Kitchen Ranch

Fabulous Puff Pastry

Puff Pastry is fabulous. There are so many uses for puff pastry that I always keep some in the freezer.

One use for a snack or dessert in a jiffy is this one- it is a sort of palmier meets cinnamon roll. Be sure your puff pastry is thawed (I usually transfer mine from the freezer to the fridge at noon time-that insures it will be in right condition for use at dinner hour).

Melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter and brush onto your rolled out sheet of puff pastry. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the butter and roll your sheet of pastry like so:

Cut 1 inch thick pieces of your rolled pastry and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 F or 176 C for 10 -15 minutes depending on your oven. The delicious bites should be lightly browned as shown in the top photo.

Aglio e Olio

Have you ever had this experience: You discover and eat a dish and fall in love with it. Then time passes and you forget about it. Then more time passes and you rediscover it and fall in love with it all over again? Aglio e Olio is one such dish for me.

Aglio e Olio, I have rediscovered you once again... and it is so good to see you!

No wonder the Beastie Boys named an album after this dish- see here. I just can't stop eating this- the warm chili flakes and garlic suit my mood perfectly. 

Aglio e Olio

Usually served with spaghetti, the sauce is made by sauteing minced or pressed garlic in olive oil. I use a lot of garlic and also add dried red chili flakes. Add the spaghetti then serve with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese (unless you opt for vegan version). 

Peppermint Extract

Been making lists round here for Holiday gifts... We try to make as many gifts as we can do as well as the insides of those gifts. One recipe (coming soon) requires peppermint extract and seeing that there is plenty o mint in the garden currently.... well:

• 1/4 Cup bruised mint
• 1/2 Cup Vodka
• Steep for a month

Grilled Onion and Olive Pizza

Um, Yum.

I am a fan of pizza and my pizza dough recipe is always a willing canvas in which I can try new toppings. The most recent was indeed a keeper.

Grill Onions until caramelized. Add to pizza dough along with kalamata olives (no pits of course) and top generously with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned. This pizza is so simple and stunning beside a simple handful of fresh greens splashed with Balsamic Vinegar.

Tostada Delicioso

While camping in the once lovely Sayulita many years ago, the husband and I had the pleasure of meeting a man called Jose con muchos nombres. 

Jose con muchos nombres looked after the campers at the campsite offering valuable advice while inviting himself to our cigarette stash. Important advice one needs while backpacking through Mexico like, "Don't drink to much of the Mezcal from the plastic bottle, you may go blind" (That being said, we did drink mucho Mezcal from the plastic bottle and we still can see just fine).

Jose con muchos nombres also prepared for us the above photographed meal which he was certain was invented and revered by ancient Indians of the region.

It is one of my favorites....

Tostada
Boxed Mac and Cheese
Tapitio Sauce

Want to make it fancy pants? Add sliced avocado. This meal goes great with an ice cold beer.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Pesto

Roast cubed squash at 400 for 20 minutes. Toss with pesto recipe of choice and top with parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes more...

Hurry, Make Dinner

Do you ever have those nights in which you are hungry (well, everyone is hungry) and you just have to be there in the kitchen smiling and secretly hoping to find something inspiring to make?

This meal arrived out of desperation and is almost 3 ingredients or less....

• Spaghetti
• Walnuts
• Cheese (In this case Parmesan which has a permanent home in my kitchen)
• Green Beans (washed and stemmed)
• Garlic (however much you like)
• Olive Oil to drizzle here and there
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Prepare Spaghetti
2. Heat Olive Oil in a pan and add garlic.... then add green beans. Lower the heat and add the walnuts.
3. Top spaghetti with green bean mix and add cheese
4. Salt and Pepper to taste

Look- (relief!) it turned out super yummy:

Go Snack

These days are busy. I think a lot of people eat very small and quick meals or entirely on the run. I myself am guilty of having simply a banana and a few cups of coffee as breakfast. The result is extreme hunger at about 11 AM.

The only solution at that point is to stop what I am doing and fix a snack. Snack time is great because of two reasons: there is food involved and snack time is a built in break.

I urge everyone to take time for a break and a bit of delicious fuel. Here is a photo of one of my favorite snacks:

Crusty bread toasted in the oven and topped with your favorite cheese. Once the cheese has melted, top the bread with cherry tomatoes and cracked pepper.

So, go snack.

Easy Egg Roll with Peanut Butter Salsa

While peanut butter salsa can be served with just about anything, it is particularly nice beside an egg roll. I stuff my egg rolls with shredded carrot and green cabbage then fry them in a veg oil. Wrapping the egg roll is the most fun and the daughter always likes to join in. My local grocery stocks the egg roll wrappers that include instructions and I believe most do so I won't detail that experience aside from I like to have a small dish of water handy to seal the sides.

As for the salsa, mix a huge tablespoon of peanut butter with your favorite salsa until the consistency is creamy as shown below. Add a dash of cayenne if you like it spicy and lime on the side. 

Serve as is or decorate with chopped cilantro.

Feta Salad

I love this salad on its own or as a side. Not only is it colorful but also offers the perfect tango between crunch and smooth...

• Corn
• Feta Cheese
• Shredded Purple Cabbage
• Pepper