Orecchiette with Smoked Ricotta and Salami

I know, I know.  It's been a long, long, loooong time.  And I've so missed being here.  Sure, I could tell stories about how my life has been this or that...but that's boring.  So I won't.  My lovely online blogging friend, Carina at We Are All in the Gutter, said, "I hope you're simply busy living."  Indeed, I have been! XO

So let's get back to it, shall we?  You all may remember my French post - I received the most comments on it and many of you sent personal notes expressing support and divulging your own challenges with maintaining a healthy lifestyle (and being bien dans votre peau).  Well, I am SO THERE AGAIN (though not neeearly to the extent as before).  I've had many life changes recently - most important of which is going back to work full-time - and I just slipped a bit.  But I'm back and feeling so much better already after two weeks of Frenchification.

With that in mind, one thing I've been trying to do more of is eating at home.  Adam, Isabell*, and I got into a rather awful habit of eating out often - about 3 times a week.  No more!  I need to be back in the kitchen for my emotional well-being and my health!  I've been trotting out some favorites (such as the Robiola Wrapped in Mortadella), but I also winged it a couple nights ago (what's the past tense of "to wing it"?  I wung it?) and made this:

Orecchiette with Smoked Ricotta and Salami.

I don't have exact measurements; everything below is an approximation.  That's probably bad food blogging on my part, but how boring to measure everything exactly, right?  This is precisely the sort of recipe that lends itself to experimenting, tasting, and exploring.  Here is the list of ingredients:

• 8 oz. orecchiette pasta (you could substitute cavatappi, bowties, or even macaroni)
• 4 oz. smoked ricotta (we used Salvatore Bklyn's version available from Fresh Direct, but you can substitute regular ricotta, if you can't find smoked)
• 1/4 lb. thinly sliced salami (I particularly love Rosette de Lyon, but use any kind you like...spicy could be awesome if you're using regular ricotta)
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6 basil leaves, thinly sliced
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Olive oil (high quality for drizzling)
• Olive oil (for sautéing)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat small sauté pan over med-high heat and add olive oil.  Add tomatoes and cook until blistered and spitting.  Remove from heat.

3. Drain pasta into large bowl.  Add ricotta, salami, lemon zest, salt, and pepper; toss pasta.  Top with tomatoes, basil, and excellent quality olive oil.  

Serves 4.

I loved this dish.  It was light but satisfying, and it lends itself to improvisation (see spicy salami note above...it'd also be wonderful with thyme); the ricotta makes a creamy sauce all on its own, and the charred tomatoes help ward off the winter blues.  This also reheated well the next day for lunch.

Well, it's wonderful to be back and you should start seeing more of me!  Happy New Year, all!

Eat, drink, and start anew!



* Isabell was 6 years old when I started this blog, and now she's nearly 13.  It just seems silly to keep calling her Kiddo.  

Linguine with Creamy Red Cabbage and Corn

I can hardly complain about this winter so far; other than a freezing cold that has gripped the Northeast, New York has had little snow or rain to mention.  Nevertheless, I feel like I would give damn-near anything for a peach straight from the farm right now.  Don't we all feel that way this time of year?

So, as you can imagine, I struggle with my menu in February.  No more potatoes!  No more soups!  No more root vegetables at all!  Even...dare I say it?...no more Brussels sprouts!!!!  But how do I freshen up my dishes without buying, say, asparagus that's completely out of season?

When I saw a recipe for Egg Noodles with Creamy Red Cabbage and Sweet Corn in my Edible Brooklyn: The Cookbook (from the Edible Brooklyn magazine folks), I thought it would be perfect.  And what an interesting combination with pasta, right?  Actually, this whole cookbook is amazing; it's quickly becoming one of my go-to books.  Anyway, it's obviously not corn season in New York right now but I have no problem substituting with frozen corn in the winter months - frozen in the off-season is much better than fresh in the off-season, to my mind.

This recipe is, in a word, fantastic.  It mixes the sweet with the salty, and the red wine vinegar rounds it all out with a tart acidity.  The pasta gives the dish a heartiness you want in winter, but the corn is such a welcome change from the usual cold-weather fare.  To quote Adam, "this recipe's a keeper."

LINGUINE WITH CREAMY RED CABBAGE AND CORN

Adapted only slightly from Edible Brooklyn: The Cookbook, edited by Rachel Wharton

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 medium head red cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
1 tbsp salt
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 lb fresh linguine
1 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic, and cook for a few minutes until the onion is softened but the garlic is not yet golden.

2. Add the cabbage and salt, and cook for 3-4 minutes; do not let the vegetables brown.  Add the vinegar and sugar, cover the pot, reduce to a gentle simmer, and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste the cabbage - it should be tender but not mushy.  Adjust the salt, vinegar, and sugar to taste if needed, and set the cabbage aside.

