Cooking With Sue - California Central Coast Style
Welcome to my cooking blog! I like to cook and I hope it shows. I was lucky to grow up in a restaurant family that thought nothing at all about putting together an easy to make but delicious meal on a regular basis. I remember my mother and grandmother each making five to six pies a day! Then on top of that, they would work at our restaurant making meals with my dad and grandfather for our customers until late evening. Thinking back, I really appreciate and marvel at their endurance and dedication!
What I learned from my parents is cooking is NOT something that you should dread. It’s very straight forward and logical. It can be really fun and relaxing and I hope to make you see that side of it too. Learn a few recipes and a bit about wine and you will enjoy quality dining every night at home for a mere fraction of the cost of dining out!
California Central Coast Style Recipes are my passion. These recipes are easy and elegant, and based upon three principles:
- Whenever possible use fresh ingredients. preferable locally grown.
- Use minimal cooking preparation to enhance the featured ingredient. Keep spices and additional ingredients to a minimum -use just enough to bring out flavors of the main ingredient not change it into something else.
- The presentation of the dish should be simple but elegant.
Enjoy!
January's Recipes Offer a Lot of Quick Easy Ways to Serve an Outstanding Meal!
2012-01-16 00:19:12 ID=659:1
© 2012 The Romantic Table
Our home and office have been so chaotic since Christmas---too many irons is the fire! So I decided to go back to some of my quick meals that I've made over the years to "save the day!" These new recipes will help you too when you're in a bind but want a delicious meal!
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Decembers Celebrations! -But Also a Time to Slowdown!
2011-12-13 20:52:55 ID=658:1
© 2011 The Romantic Table
December is here and so is the rushed hustle and bustle of the holiday celebrations. But dinnertime is the one part of the day we should mentally put our "Christmas-timers" on hold and collect ourselves and enjoy the warm morsels in front of us, and get back to the real meaning of sharing with one another. December's recipes will offer a little something for everyone!
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Some "Foodie" Gift Ideas on a Budget
2011-11-18 05:18:18 ID=657:0
© 2011 The Romantic Table
It's late November and we all are starting to hyperventilate over what to give some of our food-loving friends for Christmas. Though your budget may be big or small, here are some of my suggestions that would make a perfect gift to be welcomed into any kitchen.
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November - Harvests are in and it's time to celebrate with family and friends
2011-11-06 21:28:41 ID=656:1
© 2011 The Romantic Table
Finally Fall has arrived and brought with it some cooler weather. Now it's time to kick-up the heat on our stoves and ovens and get ready to make some enjoyable recipes to share.
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Surviving Grape and Walnut Harvests and a Puppy Too!
2011-10-16 17:14:26 ID=655:0
© 2011 The Romantic Table
Several weeks ago, my five year old German Shepherd died, which threw me into a tailspin, so what did I do? Found another puppy to love! But putting up with all the escapades of another young German Shepherd during the peak of Grape/Wine Harvest and Walnut Harvest is proving to test my mettle and cooking style.
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Musings on Meatloaf, Males and Life
2011-10-08 21:21:00 ID=654:0
© 2011 The Romantic Table
I just recently made another one of my meatloafs and as I was assembling all the ingredients, I started thinking about the similarities between meatloaf, males and life!
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Pasta Shells with Walnuts and White Cheddar
Posted: 2012-01-23Pasta Shells with Walnuts and White Cheddar is a great recipe that you can make quickly for emergencies. You start out by making a roux with flour, butter and onion. Then you deglaze the roux, with a little hot chicken broth, add chopped walnuts, Italian parsley, salt and pepper and toss with the cooked pasta shells and shredded white cheddar cheese. Another quick-easy to make and delicious meal when served with a salad and glass of wine! This recipe really excited me by its simplicity but full-bodied flavor!
Pasta Shells with Walnuts and White Cheddar
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
MAKES 2 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
1 14.5 ounce can Chicken broth , heated to hot temperature
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup Unsalted butter
1 cup White onion
1 cup shredded White cheddar
1 cup Shelled walnuts , chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley , cleaned and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound Pasta shells
Preparation Directions.
1 Heat the butter in a stockpot over medium-low heat. Add in the onions and saute until softened and translucent.
2 Gradually add in the flour to the butter-onion mixture while whisking to make a roux.
3 While still whisking, gradually add in the hot chicken broth, and stir to prevent lumps from forming. Continue to whisk and stir until the roux has a light tan color.
4 Add in the chopped walnuts and shredded white cheddar. Continue to stir. Add in the parsley.
5 Then taste, and add salt and pepper to personal taste.
6 In the meantime, cook pasta in boiling salted water as directed on package. Drain and add to sauce. Toss thoroughly, distributing evenly throughout the sauce.
7 Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions.
Serve with a nice dry white wine such as a Viognier.
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Heros Quick Sausage and Mushroom Ragu
Posted: 2012-01-23There is truth to the saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" And one way to do this for MY man, is to serve him a hearty Ragu on a bed of soft Polenta! So I call this recipe Heros Quick Sausage and Mushroom Ragu with Soft Polenta. This recipe uses Fennel sausage, white onions, garlic, fresh Italian brown mushrooms, canned whole tomatoes, red wine, oregano and Italian parsley served on a bed of soft Basic Polenta . It is delicious for "unmanly females" too!
Heros Quick Sausage and Mushroom Ragu
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
MAKES 4 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
3/4 pound Fennel Pork Sausage
Extra virgin Olive oil
1-1/2 cup White onion , peeled and chopped
1/2 pound Italian brown mushrooms , washed and coarsely chopped or quartered and sliced
3 to 5 Cloves Garlic , peeled and chopped
1 28 ounce can Whole tomatoes and their juices
1/2 cup Red wine
1/3 cup Italian parsley , rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoons Dried Oregano
Salt and Black pepper to taste
1 recipe Soft Basic Polenta
Grated Parmesan cheese at the table
Preparation Directions.
1 Crumble sausage into frying pan and saute over medium-low heat until lightly browned. If sausage doesn't have much aroma, add a little dried fennel and stir well. Drain off excess fat. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
2 Add olive oil to a large stockpot if needed and heat up. Add in the chopped white onion and saute until softened. Add is the mushrooms and saute until they give off their juices. Add in garlic and saute until fragrant.
3 Coarsely chop the canned whole tomatoes,, add those and their juices to the onion-garlic mixture. Return the sausage to the stockpot.
4 Add in the red wine, parsley and dried oregano. Stir well and heat to a slow simmer. Add in salt and pepper to personal taste.
5 Let sauce cook for about thirty minutes or more.
6 In the meantime, make a recipe of Soft Basic Polenta. Cook as directed. When Polenta is done, serve on individual dinner plates and top each Polenta mound with a ladle or two of Ragu and serve.
7 Have Grated Parmesan cheese available at the table to top off the sauced polenta.
Serving Suggestions.
Serve with any good rustic red wine.
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Bucatini with Sausage, Porcini Mushrooms and Tomato Sauce
Posted: 2012-01-16Bucatini with Sausage, Porcini Mushrooms and Tomato Sauce is a "Mama-style" meal that just about always is welcome. All you need is some bulk sausage, together with some hydrated dried Porcini mushrooms that one normally has on hand, with a little garlic, red pepper flakes, a little tomato paste, red wine and salt and pepper. Nothing that "earth-shattering" but delicious just the same! This is another great resource because you can have most of the ingredients in the pantry -another last minute dinner!
