Greek Style Pasta for the Brain Dead

Happy Thursday you Zombie Brained Cuisinists!  It's getting close to the weekend and it's time to pull together a simple but most excellent dinner for you and yours.

What doesn't taste good with pasta?  Before you throw back some silly comments, know that was pretty much a rhetorical question.

Pasta is not just for Italians anymore. The Greek trifecta of tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta are made for pasta.  Add some olive oil and the traditional Greek seasoning of oregano, and you have one heck of a mouthwatering meal that's fast and requires very little skill level.

I think the longest part is boiling the water. Once that's done, you can effectively have this in your tummy within 15 minutes!

So let's stop wasting time.  I can hear the growling of hunger and it's time to put that savage beast to rest!

Here's what you'll need:

                                 2.5 C dry bowtie aka farfalle pasta

                                 1 540 ml can Aylmer's olive oil and 
                                 garlic diced tomatoes
                                 1/2 C pitted kalamata olives (about 20)
                                 Feta cheese (200 gm container)
                                 1 t oregano
                                 2 T olive oil
         This makes 2 generous portions for 2 hungry folks.

Add pasta to rapidly boiling salted water.

Reduce to medium - high just so it doesn't boil over.

It will need to cook for about 11 minutes until it is all dente.*

While the pasta boils, you can ready your other ingredients.

*Al dente means it still has firmness but your teeth can easily sink through it.

Place diced tomatoes into a medium saucepan.

Using a hand blender, process until about 2/3rds smooth,

leaving some chunks of tomato for some bite.
It should look like this.

Add the oregano and olive oil.

Cook over medium high heat to boil down some of the liquid.

It should look fairly thick after about 5 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop up olives.

My local market has the pre-pitted kind in the deli area.

What a time saver!  If you can't find them pre-pitted, 

click here for how to  do it easily in no time flat.

Crumble feta cheese, leaving 2 T aside to "crown" your plates.

Drain pasta.

Place pasta in large bowl and add feta and olives...

...and the tomato sauce.
Toss well.
Divide between 2 plates.

Top each serving evenly with reserved feta.

Tangy tomatoes...
Brine kissed feta...
Earthy kalamata olives.
Soooo easy and soooo delicious!

For Brain Dead Thursday, 
I think I'll call this dish...
Zombie the Greek!

Upside Down Pear Almond Cake

My niece, Mare has a lovely pear tree in her yard.  She was generous enough to part with a branch or two. This made for good eating on their own but also, inspired me to make a lovely coffee cake with this wonderful fall fruit.  

Pears and almonds are excellent taste companions and this combo gives the cake a heavenly taste. Enhanced by some caramel, simply divine.

Now here's a tip.  You can mix up the recipe by using the same batter and changing the fruit.  Try apples and walnuts, peaches with pecans or almonds.  How about a good old fashioned pineapple upside down cake using canned and drained crushed pineapple and some maraschino cherries?

Don't let your coffee be lonely.  It pines for a slice of this yummylicious gateau! 

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

                  Caramel:

                      1/4 C brown sugar

                            2 T butter

                  Cake:

                      3 medium pears, peeled, 

                            cored and sliced

                            1/4 C sliced almonds

                            1 1/3 C C all purpose flour

                            3/4 C sugar

                            1/4 C butter

                            2/3 C milk

                            1 egg, beaten

                            2 t baking powder

                            1/2 t salt

                            1 t vanilla

 

Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with non-stick spray.

Peel, core and slice the pears.

I cut them in quarters, then slice each section into thin slices.

Melt 2 T butter in small pan over medium heat.

Add brown sugar.

If you want your cake really caramelly, double the amount.

For me, this is perfect and not too much.

Stir together until it looks like this.

Spread over bottom of spring form pan.

Now sprinkle the almonds over the caramel.

Arrange the pears slices over the almonds.

It doesn't have to be perfect.  Mine isn't!

Melt the 1/4 C butter in the microwave 20 secs at 50% power.

Make sure it's cool before you add the egg so it won't cook!

In a small bowl, mix together butter, egg, milk and vanilla. 

In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, sugar, soda and salt.

I actually used Splenda instead of sugar to reduce calories. 

It turned out great!

 

Pour liquid mix into dry mix.

Blend together completely. 

Thoroughly mixed batter should look like this. 

Pour batter over pears. 

Spread evenly to edges.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Invert on serving plate. 

What a beauty!

Glistening caramelized pears!

 

Serve with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream...

or vanilla ice cream.

And you know what?  It's perfect completely on its own!

Addendum!
One of my blog devotees made this with peaches and pecans.
Here are some pics from Nora's creation.
A must try!

