Chef's Breakfast

I have had this recipe in my mind for a few days now and finally got around to cooking it after work today. Yes, after work means not at the allotted breakfast time period but more towards late lunch or early dinner. Does that make it BRINNER? I think so, but am not putting all my eggs in one basket on this one.

Ingredients:
2 Green Bell Peppers
1 Anaheim Pepper
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
10 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1/2 cup Ditalini Pasta
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Shredded Cheese
Italian Herb Mix
Tortilla's

I began this recipe by gathering my ingredients.

I put the Frozen Peas in some water and set them to cook while I sliced and diced. Pay attention to this since it should be boiling and done around the time you put the Eggs in the saucepan.

I then diced up the Peppers and slicing up the Mushrooms.

Now that all of that is done, I decided to cook all of this in 2 different ways. I did this because I am not the hugest fan of Mushrooms, I generally just cook them for other people or put them into mushroom soup.

First dish of them involves the Mushrooms and no Pasta. I put the Butter in the saucepan and set the heat to MEDIUM for it to melt. I also whisked 4 Eggs together in a mixing bowl.

Once melted, I added the 4 Eggs to the saucepan. I then added the spices, which was a quick dash of Ground Black Pepper, pinch of Sea Salt, dash of Paprika, and dash of Garlic Powder.

Then a good handful of the sliced Mushrooms went in.

On top of that I added the diced Peppers.

I then mixed it all together and threw in 2 spoonfuls of Peas. Mix.

Keep mixing it all around so it doesn't adhere too much to the saucepan. Once the mixture is no longer liquid and has some solidity to it, turn the heat off and serve.

This FIRST DISH was served on a Tortilla with a sprinkle of Italian Herb Mix topped with a pinch of Shredded Asiago Cheese.

The Second dish was very similar and I will spare you the long version of it. I had some Ditalini Pasta left over from the other day, so I spooned a good handful of it into the pot where I had the Peas. The water was still hot so it warmed the Pasta up quick. Throw some Olive Oil in the saucepan instead of Butter this time around.

After that, the same process was used without the Mushrooms. I also used 6 Eggs instead of 4. When the Peas go in, the Pasta goes as well.

I served this up on it's own plate. Really, I did that at first. But I sat down and thought this could be better. I remembered the Tortillas and decided that some Breakfast style Taco's were in order. So that is just what I did, complete with some Hot Sauce. Enjoy.

Veggie Surprise!

I decided to have this last night as a healthy-ish dinner alternative to eating meat. I know it sounds weird, however too much meat isn't really the best idea ever.

Ingredients:
1 cup Frozen Corn
1 cup Frozen Peas
1 box Ditalini Pasta
1/4 cup diced Scallions
1/2 lb Green Beans
Ground Black Pepper
Italian Herb Mix
Parmesan Cheese
Sea Salt
1/4 stick Butter

I began this by gathering my ingredients.

I then started the water boiling for my Pasta. Once that began to boil, I added in my pasta. I also added a pot of water with the 2 cups of frozen vegetables as well. Heat on MEDIUM once boiling.

Now, I turned to the Green Beans. I put a saucepan on the stovetop with the Butter in it. Heat to MEDIUM. Once the Butter is mostly melted, add in your Green Beans. Mix to coat. Lightly dust with 2 pinches of Sea Salt and 3 of Ground Black Pepper. Mix again.

Now that you have everything going, step back and enjoy the satisfaction of cooking your own meal. Yes, it's nice.

Ok back to business! Make sure to mix your Green Beans up until they are done cooking. Taste test to determine. You could also tell that about the time your Pasta is done, everything else is as well.

Now I strained out the Pasta first and put it in a large mixing bowl. I then added in the Peas/Corn that I strained. I mixed this all together.

I plated that mixture and topped with the Green Beans and Scallions. A light dusting of Italian Herb Mix and Parmesan Cheese to top it all off. Enjoy.

Chef's Original: Lunch for Work!

This is a dish I threw together last week and have since repeated as it is amazing for lunch on a workday. It began as a rough idea of throwing some things together. Namely, quinoa and peas. However, this changed to include a few more ingredients.

