Olive Parmesan Shells

Everytime I open my refrigerator I am met with a half full clear container of mixed black and green olives. TLLBLND loves olives but instead wanted to create a new flavor packed dish.  The original recipe brewing in my head included adding canned smoked sardines and white wine served over wide noodle pasta, but no, this method has been done to death.  Making ravioli was the second option but can be time too consuming.

Here is the final tested version that is tasty, easy and guest-worthy.

Roasted Veggie Lasagne

 

Made with Love for all my vegetarian friends.  This this make ahead dish is a show stopper to present, easy to prepare, tastes great and light on the wallet. May I also admit this is healthy eating.  Cooking within a budget is never boring because it does not have to be. TALL Blonde serves 1 roll as an opening appetizer at her famous dinner parties.

Mushrooms Reign Supreme

As a mushroom lover like TALL Blonde's husband is you will easily agree with him after tasting this mushroom sauce is so good that you can make a meal pouring this rich, decadent and unctuous sauce over a couple slices of toasted and buttered slices of sourdough bread slices and imagine you are eating as a King or Queen. This is not for the faint hearted, butter and heavy cream provide the velvety texture and the finishing "cherry on top" is Port. So get ready to present a 5 Michelin Star quality dish that even makes your kitchen smell luxurious. Add an additional 1 cup of protein such as cooked lump crab meat or cooked shredded duck breast and make it a meal.

Spicy Shrimp Ravioli

 

TALL Blonde is having great fun creating another ravioli filling.  Here she plays with shrimp that is inspired by Shrimp Scampi by using fresh garlic with a twist of adding hot Thai chili.  There is also no cracker meal and egg filler typically found in crab cakes.  These shrimp are elegant in their own right as they pack a pure protein punch.

Mushroom Ravioli

 

TALL Blonde is experimenting again with ravioli filling. After a successful launch of my Pumpkin Bok Choy Ravioli (recipe link) in the summer of August of 2023 I was ready for a new flavor profile.  My vegan friends who absolutely loved the pumpkin-ravs will hopefully like this new adventure.  Some flavor bomb-ettes (light touch) are unconventional but subtle and add an interesting layering of flavor.  This recipe is written for the advanced cook and measurements are approximate and to your taste.

Pumpkin-Bok Choy Ravioli & Lemon Cream Sauce

Let me go off topic regarding this recipe for just a moment. When I share my home cooking experiences to my kitchen-curious friends I always end my conversation with the following: "If you learn to prepare your favorite dishes at home you can reward yourself with the title of Best Cook on the Planet. Why? Because your food will always taste the way you like it.".

This recipe was inspired during a recent luncheon with a friend at a classy Italian restaurant. Eating a plate of ricotta/spinach ravioli that was totally uninspired and lackluster, served with a lemon sauce that swam at the bottom of the plate in a sloshing liquid pool I decided to create something much more original and exciting for the taste buds. The ingredients and preparation began to take shape in my mind during the hour long drive home. Serves 6.

Champagne Parmesan Leek Pasta

This pasta dish is easy to prepare, cheap on the budget and packed with rich flavor of parmesan and luxurious butter sautéed leeks.  TALL Blonde uses leftover Champagne from New Year's Eve. An economical and excellent morning after dish.

Sicilian Pasta

TALL Blonde took a classic Sicilian Sardine Pasta recipe and made it her own. The addition of the cremini mushrooms and dry white wine may be omitted if you want to be a purist.  NOTE: Do not skip the anchovy fillets, this is where all the flavor lies. Salt has been omitted due to the saltiness of capers and anchovy fillets, not even the pasta water was salted. Your palette may require some extra salt. Serves 2 dinner portions.

5 Ingredients

TALLblonde plans on giving this out as holiday gifts in 2019. I have tried numerous recipes and they are all EASY to prepare, no special COOKING SKILLS, many dishes prepared in 15 MINUTES. Most recipes are measured to serve 2, so this means dinner for one with leftovers. Many recipes will also feed four servings. This QUICK and EASY cookbook by "The Naked Chef" Brit-born Jamie Oliver is not the quick and easy bland gut bombs of the past.  These recipes actually taste GRRREAT!

Lobster Mac 'n Cheese

Thanksgiving menu at our house is all about the classics: roasted turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes and of course pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream. Thanksgiving 2016 I decided to up my game and serve Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Lobster instead of sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar streusel.

Salsa Noodles

Perfect for a meal on a hot day, and you may already have the recipe.

I was inspired, (more curious really) to take a mango-corn salsa recipe among my growing collection of favorites and decided to mix it into cold Asian noodles for a refreshing pasta salad and it worked. My noodles were sweet, sour, crunchy and spicy, a  wonderful combination.  Here is the ingredient list in case you don't already have a recipe of your own.

Pasta Al Carbon (Bacon, baby!)

Courtesy Chef Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin, NY

Cold Chinese Noodles