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Brown Derby Cobb Salad

Living in Toronto, this past week has been abuzz with TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival which is the second most important festival after Cannes.  This made me think about the Cobb Salad, the most famous dish to come out of Hollywood and enjoyed by stars for decades at the legendary and now defunct Brown Derby Restaurant.  

As the story goes, in 1937, owner Robert H. Cobb was wrapping things up at the end of the night when he found himself starved.  He looked around in the fridge and threw together some odds and ends which he shared with friend, Sid Grauman (yes, of Grauman's Chinese).  The next time the Grauman came in, he asked for the Cobb Salad and a classic was born.

After its intro on the menu, people became addicted to it.  Apparently, movie mogul Jack Warner sent his assistant out to fetch it for him daily. An episode of "I Love Lucy" even has William Holden ordering it for lunch.

The greens used were a combo of watercress, iceberg and chicory.   I'm just using crunchy romaine here which is what I had on hand. Also, it is to be sprinkled with chives which I didn't have but didn't miss at all.

This salad is so satisfying and delicious.  If you're watching your carbs, it's the perfect meal!

So take a bite out of a piece of Hollywood history!

Here's what you'll need:

                           2 poached chicken breasts*

                           4 slices bacon

                           1/2 C blue cheese

                           2 boiled eggs

                           12 cherry or grape tomatoes

                           1 avocado

                           Romaine lettuce (7 0z/198 gm prepared pack)

                                      * As a shortcut, I pre-cook skinless boneless breasts in the                                               oven then vacuum pack and freeze them for future use 
                                         - like this salad!

                           Dressing:

                           1/4 C canola oil

                           1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

                           2 T red wine vinegar

                           1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

                           1/2 tsp. dry mustard

                           1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

                           1/8 tsp. sugar

                           1/4 t granulated garlic clove garlic, minced

                           Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

                           (Mix above ingredients in a screw top jar.  Shake well.)

 Chop the Romaine lettuce into ribbons.  

Divide onto 2 plates 

 Halve the tomatoes, lay in a line over greens on each plate.

Chop the eggs.  Lay half on each plate.

 

Cut bacon into pieces, 2 slices per person.

 

Chop a chicken breast per person... 

Chop avocado, divide equally... 

Now crumble cheese, a 1/4 C per plate.

Drizzle dressing over each salad.

And here it is.  

A Hollywood classic in your very own home!

And that's a wrap, folks!

The original Brown Derby in Hollywood. 

Super Easy Hawaiian Meatballs for the Brain Dead

OK.  There's an expression, "You can have it cheap; you can have it good; you can have it fast.  Pick 2."  Let me just tell you that with this super easy recipe, you can have all three! This very affordable dinner, for about 10 bucks, will happily feed a family of 4.  And let me tell you, it is truly a brain dead minimal effort to pull this one together.  

This is a variation of the classic crock pot recipe of chili sauce and Welch's grape jelly.  I spinned it with pineapple in place of the jelly and added peppers and some soy sauce.  The most complex part is cutting up the peppers - no surgical skills required, right? 

Now you all know I am a great proponent of the shortcut and there is no shame is using prepared stuff, cans, bottles to put together a tasty dinner.  Save your Super Cook cape for those other occasions when you can leisurely spend hours whittling fresh carrots into penguin shapes.

I challenge you to challenge the non-cook in your family to make this - your teen, your husband - whoever the lazy sod is in your home!

Bottom line: less time in the kitchen means more you time or family time and we can all use that any day of the week!

Here's what you'll need:

                            Serves 4:

                            24 ready made frozen meatballs
                            1 can, 14 oz crushed pineapple
                            1 bottle, 455 ml Heinz Chili Sauce
                            1 medium green bell pepper
                            1 medium red bell pepper
                            1/4 C soy sauce
                            Salt & pepper to taste (and it will need some)
                            Hot cooked rice to serve

Now I do have a video for making this dish.  The famed "Cameraman Dave" has started a new job so his availability as editor has been/is limited.  Check back in a few days to see if it's up!

Meanwhile,  not to delay your Brain Dead endeavours, here is what you need to do:

1) Core peppers and cut into chunks.
2) Fry peppers in 2 T canola or vegetable oil in large skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3) Pour in pineapple, juice and all.
4) Add bottle of chili sauce and soy sauce.
5) Add meatballs.
6) Bring to a boil.  Immediately reduce to low.
7) Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
8) Add a few grindings of pepper and salt to taste.
9) Spoon over hot rice.

If you're a super lazy girl (or guy), like me, use a 2 minute microwave rice like Uncle Ben's.   Why not?

A super easy 15 minute dinner that's yummy and satisfying!

A dinner both adults and kids will enjoy.

Aloha!