Super Bowl Party Food = Amazeballs.

Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl...here we go! Sadly, not this year, but you know where my allegiances always lie. Plus this Pennsylvania girl may have been a bit jealous of the snow up north, hence breaking out the best piece of head gear I own.

So once my hopes for an extensive post-season were as deflated as New England's balls, I started to think about not only where I would watch and hope for a Patriots loss, but what I would make. A request came in to make something healthy for a party, so I will post what I decided on in a future blog post. But in the meantime, here are some great options for those of you who want to keep your bellies fat and happy with all the awesome that comes with meat and cheesy goodness.

Katie's Super Bowl Top Five Dishes

Buffalo Cheese Bread: This post has received the most page views of anything I've blogged about over the last several years. I think it is a testament to how awesome my friend Nick's blog is. (see below for another reference and link). It takes everything that is awesome about buffalo wings and substitutes the meat for bread.

Janet's (meat)BALLS: Sweet, sweet meat.  Balls. 'Nuff said.

Sticky Wings: These are my favorite wings and they are the creation of my buddy Nick at http://www.macheesmo.com. I've made them several times and they are always a crowd-pleaser. If you like an Asian-style wing and love that Rooster sauce, these wings are for you.

Stuffed Jalapenos: These little pillows of meat and cheesy goodness are stuffed with chorizo and smoked gouda. And boy is it gouda.

Tomatillo Peach Salsa: This beats any jarred fruit salsa variety. Hands down and worth the extra effort.

And to give a quick shout-out to a former work colleague of mine who had a role in this little bit of amazing...don't forget about food safety this Super Bowl Sunday!

Apple Chutney on Toast

Ever since I last posted to this blog, nearly 8 weeks ago, I've debated whether I had the time and the desire to keep it up. I've posted over 250 times since I started this blog in January 2012.The blog came about a year after I decided to cook one new recipe each week for a year in 2011. It was the first resolution I'd ever kept, and I was determined to dive in head first to food blogging. And I enjoyed it, and I still do, but I found that the perfectionist in me was bound and determined to post twice a week without fail, writing about new recipes, restaurants I've visited and the foods I've eaten during my travels. And I was failing. A transition to a new job as well as sick family members made it nearly impossible to keep up in a way that I felt was adequate.

This doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, I just haven't been writing about it as much. But in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I'm ready to recommit myself to this blog, but in a smaller way than in years' past. I vow to post once a week without fail, and more if time and the situation calls for it. I'll post about fun food events and restaurants I check out, my travel food adventures, and most importantly, what I cook up in my little kitchen in Columbia Heights.

I also plan to maintain last year's resolution of getting out of town for at least an overnight every quarter, which I'm sure will lend itself to more fun food travel blogging, which has been what I enjoyed most about writing this blog last year.

So here's a dish I made for a holiday party back in December. The recipe comes from my friend Nick's blog, www.macheesmo.com, which continues to be a great resource for when I want to cook something new.

 

Apple Chutney on Toast

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 2 scallions minced (not the green parts)
• Baguette, sliced and toasted
• 5-6 oz. blue cheese

Directions:

Combine the sugar, red wine vinegar, orange juice, cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar melts, about 2 minutes.

Peel, core, and chop your apples and add them to the chutney.  Stir everything together and cook over low-medium heat until the apples are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add currants and chopped scallions to the chutney at the very end.

Cool the chutney for at least an hour and serve on toasts with blue cheese.

The Great Grill Fire of 2014...a PSA and a Recipe Included!

"This grill is on Fi-yah!"

Kids, don't try this at home.

Truer words had never been sung during what I shall now call "The Great Grill Fire of 2014." It was just a regular Sunday family dinner in the neighborhood and with the warm weather, we elected to grill. While the details that lead up to this event are a bit hazy, as you can tell from the photo, things got hot quickly. With black smoke.

Perhaps the grill wasn't completely cleaned before using or maybe it was something else. But two fire extinguishers and a box of baking soda later, the fire finally went out.

Well, at least the roof wasn't on fire. Cue music.

So this is your PSA for Memorial Day weekend. Clean your grill and know where your fire extinguishers are. The more you know. And stuff.

And here's the recipe that I had to modify due to the grill situation. As you can tell, the photo is a bit smoky, as pretty much everything looked after the Great Grill Fire of 2014.

