Copy-Cat Recipe: Macaroni Grill's Penne Rustica

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When The Other Williams and I worked the 9-5 we used to occasionally slip away for a lunch date and one of our favorite places close by was Macaroni Grill.

Our dish of choice was the sinfully delicious Penne Rustica. We would actually just share one order because it's that rich and filling. It's a cream sauce with shrimp, chicken, and prosciutto. Yea, it's really good.

Salmon Black Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

But R, it's winter. Why are you blogging a summer dish in winter? Several reasons:

1. This is what I was craving for lunch
2. It was in the 70's in SC
3. Lastly, most of the ingredients were canned or put up in summer!

Salad Nicoise & Rainy Day Cooking

We had planned a bike ride but woke up to a cool southern rainy morning. So instead of hitting the road on our bikes we decided to go ahead and pre-prep some of our meals for the week. This saves us time during the week and makes getting dinner on the table a little faster.

So PJ’s and cooking it was. Whenever both of us are in the kitchen together I like to think that it’s like a well-directed and blocked play. We move as one, gracefully through our kitchen from one activity to the next. However, it’s not quite so graceful and it’s messy, very messy. We’re normally preparing 3-6 dishes or some aspect of those dishes. Cleaning up is my job and there is always a lot of clean up.

Had to share my hydrangeas! Aren't they gorgeous? These are in my dinning room and I love walking in and seeing them. Such a beautiful shade of blue.

For lunch we stopped the madness for a delicious salad that was supposed to be a picnic salad on the bike ride. Even without the ride this salad was amazing!

Last month I talked about Nice, France and it's close proximity to Italy in our Pan Bagnat Post. If you haven't read that one you should! I also talked about exploring this region a little more and this recipe happened to fit the bill very nicely!

Basically this is the French version of the chopped salad. Salad Nicoise (pronounced niˈswaz) has lots of yummy ingredients and is a lot of fun to eat because each bite is a little different. It's also very forgiving, we substituted and added things we had on hand. It was really delicious and worked even on the back porch while listening to rain.

After the cooking and cleaning madness, which really isn’t so bad, we relaxed on the back porch for the rest of the day. The Other Williams playing guitar and me editing photos and surfing pinterest. It never got above 70 degrees, which in the south in June, is pretty much unheard of. Even though a little work was involved overall it was a really relaxing day.

Pan Bagnat

Here in G-Vegas, our downtown offers a free outdoor movie once a week throughout the month of May & Sept. It's a great excuse for a picnic in my opinion. We loaded up this amazing little sammie and a bottle of wine and met a friend out there for a moonlight movie.

This sandwich was a huge hit and one we'll definitely be repeating soon. The flavors are so good! We added some yummy sardines to ours but you could also add good quality can tuna. The dressing seeps into the bread and the affect is pretty delicious!

Pan Bagnat is a classic french tuna sandwich that means "wet bread". Very popular lunch time sandwich that is sold in Nice, France in the markets and cafe's. What's interesting about the town of Nice is that it is around 18 miles from Italy's border, which means there is some Italian mingling going on in their cuisine!

I'm hoping to try a few more recipes from Nice very soon. I really like the Italian/French fusion that this town is known for!

Chili-Lime Shrimp Cups

We love entertaining guests here at the William's home. Just cooking something wonderful and making it special is right up our alley. We love our friends dearly and we get so much pleasure from making them feel welcomed and special in our home.

We also love entertaining because The Other Williams gets to cook for someone other than me for a change! It also gives me the opportunity to light candles, bring out the good napkins and fold them in special ways, and play with the visual appeal of whatever marvelous thing The Other Williams cooks up!

However, yours truly made these little darlings all by herself! That's right, it's that easy!

Recently we had friends over and served these cute cups for an appetizer. I love a good appetizer recipe! It gives our guests a moment to come in, sit down, and hang out before we move into the dining room. They are so casual and fun.

These would be great for a Cinco de Mayo party, tailgating, or picnicking. You could use them as appetizers or as a side dish to a main course. Regardless of how you plan to use them they will be a hit! Just two bites and your guests will be hooked!

