Grandma's Kitchen Table

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Apple and Dark Chocolate Wonton Parcels

      My fifty-eighth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Apple and Dark Chocolate Wonton Parcels, Chaya's choice for the group, and is found online here. 

      The ingredient list:  apples, dark chocolate, butter, wonton wrappers, and confectioner's sugar. 

      There aren't that many ingredients in this recipe, and the instructions are simple enough for assembly, it all bakes for a little more than 10 minutes, and gets dusted with some powdered sugar to make it look irresistible.  I did have to adjust the amount of apple and chocolate in the recipes to accommodate the small wonton wrappers. (Are there different sizes of wonton wrappers? If so, I had the small ones and the ingredients didn't all fit nicely in there with room to seal the edges, so I took out half of each of the ingredients in each one.) 

      Easy, fun, and the guys tend to like anything with chocolate so this was no exception.  I did make one with butterscotch chips as I thought that would go nicely with the apple and it did taste lovely (you all didn't think I was going to eat that chocolate version did you?). In the photo, the one with butterscotch is on the left and a chocolate one is on the right. 

      Would I make these again?  Probably not as I have many other dessert type recipes I would like to try before repeating this, this one had a weird texture due to the wonton wrappers that probably aren't really meant to be used a stand-in for a pastry dough,  but it was okay and nice to have made it this once.  Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post is here.  Margaret's post is here.  Chaya's post is here.  Next week is Gaye's choice, Thai Pork with Noodles, found in Donna Hay's Modern Classics I cookbook on page 134.  Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Pasta with Mushrooms

      My fifty-seventh recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Pasta with Mushrooms, Margaret's choice for the group, and is found in Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry on page 22. 

      The ingredient list:  butter, red pepper, mushrooms, vegetable stock, cream, lemon juice, linguine, parmesan cheese, basil, salt, and pepper. 

      This photo really doesn't do this recipe justice.  It's hard for me to photo pasta and mushrooms for some reason, so just take my word for it that this photo doesn't look nearly as appetizing as the flavors of this dish were...this was delightfully creamy and full of mushroom and basil flavor with a little kick from the peppers. 

      We are a pasta-eating family and this recipe will make a reappearance soon as the guys really liked the flavor combination, as did I, and I also loved the ease of preparation on a busy week night. 

      Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post is here.  Margaret's post is here.  Chaya's post is here.  Next week is Chaya's choice, Apple and Dark Chocolate Wonton Parcels, found online here. Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Chicken Spaghetti Salad

      My fifty-sixth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Chicken Spaghetti Salad, my choice for the group, and is found in Modern Classics I on page 57. 

      The ingredient list:  spaghetti, olive oil, chicken breasts, spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, and the dressing is eggs, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper. 

      This makes a great lunch, I could eat this once a week, I do believe, and not tire easily of it.  The dressing is light and mustardy with a little tang from the lemon juice and it pairs so great with the chicken, tomatoes, and spinach.  Definitely a hit here...Matt and I ate it twice in one week. 

      It's great having Matt home from college for the summer as he is so appreciative of anything I wish to cook/bake for him.  This year for the first time he is trying to watch his weight (swimmers eat a lot but they usually eat a lot of healthy food actually) so this salad was a perfect lunch for both of us.  Definitely will be making numerous reappearances over the summer. 

      Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post is here.  Margaret's post is here.  Chaya's post is here.  Next week is Margaret's choice, Pasta with Mushrooms (page 22) found in Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry.  Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Bacon and Egg Pies

      My fifty-fifth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Bacon and Egg Pies, Gaye's choice for the group, and is found in Modern Classics I on page 158. 

      The ingredient list:  puff pastry, bacon, grated cheddar cheese, wholegrain mustard, and eggs.

      This was a fun recipe, not at all complicated as you just line the little pie tin with the puff pastry dough, spread on the mustard, sprinkle in the cheese and bacon (which you do need to precook), and crack in the eggs (I just used one as this was a large enough portion already). 

      After it is all assembled it bakes in the oven and comes out looking as it does in the photo, all ready for a nice Sunday breakfast.  I would definitely make this again as it was a delicious play on bacon and eggs for breakfast. 

      Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post is here.  Margaret's post is here.  Next week is my choice, Chicken Spaghetti Salad (page 57) found in Modern Classics I.  Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Rigatoni with Peas, Asparagus, and Ricotta

      My fifty-fourth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Rigatoni with Peas, Asparagus, and Ricotta, Chaya's choice for the group, and is found in Modern Classics I on page 130. 

      The ingredient list:  rigatoni, asparagus, chicken stock, peas, ricotta, mint, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

      Pasta dishes are always a hit with the guys.  Peas not so much.  Mint in savory dishes, not so much.  But in the spirit of being a team player, Mark enthusiastically ate his portion of this recipe and declared it good and said that the peas "aren't that bad."  Enough said.  I thought it was a delightful recipe and loved it, smashed peas, whole peas, and all!

      Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post is here.  Chaya's post is here.  Next week is Gaye's choice, Bacon and Egg Pies (page 158) found in Modern Classics I. Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Arancini Balls

      My fifty-third recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Arancini Balls, Margaret's choice for the group, and is found in Modern Classics I on page 144. 

      The ingredient list:  one quantity of Lemon and Parmesan Risotto (page 140 in Modern Classics I), mozzarella, and oil for frying.  We made the risotto so that we could use the leftovers for the Arancini Balls. 

      Not normally a fan of fried things (I usually have the guys score fried food on the street rather than me cook it here), I wasn't originally going to make these...just make the risotto and call it a day, but then the combination of the rice and cheese and lemon sort of got me interested and I made a few small ones (i.e. not the whole recipe and not the 1/3 cup rice for each ball as specified by the actual recipe).  The small ones worked out nicely (but if I left them in too long they tended to fall apart and the cheese in the middle ooze out, so I pulled them out before that could happen and they aren't as dark in color or crispy all over like I had imagined they would be) and were good (still not a fan of fried food).  One or two of those could be justified once in awhile I would think.  They could be quite dangerously easy to pop one after another into one's mouth while watching ballgames, etc., for instance.  Just saying. 

      Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post on this is here.  Margaret's post on this is here.  Next week is Chaya's choice, Rigatoni with Peas, Asparagus, and Ricotta (page 130) found in Modern Classics I.  Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Lemon and Parmesan Risotto

      My fifty-second recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is Lemon and Parmesan Risotto, Margaret's choice for the group, and is found in Modern Classics I on page 140.

      The ingredient list:  butter, olive oil, onion, chicken stock, arborio rice, lemon rind, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. 

      Lemon, Parmigiano Reggiano, rice, onion...this had success written all over it before I even started the risotto process.  I haven't made risotto all that much, once or twice, its reputation for being a finicky dish to prepare has kept me well on the side of "probably not a go-to choice" for frequency.  That said, this recipe was very nice, very straightforward, and produces a lovely and flavorful risotto with a minimum amount of fuss (i.e. I always think standing over something and minding it is a bit fussy).  I served it with lemon shrimp and it was a perfect compliment.  Definitely a repeat. 

      Wonder what the others thought?  Gaye's post on this is here.  Margaret's post is here.  For the next recipe, we are staying with Italian with Margaret's choice, Arancini Balls (page 144) found in Modern Classics I. Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.