There are all sorts of places you can get this online, and it costs an arm and a leg. I found it at AJ’s Fine Foods, bought three of them (and they’re still expensive, so beware…but not as expensive as what I found online), and now I have some in the fridge along with “fresh” fettucine in the freezer just in case I want to make this.

I tried this out with my bestie (and editor), Kelly, when she was visiting from New Zealand, and we both gave it our stamp of approval. It’s a bit of a faff, but not much.

And sooooo worth it.

Just to say, this is Ina’s recipe so rather than putting you through dealing with my page, go to direct to the source by CLICKING HERE!

The post Jess and Eric’s Fettucine with Truffle Butter and Mushrooms appeared first on Kristen Ashley.

Case in point, when I wrote Avenging Angels: Back in the Saddle, I did a full-on binge of “Barefoot Contessa.”

And yeah…I put three of Ina Garten’s recipes in the book!

Easiest way to get at this recipe: GO HERE!

I know, I’m being lazy not typing it all down below, but why recreate what was crafted by the master?

Seriously, make this for your family and friends. You’ll thank me!

The post Jess’s Pastitsio appeared first on Kristen Ashley.

I forgot about it until a recent reread of Walk Through Fire. So obviously, I just bought all the ingredients and I’m making it again!

Do yourself a favor…dive in. Thank me later.

Millie’s Beef Strogonoff

• Prep Time

  40

• Serves

  4

Ingredients

• 1 pound Beef Rump Steak (trimmed) OR make it decadent (like I do) - use a big-ass Filet Mignon
• 1 tablespoon Butter
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 punnet Button Mushrooms, small or slice if they're bigger
• 1 pound Pappardelle Pasta
• 3 Shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Flour
• 1 ¼ cup Beef Stock
• 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
• 3 tablespoons Crème Fraîche or Sour Cream
• Salt and Pepper (freshly ground if you can)
• Optional (and I don't do this): Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

How to do it…

1. The recipe I found says "freeze the beef for 45 minutes before you begin, slice as thinly as you can, then season." I have never done this. But I'm gonna try it! But yeah, thinly slice the beef and season with salt and pepper.
2. Start the water to boil the pasta. Salt this water (but don't put any oil in it, just lovely amounts of kosher salt!).
3. In a large frying pan, melt half the butter and half the oil. Increase the heat and quickly sear the beef in batches until browned on both sides. Remove the meat and set aside. Do the same with the mushrooms and set aside with the beef. I don't use paper towel to drain these. I sock them in a bowl, so when I incorporate them with the rest, all the yummy juices mingle with the sauce.
4. If water is boiling, put in the pasta. Set a timer so you can drain this when it's ready. No one wants soggy, gummy noodles!
5. Add remaining butter and oil to the pan and soften the shallots for a few minutes (don't overcook, burned shallots suck). Stir in the flour for one minute, then gradually stir in the stock. Let bubble for five minutes.
6. Stir in mustard, puree, crème fraîche (sour cream) and seasoning (some salt and pepper to taste). Bubble for a minute more, then return the beef and mushrooms into the frying pan with the sauce and toss it all together.
7. Drain the pasta. Toss with half the parsley (if that's your gig).
8. Serve it up with the creamy stroganoff over the noodles (and sprinkle with the rest of the parsley, again, if that's your gig).

Notes

Don't knock yourself out to find crème fraîche if it isn't easy to find it. Yes, it's different from sour cream. It's creamier, smoother, has a higher fat content and a more complex taste that's less sour. It also doesn't tend to curdle easily. However, sour cream in this instance is just fine.

If you're feeling the crème fraîche vibe, but can't find it, you can make crème fraîche by mixing one cup heavy cream and one tablespoon of buttermilk in a glass jar or covered glass bowl and let it sit overnight or for 24 hours at room temperature. Then, voilà! Crème fraîche!

Another note, if you don't like noodles or are gluten free, use gluten-free flour to thicken the sauce and spoon this over rice.

The post Millie’s Beef Strogonoff appeared first on Kristen Ashley.

The cookbook? Skinnytaste Meal Prep

The recipe, Cheeseburger Egg Rolls.

I love these so much, I gave them to Alex in Taking the Leap. They were perfect for her and Rix. I can see it in my head, those two working side by side to chop and brown and roll and eat.

Four things I love so much about these:

1. They can be dinner or an appetizer.
2. They can be frozen, so you can make a double batch, or if there aren’t many people in your household, a single one and have some left over to freeze and enjoy later.
3. You usually have all the ingredients in your kitchen already (I keep egg roll wrappers in the freezer not only for this recipe, but for the buffalo chicken egg rolls from the Dream Bites cookbook).
4.  They’re fucking delicious and the sauce is insane!