3. In a large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the corn over high heat until it begins to caramelize.  Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Cook the pasta according to package directions (about 3 minutes for fresh pasta), reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, and drain.  In a large bowl, combine the pasta, corn, red cabbage, and crème fraîche.  Thin sauce with pasta water, if needed.  Let sit for 3-5 mintues to allow the pasta to soak up the sauce.  Serve in warmed bowls.  Top with pepper to taste.

KID-FRIENDLINESS NOTE: This dish is fairly adaptable for kids.  I reserved some corn and pasta in a bowl, tossed them with some crème fraîche, and Bug was perfectly happy to eat it.  She probably would have gone for the cabbage as well but, with the onions in there, she would have been scared off so I left those out of her bowl.

NOTE: The cookbook was given to me by the publisher.

This will absolutely be a recurring dish in our house.  In addition, to the unique mix of flavors, the colors are simple gorgeous - a sure way to cheer you up on a dreary winter evening.

Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange

I'll just cut to the chase and let you know that this might be my absolute favorite pasta recipe.  Ever.  Ever.

I think I'd eat damn-near anything that had prosciutto in it so I was already hooked when I first read this recipe...but pairing it with orange just makes it sublime.  The orange adds sweetness to counterbalance the saltiness of the prosciutto, and it also adds a brightness that you really need when making pasta.  The combination is just so, so perfect.

Gush, gush, gush...

So just promise me you'll try this one, okay?  It's really that amazing.

TAGLIATELLE WITH PROSCIUTTO AND ORANGE
Recipe from The Bitten Word (who got it from Bon Appétit)
Serves 4

12 oz. egg tagliatelle or fettuccine (preferably fresh)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1" pieces
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente, about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried.  Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes.
3. Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream to the skillet; bring to a boil.  Add pasta; cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 1 minute.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in cheese and divide among warm bowls.  Garnish with remaining zest.

NOTE ON KID-FRIENDLINESS: Bug LOVED this, every bit of it.  I did omit the zest garnish and the ground pepper on top but, other than that, I didn't need to alter it for her at all.

NOTE ON WINE PAIRING: There was so much going on here so I consulted my handy-dandy WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT.  Riesling is the way to go with this dish; specifically, I went with the Pierre Sparr that I picked up for a steal at Trader Joe's.  Delicious.

Eat, drink, and try this recipe!

Brown Butter Pasta

This is a quick fly-by to tell you that Saveur's Brown Butter Pasta is INSANE.  In the Best Way Possible.

And for those of following all my FRENCH WOMEN DON'T GET FAT posts (here, here, and here, among others), I have this lovely quote from Debra Ollivier's awesome Franco-inspiration book, ENTRE NOUS: A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FINDING HER INNER FRENCH GIRL:

There is a phrase, bien dans sa peau, which means "to feel good in one's skin."  It is a state of mind to which the French aspire, a state of ease and contentment that they hope is reflected in their faces.  No worry wrinkles, no cheeks flushed with stress.  Being bien dans sa peau is a state of simple physical and emotional grace.  You live well.  You do not have a guilty conscience for personal pleasures.  You feel good about yourself on a very essential level, and so others feel good around you. The French girl who is bien dans sa peau is balanced.  Relaxed.  Natural.  At ease in body and soul.  A perfect description of the French girl at her best.

And in conjunction, I paraphrase from Mireille Guiliano when I say that we must be the masters of our pleasure as well as our restraint.

I tell you what...I took ENORMOUS pleasure in that Brown Butter Pasta you see up there...and it took ENORMOUS restraint to not eat until I popped.  One of the best pasta meals I've had in awhile...maybe ever?

And, for the record, Côtes du Rhône pairs gorgeously with this dish...

Eat, drink, and live well.



NOTE: Okay, this is where I feel I must editorialize.  Being bien dans votre peau (feeling good in your skin) is not about weight.  Or weight politics.  Or unrealistic body expectations.  We're on a whole different level, one where we talk about personal well-being and your inner core.  Don't feel bien dans votre peau?  Then CHANGE IT.  Seek out that contentment, that joie de vivre.  I support you and I have to say thanks again to those family members, friends, and readers who have been so supportive of me - you are all amazing, fabulous, and kick-ass.

NOTE ON KID-FRIENDLINESS: I omitted the egg for Bug; otherwise, she gobbled this up.

