Mac & Cheese

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's page. We loved it, but a friend of mine made it and said it was only so-so. Not sure why that is.

I will give you tips on mac & cheese though. First, you MUST use good cheddar (not Kraft, buy the good stuff out of the deli case) and you MUST grate it yourself (bagged cheese will not work). Second, the roux has to be completely cooked or you will end up with grainy cheese, not a smooth one. Also DO NOT use lowfat cheese. If you need to use lowfat cheese, then this is not the recipe for you. I did use the whole milk that she suggested. I figure with things like this, we don't eat them all the time, so a little extra fat isn't going to kill us.

This is really best straight out of the oven. Leftovers are ok, but not as good as when it's first cooked. This makes A LOT, so make it for a big group (unless you are married to a mac & cheese loving man named Dave--haha!).

Macaroni & Cheese from the Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4 cups dried macaroni
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 4 tablespoons) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
1 egg, beaten
1 pound cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*Optional spices: cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme


Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt. Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT. Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Noodles with Pork From Shanxi

This recipe comes from Susanna Foo, a highly respected Chinese food chef in America (awards from Food & Wine magazine, James Beard cookbook award, etc). She also has a very interesting story (link here) on how she got into the food industry. I am disappointed that we missed out on eating at her restaurant in Philadelphia when we were there a couple of years ago, but her cookbooks are innovative.

I have had her first cookbook for years (it's well worn) and was able to pick up her other one at Half Price Books recently for about $10. This recipe is something that I make a lot. It's a comforting dish with the potatoes and pork. Susanna dices her pork into smaller cubes, but I am lazy and don't. It will work either way. I have yet to serve it with all the small accompaniments that she says to serve it with (mostly because I forget to), but I would like to one of these days!

Noodles with Pork From Shanxi from the cookbook Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine

serves 4-6

1 lb boneless lean pork, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tb cornstarch
1/4 cup corn oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tbs brandy (do not omit this. I don't think that the flavor would be right if you did)
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 cups chicken stock
2 large tomatoes, peeled and dice (note--I don't peel them. It's up to you if you want to leave them on or not)
2 scallions, chopped
coarse or kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 lb fettuccine or linguine (she has a recipe for homemade noodles, but I have never made them)

Place the diced pork in a large bowl and mix in the soy sauce and the cornstarch. Add 2 tbs of the oil, mix well and marinate for a few minutes at room temperature while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and the garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until the onion is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the pork, along with any marinade, and continue to cook, stirring, until the pork is no longer pink.

Add the brandy. Cover the pot, turn the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the potato and mix well. Pour in the stock, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the pork and potatoes are completely cooked.

Add the tomatoes and the scallions. Continue to cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes more, or until sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While sauce is cooking, cook pasta until tender, but still firm to the bite.

Spoon the cooked pork into a large bowl and serve, along with a bowl of the freshly cooked pasta. Allow people to help themselves to the pasta and sauce.

OPTIONAL GARNISHES
Present the pork and pasta along with small bowls filled with any or all of the following: balsamic vinegar, chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, julienned cucumber, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh cilantro and julienned leeks.

Bolognese Sauce

If you don't know who Alice Waters is, please do me a favor and google her right now. Her Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook is one of the most wonderful cookbooks that I own. The illustrations for the book are gorgeous colored block prints by David Lance Goines and her cookbook is filled with stories and explanations. I have owned this cookbook for a couple of years now, but I had never used it for recipes--only to read the delightful stories and ogle the illustrations. This recipe takes hours to cook plus prep time, so it's not something that you can just whip up quickly and the ingredients aren't cheap. But it's so worth the extra time and effort. Trust me, it's a good one.

Alice Waters' Bolognese Sauce from Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

Yield: Serves 8

1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced fine
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
4 ribs celery, diced fine
1 small carrot, diced fine
Salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1½ pounds skirt steak (or chuck), cut into ¼-inch cubes
4 ounces lean pork shoulder, coarsely ground
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups Basic Beef Stock or Basic Chicken Stock
1½ cups milk
3 tablespoons double-concentrated Italian tomato paste
¼ cup chopped parsley, for garnish
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pepper

Cover the dried porcini with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the porcini from the water, reserving the liquid, and chop the mushrooms fine. Heat a wide heavy-bottomed pan; pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the diced pancetta. After the pancetta has released some fat, add the onion, celery, carrot, and a little salt. When the vegetables have softened somewhat, add the garlic and porcini, and cook until the vegetables are soft. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.

