Bruschetta

A very simple appetizer that gives a fresh taste. By using the freshest of ingredients for any dish, gives the food a better appeal and taste. This is very easy to prep and make becuase of the connivence of ingredients to a normal kitchen. This recipe gives about four servings.
Ingredients:

• 12 slices of Italian bread
• 2 large cloves garlic, cracked away from skin
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 3 small plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 20 fresh basil leaves
• coarse salt

Steps:

1. preheat the broiler to high 
2. place the slices of Italian bread on a tray and into the broiler
3. make sure that there are black char lines on both sides for presentation
4. rub each piece of bread with garlic
5. drizzle the olive oil onto the sliced bread
6. place the chopped tomatoes in a bowl
7. stack all the basil leaves on top of each other, then roll to form a log
8. thinly cut the basil into green bits and spread among the tomatoes in the bowl
9. drizzle a little bit of oil and a little bit of salt
10. gently toss everything in the bowl to get a nice mix
11. scoop some of the mix and neatly place on toast

I love to eat bruschetta becuase of the fresh tomatoes and olive oil. When I am not eating mozzarella with tomatoes, I'm eating bruschetta at family parties. Its a very easy party pleaser and is with great ease to make more if need be. I hope everyone else can enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

Steak Salad

Extremely easy recipe to follow with minimal ingredients. Almost all ingredients can be found in any household except for the endive. But with meals such as steak that leave people full, this is a good use of the leftover meat that can be used productively for the next day. A delicious but healthy meal that gives you the daily greens and beef.
Ingredients:

• 4-6 oz leftover steak cut thin
• 1small to medium romaine lettuce halved and leaves separated
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small endive separated
• 1/4 medium red onion thinly cut 
• salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. In a salad bowl place the romaine lettuce, endive and red onion
2. In a glass small bowl or measuring cup ad the vinegar, mustard and olive oil
3. Whisk all together until mixed thoroughly. Drizzle mixture over greens and mix until all is coated.
4. Add thinly cut steak to salad adding salt and pepper if necessary 

I like to eat this during the summer, the next day after a bbq usually because there is always leftover meat from the day before that can be used. But instead of just reheating the steak, it is incorporated into a healthy salad. I love this becuase it adds variety to life if you need something to spice it up.

Pasta Primavera

A simple and delicious pasta dish. This dish gives the best sides to being healthy, hardy, and delicious. Also the skills needed to prep and create this dish is very minimal becuase there are no complex ingredients or cook style. Many of the ingredients can be found in a normally stocked kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. pancetta or bacon coarsely chopped
• half of red onion sliced thin
• 1/4 cup of frozen peas
• 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms (button mushroom/ any)
• 1 medium zucchini, halved length wise then sliced 1/4 in. thick
•  1 lb. of rigatone pasta
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter or 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste 

Steps:

1. in a large skillet saute pancetta or bacon until halfway cooked
2. add mushrooms
3. continue to saute for 5 min.
4. add zucchini and onion
5. simmer until zucchini and onion are soft 
6. warm 4 quarts of water to boil, then add salt
7. cook 1 lb. of rigatone 
8. lower heat in skillet add in frozen peas and cover
9. when the pasta is cooked add 1/4 to 1/2 cups to saute skillet 
10. add butter or cream
11. increase heat slightly
12. mix butter or cream throughly in the skillet to coat the ingredients
13. add pasta and sprinkle cheese

I always enjoy when my dad makes this dish for my entire family becuase there are so many parts of the dish that everybody likes in the family. It may seem cooking this dish is a hard task, but it just requires effort. There is a abundance of flavors also going on, and the bacon or pancetta flavor that is given off makes a tasty dish, becuase so many people love bacon.