Salmon Tacos with Tomatillo-Avocado Broccoli Slaw

Cinco de Mayo is coming up soon so I thought it would be a great time to showcase this healthy fiesta favorite! It's so delicious, extremely healthy, and a great way to celebrate!

The Other Williams makes homemade corn tortillas which is on my "need to make so I can blog it" list. They are so easy and cheap to make, plus they taste so much better. However, no worries because store-bought will work just fine for this.

We found some prepackaged broccoli slaw at Trader Joe's so that is what we used for the topping. If you can't find the prepackaged kind just julienne some broccoli stalks and carrots. Serve this with a healthy side like tomato, corn, & cucumber salad!

This is a fresh healthy way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo but it's also great any day of the week!

Healthy Fish Sticks

My mom wasn't a big fan of cooking. As a kid my sister and I were involved in a lot of different activities and sometimes most of the time dinner came from the freezer.

As a kid I was a really picky eater and my sister was even picker than I was so my mother didn't have much to work with. Needless to say we saw a lot of frozen franken-fish sticks.

I have dreaded seeing a fish stick for my entire adult life. However after running across the idea of making my own fish sticks, I decided to give it a chance...one chance.

These sticks can not even be compared to frozen fish sticks. First, they are healthier because they are baked and not fried. Second, it's not some weird fishy-fish parts, it's a fillet...that I cut myself!

Kid are going to LOVE these and adults too! The breading is crunchy and spot on. The only thing I would change next time is to add some spices to the panko to give it a little more flavor.

Did you have tons of frozen franken-fish sticks as a kid also?

Broccoli, Apple, Fennel Slaw

Before I begin this post I will admit that I am a southerner who does not really like coleslaw. I know, I know, where did my parent's go wrong? However I LOVE this slaw! I think because it's not made with raw cabbage, it's really so much better and on a completely different level than most coleslaw's.

While on our cleanse in March we whipped up this little number to serve along with some fish. If you eat a lot of fish you know you're always looking for ways to add some flavor or change it up a little. This recipe does just that without missing a beat.

If you've never tried fennel, I highly recommend you try it. It's a root vegetable that a lot of people say tastes like licorice . I'm not a big licorice fan either and I still love fennel, especially raw! The textures in this slaw really adds the fun to any fish dish. You can top the fish with the slaw or just use it as a side.

This is definitely one of the cleanse recipes that we'll be using a lot!

Grilled Salmon & Bok Choy with Orange-Avocado Salsa

 

This is a great dish for spring and summer when it's the season of all things grilled. While on our cleanse we could eat fish in weeks 2 & 3. This was one of our favorites!

The orange-avocado salsa is what really set this apart for me. Fish can be somewhat bland if you don't season it or marinate it. By adding a healthy salsa to the top, your flavor possibilities are limitless. Definitely try this one!

Boy choy is part of the cabbage family, but don't run away just yet! This is a Chinese cabbage and definitely worth a try. The flavor is very mild but it really adds a lot in texture. We use this a lot in stir-fry's but have never had it grilled. Here's my tips:

1. Make sure it's oiled well with olive oil.
2. Grill it a little longer on indirect heat (top rack of the grill) if you don't like crunchy veggies.

This dish was very tasty and super healthy! Check it out!

Smoked Salmon Hash and Eggs

This is quickly becoming my new favorite breakfast. It's fast, easy and very healthy! Smoked salmon is kind of expensive so it's more of a treat for us than a regular breakfast. We found it cheaper to get the smoked salmon pieces (at Trader Joes). However the flavor of this breakfast will knock your socks off.

We like this breakfast before a big morning workout or when we need a big protein/carb boost. But it's also a perfect Sunday brunch recipe!

Poaching the egg is a little tricky and we use egg poach pods most of the time (however not in these photos), which makes it super easy to poach eggs and keep them all together. We like our eggs a little runny because it makes a good sauce for everything else. But if your not a fan of runny eggs then don't skip this recipe, just poach your egg a little longer or use a scrambled or hard boiled egg.

Give this a try and let me know what you think!

Quick & Cheap Seafood Pasta

Sometimes you just don't have time to be in the kitchen for an hour or you've got hungry mouths not interested in how long the marinade takes. We recently had one of those nights. Sometimes we'll get the frozen bag pasta dinners in the freezer section but this recipe turned out to be just as fast and it's cheaper!

