Lasagna with Cashew "Cheese"

• Serves 6.

Being constantly-touring singers, my husband & I have completely omitted cheese & other dairy from our diets. Dairy likes to cake-on your vocal cords, and when you sing as often as we do, it can really affect your vocal health. If you told me 3 years ago that I would order pizza sans cheese, and not miss it, I would have thought you were crazy. BUT, it's true. I'm okay with not eating cheese, especially when I can indulge in yummy substitutes like cashew "cheese!" 

I found this awesome cashew "cheese" recipe on The Blender Girl's blog*, and decided it would be a fun experiment to make lasagna using the cashew blend instead of ricotta, and nutritional yeast instead of parmesan. IT WORKED! My husband & parents went nuts over it, and I have to say, nobody missed the cheese. ;)

If you are vegan, just omit the turkey. This recipe would be delicious without it, as well!

• 
  
• Lasagna Ingredients:

• Oven-Ready lasagna noodles
• 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato marinara sauce
• 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 bags baby spinach
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Cashew "Cheese" (recipe below)

1. 
   
2. Directions for Lasagna:
3. 
   
4. Preheat oven to 375°.

Make cashew cheese (recipe below). Set aside. Cook turkey over medium high heat in a large skillet. Salt & pepper to taste. Set aside. In the same pan, add a 1/2 tbsp. olive oil, half of the garlic, and 1 bag of baby spinach. Cook until fully wilted, and then repeat with 1/2 tbsp. olive oil, the rest of the garlic, and the 2nd bag of baby spinach. Set aside. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and mushrooms. Salt & pepper to taste, and cook until tender. In a large bowl, mix together turkey, spinach mixture, mushrooms, fresh basil, and tomato sauce.

Spread a thin layer of cashew "cheese" on the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Spread a little cashew "cheese" on the lasagna noodles, one at a time, to cover completely; place in a single layer in the baking dish. Top with turkey, spinach, etc. sauce mixture. Evenly sprinkle on some nutritional yeast flakes. Keep layering in the same order until all of the sauce is used (this should make 3 layers). For the top (4th) layer, spread cashew "cheese" on the noodles, make the layer, spread the rest of the cashew cheese over top, and sprinkle on some nutritional yeast. 

Rest lasagna for 30 minutes to allow the noodles to absorb liquid. Place in the oven & bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned. Rest at least 20 minutes before cutting.

• Cashew "Cheese" Ingredients:

• 4 cups soaked raw cashews (soaked for at least 2-4 hours)
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup nutritional yeast + more for sprinkling
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, ground

1. 
   
2. Directions for Cashew "Cheese":
3. 
   
4. *This cashew "cheese" recipe is adapted from The Blender Girl. 

• Place the cashews, nutritional yeast, 1/2 of the water, 1/2 of the lemon juice, garlic and sea salt in the food processor and pulse until roughly blended.
• Gradually add in more lemon juice, garlic, nutmeg and salt to taste.
• Transfer the "cheese" to a bowl, and stir through the parsley.

You want the "cheese" to be the consistency of ricotta. The more water you add, the creamier and thinner the cheese will become.

Summertime Penne

Serves 4

Well, hello blog! I've been really bad about posting lately. I posted a photo of this dish on Instagram & Facebook and had a lot of requests for the recipe, so here we go! I didn't actually measure anything out while I was making this, so this isn't going to be a very "exact" recipe with measurements, etc. I suggest you only make this one if you're comfortable feeling things out in the kitchen. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 box Dreamfield's Penne Pasta
• A handful of freshly shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
• 3ish sun dried tomatoes (in olive oil), thinly sliced
• A bunch of fresh green beans... maybe 4-5 cups? (see, this is really not exact at all)
• 4-5 tbsp. good, unsalted butter
• 2-3 tbsp. good extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• A handful of fresh tarragon leaves
• About 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• Sea salt & freshly grated black pepper

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, snip the ends of your green beans, and wash them in cold water. Add them to the boiling water, and let them boil for about 1-2 mins, or until they are bright green & at your desired done-ness. I like mine very al dente so that they have a nice crunch to them. Set the beans aside.

Bring your water back to a boil, and salt it (I used the same water, but you can switch it out if you want). Cook pasta as it describes on the box.

When you have about 5 minutes left for your pasta to cook: In a large skillet (or a wok pan), melt the butter & add olive oil over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the garlic. Let cook for about 30 seconds, while stirring, then add the green beans. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the sun dried tomatoes. Add a little sea salt.

