Colette's Cucina: 2010

Saturday, January 16, 2010

First Class Fun!

The Thursday night class was more fun than even I expected. I have to thank my first students- Janae, Rich, Malena, Lauren, Verna and Roger for making it a great experience for me. We had a lot of fun, laughs and food. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did and that the drive in the fog was worth it.

We focused on fast, easy and delicious semi-homemade recipes. We made all of the recipes with the exception of the tortellini recipe with rotisserie chicken. I have had several requests for the recipes, so I posted them to the blog. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I still have some openings for the class next Saturday, January 23rd. The class will start at 2:00 and it takes about 2 hours to demonstrate the recipes. Let me know if you would like to attend.

Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 pounds of chicken (you can use whole chicken, parts, even rotisserie and canned work well)

1 can of diced green chilies
1 large can of green enchilada sauce (Las Palmas Medium is my favorite)
1 medium chopped onion
1 t garlic pepper
2 t cumin
2 t chili powder
6 cups of water
To taste - chicken bullion granules (Wyler's works best)

If using raw chicken, boil chicken in the water with the onion. When chicken is done, remove the chicken and shred.

After the chicken has been removed from the pot, add the enchilada sauce and spices. Add chicken bullion to taste (you may use a lot of bullion) Add the shredded chicken back to the soup and serve.

Have the following prepared for everyone to add to their soup as desired:
sliced green onions
diced tomatoes
chopped cilantro
diced avocados or guacamole
lime wedges to squeeze
tortilla chips
grated colby-jack cheese
sour cream

Easy Chicken Quiche

Preheat oven to 375.

2 frozen pie shells
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
Reserve for later.

1 1/2 cups diced rotisserie chicken
4 strips of crispy diced *bacon
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
Baby spinach
2 T olive oil
1 T chopped garlic

Saute the mushrooms, garlic and onions in the olive oil until they are soft. Add two large handfuls of the spinach and saute until the spinach has wilted. Add the chicken and the bacon and saute for two minutes so the chicken will absorb the flavors.

6 Large eggs
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Whip the eggs and cream together. Add the spices and whisk until well incorporated.

Fill the pie shells with the chicken mixture. Carefully pour egg mixture into pie shells. Leave 1/2 inch from the top. Top the pies with the cheese. Place pies on cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.

*Bacon tip! The best way I have ever found to make bacon is to bake it. The strips don't curl up and you don't get splattered. Here's how you do it:

Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with foil and lay out the bacon strips on the foil. The strips should not touch. Bake the bacon for about 20 minutes or until you get the crispiness you desire.

The foil makes clean up super easy. Just set the cookie sheet aside for the bacon grease to cool. Fold up the foil and throw it away.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

2 cups of diced rotisserie chicken
2 T olive oil
1 to 2 T of chopped garlic
To taste - Seasoning salt and Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 jar of Alfredo Sauce (I like Newman's Own the best)
2 heaping T of Costco's Pesto Sauce
1 lb penne pasta

Diced tomatoes, fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, shredded parmasean cheese and toasted pine nuts for garnish.

Start a large pot of water to boil. Don't forget to salt the water. Add the pasta once the water is boiling. Cook according to the package directions while making the sauce.

Saute the chopped garlic for about a minute in the olive oil. Add the chicken and season. Saute for a couple of minutes so the chicken will absorb the flavors. Once the chicken has heated through and tastes great, add the jar of alfredo sauce and the pesto sauce. Simmer for a minute and taste. Adjust your seasonings or add more pesto if needed.

Add sauce to drained pasts. Garnish and serve.

Tortellini a la Costco

This is a super easy entree that can be made simply by picking up a few things at Costco. I LOVE Costco because they provide such high quality items at great prices.

What to buy in the Costco Deli Section:
1 container of MC Rossi Tomato Mascarpone Cheese Sauce
1 package of fresh cheese tortellini
1 package of Colosimo's Tuscan Red Wine Sausage (If they have it - if not Italian Sausage will work)

What to buy in the refrigerator section:
Baby portabello mushrooms
Baby spinach

Start a large pot of water to boil. Don't forget to salt the water. Add tortellini after the sauce is finished so you don't overcook the pasta.

Remove the sausage casings by making a long slit along the length of the sausage and pulling off the casings. Break up the sausage ast it browns. Add sliced mushrooms and sautee for a couple of minutes then add a couple of large handfuls of the baby spinach. The spinach will wilt. Once that has happened, add the sauce and simmer until the tortellini is ready.

When the tortellini is ready, it will float to the top of the water. Drain and add the sauce. Toss together and garnish with shredded parmasean.

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Saturday, January 16, 2010

First Class Fun!

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Tortilla Soup

Cilantro and Tomatoes for Tortilla Soup

Easy Chicken Quiche

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

Tortellini a la Costco

First Class Members