Valerie Bertinelli shares recipes from new cookbook 'Indulge' (2024)

Valerie Bertinelli joined "Good Morning America" to demonstrate some tasty new recipes from her cookbook, "Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes to Enjoy and Share."

The Food Network host and bestselling author brought her latest title, which she said serves as "a reminder that indulging can take many shapes and forms," to Times Square Studios and shared the full recipes below for home cooks to recreate in their own kitchens.

"Indulge has a negative connotation that I wanted to strip," she said of the title, "and take back indulge and say, we should be indulging in the joys of our life... Or what if we change our brain and say everything we put into our body is decadent and indulgent."

Kale and Sweet Potato Salad

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

This recipe came to me one day when I was hungry and my body was begging for fuel, not junk food. I needed a meal that would nourish me and rev me up—a forkful of feel-good and energy. I opened the fridge and put together all these great ingredients, and the Dill Pickle Vinaigrette sent it over the top. Indulge!

Ingredients
1 bunch lacinato kale, ribs removed, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 1/2 cups roasted diced sweet potato (from 1 sweet potato)
1 Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apple, diced
1 cup cooked tricolor quinoa

Dill Pickle Vinaigrette
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, grated
1 heaping tablespoon roughly chopped dill
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Toss the kale in a large salad bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Use clean hands to massage the kale for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The kale will soften and turn a deep shiny green.

Add the cabbage, sweet potato, apple, and quinoa to the bowl and toss to combine. Whisk together the dill pickle juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately or refrigerate. The salad will last in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Chicken Breasts with Tomato Prosecco Sauce

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

I have specified using chicken breasts here, but I did that for the sake of variety because so many of my recipes call for thighs. Either is fine. I usually have a bottle of prosecco in the house, and while obviously the bubbles go away as it simmers, that little bit of sparkling wine adds a perky sweetness to the tomato sauce. It works, trust me. Cheers.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, sliced into rings
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup rosé prosecco
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 garlic cloves, grated
Basil leaves, for garnish

Directions
Using a fork, mash the butter and flour together in a small bowl until evenly combined and no white spots of flour are visible. Set aside. This is called beurre manié and will help thicken the sauce similarly to a roux but with a lot less whisking!

Pat the chicken breasts dry. Transfer them to a zip-top bag or place between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken breasts, smooth side down. You may need to work in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Cook until golden brown and crisp, 5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken, if you’re cooking in batches. Feel free to add a bit more olive oil if the pan looks too dry between batches. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked at this point; it will continue to cook later.

Once all the chicken has been removed from the pan, add an additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the shallots and tomatoes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have released most of their juices and the shallots are softened.

Add the prosecco to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the harsh alcohol smell burns off and the liquid reduces slightly.

Add the stock, capers, lemon zest, and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and add the beurre manié, breaking it up into pieces as you add it to the pan. Whisk until it dissolves into the sauce. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Return the chicken to the pan and spoon some of the sauce over it. Cover and cook on low heat just until the chicken is fully cooked, 5 to 10 minutes.

Garnish with basil and serve.

Four-Cheese Baked Ziti

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 35 to 40 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8

Go ahead, indulge in this classic baked pasta dish. I turn to it especially when I’ve got leftover pasta or when I don’t want to go through the effort of making a lasagna but still crave the comfort of all that flavor out of the oven.

Cooking spray
1 pound ziti
2 cups freshly grated provolone piccante (about 8 ounces)
1 cup freshly grated low-moisture mozzarella (about 4 ounces)
1 large egg
15 ounces ricotta
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
2 tablespoons chopped basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 32-ounce jar marinara sauce
2 teaspoons Calabrian chili paste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a 9 Å~ 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the water and cook according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and transfer the pasta to a colander to drain.

Meanwhile, toss the provolone and mozzarella in a medium bowl; set aside until ready to assemble. Whisk the egg in a medium bowl to break up the yolk. Add the ricotta, garlic, spinach, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the bowl with the egg and mix to evenly combine. Set aside.

Transfer the drained pasta back into the pot and add the reserved pasta water, marinara sauce, chili paste, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Toss to evenly coat the noodles in the sauce. To assemble, layer half of the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Dollop half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top the ricotta with half of the mozzarella-provolone blend.

Top the cheese with the remaining pasta. Dollop the remaining ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Top with the remaining cheese blend and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and slightly browned in places. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Thyme and Gruyère Savory Cookies

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

I’m going to warn you now: these fly off the plate. After you make them once, you’ll probably want to double the recipe the next time. They are similar to shortbread but savory instead of sweet, and you can serve them as you would chips. They don’t need a dip or a spread. But no one will complain if you do offer a little sumpin’ sumpin’.

Ingredients
1 large egg
1 cup freshly grated Gruyère (about 4 ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Set aside.

Combine the cheese, flour, thyme, pepper, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the cheese is broken up and incorporated with the flour. Add the butter and pulse until you have pieces smaller than a pea, 10 to 15 pulses. While pulsing, stream in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. After 2 tablespoons, remove the lid and check your dough; it should look like wet sand and hold together when you squeeze it. If it doesn’t, place the lid back on and pulse in the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it a few times, just until it comes together. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out until it’s 1/4 inch thick. Using a 21/2-inch round cutter, cut out the cookies and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gather the dough scraps and lightly knead together. Continue the process of rolling out the dough and cutting cookies until all of the dough is used. Brush the cookies with the egg wash.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden and puffed. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough, always using a cool baking sheet.

Recipes reprinted with permission from Valerie Bertinelli and Harvest Books.

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