Sasha's Kitchen: Carrot Cardamom Soup

It's October and fall has arrived. I'll be the first to admit that I miss summer - the carefree summer days, swimming, tank tops, and all of that luscious summer fruit.  But fall isn't so bad.  There's something about a crisp fall day and the changing of the seasons that always makes me glad to live on the east coast.  I love getting out of Brooklyn/NCY for a taste of fall foliage as well - the colors are so gorgeous in just a couple short weeks.  Fall means pumpkins, apples, carrots, and  squash in the kitchen.  And, I've started cooking with them all.  I came across a great carrot cardamom soup with marshmallow (yes, a marshmallow garnish!) when reading Daily Candy, and figured I'd give it a try its from Saxon & Parole, a restaurant that I'd love to try out (newly opened).  At any rate, I didn't make my own marshmallows but otherwise stuck to the recipe and found it to be a new warm and lovely fall favorite.  Has the loveliest flavors with pumpkin oil, carrot, cardamom and coconut. Yum!

Carrot Cardamom Soup (original recipe here)
1 1/4 tsp honey
1 can of coconut milk
3 1/2 cups of hot water
juice of half a lemon
1/2 fist size white onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 large thumb of ginger, diced
2 green cardamom pods
2 oz unsalted butter or olive oil
1 2/3 lb carrots
salt and pepper to taste
garnish with: toasted marshmallow, toasted pumpkin seeds (I left out) and pumpkin seed oil

Combine the liquids (water, coconut milk, lemon juice and honey) and set aside. Combine the cardamom, onion, garlic, and butter in a pot over medium low heat and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the carrots and turn heat to high and cook another three minutes or so.  Add the liquids and bring to a full boil. Then reduce to a simmer and simmer for about thirty minutes, until the carrots are soft. Remove the cardamom pods.  Puree in the blender until smooth.  Garnish each bowl with a toasted marshmallow (I toasted using a creme brulee torch) and some pumpkin seed oil.  If you like, you can add toasted pumpkin seeds and/or chile flakes. (I used a bit of ancho chile powder instead)

Sasha's Kitchen: Carrot Cardamom Soup

Sasha's Kitchen: Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs

I love baked ziti. Not the healthiest thing out there, but all that sauce, pasta and cheese - what's not to love? It takes a bit of time to put everything together, but its a great comfort meal that usually produces galores of leftovers.  I had recently received some great organic pastas to try from ShopRite for free as a ShopRite Potluck blogger, so I decided to use the one pound bag of delicious penne to make this baked ziti. The result was delicious and the pasta was just perfect for this recipe.  The turkey meatballs are a wonderful addition that lend flavor to this dish. 

Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs (adapted from this recipe from Epicurious)

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted, cooled, and chopped
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves (preferably flat-leafed)
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb ziti or penne
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (about six oz)

1 cup grated romano cheese
about six cups of tomato sauce (store bought, or make your own, like I did)
15 oz ricotta cheese



In a bowl, combine the pecorino/romano and mozzarella and set aside.  In a pot of salted water, make the pasta, al dente.  To make the meatballs, mix the ground turkey with the garlic, bread crumbs, onion, pine nuts, parsley and egg until combined with your hands and form 1 inch meatballs.  Instead of cooking them in oil, I baked them for about 40 minutes at 350 until cooked through.

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a 3-4 quart gratin or lasagna dish.  Then, spoon about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and half of meatballs into prepared dish and spoon half of pasta on top. Spread half remaining sauce and half cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meatballs and drop dollops of ricotta over meatballs. Spread remaining pasta over ricotta and top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese mixture. Bake the ziti for about 30 minutes until golden and serve hot. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs

Sasha's Kitchen: Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake

I just *had* to make honey cake for the Jewish New Year. L'Shana Tova, or Happy New Year to all of my Jewish readers. I made this sweet honey cake (actually two of them) to bring the traditional taste of sweetness to the new year along with apples & honey.  This cake is just amazing - warm, soft and moist. It's one of the best cakes that I have made, and its sweet with honey for a L'Shana Tova (Hebrew for a sweet new year.  I got the recipe from one of my favorite other blogs, Smitten Kitchen, and adapted it a bit in my own kitchen for the perfect honey cake.  This makes gorgeous, moist and marvelous honey cakes, and I was quite pleased with our Rosh Hashanah treat.The original recipe that I adapted comes from Marcy Goldman's Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking.  The recipe is pareve (non dairy) so it is the perfect finish for that holiday meal.