Grilled Zucchini with Walnuts and Gorgonzola Cheese (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced length-wise
• Small red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 tsp. olive oil + little extra for basting the vegetables
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3 TB crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Directions:

Grill 1/2-inch thick slices of red onion, lightly covered with olive oil, 5 minutes on each side until tender. Remove from grill and then coarsely chop.

Grill zucchini 2 minutes on each side, lightly covered with olive oil.

Combine onion, walnuts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix together. Spoon walnut mixture evenly over zucchini. Then sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Skillet Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese

Asparagus is in season as is regular Sunday family dinners. After travels and cleanses and other events that were causing the typical traditional fare to be altered on a regular basis, two weeks ago we were back on target with regular food (no offense, vegans) :)

I love a simple roasted asparagus, but this time around, I wanted to try something a bit different. The result was a great side salad for a big dinner party.

Skillet Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese (serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed (about 30 medium spears)

1 cup water

2 tsp. julienne-cut orange rind

1 tsp. julienne-cut lemon rind

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 TB dry white wine

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

5 tsp. olive oil

2 cups mixed baby salad greens

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

3 TB chopped pecans, toasted

1 TB fresh tarragon leaves

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add one-third of asparagus mixture; cook 4 minutes or until lightly charred and crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan; set aside. Repeat procedure twice with the remaining asparagus mixture.

Place 1 cup water in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave for 2 minutes or until water just boils. Add orange rind; let stand 20 seconds. Drain, reserving rind. Repeat procedure with lemon rind.

Combine orange rind, orange juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until juice mixture measures about 3 tablespoons (about 5 minutes). Combine wine, lemon juice, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Gradually add 5 teaspoons oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in orange juice mixture.

Place 1/3 cup greens on each of six plates. Divide asparagus evenly among salads. Top evenly with cheese, pecans, and tarragon. Stir lemon rind and parsley into orange juice mixture; drizzle dressing over salads.

Baked Stuffed Zucchini with Mozzarella

Yet another Monday Snow Day. This has become a pattern that I truly hope is over and done with soon. The snow will be pretty for a few hours, but then as people get out and about and some of it melts, some of that initial beauty falls to the wayside. But one good thing that comes out of these snow days for me, is the ability to make a decent lunch. Fortunately I already had everything I needed in my fridge so no need to go brave the chaos that is my neighborhood Giant.

This dish was not only easy to make, but also quite tasty. So if you're looking to make a vegetarian side dish, I'd highly recommend giving it a shot.

Baked Stuffed Zucchini with Mozzarella (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Olive oil, for brushing the baking sheet
• 2 medium zucchini
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded and diced small
• 1/4 tsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1/4 tsp. white vinegar
• 5 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn into  1-inch pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a baking sheet or dish with olive oil. Halve zucchini lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Place, cut side up, on sheet and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, oregano, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Top zucchini with tomato mixture. Bake until it is dinner, approximately 20 minutes.

Heat broiler, with rack in top position. Top zucchini with mozzarella. Broil until cheese is brown and bubbling, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.

I enjoyed this with fruit for lunch, but I think it would go great with a grilled chicken or fish dish.

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto

Today is Oscar Sunday. Anyone who knows me knows two things. 1) I'm a movie fanatic. 2) I love to have people over for food to watch particular TV events. Such as the Super Bowl. The Oscars. World Cup. You name it. And Oscar Sunday this year is no different. While I will be making my posole for some friends (as you'll recall, I had a bit of pork left over after that debacle, so I froze some large chunks of meat for later), I wanted to share a simple recipe that I made for a party late last year. So if you're going somewhere to watch the Oscars and need to make a simple appetizer, this will do the trick!

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 2 pears, such as Bosc or Bartlett, each cored and sliced into 8 wedges. Toss with lemon juice
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 oz. blue cheese, cut into small pieces
• 6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in half, lengthwise
• 1 cup arugula

Directions:

Roll up an arugula leaf, a piece of pear, and a piece of cheese in the prosciutto. Yep, that's it!

Food Porn: Pittsburgh Edition

Over the holiday, I was bound and determined to get downtown and eat a Primanti's sandwich at the original location in the Strip District. I'm going to totally lose my Pittsburgh street cred, but I have NEVER eaten one of these sandwiches. As I've mentioned before, I was an incredibly picky eater when I was younger. My love for food didn't really evolve until I came to DC. And it never really occurred to me that I was doing myself (and my Pittsburgh people) a DISSERVICE by never eating one of these. So I set out to the Strip District with my mom on a mission to eat this famed sandwich.

