Brennan's Bananas Foster

Brennan's Bananas Foster
Recipe by Southern Living

This dessert is easy to make and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 medium-size ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup banana liqueur
1/2 cup rum
Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Cut bananas in half crosswise, then lengthwise.

Melt butter in a large flambe pan or skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add bananas to skillet, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in liqueur and rum, and carefully ignite the fumes just above mixture with a long match. Let flames die down.

Return to heat, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Serve over ice cream.

Looking for another great tasting New Orleans dessert? If yes, here's the famous "Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce" recipe. It's delicious too!

http://crowdedkitchen509.blogspot.com/2012/03/bread-pudding-with-whiskey-sauce-by_23.html

Italian Cabbage Rolls

Italian Cabbage Rolls

This recipes tastes best made one day in advance.

Ingredients:

1 large head cabbage
1 cup cooked rice
1 1/2 pounds ground beef or pork, or mixture of both
1 medium onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/2 cup Provolone cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Fontina cheese, grated
1 (29 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Directions:

First, you need to remove the leaves from the cabbage. The best way to do this is to core the cabbage, then immerse the whole head in boiling water until the outer leaves begin to loosen. Remove cabbage from the water and carefully peel away as many outer leaves as will come off easily. You will need 10 - 15 large cabbage leaves.

Meanwhile, combine rice, ground meat, onion, salt, pepper, parsley, sage, Provolone and Fontina in a large bowl. Mix with hands to blend together. Divide mixture (1/3 cup fulls) and shape into meat rolls. Place each meat roll at the base of a cabbage leaf and roll each leaf around the meat and fold ends under. Secure with a toothpick, if needed. Place rolls seam side down in an 11-inch x 7-inch baking dish

Spread crushed tomatoes over cabbage rolls.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

The cabbage rolls can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator or frozen.

Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with peas

Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with Peas
Original recipe by Southern Living

Instead of boiling the gnocchi, toast them in a skillet until golden brown.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup salted butter, divided
1 (16 ounce) package potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen sweet peas, thawed, or 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh sweet peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high; add gnocchi, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, salt, and pepper; bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced by about half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add peas, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter; cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts, about 1 minute.

Top with Parmesan, and serve immediately.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Recipe by New York Times Cooking

This might be a simple dish to prepare, but it's full of bright, sophisticated flavors. This a traditional Italian pasta sauce based on cured pork, pecorino cheese and tomato.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of unsliced pancetta or prosciutto
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds canned tomatoes, preferably imported Italian
1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dried bucatini or perciatelli, preferably imported Italian
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino, romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cut the pancetta or prosciutto into chunks less than one-half inch thick. Place in a saucepan with the olive oil and fry over low heat for 15 minutes, until all the fat has been rendered out and the meat is very crisp. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onion to the pan and saute over medium heat for five minutes.

Drain the tomatoes, finely chop them and add to the onion in the pan. Season with red-pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil and add salt to taste. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 to 12 minutes, depending on the brand. Drain well.

Transfer the cooked sauce to a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and the reserved meat and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the cheese and mix very well. Transfer the pasta to a warm platter and serve immediately.

Italian Scrambled Eggs

Italian Scrambled Eggs

This is a great Sunday morning breakfast for your special someone. It's easy to make and delicious!

Ingredients:

5 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Feta cheese (2 ounces), crumbled
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 (5 ounce) package baby spinach

Directions:

Place eggs in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk until lightly beaten. Add salt, pepper and feta cheese; whisk to combine.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add onions, garlic, tomatoes and cook 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach; cover and cook 1 - 2 minutes or until spinach starts to wilt. Stir mixture. Pour egg mixture into pan and cook until eggs are soft-scrambled, gently stirring to incorporate vegetables.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2/3 cup chopped bell pepper (mix red / yellow / orange)
3/4 cup halved grape tomatoes
3 green onions, sliced
15 kalamata or black olives, sliced in half
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together the salad ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle juice on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Wilted Quinoa Spinach Salad

Wilted Quinoa Spinach Salad
Oringinal recipe by Taste of Home
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/quinoa-wilted-spinach-salad

Here's another healthy quinoa salad recipe. You can enjoy this salad warm or cold. I prefer chilled.

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 package (6 ounce) fresh baby spinach, torn
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 green onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12 - 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork.

In a large bowl, combine the warm quinoa, spinach and cranberries. For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the oil, orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in onion. Pour over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with pecans before serving.

10 servings