Spicy Spaghetti

I popped in to Kinder's (a local butcher) the other day for some chicken breasts and peppered bacon, and the sausages caught my eye. I asked for two mild links, thinking I'd make some spaghetti for an easy weeknight dinner. Turns out, the butcher gave me the wrong ones and our spaghetti turned out much spicier than I planned. It was way too much kick for Tomboy, but Mr Wonderful loved it and said it reminded him of when he lived in New Orleans.

Spicy Spaghetti
1/2 lb angel hair pasta (I used the Barilla Plus kind, which is a healthier multigrain pasta)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 hot Italian links (any spicy sausage would be good here), cut in half lengthwise and then into thin half-rounds
1 large can (28 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1/4 c fresh basil, torn or sliced into thin strips
salt & pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds or so. Throw in the sausage and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomatoes. Wait for the sauce to start bubbling a little, and then turn down the heat to low. You can simmer this for a loooong time; I did for about half an hour, waiting for Mr Wonderful to come home. The flavors just all mix together and get better and better. Just before serving, add the basil and adjust the seasoning (the sausage probably added plenty of heat and salt, but check just in case).

Mushroom mushroom!

OK, I know I've been slacking, but I'll make up for it. A couple of weeks ago we had a barbecue here with friends. Mr Wonderful grilled up some incredible NY steaks while I made stuffed mushrooms and panzanella...and you get BOTH the recipes here! The mushrooms are a delicious twist on my usual recipe, and the panzanella is a quick & healthy side dish that's ideal for summer tomatoes. Both recipes will qualify for Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-day roundup - be sure and check out her site for other yummy recipes!

Stuffed Mushrooms
20 cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 green onion, sliced thinly (green parts only)
4 Saltines or Ritz crackers, crushed to crumbs
1/2 pkg Boursin garlic-herb cheese
salt & pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop finely. Over medium heat, melt the butter and add the olive oil to a skillet. Add the mushroom stems and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, parsley, green onion and some salt & pepper to taste. Add the cracker crumbs until you get a slightly moist, crumbly mixture (you may need to add a little more or less).

On a cookie sheet, lay out all the mushroom caps. Fill each mushroom cap with Boursin, smooshing it down with the back of a teaspoon. Top the cap with a little of the mushroom-garlic mixture and set it back on the cookie sheet. Fill all the caps, then top each cap with a little freshly grated Parmesan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the mushrooms soften, start to give up their juices, and get a little brown on the bottoms. Serve immediately.


Panzanella
1 c chopped tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes, cut in half)
2 c rustic bread (pugliese, sourdough, whatever), cut into 1" dice
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 EVOO, plus 2 Tbsp
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Scatter the bread on a cookie sheet, and toss with the 2 Tbsp olive oil and some salt & pepper. Pop it in the oven and let the croutons toast for ten minutes.

In the meantime, combine the tomatoes, shallot, parsley, 1/4 c olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt & pepper. As soon as the croutons are done toasting, toss them in with the tomato mixture and let the bread soak up the olive oil/balsamic vinegar/tomato juices. Serve immediately.

Rainbow Pasta

This is a baked pasta dish that's absolutely stuffed with veggies, so it will be my contribution to Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-day roundup.

Rainbow Pasta
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 c sliced mushrooms (I used crimini and shiitake)
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 large jar tomato sauce (I used an organic roasted garlic/basil flavor sauce)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 lb (half a box) penne pasta, cooked until nearly al dente
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced or shredded
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until they soften and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and bell peppers, and season well with salt & pepper. When the veggies are all softened (another 4-5 minutes), add the tomato sauce and the red pepper flakes and heat through. Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and pour into a casserole dish. Top with the mozzarella cheese and bake until the cheese is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly (about half an hour).

Serve immediately, garnishing with parsley for a little punch of color.

Chicken Panzanella

Panzanella is a delicious Italian tomato and crouton salad, and the addition of roasted chicken breast it makes a light, satisfying spring or summer meal.

