Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Earlier in the month I gave you a copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s salad dressing. Now, so that you can create an entire meal from Olive Garden, here is a copycat of their Alfredo sauce. This goes together in a hurry, and, if you put your pasta water on to boil when you start making the sauce, you will have dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

A seen on theslowroasteditalian.com

 1 c. half and half

½ T. unsalted butter

½ t. garlic powder

¼ c. fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

¼ c. fresh shredded Romano cheese

¼ t. kosher salt

¼ t. fresh ground black pepper, or white

Whisk together butter, garlic, and half & half in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer (do not boil); remove from heat.

Stir in cheese, a handful at a time. Gently stir until the cheese melts before adding the next handful.

 Return pan to burner over medium heat. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Stir until cheese sauce is smooth and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

 Remove from heat and allow sauce to cool for 5 minutes. Alfredo sauce will thicken even more as it cools.

 Serves 2.

Not Quite Cleveland Heath’s Brussels Sprouts

On the east side of St. Louis in the state of Illinois lies a town called Edwardsville. It is home to many things including a restaurant called Cleveland Heath. Cleveland Heath is good quality indeed, and is known for their Brussels sprouts. I find this significant. How many restaurants do you know that even serve Brussels sprouts, let alone are known for them?

Recently, their recipe appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and I cut it out. When I read the recipe I saw that their beautiful, fresh Brussels sprouts were fried in cooking oil. Blasphemy! I’m not a fan of anything fried in oil. They also wanted you to clean them (of course), halve them, fry them, flip them…this is way too much trouble for the everyday cook.

Because I find Brussels sprouts to be tremendously good simply roasted, and Melissa’s to be uniformly small and tender, I combined my roasted version and favorite brand of sprout, with their sauce, and came up with the perfect combination of the two.

Not Quite Cleveland Heath’s Brussels Sprouts
Adapted from Cleveland Heath, Edwardsville, IL 

8 oz. fresh Melissa’s Brussels Sprouts
1 T. good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground cracked pepper

Sauce*
2 T. good olive oil
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 Melissa’s medium shallot, finely chopped
1 T. capers
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400° F. Toss Brussels sprouts in oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.

While sprouts are roasting, make sauce; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, and capers. Toss with roasted Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper to taste. Place into a serving dish, top with Parmesan cheese, and serve hot.

*This sauce was so tremendously good, by the way, that I made some up separately to use to dip Italian bread. Yummy!

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For a more elaborate use of Brussels Sprouts, try Angel Hair Pasta with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon.

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Chicken Spiedini

Last week, my friend Linda and I were driving through town on our way to an Italian restaurant, to meet with our other friend, Karen, to have lunch. As we drove down First Capitol Drive here in Saint Charles, we happened to pass a tearoom, Miss Aimee B’s, that has been a Saint Charles landmark spot for decades, and one that I have enjoyed visiting since the 70s. My mother and I would go there for special occasions before shopping on Historic Main Street in downtown Saint Charles and it, coincidentally, was the first place that Linda, Karen, and I had lunch together. I was crushed to see it shuttered and with a For Sale sign in the front. We both were. At that point Linda also informed me that another favorite restaurant in another town that we both used to frequent had similarly closed.

Fortunately, family-owned restaurants often offer their own cookbooks, and I am always quick to grab one as soon as it becomes available. I have shared a number of recipes from the cookbook of Miss Aimee B’s including Old Fashioned Buttermilk-Coconut Pie, and a delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler.

 
The other restaurant that recently closed was Rizzo’s, a wonderful Italian place, located close to where Jim and I used to live, and where we would often go dinner. Linda was seriously lamenting the fact that she would never have their Chicken Spiedini again, when I remembered that I had that recipe.

Today I made it in remembrance of the many fine meals, and pleasant times, that I had at the restaurant. Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it. I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t tweaked it a good bit, so here is my and Rizzo’s version. Mangia!

Chicken Spiedini

Adapted from Rizzo's Pasta

2 cups buttermilk

2 pounds chicken, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup dried parsley flakes, crumbled

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 cup Italian-seasoned fine, dry bread crumbs

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 Tablespoons finely minced parsley

8 lemon wedges, for garnish

Cut chicken into cubes the day before, and soak them in buttermilk overnight, covered, in the refrigerator. The next day, remove the chicken from the buttermilk, drain, and pat dry; set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley flakes; add chicken; stir to combine. Cover and allow to marinate 1 hour at room temperature.

Meanwhile, toss together Parmesan, onion powder, garlic salt, and breadcrumbs. Add chicken; mix well. Thread cubes onto skewers,* leaving a little space between cubes. (At this point it can be refrigerated until ready to cook.)

Broil, turning once or twice, until chicken is firm and crumbs are toasted, about 20-25 minutes.

While chicken is broiling, combine melted butter, white wine, and parsley.

Arrange on serving plates, drizzle with the melted butter/wine mixture, and garnish with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 servings

*I used bamboo skewers that I soaked in water to prevent them from catching on fire.

