Aggie's Kitchen » Barefoot Contessa

Two Awesome Veggie Sides…and a Blogger Tip!

Aggies Kitchen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:27:28 +0000

I have a couple of new favorite veggie dishes to share…

One of them, the Roasted Carrots, I’ve made many times. There’s not much to this recipe, it can be found in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and if you’ve roasted vegetables before then you really don’t need to follow anything in writing to cook these up. If you haven’t noticed, I am a huge fan of roasted vegetables. Cooking them this way really brings out some natural flavors and sweetness and you gotta love the slightly crisp texture you get when you roast them just right.

Roasted Carrots
Recipe from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and Food Network

12 carrots
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Slice the carrots diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. (The carrots will shrink while cooking so make the slices big.) Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan in 1 layer and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until browned and tender.

Toss the carrots with minced dill or parsley, season to taste, and serve.

Now my newest favorite veggie dish is Bobby Flay’s Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds…his original recipe calls for hazelnuts instead of almonds, but I had some trouble finding hazelnuts so decided sliced almonds would work just fine. What I loved about these green beans is not only were they super easy and roasted, but the lemon zest that is added with the almonds as a topping. The lemon really added a burst of flavor for me that I almost wasn’t expecting. The shallots cooked along with the green beans and added a subtle sweet onion flavor to the slightly crisp beans. This was so easy and such a nice way to change up your everyday green beans. Try it…you’ll like it!

Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds
Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay, Food Network

1 pound green beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the green beans in a large baking dish with the oil and shallots and season with salt and pepper. Roast until just cooked through and golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Combine the hazelnuts, zest, and parsley in a small bowl. Transfer green beans to a platter and sprinkle with the almond mixture.

Blogger Tip…

Now a few people have asked me how I set up my Printable Recipe links…I’ll tell ya, it’s taken me some time to finally figure this one out myself, and I will have to credit my husband on this one. He introduced me to Google Docs, which according to Wikipedia is:

Google Docs is a free, Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form application offered by Google. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users.

Fancy huh?

What you would do to get started is first get yourself a Google account if you don’t already have one. Once you have access to Google docs it’s pretty easy to go from there. You should be able to easily get to it from any Google page, you should see the word Documents at the top left corner on the page or listed under the “more” category. Here are the steps I take to get my Printable Recipes links on my blog:

1. Create New (drop down) Document

2. Copy and paste your recipe into the document. Edit as you like.

3. Save

4. Share (drop down) – Publish as web page

5. Share (drop down) – Get the link to share

6. Copy/Paste that link into your blog post as your “Printable Recipe”

There you have it! I’m amazed at how much there is to learn in regards to blogging and website upkeep…it kinda hurts my brain sometimes.

Hope this helps some of you!

Thanksgiving Menu…

Aggies Kitchen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:58:49 +0000

(Gina and her best friend Amber, Thanksgiving 2008)

Working on my Thanksgiving menu and shopping list today…thought I’d share with you some of the recipes I am trying out or improvising…in case you are still looking for ideas!

Sage Roasted Turkey

Nonna’s Stuffing

(Sammy with his great grandmother, “little” Nonna, Thanksgiving 2008)

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Topping
(will create my own version based on this Southern Living recipe I have made before)

7 medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 7 pounds)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, cut up
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups chopped, toasted pecans

Bring sweet potatoes, salt, and water to cover to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Boil 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Mash potatoes, or press though a ricer; stir in butter, and maple syrup. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top evenly with pecans and brown sugar, and bake 8 more minutes or until golden.

Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts

Roasted Carrots

Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

Pioneer Woman’s Pear Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Good Ole Libby Pumpkin Pie

Last year at this time we took a family vacation to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. It was the first time both of my kids saw snow and the first time in a long time any of us felt that cold! It was a beautiful place to visit. Since I have no food pictures to share this time around, here are a few photo memories from just a year ago… and in case I don’t get the chance to post again this week I want to wish everyone and their families a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!!

Ina’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Aggies Kitchen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:38:49 +0000

Just wanted to wish my sister in law Jamie a very Happy Birthday today!

The family is getting together today to celebrate and meet a new addition to our growing family…baby Brady is the 2nd great grandchild and one of 16 cousins – Welcome to the family Baby Brady!! It also happens to be Jamie’s birthday (as well as Brady’s parent’s 5th anniversary! Big congrats!) and since I know how much she loves PB and Chocolate (something we have in common!) I wanted to surprise her with some of these cupcakes! I’ve been eying them in Ina’s Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook for sometime now and this was the perfect occasion for them. Unfortunately I am not making it to the family get together, but have sent the cupcakes up with the husband and kids! And I forgot to leave one home for myself!! I did get to taste a piece of cupcake and frosting separately and that was really really good…can’t imagine what I’m missing not having an entire cupcake to enjoy all to myself with a glass of milk! Maybe Jamie will let us all know if they are as delicious as they look…

Here is a copy of the recipe on Food Network’s site!

Enjoy your birthday Jamie…and your cupcakes! Big birthday hugs to you!

Also…congratulations to the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner giveaway…I drew a number using random.org and Cindy from FarmgirlCyn is the winner! Your gift bag is on its way Cindy! Thank you to everyone for entering!

PS…thank you all so much for the nice comments on my new design! I am really excited about it and want to extend a BIG thank you to Hannah from Sherbert Blossom for all of her hard work in creating Aggie’s Kitchen’s new look! It’s still a work in progress on my part, but I hope you will find it easy to navigate and resourceful! Stay tuned for an organized recipe index…

Peach & Blueberry Crumbles and Oven Baked Onion Rings

Aggies Kitchen — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Well today you are in for a treat. Two awesome recipes from two great ladies, Ina Garten and Ellie Krieger.

A little of this…

and a little of that…

If you are a reader of this blog, then I’m sure you know by now that I’m a big fan of both ladies and am often cooking up their recipes. Which is why I’m a member of two cooking groups – Barefoot Bloggers and Craving Ellie in my Belly. These groups are dedicated to making their recipes and sharing them with each other. This month was a little extra special for me because it was finally my turn to choose one of July’s Barefoot Blogger recipes! It didn’t take me too long to pick Peach & Blueberry Crumbles, I was in the mood for a summery dessert, and since I’m not a very talented “baker”, a fruit crumble was exactly what I had in mind.

Right now in Florida, peaches and blueberries are everywhere. I love this time of year, there is an abundance of in-season fruit at the farmer’s markets and grocery stores. While my sister in law Jamie and I were preparing this dessert we were loving the sweet smell of the peaches cooking. We made these for 4th of July and couldn’t wait to get the fireworks going so we could enjoy our dessert while watching them.

The crumbles were very easy to make and I followed the recipe to a tee. It helped that Jamie was there and did most of the measuring while I handled the fruit part. If you know me, I’m not big on measuring which is why baking is not really my thing. The good thing with making a crumble or a crisp is that you can fudge the measuring up a bit without messing it up to much.

Hope all the Barefoot Bloggers enjoyed this recipe as much as we did!

Peach and Blueberry Crumbles
Recipe by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the fruit

2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

This week’s Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe is Oven Baked Onion Rings chosen by one of my very favorite food bloggers Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen! I have been following Mary Ann’s blog since the beginning of my life as a blogger and she amazes me with her constant cooking and baking, everything she makes looks so delicious and you will leave her blog hungry for sure.

(We had our onion rings with awesome Honey-Teriyaki Chicken)

We loved these onion rings!! Why haven’t I made them before is all I kept thinking while I was eating them. I had to change up the original recipe a bit so that I could use what I had on hand. I subbed panko for the crushed baked potato chips and instead of buttermilk used some Oikos plain Greek yogurt (thanks for the coupons Oikos!!) thinned with some nonfat milk. I loved the kick from the cayenne in the breading and loved even more how crunchy they turned out – I used the air baking method that I use whenever I am baking anything breaded. These onion rings will definitely be making an appearance in my kitchen again!

You can find Ellie Krieger’s original recipe for Oven Baked Onion Rings on Food Network. Here is my version of it:

Oven Baked Onion Rings
Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger

Cooking spray
4 cups panko
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup non fat milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 to 2 large Vidalia onions, peeled

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place a cooking rack in large rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Place panko in a shallow bowl, add cayenne, salt and pepper to taste, and set aside. In another bowl, combine Greek yogurt, nonfat milk, 2 tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice onions into 1/2-inch circles and separate into rings, keeping only large, whole rings (reserve rest of onions for other uses).

Place the remaining flour in a sealable plastic bag, then add onions, and shake to coat. Dip onions 1 at a time into the yogurt mixture, then dip into panko and place on rack in baking sheet. Spray cooking spray evenly over rings and bake for 20 minutes, or until coating is crisp. Season with salt, to taste, and serve immediately.

Ina Garten’s Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Aggies Kitchen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0000

After getting back from vacation earlier this week, the last thing I wanted to do was any heavy cooking. Lucky for me, this Barefoot Blogger recipe was waiting for me. Cat of Delta Whiskey chose Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes for one of July’s recipes and am I so happy she did.

Just in case you don’t know who the Barefoot Bloggers are…

We’re an [extra]ordinary group of cookers and bakers with a love of all things Ina. We’ll be testing (and retesting) Ina Garten’s (The Barefoot Contessa) recipes as a group and blogging about them on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.

This pasta salad was wonderful. It had all of my favorite flavors in it…capers, tomatoes, basil, olives…I just knew I would love it as soon as I read the recipe. I substituted whole wheat pasta and added some chopped red onion and additional capers to the pasta for some extra crunch. I was so excited to use basil and tomatoes from my garden…a delicious combination of cherry and San Marzano tomatoes. This is definitely a salad perfect for summer get togethers, or for a nice easy dinner served alongside some Italian Herb Grilled Chicken…stayed tuned for that recipe!

This recipe can be found in the Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook or here on Food Network .

Check out Cat and the rest of the Barefoot Bloggers to see their delicious creations!