I Heart Cooking Clubs : Orecchiette with Greens, Garbanzo Beans and Ricotta Salata

The theme chosen for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs is California Dreamin' and I'm sure Giada's twist on a very regional dish as Orecchiette would be considered very Californian by any mamma pugliese making orecchiette by hand almost every day ! If you want to dare you should visit Natashya to get some tips !

My husband, who's not usually an orecchiette fan, loved the lemon that made this dish a 'spring is arriving' hint.

the recipe is here or ....

recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound orecchiette or other short pasta
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 12 ounces Swiss chard or mustard greens, stemmed
• 12 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups small cherry or grape tomatoes
• 8 ounces ricotta salata cheese, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic and discard. Add the Swiss chard and cook until wilted. In batches, add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the beans and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the pasta, 1/2 of the cheese, and lemon zest. Toss well and thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed.

Transfer to a large serving bowl and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve.

TWD : Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

This week it was Betsy of A cup of Sweetness who got to choose the recipe, and, I must confess that after baking so much from this book I would have imagined the 'last' recipes to be so so but this muffins are really super special !

So I must thank Laurie again and again for creating this group and for letting me become acquainted with Dorie Greenspan.

I made both versions of the muffins : the glazed ones are plain and the hearts are filled with blueberries jam (Anita's favourites).

Please visit Betsy for the recipe and go here to see all the different muffins.

Now I think all of you know how bad I was (at least) in blogging so I give you a quick summary of my unblogged TWD past recipes:

Laurie of Slush and Jules of Someone’s In the Kitchen chose Midnight Crackles

Margo of Effort to Deliciousness chose Chocolate Fluff Filled Madeleine

Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker chose Translucent Maple Tuiles

Amber of Cobbler du Monde chose Apple-Coconut Family Cake

Jill of Jill’s Blog chose Cardamom Crumb Cake

Nicole of Bakeologie chose Peanuttiest Blondies

Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen chose Not-Just-for Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread

Whitney, April, and Elizabeth of Celestial Confections chose Cranberry LIme Galette

Emily of Sandmuffin chose All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

I Heart Cooking Clubs : Roasted Citrus-Herb Chicken

I'm finally back to cooking with Giada but most of all cooking with the I Heart Cooking Clubs Group which I really enjoy very much.

I finally even got a book by Giada (Giada at home) and what could I easily roast if not a chicken ?

Actually the recipe called for game hens which I do not really know what they are (not guinea hens right ?) But lenghtening the cooking time was allowed so here comes the chicken !

I the original recipe Giada suggests a crouton salad with the roast but I opted for patate al forno which are a sure hit with the kids.

The raw chicken gets scrubbed with orange and lemon zests, shallots, olive oil, thyme and mint and salt an pepper.

It is then roasted with marsala, broth, orange and lemon juice and raisins.

It was great you should try !

I even found the recipe here so you can read it in proper English...

Ingredients

• 2 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) Cornish game hens
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 tablespoons orange zest, from 2 medium oranges
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest, from about 3 lemons
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons Marsala wine or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries or currants
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rinse the game hens and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, shallots, orange zest, lemon zest, thyme, mint, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Rub 2 tablespoons of the zest mixture over the skins of the game hens. Place the remainder of the zest mixture under the skin and into the cavities of the hens. Using kitchen twine, truss the legs together. Place the hens in a shallow 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Add the chicken stock, Marsala wine, lemon juice, orange juice, and cranberries. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the leg juices run clear. Remove the game hens and set aside. Place the flour in a small saucepan. Whisk in the pan juices. Bring the juices to a boilover medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Whisk in the butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

To serve, remove the kitchen twine and place the hens on 2 serving plates. Drizzle with the citrus-herb sauce.

Cook's Note: Reserve 1/4 cup of the citrus-herb sauce for theCrouton Salad.

The Cake Slice : Cranberry Cake and a late Cinnamon Pudding Cake

Lately I've been working much more and posting less, or better not posting at all.

This doesn't mean I'm not baking so here you go for December and November The Cake Slice cakes.

I cannot tell you how this Cranberry /Wildberries tastes because it just came out from the oven ! But it looks and smells terrific ! I wish I hadn't let the top brown so much ...

RECIPE

December’s Cake: Cranberry Cake

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Makes one 10 inch round cake

For the Streusel
1 cup sliced almonds (I used pinenuts)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp light brown sugar

For the Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries (Iused frozen berries)
Method – Streusel
Heat the oven to 300F. Grease a 10inch round springform pan.
Combine the butter, almonds and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Work the mixture between your fingers to form large crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Method – Cake
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the eggs and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed until the mixture is lightened and increased in volume, about 5 minutes.
With the mixer on low speed, add the butter in a slow stream. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for another 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
Gently but thoroughly fold in the flour mixture, half a cup at a time. Then stir in the cranberries.
Scrape the butter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the streusel over the batter. Bake the cake until it is golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1hour 10minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Release the sides of the pan and use a large spatula to slide the cake from the pan bottom onto the wire rack. Cool completely before cutting into wedges and serving.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Then comes the Cinnamon Pudding Cake I'm sure I did somthing wrong with it and the cake looked loke the moon... but it wasn't bad maybe not the best but not bad at all !

RECIPE

November’s Cake: Cinnamon Pudding Cake

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Makes one 8 inch square pudding cake

For the Caramel Topping

1 cup plus 2 tbsp packed light brown sugar
¾ cup water

1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ tsp salt

For the Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method – Topping

Heat the oven to 350F. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

1) Combine the brown sugar, water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally, then set aside to cool.

Method – Cake

1) Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sakt in a medium mixing bowl.

2) Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3) With the mixer on medium-low speed, add a third of the flour mixture to the bowl. Add half of the milk and the vanilla. Add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk and the rest of the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.

4) Scrape the batter onto the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Pour the topping over the batter (the pan will be very full). Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake until set, 45 to 50 minutes.

5) Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, invert it onto a large rimmed serving platter and serve warm.

6) Let any leftover cake cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for up to 3 days.