Time: only 10 minutes to prepare plus 5 minutes to make the whipped cream; chill for 50 minutes or longer.

Serves: 10 very small espresso cups or 6 larger servings per above picture.

Inspired By: This is a Rachel Ray recipe. I was watching a show once that had her on at the end and she whipped these up in less than 5 minutes. I love easy so I had to try it. She calls these “Chocolate Cups with Whipped Cream”. I think they are very chocolate mouse-like although perhaps a bit denser/richer. One of these days I’m going to try this with white chocolate or even butterscotch chips – I’d probably use a bit of amaretto when I do that.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semi sweet chips
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons booze; amaretto, Kahlua, dark rum, hazelnut liqueur or whatever sounds good – I prefer Kahlua
• 2/3 cup boiling milk
• Whipping cream (plus a little sugar and vanilla to add in when whipping it)
• Four mint leaves

Preparation:

• Put your milk in a small pan on the stovetop and heat to a boil.
• Put first five ingredients into a blender. Blend well – about 1 minute. Then stream in the boiling milk and blend until smooth – about 1 minute. The hot milk will cook the egg.
• Pour into cappuccino or espresso cups and refrigerate for 50 minutes (or more – you can make these hours ahead, or even a day ahead).
• Whip the cream with some sugar and vanilla (usually only 2-3 minutes).
• Chill for 50 minutes. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and mint sprig.

Notes: These are very rich so I think they are even better with strawberries. Dip the strawberries into the chocolate – yum!!

Wine Suggestions: I would skip the wine – these are so rich, but I’ll add the same notes here I included with the chewy cherry brownies. I often hear people say they like red wine and chocolate. I can see how this might work in some unique cases of overripe, almost sweet wines, but I prefer my wine to be a bit sweeter than my dessert. I think a late harvest zinfandel or a tawny port could be awesome with chocolate, and fortified fruity wines like Banyules and Ruby Ports typically have cocoa or chocolate in the nose, as well as other berry fruits like cherry and raspberry and are classic companions to chocolate.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: As many as you’d like

Inspired by: I grew up with an Armenian grandmother who always made me pasta with butter and muenster cheese. It was soooooo yum! I love those memories of her feeding me the yummiest of foods. I’ve continued to make various versions of pasta with cheese and butter ever since. It’s really one of the few things I could make before I decided to learn to cook 10 years ago! Now I’ve begun using olive oil much more often than butter, and I love adding other fresh flavors, such as lemon and parsley, to many things. This has become one of my favorite pasta dishes now when I don’t have much time to cook or get to the store. Even though I keep very little food in the house, I almost always have these ingredients. I usually prefer fresh pasta, but like most days, today the fridge is virtually empty so I’m using some dried Fetuccini.

Ingredients:

• Pasta of your choice – any shape or size – my preference is usually a wide noodle
• Olive oil – a high quality fruity flavored extra virgin olive oil is best
• Grated asiago cheese (or other hard salty cheese such as parmesan)
• Chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Fresh lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 1 can of garbanzo beans (optional) – this is my favorite protein souce to add to this pasta that I always keep on hand as well

Preparation: Boil water with a bit of salt for flavor. Add the pasta and a bit of olive oil so it doesn’t stick together. Cook according to instructions and drain in collander. While draining, heat garbanzo beans if you plan to include them. Toss pasta in a bowl with some olive oil, fresh lemon juice, grated cheese, chopped parsley and optional garbanzos.

Notes: I’m not really sure this should be classified as “moderately healthy”, but in the pasta world, this does use some very healthy ingredients. It’s of course best to keep your pasta serving light and to go easier on the cheese and heavier on the parsley! There are some pretty decent quinoa pastas these days and I use them often.

Wine Suggestions: If you use a lot of lemon, a high-acid wine with some lemony flavors such as a White Burgundy is a perfect pairing.

Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2

Inspired by: The first time I had scallops cooked perfectly, they became a favorite food! Unfortunately many restaurants don’t cook them hot enough and then overcook them so they don’t get that yummy glaze and can be rubbery. I’ve also found that they are phenomenal without very little seasoning – just a bit of salt and pepper. This is about as easy as it gets… The photo above shows them served with a spinach salad with mango vinaigrette.

• 3/4 of a pound of wild scallops – ideally fresh but if they’ve been frozen they are almost just as good
• 1 cup of spinach leaves or other greens (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan on high heat. Once it is very hot, add the scallops. If they are medium to large – cook them 1.5 – 2 minutes on each side. They should get nice and browned (that’s from the very hot pan) quickly. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste and use tongs to serve on a bed of greens or with your favorite salad.

Wine Suggestions: I love scallops with a crisp, high-acid wine with a lot of minerality.The Albariño that we had them with tonight (photo below) was beautiful (2008 Bodega Fundada Rias Baixas). A Chablis or White Burgundy with no or light oak would be beautiful as well. Some love a creamy, buttery chardonnay to match the creaminess of the scallops. The photo above shows them served with a spinach salad with mango vinaigrette, and because of the texture of the scallops and sweetness of the salad dressing, the pairing with this viscous, minerally and fruity Condrieu was perfect!