I wasn't alone. Everyone and their mother (including my own) wanted the same exact thing. And it was cold and there was a long line out the door that didn't seem to budge. So I had to settle on eating elsewhere in the Strip. After a light meal, we hit the Macaroni Company where I was greeted by cheese and sausage that was the stuff of dreams. Balls of cheese the size of my head. Amazing stuff.

I walked out of there with about a pound of cheese (which I'm thinking was eaten within a few days of my return to DC. Don't judge.). In addition, I picked up some dipping oil for my good friend Aniello, who probably has about a dozen different types of infused olive oils in his kitchen (I could live there). And pierogies! I hope to make some pierogies with kielbasa sometime this winter.

We walked around other parts of the Strip District but no trip would be complete without a trip to Wholey's. Just to walk around because I couldn't image going home with a slab of fish. However, I did take a photo outside of Wholey's with their policy which I think is so telling of Pittsburgh as a whole. It's all about making you feel welcome. And I'm always amazed at how friendly people are in Pittsburgh. Sometimes you take a kind word and smile for granted, but it's the people of Pittsburgh that go that extra mile to make you feel welcome. And for someone who chose to find a home in DC nearly 10 years, the homecoming is all that sweeter.

Primanti's...I will be back. :)

Pomegranate and Spinach Salad

A few weeks back, I was planning a dinner party for two, and since most of the meal was on the heavy side, I wanted a light starter salad. I tapped my go-to "what should I make" resource for when I stopped, Nick of www.macheesmo.com, and he told me to make this salad. I had never worked with pomegranates before, but the instructions in the recipe assured me that it wasn't that tricky to work with. Where I think I struggled most was in deseeding the fruit. I submerged it in a bowl of water, but I think I opted for too shallow of a bowl. This lead to an unflattering splatter of pomegranate juice, staining parts of my kitchen and ironically landing on my knife skills book. I assured my dinner guest that this wasn't in fact the scene of a crime, just my first attempt with pomegranate.

 

The salad was a big hit and I suggest you giving it a shot while pomegranates are still in season.

Pomegranate and Spinach Salad (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 5-6 ounces baby spinach
• 1 pomegranate, seeded
• 6 oz. goat cheese
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

For the Dressing:

• 1  cup raspberries
• 3 TB balsamic vinegar
• 2 TB honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Pinch of salt 

Directions:

Add raspberries to a small food processor and pulse a few times. Then add other dressing ingredients and process until mostly smooth.

Seed pomegranate by cutting it into quarters and breaking it apart under cold water. The seeds will sink and the pith will float. This might take some manuevering of the pith and the seeds, but overall it was pretty easy. Just watch for splatter!

Toss greens with a few tablespoons of dressing and coat well. Divide greens between a few plates.

Crumble goat cheese on greens and top with pom seeds and toasted walnuts.

 

Two-Cheese Mac and Cheese

I should never make mac and cheese. Ever. Because I'll eat all of it. ALL OF IT. In two meals, at best. Even this light recipe falls into that category. It's very creamy and you almost forget that it doesn't contain heavy cream or full-fat cheese. So it's still dangerous, but not in a heart-attack inducing way.

Two-Cheese Mac and Cheese (serves me...just kidding, should serve 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. large elbow macaroni
• 2 TB canola oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock, divided
• 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 8 tsp all-purpose flour
• 4 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 
• Cooking spray
• 3 oz.extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Set aside.

Preheat broiler to high.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.

Add garlic to pan; cook 3 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring frequently (do not brown).

Stir in 1 cup stock; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute.

Combine remaining 1 1/4 cups stock, milk, and flour; stir with a whisk until flour dissolves. Add milk mixture to garlic mixture, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.

Remove milk mixture from heat; add cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta to milk mixture, tossing to coat. Let stand 5 minutes.

Pour pasta mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheddar and breadcrumbs evenly over pasta mixture. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Let stand 5 minutes.

An Oldie but a Goodie-Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad

A while back I indicated that I was going to employ some strategies to this blog that we use at work. Such as "Throwback Thursdays", or "F-ing Fantastic Food Friday." But in all reality, I'm too busy to keep up with any sort of set schedule like that, I just really try and post twice a week. And I kind of screwed that up last week. But I have been doing a lot of cooking and eating lately, and am building up a stockpile for September as my work schedule gets even nuttier.

