What’s the Haps on Marielle!

HELLO WORLD! yes I’m alive! SO Many new and exciting things going on in my life I haven’t had time to post (or really do that much cooking besides the usual!)

I will be moving in a few weeks and starting my new job as Architectural Design Coordinator at SUNY Oswego! I’m extremely excited to start the next chapter in my Architectural Career and have a change of scenes.

Although I adore my apartment here, I found a gorgeous 1-bedroom in an old Victorian Mansion in an awesome part of the Town near the campus. It has a huge balcony for my plants (which I have already started 2 basil plants, tomato and some flowers), an amaaazing kitchen and charming character. I can’t wait to cook some things up with all my counter space (and island!) and finally some cabinet space as well.

Between now and June 1st I’ll be busy cleaning, packing, moving and settling in, but please check back soon to see what I’ve been up to!

Can’t Wait!

Peanut Butter-n-Chocolaty Trifle

I made this for my Dad’s birthday this year. It’s super easy, satisfying and HUGE! The only thing I struggled with is the size of my kitchen vs. the amount of dishes/counter space it takes.

Peanut Butter-n-Chocolaty Trifle: Ingredients: 1 Baked 13×9 Devils chocolate cake 1 cup chocolate chips 2 (3oz) packages instant vanilla pudding 3 cups milk +24 oz cool whip 1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter 4 bars Reese’s PB cups Steps: Crumble cooked and cooled chocolate cake and set aside. Beat pudding mix and milk together on med-low till blended smooth. set aside Beat 2/3rds cool whip with creamy Peanut butter. set aside. In a large triffle bowl, layer 1/3rd the crumble cake, then 1/2 pudding mixture, sprinkle chocolate chips and crushed Reeses, then 1/2 cool whip mixture. Repeat and top with choc chips or Reese’s Chill 4-6 hours or overnight!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Red Onion

I’ve been obsessed with Grilled Cheese and Cheese quesadillas lately (well always… but lately now 3-4 times a week.. AH!) so we decided to do a spin on it with some fresh Italian bread and 3 different types of gourmet cheeses. To throw something extra, we sauteed some red onions and threw some fresh basil on there as well!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Red Onion: Ingredients: 1 loaf fresh Italian bread, thick slices Gorgonzola cheese 45% White Cheddar 45% Goat Cheese 10% 1 large red onion 3 TBsp brown sugar 1/4 cup red wine vinegar Olive oil Butter Steps: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the sugar, red wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons water and cook until the liquid is reduced completely and the onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Butter outside of bread and arrange cheese over top, place heaping amount of red onion mixture, then other slice of bread Heat large skillet over med-low heat. Place sandwiches into the skillet and cook until the bread is toasted and golden and cheese is melted, about 4 minutes per side. Slice each sandwich in half and serve. Voila!

Eggplant Timbale

I know another eggplant recipe… this one Chris actually made before I made the Eggplant Casserole (I’m still trying to catch up!)

This is another Giada recipe that we tweaked. We used all sausage (because as you know I’m obsessed) but you could make it 50-50 with ground beef! It turned out delicious, however I think the leftovers were better because we threw it back in the oven in a casserole dish and it got firmer and crispy on the edges. YUM!

This recipe is quite involved, but does feed a lot! and the pasta is SOO darn delicious you could just make that if you wanted!

Eggplant Timbale:  Ingredients:   2 medium eggplants, sliced 1/4-inch thick 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 pound penne pasta 1 medium onion, diced 1pound Italian pork sausage 1/4 cup Marsala wine 2 cups  marinara sauce 1 1/2 cups diced mozzarella cheese 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus 1/4 cup 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Steps: Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or pre-heat a gas or charcoal grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until tender and colored with grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook Pasta till Al Dente Meanwhile, warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the meat, and brown while breaking it into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the cheeses, basil, and cooked pasta. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the springform pan with the grilled eggplant. Be sure that the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with the pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the pan is filling up evenly. Fold the eggplant slices up over the top of the pasta and add a few more slices on top to completely enclose the timbale. Bake the timbale until warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Let rest on the counter for 10 minutes to set. To serve, invert the timbale onto a serving plate and remove the springform pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese over the top. Slice and serve.

Mexican Eggplant Casserole

Hello World! I know it’s been over a month! I’ve been studying like a mad woman for my first of seven Architecture Exams… Goodness!

Well I decided to make a quick dinner for Chris and I after spin class. Something easy so we could relax and he’s been into Eggplant lately so this is a mexican twist of eggplant lasagna… if you will…

After the Eggplant-chips come out of the oven they’re sooo delicious! We used 2 Eggplants and had enough to munch on some “chips” while we waited for dinner.

I had some extra sauce, so we used some of that and about 12oz of jarred sauce. I think the onions in my homemade sauce added an extra touch!

