• About
  • Recipe Archives

Baked Northwest

~ Northwest Born, Bred, Baked.

Baked Northwest

Tag Archives: parmesan

Ham and Leek “Empanadas”

18 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Easy, Main Dish, Sandwiches, Weeknight Meals

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Argentina, basil, cheese, creme fraiche, Empanada, Empanadas, gruyere, ham, Leeks, parmesan, puff pastry, spinach

Ham and Leek Empanadas

Empanadas fall into one of the best categories in the universe : Carbs stuffed with deliciousness. Usually cheese, meat, and whatever else your hungry little heart desires.

A few years ago when I visited Annica in Argentina, we ate a lot of Empanadas. Some were filled with steak, peppers, and cheese…others with cheese and green olives, ham and pineapple, beef and raisins…there were a lot of great combos.  Continue reading →

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

06 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Appetizers, Entertaining, Events, Holidays

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bread crumbs, garlic, green onions, mascarpone, mushrooms, parmesan, parsley, sausage, scallions

Stuffed MushroomsThere are so many stuffed mushroom recipes out there it was hard to pick one for our Thanksgiving appetizers! I thought this recipe from Ina Garten was the closest to the other stuffed mushroom recipes I have tried that I enjoyed so much. Getting a good picture of your food on Thanksgiving Day, well, that’s a different story…

Recipe
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
adapted from Ina Garten
makes 25 mushrooms

Ingredients
25 extra-large white mushrooms
5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine, medium sherry, or white wine
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup panko or bread crumbs
5 – 6 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala (or sherry or wine). Set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it’s completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. If you are finding not very much stuffing is fitting into your mushroom, you may want to take a melon baller or similar kitchen tool to hollow out the mushrooms more. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Add another dusting of parmesan cheese on top, if you wish. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

NOTE: You may have some leftover stuffing, I know I did! You can save the stuffing and make an instantly delicious egg scramble the next morning. Bonus!

Tomato Basil Tart

30 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Bloggerific, Easy, Main Dish, Weeknight Meals

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

basil, cheese, easy, eggs, heirloom tomatoes, parmesan, puff pastry, ricotta, tomato, tomatoes

The easiest tomato basil tart you’ll ever make. Ok, it’s more like a pizza.

It’s almost October. It’s fall. Summer is over.

YET

Only a small portion of the bounty. As it turns out, I like to store my “summer” tomatoes in a festive winter bucket.

My tomato plants finally decided to ripen and give me TONS of tomatoes! After spending 2 months thinking all of my tomato plants had failed, Mother Nature apparently decided to give me some encouragement.

It is so ridiculously late in the season and I am little unprepared and blown away. So this super easy cheese, tomato, basil tart was the first thing I made. It’s essentially a pizza without tomato sauce, a spinoff of the classic margherita pizza, if you will.

Recipe

Tomato Basil Tart

from Polwig.com

  • 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
  •  1 cup ricotta
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbs chopped basil (more for garnish)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper
Directions
Grate the Parmesan Cheese and chop the basil. Place two eggs in a bowl and whisk.
Add 1 cup of ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 2 tbs basil to the eggs and mix well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice the tomatoes to your liking. Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on a work surface and roll out to get rid of the fold marks. Once puff pastry rolled out to desired size, transfer to a baking sheet. Using your fingers, fold in a crust around the outer edges of the tart, about 1/4-1/2 inch. Use a fork to imprint onto the crust.

Spread the cheese mixture around and top with tomatoes.

Bake in a 400 deg oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden.  Sprinkle with Fresh basil. Then pair with a glass of wine!

Experiments worth elaborating on: Gnocchi with Avocado Pesto

23 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Chicken, Easy, Main Dish, Pasta, Sauces, Uncategorized, Weeknight Meals

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

avocado, basil, gnocchi, lemon, nuts, olive oil, parmesan, pesto

gnocchi with avocado pesto

I think I have to call this an “experiment” because there is more I want to do with this recipe in the future – it’s definitely something you can elaborate on. Like several other recipes on this blog, I got this one from Oprah’s “Recipes to Commit to Memory” article from March 2012. It’s not really a recipe, no measurements or anything, you just kind of throw it together. I didn’t think this was going to turn out that well (I’ve had some interesting pesto experiments in the past) but it was great! I really can’t wait to try to improve on it even more in the future.

Gnocchi with Avocado Pesto

Rough Recipe – Gnocchi with Avocado Pesto

From O Magazine

 

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 2 cups loosely packed basil
  • handful of any nut (I used almonds, but next time I will try walnuts or pine nuts)
  • splash of lemon juice
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • water, as needed
  • salt/pepper
  • store bought gnocchi

In a food processor or blender, combine 2 ripe avocados with 2 cups loosely packed basil, a handful of any nut, a splash of lemon juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. Blend until smooth, adding water as necessary. Season with salt and black pepper, then toss with cooked store-bought gnocchi.