Put the pan back on the heat (you don’t need to wash it), pour in 2 more tablespoons of oil, and when it is hot, add the skirt steak, pork, and a little salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the meat begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the cooked vegetables, wine, bay, and thyme. Adjust the heat to maintain a low simmer and let the sauce cook until the liquid evaporates and the contents begin to brown. Deglaze with 1 cup of the stock and a few tablespoons of the milk; add the tomato paste, making sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and stirring the sauce well to incorporate the milk. Continue to cook the sauce gently, adding a few tablespoons of milk and stock now and then. Reduce the sauce until the liquid evaporates and everything begins to brown again; this gives the sauce depth and color. Deglaze with the rest of the stock and milk, stirring and scraping well. Skim the fat that rises to the surface of the sauce. The sauce is done when its texture is velvety and the meat is completely tender, in about 1½ hours. Cool and refrigerate for up to 4 or 5 days.

Reheat and serve over pasta, garnished with the chopped parsley, and pass Parmesan cheese and the pepper mill.

Variation: This basic recipe can be used with other kinds of meat and even poultry—guinea hen is especially good. Another variation worth trying is to add sautéed fresh wild mushrooms at the end of the cooking.

P.S. This is cookbook #31 which means only 120+ to go!

Penne alla Vodka

Note--Picture is not very exciting looking and dark. Sorry about that!

I have been craving Italian pasta the last few days. I am pretty sure it has to do with the fact that I dvr-ed a bunch of Food Network episodes about pasta recently. My pantry is full of different kinds of pastas at any given time because I love how versatile it is. After viewing a couple of pasta episodes this morning, I decided that I really wanted some pasta carbonara, but I was missing a few ingredients to make it. So I went through Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's cookbook Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen and found a simple, quick recipe for Penne alla Vodka. I love vodka sauce and find it funny that many people will buy the jarred stuff when it's super easy to make yourself. I used to make Giada's Vodka Sauce, but with the 1 cup of vodka in there, it's best made a day or two ahead of time. Lidia's only requires 1/4 cup, so that the vodka does not overwhelm the sauce. I didn't put parsley in this time since I didn't have any on hand with any effect on the delicious taste of the sauce. Enjoy!

Penne Alla Vodka from the cookbook Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen

Salt
One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid
1 pound penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled
Crushed hot red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil for finishing the sauce, if you like
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing if you like

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Pour the tomatoes and their liquid into the work bowl of a food processor. Using quick on/off pulses, process the tomatoes just until they are finely chopped. (Longer processing will aerate the tomatoes, turning them pink.)

Stir the penne into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and add them to the hot oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully — they will splatter — slide the tomatoes into the pan. Bring to a boil, season lightly with salt and generously with crushed red pepper, and boil 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka, lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

Just before the pasta is done, fish the garlic cloves out of the sauce and pour in the cream. Add the 2 tablespoons butter or oil, if using, and swirl the skillet to incorporate into the sauce. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper if necessary. Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and boil until the sauce is reduced enough to cling to the pasta.

Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese if you like.

Dinner with Friends Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, we had Jackie and Bruce over for dinner. I served them Moroccan chicken with couscous. It was a time consuming meal, but well worth it in the end. There are multiple parts to this, so you won't be able to just whip this up after work. This is menu from another one of my wonderful classes with Chef Nancy.

To start, you will have prepare some preserved lemons a week ahead of time for the chicken tagine. You won't want to miss out on these since they add a delicious salty element to the tagine that you will not have otherwise.

Preserved Lemons

4 large lemons (use organic ones because you'll be eating the peel part!)
2/3 cup kosher salt
1 cup fresh lemon juice
olive oil

To make preserved lemons, scrub 4 lemons and cut each into 8 wedges. In a bowl, toss the wedges with 2/3 cup kosher salt and transfer to a 6 cup glass jar. Add 1 cup fresh lemon juice and cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid. Let lemons stand at room temperature for 7 days, shaking the jar every day to redistribute the salt and juice. If you are going to keep these for a long time, place a small film of olive oil on the top of the lemons after the week is over. Store in the jar and refrigerated for up to 6 months.