There’s a cauliflower polenta in this cookbook that is off the freaking hook. And the Fiesta Quinoa Salad is life. And the freezer marinades are da bomb. In other words, there’s a lot of goodness in this cookbook, I highly recommend it!

But for this…check it out, make it for you, your fams, your friends…and enjoy!

Alex’s Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

• Prep Time

  20

• Cook Time

  7-8

• Serves

  4-6

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil (I use a bit more, this isn't enough to sauté mushrooms in)
• 1 cup White Mushrooms, chopped
• 1 pound Ground Turkey (Skinnytaste recipe says 1 1/4 pound, 93% lean, I just use a package)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 small Onion, chopped (I love food flavored with onion, but a lot of it...no - so I use a half an onion)
• 3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 14 Egg Roll Wrappers
• 5 tablespoons Finely Chopped Pickles, drained on paper towels
• Olive Oil Spray

How to do it…

1. Heat oil in large skillet on medium high. Sauté mushrooms until turning soft. Add turkey and salt. Break it into small pieces while browning. Make sure this is cooked through. Then add onions, garlic and mustard and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until onions soften.
2. Skinnytaste says drain the mean in a colander (and for the egg roll wrappers, you do not want this to be very damp). However, with little oil, and lean meat, I have yet to make this so there's anything to drain. But if there's something to drain, be certain to do that. Then put the meat mixture in a bowl and mix it with the cheese.
3. Now, time to assemble! First, separate your egg roll wrappers. I've made some egg rolls in my time, so I don't do these one at a time and I set up a conveyor belt system. However, if you're new to this, so your wrapper doesn't get too soggy as you're learning, do it one at a time. Have a clean, dry surface and a wee bowl of water ready to dip your fingers in. Have your meat and pickles ready to rumble. Then set the wrapper in front of you, tilted so its diamond shaped. Put a heaping spoonful or a 1/4 cup of the meat on the lower part of the wrapper. Sprinkle chopped pickle on top. Wet your fingers and then wet the edges of the egg roll wrapper. Lift the bottom point of the wrapper over the meat, squish and tuck it in. Be careful, you don't want to rip your wrapper, but just to say, they tend to be sturdy, so if you're cautious, you should be able to squish and tuck without a disaster happening. Then fold the left and right sides toward the center, tucking while rolling until it's a nice little tube o' goodness. Keep going until all the filling is gone.
4. If you're serving now: Spray all the sides of the rolls with oil, rubbing it around so it's fully coated. Cook them in an air fryer at 370-375 degrees, 7-8 minutes, flipping them halfway through until golden and crisp. Serve with ketchup, mustard, mayo, or the insanely good dipping sauce (see below).
5. If you're freezing: Tuck into a Stasher freezer bag (or other). Make sure there isn't a lot of air in there. Seal. When you're ready, cook from frozen like above, except at 320-325 degrees for 12-14 minutes
6. INSANE SAUCE: Combine 1/4 cup (light) mayo, 1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon dill pickle juice in a small bowl. ENJOY!
7. If you don't have an air fryer: Cook in a 400 degree oven, 12-16 minutes fresh, 18-20 minutes frozen, flipping halfway through.

Notes

I eat these for dinner with sautéed haricot vert and feel very healthy and accomplished and chefy and clever. The freezing option is everything, especially when I get involved in writing a book. I can grab a bag of these in the morning, defrost, fry them up in the evening, and ta da! Yummy dinner I made myself!

Another note: these come out of the air fryer piping hot. Give them a good few minutes to cool down before you take a bite. You'll want to crunch in right away. Don't or you won't taste them because you burned the shit out of your mouth!

The post Alex’s Cheeseburger Egg Rolls appeared first on Kristen Ashley.

Most of the time, I want something fast and easy and freaking yummy.

This recipe is the last. So easy, you wonder how you didn’t think of it yourself. So good, you’ll have to stop yourself from making it once a week.

This recipe easily feeds six. If you add a nice southwestern salad and some beans, you could probably feed eight!

Crock-Pot Chicken Enchiladas

• Prep Time

  5/15

• Cook Time

  520

• Serves

  6

Ingredients

• 1 Package of Chicken Breasts (2 count)
• 1 28 oz Can of Red Enchilada Sauce
• 5-6 Corn Tortillas
• 2-4 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1 3.8 oz Can of Sliced Black Olives, drained
• Small Pot Sour Cream (optional)
• Sliced Green Onion (optional)
• Avocado (optional)

How to do it…

1. In the morning, or whenever (count back from when you want to eat 9 hours if you’re going for the cook-on-low option, or 5 hours for the cook-on-high option), put the chicken breasts and the enchilada sauce in the slow-cooker. Cook on low for eight hours, or high for four.
2. When you’re ready to dig in, get in there with two forks and shred the chicken. After the chicken is shredded, add a cup of cheese, half the olives and all the tortillas cut into small triangles or strips (instead, you could conceivably dump in some Fritos or corn chips, or even add drained black beans and some frozen corn, I've tried both and they're good additions!). Stir this around until well blended. Flatten slightly and add the rest of the cheese and olives on top (you can go cheesier, or less cheesy, your choice!).
3. Put the lid back on and cook for another 40 minutes to an hour.
4. Serve up and garnish with sour cream, sliced green onion and sliced avocado, if that’s your jam, and enjoy!

The post Crock-Pot Chicken Enchiladas appeared first on Kristen Ashley.

Right, I’m back.

And now I get to think about fish pie.

Normally, the words “fish pie” would not make me excited. I can’t say I’m a fish type o’ gal. If I can order a steak or a burger at some joint, no way am I getting the sea bass.

Unless it’s lobster. Watch out if there’s lobster on offer. I’d sell a kidney for lobster.

Cod or haddock? No. Whenever I went to a chippy when I lived in England, I got a battered sausage. I’m all about sausage.

Fish…that just isn’t me.

But then I found this. And it has cream and cheese.

Yes…cream and cheese

So obviously I had to make it, fiddle with it and give it to Nina to give to Max in The Gamble!

Note: This recipe is based largely on Jamie Oliver’s “Fantastic Fish Pie” from his book Return of the Naked Chef. You can find the original recipe by Googling it. He uses haddock, adds spinach and parsley but also has a haddock and salmon version with chili powder online.

In other words, there are multiple varieties of this awesomeness, thanks to Mr. Oliver. Check ’em out!

Nina’s Fish Pie

• Prep Time

  40

• Cook Time

  25-30

• Serves

  4-6

Ingredients

• 5-6 Large Potatoes (8-10 Small), peeled and diced
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 Eggs (I can be greedy with eggs so I use 3-4)
• 1 Onion (I use yellow), finely chopped
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• Olive Oil
• 1 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
• 2-3 Cups Sharp Cheddar (if you can find real English Cheddar, use that)
• Lemon Juice, a couple of healthy squirts or the juice of one lemon
• 1 Big-Ass Teaspoon of English Mustard
• 3-4 Salmon Fillets, boned and de-skinned
• 8-10 Uncooked Large Shrimp, deveined with shells off.

How to do it…

1. Preheat oven to 450F/230C
2. Get out a casserole dish. I use a Le Creuset 12” x 9” that’s around 2” deep. You want the fish to be mostly covered in the sauce and have room for your potatoes on top. Not mounds of fish in a shallow pool of sauce and your potatoes fill in the gaps.
3. Now boil your potatoes in salted water. If you’d like, you can add the eggs a couple of minutes into the boiling time so they cook to hard-boiled, which should take 8-10 minutes. If you do the eggs and taters together, be careful when you add the egg to the water, you don’t want it cracking! Gulk.
4. Drain the potatoes and remove the eggs. Run cold water over the eggs so you can handle them and then peel and quarter them. You’ll come back to the eggs, but mash your potatoes using some salt and pepper and olive oil, milk or cream (however you do your mash) to flavor.
5. Right! That’s done, onward to the sauce. Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the bottom of a skillet and fry the onion and carrot for a few minutes, until they begin softening. Don’t do this too fast, you don’t want them to burn. Add the double cream and bring it nearly to boil. Take it off the heat and throw in the cheese, lemon and mustard.
6. Grab your casserole dish and put in the fillets and sprinkle the shrimp and egg quarters around. Pour the cream sauce on top. Spread your mashed potatoes on top of the fish and sauce.
7. I put this on a baking sheet in case the sauce bubbles up and around seeing as I don’t want that baked-on-burnt-on gunk at the bottom of my oven. Slide your dish on its tray into the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes (the potatoes and bubbly sauce should just start to brown). Take it out, let it settle for a few minutes, dish it up and gobble it down! If you and your family/guests are hungry, like seriously hungry, this serves four. But you could push it to six with some yummy veg and bread served with.

Notes

Note: Don’t use cooked shrimp. The shrimp will get rubbery and gross if it’s cooked then baked again. Don’t worry about it or the salmon cooking. It’ll start doing this just by pouring the sauce over it. But the baking will take care of the rest.

The post Nina’s Fish Pie appeared first on Kristen Ashley.