Great Sides

A while back, we had a family dinner for Austin, before he left for the Army.  Lauren was in charge of the menu and she chose grilled, marinated chicken breasts, Roasted Garlic Alfredo Tortellini, sautéed asparagus, and her French toast a la mode for dessert...it was amazing!
Most of the stuff was basic (except Lauren's French Toast, which she did), but the Tortellini is a 'keeper'!

ROASTED GARLIC ALFREDO TORTELLINI

Serves 4+

INGREDIENTS

2 heads of roasted garlic (see below, it's simple!)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 cup Heavy Cream, divided
¼ cup, heaping Sour Cream
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese + another ¼-1/2 cup
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 20oz. container of tortellini (refrigerated or frozen - cook according to directions beforehand)
3 Tbsp. of butter
Parsley to garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Roasted Garlic: Just slice off the top ends of the entire garlic head, leaving the root bottom alone.  Place them in a tin foil ‘boat’ then pour about 1 teaspoon of oil over each head. Fold the ends of the tinfoil up over the garlic, making an aluminum foil pouch of sorts. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour exactly.  Let cool until cool enough to handle, or refrigerate if you plan on using it later.
1. In a food processor or blender, combine the 2 heads of roasted garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, & ¼ cup of the heavy cream.  Blend until the garlic is pulverized.  Into the garlic mixture, pour in the remaining ¾ cup heavy cream, heaping ¼ cup sour cream, & ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Blend the mixture for 30-60 seconds until everything is combined. The mixture will be thick & slightly lumpy, which is perfectly normal! Set the sauce aside.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet.  Add your tortellini & toss the pasta around in the melted butter to coat.  Pour the sauce on top of the pasta, & stir gently to combine.  Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring gently occasionally.  The sauce will thicken.
3. Sprinkle on ¼ cup to ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (depending on your taste), stir to combine and remove from the heat.  Pour the tortellini into a serving vessel, & garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired.



Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients

CRUST

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts, lightly roasted in a dry pan (pecans preferred)

1/4 cup butter ( melted)

SWEET POTATO MIXTURE

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes ( can use canned to save time, just drain)

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs ( well beaten)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix thoroughly.

Pour mixture into buttered baking dish (9"X9")and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture.

Bake for 10 additional minutes. Allow to set at least 15 minutes before serving.

I have also been thinking about doing a Prime Rib with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach and Yorkshire Pudding.
I found this recipe and am definitely going to see if it is really the one from the House of Prime Rib...

Creamed Spinach from The House of Prime Rib

Makes 4

Helen Brown’s West Coast Cookbook features this recipe. The recipe is credited to the head chef at Lawry’s Prime Rib in Los Angeles, who opened the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco in the 1940s. Note: The instructions say to make a medium cream sauce with butter, flour and milk. This is a béchamel (bay-shah-MEL) sauce, which is a French white sauce that can be made thin (1 Tbsp. each butter and flour to 1 cup milk), medium (2 Tbsp. each butter and flour to 1 cup milk), or thick (3 Tbsp. each butter and flour to 1 cup milk). You make the sauce by stirring the milk into a roux, which is made by slowly mixing the flour into the softened butter over very low heat.

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh spinach

3-4 strips bacon

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 medium onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Cream Sauce:

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

1 cup whole milk

Directions:

Boil spinach (not too well done). Remove from heat, wash spinach in cold water, and squeeze dry in a dish towel. Grind in a Cuisinart and set aside. Grind bacon and sauté in a skillet. Grind onion and add to bacon with garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté until all moisture is gone.

Make a medium cream sauce with butter, flour and milk (see note above). Add ground spinach, onion, and bacon mixture to the cream sauce and bring to a slow boil.

Remove from heat and serve.



Roasted Veggies Serves 4

4 Potatoes - peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 Sweet Potato - peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 Red Onion - cut into 1/2 in pieces
6 cloves garlic - skins removed, can cut in half if desired
4 Carrots - peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 350°.
Toss above prepared veggies in olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme (fresh herbs can be substituted with dry herbs or Italian Herb Seasoning), lemon zest (1/4 of the lemon) salt and pepper.
Spread veggies on a sheet pan and cook in the oven for approx. 20 min. or until carrots can be easily pierced with a paring knife.

Serve and Enjoy!