Antipasto Pasta Salad

I started this blog late in the summer last year, so a lot of you may not know that I am obsessed with pasta salad, especially in the warm weather. I would eat it for lunch, snack, and dinner if I could (and sometimes I do!). There are just so many different variations, and it's the perfect dish to take to almost any get-together.

I have so many recipes in my files for new pasta salads to try, but sometimes the best ones just come out of what I have leftover in the refrigerator. I had everything but the olives for this one, and it turned out really delicious. You will see that I used shredded mozzarella cheese instead of cubes, because I have found that when I use mozzarella cubes, especially in something like pasta salad where it needs to sit and chill before serving, the cheese becomes mushy and loses it shape.

As with all pasta salads, adjust the amounts of the ingredients to your tastes, and the amount of dressing you use is subjective, depending on how you like it!

Antipasto Pasta Salad

from Colleen's Kitchen

makes about 4 servings

8 ounces rotini pasta

2 ounces pepperoni, sliced and quartered

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

2.25 ounce can sliced black olives, drained

6 ounces roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

4 ounces sun-dried tomato dressing, plus more to taste

grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, add rotini and cook until al dente 8-9 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water. Add back to pasta pot.

Add remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese, toss gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate 4-24 hours. Before serving, season to taste with Parmesan and more dressing if needed.

Brunch Get-Together

It was time again to get together with my fabulous friends who love to cook as much as I do. We decided on a brunch theme this time, which was a nice way to usher in the first hints of spring!

Sarah started off the meal with a spring mix salad with blue cheese, fruit, nuts, and a homemade roasted tomato vinaigrette:

I made my chicken salad and brought some rolls to make mini-sandwiches:

Brooke made an awesome pasta salad that I must have had three servings of - tortellini, veggies, and fresh mozzarella cheese:

And then Lauren rounded out the meal with a simply amazing French toast stuffed with cream cheese, chocolate and strawberries:

Here is a pic of my plate (well, the first serving anyway), plus my separate plate of the French toast!

We missed you, Jenn and Katie!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Wedges

I have been on a big peanut butter and jelly kick lately, so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. It really takes no time at all, and is essentially a one-bowl recipe. The original recipe instructs you to freeze the dough that is reserved for the topping, and then grate it onto the shortbread itself. To me, that was a waste of time, so I just took the extra dough and crumbled it with my fingers so that it looked like this before baking:

This is a perfect little treat to have with tea, or a big glass or milk as a snack or for dessert. Use any flavor of jam you would like - and if you think you will have trouble spreading it on the crust, just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to spread.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Wedges

slightly adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Makes 8 wedges (or more)

nonstick baking spray

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

large pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup jelly (any flavor you want)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with nonstick spray.

Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and salt and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; beat on low speed just until blended.

Reserve 1/3 cup dough. Press remaining dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Spread jam over dough in pan, leaving 1/3-inch plain border. Crumble reserved dough over the jam layer.

Bake shortbread until dough edge is deep golden and dough on top looks dry and baked through, about 40-50 minutes.

Cool shortbread completely in pan. Release pan sides. Cut shortbread into wedges and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pasta

This was a great one-dish meal; and perfect for a night on the couch watching basketball! If you are making it from scratch, it does take a few pots and pans, but if you have leftover chicken or vegetables, it is a snap to make. I halved all of the amounts below and it was just enough for Chuck and I to have a hearty portion plus leftovers. Get ready to enjoy a fantastic cheesy pasta dish!

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pasta
from Katie of Good Things Catered
Makes 6 hearty servings

1 pound rigatoni
12 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
big splash of milk
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 broccoli crowns, cut into pieces
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used panko for more crunch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Wipe off chicken with a damp cloth, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until cooked through. Remove from pan and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add broccoli and cook until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of ice water.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook rigatoni until al dente, about 8-9 minutes. Drain and place back into pot.

Add Velveeta, butter, and milk to rigatoni and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until almost melted completely. Add 1 cup shredded cheese and stir to melt until completely smooth.

Remove from heat, add garlic powder, paprika, chicken, broccoli, and stir to combine. Transfer mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup shredded cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. Place under broiler for 3-4 minutes or until top is crispy and golden.

Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Orzo

This was a super simple, super delicious meal - I am so glad I made it! Cooking the shrimp and the sauce literally takes the same amount of time it takes the orzo to cook. I was tempted to add some heavy cream in at the end to make the dish a little richer, but I am glad I didn't, because this had a nice light, fresh flavor that I will be making again and again. I only used one can of tomatoes and the only other change I made was to leave out the onion, and that was just because I forgot to buy one! It was still great without it, but I will most likely add it back in the next time this makes my weekly rotation.

Shrimp, Tomato, and Basil Orzo

from Erica's Kitchen Adventures

Makes 3-4 servings

8 ounces orzo pasta

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and basil (or garlic and onion), undrained

20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped or 4 teaspoons dried

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper, to taste

crushed red pepper, to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic, saute for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes more.

Add the diced tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper, red pepper, and tomato paste. Reduce heat to medium and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes until mixture is hot.

Add orzo and Parmesan cheese to skillet, mix thoroughly to combine.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

My parents have had a big bash to celebrate St. Patrick's Day for over 10 years now. It consists of 50 or more people enjoying good food, plentiful drinks, and friendly company at their house, with the dancing usually starting around midnight. :) It's always a fantastic time and I wouldn't miss it!

In recent years, my brother Brian has started the car bomb tradition, which consists of a shot glass half-filled with Jameson and half-filled with Bailey's Irish Creme dropped into a glass of Guinness. The trick is to drink it as fast as you can before the mixture curdles. Sounds like fun right? Well, there are usually about 10 or 12 people doing this at a time, at multiple points in the evening.

So when I saw this recipe, I decided it would be a neater, sweeter way to enjoy the elements of the car bomb. They consist of chocolate-based cupcakes made with Guinness:

then filled with chocolate ganache made with Jameson (or other Irish whiskey):

I was able to cut out the middles just using a paring knife and making a circle.

and finally iced with a buttercream icing rich with the taste of Bailey's:

These were certainly a hit - everyone loved them! I didn't make any adjustments from the original recipe so I am just going to link you to it here at Smitten Kitchen.

Next time I will most likely increase the amount of Jameson in the ganache to a tablespoon or two - many people reported that they couldn't even taste the Jameson in there at all. I also ended up having to make another half batch of icing - so start off make 1 1/2 times the recipe. Slainte!

And special thanks for Meg for icing!

Smoky Red Rice and Chorizo with Black Beans

OK, first things first - when getting the seeds out of a serrano chile, please try as hard as you can not to actually touch the seeds. When I was making this last night, I had the brilliant idea that it would just be so much easier to take the seeds out by hand rather than struggle with a knife. WRONG! For the remainder of the night, my fingers itched; and any time I touched my face, either my nose started running or my eyes started tearing. The best part was actually this morning, when I tried to put my contacts in and it felt like my eyes were on fire for about 15 minutes. But don't worry, it's all better now, and the meal was very tasty!

Alright, now the second thing - my lovely friend Katie taught me how to set the white balance on my camera so that my pictures don't come out as yellow. Unfortunately, that means fooling with the aperture (I have no clue what these words really mean, so please don't ask me to clarify ;), which I do NOT know much about yet; and so that led to out of focus pictures. But again, don't worry, I am working on how to fix that as we speak.

Is ANYthing clear in this pic?

And now to the food! This meal was fairly simple to throw together. I loved all the spicy flavors; and except for the chorizo, this dish is pretty healthy as well! The original recipe says it makes 4 servings, but it gave us two larger servings with a few leftovers (yeah, we eat a lot). If you don't like heat, leave out one of both of the serrano chiles. I had to add some sour cream to the finished product because it was borderline too spicy for me!

Spicy Red Rice with Chorizo and Black Beans

adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Makes 2 servings with leftovers

1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup white rice
2 jarred roasted red peppers, drained
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, or about 3 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon paprika

olive oil
3/4- to 1-pound package Spanish chorizo, cut on an angle into 12 slices

2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted (if you can find them, otherwise regular is fine) tomatoes, drained

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add the rice, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Using a food processor or mini-chopper, puree the roasted red peppers. Stir the puree into the rice along with the parsley and paprika. Cover, turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until crisp, turning, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove and place on paper towels to drain.

Add the chiles, onion and garlic to the same skillet and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and stir in the tomatoes, beans, and chorizo; season with salt and pepper and cook until heated through.

Spoon each serving of rice into a bowl and top with the bean mixture. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.