Dinner Divas: Veggie Not-Sagna Pasta Toss

I am SO GLAD that Jenn picked Rachel Ray's Veggie Not-Sagna Pasta Toss for one of this month's Dinner Divas recipes. I have always wanted to try it, but tended to always go for the "original" version.

While I very much enjoyed this veggie meal, I definitely prefer it with meat and tomatoes and all of that good stuff. ;)


Ingredients

• 1 pound curly pasta (recommended: campanelle or cavatappi by Barilla)
• Coarse salt
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 medium zucchini
• 12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 roasted red pepper, drained, pat dry, quartered lengthwise then thinly sliced (I omitted)
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 rounded tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg, eyeball it
• 1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, a couple of handfuls, plus some to pass at the table
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, about 20 leaves

Heat a pot of water to a boil for pasta. Salt boiling water and cook pasta to al dente. Heads up: reserve a ladle of the hot cooking water just before you drain pasta.

Place the frozen spinach on a plate and microwave to defrost it according to your microwave's directions. Place defrosted spinach in a clean kitchen towel and wring out the liquid.

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Halve the zucchini lengthwise then thinly slice into half moons and add to the pan along with the mushrooms. Cook 2 to 3 minutes then add onions and garlic to the pan. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. When the onions are tender, about 5 minutes, add defrosted spinach, separating into small bits as you handle it, and the roasted red peppers and toss to heat through. Transfer veggies to a dish and return skillet to stove top. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the butter. When the butter melts into extra-virgin olive oil, add 2 rounded tablespoons of flour and cook a minute or so, then whisk in stock and milk. Bring to a bubble and thicken the sauce, reducing it 2 to 3 minutes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Slide vegetables back into sauce.

Place the part-skim ricotta in a large shallow bowl and combine with a ladle of boiling, starchy pasta cooking water. Stir to combine then add in a couple of handfuls of grated cheese.

Drain pasta and toss with cheeses. Add half the vegetables and sauce to pasta and toss to combine. Tear or shred basil and toss into pasta. Adjust seasonings. Top bowlfuls of Vegetable Not-sagna with remaining veggies in sauce and pass extra grated cheese at the table.

Dinner Divas: Chicken Francese

This was a Dinner Divas pick from, um, December. Yeah, I'm on top of things...

It was worth the wait, though. Tyler Florence's Chicken Francese was very, very quick to put together and tasted delicious. The chicken was so tender and juicy and I regretted not doubling - we had no leftovers!

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds)
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet.

Dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the chicken cutlets to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.

Toss the lemon slices into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the wine, broth, and lemon juice, simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. Roll the butter in some flour and add it to the skillet, this will thicken the sauce. Stir to incorporate and dissolve the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan; place the lemon slices on top of the cutlets. Simmer gently for 2 minutes to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli

Oh, lordy. Jenn's submission for Rachael Ray's Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli for Dinner Divas was so ridiculously good. I'm not even going to tell you how much of this I ate tonight; suffice it to say that I am very, very full.






I struggle a bit with the whole melt-butter-and-add-flour concept; try as I might, I continuously have a grainy-ish consistency. After some discussion on my cooking message board, I realized that I should a) not use skim milk, b) throw in a slice or two of American, and c) not let the milk get too hot before I add in the cheese. I can't make any promises regarding (a), but we'll see how well the other two options pan out.

I don't have any cayenne pepper, so on a whim I grabbed allspice. Not too shabby!






Similar to the cookie incident, Ryan decided he couldn't wait for me to finish taking pictures before diving in:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
• 2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard
  

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.
To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.

Dinner Divas: New Coq au Vin

First of all, I gotta confess - I've avoided making this meal for a really long time, simply because I have no idea how to pronounce it. In my head, I say, "Coke-ahh-veeen," but I have no idea if that's correct.

Anyway, luckily, pronounciation is not a requirement for actually cooking this awesome meal, chosen for the Dinner Divas group by Jenn.

I threw in some carrots for fun, but didn't really alter the recipe. I do wish, however, that I had purchased boneless/skinless thighs, but what can you do.

Oh, and did you notice how runny my mashed potatoes are?? Holy milk, Batman!

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken thighs with skin and bone (2 pounds)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 10 garlic cloves, halved


• 3 celery ribs, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces


• 1 cup dry white wine


• 1 cup water


• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  

Pat chicken dry and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sear chicken, skin side down, in 2 batches until golden brown (do not turn), 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Cook garlic and celery in skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil, uncovered, until reduced by about half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer.

Return chicken, skin side up, to skillet and simmer, partially covered, until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Orange Mandarin Chicken

Well, I am FINALLY getting around to the Orange Mandarin Chicken that I selected for August's Dinner Divas. Took forever, but... well-worth it!

This dinner was SO GOOD! I admit that I totally cheated and used microwavable rice and frozen snow peas, but who cares. Delish!

Due to time, I had actually fed Ryan some leftovers before I even cooked. But he kept trying to steal peas and oranges while I was snapping photographs, so I gave him a bowl... and he ate almost everything! I guess this dish is a winner...

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, undrained
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned.

While chicken cooks, drain oranges in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid. Add oranges, 2 tablespoons liquid, onions, jalapeño, and garlic to pan. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Combine broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 212 (16% from fat)
Fat: 3.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.3g)
Protein: 27.2g
Carbohydrate: 15.2g
Fiber: 0.7g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Iron: 1.9mg
Sodium: 562mg
Calcium: 27mg

Robin Vitetta-Miller Cooking Light, JULY 2002

Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese

As co-founder of the Dinner Divas cooking group, I got to pick two of the first month's recipes! For my Food Network selection, I went with my girl Giada and chose her Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese.


I gotta be honest, though - I wasn't feeling this dinner. I really can't put my finger on why, though, so I don't know how to adjust for next time. I think I was just expecting something cozy (I mean, really - pasta=comfort food!) and it just didn't deliver. It certainly wasn't BAD; just not what I was hoping for.

To all of my fellow dinner divas - sorry I let y'all down. Don't hold it against me...!

And for the record, this might be the very first Giada meal to disappoint me.

Ingredients:

• 1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 ounces assorted mushrooms (like shiitake, cremini, and brown), stemmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 pound rigatoni pasta
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
  

Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 1/2 cups very hot water. Set aside and let the mushrooms soften.

Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Strain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the porcini mushroom liquid. Add the porcini mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the porcini mushroom liquid and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and stir just until the cheese is incorporated.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the vegetable mixture. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid, if necessary, to moisten the sauce. Toss with Parmesan and serve.

Join the DINNER DIVAS!

My cyber-buddy Heather and I decided to create a cooking group for the girls on our message board. After much deliberation and polling and emailing over names, ideas, themes, etc, we are excited to bring you...

*drumroll*

The Dinner Divas!

We will be featuring two recipes a month for you to try out, enjoy, and make your own, selected for you by our members. These dishes will likely focus on Food Network stars, although fellow Divas can choose any recipe they'd like.

Want to join? Click the link above for the blog and send us an email.

Here is the first recipe: The Chicken Cobb Burger by grill master Bobby Flay.

Happy cooking - we cannot wait to see the results!