Star Power Pasta

So I have to stop making fun of the fact Gwyneth Paltrow put out a cookbook. This recipe was amazing:

Doesn't that look tasty...

I could go on and on about how amazing this pasta is, but really you can take the above picture as proof that you need to try this out. While you may be weary of anchovies---trust me---mixing a little bit of the breaded, baked, anchovy with some of the sweet, roasted tomatoes is just a perfectly, salty-sweet bite. This even has Chris' approval—Mr. "I hate tomatoes" had seconds!

Roasting the Tomatoes

The anchovies are underneath, but can be separated pretty easily with a knife.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Oreganata Pasta
Bon Appetit  
Note: I removed a lot of the salt from this recipe because the anchovies gave you plenty...season lightly throughout to your own preference. You can also cut the oil in this recipe in half, just add in more pasta liquid at the end.

• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, divided
• 9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (Or less)
• 1/4 cup unseasoned dry breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• Large pinch dried oregano
• 16 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained and flat
• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Small handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

1. Preheat oven to 200°. Place 2 cups tomatoes on a baking dish and sprinkle with oil. Roast, stirring occasionally, until they start to shrivel up but haven't dried out (3-4 hrs.) The outsides should be chewy, but the insides still juicy.
2. Increase oven temperature to 400°. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place breadcrumbs and herbs in a small bowl. Drizzle oil over and stir until mixture resembles damp sand. Lay anchovies about 1/4" apart on prepared sheet. Evenly pack breadcrumb mixture over; drizzle with more oil. Bake until golden brown, 3-5 minutes; set aside.
3. Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
4. Meanwhile, place remaining 2 cups tomatoes in a large bowl. Crush tomatoes with your hands. Heat 2-3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until juices thicken, 6-7 minutes. Add roasted tomatoes.
5. Add drained spaghetti to skillet; toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water by 1/4-cupfuls if dry. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Divide among bowls. Top each with 1/4 of the anchovy oreganata and Parmesan.

A Healthy Pasta

Roasting Makes all Vegetables Fun

Week two could not have come quick enough! I caught myself trying to 'lighten' the Chicken 'n' Dumplings recipe over the weekend but held off. To sum up week 1: I was STARVING. Just trying to gauge a 'healthy' portion of what I normally eat usually left me eating less than I should, and then splurging later because I needed the calories. Glad that is over.

Week two should be much more my speed. Healthy recipes, as dictated by others. My first stop is America's Test Kitchen, which has just put out a lovely Light & Healthy 2011 magazine that I grabbed a few weeks back. It's out until May, so grab it if you can.

 I absolutely love this publication because it's written like a blog: they explain the process, then leave you with a finalized recipe. A word of warning. Read the recipe thoroughly before committing to dinner for the night. I thought I would make a pork loin, until I realized I should have marinated the meat yesterday. The magazine doesn't do a great job at telling you the total time for any given recipe, so just be sure you read ahead first and are prepared.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower
America's Test Kitchen, Serves 6
Per 2-cup serving: 480 calories, 16 g. fat, 3.5 g. sat. fat, 18 g. protein, 70 g. carb, 7 g. fiber, 610 mg sodium

2 heads garlic
2 T. water
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
5 T. evoo
1 head cauliflower, cut into 8 wedges
salt and pepper
1/4 t. sugar
1 lb. fusilli, campanelle, or orecchiette
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
1 T. minced fresh parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cut the top of the garlic heads off and place the heads, cut side up, on a sheet of foil. Drizzle 1 T. water on each, and then seal the foil and place in the oven on the top rack for about 30 minutes. Place a roasting dish in the oven to preheat for the cauliflower.
   
   
2. Trim cauliflower, then coat with 1 T. oil, 1/2 t. salt, a pinch of pepper, and 1/4 t. sugar. Remove the roasting dish from the oven and add cauliflower, cut side down. Roast until well-browned, around 20-25 minutes. This should finish up at the same time, or just after the garlic is done.
3. When garlic is done, remove from foil and let cool. Squeeze out the cloves and mash with a fork. Mix in lemon juice and red pepper. Slowly whisk in oil.
   
   
4. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and 1 T. salt. Once pasta is al dente, reserve 1 c. liquid, and drain. 
5. Add in 1/4 c. liquid, cauliflower, garlic paste, 1/2 c. Parmesan, and parsley to the post and toss to combine with pasta. Add in more liquid as needed.

In terms of a healthy dish--this worked out pretty well. I actually cut the cheese in half, and still felt it was plenty. I also thought the recipe was heavy on the salt, so feel free to reduce that as needed. 

Pork Three Ways: Fancy, Easy, and BBQ Pizza

There's nothing like a large piece of meat to inspire creative cooking. When faced with 4 lbs. of pork shoulder, instead of making way too much of one dish--I split it up into three amazing dishes: Braised Pork Shoulder, Pork Ragu Pasta, and BBQ Pork Pizza. (Well, really four dishes, if you could the 3 lbs I used initially to make Christmas Tamales).