Honey Cake (makes two 9 inch cakes)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup rum

Prepare two nine inch cake pans using Pam.  Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl, combine the flour baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice and mix well.  Mix in the sugars next.  Make a well in the center and add the oil, honey, eggs, vanilla coffee, juice and rum.  Measure the oil just before the honey, which will help the honey slide out of your measuring cup.  Using an electric mixer, beat the batter until well blended and making sure that the ingredients are combined evenly.  Divide evenly into the two prepared cake pans and bake for 60-65 minutes. Bake on two stacked baking sheets to ensure the cakes bake properly and evenly.  Allow to stand for 15 minutes before removing the cake from the pans.  L'Shana Tova - Have a sweet New Year!

Sasha's Kitchen: Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake

Sasha's Kitchen: Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes

So sorry I haven't posted in almost a week. Things have just been crazy around here and quite hectic, and it seems it will still be a bit before they settle down.  I didn't get a chance to cook or bake too mcuh in the last week, but still have some good recipes yet to share.  Recently, I bought the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World upon recommendation from a friend.  I'm not vegan, not even vegetarian, but after trying a couple of these fabulous (and healthier) recipes, well I'm sold.  My first foray into vegan baking was the complex flavors of mexican chocolate, with a delicious chocolate mousse frosting - and yes, it's really vegan, too! What I love about this book is the complexity and artistry in each of the vegan cupcake recipes. Next up, I plan to try making the banana split cupcakes and the apple cider cupcakes!

Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)
1 cup coconut milk
1 T ground flaxseeds
3/4 cup flour
2 T cornmeal
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and line your silicon muffin tin.  Whisk together the coconut milk and flaxseeds and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl (almond meal, cocoa, flour, salt, cinnamon, cayenne baking powder and baking soda).  whisk the sugar, oil and extracts into the coconut milk.  Gently add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way to the top and bake for about 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.


Vegan Chocolate Mousse Frosting (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)
1 12.3 oz package extra firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup soy milk
2 T maple syrup or agave
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz vegan chocolate chips

Crumble the tofu in a blender and add the agave/maple syrup and the soy milk.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, and then let cool for five minutes.  Blend in the chocolate with the tofu mixture.  Transfer to an airtight container and chill for 1 hour before piping on the cupcakes with a pastry bag. So good you won't even realize its vegan!!!

Sasha's Kitchen: Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Panna Cotta

I've made panna cotta many times, but for some reason I've never made chocolate panna cotta. Well why not? It's so easy, so rewarding and decadently chocolate.  This is very simple recipe for whenever you are craving a chocolate dessert but don't have time for cupcakes or cake.  It's all about the gelatin and basically is foolproof to set properly.  I made some raspberry sauce a couple weeks ago that I canned (it was supposed to be raspberry jam, so it didn't turn out quite right.  However, raspberry sauce is great with chocolate and I was able to put some to good use to top the panna cotta.

Sasha's Chocolate Panna Cotta (makes 6) based on this recipe from Epicurious
1 cup skim milk
3 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy whipping cream
5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract

Spray six glass custard cups or individual sized souffle ramekins with Pam or canola oil. Pour milk into a bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Stir cream and sugar in saucepan over medium high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and take off heat.  Add the chocolate and whisk until melted and evenly combined.  Combine the chocolate mixture with the gelatin/milk mixture and stir in the vanilla. Make sure the mixture is evenly combined by blending in a blender, but do not overmix.  Divide in the six cups and chill 24 hours.  To plate, cut around the outside and flip over. It's panna cotta!!!