Chicken Panzanella
1 large chicken breast, roasted and shredded or cut into bite-size chunks (I buy chicken breasts with the bone in and skin on and roast them at 400 with olive oil & salt & pepper - this keeps them moist and delicious; if you do the whole package at the beginning of the week you'll have pre-cooked chicken to make quick meals with for a few nights)
2 c diced tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes, cut in half)
2 c sourdough bread, cut into 1" dice
1 shallot, sliced thinly
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c olive oil, plus 2 Tbsp
1/4 c good balsamic vinegar
fine sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallots, parsley, 1/4 c olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and chicken. Season well with salt & pepper. Let this mixture stand for at least 15 minutes - half an hour or more would be better - to let the flavors meld and allow the tomatoes to give up some of their juice. Don't worry if it seems like there's too much liquid at the bottom of the bowl; the croutons will fix this.

Toss the bread cubes with the 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. As soon as the croutons come out of the oven, add them to the rest of the ingredients and toss to combine. The croutons should soak up the yummy liquid, but retain a bit of "bite".

Veg-tastic Spaghetti

Spaghetti
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister

I had a bag of mushrooms and a red bell pepper that really needed to get used up before we went to Monterey for the weekend, so I threw together a sweet, spicy, smokey spaghetti sauce (how's that for alliteration?) the other night. It's got some unusual ingredients, but it all blended well together, and Mr Wonderful gave this two thumbs up. The high veggie content makes this a natural choice for Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-day roundup.

Veg-tastic Spaghetti
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 onion, diced
2 c chopped mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (35 oz/2 lb) whole, peeled tomatoes - I chopped them up fairly small but you could puree it in the food processor or just crush them with your wooden spoon; however you like the consistency of your spaghetti sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried or fresh thyme
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta (half a box)
salt & pepper
parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Throw in the onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper and saute until veggies are soft and mushrooms begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for just a minute more; don't let the garlic burn! Season with salt & pepper, then add the tomatoes and any juice from the can. Add all the herbs and spices, and let the sauce simmer for at least fifteen minutes, until all the flavors blend together.

Boil the pasta according to the package directions, drain, and serve with the spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese on top, if you like.

Ribollita

Ribollita
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister

Ribollita, for those of you unaware, is a lovely Tuscan veggie soup thickened with stale bread. Delicious and very healthy! The best part about ribollita is that it can be made with a wide variety of veggies; pretty much anything you've got wasting away in your crisper drawer can go in. Leafy greens like kale are a traditional addition to the soup, but they aren't required in the recipe below. The high veggie content means this will be my "get back on the horse" submission to Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-day roundup this week.

Ribollita (adapted from this Rachael Ray recipe)
3 Tbsp EVOO, divided
1 diced medium onion
2 diced carrots
2 diced celery stalks
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf (dried or fresh)
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary leaves
1 can (15 oz) tomatoes, diced or small diced or crushed; whatever you've got in the cupboard
2 cans small white beans (smaller than cannellini beans)
6 c chicken stock (use vegetable stock for a vegetarian soup)
3 c stale bread, without the crust, torn into small pieces (Italian or sourdough bread is best for this)
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
salt & pepper

Heat 2 Tbsp EVOO over medium heat in a large, heavy pot. Take a small handful of the diced onion, chop it very finely, and set it aside for later. Add the rest of the diced onion to the pot, along with the carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf and rosemary. Season the veggies with salt & pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes, letting the veggies soften. Once the veggies are soft but not browned, add the tomatoes and beans (I drained one can of beans but put all the liquid from the second can in). Add the chicken stock, and raise the heat to medium-high. When it boils, add the torn bread. Simmer the soup (adjusting the heat as necessary) for 10 minutes or so, until the bread breaks down completely and thickens the soup. The soup can be as thick or thin as you like; add more bread for a thicker soup or more stock to thin it out. Just before serving, stir in the parsley and check your seasonings, adding more salt or pepper as desired.

To serve, put a couple of ladles of soup in a wide bowl, drizzle with the reserved EVOO, sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese and the reserved finely chopped onion.