Bucatini with Sausage, Porcini Mushrooms and Tomato Sauce
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
MAKES 2 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
1/2 ounces Dried Porcini mushrooms , soaked in
1 cup hot water for 30 minutes
8 to 10 ounces Bulk Italian sausage ,
1 to 2 Tablespoons Extra virgin Olive oil
3 to 4 cloves Garlic , peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoons Red Pepper flakes
1 15 ounce can Whole tomatoes and their juices , chopped
2 Tablespoons Tomato paste
1/2 teaspoons Dried Fennel seed
1/3 Cup Dry Red wine
Salt and Black pepper to taste
6 ounces Bucatini pasta
Parmesan cheese , grated at the table
Preparation Directions.
1 Soak dried Porcini in hot water for thirty minutes or so. After it's hydrated, drain off water by passing through a sieve and save soaking water for later. Chop up the drained Porcini. Set aside.
2 Crumble sausage into frying pan and saute over medium-low heat until lightly browned. If sausage doesn't have much aroma, add a little dried fennel and stir well. Drain off excess fat. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
3 Add olive oil to pan if needed and heat up. Add in chopped garlic and saute until fragrant.
4 Add in the coarsely chopped tomatoes and their juices. Stir well. Return the sausage to the tomato-mixture along with the chopped Porcini and their reserved soaking liquid. Stir well. Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine.
5 Add in the red wine and turn up heat a bit. After the wine has cooked down a bit, check for taste and add salt and pepper to personal taste.
6 Simmer the sauce until slightly thickened (ten-15 minutes), stirring often. If sauce gets too dry, add a little more red wine.
7 Meanwhile, in a large pasta pot with hot water and a tablespoon of salt, cook pasta as directed on package, stirring to prevent pasta from sticking to sides of pot.
8 Drain pasta well and add to sauce. Stir well and serve immediately, or if you like, cover for a few minutes to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce’s flavors.
9 Serve on dinner plates and have grated Parmesan cheese available at the table to sprinkle over the sauced pasta.
Serving Suggestions.
Serve with a robust red wine such as a Sangiovese or Chianti.
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Saffron Scallop Risotto
Posted: 2012-01-16Saffron Scallop Risotto is a delicious dish. But I hadn't made this for a few years--and tastes change, so I was anxious to learn if I still liked it as much as I remembered. Nowadays, it's much easier to find Bay Scallops in the grocery-store. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Albertsons carries a frozen line of Bay scallops in four-ounce packages for one dollar --and they're good!
Using canned Swansons vegetable broth, you make the risotto with a little butter, chopped white onion, the vegetable broth with saffron mixed in, white wine, salt and pepper and then add in the thawed Bay Scallops, carefully toss then add in a little Italian parsley. It's absolutely delicious, one of the easiest risottos to make and worthy of your most sophisticated guest! With a nice salad and a nice wine to accompany it, you've got a spectacular meal--and so eye-appealing as well! One of the best things about this dish is that you can have the ingredients on hand most of the time--as long as you have the scallops in your freezer.
For tips on how to make risotto, please see my article Risotto - Rice Italian Style!
Saffron Scallop Risotto
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
MAKES 4 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
3 to 4 Tablespoons Unsalted butter
1 medium White onion , peeled and chopped
6 to 8 cups Vegetable broth , heated to hot
1/4 teaspoons Saffron
2 cups Risotto
1/2 cups White wine
1-1/4 pound Bay Scallops , if frozen thawed
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup Italian parsley , chopped
Preparation Directions.
1 Heat the Vegetable broth in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, ladle out a cup of hot broth and add to a side dish that has the saffron in and stir to dissolve. Set dish aside to later. Turn down the heat on the saucepan full of broth but maintain heat-level.
2 Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed stockpot. Add in the white onion and saute over medium-low heat until softened and translucent.
3 Add in the risotto and cook until rice is very white. Stir in the wine and reduce the wine until almost all is evaporated.
4 After the wine is reduced, add in a cup of broth and stir well to disburse evenly throughout rice. Stirring constantly, let rice absorb liquid. When rice is getting dry, stir in the broth WITH the Saffron. Let the rice absorb that while stirring.