When the pasta is finished, strain, and add to the pan (or add everything to a big bowl if you can't fit it all in the pan). Mix in Pecorino Romano cheese, lemon juice and tarragon. Salt & pepper to taste.

Voila!

This was, seriously, one of my favorite dishes that I not only have made, but that I've eaten. The flavors worked perfectly, which could've gone either way since it was a complete experiment. I hope these directions do it justice. Enjoy!!

Orecchiette with Browned Butter and Snails

Serves 2-4 (I suggest doubling if you have 4 people with big appetites!)

Last week, my family and I went to North Carolina to unplug for a few days. We stopped by Dean and Deluca (an amazing specialty grocery store), where I picked up a can of gourmet French Wild Burgundy Snails. I also found some delicious looking orecchiette pasta, which seemed like the perfect pairing for the snails.

While in the mountains of North Carolina, I visited the Ashe County cheese shop and picked up some Ashe County butter, which I used in this recipe. On the last day of our vacation, we went to the West Jefferson, NC, farmer’s market - incredible! A very nice couple, Ron and Suzanne Joyner, of Big Horse Creek Farm, were set up at the farmer’s market. They specialize in Antique and Heirloom Apple Trees, but at the market, they had a booth for their fresh produce, and they had 4 different types of garlic. I bought a few bulbs of each kind, and couldn’t wait to get home to Florida to try them all! From other vendors, I also purchased some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, and a few other goodies.

This past weekend was the perfect weekend to experiment in my new kitchen. The day after we returned back to Florida, I spent the entire morning/afternoon chopping, tasting, and experimenting with a bunch of fresh ingredients gathered from our mountain getaway. I made habanero salsa and two different kinds of bruschetta with the juicy, flavorful heirloom tomatoes, but my favorite dish of the weekend was this pasta. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8.8 oz. Orecchiette pasta (or about 1/2 lb.)
• 7.5 oz. can of Wild Burgundy Snails (4 dozen small)
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. Herbs de Provence, ground in mortar & pestle
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I used Persian Star garlic from Big Horse Creek Farm)
• 1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook orecchiette pasta as directed on package.

While pasta is boiling, heat butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until butter has a golden brown color. When butter has desired coloring, add garlic, Herbs de Provence, and snails. Stir to combine, and remove from heat. 

Strain pasta out of boiling water when finished, and add directly to the browned butter saucepan. Immediately add Parmesan cheese and parsley, and stir to combine all ingredients.

Serve in your prettiest bowls, and serve with fresh French bread if desired.

Chipotle Goat Cheese "Caprese-style" Salad

Serves 4

The other night, I had some leftover goat cheese and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from another couple of recipes I will post soon.  I decided to make my own little version of a Caprese salad!  This is such a quick and easy recipe - perfect for a night when you don't have a lot of time to cook, or when you need to take an app to a party, but need more time to get primped and pretty! ;) 

Ingredients:

• 4-5 medium GOOD, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-3/4" slices
• About 2.5 oz. goat cheese, softened
• Can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - use 1 chipotle pepper, deseeded and finely chopped (about 1 tbsp.)
• A few onions from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh dill and sea salt for finishing

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together goat cheese, chipotle pepper, onions, and black pepper (to taste).  Arrange tomatoes on a pretty serving plate.  Scoop a dollop of the chipotle goat cheese mixture onto the middle of each tomato.  Top with sprigs of fresh dill, and sprinkle with desired amount of sea salt. Yum! :)

Arugula Pesto Cream Sauce with Portobello Mushrooms

My mom and dad recently vacationed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While there, my mom had an arugula pasta dish with a cream sauce that she absolutely loved. She thought that I might be able to re-create it if she described it to me, so I whipped up a yummy sauce the other night for her! I used a fresh cavatappi pasta, but it was a little too thick in my opinion. I'd suggest using a penne or fettuccini pasta with this sauce! Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup baby arugula leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 oz. pine nuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 pint regular cream
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 6 oz. Portobello mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place arugula and garlic cloves in a food processor (or blender), pulse a couple of times. Slowly add the olive oil in an even stream, and process until the mixture begins to emulsify, about 30-40 seconds. Add the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Blend for a minute.

In a saucepan, melt the butter on low-medium heat. Add the Portobello mushrooms and sauté until tender. Add the cream and heat over low until it begins to simmer. Strain half of the hot cream into the food processor with the arugula pesto (make sure not to pour the mushrooms in the food processor), and pulse for about 20 seconds. Pour the mixture back into the cream, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the pasta of your choice... fresh pasta is always best! Top your pasta dish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Adapted from a recipe on AllRecipes.com!