What Did You Eat?

PPN: Fazzoletti With Turkey Stew, Prunes And Pearl Onions

Fazzoletti translates literally into "face towels," which is what these large squares of fresh pasta resemble.  But, I wouldn't wipe my face with them, they're too delicious.  Simply cut into four inch squares, they  are the easiest pasta shape to make, in my opinion.   I thought about dragging out my pasta machine, but decided to use fresh pasta sheets from my local grocery store instead.  While not as good as homemade, the fazzoletti was so enjoyable, I made food porn noises as I ate it. You know what I'm talking about. The sauce was a simple turkey stew, made with prunes and pearl onions.  The stew requires little real work, but cooks for some time in oven.  And that was fine with me.  The weather was cold and clammy outside, but my house was filled with the aroma of turkey legs, rosemary, and thyme, braising in the oven.  The recipe comes from Food & Wine, and they suggest serving each person their own turkey leg. That's always fun, but two hours of braising doesn't produce attractive turkey legs, so I pulled the meat off the bone instead.  The prunes add a slightly sweet flavor to everything, so even if you don't think you would like them, I wouldn't leave them out.  You can substitute egg noodles for the fazzoletti.  And the stew would be wonderful on polenta.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

PPN: Spaghetti With Turkey Meatballs And Sundried Tomatoes

I confess that meatballs hold a special place in my heart.  I look for new recipes to try, mainly because I want an excuse to eat the little buggers.  This recipe was simple to make and great fun to eat.  The meatballs were juicy and full of flavor, due to the chopped sundried tomatoes mixed into them.  Meatballs freeze beautifully and I like to have them on reserve, to pull out a few to eat when I'm feeling a little hypoglysemic.  And they're handy for when I don't feel like cooking.  I served these with pasta, but they're wonderful with rice or (my favorite) a big chunk of crusty bread.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, stop by and check it out.

PPN: Penne With Sausage Ragu

I enjoyed the holidays, but they also left me feeling exhausted.  The last few days, I toyed with the  idea of embarking on a diet consisting exclusively of cereal and milk.  Then I ran out of Shredded Wheat With Bran and took that as a sign to cook a real meal.  Going to the grocery store seemed too ambitious an adventure, so I spent some time scrutinizing the holiday leftovers in my fridge.  The most likely candidates were two hefty garlic turkey sausages, and a carrot, both of which I used to make a simple ragu late at night, while watching episodes of the Law & Order marathon on television.  Two words:  Chris Noth.

Presto Pasta Night: Gemelli All'amatriciana

Looking through the jumble of items in my freezer, I spied a package of pancetta. I enjoy stashing things like pancetta and proscuitto away for future use, because they elevate simple recipes into something special. This dish is one I use quite a bit, cobbled from other recipes I've seen in the past. In fact, I can't remember the first time I made this, so the original source is lost to me.  Gemelli is not the pasta normally associated with this recipe, but I love it, and one of the perks of cooking food is the power to decide how it will be prepared.  And that's just fine with me.  This time I added some of Lydia's Rhode Island Pepper Sauce and Mor-Sels Finishing Salt.  Frankly, the salt is like crack, instantly addictive. 

WHB: Herb Pita Crisps And Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

Like many people, I've been pre-occupied with getting ready for Thanksgiving.  This year I'm not making the traditional meal with turkey and mashed potatoes. Instead, I'm serving shrimp and crab file' gumbo.  There won't be many side dishes.  No one in my family would eat them, because they take up valuable stomach space from the gumbo.  But, I did make a terrific appetizer that was so good, I had to talk myself down from eating it all up right after I made it.  This sun-dried tomato dip is absolutely fabulous.  Upon tasting it, my friend Nancy exclaimed, "It's like Italian flavors exploding in your mouth!"   It's perfect paired with the herb pita crips.  As the herbs are quite pronounced here, this makes a perfect dish for Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by the fabulous Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen.  The delightful Truffle at What's on My Plate is hosting WHB this week.

Presto Pasta Night: Farfalle with Arugula Pesto and Tomatoes

Things have cooled off somewhat here, but the weather experts tell us that the scorching heat will be back soon. No surprise, of course.  We always have high temperatures in the summer.  It's still hot, so I prefer simple meals that don't require much time in the kitchen. I also like to see vivid summer colors on my plate, from fresh tomatoes, peppers, greens, and herbs.  When I read this recipe from Williams-Sonoma, I knew it would look as lovely as it would taste. And it did.  The farfalle is coated with a bright green arugula pesto and accented with red and yellow cherry tomatoes.  The entire dish is quickly made in less than 20 minutes, and tastes like....summer.  I think it's perfect for Presto Pasta Night, the wonderful event created by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Head over to Ruth's site this Friday for a pasta roundup of all the other Presto Pasta bloggers.

