Snacks

I can't believe I am even posting this, but Saturday posts are a free for all.

This is culinary crap at its finest.

Late at night, my svelte husband (who can eat cake, ice cream and SNACKS after 9 pm and not gain an ounce), always asks for a "snack".
Hence, the name "Stacey Snacks".

Sometimes I cut him a slice of cake, or make him a cookie plate.
The man is spoiled.
Can't he read the sign "The Kitchen is Closed"?

Sometimes, I just don't have the energy to create yet another meal after the kitchen has been cleaned up or bake another cake, so he gets a plate of nachos. It is the fastest and I have to say, one of the easiest, tastiest snacks I make.

Please don't judge.

I rarely use my microwave, except to melt butter or make nachos.



Take a plate and place tortilla chips (preferably Tostitos Lime flavored) overlapping to create a tortilla tower.
Throw some shredded Mexican blend cheddar cheese over each layer of chips and nuke for exactly one minute on high.

Spoon some jarred salsa on top and eat. Sometimes I add black bean or corn salsa, sometimes leftover chili on top.



This is junk food at its finest.

I hope I won't be kicked out of the Food Bloggers Society for posting my late night secrets........

Lasagne w/ Butternut Squash & Caramelized Onions

I think I have been stalking this fall lasagne for 2 years, waiting for just the right recipe to come along.

I have seen Marie make it twice, Honey's looked great too, and Linda made hers with sausage.
Giada uses crushed amaretti cookies in her recipe, which turned me off, and Michael Chiarello's was close.

I figured I could do this on my own and it would be a perfect Halloween dinner!

I used fresh pasta sheets, which were gorgeous and eggy.
I am addicted to fresh pasta these days.

I made the onions the day before, so that made for one less step.



Butternut Squash Lasagne w/ Caramelized Onions:

12 cooked lasagne noodles (you can also use no bake noodles, but I am not a big fan)
2 lbs. cubed butternut squash (you can save time and buy it already cut up)
kosher salt & olive oil for roasting
1.5 cups of ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Roasted Squash:

On a baking sheet, toss cubed squash w/ olive oil and kosher salt and roast at 400F for about 25 minutes until golden. Set aside. (you can do this a day ahead)



Caramelized Onions:

3 onions, slice thin
olive oil for the skillet
1 tsp sugar

In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil and cook onions with sugar on medium heat for 25 minutes until very soft, and light golden brown. Set aside. (you can do this a day ahead).

Bechamel Sauce:

1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups of milk

Heat butter on low heat and add flour and milk. Whisk for about 5 minutes until sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon.

In a food processor, mix the roasted butternut squash, nutmeg and the ricotta cheese.
This is your filling. Set aside.



Ok, now we can assemble the lasagne.

Spray non stick spray in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Spoon 1/3 of the bechamel sauce on the bottom of the dish and lay 3 sheets of lasagne noodles on the sauce.

Now add half the caramelized onions and spread with a rubber spatula.

Add the squash & ricotta mixture on top of that.
Next, add 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (reserving the other half for the second layer).

Repeat with another layer of noodles, 1/3 bechamel sauce, onions, squash mixture and parmesan.

Finish with the last layer of 3 noodles and spoon the rest of the bechamel sauce over the top layer.
Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese and sage leaves.

Bake covered with foil for 1 hour at 350F. Uncover the last 15 minutes of baking.
Make sure you let the lasagne rest for 20 minutes before serving.



This was delicious and different. Sweet and savory.

ARUGULA does not = RUGELACH

Sorry for the confusing title of this post, but one of my pet peeves is when people call RUGELACH, "Arugula".



Arugula is a green peppery leafy vegetable, also known as rocket.
Rugelach is a rolled Eastern European cookie made with cream cheese and butter dough.

It is Rugelach (pronounced Ruh-guh-luch, pretend you have phlegm in the back of your throat when you say the ch part, I know it's hard to say), or if you live in Brooklyn and go to a Jewish bakery, you can ask for "ruggies" and they will know what you mean.

Now that the food bitch has left the building, let's get on with it.

This is my grandmother's recipe for rugelach.

It seriously took me a half a day to make these and I now totally get it why the bakery charges $19.99 per lb.

It's truly a labor of love, so if you don't love to bake (like me), buy them at the bakery (but please don't buy them at Costco, they are so gross!).

They are definitely not on the low calorie listing of treats, the pastry is all butter and a bar of cream cheese (w/ sugar of course!).

There are so many different types of fillings to choose from.
Apricot, poppy seed (my fave), chocolate, and raspberry.
The possibilities are endless.

Just please no arugula inside.

I decided to be daring and make rugelach 2 ways.



I stuck to my grandmother's original traditional crescent shape, and then the second batch I made Smitten Kitchen's way, by rolling them into pinwheels.