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Panna Cotta

Sasha's Kitchen: Pecan Chicken with Spiced Apple Chutney

I've now made this chicken dish several times, and it is always a hit.  It serves nicely with chutney, one of my all time favorite types of sauces.  As a kid, I first learned to make chutney from a book from a long-gone restaurant in Ithaca, NY, called Chutney, Relishes and Tablesauces, By Jay Solomon - a great book on the subject.  The key to a good chutney is always the same - getting it to jam to just the right consistency by using a combination of brown sugar and vinegar, while lovingly simmering the mixture.  They have a combined acidic and sweet taste, and are also perfect for preserving for that reason.  The first time I made this dish, I served it with mango chutney.   This time, I tried out a great new recipe for spiced apple chutney from my new Preserving cookbook, by Sheri Brooks Vinton, Put Em' Up.   The spiced apple chutney was delicious and  perfect for the start of fall apple season here in New York.

Sasha's Pecan Crusted Chicken
three or four skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp pasilla chile powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
canola oil for breading

To prepare the chicken, pulverize the pecans in a food processor, or chop them finely in a nut chopper if you prefer more texture.  I've done it both ways.  Combine with the bread crumbs and spices.  Coat the chicken with the two eggs (scrambled) and then dip in the breadcrumb/pecan/spice mixture.  Cook in canola oil until browned, and then finish in the oven to cook through.


Spiced Apple Chutney (from Vinton's recipe)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
4 apples, cored and peeled (use local New York apples for the best result, in my opinion!)
2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup finely diced onion
1 cup raisons
1 T freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 T mustard seed
2 T mild curry powder
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp salt

Pour the vinegar into a large saucepan and dice the apples, adding them to the pot as you go to prevent browning. Add the brown sugar, onions, raisons, ginger and garlic and bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the mustard seed, curry, allspice and salt, and simmer for an additional fifteen minutes.

Photo of the same pecan chicken recipe from when i made it with mango chutney over the summer

Sasha's Kitchen: Pecan Chicken with Spiced Apple Chutney

Sasha's Kitchen: Black & White Cookies

Growing up, traditional black and white cookies - half chocolate glazed and half vanilla glazed - were one of my favorite kinds of cookies (second to tri-colored rainbow cookies, of course).  They're actually relatively straightforward to make at home, as well, and quite a rewarding treat.  I have to admit I am partial to the chocolate glazed side of the cookie, so much so that next time I make them, I might just have to make the cookie itself chocolate.  I'm a big fan of the bakery Baked, right here in Brooklyn for their reasonably priced but delicious baked goods from cakes to cookies to cupcakes, so I was thrilled to find a recipe for black & white cookies in the Baked Explorations cookbook last weekend.  A batch of cookies mades between 14-18 nice large black and white cookies which are a rewarding treat to eat at home and to share with friends and coworkers.  I got a lot of compliments on these!

Black & White Cookies (recipe from Baked Explorations)
Cookies
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter, cool
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 T freshly grated lemon zest

Frosting
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 to 5 T whole milk
3 T heavy cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2T dark unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients for the cookies (flower, baking powder, baking soda and salt).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about two minutes. Add the eggs and the yolk, one at a time and mix.  Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk (ending with the last flour addition). Add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl; add the lemon zest and mix.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets (beware, it will expand). You should fit about six cookies on a baking sheet. Be sure to space them apart to give them some room to spread and "grow."

Bake for 17 minutes, baking each sheet one at a time. Edges should be lightly browned. I found that the 17 minute time was pretty much right on the money.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, in a large bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk, cream and vanilla. If the mixture is too thick, add milk by the teaspoon. Divide in half and add the chocolate powder to half of the mixture. Add a bit of milk by the teaspoon if you need to thin the chocolate a little bit.  Using a spatula, frost one half vanilla and allow to dry before frosting the other half with the chocolate glaze.  Let the frosted cookies set for one hour before serving.

Sasha's Kitchen: Black & White Cookies

Sasha's Kitchen: Spicy Peach Salsa

Recently I took a preserving class at The Brooklyn Kitchen where we made this delicious peach salsa.  The recipe is in Sheri Brooks Vinton's new book Put 'em Up, which is a great guide for home preserving.  I made the spicy peach salsa from the book over the weekend at home, resulting in two large pint size jars of salsa. Yum! What could be better that a delicious peach salsa? I guess my love for peaches is showing here a bit. At any rate, I managed to do the boiling water method of preserving at home for one of the two jars, so it will be good until I want to use it. The other jar, I didn't seal, so we've been enjoying it all week. This salsa is great on fish or chicken, or just with some tortilla chips as a dip.

