M is for Mascarpone and Manicotti

Maybe you speak Italian and don't need a translation.

 

But for those that don't, and do the Master of this Mad-house (me) can help you out.

-Mascarpone is simply Italian cream cheese. It is lighter/thinner than the cream cheese, and it also has a much more mild flavor. Where cream cheese packs a punch, Mascarpone slightly slaps.

-Manicotti is just a GIANT pasta noodle. It looks like penne pasta on steroids.

Now, before we get to the recipe I wanted to make sure that you entered the giveaway. I'm giving, GIVING, away a hilariously magical mustache corkscrew/bottle opener. All you have to do is 1) Follow ALPHAbiteICAL by clicking on the right, "Join this blog" and 2) leave a comment on the giveaway post. That's it! Do both of those things and you are entered to win!

Movin' on to the food:

Three Cheese Manicotti

• 5 cooked Manicotti 
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 5T olive oil
• 1/2t salt
• 2T sugar
• 1 6oz. container of Mascarpone 
• 3 oz. goat cheese
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup diced sun dried tomatoes
• 1 1/2t Herbs de Provence 
• 1/2t black pepper

Coat a medium sized skillet with olive oil and heat to medium heat. Stir in onions, salt and sugar. Caramelize the onions by periodically stirring them on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. Put a few onions to the side, and combine caramelized onions, Mascarpone, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, pepper and Herbs de Provence in a large bowl. Stuff your Manicotti shell with your cheesy mixture carefully so you do not break the shell. Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top and spread your reserved onions and bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees.  The cheese on top will be melted and the cheese inside the manicotti will be bubbly.

Make it for dinner Monday...after you win the mustache corkscrew of course.

-J

M is for.....GIVEAWAY!

Mesdames and Messieurs it is time for my first ever giveaway! 

 Reaching the middle of the ALPHAbite is a good enough reason for me. 

On a recent shopping trip, me and the Mrs. stumbled upon this merry little mustache corkscrew. We purchased one for ourselves and one for a magnificent follower of the blog.You can monkey around with your favorite bottle of merlot. Maybe you will earn a new nickname like we all did.

Master of this Mad-house

Mrs. Mischief Maker

Mysterious Mutt

If you prefer to monkey around with a micro-brew rather than merlot, the curl of the mustache is also a bottle top opener!

"Tell 'um how to enter!"

"I'm getting there. Mind your business."

How To Enter: 
1. Follow the blog.
(To follow click "join this site" under the Followers heading on the right-hand side of the page. If you are already a follower, and want to enter move to step 2.)
2. Leave a comment on this post.

The Rules:
To be eligible you must follow and comment. Entrees will be accepted up until Sunday, July 31st at 7:00 p.m. One winner will be chosen at random by random.org's random number generator. I will contact you via email informing you of your win. The giveaway is only open to residents of the US and Canada. This is due to by ability to ship the magical mustache corkscrew. :(Sorry Jamie):
**One entry per person. (Sorry Jordyn)

Alright I think that is it, good luck everyone I hope that you win! Now I'd love to stay and chat but I really mustache.

-J

L is for Lima Beans

Limas getting the limelight!

or rather, the limalight (nudge nudge....)

I've been thinking about Lima beans since last week. Through our church, the Mrs. and I have made some great friends, Dan and Kelly being two of them. They invited us over for dinner and along with some delicious cobia they served, you guessed it, Lima beans.
I thought to myself, "I haven't had a Lima in a long time." I still liked them and lamented the fact that I have not been eating them on the reg.

Thank you so much for dinner Dan and Kelly, and thanks for leading me to the Lima bean for this post.

Before we go any further, I have a confession to make. The first time that I tried to cook these Lima beans, I messed it up. I did not follow the directions on the back of the package and it was not pretty. I left the kitchen, frustrated, and went back to the store and bought another bag of beans. No Lie.


I made two dishes with my correctly cooked Limas, and if you are going to cook these at home you will need a 1 pound bag of baby Lima beans. Follow the directions on the back of the package; save yourself trip back to the store and $1.42. 

Let's get cooking!

