Caramelized Onion Tart with Apples

We were having friends over for Christmas, so I was frantically trying to find some new appetizers.  I was going for simple, but quick.  Then I started thinking about doing individual tarts.  After looking over tens of recipes, I came to one that was a large thin tart, that you cut into smaller pieces.  Perfect.
Going back to my aversion of recipes, when I was writing out my grocery list, I forgot an ingredient for the tart, so I had to modify the recipe.  But, it turns out it was delicious, so I am going to keep the recipe the way I made it.

Ingredients;
1 tbsp butter
1 medium white onion, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 red apple, such as Gala, sliced into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz. Gorgonzola Cheese
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed

Remove the pastry sheet from the freezer, and set aside. 
Slice the onions.  Place a tablespoon of butter in a large pan on medium heat.  Once the butter is hot, add the onions to the pan and saute for about 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally, until they begin to caramelize.

Add the apples, salt and pepper to the pan.  Let saute for a few minutes.

Set the apples and onions aside.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Once the dough has thawed, place on a sheet of parchment paper.

Crumble the Gorgonzola cheese on top.

Spread the onions and apples on the crust.

Bake at 400 degrees until the pastry is crisp and browned, about 30 to 35 minutes.  Cut into pieces before serving.

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TIP: Originally, this recipe called for just white onions, but I thought adding half a red onion would change up the flavor a little.  You can try it either way.

Credit: Real Simple recipes

Cheese Plate

The holidays are around the corner.  If you are expecting guests over for dinner, there is nothing more simple than creating a cheese plate.  Cheese plates can be paired with a variety of different sides and ingredients.  Dry fruit like apricots, cranberries pair well, especially with nuts such as almonds.
You can also go for the savory cheese plate, with some nuts, sopressata and olives.
Two of my favorite cheeses are midnight moon, which is a hard goat cheese and Lamb Chopper, sheep cheese aged about 3-6 months.  I prefer to add a soft cheese to the plate, to mix it up a little.  The first cheese plate is shown without the sliced apple, the second is with a sliced apple.   The Lamb Chopper cheese pairs really well with a green apple.  I try to add different ingredients to the plate for people to try with each cheese.  It's best to use sliced french bread, plain crostini or plain crackers.  You don't want the crackers to take away from the taste of the cheese.
Oh, and don't forget to grab a bottle of wine to go with the cheese.

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Three Meat Cannelloni

I have been trying to experiment with new pastas, trying anything that is different.  Recently, I thought about making cannelloni, but I wanted to use fresh pasta.  I though to myself, how am I going to make those tubes?!  Then, I thought, why not just roll out sheets of pasta, with the filling and seal the "tube" with a seam.  In thinking about the process, I definitely knew I was going to have to make this more than once, but it was actually surprisingly easy!

Ingredients;

1 28oz can of tomato puree
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers

2.5lbs of a combination of pork, beef and veal
1 medium onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 red pepper, minced
1/4 c chopped parsley
1/3 c Parmesan Romano cheese
1/3 c mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Pasta recipe can be found here

Combine the tomato sauce, bay leaf and crushed red peppers into a pot, and simmer on low heat.

In a large saute pan, brown meat, drain the grease from the meat, set aside in a medium bowl.  Add the garlic and onion to the pan.

Once the onions are opaque, add the red peppers.

 After sauteing for about 5 minutes, add the onion mixture to the same bowl as the meat.  Add the parsley, salt and pepper - mix to combine.

Add the Parmesan Romano and mozzarella cheese.  Add the crushed red peppers, the egg, salt and pepper.  Add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, from the pot.

Mix everything together.
In the bottom of a large pan, spread some tomato sauce, to cover the bottom.

Take a rolled out pasta sheet and add some of the meat mixture.  Form in the shape of a log.

Roll the pasta over the meat mixture.  Cut the dough according to how much pasta you need and wipe water across the seam.

Seal the "tube".  Place in the baking pan, seam down.

Cover the pasta with sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once they are finished, you can chop basil and top with the basil and some finely grated Parmesan Romano cheese.

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Fig & Goat Cheese Salad with a Warm Port Dressing

The best thing about the winter is warm food, especially food that is comforting.  I like to combine different flavors for a prefect balance.  This salad is also a great starter at a dinner party, as the first course.  Let me know what you think...

Ingredients;
1 shallot, minced

6 large dried figs or 12 small, stems removed
1/3 c port
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
dash of salt and pepper
1/4 c olive oil
1 package of baby romaine
1/2 log of goat cheese

Cut the stems off the figs.

Evenly distribute the baby romaine into bowls and crumble the goat cheese, set aside.

Turn the heat on high and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the shallots and saute for 2-3 minutes, until they are soft.

Add the figs, and saute for about a minute.  Add the port, simmer for about 2 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar.

Add the olive oil and simmer for another minute.

Pour on top of the baby romaine and sprinkle with goat cheese.  Serve immediately.
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TIP: You can also add walnuts to the salad, if you want to mix up the texture and dress it up some more.

Pork Ragu with Pasta

Last winter, after I received my pasta maker, I made almost every kind of sauce or ragu to pair with pasta.  The best thing about ragu is it cooks very slowly, allowing the meat to fall apart, turning out super tender.  I also like to cook down the sauce, so that it is thick and covers the pasta perfectly.  Now that I have made you hungry, I guess I should give you the recipe......

Ingredients;
Sauce -
3-4 lb boneless pork shoulder
1 onion, minced
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeling and cut in half
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup of white wine
1 28oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 bay leafs
4-5 sprigs of thyme
1 sage leaf
1 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Parmesan Romano cheese to grate on top

Pasta -
The recipe for fresh pasta is HERE

Salt and pepper the pork shoulder.  Trim excess fat from the meat.  Chop the vegetables and set aside.

 Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of the pan, turn on high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the pork in the pan.  Sear each side of the meat, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic, onions, celery into the pan.  Saute for about 5-7 minutes, until they are tender and the onions are opaque.

Add the wine into the pan, and let the wine simmer until it's almost all cooked down.  Add the meat back into the pan.

Add the whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and herbs.

Bring the sauce to a boil, and turn down on low heat.  Simmer for about 1-2 hours.  Once the meat is getting tender, start to shred the meat into the sauce.

 Remove the carrots and the bay leaf.  Add the Worcestershire sauce as well as the salt and pepper to taste.  Turn the heat up to medium, and simmer down until the sauce is thicker, about 30 minutes.

Boil the pasta, strain and place in a large pot.  Add the sauce into the pot and stir.  Divide up into bowls, grate Parmesan Romano on top.  Serve immediately.

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