Bacon Macaroni

It has been a couple of wonderful days for me: first, it was lunch yesterday at Lucien with the Soul Twin, where we talked about all things French-inspired...and how neither us could do the Leek Soup recalibration (let's just call it a fast, shall we?).  Then it was a middle school interview for Bug yesterday, which wasn't as scary as we feared (and she felt so confident at the end because, apparently, all the math was "SO EASY"...).  Tonight, it's dinner at The Smile (don't you love that name?) with some of my favorite people: Jen, Phil, Tina, Vic, and Adam.  In celebration of everything, I'm listening to Lyle Lovett's version of "Blue Skies"...

But before the weekend starts, I'd love to leave you with one of my new favorite recipes...

Awhile ago, I came across a recipe for Bacon Macaroni.  Bacon...and macaroni.  That's. It.  Easiest thing ever and something I knew I could get my kid to eat.

It's a pound of macaroni, about 6 slices of bacon (feel free to add more!), and that's it.  Cook the mac according to the package instructions.  When the bacon's done frying up, remove it, drain, and chop up.  Add all the macaroni to the bacon pan (with all the bacon fat still in it!) over medium heat, and give it a few flips to coat evenly (and I let mine get a little crispy).  Pour into a bowl, add the chopped bacon, and voila!

I added a few leaves of spinach to justify the decadence that is Bacon + Macaroni.  Feel free to omit, or add veggies to your own taste.

And wouldn't this be a-mahz-ing with a fried egg on top???

The result?  Splurge-worthy, easy, and amazing.

Eat, drink, and give bacon the star treatment.




RECIPE NOTE: I must acknowledge that this recipe is from somewhere - I didn't make it up on my own.  However, for the life of me, I can't figure out where.  Looked through bookmarked blog recipes...looked through all my cookbooks...did a search on the Goog...looked through all my saved magazine recipes...and to no avail.  So if you do know the source of this recipe, I'd love to know so I can give credit where credit is due!

Linguine with Brussels Sprouts and Speck

"Pasta?  AGAIN?!"

That was the plaintiff cry from Bug a couple days ago.  But you know what horrible kind of mother I am?  I didn't care about her pasta prejudices.  It's finally cool enough outside that I can keep the pasta pot boiling for an hour and it won't make my kitchen unbearably hot.  I adore pasta in the fall.  Pasta, to me, means endless possibilities and a blank canvas.

So it's no surprise that I tend to go overboard.  Last winter, I made a deal with Bug that I'd limit my pasta dishes to only once a week.  Which didn't keep me from stretching it...I made linguine one night and then, two nights later, I claimed that risotto wasn't pasta - "it's rice."  Similarly, I tried to convince Bug that orecchiette was actually "ears," which - of course - she didn't buy for a second.  *shoulder shrug*

I maintain that I make the menu, do the shopping, and do all the cooking.  And most of the clean-up.  So they'll eat it and, by god, they'll LOVE it.

First up is this awesome recipe inspired by one I found in Saveur (which was created by Missy Robbins of A Voce): Linguine with Brussels Sprouts and Speck.

The joke in the family is that I say every recipe I make is "so easy."  Adam or Bug will say, "This is great!  So good!"  To which my standard reply is, "And it was so easy!"  And, like all things that are said too often, it has become an inside-joke in our family.  But this really is easy.  Not to mention that it's super kid-friendly - it was really easy to add just the speck and ricotta to Bug's pasta and then the Brussels sprouts separately to ours.

Lastly, I'll add that this is a different way to present Brussels sprouts.  By the end of the autumn, I'm so sick of roasted, flash-fried, and sautéed bee-sprouts.  This is a fresh alternative when you need a break from the same ol' same ol'.

Eat, drink, and talk them into pasta.


LINGUINE WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND SPECK
Inspired by Missy Robbins' recipe in Saveur

1 pound fresh or dried linguine
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 cups Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces speck, sliced into ribbons (can substitute with pancetta or prosciutto)
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (can substitute with Parmesan)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1. Put a pasta pot filled with water on high heat and bring to a boil.  Put about 2 tablespoons of salt in the water.
2. Rinse the Brussels sprouts, trim the bottoms, and discard any brown or discolored leaves.  Cut into quarters.
3. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add olive oil.  Add the speck and cook for two minutes, stirring until fat is rendered.  Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds.  Add the Brussels sprouts and saute until browned, about 5 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add the chicken stock and rosemary.  Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Set aside.
4. Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain, reserving a half-cup of pasta liquid.
5. Add the pasta to the sauté pan and reheat over medium-low heat.  Add the butter.  If the pasta is too dry, add just enough reserved pasta liquid to moisten.  Stir in the cheese.
6.  Add pasta to individual bowls and garnish with a dollop of ricotta, a drizzle of good-quality olive oil, and freshly ground pepper.


