Cooking with Candi

I must say Pasta is probably my most favorite food to eat. Bolognese sauce is one of my most favorites. Today I decided not to go to my usual Bolognese which is delicious but very heavy and rich. I went with a lighter approach today using Turkey and Chicken Sausage because I couldn’t find italian turkey sausage and didn’t feel like hunting it down, and the chicken sausage worked just fine. I did use dark meat turkey because it is much more flavorful, it is ideal but if you really don’t want to use the dark meat use 1/2 white and 1/2 dark or all white meat . The only negative to this sauce is that it really needs 3- 4 hours for the sauce to cook down. The longer the sauce cooks the more flavorful it will be.  This sauce would probably serve 4 nicely with 1 lb. of pasta…

This doesn’t really require a whole recipe page but it is such an amazing vegetable dish to make I figured why not. It’s super easy, especially if you can buy the zucchini already shredded ( Iavorone and Van Sise Farms in Woodbury to name a few) it’s packaged and ready to go. Or just buy about 4 zucchini or however many you feel you’ll need and put them through the food processor with the shredding blade ( leave skin on) . After you shred you must wring out any extra moisture, so use a towel and literally wring the zucchini out and allow it to dry out for a bit .  I used my Turkey Bolognese sauce and baked it in the oven.  Prior to putting in gratin dish, I mixed zucchini with turkey Bolognese sauce in a large bowl, placed it in a well sprayed gratin dish and baked in oven for about 1/2 hour till bubbly.  My…

This is a light cool drink for when the weather turns warm. Sangria and Summer!  Perfect to make for a large crowd, easy as could be and light because it’s made with sugar free Lemonade . I remember making Sangria and it was messy and required a lot of different ingredients plus a lot of sugar. My friend Carol has been making this for years and I have called upon her many times to re-create this Sangria. It can be made with white or red wine. It makes 2 quarts without ice, so that goes a long way . You can cut up whatever fruit you like , peaches are beautiful , oranges, apples, pears, strawberries whatever you like. I like to make the Sangria in the afternoon just so the fruit gets the full  flavor of the wine and marinates for at least a few hours. It’s not critical though. I think you’ll like this one. Again, thanks Carol so much…

Salad Dressings

While there are some amazingly delicious salad dressings out there these days I prefer to make my own. Sometimes you have to cave and go store bought but if you have a little extra time these are well worth a little extra effort.  It is so easy to make these salad dressings and the taste is so delicious and fresh. They will keep for a few days to a week in the fridge (Ball Jar or Good Seasons Cruet Jar; sold in almost every supermarket.)

For all of the dressing, I throw all the ingredients in a mini food processor, whole garlic and all

 My Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing 

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

about 1/2 teaspoon of fresh minced garlic (about two small cloves)

1 egg yolk (unless you’re spooked about raw egg, in which case you can omit and substitute…

It’s springtime so I am thinking of lighter food, and of course salads come to my mind. I make this recipe with couscous or quinoa. I have another recipe for quinoa on my website so I figured that I would make one with couscous this time, but feel free to use either one. The dressing has a definite Greek flavor. This dish is perfectly tasty and served with grilled fish or chicken you have a perfect meal. As far as salads go, this one is perfection. This is not an exact science; if you like a lot of tomatoes, add more. If there is another item here that you don’t like, feel free to substitute, and I’d love to hear what you did. I love to hear variations on my recipes. This is so quick and easy to assemble. Can definitely be made ahead of time.

Ingredients: 

Vinaigrette:

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon Dijon…

I love to use fresh tomatoes and herbs in my cooking, they are sweet and the roasting just intensifies their sweet flavor. I try to use fresh ingredients whenever possible, and during the summer there is so much to choose from. This is a light dish cooked in the oven, I used dry Herbes de Provence which is something everyone should have in their spice drawer. I used fresh tarragon which gave this dish amazing flavor, if you’re not into the tarragon flavor or just can’t get it I am sure fresh basil will work here just fine. I served with rice on the side . This is a keeper for sure. I got it from Bon Appetit magazine which has a treasure trove of delicious recipes.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. cherry tomatoes or any small tomatoes

6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

2 Tbsp. herbes de Provence

1 tsp. kosher…

These are ingredients we all almost always have in the house (just make sure you also have a shallot).  I like to marinate for a few hours but if you can’t just do it for the hour. I did it the other night for 2 hours. Also lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper before putting in skillet. I found that this added to the flavor, because chicken can be very bland, and needs a little salt (even with the soy sauce); just go lightly, it doesn’t need a lot. I made this for dinner last night and served it on top of Caesar Salad, which is here on my blog, under Caesar Salad Dressing. The dressing has a lot of bite and it’s very delicious. This chicken is easy, and I recommend that when you take it out of oven, let it sit for a few minutes, then slice it…