The genius part of this was that I only had to cook the meat once: braising it for 3 hours in onions, a HEAD of garlic, and a bottle of beer. The result was a tender, full of flavor bite of meat that will take me awhile to forget. It also froze back well---after a month in the freezer while I took my Jordan trip, the meat was still awesome.

Try one, or all three when you have a few hours to braise:

Pork Shoulder ready to braise

Braised Pork Shoulder
Martha Stewart
* 6 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
* 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
* 1 bone-in pork shoulder (6 to 7 pounds), room temperature
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 head garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted and ground
* 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
* 2 cups Belgian-style ale
* 1 cup homemade chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Crisp pancetta in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, until fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.
2. Add onions to Dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Transfer to plate using slotted spoon.
3. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add oil to Dutch oven, and sear pork, fat side down, until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip, and repeat.
4. Add garlic and spices to pot. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ale, stock, pancetta, and onions; bring to a simmer. Transfer to oven, and braise pork, covered, basting every hour, until meat is falling off the bone, 3-4 hours.
5. Shred only the meat you are using for dinner using 2 forks, and drizzle with warm skimmed jus. (We served ours with mashed potatoes and stuffing)

Basting the meat after two hours

The oh-so-delicious jus

The pasta dish below would be a great next-day meal, but as I was flying to the Middle East, I choose instead of freeze back both the cooked pork and jus until my return. The following was insanely easy and took maybe 10 minutes of prep. The light egg noodles make it a fantastic pairing to the somewhat heavy braised meat already served.

Pork Ragu Pasta with Sage
Martha Stewart

* 1 pound egg noodles
* 2 cups jus, heated and reduced (from above)
* 2 cups shredded pork, heated
* 2 tablespoons fresh sage, thinly sliced
* Pecorino Romano cheese

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook 1 pound ribbon pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving some cooking water.
2. Toss pasta with reserved jus, reserved shredded pork, and sage, adding reserved cooking water as needed.
3. Divide among 4 bowls. Garnish with finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Pork Ragu

So the next recipe has a funny story to it. I wanted to use the last cup of pork to make pizza, so I glanced in the pantry---saw A1 Steak Sauce, and in my head went 'ah, Chris has BBQ sauce.' Come two hours later, when the pizza dough is on the piping hot pizza stone and all the ingredients are ready---I realize steak sauce is NOT barbecue sauce. (Head Slap).

BBQ Pork Pizza

BBQ Pork Pizza

But such errors make for the best creativity--and within minutes I had whipped together my own special sauce: one part A1, one part tomato sauce, and two heaping spoonfuls of adobo sauce (I had the chipotles in adobo in the fridge from tamales last month). What turned out was amazing: smokey, sharp, and a perfect compliment to the pork.

The recipe is my standard dough recipe , topped with the leftover meat, sauce, and a mixture of cheese. Cook at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes, and serve.

Finished product

The best part about all of these was that the final recipe--the pizza--made almost a month after I initially braised the meat was just as good as the first thing I made. I take that as a sign of both delicious recipes AND a good product. It's a lot of pork, and the variety of recipes really shows off it's versatility. So what do you think? Do you have a go-to recipe that can pull out three amazing meals? Let me know!

The Best Little (Israeli) Italian Restuarant Ever (yes, EVER)

Nice logo too!

When dining out, never underestimate the importance of the atmosphere and the attitude around you.

For me, elaborate interior design or a menu's font (yes, I know, it's silly. But I'm a designer!) will automatically raise the dining experience for me before taking a single bite. A smile from the server, laughter at the next table over, or just friends who can assure you a stress-free hour of delicious food will leave me raving about my experience even if the chicken was slightly dry, or the dessert too sugary.

During my travels in the Middle East, I spent two nights in Jerusalem. While this in no way gives me the authority to claim the BEST Italian food in Jerusalem is at Al Dente, a quaint little storefront hidden away from City Center, it will forever go down as one of my favorite dining experiences. Ever.

Let's start with the attitude. Because the meal actually started earlier that afternoon when Lizzie suggested we return to this Italian restaurant she'd been on a previous visit with her husband.  Touting it's amazing homemade pastas, Al Dente sounded perfect. We just had to figure out where it was.

Armed only with our tourist map of City Center, and a street that Lizzie was '75% sure the restaurant is on,' we took off in her car and on an adventure. After 30 minutes and who knows how many streets that were a mix of Hebrew, Russian, English, and more--we were lost. Our dinner companions, Liz's father and grandmother, were sitting patiently in the back--but the group was getting restless. Each restaurant we passed looked more and more appealing to our hungry stomachs. But Liz was determined.

Suddenly—almost magically—I recognized the neighborhood we entered on the map. Finally back on a course, it took us another 15 minutes to navigate back until we came upon the street--and lo! there was the restaurant, tucked away next to an ally. If only there were a table ready for 4. Unfortunately, it's a TINY restaurant (make reservations!) and while it was only 6:30, the place was packed.

Here's again where attitude makes all the difference. Instead of grumbling about getting lost, or arguing about how cold it was as we waited outside, the group maintained it's adventurous spirit. We chatted about the places we had visited that day and caught up on each other's daily dramas. The waiter, instead of giving us attitude for being the dumb tourists who didn't know to call ahead, was very apologetic and even brought us out hot tea and coffee when our table was taking longer than expected.

