got zucchini?

{*** i am holding a beer bottle for a reference}

this came from our garden. no joke. i laugh every time i look at this monster zucchini. its huge!

apparently you're supposed to pick them sooner to get more flavor! who knew?!

obviously we didn't. 

we're newbies at growing 'em. 

battle brownie.

last week, the hubs & i had a brownie throw down. he challenged me to this battle because it was his turn to bring snacks for his weekly meeting! hahaha! so we had a little competition. we both baked a pan of brownies and his co-workers judged them. they had to judge them on chocolate-yness, taste, & texture.

RJ even made them score cards! ha!  

Brownies:

Mine: Double Chocolate Espresso with a white chocolate & raspberry compote drizzle on top.

His: Vegan brownies {secret ingredient = purred black beans!} 

AND THE WINNER IS...........

MINE!!!!!

I won 8-5.
Most liked the raspberry flavor combined with the chocolate of mine.
Most thought the texture of RJ's was better, more fudge-y.
Some thought the coffee in mine was a tad much.

yippeee! i gots some braggin' rights around here now!

{for the record, RJ's brownies were actually really good, you couldn't taste the black beans at all. & they were more healthy than mine!} 

spicy pineapple salad

i love summertime cooking. the meals are light, fresh & especially wonderful if you eat outside. i think it makes the food taste better when you can dine outside. the warm glow of the sun basks everything in its light.

the other night we made chicken & pineapple kabobs on the barbie. to accompany them, i made a light & delicious spicy pineapple spinach salad. slightly adapted from this recipe. it calls for grilled chicken, but since we were already grilling up some i didn't add any in the salad. 

For the salad:

• 1 1/4  cups  (1-inch) cubed fresh pineapple (about 8 ounces), divided
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 2  tablespoons  fresh orange juice
• 4  teaspoons  apple cider vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  minced habanero pepper {i didn't have this so i added a pineapple-habanero marmalade, but you could use jalapenos instead}
• 1  large garlic clove
• 1/4  cup  extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4  cup  julienne-cut peeled jicama {i did not have this so i omitted it but would good if i had it!}
• 2/3  cup  thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1/2  cup  thinly sliced red onion
• 1  (5-ounce) package fresh baby spinach (about 8 cups) {you could add some arugula too!}

Combine half of pineapple, cilantro, orange juice, vinegar, habanero, and garlic in a blender; process until smooth. With blender on, gradually add olive oil until blended.

Combine remaining pineapple, jicama, and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with 3/4 cup dressing, and toss gently to coat. Divide salad evenly among 4 plates. Cut chicken across the grain into thin slices; divide chicken evenly over salads. Drizzle salads evenly with remaining 1/4 cup dressing.

i added some fresh goat cheese. crumbled it right on top. it added a bit of a creamy, salty, tang to the sweet & spicy pineapple.  SO good! 

this would be a meal in itself with the added grilled chicken!

french toast

lately we are on a french toast kick. 

my Mother made this & it was heaven.

stuffed with a blackberry-mascarpone cream, with a crunchy outside 

& a blackberry sauced drizzled on top.

so, so heavenly.

i'd share the recipe, but i don't wanna. i want to keep this all to myself. 

sorry! 

but maybe someday i'll cook it for you!

a homemade pie

lately the hubs & i have been on this gourmet pie kick. & by pie i don't mean the dessert kind. i mean pizza. after numerous date nights to some great pie places around town. like here & here. 

{we haven't been here yet, but am dying to go.} i felt i needed to try making my own. store-bought dough wasn't cutting it anymore. it wasn't giving me the results i craved.

so with this new found love i decided to tackle making my own pizza dough {yikes! scary!}, & sauce with a little help from another new found love, Cooking Light magazine. desperately trying to replicate my fav's.

armed with this recipe, mission-pie began! 

i made the dough the day before. it needed 24hrs to chill out in the fridge. sorry folks, didn't take photos of that. too much dough-kneading & sticky fingers to hold a camera!

the sauce: 

• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 5  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried oregano

***so notice that i only have 1 14oz can of tomatoes? i didn't until i made the entire sauce! doh!

so i added another can and let it simmer a little longer! oops!***

heat up some the olive oil and cook minced garlic for 1 minute stirring constantly. 

don't just stand there fiddling with the settings on your camera while doing this part. 

burnt garlic is no good for anyone. 

i got it together in time! whew.

separate the tomatoes from the juice & crush tomatoes

add in crushed tomatoes, the tomato juice  & 1/2 tsp dried oregano to the garlic

1/2 tsp salt {i use kosher}

bring to a boil, then turn down heat & simmer for 30mins. 

meanwhile bring the dough to room temperature. so let it sit out for about an hour.

my dough is not in a pretty little ball. whatever. it still turned out great!

my fav pie has fennel sausage. so that's what i am replicating here.

slice the bulb of the fennel

& chop some of the fennel fronds.

saute the chicken sausage & chopped fennel

{i used a spicy chicken ground sausage, you could use lamb or pork or none at all if you prefer the veggies!}

once the dough is ready, punch it down and roll it out

sprinkle 1-tablespoon  of corn meal {i used yellow} & 1/4 tsp salt on dough

pinch a half inch border

i picked up some wonderful fresh mozzarella to slice for the top

top the dough with all the fixin's you prefer.

spread evenly the tomato sauce, leaving a border for crust

layer sliced mozzarella, sausage, kalamata olives & sprinkle fresh rosemary

*if you have a pizza stone, you'll heat your oven differently. see recipe

i don't, so heat oven to 450F  & bake pie on a baking sheet for 25min

look at my cute sous chef!

voilà!

oh, yum. 

heaven.

so after all, pizza dough isn't as scary as i thought & now this might have to make an appearance every week! {insert grunts & man-calls from my hubs here} 


what's your favorite toppings on a pie?

more scones!

this dreary weather we had today was perfect for baking! 

this time i made blueberry lemon drop scones via this recipe. 

these turned out so fluffy & delicious!