Review: Risotto

OK, I know it's been a while. I was sick right after New Year's and we had Rugrat's birthday to deal with. But honestly, I just haven't been cooking much, and what I have cooked has been pretty basic, run-of-the-mill stuff (or stuff I've already posted about; Mr Wonderful is asking about the Yum Yum Chicken Enchilada casserole again, so I'll have to throw that together one of these days). However, Mr Wonderful and I did go out to dinner at a "new" (to us, anyway) restaurant here in Antioch, called Risotto.

The restaurant has actually been around for about a year, and I was surprised to hear that because I would have thought they'd have improved after being in business for so long. From the top:

We both ordered the prix fixe meal, as we were there on a Thursday night at around 6:15 PM. It's four courses for about $22, if you're there Sun-Thurs before 7 PM. We both got different dishes for each course, so I think we got a pretty good overview of their menu.

First up was soup: I had butternut squash/apple soup and he had the roasted portobello mushroom soup. They were both fantastic; the only quibble we had is that the mushroom soup had no garnish whatsoever and it looked like a bowl of mud. It could have used a little swirl of creme fraiche or sour cream, and maybe a bit of parsley. But the flavor of both soups was outstanding.

Next came the salad course. My salad was a wine country standard, with candied walnuts, bleu cheese crumbles, baby greens and a balsamic vinaigrette. Nice, but standard. Nothing to write home about. His salad was Greek-style, with olives, feta, tomatoes and a slightly lemony dressing (with maybe a little dill or oregano in it). Again, perfectly serviceable but nothing outstanding.

Third course was our pasta, and this is where things started to fall apart. My tortellini with prosciutto and peas was quite nice, except that the tortellini was overcooked a little. I did appreciate that they didn't drown the pasta in the alfredo sauce; there was just enough sauce without it being overwhelming. Mr Wonderful's pasta was pretty bad, though. His mostaccioli (large tube-shaped pasta) was undercooked, but the chicken in his dish was quite overcooked, to the point that it was dry and almost tough. The sauce was horribly underseasoned as well; it didn't taste like much of anything, which is pretty difficult to do with a tomato-based sauce. The sauce desperately needed salt, onions, garlic, sausage...something! It was completely bland. On the plus side, the dishes were nicely presented. We would have preferred that they grated the parmesan over our dishes at the table, instead of sprinkling pre-grated cheese with a spoon, but that was a minor quibble overall.

To wrap things up, I opted for the apple galette while he stuck with his favorite - tiramisu. My apple tart was nearly inedible. The apples were bland beyond measure, unpeeled and again, horribly underseasoned, with a nearly rubbery bit of pastry on top. Mr Wonderful's tiramisu was a disappointment as well: the plating was disastrous, with little chunks of the tiramisu scattered around the main portion, and the texture was all wrong; the ladyfingers were soggy and had no body whatsoever.

All in all, it was an uneven meal. We'll keep it in our rotation, but probably just order soup to go rather than risk another pasta dish. And the desserts should be taken off their menu altogether; if you can't do the pastry right, just serve ice cream.

Crab Risotto

I wanted to make something special and comforting, but also something that would be light-tasting, since we've been eating so much heavy, fattening food (you know how it is around the holidays). I came up with this crab risotto, and it was the perfect thing for Mr Wonderful and I.

Crab Risotto
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 c diced onion
1 c arborio rice
1 c dry white wine
4 c simmering chicken stock
10 oz fresh crab meat (Dungeness is in season here in the bay area)
Zest of one lemon
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
salt & pepper

Melt the butter with the EVOO in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Seasoning with salt & pepper is a good idea at this point. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains, and let them toast for a minute or two while you open the wine. Add the wine and let it bubble until the alcohol is all cooked out. and the rice has absorbed some of the liquid. Add 1/2-3/4 c of hot chicken stock. Stir frequently, letting the rice absorb the stock until it's almost gone. The rice should not get dry on top, but when you drag a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan, it should leave a track for a moment or two. That's when you know it's time to add more stock. Keep adding stock and letting the rice absorb it, stirring very frequently, until the stock is all gone and the rice is al dente. Be patient, it takes about half an hour to do this right!

At this point you can add just about anything you want to the risotto. For this meal, I used crab, lemon zest, and parsley. As soon as the crab is heated through, check the seasonings and add more salt or pepper, if necessary. Makes 3-4 servings.