And it was worth the wait:

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup and focaccia

Truffled Tortellini with Ricotta filling

Green Pea gnocchi with a cream sauce

Pumpkin 'Sushi' Pasta roll

The atmosphere in this restaurant was amazing. Upon entering, there is a small closed porch with 4 tables (we sat in one by the corner). Inside, a long bench table took up the majority of space for a large party of family-style dining. Behind that, a quaint bar and the kitchen. Two waiters ran all the tables, and they were very patient with our English.

As you can see in the photos, the plates were all earth-tones that added to the heartiness of the meal. Of course I had to order Jerusalem Artichoke soup. And the Truffled Tortillini! Truffle oil, truffle flakes mixed in with cheese, and yet the dish wasn't too rich or heavy. All the pasta is made the day of, so a few things weren't on the menu by the time we ordered (it's also why the place was packed so early) but everyone was really pleased with their meal.

Apple Mascapone Cheesecake & Lemon Tart

As we were contemplating dessert, a large group of French journalists entered. (I imagined they were journalists—they drank a lot, wore khaki vests, had weathered grey hair, and were, according to the waiter, regulars.)

While I'm not a fan of cheesecake, our waiter let us know that the French folks had already reserved every remaining piece of it—except for one. That was all we needed to know, and we snapped it up. And I'm still dreaming about it. So light, so perfect....I must figure out how to make it myself or move to Israel.

Drunken Pasta

Did you vote for me today? Braised Short Ribs! And now back to your regularly scheduled recipes...

Pasta's always more fun in bright colors

Give me an excuse to add alcohol to my cooking and I'm there. This Drunken Pasta recipe from Tasting Table was both delicious, fun to make, and relatively easy considering it's from a professional chef. The pasta turns this really bright purple in the red wine and when you add colorful veggies to the mix, the colors pop even more! (Sorry, my phone camera is not up to the proper color standards)

I used brocolini and red peppers, because I had them, but I think you could toss in anything you had around--just blanch them first to keep them bright and crisp.

Brie Pasta

This is a super easy pasta recipe that first discovered in Real Simple, and have since added to the Weaver Family Cookbook. You can switch up the pasta—I've used Bowtie and shell—the trick is to find one that can hide away brie in its crevices to create a really delicious, gooey bite.

This evening Harris Teeter had a 25% off specialty cheeses, so I grabbed 8 oz. of brie and it only cost me $3. You don't need the expensive stuff, but at the same time you want it to taste good, so use your judgement.

The steps are simple. First, I used frozen broccoli and blanched it in the pasta liquid after that was finished cooking. Toasting the pine nuts takes a little longer, but the taste makes up for the extra step. The nuttiness works well once it's all mixed together.

The key is to throw the brie onto the pasta/broccoli quickly after they are finished cooking. Slices of brie in pipping hot pasta will melt in about 2 minutes, so give everything a good stir and cover for another 5. When you lift the lid, the pasta will look creamy and the brie will be dissolved into the pasta. You DONT have to overdo the brie---the recipe calls for 8 oz., but I used about half of that for this round---too much brie and it's almost too rich.

Shrimp and Mushrooms in Cream Sauce

Hello again!

So in preparation for running a half-marathon, I've decided it's generally time to get into shape. Which means eating better. Which means the so-creamy-and-rich-it-could-melt-in-your-mouth-and-then-envelop-your-entire-essence-of-being Pasta dish I'm making tonight will be the last of the good times:

This is my all-time favorite dish, my grandmother use to make it for me and I had to figure out the recipe years later, one attempt at a time, until I matched my flavors to my memory. I must go back and try some more.


Shrimp and Mushroom in Cream Sauce

1. Bring a pot of water to boil, and throw in a container of egg noodles. (This will serve 6 easily, but you can cut it down if you don't need that much)
2. Saute 2 cloves garlic,  1 medium white onions, and 1 c. mushrooms (I used hen of the woods, on a whim, but normally use crimini) in olive oil, in that order over a medium-high heat. 
3. Once all three are cooked (the onions should be translucent, or nearly) add in the shrimp and turn the heat down to low. Cook 1 minute, turn the shrimp over and cook a second minute--each side should start to look pink, but still seem raw. 
4. Cover and turn the heat off---the shrimp will cook the rest of the way while you make the roux. It's really important not to overcook the shrimp, this method ensures that when you serve the dish, the shrimp will still be juicy, soft, and delicious.

Roux Sauce:
2 cups half and half, warmed
3 T butter
3 T flour
1/3 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt to taste

I used Martha Stewart's recipe for this one, but reduced the quantities. Once a skillet is heated, add the butter and once it's bubbly, slowly add in the flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly, and then slowly add in the half and half. You want to constantly stir on medium-low heat for about 8 minutes. You'll see the sauce slowly get thicker. Add in the parsley. Once the sauce is thick, add to the onion/mushroom/shrimp mixture. Once the pasta is done, combine and serve. Add minimal Parmesan, the sauce is so creamy, the cheese really isn't necessary.