"He don't eat no meat?"

Despite the deliciousness of the Pesto Gnocchi, vegetarianism would definitely not fly in this house. Ryan and I both love red meat! In all honesty, I probably enjoy a good steak more than he does. And that's exactly what we had tonight with our Gnocchi. I found this "recipe" on, yet again, Pioneer Woman. I just love the flavor of this rub on a good piece of ribeye, and it's really basic and simple.

Pan-Fried Ribeyes
recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

2 ribeye steaks
1 tbsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt
3 tbsp. Lemon & Pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil
butter




Mix all seasonings together and rub all over steaks.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Let the butter melt and start to brown.

Add the steaks and cook until desire doneness.

Quick and Easy...

Lemon peasy! I'm not sure where that little saying came from, but this Pesto is definitely very quick and easy to make.

Here's what you'll need:


Ingredients:
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 large clove garlic, halved
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-2 c. fresh basil leaves
1/4 c. pine nuts
1/2 c. olive oil

In a food processor, combine Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Process until the garlic is minced. Add fresh basil leaves and pine nuts and process until the basil is finely ground. With the motor running, gradually add olive oil and blend until almost smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. To store for up to 1 week, spoon additional oil over to pesto to cover by 1/4 inch. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Prior to tonight, I had never had Pesto, but I really liked it. It was a different way to eat pasta, but it was very good. You should try this today...it's so easy!

My Kind of Necessity

"I'm crazy about westerns. I need to do a western once in a while. It's like you know, eating bread, eating pasta, drinking wine. It's in my blood. I need it." - Franco Nero

Nero and I will have to agree to disagree on the bit about westerns, but he did have one thing right...good pasta can definitely be a need. I have definitely eaten my fair share of pasta in the nearly 23 years that I have been on this earth. (In all actuality, it's probably been more than my fair share...but really, who's counting?) However, until tonight, I had never made my own pasta. I'm not even sure that I knew you could make pasta at home until a few years ago. I had only ever experienced pre-packaged dried pasta. But tonight, with a tempting recipe from my Williams-Sonoma cookbook, I set out to rectify my mistaken presumptions about what good pasta is and where it comes from. For my first attempt at making my own pasta, I chose an intrigueing recipe for Gnocchi with Pesto.

So let's get started!

Gnocchi with Pesto
recipe courtesy of The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook


Ingredients:
Salt
3 russet potatoes
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. ground Nutmeg
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 c. Pesto
6 Tbsp. butter


First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and then add the scrubbed, but unpeeled potatoes, and let cook for 30 minutes or until fork-tender.


Drain and peel the potatoes and then place in a large bowl. Add the grated parmesan,
salt, and nutmeg and mash well with a potato masher. Let cool to lukewarm, mix in the egg and then 1 cup of the flour.

Knead the dough, adding more flour 1 Tbsp at a time as needed, until a soft and sticky dough forms, about 3 minutes.


Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then divide it into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, use your palms to roll each piece into a rope 1/4 inch thick. Cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces. To form the grooves in the Gnocchi that will hold the sauce, roll each piece over the tines of a large fork or down the length of a wire whisk.

In 2 batches, cook the Gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring often to prevent sticking, about 3-5 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a baking sheet.

Put the pesto an the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan in a large bowl. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the Gnocchi and saute until heated through, 3-5 minutes. Transfer the Gnocchi to the bowl of pesto and cheese and toss to coat. Serve immediately!


The Gnocchi was really good, but it took a really long time to make, so this is definitely not a quick dinner! The original recipe said to cook for 5 minutes in the boiling water, but I think this was a little long because my first batch got a little over-cooked. The second batch was much better when I took it out after 3 minutes. My only complaint about this recipe is that by the time I finished cooking it, I wasn't very hungry anymore! Ryan finished all of his, though, and he said it was very tasty! So if you have a free afternoon, and want to try your hand at making your own pasta, this is a good recipe!

A Moment of Brilliance!

This is what I had on Friday when I was at work. I had recently bought some peaches because I love them, but I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with them other than simply eat them whole as a snack. But then, I had a revelation.....Peaches & Cream Cheesecake Puffs! I swear, pure genius. I already had everything I needed except the peach preserves, so I decided to go ahead and run with my creative instincts! These were absolutely amazing! They spilled out of the pastry a little while baking, but that's because I didn't bother to roll out the pastry and seal the edges or make one full pan. But you can if you want to. I was just too anxious to try them and have to work with a tiny kitchen! So I just split each sheet up into three pieces and made three smaller pastries. You should make these.....NOW!

Peaches & Cream Cheesecake Puffs
a Lauren Hanson original




Ingredients:
2 blocks cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp Peach Schnapps
1 c. peach preserves
1 pkg puff pastry
2-3 peaches, sliced
1-2 tbsp. butter

1. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and peach schnapps until smooth.
2. Add peach preserves and mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
3. Prepare 1 sheet of puff pastry and place on a large baking sheet. (To prepare: roll out dough if desired)
4. Spread cream cheese mixture over pastry sheet.
5. Place 2nd prepared pastry sheet on top and place in 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
6. Brown butter in a saute pan and add peach slices to caramelize.
7. Remove pastry from oven, top with peaches and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, and serve with whipped cream!

I just can't get enough of the Caribbean

I was browsing food blogs the other day, and I came across this recipe, and I decided that I would make it for dessert with our spaghetti & meatballs tonight. It sounded so delicious and since we just got back from our Caribbean cruise and it contained my favorite tropical fruit, pineapple, I just knew I had to try them. Well, technically, pineapple is my favorite fruit...period...but that's beside the point. These were absolutely delicious and simple to make. However, I was stressing myself out while making them because I am not a well-organized cook and trying to make these while simultaneously making dinner turned out to be a little more than I could handle alone. I had added the eggs and vanilla, and was ready to add the pineapple, when I grabbed the can and realized I couldn't find my can opener, so I started yelling to Ryan to help me find the can opener, and he came in our tiny kitchen, took the can from me, and promptly looked at me like I was crazy. "Lauren...you don't need a can opener. This is a pull-top can." Yeah....it was that kind of night. But regardless, these turned out amazing and I highly recommend them!

Pineapple Butterscotch Bars
courtesy of Dole, by way of Milk & Honey http://themilkmanswife.wordpress.com/page/2/

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks or crushed pineapple, well drained (I used chunks)
1 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)
powdered sugar, garnish (optional)

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside.
2. Beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in pineapple. Stir in flour mixture, butterscotch chips and nuts until blended.
3. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F, 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Dust cooled cake with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into squares.