Pressure Cooker Corned Beef

This St. Patrick's day meal can feed up to six servings. Choosing the right recipe to make corned beef is so key, and using the corned beef with less salt will give a bigger room to fix what one might like more of in the recipe.
Ingredients: 

• 3 lb. flat cut corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 6 medium red potatoes, quartered
• 3 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 small cabbage, cut into wedges

Steps:

1.  rinse the corned beef under cold water to remove excess salt and gel
2. put the seasoning packet, beef broth, onion, and garlic into the pressure cooking pot
3. put a rack in the pressure cooking pot, then place corned beef on rack
4. lock lid in place
5. select high pressure and set timer for 90 minutes
6. when the beep sounds, turn off the pressure cooker
7. use the natural pressure release for 10 min, when the valve drops carefully remove the lid
8. remove the rack and brisket from the pressure cooking pot
9. cover the corned beef with foil until ready to serve
10. add the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage to the broth in the pressure cooker
11. lock the lid in place, select high pressure and set for 3 minutes
12. when the beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker and do a quick pressure release to release pressure
13. when valve drops, carefully remove lid (make sure the vegetables are to your liking softness) 

I really like corned beef, but my dad makes corned beef only one time out of the whole year. Also, I enjoy my corned beef to no be salty, because I do not want to overpower the taste of the beef and salt with something else just to water the salt down. This recipe gives the great world of meat and potatoes a great new taste. Enjoy.

Macarons

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites 
• 75 g caster sugar
• 125 g ground almonds
• 175 g icing sugar
• 3 food colorings
• 3 fillings
• 3 flavorings

Steps:

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks 
2. whisk the egg whites in a bowl until it forms thick and glossy 
3. add the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff peaks
4. sieve the almonds and icing sugar into the bowl and carefully fold in, while keeping as much air in the mix as possible
5. divide the mix into 3 different bowls with different colors and flavors (ex.- yellow, lemon; blue, blueberry; red, strawberry)
6. line a baking tray with baking paper or silicon matt
7. pipe small circles onto the tray about and inch, leaving a small gap in-between each one
8. let the tray sit aside for 15 min to allow a light skin to form
9. preheat oven to 320 degrees fahrenheit
10. drop the tray onto the counter a small distance to give the bottoms of the macarons the "feet"
11. bake for 15 minutes
12. allow the macarons to sit at room temperature until completely cold
13. get 2 macarons and stick the "feet" side together with some kind of jelly or filling in the middle

A easy to follow recipe that many people will love at parties because they are so small and delicious. There can be a lot of customization when talking about macarons because of all of the flavors and fillings to choose from. Also, they are so light and fluffy because of the whisked egg whites. This recipe can make about four dozen macarons. I like macarons the best because one can give each one a different personality when it comes to color, flavor, and presentation. There is a lot of foods that does not give the person the power to express their creative side, but this recipe embraces that factor. Finally, eat them sooner than later because these macarons only last about two days.

All' Alfredo

This is a great simple Italian dish that my family likes a lot. If done right it takes great because of the freshness of the ingredients. There is a big factor if the dry ingredients are fresh or exposed too long over time, the taste of the spice becomes bland. It is not that hard of a recipe to perform.
Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Steps:

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan or pot
2. put the butter and cream in a large skillet over a medium-high heat and boil, stirring frequently, until the cream has reduced almost by half
3. add the nutmeg, some salt, and a generous amount of black pepper
4. remove from the heat and set aside
5. add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta to the boiling water in the saucepan, stirring well
6. when the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain it and add it to the sauce in the skillet
7. add the fresh cheese to the skillet 
8. toss until the pasta is coated with the sauce, and season with salt and pepper 
9. serve immediately 

The best pasta for this dish is either fettuccine and tagliatelle. This is a quick meal that my dad can make if there is not much other things to cook with. The only killer of this dish is all the heavy cream and butter that is used to make the sauce. It is good to have fattening things sometimes, but not all the time.

Potatoes and String Beans

Real simple and easy to make during Lent, a liturgical time in the Church calendar. I really like this recipe because even though there is no meat in it, this dish is still a hardy meal. This can feed many people especially if you serve with rice, bread, or crackers.
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of string beans (trimmed)
• 4 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into quarters)
• 1 medium onion diced 
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 tbsp crushed basil
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup water

Steps:

1. on a 3 quart sauce pan heat olive oil and saute onion until golden
2. blanch string beans and potatoes for 3-6 minutes 
3. drain and add to saute onion 
4. add all other ingredients to sauce pan and simmer until potatoes become tender
5. serve with crunchy bread for dipping

 I have this dish during Fridays of lent because its  a easy and enjoyable meal for my family. The softness of the vegetables is what makes it truly enjoyable to eat with bread. Eating Italian bread with this only made this better, and by letting the bread soak in the juices it makes the bread so delicious. This dish is also great to eat the next day, and doesn't only have be eaten during Lent. Also, this can be great meal for a cold day.