NOTE ON KID-FRIENDLINESS: I make it kid-friendly in step 5.  Before adding the pasta to the sauce pan, I put a little aside in a bowl for Bug.  I spoon sauce on hers, sans Brussels sprouts, and add speck and cheese for garnish.  Done.


* A thank you for Classic Pasta for the recipe.  I tore the recipe out of my copy of Saveur but proceeded to lose it - I was relieved to find it online!

Jamie Oliver's Cauliflower Macaroni

I'm just going to say this now because I know it'll come through anyway as I keep talking: Jamie Oliver's recipes are, hands-down, the most frustrating that I follow.  With measurements like "a full wineglass of dry white wine", "a knob of butter", and a "glug of olive oil", don't expect a lot of guidance from him.  He's loosey-goosey, to say the least.

So why do I keep buying his cookbooks?  Well, for a couple reasons: 1) they're styled and designed beautifully and 2) I love his unique combination of flavors.  And the secret third reason is that he is one of the hot men of the cooking world.  With that, I happily bought a copy of his newest book MEALS IN MINUTES.

The book is laid out in a completely different way, and I haven't quite got used to it yet.  Oliver put together menus.  For instance, it's not just a recipe for Cauliflower Macaroni; instead, it's a menu of "Cauliflower Macaroni, Belgian Endive Salad with Insane Dressing, Lovely Stewed Fruit."  Then the instructions assume that you'll be making all three together: a step for the macaroni is followed by one for the fruit, then we're back to the macaroni; the salad follows behind.  For this recipe, I made the macaroni and the salad but I didn't make the fruit; I found it easy to just skip the fruit-related instructions and move forward with the rest.

That said, I had A LOT of other problems.  Oliver calls for "8 slices pancetta".  But it was like an itch I couldn't scratch: "HOW THICK?!?!"  When I buy pancetta at Eataly, they tend to slice it thin.  When I order it from Fresh Direct, they give me a choice of "standard" or "thick".  Which is it, Jamie?!  I went with Fresh Direct's standard slices, which are approximately 1/8" thick.

Another thing that I just didn't get was that, in both the macaroni and salad recipes, Oliver specifies that the garlic should be unpeeled.  But never does he say that the peel should be removed later.  So, with that in mind, he means that we just blend it in?  That we have peels floating around in the macaroni?  I couldn't get on board with that.  Could you?  I made the call and peeled them.  And I want you to have that confidence too: if it sounds "off" in a recipe, make your own decision.

That's one thing that can be said for Oliver's cookbooks: they encourage improvisation.  Or thrust it upon you.

Okay, I'm done ranting.  So let's get on with it.  See below for my adaptation of Jamie's recipes.

CAULIFLOWER MACARONI
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's MEALS IN MINUTES
Serves 8

8 slices pancetta (about 1/8"thick)
1 large head of cauliflower
1 pound dried macaroni (or similar shaped pasta)
9 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese
4 thick slices of country bread
a few springs of fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup crème fraîche
Parmesan cheese, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Fill a pasta pot with water and boil on high heat.  If you choose to grate the Cheddar cheese using a food processor, put the coarse grater attachment into the machine.

2. Lay the pancetta in a 9 x 13 roasting pan (I used a Pyrex dish).  Put into the oven and bake for about 8 minutes until slightly golden and turning up at the edges.

3. Trim off the tough base of the cauliflower stalk and quarter the head.  Put in the pasta pot with the pasta, on high heat.  The water should be just a few inches over the cauliflower and pasta; drain some water, if needed.  Season water with about a tablespoon of sea salt, drizzle over about a tablespoon of olive oil, then stir and cook following the instructions on the pasta package, with the pot lid askew.

4. Grate the Cheddar in the food processor and tip into a bowl (or you can grate coursely with a hand grater).  Fit the standard blade attachment, then get your pancetta out of the oven and blitz in the processor with the bread, rosemary leaves, and drizzle of olive oil (approx 1 tbsp) until you have a coarse breadcrumb consistency.

5. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.  Add the macaroni to the same roasting pan you cooked the pancetta in and add about 1 1/2 c. of the reserved pasta water.  Add finely chopped garlic cloves and mix in the crème fraîche and grated Cheddar, gently breaking up the cauliflower with tongs or a potato masher.  Taste for seasoning.  The pasta sauce should be loose and creamy; if not, add another splash of pasta water.

6. Spread the pasta out evenly in the dish and scatter over the breadcrumbs.  Put in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and the pasta is bubbly.

NOTE: See the photo below?  That's all our leftovers.  Jamie says this dish is for 6 servings but, with the salad, I think it's closer to 8 servings.

