My Fathers Daughter - Gwyneth Paltrow

Those close to me know my love for Gwyneth! I personally think she is amazing. Her journey through self discovery has been both public and personal. I am a HUGE fan of her blog, Goop. Gwyneth lives a healthy lifestyle, eating a healthy diet, exercise (with Tracy Anderson) and so on. Watching her father go through pancreatic cancer was another catalyst to her speaking out more about healthy eating.  I loved watching her food journey on Spain on the Road Again, feeling as if I was getting to know her and when she announced her cookbook I was the first person in line to buy it! She has put together a wonderful cookbook with options for vegetarian, vegan, kid-friendly, etc. I seriously just love this woman!

While I like everything in this cookbook here are few highlights from "My Fathers Daughter" and "Spain on the Road Again"

Gwyneth Paltrow's Horchata Recipe

Serves 2
1 cup blanched whole almonds, soaked overnight in 2 cups cold water
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cayenne pepper
2 cinnamon sticks

Put the almonds and their soaking water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.  Strain through a very fine strainer (discard the solids), and pour the almond milk back into the clean blender. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the blender, along with sugar and ground cinnamon; blend well. Pour into two glasses, sprinkle with cayenne, and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

copied from: Spain: A Culinary Road Trip by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow. HarperCollins. 2008.

Gwyneth Paltrow's No-Fry Fries!

• 2 large russet potatoes (2/3 lb each), peeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1. Heat oven to 450°. Cut potatoes in half horizontally; cut each half into 1/3-inch-thick fries and place in a bowl of cold water. Remove from water and dry thoroughly. Toss with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place fries on a cookie sheet. Roast until browned and cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 minutes.

175 calories per serving, 7 g fat (1 g saturated), 27 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein
copied from: My Fathers Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow. HarperCollins. 2010.

I love reading cookbooks...they are my novels! This one is a must buy for the bookshelf!

Here is the link to Amazon: My Fathers Daughter

Madeira and Rosemary Steak

Okay so I seriously love this recipe. Normally on Monday's we do the whole meatless Monday but this Monday I was craving me some meat. I had purchased Madeira wine for another recipe and seriously need to get creative about recipes and food that I use with the Madeira.  So I hope you enjoy, here is my yummy recipe from yesterday.


Madeira and Rosemary Steak

2Tbsp of Butter/Margerine, etc
1 to 2 cups of Madeira
2 fresh springs of Rosemary
1 Tbsp of flour
1/4 cup of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
2 filets or New York strips

Next sear your steaks for about 2 minutes on each side and set aside. 
Place sliced mushrooms in frying pan with 2 Tbsp of butter (I never said this was healthy). Saute up until golden brown, but not too done. Add the Madeira to the mushrooms with the rosemary, salt and pepper. Then add the flour and some milk to make it a little creamy. Whisk to make sure that the flour dissolves. Let simmer on Medium for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the steaks to the sauce and let simmer until desired cooked.


Pull the steak and plate and pour sauce on top!  Seriously so yummy!

Stoplight Pasta

Sometimes only you can really love your own food. I am not sure you will find this pasta with the enthusiasm Jeremy and I found it the other night, but we we're really excited and loved every bite!

STOPLIGHT PASTA

• 1/2 a bag of whole wheat spaghetti - cooked aldente
• 3 spoon fulls of your favorite pesto (I used my mother-in-laws yummy recipe)
• Chopped roasted beets (as many as your heart desires) + read below for roasting beets information
• Few pinches of salt
• Pinch of roasted red peppers (or as much as you desire)
• Roasted Beets: Wrap beets in aluminum foil. I do one big beet per wrap and will combine a few smaller beets. Roast at 450 degrees for at least an hour or more! When the are done peel the skin off and chop up. Don't be afraid to snack on a few.

Mix all together! Now here is the topper...FRY AN EGG over easy and place on top (Jeremy needs two eggs). I am telling you it is seriously delicious!  However, you must like all ingredients to enjoy the wonderfulness. I really wish I could have posted a picture but there is something to be said for having a good camera or hiring a professional to take pictures of food. If you don't, sometimes the lightening doesn't make it look super appetizing.

I hope you all try this and enjoy!!!