 

Mexican Eggplant Casserole: Ingredients: 2 med Eggplants, unpeeled cut ~1/4″ 24oz Marinara Sauce 4oz chopped jalapenos 1/2 cup green onion, sliced 1tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp ground cumin 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded cooking spray Steps: Preheat oven to 450F Spray baking sheet with oil, salt-n-pepper slices then and place in single layer. Bake until soft when pressed ~20 mins Meanwhile, in small pot, combine tomato sauce, jalapenos, onions, and spices. Turn oven down to 350 when eggplant is done. Arrange the slices in a single layer over the bottom of a shallow 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Spoon sauce over then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese (I had 3 layers) Bake at 350 until heated through and bubbly! ~20-25 mins

 

Chocolate Nutter Butter Banana Pie

All I can say is this is to DIE for!! It is so light and delicious! The banana’s add the perfect taste and texture. We woofed this down… I was practically eating it out of the pie pan… ok ok ok I WAS eating out of the pan! hahaha

Easy and impressive!

Chocolate Nutter Butter Banana Pie: Ingredients: 18 Nutter Butter Cookies 3 TBsp Butter or margarine 1 Med Banana, thinly sliced 2 cups cold milk 2 pkg JELLO-O Chocolate Fudge Instant Pudding 1 8oz tb thawed Cool Whip Steps: Finely Chop 16 cookies in the food processor, while melting the butter in the microwave. Add butter to processor and make sure it’s evenly divided Dump into 9″ pie pan and push around with your fingers and up the sides a bit Add milk to pudding mixed in med bowl and beat with whisk ~2-3 mins. Line the bottom of the pie with some pudding (careful not to lift up the crust) Then Gently stir in 1/2 the cool whip. Line the next layer of the pie with tons of banana slices Then pour and smooth on the pudding/cool whip mixture. Then finish with the rest of the cool whip Decorate with cookies, chips or bananas! Careful this goes fast!!

Sesame Seared Tuna Steaks & Sauce and Stuffed Onions

Seared Tuna is one of my Favorites, you can make it all SORTS of ways so it’s really fun to play around. Personally I like my tuna cooked, but most people like it raw, So just eye it when you’re cooking to your desired done-ness.

I have to say the onions are quite time-consuming, but they’re DELICIOUS and totally worth the wait! I tweaked this recipe from Paula of bell’ alimento.

The tuna was quite easy and quick! the sauce we had to tweak and test and try… then finally got it just PERFECT. I’m estimating on the quantities so please taste as you go and tweak! I know the ingredients sound funky, but we were drinking it… The Heavy Cream at the end was a last-minute decision and made the PERFECT taste we were hoping, it really mellows out the sauce in a good way!

Sesame Seared Tuna Steaks:     Ingredients: 2 Tuna Fillets (thawed) Sesame seeds crushed black pepper salt Steps: Get a non-stick frying pan hot (med high heat) Season one side of the Tuna with TONS of pepper and sesame seeds, and a heavy punch of salt. Throw it seasoned side down right on there (no oil or spray, thank goodness for non-stick!) Immediately dredge the blank side with sesame seeds, salt & pep. Cook until desired doneness 3-5 mins each side. Plate and immediately pour sauce (recipe to follow)

 

Sauce for Tuna Steak: Ingredients: 1 bunch green onions ~4 TBsp soy sauce ~3 TBsp red wine 5 Garlic cloves, minced ~4 TBSP dijon Mustard ~1 TBsp Lemon Juice ~4 oz heavy cream 1/2 cup water ground pepper Steps: Cut the onions thin, white part and some of the green (about 4-5 inches of the stalk) Heat a pot on low. Add onions, garlic, soy sauce and wine. stir till it thickens and the onions break up ~4 mins. Add water, lemon juice, mustard, and TONS of pepper. Allow the sauce to cook down and thicken, ~6-8 mins. Slowly add the cream and test and try to your desired creamyness. Stir for ~5 mins on low to heat up, then pour over Tuna Steaks.

Stuffed Onions:  Courtesy of Paula – bell’ alimento  Ingredients: 2 Large white onions 2 heaping TBsp bread crumbs 1/2 cup mushrooms, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded 2 cloves garlic, minced olive oil salt and pepper Steps: Preheat oven to 350F and put on a large pot of water to boil. Peel the outer skin off your onions and slice the nubs off. Cook onions in boiling water 15-20 mins, remove with slotted spoon and allow to cool for ~5 mins. Do not drain the water, touch the middle of the onion and if it’s still hard return to water. The center should be quite easy to hull out. Cut off the top of the onion more so you have room to hull and stuff. Hull insides and set aside. Roughly chop the hulled portion and add to sauté pan with olive oil and garlic. cook ~4 mins Add pepper and mushrooms, season with salt-n-pep! (lots of pep!) Cook and stir ~10 mins. Then turn off heat and stir in breadcrumbs and 3/4 cup of cheese. Place hulled onions in a sprayed casserole dish. Stuff completely and sprinkle cheese over. Cover with foil and bake ~45-50 mins. Allow to cool before serving!

