Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Aigoo... my three-month hiatus from school has finally ended which meant that I am back to having tons of paper works, research, deadlines, and typing. The last three months has been a nice break from all the responsibilities. I totally enjoyed not having to use my brain so much which was great since I was in so much pain after the surgery that I probably wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway. Now that I am back in school, memories and stress that goes along with it came flooding back that I am at times feeling overwhelmed. So while I was staring blankly at the computer and waiting for some inspiration/enlightenment to come in order to finish my paper, I felt I needed a distraction and something to relax my mind so I can better concentrate.... plus I was a little hungry but too lazy to cook a full meal. I turned my attention to cooking something that I am very familiar with so it requires less use of brain power. Spinach artichoke dip!

Ahhh...spinach artichoke dip. It is something that I have been making for over 10 years and I still like it as much asI have the first time that I tasted it. This is such a crowd-leaser and always a hit at any gathering. The preparation is quite simple as it only involves mixing the ingredients then popping it in the oven to warm it up and brown the top/melt the cheese. I have been lazy lately as using the oven usually constitutes having to empty the entire contents then having to return them back once I have finished baking. My solution is to use my toaster over which works well for baking small portions but can hold up to about a quart size baking dish. Taking the dish is a little tricky though as there is not much space to maneuver so being burnt by the hot surface is more likely then when you use the oven so be extra careful. I usually use silicone oven mitts which are great at withstanding high temperature plus great at protecting the hands...hehehe

Ingredients:
1 package chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1 can artichoke hearts, finely chopped
2 (6 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1/3 cup grated romano cheese
1/4 cup gratedmozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Squeeze and discard liquid from thawed frozen spinach.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream,and mayonnaise.  Mix well.
4. Add half of the grated parmigiano reggiano, half of mozzarella, thawed spinach, and artichoke hearts.  Mix well.
5. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
6. Transfer to oven-proof baking dish and top with remaining mozzarella and parmigiano reggiao.
7. Bake until cheese melts and turns slightly brown (about 10-15 minutes).
8, Remove from heat and serve warm.

Portabella, Baby Spinach, and Feta Cheese Frittata

Woke up tired and a little later than usual this morning... probably because I had coffee late last night which kept me awake until wee hours of the morning.  I was also having more pain than usual on my left elbow and hand that every little movement would jolt me back into a state of wakefulness...hmmm...is that even a right term? Oh, well.  If it isn't then who cares, right?  This isn't one of my grad school paper where every little grammatical and punctuation error is subject to a deduction....hehehe...As I was saying, I didn't get much sleep last night so I naturally woke up late and feeling tired this morning.  I had originally planned to make lasagna today but changed my mind as it requires more steps and prep work than I was willing to exert my effort on.

After getting up, I probably spent a couple of hours watching anime via crunchyroll.com. Anime is an animation style that originates from Japan.  I started watching Gintama today and surprisingly it sounds interesting.  This is only the second anime series that I have seen so far. The first one is Hunter x Hunter which, unfortunately, is still airing in Japan so I have to wait for more episodes to become available before I finish the series.  Although I have heard of and seen bits and pieces of an anime on my numerous visits to the Philippines, mostly due to the fact that my brother watches them, I have never really sat down and watch (on my own accord) an entire anime series until last week.  To my surprise, I entertained to the point that I couldn't wait to see the next episode.  It is not surprising , I guess since I am used to watching drama series (mostly Korean and some Taiwanese) for hours at a time.  What's more surprising though is the fact that my ears seem to have become acclimated to listening to the Japanese language...something that I had a hard time adjusting to when I attempted to watch Japanese dorama in the past.  Strange, isn't it?

Anyways, after a couple of hours my stomach started growling so I dragged myself off the bed and rummaged through the refrigerator's content after a quick shower.  I found different cheeses, fresh baby spinach leaves, portabello, some eggs, and milk so I decided to make frittata which is easy enough to make.  Frittata is an Italian egg-based dish that is similar to an omelette or a quiche.  The egg with addition of vegetables, cheese, and meat is usually cooked on the stove top just until the sides start to set then transferred to the oven to bake until the center is cooked.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup sliced portabello mushroom
1/4 milk
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp parmigiano reggiano

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add eggs, feta cheese, and black pepper.  Beat to mix well.
3. Heat an oven-proof,  non-stick skillet over medium heat.
4. Add oil then garlic and shallot.  Saute until fragrant then add portabello and cook until softened.
5. Add spinach leaves and saute until it welts slightly.  Note: do worry if the spinach seems too much because the volume will be reduced significantly once it has welted.
6. Lower the heat to medium low and add the egg mixture.  Using a fork, stir the mixture slightly until the spinach and mushroom floats to the surface.
7. Continue to cook until the sides begin to set.
8. Sprinkle parmigiano reggiano on top then transfer to a preheated oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the center sets and is cooked through.
9. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Three Cheese Baked Penne Rigate with Spinach

I was exploring google play on my Logitech Revue and found an app for Kraft foods. After I downloaded the app, I found out that it contained a lot of videos of recipes and cooking demo. In one of the video, I found a recipe for three cheese baked penne which got my attention so I played it and found myself drawn to how tasty the dish looked and how easy its preparation was. Before long, I was on my way to the grocery store buying the things I need for the dish. I modified it though to fit my taste and preference. I used Italian sausage instead of chicken as I am not really too fond of eating it. I also added a little sugar to sweeten it a little. What can I say? blame it on my Filipino palate that is more used to easing a sweeter version of Spaghetti as opposed to the original Italian version :) Nonetheless, you can skip adding the sugar if you wish.

