pistachios Archives - Aggie's Kitchen

Spinach and Pistachio Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Aggie Goodman — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 10:51:16 +0000

You know I’m all about salads. I am usually inspired by whatever ingredients I have in my fridge, but usually the basics often include the trifecta of fresh greens, cheese and nuts. It’s just a no-brainer to an awesome salad mix in my opinion. Add in any extra veggies or fruit and you are set.

I happen to come upon plenty of grapefruit regularly around this time of year, my grandpa’s tree is an amazing producer and I love that he sends me home with large bags of them whenever I see him during the grapefruit months. My mom just brought me some this past weekend and I couldn’t help but remember this simple grapefruit vinaigrette I made a couple of years ago. I ate this Spinach and Pistachio Salad pretty often drizzled with that bright vinaigrette and I’m ready to make it again. Like today, for lunch.

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{Guest Post with Katie’s Cucina} Ziti and Zucchini with Lime & Herbs

Aggie Goodman — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:59:06 +0000

I asked my friend Katie from Katie’s Cucina over today to share a recipe with you all. If you haven’t been to Katie’s blog before you are in for a treat. She totally makes my kind of food…and her photography is gorgeous. I guarantee it will make you hungry. Katie will tell you a little about how we met…she’s a sweet gal and I’m really happy we have been able to meet face to face two times already. I’m looking forward to more visits together in our future. Thanks for stopping by Katie!

Hi, my name is Katie and I’m the author and voice behind Katie’s Cucina. When Aggie asked me to guest blog for her I was beyond excited. I met Aggie earlier this year at the Orlando Food Blog Forum Conference. We sat together at lunch and talked about our blogs and life. A month later we had the chance to work together and raise money for Share our Strength. A variety of food bloggers in Central Florida got together and hosted a bake-sale! It was a lot of fun and gave all of us a chance to really get to know one another. Our bake sale was so successful (we raised over $600 in 2 hours and had an additional $700 in cash donations) that we are all planning on having another bake-sale next year! Now that you know how Aggie and I met I’ll tell you a little bit about myself.

I started cooking dinner for my family at age 9 and haven’t stopped since. I’m always in search of quick, easy, and healthy recipes. It’s not all healthy though, in the most recent years I’ve found a new love for baking. You can definitely find some sweet treats on my blog on a weekly basis! You’ll also find a wide variety of vegetarian meals; like the one I’m sharing today. My mom tells me that as a kid I would only eat sides of vegetables. I never liked the traditional “kid foods” like chicken nuggets, burgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese. I’ve pretty much kept with the same “vegetarian” eating style throughout my life. Not because I need too or because I feel like it’s a healthier lifestyle, but because it’s what I like. Some people like a big fat juicy steak — I prefer steamed asparagus! lol. I can’t deny it though, I do have a love affair with bacon. It’s the one thing that would hold me back from being a full fledged vegetarian. I know its not the healthiest type of meat, but it sure does taste good. I don’t just eat bacon I do indulge from time-to-time (when I’m in the mood) on poultry and beef as well. I live in Florida and my husband loves to fish, so we eat quite a bit of seafood in our home. I’m so incredibly thankful that my husband has a diverse pallet like mine. I can typically make 1-2 meatless meals for him each week and he is 100% satisfied. He loves vegetables and is addicted to fruit (the man eats more fruit than any person I know)! I hope you’ll come visit Katie’s Cucina. I have a wide variety of recipes; between the recipes I’ve created as well as recipes I’ve discovered from others!

Now, let’s talk about todays recipe…

I’m not sure about you, but I subscribe to quite a few cooking magazines. One of my favorites is Everyday with Rachael Ray. I can always count on finding at least a handful or two of quick recipes to whip up during my hectic work week. I found this recipe in the August issue and knew I had to make it. Best of all I had all of the ingredients in my home.