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Inspired by: I’ve had overcooked broccoli covered in fake cheese and as gross as it was, I knew that it would be awesome if it was cooked perfectly and sprinkled with a really nice hard salty cheese. I’ve since found that pan-frying gives it an extra depth of flavor when you can brown the veggies a bit. I love this – this past winter it has been one of my favorites to make with scallops or any other fish.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 cups of broccoli crowns cut into small pieces
• 3-4 cups of cauliflower crowns cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup parmesan or asiago (or other hard salty cheese) finely grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to large sauté pan on medium-high heat.
• Add cauliflower and cook for about 5 minutes – edges should start browning.
• Add broccoli and another tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper – toss well and cook for another 7-8 minutes or until as cooked as you’d like – I prefer the edges browned and almost a bit charred but the veggies not too soft.
• Put into a bowl, toss with the cheese and serve.

Notes: I love this with just about anything, but it’s really nice having hearty, hot vegetables in winter and I especially love this dish with seared scallops.

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4-6 as a main dish for dinner

Inspired by: Rachael Ray. I don’t watch much TV so I miss a lot of the great cooking shows – although I may want to start watching more of them. Caught some snippets once of Rachael Ray making this a couple of years ago and tried it and loved it and everyone else seems to love it too. This may not be her exact recipe, but it’s very close.

Ingredients:

• Two packages of fresh ravioli (I like “The Pasta Shop” Porcini & Truffle or Butternut Squash or Sweet Onion and Red Chard or any of those fancy, fun fresh raviolis). The size and shape do not matter. The packages I buy say that they serve 2-4 people.
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons salted butter

Preparation:

• Heat a large pot of water for cooking the ravioli. Add some olive oil so the raviolis don’t stick to each other.
• In a large sauté pan, on medium to medium-low heat, drop in 2-3 tablespoons of very cold butter and let it melt and brown.
• While you are waiting, it’s a good time to wash, destem and chop your parsley and grate your cheese.
• When the water boils, cook your ravioli according to instructions (usually about 6-7 minutes). Stir now and then so they don’t stick to each other. Drain in a colander when done.
• Put the ravioli in the pan with the browned butter, turn up the heat to medium high and toss in the butter.
• Add the balsamic – it will sizzle. Toss the ravioli in the butter and balsamic and watch it begin to caramelize. If you want your raviolis to get a bit crispy you can turn up the heat even more – just toss them often so they don’t burn. This process takes about 5 minutes or so.
• In a separate bowl, toss the ravioli with the parsley and Parmesan and serve.

Notes: Using fresh ravioli with a yummy filling is key, but the browned butter and caramelized balsamic is also what makes these awesome. For parties, you can let these cool to room temperature and then line them up on a plate and serve with large toothpicks or skewers. They are good hot, warm, room temperature, and even cold out of the refrigerator the next day (if they last that long!).

Wine Suggestions: I like these with a high-acid, crisp white wine such as a Chablis, White Burgundy or Gruner Veltliner. But if I do them with a Porcini filling, then a yummy Red Burgundy is fabulous!

Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: As many as you’d like

Inspired by: Eating at Madison & Fifth with my good friend Jeanette. We LOVE the pasta/mushroom dish there – it’s much more decadent than what I make because it has truffle oil and butter – but that dish really just reminds me that I love fresh pasta with any kind of sautéed or grilled mushrooms on top! This is about the easiest dish to prepare – no recipe required really – but I’m posting this as a reminder to myself to make this now and then.

Ingredients:

• Fresh pasta – I prefer Pappardelle or any thin, wide fresh pasta noodle
• Approximately 3/4 of a cup chopped mushrooms per serving – I think all mushrooms rock – these are cremini in the photo but I’ve used all kinds and often many kinds all together (grilled Portabellas are another favorite)
• Butter or olive oil
• Fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh minced garlic (optional)
• Fresh parsley chopped (optional)

Preparation: Wash, slice and sauté mushrooms in butter or olive oil  – add salt and pepper to taste. I think salt is the key to bringing out the flavors of the mushrooms. Mushrooms are also best when not overcooked – keep them firm and juicy – probably about 5-8 minutes on a medium heat for cremini’s – this varies quite a bit per type of mushroom. If you love garlic, add some minced garlic a few minutes before the mushrooms are finished cooking. When the mushrooms are just about finished, take them off the heat. Cook the pasta according to instructions, usually about 2 minutes. Drain pasta and immediately toss in olive oil, a bit of lemon juice and a bit of salt and pepper. Add some chopped parsley if you like. Pour the mushrooms and their cooking juices over the top and toss lightly.

Notes: I recently made my favorite grilled vegetable lasagna and had a couple of packages of fresh lasagna sheets left over so I cut them into 3/4″ strips and they were awesome as pasta noodles. The fresher the pasta, the more easily the noodles stick to each other so add some olive oil to your cooking water, stir pasta immediately after dropping into the water, and add some salt for flavor. Continue stiring a bit to keep the noodles separated while cooking. After draining, toss immediately with olive oil to keep noodles separated.

Wine Suggestions: I love an earthy Red Burgundy with anything mushroom! My next choice would be a high-acid white to cut through the butter such as a Chablis or White Burgundy. Because this is buttery, many people would also love a rich, buttery and creamy California Chardonnay.