I also baked some on parchment paper, some on a Silpat.
This way you would know which way works best.



Well, my grandmother's old school recipe was better. I found by rolling them into pinwheels as Deborah did, they fell apart and unraveled, but the crescent shaped grandma ones stayed together.



The parchment paper won over the Silpat.

By the 4th batch, I got it right, I also felt insane by then!
I made them nice and thick and they came out perfectly. This was my first time, so I cut myself some slack.

The raspberry ones were our favorite, filled w/ chopped walnuts, sugar and cinnamon and raisins.

My grandmother would've been proud!

Make these if you dare!



Rugelach:

Basic rugelach dough:

1 bar of cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks butter, room temperature cut into small pcs
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups of flour

Filling:

a jar of any preserves or jam (I used apricot and raspberry)

1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped fine
1/2 cup of golden raisins, chopped fine
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

a plate of cinnamon sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking

Process the butter, cream cheese and sugar either in a food processor or with a mix master. Add the 2 cups of flour after the dough starts to come together. Make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated.
You will have an annoying sticky, thick buttery dough.

I made 6 individual balls with the dough. I flattened them out with my hand into 8" discs and wrapped each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 2 hours.



This is sort of like pizza.
Take each disc out of the fridge, and slice into eighths, like you are slicing a pizza pie.



Spread some of the cooled preserves on the slices, then sprinkle with the chopped walnut raisin sugar mixture.

Now roll each slice into a crescent shape, starting with the larger side, ending with the point.



Roll each little crescent (rugelach) in the cinnamon sugar and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Bake around 20-25 minutes at 350F.



Cool on cooling racks for about 20 minutes. Can be stored for a week in an airtight container.

Here is Deborah's recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

I found her way was much easier, not having to slice the dough into eighths.

Her way you just roll out the dough into 2 long cylinders and slice into pinwheels.
But......mine unraveled in the baking process and I am not sure why.



Either way, they both tasted EXCELLENT!

English Muffin Chicken

I hope you didn't tune out because of the goofy title of this post.

I have been making this chicken for 10 years from a Fine Cooking magazine recipe from 1998, and it is always a winner.

My friend Karen served it at a sit down dinner for 24 people because she was able to prepare it ahead of time and just stick it in the oven 25 minutes before serving.

You can use sandwich bread crumbs, but the recipe actually calls for English muffin crumbs, and for some weird reason, they make this chicken fabulous!

I know panko crusted anything is all the rage, but I am sure you have a package of lonely Thomas' English muffins somewhere in the bread bin.

Give this a try! It is so delicious.

*Important note: make sure you are using the biggest, fattest boneless chicken breasts you can find. The skinny, thin sliced ones will burn up and dry out with the high oven temperature.

Parmesan Crusted English Muffin Chicken (adapted from Fine Cooking 1998)

4 boneless chicken breasts (large ones)

coating:

4 tbsp of Dijon mustard
2 tbsp of white wine

coating #2:

1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 English muffins, crumbled
4 tbsp of melted butter
salt & pepper

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl to coat the chicken with.



Dip the chicken breasts first in the mustard and white wine, then dip in the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture, covering both sides, patting the coating down with your hands.
Warning: this is a messy task!



Place coated chicken breasts on baking sheets.



Preheat oven to 450F and bake chicken breasts for 25 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to make sure they are not browning too much. If they are getting too dark, then cover with foil the last 10 minutes. (I never bother).

Let rest on baking sheet a few minutes until cool enough to slice.



Serve with my favorite recipe for brussels sprouts w/ pancetta and shallots!



A really easy and delicious weeknight dinner.



Enjoy!

Onion Soup SO GOOD it'll make you cry!

This onion soup won't make you cry because you're sad, but will make you cry if you are like me, and bawl your eyes out when you are slicing onions!

I have to wear sunglasses when slicing so many onions, I can't stand it!

This is an easy, delicious way to prepare a French classic, Soupe à L'oignon Gratinée.

French Onion Soup:

5 yellow onions, sliced thin
5 cups of beef or veal stock (I use Swanson Low Sodium brand in a box)
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sugar
salt & pepper

toasted croutons, from a baguette
grated Gruyere cheese for the topping



In a large Dutch Oven, heat your butter on low heat and add your sliced onions to the pot.
Add the sugar, salt and pepper to the onions.

Cover the pot and sweat the onions on very low heat for about 25 minutes.
Keep an eye on them, stirring them, and making sure they are not browning.
The onions will reduce by about half.

Now add your thyme sprigs, beef or veal stock and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 1 hour.



Ladle into ovenproof bowls and add the toasted crouton/bread slice to the top of the soup and sprinkle grated Gruyere cheese on top (Swiss cheese is fine too).




Bake at 450F for about 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and melted. You can also put under the broiler, but be careful not to burn the tops.



