Recipes

I don't have much to say today, other than that I worked 13 hours yesterday and got royally chewed out by the partner for no good reason. So, I'm cranky today, and thinking about food. I thought I'd post what I made Saturday night.

First, the Strawberry Misu, by Rachael Ray:

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream, divided
2 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 bag frozen strawberries, defrosted
1/2 cup water
1 package lady fingers
Cocoa powder, to garnish

Yields: 6 servings

Preparation

In a medium mixing bowl, whip 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to soft peaks with a hand mixer. In a large bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream, mascarpone cheese and confectioners sugar. The cream will loosen up the mascarpone making it easier to mix with other ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. In a blender, combine strawberries and 1/2 cup water. Blend until you have a smoothie-like texture. Set aside until ready to assemble. Layer the bottom of a square baking dish (I used red wine glasses instead) with lady fingers (you may need to break some in half to make it fit in the dish). Ladle half of strawberry puree over the cookies. Top with half of the cheese mixture. Add another layer of lady fingers and ladle the remaining strawberry puree over them. Add the rest of the cheese mixture and dust with cocoa powder.

This was delicious, and it looked great prepared in red wine glasses instead of in a baking dish. Plus, I didn't have to worry about how to make nice servings from the baking dish. Overall, I give this 5 out of 5 stars -- and it was well worth trekking all over tarnation for the lady fingers.

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Green Beans with Ricotta Salata Recipe #75454 (Recipe Czar)

Tender fresh string beans sprinkled with fresh basil leaves and ricotta salata and coated with a homemade mustard vinaigrette. Feta cheese can be substituted if ricotta salata is not available. by sugarpea 15 min 15 min prep SERVES 2
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces string beans, stem ends trimmed
1 ounce ricotta salata cheese, crumbled
10 small fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Cook beans in boiling water with 1 1/2 tsp salt, about 4 minutes, until just tender; drain and immerse in an ice bath; drain, pat dry and place in bowl with cheese and basil leaves. Whisk mustard, vinegar, oil, remaining 1/8 tsp salt, and pepper until oil is emulsified; pour over beans and toss to coat.

This was excellent. 5 out of 5 stars. Ricotta salata was a little hard to find, but we tracked it down at Piazza Mercado on 3rd Ave.

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Steak Diane Recipe #19464 (Recipe Czar)

This one's a truly memorable dinner without a lot of time spent in the kitchen. by MizzNezz 15 min 5 min prep SERVES 4

4 rib eye steaks (1/2 in)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter (divided)
3 teaspoons green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon fresh chives, minced

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Heat 2 T butter in skillet,stir in onions and mustard. Add steaks. Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter and keep warm. To skillet, add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and remaining 2 T butter. Cook for 2 minutes. Add parsley and chives. Pour over steaks.

I give this a 4 out of 5. It was missing a little something, but was very tender, and I loved the buttery taste.

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Roasted Potatoes

I don't have an actual recipe for this, since I just did whatever I always saw my mom do.

1 bag of red "new" potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Rosemary (dried or fresh)
salt and pepper to taste
onion powder
garlic powder

Mix everything together and put it in a baking dish. Stick in the over at about 375. Stir with spatula occasionally. Turn it up if it's taking too long. Remove when golden brown.