Four Cheese Penne With Sundried Tomato & Hazelnuts

It's few days after Christmas and the whole family is craving nice pasta dinner.

Few years ago my hubby and I visited a restaurant in Seattle and I don't remember the name, but I do remember I had the best pasta dish ever. It was fettuccine in creamy sauce with chicken and toasted Hazelnuts.

Four Cheese Penne With Sun-dried Tomato & Hazelnuts

So I decided to add a little twist to our usual Penne with Four Cheese Sauce.

The clean plates and smiles on my kids faces told me that it was a hit.



Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Shallot (finely chopped)
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
• 1/4 cup White Wine
• 1 1/2 cup Half & Half
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups Cheese (grated mixture of Asiago, Mozzarella , Parmesan, Romano)
• 2 Tbsp Sun-dried Tomato (chopped & optional)
• 1/2 cup Toasted Hazelnuts
• 5 cup Dry Penne Pasta

In a large pot cook penne pasta till Al Dente. Set it aside.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and saute shallots and garlic for couple of minutes. Do not burn them. Add the wine and reduce. Stir in the butter and cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer and reduce by one quarter. Add the grated cheese and stir till the sauce thickens. In the last few minutes add the sun-dried tomatoes.

When the sauce is ready toss in the penne pasta. Stir it around so every piece is covered with the cheese sauce. Plate it and sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and Italian parsley.

Happy Holidays

I want to wish HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of my friends and visitors.

I decided to take few days off from blogging as I feel my family needs and deserves my undivided attention these couple of days.

Don't worry I will be back December 27th.....

I hope these holidays will find you and your family well, full of spirit and ready to take on another year.

I also want to THANK YOU to all of my friends for their continuous support, loving comments, help and encouragement. All of you made a difference in my life this year.

Cherry Cranberry Shortbread Bars

I am not a big fan of Shortbread, but my family loves it so every holiday I make something with shortbread in it. I try to combine it with filling or icing that I like because if you ask me plain, old shortbread is just too boring.

This year I decided to make Cherry Cranberry Shortbread Bars. The Cherry Cranberry filling between the layers of shortbread gives it just the right amount of sweet tartness and moisture to bring this shortbread from boring to fabulous.

Cherry Cranberry Shortbread Bars

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Butter (softened & unsalted)
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Flour
• 1 can Cherry Cranberry Pie Filling (540ml)
• 3/4 cup Butter (softened & unsalted)
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 cup Flour

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 9 x 13" pan.

In a bowl cut together the butter, sugar and flour till you have well combined , but crumbly dough. Press the dough evenly into the greased pan.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a bowl cut together the butter, brown sugar and flour for the top crust.

Spread the pie filling on top of the bottom crust. Sprinkle it evenly with the top crust mixture and gently press down.

Bake for another 30-35 minutes. Cool it down completely before cutting into bars otherwise it will crumble a lot.

Sacher Torte Cookies

Another delicious cookies I am making this year during my Christmas Baking Extravaganza are Sacher Torte Cookies. I found this recipe last year and they are making their comeback this year.

Sacher Torte Cookies

For those familiar with Sacher Torte you'll know that these cookies are not overly sweet. They get their sweetness from the apricot jam.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup Butter (softened & unsalted)
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 cup Apricot Jam
• 1 Tbsp Butter
  
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl beat the butter with sugar until fluffy. While beating add the egg.

Gradually add the cocoa , flour and salt. Mix lightly only until combined.

From the dough shape 1" balls and put them onto the cookies sheet about 1" apart.

Make an indentation in the top of each cookie. Put little bit of apricot jam in each indentation.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until firm. Let the cookies cool for 2-3 minutes then transfer them onto the cooling rack.

In a microwave or small saucepan melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and butter until smooth. Drizzle over the cookies.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

Yesterday I started my annual Christmas Baking Extravaganza. I will be baking every day for the next 2 weeks and at the end of this baking madness there will be 15 or more kinds of assorted cookies, bars, brownies and pastries to share with my family and friends.

Every year I bake my family favorites and I try to add some new goodies hoping to become favorites.

To kick off this year Christmas Baking Extravaganza I present you Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

Delicious and easy to make these cookies will be a hit at your cookie exchange.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup Butter (softened & unsalted)
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• Granulated Sugar for decorating
• 1 Pkg. Hershey's Kisses - New York Cheesecake chocolates

Preheat your oven to 375F.

In a large bowl beat the sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter and butter. While beating add the egg.

In a smaller bowl combine together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Gradually add it to the dough. Do not over mix it, but make sure it is all well combined.

From the dough shape 1" balls. Roll them in the sugar and place them onto the cookie sheet with 2" apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are light brown.

After taking the cookies out of the oven immediately press Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie. Let them cool down for 2-3 minutes and then remove them onto the cooling rack.

Chicken and Peas Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite comfort meals.

It is hearty, tasty and easy to make. You can add just about anything to your basic recipe. It is ready withing 30 minutes.

Risotto is one of my go-to-meals when I am in a rush or my brain can't think of anything else.

Chicken & Peas Risotto

Last night I had about 35 minutes to make my kids some hearty dinner since it was a double after-school activities night. Talk about pressure.

Luckily there is always Arborio rice in my pantry and there were couple of fresh chicken breasts in my fridge.

Chicken and Peas Risotto was on the menu that night.


Ingredients:

• 4 cups Chicken Stock
• 2 cups Water
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Onion ( chopped)
• 2-3 Cloves of Garlic (chopped)
• 1 cup Arborio Rice
• 1/2 cup White Wine (dry)
• 2 Tbsp Butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup Romano cheese
• 2 Large Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast
• 1 cup Frozen Peas
• 1/4 cup White Wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder

In a pot heat the stock and water over medium low heat.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic to pan and saute to soften 3 to 4 minutes Stir in the rice. Cook the rice for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the wine and cook until evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium. Add in the hot stock, a few ladles at a time, and stir for a minute with each addition, to develop the starch and the creamy aspect.

Keep adding stock every time the pan starts getting dry edges.

While the rice cooks cut the chicken breast into chunks. In another pan heat the olive oil, brown the chicken. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, add the peas, salt, pepper and garlic powder and saute till done.

When rice is cooked to al dente, stir in the butter, cheese, chicken and peas. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

You can serve it as a side dish or as a main meal....Enjoy!