Ingredients
1 box Small Shell Pasta
1 cup Frozen Peas
1 cup Frozen Corn
2 cup Quinoa
Sea Salt
Italian Herb Mix
Shredded Asiago Cheese

I began this by filling my deep saucepan with water for the Pasta. I then put a dash of Sea Salt in the water and turned the heat to HIGH and covered it. I also turned the heat to MEDIUM for the Peas and Corn to start them cooking.

Now I turned to the Quinoa portion of this recipe. This part is made simple by use of a Rice Cooker. If you do not have one of these, I strongly suggest investing in one to suit your needs. I measured out the 2 cups of Quinoa and put it in the Rice Cooker.

Then I put in the 2.5 cups of Water that is required. Then plug the Rice Cooker in and push the level to COOK. Now let it be. You might need to let out some steam later on though, it does tend to bubble over a little bit with Quinoa.

Now turn to your pot of water for the Pasta. It should be boiling or close to it. Add in the entire box of Small Shell Pasta. Make sure they all sink. No, I am not sure why you should do this but I do it and so should you. It's what all the cool kids do...

Now that the Pasta is cooking, you might want to turn the heat down a little bit to around MEDIUM. I added in 2 large pinches of Italian Herb Mix at this point to flavor up the pasta a little bit.

Now stir it to make sure it mixes well.

A few minutes later the Pasta should look like the following picture as it is done. Taste test to make sure.

Oh look, the vegetables are done as well so turn their heat off.

Now it's just waiting on the Rice Cooker to cook that Quinoa. Oh no! It's almost foaming over!

Just take the top off long enough for a quick picture and it dies down.

It will click off to WARM once the cooking is done. You can leave it on that, but it dries the Quinoa out so I just unplug it.

Now, strain the Pasta first using a strainer. We don't want any water in this dish. Now put the Pasta into a large mixing bowl. Strain the frozen vegetables and put them in the same mixing bowl. On top of this add the Quinoa. Then stir some life into it! Go crazy and make it consistent throughout.

Then serve! I added a sprinkle of Italian Herb Mix and pinch of Shredded Asiago Cheese to the top. Enjoy!

White Mushroom Sauce on Linguine Pasta

I was not feeling all that well last night and my girlfriend made sure that I was going to be alright. I think she did amazing at it even though it wasn't much, but it's the thought that counts. So today on my way home from work, I stopped by the store and picked up some Mushrooms since I was going to whip up some amazing food for her dinner today. So let me know what you think!

Ingredients
Pasta
bunch of Linguine Pasta
Italian Herb Mix
Sea Salt

Mushrooms
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
3 Shallots
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup White Wine
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Fennel Powder
Sea Salt
Fenugreek Seeds
Flax Seeds
Sesame Seeds

I began this with the knowledge that she loves Mushrooms. I have been slowly getting into making sauces because I find the process quite interesting and want to be able to make them for any occasion. So I gathered my materials and began this endeavor.

I filled a pot about halfway with water, a dash of Sea Salt, and a heavy dash of Italian Herb Mix. I turned the heat for it to high. Once it started to boil, I turned the heat down to medium and proceeded to grab the Linguine Pasta. I took out a good amount and snapped it all in half and put them in the pot. Make sure to keep an eye on it at first so it doesn't boil over. Pay no attention to the 2 Chorizo Sausages I am cooking up for tomorrow's lunch in the small pot! Then turn your attention to the Mushrooms.

I diced the Shallots and sliced the Mushrooms first. In the saucepan, I put the half stick of Butter in and turned the heat to high medium. Once the butter was mostly melted, I turned the heat down to just below medium and threw in the diced Shallots.

Once they started to turn translucent, I added in the sliced Mushrooms and half cup of White Wine. Mix really well to get all the Mushrooms covered with the sauce in there. Check your Pasta at this point, it should be close to being done. Once it is done, turn off the burner and cover.

About 1 minute later, I added in the spices. First I went with a heavy pinch of Italian Herb Mix with slightly smaller pinches of Onion and Garlic Powder. Fennel Powder was next and I used about the same amount as I did for the Italian Herb Mix. To finish it a dusting of Flax, Fenugreek, and Sesame Seeds went in. Mix together thoroughly.