In the future, I think I will add grated parmesan to the pesto and see how that fares. This time around, I just added the grated parmesan over the finished dish and it was totally necessary. I also added some chicken sauteed with onions and tomatoes, which also added a little more flavor and protein.

Hot Honey Mustard Spinach Salad with Bacon

28 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Easy, LuLu's Classics, Main Dish, Salad, Weeknight Meals

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bacon, honey mustard, mushrooms, parmesan, spinach

This is probably one of the least healthy salads ever. But it’s definitely one of the best tasting salads out there. Probably because there is bacon, and lots of it. My mom has wowed guest after guest with this salad, and for a good reason.

Recipe

Hot Honey Mustard Spinach Salad with Bacon

serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

For the dressing:

  • 5 slices of bacon (or more, depending on your love for bacon)
  • 3 Tbl rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 3 Tbl vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 Tbl prepared mustard (whatever you like, honey mustard, sweet hot, pub mustard, they are all good)
  • 1 1/2 Tbl honey
For the Salad:
  • about 6 cups raw spinach
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • about 2 cups raw mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes (optional)

Cut bacon into bite size pieces before cooking.  Cook bacon until crispy. Remove cooked bacon from pan, set on a plate w/ paper towel to absorb the grease. Add the raw mushrooms to the bacon grease and cook on medium until mushrooms are tender. Remove mushrooms from pan. Add vinegar, another dash of vegetable oil (ONLY if the mushrooms absorbed all of the bacon grease). Add the mustard and honey.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly with a wire whisk.  Remove from heat. It won’t seem like a lot of dressing, but it’s gonna coat the salad beautifully.

Place mixed greens, parmesan, almonds, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add the cooked bacon and mushrooms. Pour warm dressing over greens and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Gnocchi Night

11 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Main Dish, Pasta

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

alfredo, butter, eggs, from scratch, garlic, gnocchi, heavy cream, homemade, milk, parmesan, parsley, pepper, ricotta, salt

The perfect winter apartment picnic - homemade gnocchi, salad, fresh bread w/ olive oil & balsamic...WINE

My friend Erin and I have a shared loved for gnocchi – I am pretty sure we could talk about it for hours. We decided to have a gnocchi night awhile back. First, we were just going to do basic, store bought gnocchi (and tons of wine), but suddenly the plan changed to do homemade gnocchi. I was terrified.

But really, there wasn’t much to be terrified of.  We chose a more simple, ricotta-based gnocchi. The little guys actually turned out really well…here’s the rundown:

To start: mix ricotta, egg, and olive oil.

Add parmesan and flour, mix until you can form dough into a ball.

cut the ball of dough like your are slicing a loaf of bread. roll out each slice into a "rope" like pictured above.

This is why I was nervous. I can cook and everything…but when it comes to being crafty, decorating, or trying to make something look pretty, I almost always screw it up.

Once the ropes are formed, cut the individual gnocchi and use a fork to create imprints that will help hold the sauce.

I have to admit, I had a moment of panic where I thought these might be the ugliest gnocchi ever, but I actually think they all turned out kind of cute…maybe?

place the finished gnocchi on a sheet pan lined with wax paper. put it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm them up.

I also need to point out that Erin is amazing and helped out with our Pasta Primavera, and I am a horrible friend and didn’t give her credit where credit was well deserved! This whole gnocchi night happened Thanks to her as well. Love you, girl.

The gnocchi only take a few minutes to cook in boiling water - once they float to the top they are done.

Since we were going all out and making our gnocchi from scratch, we stuck with a really easy and basic alfredo sauce recipe. And because we love anything with heavy cream, butter, and cheese components.

Ready to dive in - the finished ricotta gnocchi in a basic alfredo sauce.

Next time we will make the gnocchi pieces smaller, as we think they will cook a little better and easier that way. Maybe a vodka sauce instead of alfredo. Really, this gnocchi would taste great with just about any sauce.

In the end, homemade gnocchi wasn’t that hard and tasted great! Erin and I were very proud of ourselves, who knows what we will tackle on our next cooking night!