Some of what I've been making lately have been repeats on previously successful dishes. This is one of them.  I made this Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad a few weeks back when I had a ton of peaches and was looking for something light to eat on a Monday after a weekend of excess (which seems to be every weekend as of late!) Here's the recipe in my original post from last year.You won't be disappointed. Trust me.

Potato and Chorizo Tacos

Any regular visitor to my blog knows I like good ethnic food, and in the last year, I have experimented with several types of tacos. Two weeks ago, I picked up a pack of corn tortillas and went to work, resulting in three different taco recipes in 10 days' time. I'm a little over tacos at the moment, but you will thank me for this little endeavor. Because 2 of the 3 taco recipes were amazing. This one was the most amazing of them all. And it includes one of my favorite (albeit expensive) cheeses: Manchego.

You can just thank me now.

Potato and Chorizo Tacos (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 poblano chiles (I used jalapenos because I couldn't find poblanos)
• 1 TB canola oil
• 2 cups diced white potato
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz Mexican raw chorizo, casings removed
• 3/4 cup unsalted chicken stock
• 3/8 tsp kosher salt
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1 oz Manchego cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup).
• 8 lime wedges 

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Cut poblanos in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place poblano halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil for 8 minutes or until blackened. Place in a paper bag; fold to close tightly. Let stand 5 minutes. Peel; coarsely chop.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add potato; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove potato; place in a large bowl. Add onion to pan; cook 3 minutes. Add poblano, corn, red pepper, and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add onion mixture to potato. Add chorizo to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Return potato mixture to pan. Stir in stock and salt; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until potato is tender, chorizo is done, and liquid almost evaporates.

Working with 1 tortilla at a time, heat tortillas over medium-high heat directly on the eye of a burner for about 15 seconds on each side or until lightly charred. Arrange about 1/3 cup potato mixture in center of each tortilla; top with 1 1/2 teaspoons onions and 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese.

Serve with lime wedges.

Asparagus Pesto Lasagna for Two

Have you ever watched that show called "Kitchen Nightmares?"  Neither have I...but I felt as if I was experiencing my own little kitchen nightmare when I made this dish last week. In theory, it's a great idea, and one I plan to repeat...with different ingredients. Who doesn't love a great lasagna. But it's rare that you have enough people over to warrant making a large batch of it. This recipe calls for making the lasagna in a loaf pan. I think this is a great concept, you just have to break the lasagna noodles in half to fit the pan, and layer just like you would for a regular lasagna.

So at which point did this become a kitchen nightmare? The moment I removed the lasagna from the oven. It was sitting in a bed of oil and even after training a bit and putting back in the oven, hoping it just needed a little more time, it remained an oily, slippery mess. The kicker is it tasted great, but it was not something I would ever serve to others.

So why post it? I'm convinced that the pesto is to blame (I used a jarred variety which may have been a bit too oily), and perhaps simply making this with tomato sauce and meat would have worked out just fine. Again, it's a great concept and something that I will try in a different form in the near future. This is proof that not everything I post is perfect, but I keep experimenting anyway, and come away smarter than I went in.

Asparagus Pesto Lasagna for 2

Ingredients:

1 cup whole basil leaves

1 small clove garlic

1 tablespoon pine nuts

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

1 TB grated parmesan cheese

Pinch of salt

1/2 pound asparagus

1 TB extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese

1 sheet fresh pasta or 4 lasagna noodles , cooked, rinsed, and coated with olive oil

1 cup grated fontina cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor and blend. (If too thick, add water or more olive oil.) Season with salt and set aside.

Sauté asparagus in olive oil over high heat for 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute, and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a small loaf pan (about 4" x 8") with butter. Combine mascarpone and pesto. Cut pasta to fit dish and place enough noodles in pan to cover bottom; top with 1/3 cup fontina cheese, 1/3 of the asparagus, and 1/3 of the pesto mixture; then sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat layering two more times with remaining ingredients. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Discard foil and continue baking 10 additional minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Scalloped New Potatoes

I spent a week in Pittsburgh for the holidays. My initial intent was to cook for the family several times during the course of the week, but I only ended up cooking a full meal twice. I did assist my mother in the kitchen on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, contributing to the making of this potato dish.