ENDIVE SALAD WITH "INSANE DRESSING"
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's MEALS IN MINUTES
Serves 6

2 heads red endive, or 1 large radicchio
2 large heads Belgian endive
a small bunch of fresh basil (about 12 leaves)
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 anchovies, drained from jar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons natural yogurt (such as Fage)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Trim the bases of the endives and thickly slice them; scatter in a salad bowl or over a platter.  Tear 3-4 basil leaves and scatter over the endives.

2. Put the remaining basil leaves into a blender or food processor.  Crush in the garlic clove, then add a pinch of salt and pepper, the anchovies, mustard, yogurt, vinegar, and olive oil.  Add a tablespoon of water and whiz until smooth.

3. Taste the dressing for acidity; add more olive oil if you want to mellow it out a bit.  Pour the dressing into a jug or glass for serving.

A NOTE ON KID-FRIENDLINESS: This macaroni dish is perfect for kids.  I mean, you can't go wrong with crunchy breadcrumbs and nearly a pound of Cheddar cheese.  That said, Bug still managed to eat around all the bits of cauliflower.  Of course.  And I substituted the salad with the tried-and-true apple slices.

Sublime Pairings

I don't know what happened this past week but I was in a scheduling funk.  I hadn't planned a dinner menu, I hadn't gone grocery shopping, we had to keep eating out...  I was just out of sorts.  Menu planning for me is all about the routine: creating the menu, making the grocery list, doing the various shopping (Fresh Direct, farmers' market, Todaro Bros.), and then the actual cooking.  And when I don't go through every one of those rituals it just throws me off.  Ugh.  I'm getting stressed even recounting all this to you.  Last week wasn't my best.

It was in this mindset a few days ago that I decided we couldn't eat out another night; I was just going to have to create something from what I had in my kitchen already.  I had pasta because I always keep a package of fresh linguine in the freezer (another Fresh Direct stand-by).  I also had a butternut squash that I had picked up randomly a couple days earlier.  The squash was roasted, the pasta boiled.  I melted some butter, browning it and then adding some dried sage.  The last touch was to toss the pasta in the butter, put it in a bowl, and top with the squash, some freshly grated nutmeg, and Parmesan.

As usual, I checked WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT to see what they suggested as a wine pairing.  As luck would have it, Viognier was recommended with butternut squash and I just happened to have a bottle of Sobon Estate Viognier in my wine fridge.

It was, in every way, a divine pairing.  The earthy sage and salty Parmesan brought out all the warm butter and wood from the Viognier; together, it seemed to be autumn personified.  I actually gasped out loud; it was that perfect.  It's not to say that I don't enjoy most of my wine-food pairings because I do (thanks to Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page!)...but every once in a while you hit the perfect one and there's just nothing like it.

And what about a bad pairing?  We once had a young family friend - she was about 18 at the time - ask us how you know when a wine-food pairing is bad.  I responded, "It'll turn your face inside out."  If you've experienced it, you know exactly what I mean.  This pairing was the exact opposite of that.

Eat, drink, and pair up.


NOTE: Your kid(s) won't touch butternut squash?  Neither will mine.  So I didn't add any to Bug's bowl - she pretty much had just buttered noodles.  Then I sliced up an apple and put that on the side for her since that's about the only fruit/vegetable she eats gladly.



ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA
Recipe by Pinot and Prose
Serves 4

1 pound fresh linguine (dried is fine too)
1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp dried sage (or to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly and finely grated nutmeg (or to taste)
4 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel butternut squash then cut in half.  Remove seeds.  Cut squash into 1/2-inch pieces.  Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for about 30 minutes until squash is pierced easily with a fork and starting to brown.

2. In a large pot, boil water over high heat and then add 2 tbsp salt to the water.  Add pasta and cook according to package instructions (fresh pasta will take only about 2-3 minutes).  Make sure you try pasta before draining to make sure it's done.  Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

3. Melt butter in a large saute pan.  Add sage and the cooked pasta; toss.  If the pasta seems dry, add the reserved cooking water, 1/4 c. at a time.

4. Add pasta to individual bowls.  Garnish with roasted squash, grated nutmeg, and Parmesan.  Serve immediately.  With a big, buttery Viognier, of course.

Rosé Parade

Ooh, ooh, I was SO THRILLED to read this New York Times article this morning on rosé: "A Rosé Can Bloom in Winter" by Eric Asimov.  Like most people, I too have relegated rosé to the back shelves and cupboards during the winter months.  It just seems so...summery.  


But recently, when I made Crab and Ricotta Manicotti*, I was at a loss for a wine.  Sauvignon Blanc?  Chardonnay?  So I consulted my handy-dandy WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (really, how many more times do I have to tell you about this resource before you'll pick it up?).  And rosé was listed as a match for both crab and ricotta.  My initial thought was an eye roll - I mean, come ON, it's January.  But I didn't have anything else that matched.  So I opened up one of my go-to rosés:

Fresh Direct**.  For under $20 per bottle.  And it went exceptionally well with the manicotti dish, giving it a brightness that it definitely needed.  It was a good foil.