Lima Bean Ravioli

• 2 cups cooked Lima Beans
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 3T fresh parsley
• 2T olive oil
• 1 1/2t black pepper
• 1t anchovy paste
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• Won-ton wrappers
• 1 egg, plus 2t water

Place the Lima beans, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, milk, parsley, olive oil, anchovy paste, and garlic clove into the food processor. Pulse all of that together until you get a thick paste. If it is too thick, add more olive oil and milk. If it is too thin, add a few more Limas.

 Next it is time to fill your ravioli. Set up our counter in an assembly line having your Lima bean mixture, won-ton wrappers, egg wash, and plate to put filled ravioli all in a row.

How to fill a ravioli

Place a small amount in the middle of the wrapper

Brush two adjacent sides with egg wash

Fold into a triangle, and don't trap any air inside.

Fold over the middle to make a Pop's hat.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the ravioli for about 5-7 minutes and serve! 

I made a quick sauce while my ravioli were boiling. It was just 2T butter, 1 1/2T flour, 3/4 cup of store bought marinara, and 2 egg yolks. Melt the butter with the flour and sauce on medium heat. Stir in 3T of heated sauce into the yolks, and then add back to the sauce on the stove. Cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened. I also topped my ravioli with a little bit of bacon. 

Lima Bean Salad

• 3 cups cooked Lima Beans
• 1 16oz. can of yellow corn, drained and rinsed
• 3 scallions, finely sliced
• 2T fresh cilantro
• 2T olive oil
• 2T apple cider vinegar
• 1t poppy seeds
• 2t slat
• 2t black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently. Place in the refrigerator overnight and let the flavors all meld together. Serve cold. 

Mmmmmm.....that was de-Licious! What can we make for "M"?

-J

L is for Libation

Let me make you a drink.

Looks like you've had a long day. Loosen your tie or lose those heels and take a load off. How about a Lemon-Lime Fizz?

 Lemon-Lime Fizz

• 1 cup of water 
• 1 cup of sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Juice of 3 limes
• Club soda
• Vodka or Gin

Heat the water, sugar, and lemon and lime juice on the stove on low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool. Fill a glass with ice, pour in 3 oz of lemon-lime liquid, 6 oz of club soda, and a shot of vodka or gin. Stir. Garnish with a lemon and a lime wedge.

I am going to get started on our meal.  See you in two shakes of a lambs tail.

L will come Later

Me and Mrs. ALPHAbiteICAL are leaving for the beach.

I promise a lavish lunch blog post that isn't lame, doesn't lack... luster or leave you wanting more.

Later!
-J

K can also be for Kale

 Knock your socks off good!

 Im keeping K alive this week, mainly bekause of the Mrs. After my previous post she told me that the tart was one of her least favorite things that I have ever made. It was a texture thing with her, but not having my number one kustomer happy was a problem for me. Konsequently there is a part II for K, and we went from one end of the kontinuum to the other. She told me after dinner, that this was one of the best things that I have kreated in the kitchen.

My other goal in posting this was to help all you readers out. I don't know about you, but after a holiday with my family there is always so much food left over. We end up eating the same thing all week, and that can get just plain stale! So here is a way to use the left over barbecue from all your 4th of July celebrations. You're welkome!

Barbecue Egg-rolls with Kale

• 2 cups of barbecue, finely chopped
• 1 1/2T of ginger, minced
• 3T oyster sauce
• 4 large carrots, cut into matchsticks (julienne)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups of Kale, chopped
• 1T white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

 First pull the stems off of the Kale. You only want to use the leaves. The stems are too tough to eat. Place the leaves in a bowl and fill it with cold water. Let is sit to allow all the dirt to wash off the leaves and settle in the bottom of the bowl. After a few minutes, lift the leaves out, and set them out to dry. While they dry, chop the rest of your veggies.

In a large skillet,on medium high heat, combine the barbecue, ginger, and oyster sauce. Stir for ~1 minute to incorporate the flavors. Add the carrots and onions and cook until they are soft (~4 minutes). Toss in the kale, the white wine vinegar, and salt & pepper and let the kale just wilt down. Stir constantly. Turn the heat off after the kale has wilted and allow the mixture to cool down before rolling your egg-rolls.