We got the frozen seafood mix from Trader Joe's. I'm not sure if you could find this other places. If not, you can certainly make your own mix or just use shrimp.

Here's a really great tip: when cooking red sauce and pasta. Cook your pasta for about 5 minutes in salted boiling water. Then strain it and dump the pasta into the sauce pan for another few minutes to finish the cooking process. This really, really gives the pasta so much flavor!

Crispy Chickpea Salad with Grilled Prawns

"Fried Chickpeas? I'm not so sure about that." That is what I said to The Other Williams when she suggested this recipe for a quick weeknight dinner. I decided to give it a try anyway because I'm normally very open about new foods and ways of cooking them.

And as usual, I'm glad I did. When the chickpeas are fried their nutty flavor seems to intensify times 100. They really give more than just an amazing flavor to this dish though. They give it major texture! The crispy, crunchiness of the chickpeas are just fun and very delicious.

The whole salad comes together very nicely with a variety of textures and flavors. Definitely a delicious light meal and if you're sick of the same on garden salad this will definitely liven things back up!

Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree

On Sunday's we love lazing on the couch and watching food network. Recently, while taking full advantage of a lazy Sunday, we saw this delicious recipe from Giada.

The presentation here is truly breath-taking. I'm a firm believer that we eat with our eyes and this recipe is just beautiful! The bright green of the puree and the contract of the salmon really make this dish just pop!

You're say, "that's great, R, but how bland is it?" I was thinking the same thing when The Other Williams set this down in front of me. I was very, VERY wrong. The star of this dish is all in the Lemon Brodetto. A brodetto is the Italian cousin of the bouillabaisse. It's a light, non-fussy, broth that, at least in this recipe, packs a huge punch of flavor.

The lemon, mint and acid from the brodetto really play well and contrast with the smooth and sweet flavor of the peas. I basically mixed them together on my plate.

Because the flavor of the brodetto and the puree really are the main stars here you might think that the salmon takes a back seat. Not a chance. The salmon doesn't lend a ton of flavor but where it comes in is with the texture. The steak-like texture of this meaty fish really bring it all home to mama.

Overall this dish might in one of my new favorites. It's light, very healthy and the flavor-factor just can not be over looked here. Give it a try, you'll love it!

Parmesan White Fish

I love this recipe! The Other Williams has been cooking this one for a very long time. We cook this in our toaster oven because it has a broil setting but it can also be cooked in the oven.

Fish is such a light and healthy meal and this recipe really adds lots of flavor to some boring white fish. We use tilapia most of the time but you could also use any light, flaky white fish. Fresh is best but frozen will work also.

The Other Williams cuts the recipe in half for the two of us.

Linguine & Clams with Red Sauce

We had this delicious dinner after being inspired to cook more with clams after the paella. The sauce is an original recipe that we made up together and it turns out simple, yet flavorful, and doesn't over power the delicate clams. This will be a regular on our menu! Enjoy!

1 thick sliced chunk of pancetta, diced
1 small shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 cup white wine
2 jars/can of Diced Tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 bay leave
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp lemon juice
12 little neck clams (or other small clam)
4-6 oz Linguine
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a skillet render fat from diced pancetta at low to med heat for about 7 minutes. Remove pancetta bits from pan and reserve for later. Add garlic, shallot, and onion and saute 7 minutes. Deglaze pan by adding wine for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, anchovy, and bay leave. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce for 20 minutes uncovered.

Add clams to sauce and cover for 10 minutes or until shells open. Remove shells as they open. Add linguine to boiling water for 6 minutes. Drain and finish cooking in the sauce. Add lemon juice and capers. Remove bay leave before serving. Enjoy!

Holiday Pary Series: Crab Dip

This crab dip was a huge hit at our party. We used lumped crab in a can and delicious shredded cheese. Another make-ahead recipe that will have you joining the party instead of in the kitchen!

Prep Time: 25 Min
Ready In: 25 Min

Yield 4 cups

Ingredients

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 3 green onions, chopped
* 4 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 pound imitation crabmeat, chopped
* 5 drops hot pepper sauce

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream. Mix in the celery, green onions, lemon juice, Cheddar cheese, imitation crab and hot pepper sauce. Serve chilled.