The preparation was a breeze as well as the cooking and baking process. And soon I was able to taste it - my verdict: It's a keeper for me. An easy to prepare dish which can be easily multiplied to serve for an impromptu get-together or unplanned entertaining. By using store bought spaghetti sauce, you save a lot of cooking time. Of course, you are also free to make your own from scratch. Personally, I do prefer to make my own spaghetti sauce according to my preference but this time around I used the store bought variety.

Ingredients:

 2 cups Penne Rigate
 24 oz bottle of Spaghetti Sauce
 1/2 Lb Italian sausage, boiled and sliced thinly
 1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
 1 small onion, chopped
 1/2 cup evaporated milk sugar to taste (optional)
 1/2 cup sliced portabello mushroom, sliced thinly
 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano

1. Boil penne according to manufacturer's instruction. Once penne is cooked, add spinach and cook until the spinach welt slightly then drain. Discard liquid.

 2. In a sauce pan, saute onions and italian sausage. Saute until onion is translucent then add mushroom. Saute for a couple of minutes.

 3. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer until mushroom is cooked.

 4. Mix in milk, cheddar cheese, and sugar (to taste). Simmer for 2-3 minutes then add the drained pasta. Mix well

 5. Add half of the mozzarella and mix thoroughly.

 6. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and cover with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

 7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes then remove the cover and bake for another 5-10 minuted until top browns slightly.

 8. Remove from heat and let it cool a little bit before serving.

Pesto and Breadcrumbs Stuffed Baby Portabello Mushrooms

I love portabello mushroom and I love pesto which makes this dish a perfect combination of the ingredients that I really like. This is part of the Thanksgiving meal which I cooked this year. The recipe is quite simple, fast and easy to make especially since I have ready made pesto which I made earlier this week so basically all I did was mix, stuff, and bake these babies. The pesto that I used is the arugula-walnut pesto (recipe here).

To stuff the portabello mushroom, just remove the stems from the caps and then using a teaspoon, scrape some of the mushroom cap off to create a bigger surface area for the stuffing. By the way, save those portabello stems for another recipe such as soup. Combine all the ingredients for stuffing in a small bowl and spoon on the mushroom caps. Bake for about 5-10 minutes and viola! you're are done.

Ingredients:

10-12 baby portabello mushrooms

Stuffing:

1/2 cup prepared arugula pesto sauce (recipe here)
1//4 cup (+ extra for topping) breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
non-stick spray

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray some non-stick spray to your baking pan or lightly grease the pan using olive oil or just plain vegetable oil
3. Remove stems from portabello caps then using a teaspoon, scrape some of the mushroom cap off to make the opening bigger. Set Aside.
4. In a small bowl, combine pesto, breadcrumbs, and garlic. Mix well.
5. Spoon the stuffing into the mushroom caps, top with parmesan cheese and a little breadcrumbs.
6. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until heated through. Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm.

Pesto-stuffed Baked Tomatoes

I have come to love tomatoes. My love affair with tomato was slow to developed though. I really hated the taste when I was younger but have come to love and enjoy its taste over the years. I can even eat it raw with just a slight sprinkling of salt. How's that for a huge change?

This dish is simple enough to make as I have some leftover homemade pesto. It just takes a little time and cooking is a breeze. I think the only hard part in the process is trying to hollow out the tomato cavities without cause much damage. Thankfully,I have these tiniest of spoons (they like 1/4 of a teaspoon in size) which I do not know what they are called nor do I know what their usage is. I think I have twelve of them which came from a set of silverwares that my husband inherited when their old house was demolized. Anyways, the flatware has been sitting in the silverware chest awaiting its use but I am afraid to use them as I have the tendency to lose silverwares. Don't ask me how but I have gone through several sets in the past and always end up losing most of them that I finally gave up buying expensive brands and just go with the cheapest that I could find...hehehe.

Anyways, I hallowed out the tomato cavities then stuffed it with pesto,breadcrumbs, and garlic mixture then topped with grated parmigiano reggiano. Popped it in the oven for 15-20 minute or until the top brown a bit then serve. The result is a really tasty appetizer which I could probably turn into a meal by eating several...hehehe.


adapted from here

Ingredients:

4 roma tomatoes, washed and dried them tops sliced
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup homemade pesto (recipe here)
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, pesto sauce, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste then set aside.
3. Stuff hollowed out tomatoes with the filling mixture.
4. Top with grated parmesan cheese then drizzle olive oil on top
5. Place on oven safe pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until top turns light golden brown.
6. Remove from oven and serve warm.NOTE: be careful when removing from the oven as it will be very hot.

