Secret Recipe Club: Dinner and Dessert

First off, an apology. I had my Secret Recipe Club recipes made well ahead of time but then forgot to write my post. Ugghhh. So here I am at 7:41 on Monday morning typing away so I can post and not leave my precious blog an orphan. She's probably scrolling through trying to find out who had her. I am so sorry Paula. 

I was assigned the blog Vintage Kitchen Notes and the author Paula is a beautiful lady who resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check out her About Me Page. Often times I will plan at least one of my meals around my SRC assignment so this time I had pinned a main dish but also a dessert that looked really good. My oldest celebrated her 18th birthday a few weeks ago so I made Paula's wonderful Cinnamon Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies for dessert. We had grandma and grandpa over and enjoyed it with some french Vanilla ice cream. It was a hit. I seriously was like, "how is this all going to fit in this little pan without making a huge mess"..well, it did fit, and I only made a little mess.

Friday night for dinner I made her Fusilli with Sausage, Zucchini and Cheese! That too was a big hit. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the creaminess and flavor. So, because I'm already late in getting this posted, let's get to the recipes. 

Fusilli with Sausage, Zucchini and Cheese

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, halved in four and sliced thinly

1 Tbs olive oil

½ pound (240g) hot Italian sausage, casings removed (or pork chorizo)

1 onion, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup white wine (I used chicken broth)

½ cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 oz. (60g) semi-soft goat cheese, cubed or grated

2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/3 cup gruyere cheese, grated

½ pound fusilli or other dried pasta

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF/180ºC. Grease 3 quart deep casserole.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet, add sausages and cook until beginning to brown.

Add onion, thyme and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and cook until soft and just beginning to brown. 

Add white wine, scrape any browned bits and cook until wine evaporated. Add cream and bring to boil. 

Remove from heat and add goat cheese and 1/3 cup parmesan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain well, and transfer to skillet with sauce.

Mix well and put in prepared casserole. 

Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan and gruyere cheese. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

14 Tbs (scant 1 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 Tbs peanut butter

½ cup salted peanuts

4oz semisweet chocolate, cut into uneven chunks 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 180ºC.

Heat an 8-inch cast iron skillet over low heat for 1 or 2 minutes. 

Add butter, and when it´s half melted, add sugar and mix with a whisk.

Add eggs and mix quickly. 

Remove skillet from the heat. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix carefully, and  then mix in vanilla.

Stir in peanuts, and add mounds of peanut butter and chocolate chunks. 

Mix it just a few times to marble, but not too much or the chocolate will all melt.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until top is dry but center is still somewhat wet.

Remove from the oven. Serve with scoops of cinnamon ice cream. We used vanilla.

I didn't stray too much from the original recipes. I would definitely make these again. I felt like the pasta was completely adaptable to adding different veggies too. I was going to add mushrooms, but forgot.

Thanks Paula for some great recipes and again, I'm so sorry I was late. 

Check out the links below for more great recipes.

With Joy UNquenchable,