 

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia and Pan Seared Root Vegetable

For the main course, Chris made this delicious Tilapia and these root vegetables taste like hash browns but SO much better for you!! My mouth is watering just looking at the photo and remembering how flavorful it was in my mouth. If you’re not a fish lover you will DEFINITELY become one! Tilapia is so mild that it takes seasoning really well and it just pumps in the volume!

I highly recommend the Pan Seared Root Vegetables for your kids who aren’t eating their greens! They’ll have no idea, and they taste delish!!

Chris, you did a heck of a job! Thanks for dinner!

 

 

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia: Ingredients: 1 pound tilapia fillets (or any mild fish) 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons butter, softened, not melted 2 tablespoon mayonnaise 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon dried basil 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 teaspoon celery salt Steps: Preheat ovens broiler, Line a pan with aluminum foil and grease with cooking spray. In a small bowl mix Parm, butter, mayo, lemon juice, add in basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Mix well. Place Tilapia fillets in the greased aluminum pan, Broil a 3-5 inches from top of oven, for 2-3 minutes, then flip the fillets and broil for another 2 minutes, after that remove fillets from oven and cover with the Parm cheese mixture, broil for another 2 minutes or until the topping is slightly browned.

 

Pan seared Root Vegetable: Ingredients: (Equal Amounts!)  Carrots Turnips Rutabaga Asparagus Parsnips Steps: Cut up equal amounts of carrots, turnips, rutabaga, asparagus, and parsnips into roughly equal size pieces, roughly 1/2inch cubes Setup a pot of boiling water and season water with salt, while waiting for the water to boil, get an ice bath ready to blanch the vegetables after they are done boiling. Get a hot frying pan with some olive oil going, make sure the oil is seasoned with salt and pepper and is hot Once the water is boiling add the cut up vegetables, boil for about 2-3 minutes, strain the vegetables and place in ice bath for about 30 seconds to stop the cooking process and to help maintain bright colors of the root veg.  Pan sear the vegetables in the hot seasoned olive oil and add a teaspoon or two of parsley for some color, you could also used dried basil too Pan sear vegetables for about 5-6 minutes and serve as a side dish. Bon Appetite!

Butternut Squash Soup

I’ve been REALLY Lagging on posts so I’m trying to update! I was treated to dinner a few weeks ago and on the menu was some very sophitocated (yet easy to make) items which were delicious and impressive. I have to say… It’s tough hanging out in the kitchen and not being in charge! Thank goodness for wine!!

Butternut Squash Soup: Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cubes chicken bouillon 1 Tablespoon honey 1/2 Teaspoon nutmeg 1 small onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 medium potatoes, cubed 1 medium butternut squash – peeled, seeded, and cubed 1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock 1/2 (4 ounce) package cream cheese – more if you want it richer salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Steps: Melt butter in a large pot, add olive oil too, cook onion, celery, carrot, potato, and squash for about 5-6 minutes, or until lightly browned on med-high heat. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover vegetables Bring to a boil and add bouillon cube, cover pot, simmer for about 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stir occasionally. Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor, add in the cream cheese, honey, nutmeg and blend until smooth Return the soup to the pot and mix in any remaining chicken stock, you can add more if you like to alter the consistency of the soup, season with salt and pepper.

French Onion Soup – Rich & Dark Broth

This is another French Onion Soup recipe that I STRONGLY recommend making only if you have time… and patience…

Using about 12 large Onions that have to cook down, slowly, it makes a lot of soup and a very rich taste. Honestly after Chris made this, Restaurant French Onion Soup seems average…

Chris’s French Onion Soup:     Ingredients: 10-12 Mayan sweet onions 2 tablespoons thyme 2-3 Bay leaves 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon brown sugar ½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil 2-3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour ½ cup white cooking wine ½ cup red wine, burgundy 4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth (32 fl oz) 4 cups beef broth (32 fl oz) Cheeses for topings: Gruyère Mozzarella Provolone Gouda Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices of baguette (bread) Steps: 1. Cook onions, thyme, bay leaves, and salt in butter and olive oil  in a large heavy pot over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. 2. Add flour and sugars and cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes. Add wines and cook, 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of reduced-sodium broth, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes. Once this reduces down, scrape bottom of pot while stirring onions with the spoon, then add another 1 1/2 cups of reduced-sodium broth and reduce down again.  After this is done the onions should be super caramelized looking, add in the last cup of reduced sodium beef broth and the 4 cups of regular beef broth/stock, heat for an additional few minutes until soup is hot. 3. While soup simmers, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 4. Arrange baguette slice in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning over once, until completely dry, about 10 minutes. Remove bread from oven and preheat broiler. Put crocks in a shallow baking pan. 5. Discard bay leaves from soup and divide soup among crocks, then float a baguette slice in each. Slice enough cheeses to cover tops of crocks(I used a little of each cheese because I love it) you can use a mix of cheeses, allowing ends of cheese to hang over rims of crocks, then sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. 6. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. 7. Be careful when removing crocks from oven and baking sheet they are extremely hot!