Streamlined Baked Manicotti

Easy Peasy Manicotti

The temperatures as of late have had all of us feeling as if we are living on the face of the sun…and pasta is probably the last thing you want for dinner. But I’m making this tonight for a couple of good reasons.

My mother made Manicotti when I was young—it was super-tasty. We loved it. It was also a pain in the butt to prepare. You gotta boil the noodle tubes, keep them from sticking together, make sure they don’t break, fill them carefully with the cheese, set them in the dish…yada yada yada. When I saw this streamlined recipe (while living the life of leisure up at Tahoe), I knew I had to give it a try. No-boil lasagna noodles turn this time-consuming task into something that can be done mid-week for dinner. Crazy!

The other bonus, and the real reason I wanted to make this Manicotti dish, is that it is easily freezable. Make two batches, and freeze one for later. Perfect! As our back-to-school days rapidly approach, and the schedule goes wonky, it is nice to know that I will have something for dinner that has at least some redeeming nutritional value. (No. Cereal does not count.)

This recipe comes from a collection that Cook’s Illustrated put out for Fall called All-Time Best Make-Ahead Recipes. It’s on newsstands now, and I am planning to try a number of possibilities, for stocking our freezer.

Streamlined Baked Manicotti
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated All-Time Best Make-Ahead Recipes Read more…

Chicken Tamale Pie

Here today…Gone Tamale (or to Tahoe)
It’s the second week in August, so you can find me parked in a beach chair reading my Kindle up at Tahoe. This is my post-baseball, pre-start of school week of relaxation…well sort of. It’s really semi-controlled chaos, but we have a good time!

Yes, just being at Tahoe makes life better. It’s hard not be relaxed while enjoying the views and the water. There is just one problem—we still have to feed people—11 of them plus two dogs.

Over the years my sister and I have pretty much gotten things down to a science, but there is always room for improvement. In recent years we have started using the crock pot, so dinner is ready when we get home from the day’s activities. Of course, a well-timed cocktail and some appetizers can buy time for the stuff that takes a little bit longer.

A few weeks ago I came across this Tamale Pie recipe, and knew I had to try it. The recipe was super-easy and tasty, and could be easily doubled (or tripled) for a large crowd. So this will be on our table this week. As a bonus, the leftovers (if there are any) make a great breakfast with scrambled eggs.

Chicken Tamale Pie
Adapted from The Food Network
Read more…

Tian de Courgettes au Riz (Zucchini Tian)

Genius!

This weekend is our Cookbook Club dinner. It seems like forever since we last had one, so we are all looking forward to it—especially since the book we chose is fantastic! If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Food52.com website, I highly recommend that you give it a look-see when you have a few moments. It is chock full of great recipes, but some are just that much better than the others. So much better in fact, they are genius. (See what I did there?)

Which brings me to this dinner’s cookbook selection…Genius Recipes from Kristen Miglore, Executive Food Editor for Food 52. I have talked (more like raved) about this book before. Everything in it is just that good, and if you haven’t picked up a copy you are missing out. This is a must-have for your cookbook collection. Seriously, get off the couch and go get one. If only for the Canal House Chicken Thighs with Lemon…mind blowingly good.

Our process for choosing which recipes the five of us will make for our dinner is pretty simple…usually. The hostess sends a reminder email with a few dishes she is prepared to make, and then the rest of us chime in with our choices. This time it was like playing beat the clock. We all had the same favorites, and by the time I got my lazy self to my email, mine were taken.

There are, however, recipes that I had not had a chance to try, so I am going with a couple of those. Everything I have made from this book has been fantastic, so I am not worried about this being the test run. Even if there are failures, I am confident that the rest will be so good, and we won’t starve. I expect something like 10 dishes, not including dessert. The cardiologist will be on stand-by.

My first choice would have been this tasty Zucchini Tian. It is the perfect way to try something new as the summer zucchini glut ripens. It’s originally from Julia…you can’t go wrong with Julia.

Tian de Courgettes au Riz — Zucchini Tian
Food 52 Genius Recipes
From Julia Child Read more…

Clam Chowder with Root Vegetables and Thyme

Under the Boardwalk…Down By The Sea

When I was a kid we had family friends with a vacation home in Santa Cruz, so we would stay with them during the summer. It was great. We would wake up and hit the beach, then hit the Boardwalk and ride the roller coasters ‘till we puked. Of course it’s possible that the roller coasters were not to blame. It’s possible that it could have been the amount of food (and sugar) that we ate.

There are an amazing number of dining opportunities at the boardwalk. From fried chicken to deep fried Twinkies—you can pretty much get whatever heat attack on stick or sugar bomb you desire. For me, I always liked the old time candy shops like Marini’s. salt water taffy, caramel apples and fudge. Those were my favorite food groups. Corn dogs are another good choice…and bowls of clam chowder on cooler nights.

My family is headed down to the boardwalk this weekend for, you guessed it, more baseball. There is no way we would go to Santa Cruz and not go to the boardwalk. What kind of parent would I be, after all, if I didn’t introduce my kids to the wonders of chocolate dipped bacon and the Giant Dipper? It’s going to be a good time out…

One thing we will be avoiding? The water. Maybe because this week was Shark Week on Discovery Channel. or maybe because of the recent beach closures due to Great White shark activity near Capitola, you will not find this chick frolicking in the surf. Thank you, no. I’ll hang back on the beach with my bacon. Mega Shark can get his own.

Clam Chowder with Root Vegetables and Thyme
Adapted from Taste Food Blog Read more…