My other favorite rosé is the Carpineto (forgive the glimpse of leg - this was a summer picnic photo):

While the first bottle is gone, thanks to the manicotti and a night with my Soul Twin, I'm still sitting on a Carpineto left over from the summer.  Thanks to the NYT article, I'm more tempted to drink it now, rather than wait until May.  So here are what Karen and Andrew are recommending with rosé that would work for the winter months:

• apertif and/or with canapés, especially dry rosé
• barbecue and barbecue sauce (I definitely do some stovetop grilling in the winter - this could work)
• beef, especially spicier dishes
• charcuterie, especially with dry rosé
• cheese, especially mild (I'm not sure about this one - I tend to go with the meatier, heavier, bluer cheeses in winter.  Good to keep in mind, though, in case I put together a cheese plate)
• cold dishes, especially meat (I wonder if this includes beef carpaccio...dang, I love beef carpaccio...)
• cranberries
• duck 
• eggs and egg dishes (am I the only one that reads this and thinks, "Yay!  Brunch wine!  Wine at 11 a.m. on Sunday!"  Oh...wait...I'm the only one?)
• peanuts and peanut sauces (yummmm...)
• pork, especially grilled or roasted
• quiche, especially with dry rosé (more brunch thoughts...)
• saffron
• sandwiches, especially beef and pork
• sausage, especially grilled
• soup (this is the verbatim listing: "soup".  Based on the other dishes, I'm thinking something seafood-based would be ideal)
• spicy food, especially with fuller-bodied rosé
• turkey, especially roasted 

So fun, right?  And I don't know about all of you, but this is the time of year - damn, February - when the winter doldrums start setting in and this is exactly the sort of thing I need to brighten up the dark days.

Eat, drink, and think outside the seasonal box.

* I should note that, in WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, they mention that cream sauces should be avoided with rosé.  But it worked with this one.  My somewhat educated guess is that it is because the crab and ricotta were really the dominant flavors, rather than the béchamel sauce.

** I bought many, many bottles of this rosé from Fresh Direct in the summer.  It's not available right now but I'm hoping that it'll come back in a couple months?

Crab and Ricotta Manicotti

As mentioned previously, I have hundreds of recipes saved up and, in particular, I have dozens of bookmarked recipes from all the blogs I read.  One of those recipes is Crab and Ricotta Manicotti from Confections of a Foodie Bride, which I've been hanging onto for two years.

See my previous post for all my woes about trying to find Manicotti noodles; in summation, I couldn't find ANY.  So I substituted small square lasagna noodles that I found at Eli's Manhattan:

 The crab, ricotta, egg, Parmesan, herb mixture:

Here is how it looked while rolling them up:

And the finished product - the crab and ricotta mixture in the noodles, baked in bechamel sauce:

The lasagna noodles worked seamlessly in the dish - at least the ones I used - I don't know that I could guarantee that result with every lasagna noodle brand.  I stuffed it very generously, which I'd recommend highly.  I encourage you to play around with the recipe: it was rich and creamy but Adam and I found ourselves wishing for some heat, some warmth.  Next time I make it (and there will be a next time), I plan on adding cayenne or Old Bay seasoning.  But I definitely feel like it needed another level of flavor.

I also consulted THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page for some inspiration.  Under "crab", I got some other flavor ideas that could work in this dish: chives, scallions, saffron, Tabasco, balsamic.  All might work here.

But this is why I love this dish and why I'm likely to try it again: it leaves lots of room for interpretation and improvisation.  My favorite!  And if that weren't enough, per Shawnda's blog post, I froze a portion of the dish so it's on deck for a meal this week or next.  Which is a working parent's get-out-of-jail-free card!

Eat, drink, and get creative!

Is Manicotti Passé?

Tonight I'm making Crab and Ricotta Manicotti for dinner, courtesy of Confections of a Foodie Bride.  I have saved the recipe for a very long time (two years!) and I'm finally going to give it a spin.