Tuna Puttanesca

This is a slightly spicy pasta dish that gets a protein boost with canned tuna (instead of the traditional anchovies). This is one of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meal recipes. I followed it pretty much exactly, although I cut back the garlic a bit. (SIX cloves Rachael? Really??)

Caprese Pasta

Caprese Pasta
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

I picked up a couple of brown tomatoes (a new variety, not brown as in rotten) at the grocery store and wanted to try them in something simple that wouldn't overwhelm their flavor. So I just made a Caprese salad and threw in some cooked campanelle pasta. You don't even really need a recipe for this, people. Just chop up some tomatoes, some fresh mozzarella, and some basil. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and some cooked pasta. Voila!

Risotto with Apples and Manchego Cheese

Risotto with Apples and Manchego Cheese
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

I had a similar risotto once at an Italian restaurant - it had the sauteed apples, but instead of Manchego, they used Asiago cheese. This dish turned out well, but I think it could be improved with a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to brighten things up a bit.

Risotto with Apples and Manchego Cheese

4 c chicken stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 c diced onion
1 apple, peeled, cored & diced (I used Fuji, which was maybe a little too sweet)
1 c arborio rice
1 c white wine
1/4 c grated Manchego cheese
salt & pepper

Bring the stock to a simmer in a pot, and leave it on medium-low heat to keep it warm but not boiling.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the onions and apples, and season with salt & pepper. Sautee gently until the onions are translucent. Remove the apples with a slotted spoon (try to leave the onions in the pan). Add the rice to the pan, stirring to coat it evenly with the oil and butter. Let the rice toast for a minute, then add the wine. Let the alcohol cook off for a minute; when the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, add a couple of ladles of stock to the rice pan. Stirring often, allow the rice to almost completely absorb all the stock before adding more to the pan. Continue in this manner, adding stock gradually and stirring frequently, until the stock is gone and the rice is cooked al dente, about 20 minutes. Add the apples back in to the rice, and allow it to cook for a few minutes more, to reheat the apples and soften them a bit. Add the cheese at the last minute, and serve immediately.

Makes two big servings, or two regular servings and a small portion for tomorrow's lunch.

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Basil

Dinner 4/30/07
Originally uploaded by snarkmeister.

A nice, fresh risotto for spring, and my first submission to Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-Day roundup!

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Basil

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock (approx) - you can use vegetable stock for a vegetarian meal, but I like it with chicken stock
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces and steamed (I steamed it over the chicken stock while I was making the rice)
Zest from half a lemon
1 tsp fresh chopped basil (or one cube of TJ's frozen basil, which is what I used)
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat butter & oil together over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent and soft. Add some salt & pepper. At the same time, heat the chicken stock until simmering, and then keep it simmering during the rest of the process.

Add the rice to the onions, and saute for a minute or two until coated with oil & butter and slightly toasted. Add the white wine and let the alcohol cook off, about 1-2 minutes. Add a big ladle or two of simmering chicken stock, and stir. Let the rice absorb most of the chicken stock (it will take a few minutes), stirring frequently, until you see the bottom of the pan for a moment when you stir, and then add another ladle or two. Continue this process for about 20-25 minutes, until the rice is creamy and tender but with a little bit of bite (al dente), and you've used up all (or most) of the chicken stock. Add the basil and lemon zest. At the last minute, throw in the asparagus and stir it all together. Check the seasoning, and add more salt & pepper if needed.

Serves two generously (or two modestly, plus enough leftovers for one lunch the next day). Enjoy!

Quick Veggie Pizza

We made homemade veggie pizza for dinner last night. I bought one of those premade thin-crust pizza shells, and we filled it with ranch dressing (instead of marinara, because neither of Rugrat nor I like tomato sauce on our pizza), baby spinach, mushrooms, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, slivers of onion, garlic, and standard bagged "pizza mix" shredded cheese. Rugrat's side only had spinach & olives, but my side had all the goodies. And BOY was it tasty! It earned one and a half thumbs up from the Rugrat, although he said that next time he'd prefer it without the ranch dressing.