevent the dough from sticking.  Gently press dough into a 5 inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for 30 minutes.

sliced squash

get started on the filling:

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, zucchini, squash,garlic and crushed red pepper in a large bowl.  Stir gently to coat completely.  Combine ricotta and next 7 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring to combine.

assembled galettegalette

assemble:

Preheat oven to 400.  Unwrap dough, and roll into a 14 inch circle on a lightly floured surface.  Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Spread ricotta mixture over dough, leaving a 2 inch border.  Arrange zucchini and yellow squash alternately, slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Fold edges of dough toward center pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover squash).  In a small bowl, whisk together 1 teaspoon of water and egg white.  Brush dough edges with egg white mixture.  Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes and sprinkle with basil.  Cool an additional 15 minutes.  Cut into 6 wedges.

galette with basilslice

note:  serves six