Beer Battered Fish and Shrimp

For St. Patricks day this year we tried something different. Fish and chips! This beer batter recipe from Ms. Paula Dean is dead on. It coats wonderfully and tastes amazing. We added some shrimp also and both actually favored the shrimp over the fish, although both were great. The shrimp was probably the best I've ever had and beat out ever seafood restaurant I've ever been too. I took a bite, looked at The Other Williams, and told her there was no need to go to seafood restaurants anymore. Yes, really, that good! Try it yourself!

Beer Batter:

* 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
* 1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, skinned with bones removed, and fish cut diagonally into 1-inch-wide strips (5 to 6-inches long)

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.


Directions

In a large bowl, pour in 1 bottle of beer. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour into the bowl, whisking in gently until just combined, stir in House Seasoning. Pat fish dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper and coat the fish in the beer batter. Dredge the pieces of fish in 1/2 cup of remaining flour and slide into oil as coated. Fry fish, turning over frequently, until deep golden and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Fry remaining fish in batches, returning oil to 375 degrees F between batches.

Serve fish with French fries.

Ginger Garlic Swordfish Pouch

Both of us really love fish and just about any fish will work for us. We try to have fish at least once a week, it doesn't always happen but I enjoy when it does. Fish is such a great canvas for just about anything. This is a Rachel Ray recipe that made the fish a little Asian. It was great!

Servings: 4

Ingredients

* Parchment paper
* 4 (6 to 7-ounce) portions sea bass
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 bunch scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces on an angle
* 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
* 3 to 4-inch knob ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
* 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
* 3 tablespoons honey
* 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
* 3 tablespoons tamari sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rip off 4 pieces of parchment to form packets each about 12-inches long. Season fish with salt and pepper. Place a piece of parchment in a shallow dish then in the center of the paper stack 1/4 of the scallions and shiitakes, layer with slices of ginger and garlic and top with fish. Combine the honey, vinegar and tamari and pour 1/4 of the sauce over fish. Fold over the top of the parchment then roll the sides in to form a sealed pouch. Repeat with remaining parchment and ingredients. Arrange the pouches on a baking sheet and roast in hot oven 12 to 14 minutes.

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Salmon in Tomato-Olive Sauce

We had this little beauty last night for dinner. We normally try to by our fish fresh from the fish market but these frozen wild caught Sockeye Salmon were just delicious and beautiful on our plates.

I could talk forever about fish and my love for it but the real star here was the sauce. Rustic, tomato-rich, and great flavor from the olives and capers. I normally pass my olives off to The Other Williams but this time I tried it because it was really a main ingredient in the sauce. It was delicious!

The recipe suggested a yellow rice for a side dish but we'd suggest a nutty brown rice instead. We drank Redwood Creek's 2007 Pinot Noir with this but an oaky-aged Chardonnay would go equally well. Enjoy!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1. 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
3. 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4. 2 pounds plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
5. 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
6. 2 bay leaves
7. 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
8. 1/3 cup drained capers
9. 1/3 cup sliced pickled jalapeños
10. Four center-cut salmon fillets with skin (about 7 ounces each)
11. Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are just beginning to break down, about 5 minutes. Stir in the olives, capers and jalapeños and simmer for 2 minutes longer. Discard the bay leaves.
2. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and add to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over high heat until the skin begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the fish for about 10 minutes, until slightly rare on the inside. Transfer the fish to plates, spoon the sauce all around and serve.

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Baked Shrimp Scampi

A few weeks ago I grabbed Ina Garten's cookbook Back to the Basics. I am in love with this book because the recipes are easy yet impressive. The Other Williams and I made a deal that I would cook once every couple of weeks, mostly out of this book. The first recipe I tried was the Baked Shrimp Scampi and oh man was it good! It was easy to make and tasted amazing, just like from a restaurant! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did!

Wine Suggestion:
Chardonnay





Ingredients:
* 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
* 3 tablespoons good olive oil
* 2 tablespoons dry white wine
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
* 1/4 cup minced shallots
* 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 extra-large egg yolk
* 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
* Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly.

If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.