Presto Pasta Nights: Scallop Sauce With Olive Oil, Garlic, and Hot Pepper

I often find myself leafing though Marcella Hazan's Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking, and I earmarked this recipe as one to make when I'm feeling tired.  The whole recipe takes about 15 minutes, counting the time to boil the water for the pasta. It moves so quickly, I couldn't take any pictures as I made it.  I was so looking forward to eating the finished dish, but was sorely disappointed when I did. It''s not the recipe. It was the bay scallops, which had an odd metallic taste.  I wound up flicking them to the side and eating the pasta without them.   Once I did that, the dish was very enjoyable.  As I was eating it, I thought how chopped shrimp or mushrooms would be a good substitute. Good scallops would also work nicely, of course.  However, I have to say that Bob enjoyed the whole dish, scallops included, so maybe I was too critical. 

One of the things I did like was the bread crumbs tossed with the pasta.  I used some unflavored Panko crumbs, the wonderful Japanese product that's available in most grocery stores. It had a very fresh, bready taste and toasted up nicely in a skillet.  It was delicious on the pasta. This is my submission for Presto Pasta Nights, the lovely event created by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  Check her site on Friday, when the roundup of creative pasta dishes will be posted.

Risotto With Bolognese Meat Sauce

Quite a depressing day, with the news from Virginia Tech.  I felt numb, as I listened to the news unfold: This insanity, happening yet again.  I had planned making an involved meal that required making Bolognese meat sauce, and then using it to make risotto.  At first, I didn't want to make anything for dinner.  Food seemed very unimportant.  But I went ahead and actually found some comfort in the simple tasks of chopping and repetitive stirring.  This meal took all day to make, and I appreciated that.  Busy hands help at times like this. 

Unfortunately, the CF card in my new camera suddenly died after I took pictures of the sauce, the pictures vanishing forever.  I then used my old camera to take pictures of the risotto, realizing later that I could have used its CF card in my new camera.

Is this recipe worth all the work? Yes, a thousand times over. The Bolognese sauce is wonderful and I have some left for other meals.  Even if you don't make the risotto, make the sauce. 

WHB: I Apologize, Michael.

Dear Michael Chiarello, I apologize. I've been critical of you in the past. Not about your looks. Never about your looks.  I've complained that while your recipes are delicious, they always take much longer to prepare than expected.  Well, today I made your Tuscan White Bean Soup, With Pesto and it was very easy to make.  I didn't wind up spending hours in the kitchen, muttering epithets about you or picturing you drawn and quartered in a vineyard.  This was a lovely recipe and the soup was delicious.  Since there's basil in it, I think it makes a good submission for Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen, but hosted this week by Kate at Thyme For Cooking.

Each year during spring I begin thinking a great deal about two items for my garden:  Tomatoes and basil.  I love to plant different basil plants, to use in cooking and for their beauty in the garden.  Purple and green colored basil looks lovely planted with flowers.  This recipe calls for pesto which, according to Wikipedia, comes from Genoa, Italy.   In the summer I always try to make pesto in bulk. It's easily frozen in cubes and will retain its wonderful flavor for months in the freezer. The cubes can then be tossed into soups, stews, or other recipes.

Weekend Herb Blogging: Polenta Gratin with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms

I haven't been very enthusiastic about cooking lately.  Maybe it was falling on the tile. Maybe it's the crazy new prescription in my eye glasses, which makes chopping and slicing a brand new, and challenging, experience.  I wanted something that tasted great, but didn't require doing anything that could cause me to cut off a finger.  I saw this recipe for Polenta Gratin with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms in Food & Wine magazine. It seemed easy to prepare and was touted as a "staff favorite," so I assumed it might taste pretty good. And it contains thyme, which qualified it for Weekend Herb Blogging!  WHB, created by Kalyn, now travels to different areas of the world every other weekend. Two weeks ago, it was in Italy and this weekend it's visiting Cate at Sweetnicks.  Please go over to Cate's and see what she and the other herb bloggers have prepared. You'll be glad you did. http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com