Recipe

Ricotta Gnocchi

from Food52

Serves 4

  • 1 pound fresh whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cups flour, sifted, plus extra for rolling dough
  1. Add egg to ricotta cheese and oil and mix thoroughly.
  2. Add grated parmesan cheese to mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Add sifted flour a little at a time and continue to mix thoroughly until dough comes together.
  4. Dump onto generously floured surface and work with hands to bring together into a smooth ball. Add more flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
  5. Cut off slices of dough like cutting a loaf of bread and roll into ropes thumb size thick by spreading hands and fingers and rolling from center out to each edge of the rope.
  6. Line one rope parallel to another and cut 2 at a time into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece off the back of a fork to make imprints that will help hold the sauce.
  7. Transfer gnocchi pieces to a lightly floured or non-stick baking sheet so they don’t stick together and put in the freezer while making the rest of batch. If you plan to save any gnocchi for future use, allow them to freeze entirely on the baking sheet before storing in a ziplock bag to prevent sticking together.
  8. When ready to prepare, bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a boil.
  9. Add gnocchi to boiling water and gently stir once with a wooden spoon to create movement and prevent gnocchi from sticking to the bottom. As gnocchi rise to the top {a sign they are done cooking} scoop them out with a mesh strainer or a bamboo wire skimmer and immediately place in serving bowl shaking off excess water.
  10. Scoop some sauce on top of each layer of gnocchi as they are placed in the bowl to eliminate the need to stir them with sauce in the end and risk damaging or smashing the pasta. Generously grate parmesan over the top and serve.


    Alfredo Sauce

    from All Recipes

    Serves 4

    Ingredients
    • 1/4 cup butter
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 1 clove garlic, crushed
    • 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
    • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

    Directions

    1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.

Pasta Primavera.

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by BakedNorthwest in Healthy, LuLu's Classics, Main Dish, Pasta

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

asparagus, blanch, broccoli, butter, cream, dinner, memories, mushrooms, new york times, parmesan, parsley, pasta primavera, peas, pine nuts, red pepper flakes, salt, spaghetti, spring, summer, tomatoes, vegetables, zucchini

My mom (the famous LuLu) had been planning on visiting for a girl’s weekend for about a month. At the very inception of these plans, my aunt said, “Let’s make pasta primavera.” I had heard of it, but couldn’t remember ever having it. The “retro” recipe is long and laborious, but so worth it. Now that I know our personal family history of it, I can’t wait to make it again.

Classic Pasta Primavera

As the days drew closer to my mom’s visit, I started asking more about the dish. She said, “Grammy started making it around the time we were in college. It was something we would eat in the spring or summer.” She then told me I could find the recipe in a New York Times article if I googled it. I didn’t realize Pasta Primavera was such a huge deal back in the day.  No surprise though, that Grammy was on the cutting edge of what to cook, long before Food Network, Pinterest, or blogs. It made me smile.

almost ready to eat...

Don't forget the parmesan cheese!

So, mid-afternoon on a Saturday after pedicures, the three of us girls started making the dish. We found parts of the New York Times Recipe to be a bit unclear, but hey, Ina can’t write every recipe out there.

Blanching the cooked broccoli

We blanched a lot of vegetables, all separately.

More blanched veggies. After the initial rinse, we started adding them all to bowls with ice cubes to keep them cold.

Fresh Cubed Tomatoes

cooked mushrooms with parsley, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper.

After blanching, the veggies go back on the stove.

Though delicious and worth every step, this is not a recipe you want to make if you don’t have many pots or pans, or don’t feel like doing a ton of dishes later. Wait, scratch that. Go out and buy more pots and pans, and make someone who loves you do the dishes. Problem solved!

See, tons of pots and pans. But how good does this all look?

We made a double recipe, so we had a little trouble fitting all the veggies into one pan.

The final touch before serving - toasted pine nuts. drooling.

When we finally sat down to eat, I was so happy. Surrounded by some of the people I love the most, with a plate of pasta you can feel good about eating. Pasta Primavera was more than a trendy dish made decades ago, but clearly brought back fond memories of Grammy for my mom and aunt. They said it tasted just like they remembered it. They wondered how she did it all by herself, never complaining or asking for help. It may have took the three of us to make it, but Grammy would have been proud.

The last few bites...

Recipe

Pasta Primavera

  • 1 bunch broccoli
  • 2 small zucchini, unpeeled
  • 4 asparagus spears
  • 1 1/2 cups green beans
  • Salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen pea pods
  • 1 tablespoon peanut, vegetable or corn oil
  • 2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon minced hot red or green chili, or 1/2 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 3 cups 1-inch tomato cubes
  • 6 basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, approximately
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts.

1. Trim broccoli and break into florets. Trim off ends of the zucchini. Cut into quarters, then cut into 1-inch or slightly longer lengths (about 1 1/2 cups). Cut each asparagus into 2-inch pieces. Trim beans and cut into 1-inch pieces.

2. Cook each of the green vegetables separately in boiling salted water to cover until crisp but tender. Drain well, then run under cold water to chill, and drain again thoroughly. Combine the cooked vegetables in a bowl.