Once the Mushrooms are spongey, they are done cooking. Turn off the burner. Now turn your attention to your Pasta. Get a strainer out and pour the pasta into it. Use a pair of tongs to take the pasta out to serve. I used a ladle to scoop out Mushrooms and the sauce mixture from the pan and carefully pour on top of the pasta. I added some grape tomatoes as garnish around the edges, which I must say the color contrast is quite nice. Enjoy.

Mac n Cheese 2.0

So, I have made Mac and Cheese once before and posted on the blog about it. That time it was delicious but I felt I could go another way with it. So I did.









Ingredients:
1 box Elbow Macaroni Pasta
1/2 stick Butter
Italian Herb Mix
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Sea Salt
Bread Crumbs
Lots of Cheese

In this recipe you will need a casserole dish since you will be using the oven.

To begin this recipe get a pot and fill it up about 1/2 way with water. Turn the heat to high to hurry it up. I added in a pinch of Sea Salt, probably 1/4 cup of Italian Herb Mix, and a dusting of Onion/Garlic Powder. I also added in the Butter now, which was a Sun Dried Tomato Herb butter.

Once it begins to boil, put in the box of Elbow Macaroni. Stir a bit and turn the heat down to medium, otherwise it will foam over and make a huge mess. At this point I made sure the oven was empty and turned it to Bake at 400 degrees F.

Taste test to see if the Pasta is done. Once that is done, strain it using a strainer. At this point I poured the cooked Pasta into my casserole dish where I proceeded to add in the cheese. I used a 1/2 block of English Cheddar cut into small pieces, about a 1/2 cup of Asiago/Gruyere, about a cup's worth of shredded Cheddar, and finished off with about 1/4 cup of Italian shredded cheese. I mixed this all in using a wooden spoon which quickly became gooey cheese spoon. Once that was done, I covered the top with Bread Crumbs.

Once the oven was ready, which should be about the time you are done with all of that, I put the dish in on the top shelf. I want to say like 10 minutes, but I honestly did not keep track of time at this part. I just kept peeking in to make sure the bread crumbs started to brown up, and that is when I took the dish out and turned off the oven.

I waited about 5 minutes to let it cool off/set properly, then served it up like a tasty snack. Enjoy.

Chef's First: Clams

This morning I took a trip to Central Market, a very amazing grocery type store close by. Here I decided to grab a lot of things I am not that used to cooking, which ended up being lots of things I've used before and clams. How does one cook clams I wondered, so I bought a 1/2 pound to see how it goes.



Ingredients:
1/2 lb small Clams
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup White Wine
1/2 cup Olive Oil
6 diced Garlic Cloves
1 diced White Sweet Onion
Italian Herb Mix
Sea Salt
Linguine Pasta
Parsley

This recipe is fairly simple and yields great results. I started by cleaning the Clams themselves with a brush to get rid of as much grit on them as possible. This takes a few brushings and is simple to do.

Once that was done, I decided to serve these Clams up on some Linguine Pasta. I leave the amount up to you as I have no idea exactly how much I used. So a pot on the side with water, some Sea Salt, and a bunch of Italian Herb Mix that the pasta went into once the water was boiling.

Now that that is going, to the clams! You have to dice up the Onion and Garlic beforehand. In a saucepan, put half of the butter you are going to use and all the olive oil in with the heat set to medium. Stir in about 1/2 of the diced onions and garlic. Wait until the onions start to go translucent to throw in the rest of the onions and garlic. At this point add in a light amount of Italian Herb Mix and a pinch or two of the Sea Salt. Put the clams in. I made sure none were touching each other. I also added in a little bit of fresh parsley.

Every once in awhile stir them around to make sure they continue to be coated with the olive oil mixture. Your pasta should be done around now, so strain that and put back into pot with cover to keep warm.

Once your clams begin to open up, that is the signal that they are done. So I dished the pasta out and arranged the clams on that, along with a garnish of parsley. Enjoy.