A Hearty Pasta Dish

I was craving a hearty pasta. Lately I've been doing many more olive oil-based sauces so it felt like a great chance to change it up and break out the dutch oven. I chose this delicious-sounding dish from Gourmet called Pappardelle with Chicken and Mushroom Ragu.

Sauce...

Plus pasta!

The only change I made was to trade out the rosemary for a bit of oregano and red chili flake because oddly, I hate rosemary. I find the taste too woody and overpowering. I also used regular spaghetti as the pasta because it is what I had, but this ragu would taste good over any sort of pasta, long or short cut. I loved this dish for several reasons:

1. I adore chicken thighs. While fattier than breast, the thigh is tender and really absorbs flavor. These pieces of chicken just melted in my mouth. Just be careful not to fully cook them as you saute.
2. I loved the lightness of the sauce with the chunky tomato. This recipe calls for whole tomatoes to break up with a spoon. I was tempted to just buy diced tomatoes but I was smart to choose the whole. I guess that is what makes it a ragu.
   
3. Wilting in arugula added a nice bite and texture. I don't use greens enough in my cooking.

The recipe makes food for four at least and is super-cheap, so I'd highly recommend this for a potluck or dinner party! Hearty pasta craving satisfied!

One Pasta, Two Ways!

Spring always includes fresh asparagus for me. It's prime season is now and it undoubtedly appears on sale at the grocery store, which makes it impossible to resist. I had a bunch calling to me from the fridge! My favorite way to eat asparagus is roasted, but this evening I needed something more of a main dish. Asparagus in pasta is always delicious. As I usually do, I found a recipe to start with and worked with what I had. The dish I began with Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes by Giada De Laurentiis.

I chose a whole wheat pasta, which I rarely do, because I wanted to make this super-healthy. I had also been planning to use a jar of sun-dried tomatoes that I'd had for too long in place of fresh tomatoes, but last minute I noticed one single tomato that missed out on Salad Wednesday. Finally, I exchanged white wine and lemon juice for chicken stock -it sounded lighter. Lemon and asparagus work perfectly.

I just loved this. The asparagus stayed incredibly crisp and provided a nice mix of texture with the chewy pasta. I found the wheat pasta to be delicious - a bit nutty and with a firm texture. The peas were great too. And how could you make this any more healthy? OK, maybe I should lay off the cheese a bit but hey, its cheese!


Three nights later, in the middle of the week, I was desiring the rest of the whole wheat penne. I often make impromptu pastas, most often with just some olive oil, garlic, and sauteed chicken sausage. I grabbed whatever I had around - half a red onion, the remnants of a bag of baby spinach after Salad Tuesday, a few extra asparagus spears...and figured I'd just saute it all with garlic and toss with the pasta. Along the line, a few other ingredients were added - a splash of red chili flake, some cubed up rotisserie chicken, and goat cheese.

I recalled a recent episode of Giada at Home in which Giada had made a pasta sauce by simply mixing goat cheese with a little of the pasta water. It acts as a bind for a creamy light sauce. So I did this (in about 5 seconds) and tossed it all together. It was utterly delicious, and dare I say, one of the best pastas I've made. The sauce is delicious and I absolutely loved the crisp asparagus with the wilted spinach. As I usually do, I went heavy on the garlic and made sure to season it thoroughly. It is truly all about making each part taste good!


Penne with Asparagus in Lemon Sauce

8 oz whole wheat penne pasta
1 lb. asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tomato, diced
1 cup peas
1/2 cup white wine
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp. basil, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook penne in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add garlic. Saute one minute, then add asparagus. Saute 5 minutes, or until just tender. Add peas, lemon juice, and white wine, then simmer about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and taste for salt and pepper. Simmer 3 more minutes.

Add pasta to the pan along with basil and toss, adding pasta water if more liquid is needed to coat the pasta. Toss with Parmesan cheese and serve. Serves 3-4.


Penne with Asparagus and Goat Cheese Sauce

8 oz whole wheat penne pasta
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large or 2 small clove garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 lb. asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp. red chili flakes
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 cup rotisserie chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (can substitute 1 chicken breast, roasted in the oven or grilled)
salt and pepper
3 oz. goat cheese

Cook penne in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add onion and garlic. Saute three minutes, then add asparagus and red chili flake. Saute 5 minutes, or until just tender. Add spinach and chicken, and toss until spinach is wilted. Taste for salt and pepper.

Place goat cheese in a large boil and add pasta water, a little at a time, stirring to create a sauce. Add water until the sauce is still thick but will coat the pasta. Add pasta and saute to the bowl and toss together. Top with extra goat cheese crumbles or Parmesan cheese. Serves 2.

Salad Tuesdays (and Wednesdays) in Review

Oh friends, I have been remiss in not sharing several weeks worth of our newly established Salad Tuesdays, but no longer. Some meals I just have to share! These are recipes you are going to want to try. I must say that the salads that Ken and I have crafted lately (its a total team effort!) have been some of the best dishes I've ever made! A few weeks ago, I posted the recipe for Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese. Here are the newest:

#1 - Chicken Caesar Salad

No salad effort can go very far without a Caesar in the mix. We used shredded rotisserie chicken, freshly grated Parmesan, and made our own croutons with a baguette. Bake the cubes for 10 minutes at 400, tossed with a little olive oil, pepper, and season salt. We made our own dressing as well using this recipe, including anchovies! The dressing was sour and garlicky, and the homemade croutons really made a difference.