I used Manicotti with some regularity when Adam and I first got married.  I had a (very loose) recipe that a friend taught me in high school: it basically consisted of stuffing ricotta, grated mozzarella, salt, and pepper into uncooked Manicotti shells.  Place in glass baking dish.  Cover entirely with jarred pasta sauce - seriously, douse it.  Grate lots more mozzarella over it (to taste).  Cover with foil, bake until cooked through.  I couldn't tell you the temperature or timing, as it's been years since I have used this "recipe."  I'm guessing 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

But those days are long gone and now I find myself looking for Manicotti shells for this recipe.  Wouldn't think it would be so hard, would you?  But it has been for me.  Adam looked at Chelsea Market (at both Buon Italia and Manhattan Fruit Exchange) and came up with nothing.  I looked online at Fresh Direct - no luck.  I looked at Eli's Manhattan to no avail.  So I got desperate and, at Eli's, picked up flat lasagna noodles and figured I could wrap them up - almost like pasta spring rolls.

So what's the deal?  Is Manicotti passé?  Is the fancy-shmancy stores I'm shopping at?

All that searching and I probably would have been better off going directly to the closest store in my neighborhood, otherwise known to me as one of the most utter crap grocery stores I've ever known: Key Food.  Wouldn't that be ironic?

Eat, drink, and improvise.

Home

Come Wednesday, I'll be flying to San Diego for the ALA Midwinter Meeting, and I'm trying really hard not to be bitter about the fact that I was just in California five days ago to visit my family*.  I can hardly believe I'm heading back to the West Coast again.  Which is one reason why this New Year's weekend has been so important to me: I have such a strong sense of homebody-ness.  I have spent the last three days really hunkering down and enjoying my own little home here in NYC, spending time with Adam and Bug.

The craziness aside, it is during weeks like this when menu planning becomes even more of a priority to me.  It's more than food - it also assures me that Adam and Bug will eat well in my absence and that there is a certain amount of order in a chaotic world.  I mean, when the going gets tough, the tough eat good food, right?:

 Monday: Oatmeal with Apples, Brioche Toast.  Breakfast for dinner?  Absolutely.  This recipe is one of my favorites from French Women Don't Get Fat - the apples make it even heartier and more fulfilling, not to mention that they lend a brightness to the oatmeal.  I'm stressed and tired before a conference...yet this makes me feel like I've still provided a comforting, satisfying meal to myself and my family.

Tuesday: Creamy Parmesan Polenta with Brussels Sprouts.  I use Ina Garten's new recipe for the polenta and Nigel Slater's uber-easy recipe for the Brussels sprouts.  This dinner will truly take me only 30 minutes to put together...but the rewards are endless: it's the culinary equivalent of a working brick fireplace in my apartment.

Wednesday: Nachos.  Guess who is now in San Diego...  This is Adam and Bug's table now.  Chips, cheese, black beans, olives, salsa, sour cream.  Naturally, everything is organic-y.

Thursday: Grilled Prosciutto and Cheese.  Again, I'm gone.  I added prosciutto to make it resemble something delicious and uptown.  Does it help that they'll be making the sandwiches with Comte and Fontina?

Friday: I leave them to their own devices.  It's either Breakfast (eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast) or they'll go out.  I'll be busy stacking up books in the booth, waiting for the two hours of madness that is the conference's "opening reception".

The comfort food theme began tonight with Cabbage and Straw, one of my favorite winter pasta meals.  It comes from Rachael Ray's magazine, in which she says "I cannot successfully transition from summer to fall without eating this Italian classic".  But don't listen to her.  This is too hearty to be a summer/fall transitional dish - it's winter through and through.

CABBAGE AND STRAW
Adapted from Rachael Ray


2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
9 oz. fresh fettuccine or pappardelle pasta (not dried)
1/2 large head Savoy cabbage - quartered, cored, and shredded
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves - smashed, skins removed, cloves quartered
20 fresh sage leaves, 10 whole and 10 thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it.  Add the potatoes and cook for 7 minutes.  Add the cabbage to the same pot and cook for 3 minutes.  Add pasta and cook for 2 minutes (fresh pasta needs to be cooked for much less time than dried, which is why I altered Ray's recipe).

While the potatoes and pasta are cooking, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet (I used non-stick) over medium heat.  Add the garlic and whole sage leaves.  Cook until the sage is crisp, 3-4 minutes.  Remove the garlic and sage leaves to a small plate.


Add the sliced sage and pepper to the skillet; just before draining the potatoes, pasta, and cabbage, add 2 ladles of the starchy cooking water.


Drain the potatoes, pasta, and cabbage and add to the skillet.  Stir it all together, adding the Parmesan as you work to get a cheesy, buttery coating.  Adjust the salt and garnish the pasta with the reserved whole sage leaves and garlic.


I drank a cheap but satisfying wine with it - Odfjell Babor Cabernet Sauvignon - and Adam really liked his Brooklyn Brewery Winter Lager pairing.

My point is that, even when you have no time, even when you're not home, planning balanced and satisfying meals is entirely possible.

Eat, drink, and make good food a priority.

* Oh, how I wish that I could have stayed there and just worked from my parents' house! 