•  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lemon yogurt **{i used 0% fat greek yogurt & juice of 1 lemon instead}
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries **{i used fresh}

i'm looking forward to these joining me for breakfast alongside with my coffee & fresh whipped cream {that i also made today!}

cranberry, white chocolate, macadamia nut scones

my sister, mom & i are heading out this weekend on a girls getaway. so this morning i made these babies to nibble on while we sip mochas & chat on our drive!

i added a few extras to this recipe that in my opinion, would send the taste buds exploding with excitement!

 gather ingredients needed:

1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (or dried cranberries) ** {i used dried}
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or pieces)
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons half-and-half

preheat oven to 400F

C came over, "what are you doing over here?!! can i help?!!"

& help myself to some white chocolate chips. thankyouverymuch.

Me: "stop eating those!"

C "i was just tasting them!"

sister came to join the fun too

the cutest sous chefs on the planet. 

helping themselves to more chocolate.

mix the flour, butter, baking powder, sugar & salt

add in cranberries from your handsome assistant

 the white chocolate chips

then chopped unsalted macadamia nuts! {this is an extra!}

the beaten egg

a splash or two of vanilla

  {this is an extra! because the smell of vanilla makes me swoon}

zest of an orange & juice of one orange

{i used two cuties, not MY cuties. but those darling little cutie clementines}

add the half n half

mix until well blended & forms a ball of dough

roll out on a floured surface & cut

then cut across, forming little squares

then cut the squares diagonally making triangles! 

{you could make the shapes larger, i chose petite ones so i'd feel better about scarfing two, possibly three of these things down in one sitting & not feel guilty about it.}

sprinkle some sugar on top

bake for 14mins

let them cool & try very hard not to dive in and eat several straight away. 

the smell is tantalizing.

makes perfect little two-bite sized scones!

what's on your agenda for this extended weekend?!
happy weekend all!

-k

roasted red pepper sauce with pasta

today on CasaDelRay cooks......

hahaha....sorry that was cheesy & lame. but i had to do it. 

the other night for dinner i made a delicious roasted red pepper sauce & topped it over ravioli stuffed with chicken, rosemary, parmesan & mozzarella cheese. i am not really a thick tomato marinara type of gal. so this red pepper sauce hit the spot. i adapted it from this recipe from Pioneer Woman & from this book we got as a wedding gift some 7 odd years ago. {which when i first thumbed through it, i had no clue what was going on in that thing! it was like a foreign language! suffice it to say, i didn't really know what i was doing when it came to cooking then...sorry hubby for the first years of not-so-great dinners!}

first up: roast the red peppers {say that five times fast!} about 3 large ones

while they are getting all hot & bothered up underneath there, mince 3-4 cloves of garlic

& dice 1 shallot {i like the flavor of the shallot but you can use a regular onion as well}

if you have leeks, chop 'em up too {i love the flavors of leeks combined with shallot}

to wash leeks, chop 'em up and let 'em soak in water for a bit then swish 'em around to get all that grime out. then rise.

swirl some EVOO in the pan and make the shallots & leeks sweat a bit {about 3-4mins}

once the peppers are nice and charred, let them sweat a bit in a bag

peel off the charred bits, chop, & de-seed those suckers. toss them in a food processor or blender with the shallot-leek mixture.

blend until somewhat smooth

get the water boiling for the pasta in a large pot. these are the ravioli's used {picked 'em up at costco}

waiting for the water to boil can cause serious boredom. throw caution to the wind & grab a 

glass of wine. 

or your favorite beverage for that matter.

move the sauce to a sauce pan & put over low heat. then pour in heavy cream. {about 3/4 cup, give or take}

mmm, would'ya just look at that...so creamy & yummy

take a taste test. add salt & pepper to taste

the water is still trying to boil. so it'd be a great time to run out to your garden in flip-flops with socks.

i, however, never condone this type of shoe-wearing behavior any other time. never. 

snip some basil. if you don't have fresh basil from your garden pick some up at the store. 

 chiffonade the basil. if you have no idea what the heck i am talking about. go here. 

see. it makes pretty little "ribbons" to top the pasta with

gently dump the ravioli in the boiling water

the package says to boil for 3-4mins. this is not long enough i don't think...so use your judgement here

drain water

now you can either put the pasta back in the pan and pour the sauce over it OR you can put the pasta in your bowl & dump however much sauce you want on top. i chose the latter so i can control the sauce to pasta ratio. {its generally more sauce than pasta!}

top with the pretty chiffonade basil & tad extra pepper

dig in!

buon appetito! 

i'd recommend eating this dish with some sort of yummy cheese bread. 

so you can use it to sop up the left over sauce! 

what kind of pasta sauce do you prefer?