Cumin Scented Couscous

1 cup quick-cooking couscous
1 1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 shallots, peeled and minced
3/4 teas. ground cumin
1/4 teas. crushed fennel seeds
1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth, canned or homemade
3 Tbs. minced flat leaf parsley

Place the couscous in a medium sized bowl, set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, cumin and fennel, cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and salt to taste. Bring to a boil.

When the seasoned broth is simmering, pour it over the couscous, stir and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand until the couscous has absorbed the liquid--about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the plastic and add the parsley; fluff the couscous with a fork. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

6-8 medium carrots, julienned

2 teas. paprika

1/2 teas. cinnamon

1/2 teas. cayenne

1 teas. cumin

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbs. sugar

5 Tbs. light olive oil

salt to taste

Blanch carrots briefly in boiling salted water. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Drain carrots and add to dressing while still warm. Adjust seasoning and serve at room temperature. Serves 6.

Farfalle with Broccoli

One of the things about buying produce at Costco is that you are stuck with HUGE bags of one item and you have to be creative about what to make with all of the bag. This week, it's broccoli and brussel sprouts that I have to figure out what to make with all those veggies!

With the broccoli, I made some cream of broccoli soup for lunch tomorrow and this pasta dish tonight. I still have 3/4 of the bag left, so I'll need to look for more broccoli recipes. There is anchovy fillets in this sauce, but they will melt when cooked so that you won't be able to tell that they are there. They add an salty flavor to the pasta which you won't be able to obtain without them.

Farfalle with Broccoli from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta

4 to 6 servings

1 lb farfalle

2 heads of broccoli, trimmed to florets (about 4 cups)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 tbs unsalted butter

3 garlic glovers, chopped

5 anchovy fillets, chopped

1/4 teas. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teas. salt

1/2 teas. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pasta, stir, and cook for another 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, pasta, salt and pepper and toss. Add some of the reserved pasta water, if necessary, to make a light sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Fra Diavolo (means "Brother Devil" in Italian) is a spicy sauce for pasta or seafood. This is a quick pasta sauce perfect for a weekday meal.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo from Quick From Scratch Pasta by Food & Wine Books

Serves 4

2 tbs cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 16 oz can)

1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3/4 teas salt

1 lb med shrimp, shelled

3/4 pound vermicelli (or other thin long pasta)

1) In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds longer. Stir in the tomatoes, red-pepper flakes, water, parsley, and salt. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, just until the shrimp are pink, about 4 minutes.

2) In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and toss with the sauce.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love spaghetti and meatballs, but only if it's homemade sauce and homemade meatballs. I don't do sauce in a jar (I've tried most of them and they are too sweet for my tastes) and I haven't found any frozen meatballs that aren't hard and tasteless yet. One night, I was talking to my friend (who is part Italian) and she told me about how wonderful her Grandma's meatballs were. After that conversation, I decided that I needed to find a recipe for meatballs! With some searching online, I found one in the New York Times and sent it to my friend. She told me that it sounded very similar to the one that her Grandma made, so I was excited to try it out.

Nathaniel LOVED them and was disappointed that there wasn't more (we did let him eat about half of them--you can imagine how much growing teenagers eat). I will admit that I ended up burning the first batch because I used a pan that I never usually use and it heated a lot quicker than my other ones (might have to start using it more often). After adjusting the heat to a very low temp, I was able to brown them to perfection. I also admit that my meatballs weren't perfectly uniform and pretty, but they tasted so good that I hope a dinner guest wouldn't complain!

The tomato sauce that I used is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis' Marinara Sauce from her cookbook Everyday Italian. It's a great sauce that can be frozen for up to three months. We froze half of it, so that Chris would have something to eat this weekend while I am out of town. I'll probably be making this again during the cold winter, if it ever comes that is!

Meatballs

Tomatoes, Shrimp and Pasta

There hasn't been much shrimp eating in our household lately since I read an old article in Gourmet about farmed shrimp. Let's just say, I have been reading packages of shrimp to see where they are coming from and I've been very disappointed to say that I have yet to find farmed shrimp from the U.S. in any grocery stores close by. But today, I finally broke down and picked up some shrimp at the Merc (it's the local co-op grocery store for those who don't live around here) figuring that I was going to pretend that I hadn't read that article.