#2 - Italian Chopped Salad

This salad, or a variation on it, is one that is on many restaurant menus in Los Angeles, yet I have rarely seen it in the Boston area. I based this salad recipe on the item of the same name on the menu at Factor's Famous Deli, a Beverly Hills deli that I used to order lunch delivery from when I worked in the area. Romaine lettuce was tossed with diced turkey, diced salami, tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, green olives, and Gorgonzola cheese. Usually this salad contains mozzarella cheese but I had Gorgonzola left over and I felt it would be much more flavorful. I was right. I made a really simple dressing of red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Delicious.



#3 - Cobb Salad

Who doesn't love Cobb Salad? I certainly do, but I never eat it anymore. Years of reading about food and diet has taught me well that most restaurant Cobb salad's are incredibly high in fat and calories. "A heart attack in a salad," one might say. We tried to lighten it up by using turkey bacon, grilled chicken, a vinaigrette dressing, and not too much cheese. I used this recipe mostly for the dressing but it's basically the same salad we made. I just love the combo of salty bacon, creamy avocado, and tangy cheese.





Salad Tuesdays have truly become one of my favorite nights of the week. Do you have a good salad recipe? Let's share! I can't wait for summer so I have access to farmer's markets for fruits and vegetables. What's your favorite salad?

Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese

Some nights, everything just goes exactly right. The rain has subsided, and my window panes are dry! We're now looking forward to 4 or 5 days of sunshine and 60's! I think some of the beautiful weather found its way into my food tonight. Ken and I have instituted Salad Tuesdays. It's very exciting! We're three weeks in and tonight I hit the jackpot with my own creation.

I took inspiration from a very traditional spinach salad (bacon, hard boiled eggs) and this more complex spinach salad with sweet potatoes. This sounded like something I could combine with fabulous results. Fabulous it was! The flavors melded perfectly - the sweet and salty mix of the potato and the bacon was delicious. The dressing was perfect too and I'm really excited to have found this easy to make balsamic dressing. Try this salad. I promise you will love it.

Three main ingredients - spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, and bacon

Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese
Serves 3-4

2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
1 red onion, sliced into 1/2 inch thick half moons
6 slices turkey bacon
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
olive oil
1 lb. baby spinach
Balsamic Citrus Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 425. Toss sweet potatoes and onions with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until vegetables are brown on the edges.

While the vegetables roast, brown the turkey bacon in a skillet until crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Let vegetables cool slightly before mixing the salad. Toss spinach, sweet potatoes and onions, turkey bacon, and goat cheese crumbles with a few tablespoons of the dressing.

Balsamic Citrus Dressing
Makes a lot - keep it in a sealed jar or plastic cup for other uses
Adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a seal-able jar or plastic bowl with a lid, seal, and shake to combine!

This salad has great colors.

Beef and Barley Stew

What else is there to do but cook when you're stuck at home monitoring the steady flow of rainwater through your windows? I needed comfort food, badly. My first thought was - beef stew.


Check out my beef and barley stew! I started with this recipe from The Kitchn for Beef and Barley Stew with Mushrooms. The barley sounded like a hearty switch in starch than the normal potatoes. I lucked out and found a well-priced boneless chuck round roast which I cut into cubes and seared in my trusty dutch oven.


Mmmm...meat.

Mmmm...veggies!

Then I sauteed a bunch of traditional veggies (I added carrots the original recipe) and a big box of cremini mushrooms. I deglazed with some Cabernet and filled the pot with a 3 to 1 combination of beef and chicken stock (the recipe called for 2 and 2). I let it simmer for an hour, then added the barley for another 45 minutes of simmering. My final addition was a handful of leftover frozen peas at the way end because, as I told Ken, it's never bad to add something green.

Ta-da!The result was incredibly similar in thickness to Chunky Soup, which I have loved since babyhood. The meat turned out very tender and I really liked the use of barley. It's soft and chewy and truly comforting. It's like a savory oatmeal. I was glad I added carrots and would probably add more next time. But this stew did it's job - it warmed me up as the rain continued to pour.

Random Brownies are the Best Kind

Baking is synonymous with snow. Isn't that what every one did as a kid on snow days? My mom kept boxes of brownie mix and cookie dough in the house for just that thing. We have an insanely small amount of food left in the house, so in almost desperation for anything to eat, I realized I had enough ingredients to bake something. Included in the pantry items was almost half a box of Hershey's Cocoa Powder, which led me to think - brownies!

Bam!

I easily found this incredibly simple cocoa brownie recipe from Alton Brown. It is essentially a homemade box brownie - made in one bowl and using the cocoa powder as the only chocolate flavoring. I had everything in stock and Ken and I whipped this batter up in no time. And scraped the bowl even faster.

Which is better, the batter or the brownie? Hard to say....

I had to go with a 9x13 inch pan because I don't have an 8x8, but it worked out fine. I just remembered to bake it for less time than recommended, since they would be thinner. Magically, at the 35 minute timer I set, they were perfect. Baked solidly through but fluffy and not at burned. They were very richly chocolate and sweet. That's probably from the 2 sticks of butter.

The edges were perfect.

Go big or go home.