I wasn’t sure if my husband would like it. He likes lime, but not over powering lime. The original recipe called for the juice of two limes. I altered it and only used the juice of one lime, and it still had more than enough tangy flavor of lime throughout the pasta dish. For once I didn’t have penne on hand so I used (a sister) tube pasta to replace it, ziti. I must admit that I’m notorious for altering a recipe on the first try. If I don’t have one ingredient I replace it with a similar ingredient and vice-versa. One thing I would not alter in this recipe would be the pistachios. If you are a pistachio lover you will love using them in this pasta dish. My husband is not a big fan of nuts in dishes, but I knew he would make an exception for this dish since he adores pistachios and eats them on a weekly basis! If you love fresh herbs, zucchini, and pistachios then you will love this pasta dish.

*We ate this dish as is with no meat; however, you could easily add grilled chicken or shrimp to this dish and it would be just as good!

Ziti and Zucchini with Lime & Herbs

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper
1 pound ziti (or any tubed pasta)
3 zucchini
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil,chopped
1 cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese (or Parmesan) (divided)
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled, chopped, and toasted

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.

2. While the pasta is cooking, halve the zucchini lengthwise, and thinly slice into 1/4-inch-by-2-inch strips.

3. In a large skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil, over medium-high heat. Stir in the chili pepper and garlic for a minute. Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender, roughly 8-10 minutes.

4. While the zucchini is cooking in a small frying pan heat the chopped pistachios on medium heat. Stir frequently to ensure they don’t burn. As soon as you see them starting to brown remove them from the heat.

5. Add the lime juice to the zucchini and stir in the butter to melt. Add the pasta, parsley, mint, basil, handful of cheese, and the reserved starchy cooking water. Toss for 1-2 minutes. Top with more cheese and the toasted pistachios.

Rachael Ray, August 2011

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The post {Guest Post with Katie’s Cucina} Ziti and Zucchini with Lime & Herbs appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Pistachio Stuffed Chicken with Lingonberry Glaze

Aggie Goodman — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:46:00 +0000

Have you all been to IKEA? They opened one up here in Orlando recently and yesterday was my first trip there. Wow. I had no idea. And they have food? What?

I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time in the food area, it was way past lunch and nap time and the kids were super cranky, but I did pick up a few things that were recommended to me by my friend that was along for the shopping trip (who just happened to have lived in Sweden and knew a lot about the goodies I was looking at!). One of the items I went home with was this jar of Lingonberry Preserves…

Have you ever tried this? It reminds me of a sweeter slightly sour version of cranberry…and from what I’m reading online, that is how it’s most commonly described. I bought the preserves to eat with the frozen Swedish Meatballs I was bringing home (and ate last night! sorry, no pics! They were delish!).

So, chicken was on the menu for dinner tonight. Nothing special, just chicken. I have been feeling a bit uninspired in the kitchen lately. I don’t know about you, but the Thanksgiving holiday kinda kicked my butt and I have been fizzling out the last couple of days. No worries, I’ll recover. Anyway…something finally came over me and I decided to make our boring chicken dinner a little more interesting tonight.

(The stars of the show…)

This pantry lineup…plus some of the delicious preserves, and our humdrum chicken turned into quite the gourmet meal.

Pistachio Stuffed Chicken with Lingonberry Glaze

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 panko (I used whole wheat)
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
pinch of cardamom
salt and fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup red wine
2 TB of Lingonberry preserves

Directions:

With a pairing knife, gently make a deep slit in the thickest part of the chicken breast. Be careful not to pierce through the other side. Sprinkle salt and pepper and pinch of cardamom on both sides of chicken.
In a bowl, combine raisins, pistachios, panko and goat cheese. Stuff mixture into chicken breasts. Secure opening with toothpicks to keep stuffing from falling out.
Place chicken into hot oven proof skillet with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook chicken evenly on each side, until golden brown. Place skillet into preheated 375 degrees oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Using oven mitt (important - don't burn yourself!), take skillet out of oven and place back on burner. Take chicken out and let rest on a plate. Pour wine and 2 TB of preserves into hot pan, deglaze all of the leftover bits of chicken and let simmer until slightly thick. Place chicken back into pan for a few minutes to absorb some of the sauce.
Once chicken is done, place on plate and drizzle glaze over chicken.

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I served the chicken with sauteed spinach with golden raisins and toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy!

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