This soup has a sweet, buttery flavor and the nutty Gruyere makes it so wonderful.
The perfect winter food.

Makes 4 hearty servings.



Even though it's been in the 30's at night, my thyme in the garden is still flowering!
Enjoy!

Chocolate Bread Pudding w/ Caramelized Sugar

Isn't fall the perfect time to bake a bread pudding? I think so.

You can use stale bread and just mix in heavy cream and lots of eggs to make a nice custard....flavor with chocolate or raisins or bourbon.
The possibilities are endless.

For my first fall dinner party I decided on Suzanne Goin's recipe from Sunday Suppers at Lucques.
Her recipes are always excellent.

Notice my husband caramelizing the sugar with his commercial blow torch!



I don't have a kitchen blow torch for creme brulee, but this did the trick!
You can also put the casserole under the broiler for a minute, but she warns not to curdle the custard.

I used double the amount of bread slices because Ms. Goin called for only 5, because she likes more custard than bread.
I am the opposite. I like more bread than custard.

The results were fabulous. By baking it in a hot water bath, the custard and chocolate stays creamy, while the top puffs up perfectly and gets nice and crispy.

I used Pepperidge Farm white bread (as she suggests), and removed the crusts.




Caramelized Bread Pudding w/ Chocolate & Cinnamon: (from Sunday Suppers at Lucques)

5 Brioche slices (or Pepperidge Farm white), crusts removed (I used 9 slices, but that's me!)
2 tbsp softened butter
3/4 cup of chopped chocolate

1.5 cups of heavy cream
1 1/4 cup whole milk
3 extra large eggs
2 extra large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt



Whisk eggs, yolks, brown sugar, vanilla until smooth.
Now add in your cream and milk.

Add spices and salt and whisk until smooth.

In a 9" x 9" baking pan sprinkle the chopped chocolate on the bottom of the pan.
(though it didn't say to do so, I greased the pan first with butter just to be safe).

Cut the crusts off the sliced bread and butter each slice.
Now cut in half, then in quarters in triangle shapes.



Lay your buttered bread slices on top of the chocolate.

Pour custard over the bread and press down so bread is absorbed.

In a very large roasting pan, place your casserole dish that is holding the bread pudding in the center of the roasting pan. Pour water around the pan, about half way up the sides. This will prevent the custard from baking and keep it creamy.



Bake 65-70 minutes until puffed up and golden at 350F.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes.

Now it's time to caramelize the top.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp of granulated sugar on top of the bread pudding and torch it with a blow torch until getting crispy and brown, like caramel.

Serve straight from the pan by spooning out and drizzling some heavy cream on top.



Divine!!!!! Wonderful!!!! Delish!!!!!!

Italian Green Beans & Potatoes w/ Some Random Bites

Most people have never tried Romano beans, also known as flat Italian beans.
They are flat and fatter than regular green beans and I can never seem to find them.

When I was a kid, my grandmother used to buy them in a can and I LOVED THEM!
They were always cut on the bias, and big and fat.

Growing up in NJ, my friend Angela's mom would make a garlicky medley of Romano beans and potatoes with tons of garlic and oil in a big aluminum pan for parties. I would have heartburn for days, but it was oh so worth it.

It was nice to see Lidia Bastianich's recipe for Italian green beans & potatoes on Theresa's blog. It brought back good memories.

Well, Theresa brought me good luck, because that day I found a bunch of them at the Tuesday farmer's market!!!!

I had no choice but to make Italian green beans and potatoes!

I like this cold out of the fridge too, but don't tell anyone.

1.5 lbs. of Italian flat green beans, cleaned & cut on the bias
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (or sliced)
8 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/3 cup of good olive oil
salt & pepper
splash of vinegar (optional)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, boil potatoes for 6 minutes.

In the same pot of boiling water, add your cut green beans and boil 6 minutes along with the potatoes.
Drain in a colander.



In a heavy skillet, heat some of the olive oil on medium heat and saute the garlic slices until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the beans and potatoes and saute another minute, adding more olive oil, salt & pepper.



Enjoy!

Here are some Random Bites from the week........

Paulie Gee and Adam Kuban from Serious Eats invited us to a SLICE event at a cool place in Hopewell, NJ called NOMAD pizza. Check out this SLICE article on Nomad.

They started out making their Neapolitan style pies in a traveling 1949 REO Speedwagon truck!
They have a permanent home now in Central, NJ. Check out their vegetable garden in the parking lot.
They use only fresh, local ingredients for their salads and pizzas.



A group of 25 pizza nuts dined on fontina, shitake mushroom & caramelized onion; prosciutto & arugula; pepperoni; sausage and margherita pies. Mexican Coke & Pepsi (no corn syrup, only real sugar used). It was fun to meet other pizza addicts and try this excellent New Jersey pie.

Thanks to Paulie and Adam for getting everyone together.