Sheri Brooks Vinton's Spicy Peach Salsa
3 pounds peaches, blanched and skin removed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 T cumin
1 T salt
1 pound tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
1/4 cup minced cilantro

Prepare and ice bath in a large bowl. Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch two peaches in the hot water at a time (for me, three pounds was six large peaches). Blanch the fruit for thirty seconds in the boiling water before placing in the ice bath.  Remove the skin from the peaches. After blanching, it should just slip off.

Combien the vinegar, sugar, cumin and salt in a large dutch oven or other nonreactive pan.  Put the peaches and dice them, adding them to the pot as you go so they do not brown. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, jalapeno and onion, as you dice them.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minute until thickened. Add the cilantro and remove the salsa from the heat,  You can then can it using the boiling water preservation method, or you can refrigerate it for a week or two and enjoy it right away.

Sasha's Kitchen: Spicy Peach Salsa

Sasha's Kitchen: Perfect Chocolate Souffle

I haven't been baking a lot lately, and sorry to disappoint, but my petit fours were a disaster. But I did make a killer chocolate souffle the other night that was enjoyed by all, along with some preserved homemade raspberry sauce.  This is a simple recipe, but it's a bit tricky to get a souffle just right.  Do not (under any circumstances) open the oven to check on your souffles after you put them in. You just have to wait until you know they will be done and take them out then.  I think that's the hardest part of souffle making.  The best souffles I have had have just the perfect combination of flavor and texture. I had an amazing vanilla souffle in Paris (which I will have to try to replicate soon - just thinking of it makes my mouth water). I've also had some great souffles here in New York at Capsouto Freres.  At any rate, last week, I made this basic souffle to serve with a raspberry sauce that I made from boatloads of farmers' market raspberries and preserved. The two flavors went together really nicely.

Chocolate Souffle (makes 4)
PAM - to spray the ramekins
1/3 cup of sugar
3 eggs, separated
pinch of cream of tartar
6 oz semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate
2/3 of a cup milk
1 T plus 2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 before you begin. Spray four ramekins with PAM (or use butter) and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.  Whisk egg whites until frothy in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar and beat on high, slowly adding the sugar. Continue to beat on high until medium hard peaks form, about five minutes.

Whisk the milk and cornstarch in a saucepan.  Simmer until thick for about two minutes.  Whisk in the chocolate and egg yolks until combined. Gently fold in the egg whites using a spatula.  Divide among the four prepared ramekins.

Bake for about 16 minutes. Enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Perfect Chocolate Souffle

Sasha's Kitchen: Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Lemon Lime Cous Cous

I haven't been cooking and baking new recipes as much lately, although I plan to do some new recipes coming up from a vietnamese cookbook I bought. In addition, my husband and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this coming weekend so in addition to a nice meal out, I plan on baking some celebratory petit fours. Petit fours are a pretty complex baking recipe so I am hoping I can get a good result on the first time, since it is something I have wanted to try for awhile as they are both lovely to look at, and delicious. On Monday, over the long labor day weekend, I made a new recipe from Sarah Raven's cookbook, Fresh From the Garden, one of my favorite cookbooks for good seasonal recipes.  I made her recipe for Moroccan Chicken Tagine, and also her simple recipe for lemon lime couscous. The two dishes were delicious and complemented each other quite nicely. I loved the zing of the tangy couscous with the sweetness of the chicken dish with the candied apricots.


Chicken Tagine with Almonds and Apricots (from Sarah Raven)
3 1/2 lbs free range chicken, cut up (I used an organic, antibiotic free chicken, of course)
1-2 T olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp hot paprika
apple juice
1/2 pound dried apricots, chopped
1/2 pounds almonds
mint, chopped
cilantro or parsley, chopped

In a Dutch Oven (I used one of my beloved Le Creuset pots), brown the chicken lightly on all sides for a few minutes in the olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pot and sauté the onion and garlic for three to four minutes. Add the saffron, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and ginger. Return the chicken to the pot and add just enough apple juice to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add the apricots and almonds, and cook covered for another fifteen minutes until the chicken is tender.  When read to eat, add the mint and cilantro to the dish and serve.