3. Cook the peas and pods; about 1 minute if fresh; 30 seconds if frozen. Drain, chill with cold water and drain again. Combine with the vegetables.

4. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook about 2 minutes, shaking the skillet and stirring. Add the chili and parsley. Stir, add the mixture to the vegetables.

5. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan and add half the garlic. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook about 4 minutes. Add the basil.

6. In a separate pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and add the remaining garlic and the vegetable mixture. Cook, stirring gently, until heated through.

7. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until almost (but not quite) tender, retaining a slight resilience in the center. Drain well.

8. In a pot large enough to hold the spaghetti and vegetables, add the butter and melt over medium-low heat. Then add the chicken broth and half a cup each of cream and cheese, stirring constantly. Cook gently until smooth. Add the spaghetti and toss quickly to blend. Add half the vegetables and pour in the liquid from the tomatoes, tossing over very low heat.

9. Add the remaining vegetables. If the sauce seems dry, add 3 to 4 tablespoons more cream. Add the pine nuts and give the mixture a final tossing.

10. Serve equal portions of the spaghetti mixture in hot soup or spaghetti bowls. Spoon equal amounts of the tomatoes over each serving. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a main course; 6 to 8 as an appetizer.

Caesar Salad.

29 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by BakedNorthwest in LuLu's Classics, Salad, Side Dish

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

caesar, croutons, parmesan, romaine, salad, Sides

My Favorite Caesar Salad.

I have been eating this Caesar Salad since I can remember – and because of it, I find I am very picky about Caesar Salads in general. You can’t beat homemade dressing and croutons. My mom showed me how to make it a few years ago and I haven’t changed a thing since. Here we go…

Start by making the croutons. You can use just about anything – fresh french bread, an old loaf pulled out of the freezer, wheat loaf, just wing it! You can get as creative or basic as you want here.

homemade croutons

Slice the bread into bite-sized pieces. Heat a pan on medium-low with a light coating of olive oil and butter (optional, but I think it’s better with both!). Once the butter is melted, toss in a clove of minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds and throw in your bread pieces. Stir the bread to coat evenly with oil, butter, and garlic. salt and pepper to taste. Bring heat to low and continue cooking croutons until you get your desired crunchiness.

Now, let’s get going on the dressing!

Olive oil, worcestershire, lemon juice, garlic.

Combine olive oil, garlic, worcestershire, and lemon juice. Whisk and let stand for about 10 minutes. Whisk in as much mayo as you like until you get the consistency you want. I usually do about 2 large spoonfuls. Set Aside.

Notice I am using Best Foods, NOT Hellmans (even though they are technically the same thing. Weird right?)

Onto the romaine! Fresh romaine is much better than bagged for this salad. Wash the greens, and cut off the bulk of the spine if you wish. Lay leaves flat on a towel.

If you want a more leafy and less watery salad, cut these out.

Lay cleaned and trimmed romaine on a towel.

Roll the towel up and let lettuce dry. Unroll once you are ready to put together the entire salad and pat dry if necessary.

Gently roll up the towel so the romaine dries faster.

A cocoon of romaine.

Cut the romaine or break into bite-size pieces with your hand and add to salad bowl. Add croutons, freshly grated parmesan, and halved cherry tomatoes. Add dressing, toss, and serve immediately.

For a complete meal, add chicken and/or bacon.

Recipe

Caesar Salad

Dressing

  • 1/2 Cup olive oil
  • 2 TBS worcestershire sauce
  • 1 TBS Lemon juice
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • approx 1/4 cup mayo
  • salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together and let stand about 10 minutes. Whisk in as much mayo as you like to get the consistency and taste you want.

Croutons

  • 2-3 cups cubed french bread
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • Pat of butter
  • 1 clove garlic

Cut french bread into cubes the size you want for croutons. Heat a large flat pan on the stove to medium-low and pour in olive oil and add butter. Once butter is melted add garlic and sprinkle in sea salt. After about 30 seconds add the cubed bread and toss to coat. Occasionally stir and let bread cook until you get to desired crunchiness, about 10 – 20 minutes.

Salad

  • 6 cups Romaine Lettuce
  • 1 -2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Add Salad ingredients and croutons to a large bowl. Add desired amount of dressing and serve immediately.

Optional: Grilled Chicken and Bacon.

Ready to get tossed with dressing and served!

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Baked Northwest on WordPress.com

Baked Northwest on Instagram

No Instagram images were found.

Recent Posts

  • PB&J Linzer Cookies
  • Happy Birthday, Baby
  • Chess Squares
  • Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch
  • Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Get Social

  • View bakednorthwest’s profile on Twitter
  • View bakednorthwest’s profile on Instagram
  • View bakednorthwest’s profile on Pinterest

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Baked Northwest
    • Join 148 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Baked Northwest
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...