Daily Archives: July 22, 2012

Spinach-Cheese Swirls

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These little puffs of spinach and cheese were a complete hit. The swirls were buttery, flakey and full of cheese flavors. The vegetarians and non-veggies were all pretty pleased.

Adapted from Pepperidge Farm

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp. water
  • 1/2 cup Laughing Cow cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
  • All-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets), thawed
  • 1 pkg. (about 10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Stir the Laughing Cow cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, pepper and garlic powder in a medium bowl.

Sprinkle the flour on the work surface.  Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface.  Brush the pastry sheet with the egg mixture.  Top with the cheese mixture and spinach.  Starting at a short side, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into about 40 (1/2-inch) slices.  Place the slices, cut-side down, onto 2 baking sheets.  Brush the slices with the egg mixture. Freeze swirls for 1 hour or refridgerate for 3 hours.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool for 10 minutes.

For best results, make sure to remove as much liquid as you can from the spinach before adding it to the pastry. If it’s too wet, it may make the pastry soggy.

Spicy Linguine with Clams

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We have been talking about linguine and clams for weeks now and finally came to it. Giada’s Spicy Linguine with clams has the nice kick of heat, a touch of lemon and a really nice sauce. The al dente pasta is a nice cushion for the parsley specked, briney, open-faced clams. The salt of the sea was a real taste of summer.  The sea flavored sauce coats the clam shells and pasta well. Really a keeper.

Adapted from Giada de Laurentii

  • 1 pound linguine pasta
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large or 4 small shallots, sliced
  • Kosher salt, for seasoning, plus 2 teaspoons
  • Freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning, plus 1 teaspoon
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup white wine (recommended: Pinot Grigio)
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 12 littleneck clams, cleaned
  • 12 mussels, cleaned

Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the butter and parsley and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Sauce: In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, red pepper flakes, clams and mussels. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook until all the shellfish have opened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Discard any unopened shellfish.

Using tongs, remove the shellfish from the pan and reserve. Season the cooking liquid with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour the shellfish cooking liquid over the pasta and toss well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the reserved shellfish on top of the pasta and serve.

Maggiano’s Little Italy Boston, Back Bay, Boston and Boston Food Bloggers

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While in college, at a few large group birthdays we would head over to Maggiano’s for generous portions, great value and a family style atmosphere. Maggiano’s also as a carry out and delivery option and would be great for catering an event or banquet.

Maggiano’s is a Brinker International owned company, first opened in Chicago. Maggiano’s now has 50 locations throughout the states. The food is made from scratch and the restaurant caters to many tastes and really accommodates allergies and dietary restrictions.

The other day our friend visited a Maggiano’s on the West coast and requested a vegan dish. The chef made a nice vegan salad with an extra complimentary portion. Te patron was so grateful and a happy camper.

The ambiance in Maggiano’s is relaxing and family oriented.  The service was really solid, plates were replaced, an extra setting was added, really seamless. The Boston location opened 13 years ago and features funky art, Italian touches and the red and white checkered table clothes in the large dining room.

We have been long time fans of Maggiano’s bountiful salads.The restaurant maybe perceived as a pasta, veal and chicken oriented place, but they really have good salads. Maggiano’s used to have (or maybe still does have?!) a Roast Chicken and Arugula salad which was a must order. We loved the super tender roast chicken with lightly dressed rocket. Through Boston Food Bloggers and its founder, Rachel of Fork it over, Boston!, a group of of bloggers were invited to dine at Maggiano’s Little Italy Boston. We sampled the Chef’s Summer Grill menu which is available from June 28th until mid to late September. 

The summer menu is fairly light and seasonal, but patrons can still order the other flatbreads, pasta dishes, piccatas and Maggiano’s desserts.

We started with a refreshing glass of Maggiano’s Italian Sangria and sampled the heirloom tomato and shrimp flatbread which had rocket, shrimp, hierloom tomatoes and cheese ($12). The flat bread was light and full of fresh ingredients, but needed a little more something. Maybe more citrus?The Grilled Chicken and sausage spiedini was our next dish we tried. The chicken, sausage and crispy red potatoes, roasted red peppers and herb vinaigrette was very attractively presented. In fact, the recipe is available on the Maggiano’s Chef’s Table blog.

We loved the crispy red potatoes, really well done and would love a whole side dish. Even when dessert was on its way, I popped in another bite of the perfect combination of a well seasoned, super tender potato and crispy exterior. Incidentally, there is a side of crispy red potatoes roasted with herbs then fried, served with garlic butter, rosemary, parsley and basil on the menu. Get them.

The General Manager, Jeffrey Trysbiak walked us through the summer menu and reiterated that Maggiano’s really caters to folks with any allllergies and dietary restrictions. We believe it. He  brought out a vegetarian option for the several vegetarian bloggers. The bow tie pasta with fresh marinara and well cooked vegetables was colorful.Our favorite dish of the evening was the grilled mahi mahi with carbonara orzotto ($23). The grilled mahi mahi was flakey, tender and topped with roasted pepper almond pesto, sugar snap peas and a side of carbonara orzotto. The orzotto was delicious and loved the almond pesto flavor. We would definitely suggest this dish.

Definitely check out our table mates over at Fork it over, Boston!, The Boston Foodie, Grumpy When Hungry, NU Student Life and Foodies at Work for their forth coming reviews. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting with other bloggers about their “day job” careers, new favorite restaurants and food trucks, views on Yelp and what’s going on at Northeastern.

Another glass of refreshing sangria to clean the palate? Sure why not!

The fresh strawberry pie was really unique. The strawberry pie had a buttery shortbread crust, light marscapone cheese, airy whip cream, slices of red strawberries and slivers of almonds. The harmony between all the components was zen. Loved it. We would come back for this alone and hope it is added to the permanent menu.  The New York Style Strawberry cheesecake, with Ricotta and a thick graham cracker crust,  topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The cheesecake was generous in size, luscious and very good ($7.50).

Disclaimer: Our menu tasting and gift certificate was complimentary of Maggiano’s through Boston Food Bloggers. All our opinions and reviews expressed are our own.