 How to roll an egg-roll

Place mixture in the middle

Fold up the bottom

Tuck in the sides

Wet the top flap with a bit of water and roll it up

Once you have all your egg-rolls rolled, it's time to fry. Pour in your oil and get it hot, 350 degrees. You should see a little smoke come over the top, and the oil will look like it is swirling in the pot but not bubbling. Put in your egg-rolls and fry them 'til they are krispy.

Make sure to flip them so you get an even browning

They will be bubbly and golden brown. let them kool down for a second on a paper towel lined plate.

For a kwick dipping sauce, mix 2T soy sauce, 1T white wine vinegar, 1t sesame seeds, 1t of peach jelly, and a dash of sugar together. Microwave for 20 seconds and stir again. So easy and very delicious.

 

K is Komplete.

Kudos to me!

-J

K is for Kiwi

Keep your pants on...

I'm posting, I'm posting.

To tell you the truth faithful reader, I have had these pictures loaded on my computer for almost a week. The bakery has just been so busy. Holidays are madness! Everyone wants cupcakes and they all want them with extra decorations for the 4th. Anyway, I finally found a little down time, and here is the recipe.

Kiwi & Strawberry Tart

For pastry: 

• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/8t of salt
• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2t of vanilla

 Cream the butter and sugar. Sift flour and salt together. Whisk the egg and vanilla together. Gradually add the flour and salt into the creamed butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla slowly and mix until a sticky dough ball forms. Empty the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, put it into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

After 1 hour roll out the dough on a well floured surface to 1/4" thick.

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and line up the tart pans in a straight line.

Lay the dough over the pans.

Press the dough into the sides of the pans and then roll the rolling pin over the pans to cut off the excess.

Place the tart pans on a sheet pan and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. While the tart pans are in the freezer cut squares of parchment paper 5"x5" and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

 After 15 minutes, place the parchment papers into the tarts and fill the shells with kidney beans. Bake the tarts for 5 minutes at 400 degrees and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. 

Brush the tart shells with a mixture of Apricot Jelly and water to keep them from disintegrating when you add the cream to the tart shell.

For pastry cream:

• 1 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2T of all-purpose flour
• 2T of corn starch
• 1t of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of pureed strawberries
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream

Begin by scalding the milk on medium heat. Scalding is just a fancy term of heating up the milk just before the milk boils. A bit of steam will come up from the milk and small bubbles will form around the edge of the milk in the sauce pot.

While you are waiting on the milk to scald, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and corn starch. Make sure everything is combined. It should be thick, but runny.

Once the milk is scalded, pour a little bit of milk into the egg mixture and whisk. (If you pour it all in at once, your eggs will scramble and you'll have to start all over.)

Slowly pour the rest of the milk into the eggs and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

 Pour the mixture back into the sauce pot, and on medium low heat whisk until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in strawberry puree. I added a drop of pink food coloring at this step. You don't have to and I won't blame you if you don't.

Cover the cream with plastic wrap by pressing the surface of the plastic to the surface of the cream and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Before serving, whisk the cream and whip up the whipping cream until fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream into the pastry cream.

For topping:

• 4 kiwis sliced
• 1T of apricot jelly
• 1t of water

Assemble the tarts by filling the pastry shell with the cream and arrange the sliced kiwi on top. Brush the sliced kiwi with the jelly mixture. 

  

Full disclosure: the Mrs. was not too Keen on the Kiwi-Strawberry Tart. She said that the tart filling was more like yogurt consistency than the thick tart cream that you want. Her mother said that her 6th grade teacher "ruined her from liking yogurt" by telling her she was eating bacteria. Knowing this, I will probably not put in the whipped cream the next time I make this. It is a tasty light summer dessert that can also be a delicious breakfast if you have a little left over. 

I'm going to try something else for K... who knows what will happen. Anyway, Happy 4th of July everyone!
and

Wish me lucK.

-J