Grilled Steak with Rosenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

Ahhh... summer is almost gone and I cannot say that I am sad because frankly, I am just about tired of the heat. I welcome the cool weather with open arms this year although I shouldn't really get my hopes up, huh? I mean this is Southern California...we hardly get any cold weather here and if we do, they are far and few in between. The reason I am celebrating though is because it has been a long, hot, and humid summer...to me, at least. I wish that we get to see changing of the color of the leaves here in LA, even just once...

This summer has been rather eventful. I went home to the Philippines for our nth college reunion and had a blast. We had so much fun reminiscing our past, the way things were, exploring old digs as well as new ones, eating galore... it was all made special because my fireds were with me. Ha! to think that I was not even going to go homw for the reunion at all. I am so glad that I did though because I got to spend time with people whom I have not seen in a long time. The rest of the summer was spent blogging and cooking for the most part which I really enjoyed after a very long hiatus. Hopefully this will continue for a while...hehehe

This meal is my summer send off as we welcome the dawn of a new season, autumn. Although, to be honest, today feels more like autumn than summer. It has been gloomy since I woke up and went to the store this more...and it still is...hmmm...maybe we will get a cooler autumn and winter this year...nice. For the meal, I grilled a t-bone steak over my stove top griller, not the gas grill, then topped it with cheese and nuts sauce. I also fired some sweet potato fries to go with it.


Ingredients:

A. Steak

T-bone streak or any grilling steak
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Apply salt and pepper to both sides of the steak.
2. Grill steak. 2 minutes on 1 side and another two minutes on the other side for rare. Cook longer if you do not want to eat rare.
3. Remove from heat and onto a serving dish. Top with the dressing and serve with sweet potato fries.

B. Resenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

1 oz Risenberg cheese, crumbled
1 oz Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 Tbsp chopped macadamia nuts
small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1. Place macadamia, mint, parsley,garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and process until chopped finely and incorporated
2. Add both cheeses and process again until incorporated.
3. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.



Adapted from 30-minute entertaining cookbook by L. Pickford.

Spanakopita

I am using the other half of my phyllo dough on this recipe (the other half was used in baklava the other day). Spanakopita is a snack food in Greece where the dish originated. ngredients for this dish usually include feta cheese, chopped spinach, onions, scallions, eggs, dill, and seasoned with salt and pepper. The filling is wrapped in phyllo wrapped and baked until the crust runs golden brown in color and very crunchy.
Ingredients:

1/2 package (1/2 lb) phyllo dough, thawed before use
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 package (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
2 eggs, sightly beaten
1 large onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup melted butter
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1. Heat pan over medium heat. Saute onions in oil until translucent.
2. Add spinach and dill and saute for a minute or two.
3. Sprinkle flour and mix to combine. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes to cook with flour. Season salt and pepper according to taste.
5. Add eggs, parmesan cheese, and feta cheese. Mix until well incorporated.



To assemble:
1. Lay out your phyllo dough and remove 1 piece. (Be sure to cover the rest with damp towel so as not to dry out).
2. Brush half of the phyllo dough with butter.
3. Lift the sude without butter and fold it over to the buttered side.
3. Take a teaspoon full of filling and place it in the lower middle area leaving about two inches at the bottom,
4. Fold the bottom part over the mixture.
5. Take the left side and fold it in the middle. Do the same with the right side.
6. Hold the area where the filling and fold like you are folding a flag. Place on a buttered baking dish with the seam down.











To Bake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place the spanakopita in a baking dish that has been oiled/buttered.
3. Baked for about 45 minutes or until golden brown
4. Remove from oven and cool a little bit before serving.

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese Stuffing

I bought some dried dates the other day when I went grocery shopping. I also bought bacon since prosciutto wasn't available (or maybe I did not look hard enough...lol). They are both perfect for the dish I was thinking. I had these a while back but haven't made it since because I was having a hard time finding date. Funny that I found some when I wasn't even looking for them.

This dish is really good. so good, in fact, that you won't be able to stop at your first piece and will keep reaching for them over and over. The taste is a combination between sweet (dates) and salty (bacon). when you bite into them, the taste explodes in your mouth...really yummy

Dates came from date palm which is cultivated for the sweet fruit that it produces. They grow mostly in the middle eastern countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Oman and Libya.


Ingredients:

20 dried dates
goat cheese
10 bacons, cut in half


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Take a date and make a long slit on one side to make it easier to stuff.
3. Stuff date with goat cheese then wrap in bacon and secure with toothpick. Do the same with the rest until you're done.



4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown then turn over and bake the other side for another 7-10 miutes or until golden brown. Make sure you keep an eye on it and check frequently to prevent burning.
5. Remove form the oven and place in paper towel-lined platter to drain excess fat.
6. Transfer to a serving platter and serve. NOTE: Be careful when you handle and eat them as they may be too hot.