Lemon and Lime Cous Cous (adapted from Sarah Raven)
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 3/4 cup cous cous
2 T olive oil
juice of one lemon
juice of one lime
salt and pepper
mint
parsley

Bring the stock and the couscous to a boil, then allow to simmer until cooked. Stir in the lemon and lime juice and cover for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and with the mint and parsley if you like.  Since I put mint and cilantro in the main dish, I simply seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sasha's Kitchen: Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Lemon Lime Cous Cous

Sasha's Kitchen: Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

Heirloom tomatoes are one of my favorite flavors of summer. I love looking at them - all different shapes, colors and sizes.  They have a sweet succulent flavor that is slightly different for each varietal.  They are like a rainbow of tomato, both in hue and in flavor.  I had the pleasure of making two salads with them this summer.  I bought some at the Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza which I combined with a bit of crumbled goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette, about a month ago for a simple heirloom tomato salad.  The second salad was a more traditional Italian caprese salad, where I sliced the tomatoes and some buffalo mozzarella cheese, and drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.  Both of these salads are quite simple, but are really just meant to showcase the flavor of the heirloom tomatoes. Like summer itself, the season for heirloom tomatoes is coming to a close - it is short but sweet!

Happy Labor Day! Hope you enjoy my heirloom pictures. Tonight, I am making two recipes (after a family minimal cooking low-key weekend that included a trek to Governor's Island) - a chicken tagine with apricots and almonds, and chocolate-mint upside down cupcakes. I'll be sharing both recipes soon, as my life seems to be getting tangled with other obstacles these days.  This blog is always a welcome break for me from all the shenanigans of daily life.

Sasha's Kitchen: Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

Sasha's Kitchen: Preserving the Harvest Class at the Brooklyn Kitchen

So the other night I took a class on preserving the seasonal harvest at The Brooklyn Kitchen with Sheri Brooks Vinton. The class was a great into into preserving using the boiling water method. In the class, Sheri did a demo preparing and preserving peach ginger jam from her cookbook, Put 'em Up, while in the class we made and preserved peach salsa - so good!  I love peaches so this was a fun class, and by the end my head was about to explode with instructions and tons of useful tips about preserving at home.  I left purchasing a copy of Put 'em Up, which looks to be a great book with tons of recipes perfect for at home preserving.  I especially like how the book is organized, with separate sections for different fruits and vegetables.  Now, its not like we eat jam by the boatload or anything around here, but I am eager to try out my at home preserving. I don't do any gardening so I plan to go to the farmer's market shortly today and pick up tons of fresh blueberries to make the blueberry quick jam recipe in Sheri Brooks Vinton's cookbook.

Fresh peaches, blanched and peeled for preserving

Peach salsa

Included are some pictures from the class of the canning process, and also of the delicious peach salsa that we made and preserved in the class. This was such a fun and informative class, and I can't wait to get started preserving at home.  It seems like a terrific way to make gifts for friends and family as well, once I get the hang of what I am doing with the preserving process. I just hope that the large pots I use are big enough since I don't have the ginormous pot that we used in the class for preserving. I'll make do, I suppose.  Blueberry jam, here I come! I look forward to putting the new skills I learned to use later today.

Jars of peach salsa

Sasha's Kitchen: Preserving the Harvest Class at the Brooklyn Kitchen

Sasha's Kitchen: Pasta with Pesto, Feta and Grape Tomatoes

Time for another delicious pasta dish. And some like it hot, some like it cold. This one is good either way. The first time I made this last week, I used store bought bow tie pasta and it was a big hit here at home.  Then, earlier this week, I received a shipment of organic Italian pastas from ShopRite to sample, all from the Lombardy region of Italy. So I tried it out with a one pound bag of ShopRite's radiatore pasta, and it was superb.  The ShopRite pastas are excellent, and it had a lovely, perfect al dente texture. I am such a fan of the radiatore that I can't wait to try out some of the other pastas that ShopRite sent me to sample (free of charge, of course :).

At any rate, this dish combines the pasta with flavors of red onion, pesto, feta cheese and broiled grape tomatoes. It's a delicious combination of flavors, and as I said before, can be served either hot or cold. A Sasha-pasta creation at its finest!

delicious Organic Italian pastas I received to sample from ShopRite

Sasha's Pasta with Pesto, Feta and Grape Tomatoes (serves 6)
1 lb ShopRite radiatore pasta, or bow tie pasta
2 containers grape tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 8 oz packages of feta cheese
1 red onion, diced
leaves of 1 bunch of basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Prepare the pesto in a food processor by blending the basil leaves with the olive oil and pine nuts (also known as pignolia nuts - I love that word!). Set aside. Broil the tomatoes for about 20 minutes at 450. Saute the red onion in olive oil for several minutes, then add the garlic, and saute until the onion is translucent. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, and rinse. Combine the pesto, onion/garlic, pasta and crumbled feta cheese. Serve hot or allow to chill. Another great thing about this dish is that it results in plenty of leftovers for the next night, which makes it perfect for busy weekday cooking - double returns!

Sasha's Kitchen: Pasta with Pesto, Feta and Grape Tomatoes

Sasha's Kitchen: Tiramisu

Tiramisu is my husband Brad's favorite dessert.  He almost always orders it when we go to an Italian restaurant, and has wanted me to make a homemade tiramisu for some time.  I had tried making a green tea tiramisu in the past, but it was definitely time for me to make him his favorite tiramisu. It's not really that difficult a dessert to make either, as long as you are skilled at whipping egg whites up into a good meringue (I am) and remember to only dip the ladyfingers very quickly in the expresso.  I used my mother in law, Lynne's tiramisu recipe for the best results and a very satisfied husband last week.  I plan on making it again for him soon.

Tiramisu
5 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup marscapone cheese (about 10 oz)
1 cup heavy cream
two packages of lady fingers (about 18-20)
3/4 cup expresso (1 T instant expresso into 3/4 cup hot water)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 T Kailua liquor

Beat whites, gradually adding sugar and continuing to beat on high, using the whisk attachment of your mixer until stiff peaks form, like for a meringue.  Beat in the marscapone cheese until fully blended, and add the Kailua. Whip the cream separately and fold the mixture into the whipped cream.

Dip the ladyfingers quickly into the expresso and arrange in a 9 1/2 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish (like a lasagna pan). Pour the foamy marscapone / egg white mixture over the dipped ladyfingers in the dish.  Put the coca in a sifter and sprinkle on top.  Refrigerate for two hours before serving.

Sasha's Kitchen: Tiramisu

Potato & Herb Crusted Striped Bass with Mustard Cream Sauce

Here in New York city, including Brooklyn, we are hunkering down for Hurricane Irene and hoping we don't get flooding from our backyard when the storm hits. I plan on baking some breads tomorrow - banana bread and blueberry bread. I'm worried about flooding and wind damage and all kinds of other unpleasant weather events and am bummed to have to be missing a friends wedding due to the weather out of town this saturday night.

At any rate, I want to share a simple fish dish that I have made the last two weeks, with two different types of fish, striped bass and Australian barramundi. This dish is very simple, it just requires breading the fish in dried potato rather than breadcrumbs, and coating it with a selection of herbs, before pan searing the fish and serving it over green beans.  I bought a box of dehydrated potato flakes and mixed it with fresh thyme, oregano and a bit of parsley. Then I dredged the fish in egg and coated with the potato and herb batter. I didn't measure the herbs precisely, but you really can't use too much for a recipe like this.  I put it about a tablespoon of each!

Thanks to my loving mom for the terrific idea for this recipe, which she said was loosely inspired by something she saw on the Food Network.

I served the fish with a mustard cream sauce. Mix 1/2 cup of heavy cream with three tablespoons of dijon mustard. Simmer and stir until thickened, while adding 1/2 a tsp of cornstarch to enable the thickening of the sauce

Potato & Herb Crusted Striped Bass with Mustard Cream Sauce