5 Continue to add broth, one-two ladles at a time, then stir and let rice absorb it. From the time you added the saffron-broth, the rice should continue to cook for 15- 18 minutes at a steady low-simmer.
6 Add in the thawed scallops and add in a little more broth stirring carefully.
7 Taste and if the rice is tender, add in the salt and pepper to taste. Then add in the parsley and correct seasoning to personal taste.
8 Serve immediately on dinner plates., garnishing with a leaf or two of Italian parsley on top of each mound of rice.
Serving Suggestions.
Serve this wonderful dish with a nice dry white wine such as a Viognier.
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Chicken Thighs with Baby Portabello Mushrooms
Posted: 2012-01-02Chicken Thighs with Baby Portabello Mushrooms is a perfect meal for a chilly cold Winter night. We like it served on a bed of Chestnut Fettuccine but you can substitute any other wide noodle. It's also delicious on Polenta. Oh is this good! --And if you have a food-processor it's pretty easy to put together. You start by first browning the chicken thighs. After you brown the chicken, you then quickly saute thinly sliced white onions, garlic, thyme and mushrooms, deglaze with dry white wine, then reintroduce the chicken back into the medley. Add salt, pepper and dry Marsala wine then simmer for a half hour or so.
More and more stores are starting to carry unusual pastas. The Chestnut pasta is really unusual and makes such a nice presentation. While the chicken is simmering, you start your pasta water and cook the chestnut pasta or any other fettuccine until al dente, drain and and then serve topped with the Chicken thighs and mushrooms. Serve with a nice salad and a glass of wine and you're all set for a piece of flavor-euphoria that will reset you for another day and make the next winter chore a little easier.
Chicken Thighs with Baby Portabello Mushrooms
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
MAKES 4 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
3-1/2 pounds Chicken thighs , boned, skin on, floured and salt and peppered.
1 cup All-purpose Flour
2 to 3 Tablespoons Unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive oil
2 medium White onions , peeled, halved and thinly sliced
5 to 6 cloves Garlic , peeled and chopped
1 pound Baby Portabello mushrooms , cleaned and sliced 2mm thick
1 teaspoons Dried Thyme
1 cup Dry White wine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Dry Marsala wine
1 pound Dried Chestnut Fettuccine or other wide noodle
Preparation Directions.
1 Salt and pepper the trimmed chicken. Pour the flour into a plastic bag large enough to hold a few pieces of chicken. Place several pieces of the chicken in the bag and shake the bag to lightly dust the chicken with flour. Remove chicken from bag and continue to dust the rest of the chicken in this manner.
2 In a non-reactive large stockpot, add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and heat over medium-low heat. Put in chicken skin-side down and brown, then turn and chicken all over. Remove the chicken and set aside. Drain off the chicken fat and discard.
3 Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to pan on medium heat and fry the white onions separating each segment into thin strands and cook until softened and starting to turn golden. Cook a few minutes, then add the garlic, and and cook until garlic is fragrant.
4 Add in the Baby Portabello mushrooms and continue to saute until cooked down a bit. Continue to saute until the mushrooms are lightly brown.
5 Add in the white wine and deglaze then add in the thyme and stir well. Cook the wine down a bit while scraping the bottom of the pan to release the fond. This really imparts lots of chicken flavor to the sauce.. Add salt and pepper to taste and then add the Marsala wine. Reduce the Marsala to about half.
6 Place the browned chicken back into the stockpot and stir well and distribute evenly throughout sauce. Cover and let cook on a low simmer for half an hour or so. The longer it cooks, the tastier it gets! When done, taste the sauce and correct the seasoning to personal taste. Add in butter and stir well to amalgamate.
7 Serve on Chestnut fettuccine, any other wide noodle or polenta and enjoy eating satisfaction bliss!
Serving Suggestions.
With the sweetness of the Marsala wine and the earthiness of the mushrooms and onions, this is a robust country style dish and pairs well with a big fruity California Zinfandel.
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