Foodie Weekend: Eataly

I've missed you guys!  It's been an eventful two weeks: sickness ('tis the season), best friends, seemingly endless food and wine, conferences, and day-to-day living.  I'll be in Minnesota this coming weekend for KidLitCon and can't wait - I've never been to Minneapolis - or anywhere in Minnesota - so it'll be a new adventure.  Not to mention that I'll see folks from last year's conference, like Liz Burns, Jen Robinson, and Maureen Kearney.  On top of which I also found out today that one of our new authors - Anne Ursu - will be there as well!  She has a book with Harper coming out in Fall 2011 so I'm excited to meet her in person.

But all that aside, let me tell you about my weekend.  The Soul Twin (aka my BFF) was visiting - hopefully, hopefully, the last trip she makes before moving here - and so we decided we had to hit up Eataly.  Eataly, for those not in-the-know, is Mario Batali's foodie venture with Joe and Lidia Bastianich.  I won't go into the details of the place.  For that, there's the New York Post, the New York Times, Eater NY, Huffington Post...and a ridonkulous amount of other sources.  But for the layperson, here is a taste (pun, unfortunately, intended) of our inaugural trip to Eataly:

The wait for La Pasta was an hour long so we settled for La Pesce.  I'm being sarcastic, of course.  It was amazing.  The crudo was fresh and interesting; the Soul Twin particularly loved (as did we all, I assure you) the diver scallops with tangerine-pressed olive oil.  I begged everyone to let me order the salt cod, as I've always been too lazy to make anything with salt cod myself.  It was very good but definitely not the highlight of the meal.

I had never had razor clams before and the flavor of these was as it should be: like tasting the sea.  That said, these were a bit sandy?  Or gritty?  Is that normal?  I'm not sure, being a newbie to razor clams.  Nevertheless, the flavor was outstanding.

I could make Eataly into FIVE blog posts.  So I'll break it down.  Here are a few things you need to know:

• Get there before noon on a Saturday if you want to avoid waiting on the sidewalk.
• The vegetable restaurant - La Verdure - seems to have the shortest lines.  And if the rest of the place is any indication, I don't think you can go wrong by going there instead of any of the other places.
• Want to go food shopping?  Stop by the bar in the middle first.  You can shop while sipping a fabulous rose.  Which we did.

• Don't expect to buy too much, at least the first time you go.  We walked through like zombies, just staring at everything, unable to act.
• Have recipes that require obscure pasta shapes you've never heard of?  Write them down before you go to Eataly!  Almost guaranteed that you'll find them here.
• It's not cheap.  In fact, it's one of the most expensive food shops I have ever visited.
• Thinking about buying produce at Eataly on a Saturday?  Please remember that Union Square Greenmarket is only about 8 blocks south of Eataly.  Support local produce...and get that amazing fresh pasta from Eataly.
• They have as much for the wine lover as much as for the beer lover. You know about Adam and his beer: he passed the available Dogfish Head for an Italian beer and loved it. But don't tell Sam Calagione...

So I'll end my post by trying some Italian:

Mangiare, bere, e amano l'Italia!

New blog and new recipe

Thanks to Susan at Chicken Spaghetti, I was directed to a new blog on the block: Cook the Wolf.  I was immediately smitten, of course, by the MFK Fisher reference.  Anyone who reads MFK Fisher just...gets it, you know?

And Emily got off to an eloquent start, discussing hunger (of course!), and sharing her recipe for Caramelized Onion and Walnut Sauce for pasta.  It sounded like the type of recipe I'm always looking for on weeknights: simple to make, affordable, and flavorful (you could even leave out the walnuts if you're really cutting costs - nuts are spendy!).  Here's out it turned out:

Emily wasn't kidding when she said it doesn't turn out attractive, though my version might have turned out prettier if I had used white wine instead of red wine.  Luckily, the parsley, cheese, and walnuts add some visual interest.

I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about this recipe, which wasn't necessarily the recipe's fault...for starters, I severely underseasoned it - make sure you really salt and pepper this one up.  And I don't know what happened with my onions - I just couldn't get them to produce a nice golden color before adding the wine and such.

I also thought gorgonzola might help punch it up so I added some halfway through our meal, but it really didn't work...which was so strange since walnuts-gorzonzola-caramelized onions are such a classic pairing.  

I'm going to keep messing around with this one because I think it has a lot of possibilities.  Next time I am certainly going to try the addition of acid - some balsamic perhaps.  Maybe even some lemon zest?  Emily also has a post about The Flavor Bible, and luckily I own a copy - that might also help give me some ideas about ways to get creative with this dish.

Eat, drink, and welcome to Cook the Wolf!