Blog Archives
Lots of Cooking going on
CCC is going to be taking a vacation from politics for a bit. Right now, I am slightly burned out politically and need to recharge my batteries. So, I am going to focus on something that I do quite well…cooking. Yes, I love to cook and bake. It is something that gives me great relaxation at the end of the day besides training for the half marathon I plan to run in September or October (going back and forth between the Baltimore Running Festival Half and the Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half). Tonight, I decided to fix a feast of sorts. I started with fixing Blackberry Crisp, which was tonight’s dessert, then I worked on a dish with yellow and red bell peppers that would accompany the bratwursts that I had for dinner. This was the perfect summer meal. Of course, the details are on Charm Offensive Cooking, my cooking site, and there is no doubt that you might find something you like out of this menu.
Blackberry Crisp
2 C. Fresh Blackberries
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 C. quick-cooking oats
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. flour
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1/4 C. cold butter
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375o. In a greased 8 X 8 pan, add blackberries. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, water, lemon juice, and sugar until smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture over blackberries.
Step 2: In another bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, then cut in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Step 3: Place oat mixture over the blackberries, then bake for 20-25 minutes. After this, serve over vanilla ice cream or with freshly whipped cream.
What's Cooking in CCC's Kitchen?
How does Crushed Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies sound?
Stop by Charm Offensive Cooking for the recipe.
Cooking with CCC: Caprese Pasta
Last night, I decided to put my creativity to good use and created a dish that is out of this world. Caprese Pasta is a dish that uses Wegman’s White Wine and Italian Sausage Tortellini (you can use cheese tortellini, penne, or farfalle pasta), mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, basil, and garnished with fresh mozzarella. It is quite simple, and takes less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
1 package of Wegman’s White Wine and Italian Sausage Tortellini
Cook according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
In a skillet, melt 2 tbsp. butter or margarine, along with a teaspoon of minced garlic. After butter is melted, add the package of mushrooms (I prefer the Mushroom Medley, which you can pick up at Whole Foods or Wegman’s) making sure the butter/garlic mixture coats the mushrooms. Then, add the chopped sun dried tomatoes (use the ones packed in olive oil, as they are easier to cut and often have more flavor) and 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil. Stir ingredients until mushrooms reduce in size. After mushrooms are cooked down and tender, add to tortellini and toss. Then, add more fresh basil and chopped fresh mozzarella.
Voila! Dinner is served and it is best served with a nice glass of Shiraz (looking for a good Shiraz, check out my review on Purple Moon Shiraz from last week) or Cabernet Sauvignon.