I have told Chris that he better be ready to eat fresh tomatoes everyday until the Farmer's Market no longer has any. After a tomato/zucchini/cheese angel hair pasta last night, I made this favorite tonight. If you like shrimp and tomatoes, this is a must-make! It's delicious!

Lake Tahoe Seafood Pasta adapted from Neiman-Marcus' Pure and Simple
serves 6

1 pound shelled shrimp (or any other seafood)
6 tbs butter
1/2 cup cognac (don't omit this--if you have to buy the smallest bottle you can find, but the recipe won't be the same without it!)
1/3 cup dry white wine
3 lbs tomatoes, cut into chunks (the recipe says to peel them, but I don't. If the skin doesn't bug you, then leave them)
3/4 cup cream
cayenne pepper to taste
1 teas Italian seasoning
salt
1 lb spaghetti, cooked and drained

Saute shrimp until pink in the melted butter, add cognac and flambe. I find that a long match or a long lighter (like the ones that you use to light the fireplace) works best for this. I can't stress enough how the flavor will change if you don't use the cognac. I went through a Hennessey with Coke drink stage, so I am lucky enough to have a big bottle at home.

Be sure not to stand too close to the flame. Wouldn't want your eyebrows to be burned off! See the flames. Actually in the picture, you can't see how high that the flames really are. I was a little worried that my microwave might melt! Add wine and cook one minute. Remove the shrimp and add the tomatoes to the sauce. Add seasonings. You'll want to adjust them later to your tastes. We like a spicier sauce, so I add more cayenne pepper. Simmer the sauce until the tomatoes are broken up about 20 minutes. While this is simmering, you'll want to start boiling your water and cook your pasta.
Lower heat and stir in cream. Adjust seasonings as needed. Add shrimp back into the sauce. Pour over pasta.
P.S. Maybe I should have wiped the bowl before taking the pic, huh?

Bolognese Sauce

Last night, we had a softball game to go to and I decided to invite over Megan and Paul for dinner after the game. I had to think of something quick (at 4 PM, I was still pondering the dinner menu--I had dessert done, but that's it) and easy. I also had the challenge of having to make something that would keep till we were home from the game. But the biggest obstacle was to make something that Paul would eat because I didn't want to become a dinner nightmare story of his. Ask him about eating over at Chris' parents' house when he was younger---Paul still hasn't gotten over the eggplant lasagna and spinach stuffed squash!



I scoured my cookbooks and decided on something that I didn't have to go to the grocery store for and would not prevent me from missing the softball game. I found it in Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook, Everyday Italian. I do love her show (because she can actually cook!), but I have often wondered if she really needs that much cleavage to cook. What I mean is that sometimes she'll be deep-frying and breast skin & hot oil is not a good combo....heck, any skin on your body and hot oil isn't a good combo!



It seemed to go over well with my picky eater, Paul (well, at least, I didn't see him heel over or anything), who even had a second serving. I am going to make this for Nathaniel one of these days since the veggies are cut up small and not super noticeable (great way to get those kiddos to eat them). It's super easy and with many ingredients that you might already have on hand. The other great thing is that you could use just about any pasta and it would still be delicious.

Simple Bolognese from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 lb ground beef
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 teas salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teas pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Percorino Romano cheese (don't even think about omitting this---totally makes the dish!)

In a large skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is very tender, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the beef and saute until the meat is no longer pink, breaking up any large lumps, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley, basil and 1/2 teas of salt and pepper. Cook over medium low until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes. Stir in the cheese, then season with more salt and pepper to taste.


P.S. No picture--I forgot!

I Believe That I Was Italian In My Past Life

I could live on pasta 3x a day, everyday of the week. I keep a decent stash of pasta in my pantry (there is around 20 boxes or so right now), including some more obscure types. I always have canned Italian tomatoes on hand for a quick tomato sauce. I should have been Italian. Even when I was majoring in history and art history, I focused on Italian Renaissance with both majors.

I always wonder why people complain about not having time to eat fresh foods. This dish took a whole 15 minutes to prepare, cook and get to the table. It's just something that I threw together and you can adjust everything to your tastes.

PASTA (serves 2-3)

1/2 package (lb) of Angel Hair Pasta, cooked according to package directions
about a lb of small tomatoes, your choice (or cut up larger ones like Romas)
1-2 zucchinis (I only used one, but wished that I would have used another one), cut up
at least 3 cloves of garlic (or more if you want)
as much as you feel like of grated Parmesan or Percorino (I used Percorino. Under no circumstance are you allowed to use Kraft Parmesan in the green bottle! It's not the same!)
olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil (use your own judgement on how much--you are an adult, you can do it!) in pan (large enough to throw in your pasta later). Add garlic and saute, but be sure not to burn it (it will be bitter if you do). Throw in the zucchini (add more oil if needed), saute till tender and add tomatoes. Don't cook the tomatoes too long or they will get mushy. Salt and pepper the veggies to taste. Add pasta & cheese and toss.

Fast, delicious and easy. NOTE: You can change the veggies and pasta type to whatever you have on hand. Seriously, it's easy.

Dinner With Our Friends (aka Don't You Wish That You Were Eating At My House)

Well, I didn't just feed my guests cupcakes on Saturday night, so I guess my readers want to know about what I made for dinner (plus I was threatened that if I didn't post my recipes from that night...well, who knows what they would have done to me).



Anyway, it's hard to get too crazy with your dinner choices when you have more than a couple of people coming over especially since you want to cater to your guests' preferences (like Paul's dislike of pretty much most things green.....hahah), so I usually make something that is pretty universally liked. I stuck with a couple of baked pasta dishes that seemed to be a hit with our guests since there was very little food leftover.



Here are the recipes:



Baked Ziti with Pesto from Quick From Scratch Pasta by Food & Wine Books



1/2 pound ziti (I used penne since the store was out of ziti)

2 tbs oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, mince

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree

1/4 teas salt

1 bay leaf

1/2 teas fresh-ground black pepper

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups grated, packaged mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can omit this if you want)

1/4 cup pesto (store-bought or homemade)



1)Preheat oven to 350. Oil (or spray) an 8 by 8 inch baking dish.



2) In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 7 minutes. It will be partially cooked.

Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.



3) In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tb of the oil over moderately low heat. Add onions and

cook, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and cook until very thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teas. pepper and remove the bay leaf.



4) In a bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, about half the Parmesan (if using), the pesto and the remaining 1/4teas. pepper.



5) Put half the pasta in into the baking dish and top with about a third of the sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture on the sauce in an even layer. Cover with remaining pasta and then then the remaining sauce. Tope with the remianing 1/2 cup mozzarella nd the remaining Parmesan. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 tbs oil. Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.

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While that recipe was good, this next one was great. I believe that Dave was debating on if he should lick the pan after we were done eating it! It's a Pioneer Woman recipe again and right now, she is batting 100% with the recipes of hers that I have tried. It's not even close to being low-fat, so maybe you don't really want to look at the recipe. One thing that I did do differently is that I cooked my spaghetti in all of the water that the chicken cooked in (she tells you to cook it in 2 cups of the chicken water--that's too much work for me), but you could probably just cook it in plain water if you are really lazy (I won't judge)! I am sure that this would have made excellent leftovers, but we wouldn't know since there wasn't any!



http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/recipes/chicken-spaghetti.pdf

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms

I do some of my food shopping at Costco, which is hard sometimes when I buy things that Nathaniel doesn't like. That means the 40 oz box of mushrooms has to be consumed by two people. So this is what was for lunch today. Spaghetti with Mushrooms, Garlic & Oil.

Adapted recipe from Quick From Scratch Pasta by Food & Wine Books

serves 4 (You can adjust the oil and other stuff to taste. The amount of oil was a bit too much for me, so I only used like half. It depends on the mushrooms too)

1/2 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

dried red pepper flakes, to taste

2/3 mushrooms, sliced (I used button, but wild ones would be great too)

salt, to taste

1 lb spaghetti or spaghettini

3 tbs parsley (I didn't have any at the time, so I didn't add any)

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper (I hope that most people grind their own!)

1) Start by boiling water for your spaghetti & cook according to package instructions.

2)In a medium frying pan, heat oil over moderately low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring until garlic softens, about a minute. Add mushrooms and salt and cook until the mushrooms exude liquid, the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes.

It's that easy! Enjoy!