Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Here's a delicious, easy mid-week meal courtesy of Food & Wine!  Pair with a salad and have it for leftovers the next day.  It's really yummy!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-by- 1/4-inch strips (we used the pre-cut package at Trader Joe's)
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine
One 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, crushed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 ounces bucatini
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until very soft, 7 minutes. Add the pancetta and cook until translucent, 3 minutes.

Add the vinegar, wine, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of water and simmer until thick, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the bucatini until al dente; reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce along with the reserved cooking water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of cheese. Serve right away, passing more cheese at the table.

Ziti with Portobello Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese

This recipe is now in our new mid-week dinner rotation!  Quick and Easy... our favorite!  (From Food & Wine)

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved and then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 pound ziti
3 ounces soft goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

In a large frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderate heat. Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are well browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan.

In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and brown, about 8 minutes. Add the reserved onions, the parsley, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the ziti until just done, about 13 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water and drain. Toss the ziti and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water with the mushroom mixture, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the goat cheese, and the Parmesan. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Serve with additional Parmesan.

Personal note: We love our balcony in the late summer and early spring and sitting outside eating appetizers and drinking wine before sitting down for dinner.  The only way it could be more enjoyable is if I could create a force field that would keep out all the bugs without obscuring the view!  But until I figure that out, it's still pretty nice... until the summer heat comes to DC...

Pasta with Roasted Squash, Sausage and Pecans

Today in the Safeway parking lot armed with this month's Food & Wine in hand, we picked this recipe because we had already had oodles of butternut squash and sage at home.  Thank goodness we did!  It was delicious, easy, and made lots of leftovers for the week.

I do need to disclose that we forgot to pick up pecans so we used cashews instead (yum) and we also picked up some delicious parmesan from Eataly in NYC (highly recommended) last weekend so we used that instead of asiago.

OH!  And we had asparagus on the side and paired it with Casillero Del Diablo Carmenere 2010.  Perfecto!

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped sage, plus 20 whole leaves
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound fusilli or other curly pasta
1/4 cup freshly grated aged Asiago cheese, plus more for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the squash with 2 tablespoons of oil and toss. Arrange in an even layer and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bake for about 30 minutes, until just tender. Add the chopped sage and toss.

Meanwhile, put the pecans in a pie plate and bake for about 4 minutes, until toasted.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the whole sage leaves and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until crisp, 2 minutes. Transfer the leaves to a plate and pour the butter into a bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the sausage to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the sausage, until no pink remains, 7 minutes.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the sausage and melted butter and gradually stir in the cooking water over moderate heat. Gently fold in the squash, pecans and the 1/4 cup of cheese. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Scatter the sage on top and serve with more cheese.

Re-Post: Vegetarian Lasagna

Here's another re-post from our old me.com blog that Apple is ditching soon. This lasagna recipe is a regular in our winter menu and works perfectly with leftover spaghetti sauce.

BECHAMEL INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk, heated
1 garlic clove, smashed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

LASAGNA INGREDIENTS
A bottle of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce
Any vegetables you want (we like mushrooms, sauteed onions, zucchini, celery, you get the idea)
12 long ruffle-edged dried lasagna noodles (we use no-boil)
5 ounces (1 3/4 cups) finely grated Parmigiana-Reggiano (Remember, you can always add more cheese... we do)

Make béchamel:
Heat butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat until melted, then add flour and cook roux over low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add hot milk in a fast stream, whisking vigorously, and whisk in garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes, then remove garlic and add pepper.

Make sauce:
Saute your mushrooms, onions, garlic, zucchini, etc. in a heavy pan (we use our 12-inch cast iron skillet) and then add your favorite pasta sauce. Heat it up so it’s bubbling a little.

Assemble and bake lasagna:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

If not using no-boil noodles, cook lasagna noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water 8 minutes (noodles will not be cooked through), then drain and transfer to a bowl of cold water.

If using no-boil noodles, just follow instructions on the package and be sure to spread filling all the way to the edge of the noodles so the ends don’t dry out.

Spread 1 cup béchamel on bottom of a buttered 13- by 9-inch baking dish, reserving remainder for last layer. Drain 3 lasagna noodles in 1 layer on a kitchen towel and arrange over béchamel in baking dish. Spread pasta in dish evenly with one third of tomato sauce and sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Repeat layering of pasta, mushroom tomato sauce, and cheese twice, then cover with last 3 lasagna noodles. Spread remaining béchamel on top and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until lasagna is bubbling and top is browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes before cutting.

mmmmm.....

Basil Pesto

My favorite lunchtime leftover from book club was the pesto pasta!

Fortunately, "noodles in a green sauce" was served in The Hunger Games on p. 76 so we could use this fantastic pesto that we made from our freshly harvested sweet basil and thai basil.  It also worked out great for our vegan and vegetarian book club members that couldn't enjoy the lamb stew.

This is another For Cod and Country recipe and super simple.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup walnuts
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup canola oil
1 pound fresh basil
salt

Toast walnuts.

Place garlic and oil in blender.  Purée.

Add basil.  Purée until mixture becomes a smooth paste.

Add walnuts.  Pulse until the pesto becomes thick.

Salt, to taste.

Serve with any type of pasta and sprinkle pine nuts, cheese, fresh basil, or anything else you want.  It'll always turn out delcious.

Quick and Easy Spaghetti with Sun-Dried-Tomato-Almond Pesto

This vegan recipe is so easy and delicious, it's a perfect mid-week meal served with a salad!  Yum!

It's no surprise that this recipe's from Food & Wine...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces)
1/3 cup salted roasted almonds
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
12 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, almonds and garlic. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet, toast the bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons of the oil, stirring, until golden. Transfer the crumbs to a plate; season with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. In the pot, toss the pasta with the pesto, reserved cooking water and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until the sauce clings to the pasta. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula

I saw this recipe on the NY Times this weekend and Michael quickly determined that we would make it that day!  Now it's one of his favorite go-to recipes.

The Minimalist posted a quick and easy video that will convince you to make this tonight too!

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula
INGREDIENTS
Salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
8 anchovy fillets, or more to taste, with some of their oil
1/2 teaspoon or more crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups arugula
1/2 pound linguine or other long pasta
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it.

2. Put the oil in a deep skillet, and turn heat to medium. A minute later, add the garlic, and then the anchovies and red pepper flakes. When the garlic sizzles and the anchovies break up, turn the heat to its lowest setting.

3. Cook the pasta until it is tender but not mushy. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, and drain. Add pasta to skillet, along with enough reserved cooking water to make a sauce. Off the heat, combine the pasta with the greens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

First off, I'd like to give a positive review of the Washington's Green Grocer fruit and vegetable delivery sevice we've been trying for a couple months.  We get the small organic box and it really suits our needs and saves us time.  If you're in the DC area and you generally try to shop local, you may consider reading about how it works.  It's not for everyone, but it's great for us so far.

So since we had organic asparagus and organic grape tomatoes to use, I did a google search and found this Giada De Laurentiis recipe.  It was so simple and easy!  We also served a roast chicken from the store and voila!  Dinner was delicious!

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces penne pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (about 9 ounces) cherry tomatoes (I used one package of grape tomatoes)
1 cup shelled fresh peas (I used frozen and it was fine)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus, season with the salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until slightly soft. Add the cherry tomatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the tomatoes start to burst and the stock is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the asparagus mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the cooked pasta and 1/2 of the Parmesan. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the remaining Parmesan and chopped basil.