It should come as no surprise to my readers from the burgh that we like our potatoes in this state. I think I had potatoes 3 ways over the course of the week. This recipe, that my mother has had cut out from a magazine from December 1999 takes a different approach to regular scallop potatoes, making them lighter, and adding a bunch of vegetables.

Scalloped New Potatoes (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. tiny new potatoes, sliced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 TB margarine or butter
• 3 TB all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 3/4 cups milk (we used 1%)
• 6 cups torn spinach, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small red sweet pepper, cut into matchstick strips
• 3/4 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 2 quart oval or rectangular baking dish with cooking spray; set aside. 

In a large saucepan cook potatoes, covered, in a moderate amount of boiling salted water for 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain and transfer to an extra large mixing bowl. In the same saucepan cook onion and garlic in 2 TB of margarine over medium heat for 5 minutes or until just tender. Stir in flour, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir in milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

**Note that my mom has said that every time she makes this, she doesn't feel this is enough sauce. So we did 1 1/2 times as much of this milk sauce, but if you want to keep the calories/fat down slightly, you may want to follow the recipe.  Just know that the sauce won't cover as much as you expect.

Add spinach and red pepper to potatoes. Toss gently to combine. Pour sauce over potato mixture. Stir gently until evenly coated. Transfer potato mixture to prepared baking dish. The dish will be very full.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Melt the remaining 1 TB margarine. Add bread crumbs, tossing to coat. Sprinkle over cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and crumbs are golden. Serve.
 

Creamy Butternut, Blue Cheese and Walnut Pasta

When I try to cook vegetarian, it usually ends up being a dish with a pasta base. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm trying to limit my carbohydrate intake, so I opted to try a recipe that uses pasta sparingly, almost as a side ingredient to the main act-butternut squash.

This simple butternut squash pasta dish can be made with any tipe of rounded pasta, I opted to make it with gemili, though the recipe called for cavatappi.

Creamy Butternut, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Cavatappi (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/3 pounds)

2 1/2 tsp olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided

Cooking spray

8 oz uncooked cavatappi/pasta

1 cup prechopped onion

1 TB minced garlic

1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, divided

1 tsp all-purpose flour

2 large egg yolks

2 oz blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

3 TB chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine squash, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 24 minutes or until tender, stirring once.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta; keep warm.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in 1/2 cup milk, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, and yolks in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add egg mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently with a whisk.

Combine squash, pasta, and milk mixture in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza

One of my greatest food weaknesses is pizza. In fact, it's my go-to stress food. So since work has been nutty (to put it mildly) for a few weeks now, I found myself going to the local pizza by the slice place in my neighborhood way to much. But for the cost of two of those slices, I could be making a small pizza at home, which lasts a good 3 meals. So here is my attempt at being economical.  Also, it uses my favorite in season fruit of right now...peaches.

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza (serves 3)

Ingredients:

• 1 (10-oz) prebaked thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)
• Cooking spray
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 medium unpeeled peach, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil evenly over crust. Top evenly with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and peach slices. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 11 minutes or until crust browns.

Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until reduced to 2 TB (about 5 minutes). Drizzle balsamic reduction evenly over pizza. Cut pizza into 8 wedges.

 

Buffalo Cheesey Bread

Cheese. Fresh Bread. Hot sauce. And more cheese. Yep, that about sums up this awesome bread, the creation of my friend Nick of http://www.macheesmo.com/.  Super easy to make, it was super hard to not want to shove an entire loaf in your mouth. With March Madness right around the corner, you'd have to be mad not to serve this up while watching the games. I'm definitely filing this one away for football season.

Buffalo Cheesey Bread 

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French bread
• 1/2 Cup mayonnaise
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2 TB sour cream
• 8 oz low-fat mozzarella, shredded
• 4 oz blue cheese
• 1/2 Cup hot sauce (Frank's is the best)
• 1 Cup scallions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Mix mayo, sour cream, garlic, scallions, and butter in a medium bowl. Combine well. Grate mozzarella and stir it into the mix.

Slice French bread horizontally down the middle and toast it in the oven until it's crispy, about 5 minutes at 425 degrees.

Spread an even layer of hot sauce on bread. Then top the bread with the mozzarella topping. Sprinkle blue cheese on top of bread.

Broil on high for 2-3 minutes until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling and bread edges are toasted.

Let the bread cool for a minute and then chop it up for serving.