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This post is linked to:

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Merry Monday

Full Plate Thursday

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Culpeppers’ Meatloaf

I love Wednesdays, would you like to know why?  I love them because it is the day that the Food Section is published in the newspaper (for me that is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Forget the hard news, sports, and editorials, on Wednesdays it is all about food. My favorite column in the weekly food section is called “Special Requests” where locals write in requesting favorite area restaurant recipes. Some of them are not at all to my liking, but last week it featured a recipe from a long standing favorite restaurant (that serves the best chicken wings), and one near and dear to my meatloaf-loving heart: Culpepper's Special Meatloaf.

Of course I had to try it. I collect meatloaf recipes like people collect teacups or DVDs. This one was different from all others that I have as it included an ample amount of cream cheese. I made it last week for friends who came to watch the Ballgame and it got thumbs up all around. Cream cheese!  Who knew?

Culpeppers’ Meatloaf

Yield: 9 servings

2 large eggs

½ c. chopped onion

3 T. Knorr beef base

2 t. black pepper

2-1/2 t. minced garlic

1-1/2 t. Worcestershire

1-1/2 t. paprika

½ t. cumin

1 c. unseasoned bread crumbs

6-1/2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 pounds 80/20 ground beef

Ketchup, to cover

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cover a wire rack with foil, place inside a larger roasting pan.

In a large bowl, gently whisk eggs without adding air, then stir in onion, beef base, black pepper, garlic, Worcestershire, paprika, and cumin until well blended.  Stir in bread crumbs, cream cheese, and ground beef, really working and compacting the mixture until color is uniform and no pockets of seasoning or air remain.

Flip mixture onto the foil-covered rack and form a rectangle about 3 inches high.  Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Coat meatloaf with ketchup on all sides.  Bake for 15 more minutes.

Let cool slightly, then cut into 9 slices.

To serve Culpepper-style, serve with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy.

  

If you are ever in the neighborhood, give Culpepper’s a try.  It’s located at:

3010 West Clay

Saint Charles, MO 63301

(636) 916-3102

  I’ll meet you there!

  This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Show and Tell Friday 

Butterfield’s Broccoli Soup

Occasionally I wax nostalgic and rummage through my mother’s old recipe box.  Each time that I do I discover something different.  It’s rather like a culinary tour of my past.  There are recipes for birthday cakes that I had as a child, casserole dishes that were a mainstay in the seventies, soups and quiches that permeated the eighties, and the more complex recipes that involved our time in the nineties. Yesterday I came across a recipe that had been given to me by a friend and that I had lost years ago.  Mother still had it, on a spattered recipe card bearing my name.  It is easy, heavy on the calories, relies on Velveeta for much of its flavor, but it sure tastes good.  It is, supposedly, a recipe from the old Butterfield’s restaurant.  I’ll reprint the original recipe below, but I changed things up a bit by using my own homemade chicken stock in place of the water and bouillon cubes, fresh broccoli, and equal portions of grated sharp cheddar and Gruyere cheeses.  Oh, my, was it good!

Butterfield’s Broccoli Soup

1 cup water

1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, or the tops

Off of a fresh bunch of broccoli

2 cups milk

2 cups cubed Velveeta

2 chicken bouillon cubes

¼ cup flour

1 cup half and half

Cook broccoli with bouillon cubes in 1 cup water until tender.  Do not drain.  Mix milk, Velveeta, flour, and half and half.  Add to cooked broccoli.  Heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

This post is linked to:

Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Last week I told you about Magpie Restaurant on Historic Main and their delicious Asparagus Soup.  If you missed out on that post, you can read it here.  This week I am featuring another charming eatery in Saint Charles, Missouri called Miss Aimee B’s Tea Room and Marketplace.  Every time I go I find at least one thing, oh, who am I kidding?  More like ten things that I want to buy.  I am still thinking about the French flower bucket that really called my name so I may just have to go back this week, but I digress.  The restaurant and shops are contained within the walls of the wonderful Marten/Becker House, a Historic Home built in1865 by Francis Marten, now on the National Register of Historic Places.  Their food is tasty, the desserts divine.

Now, as you know, if you’re paying attention, until recently I was a rhubarb virgin.  Yep.  True, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.  But since then everything has changed.  First I made this jam; secondly I tasted Miss Aimee B’s Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler.  Why did I wait so long to fall in love with rhubarb?  Fortunately for you Miss Aimee B’s has a cookbook, in fact, THREE of them, all with recipes for customer’s favorites, including the cobbler, so I am sharing this recipe with you.  It is very easy and enormously delicious.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

5 cups frozen rhubarb, chopped

2 cups sliced strawberries, half fresh & half frozen

1 ½ cups self-rising flour

2 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 ½ cups milk

1 ½ tsp. almond extract

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a 13” x 9” pan with PAM.  Place the rhubarb in the bottom of the pan, topped with the strawberries.  Combine flour, sugar, milk, and almond extract.  The dough will be lumpy.  Pour over the fruit.  DO NOT STIR.  Pour the melted margarine over the dough.  Use a tooth pick to swirl margarine into the dough.  Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.  Serve warm or cool with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream or vanilla yogurt.

Yield:  12 to 16 servings.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday