1 TB olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 medium zucchinis, sliced
3 1/3 oz button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups tomato pasta sauce
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (penne or spiralli)
4 TB grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, cover over low heat for 4 minutes or until onions are soft. Add zucchinis and mushrooms, cook for 3 minutes. Add the sauce and peas, cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook pasta for 10-12 minutes. Drain. Add to the vegetables in the pan. Spoon the mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake, covered, for 20-30 minutes.
The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook, Bay Books, 2010
Showing posts with label pasta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pasta. Show all posts
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Monday, December 5, 2011
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
As the cookbook says, quick and easy! And also very good! This serves 4 people.
1 cup mushrooms
1 3/4 cups dried past shapes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
6 green onions, trimmed and finely sliced
2/3 cup dry, white wine
1 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp chives
2 tbsp parsley
salt and pepper
If the mushrooms are large, slice them. Cook pasta.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the garlic and green onions for 2-3 minutes over a moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until they are softened and tender.
Add the wine and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes to reduce a little.
Stir in the mascarpone, stirring well to mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes until pipping hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chives and parsley. Season to taste and stir this sauce through the cooked pasta.
100 Great Recipes: Vegetarian, Vicki Smallwood, 2009
1 cup mushrooms
1 3/4 cups dried past shapes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
6 green onions, trimmed and finely sliced
2/3 cup dry, white wine
1 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp chives
2 tbsp parsley
salt and pepper
If the mushrooms are large, slice them. Cook pasta.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the garlic and green onions for 2-3 minutes over a moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until they are softened and tender.
Add the wine and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes to reduce a little.
Stir in the mascarpone, stirring well to mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes until pipping hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chives and parsley. Season to taste and stir this sauce through the cooked pasta.
100 Great Recipes: Vegetarian, Vicki Smallwood, 2009
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
you CAN make ravioli from scratch!
way back when, when even this blog was knee high to a grasshopper, I made pasta from scratch for the first time. And after spending hours with a rolling pin, it wasn't half bad.
a few months ago, I made some fantabulous Stuffed Mushrooms and had a metric ton (Ok, maybe 1 cup and a half) of filling left over.
pasta + yummy mixture = ravioli!
Follow the link above for regular traditional pasta, or here is a recipe that I found that claims to make "strong" pasta, for "wet fillings". I'd have to have both kinds of pasta next to each other to tell the difference, but I will say this made some super tasty ravioli.
Makes about 60 ravioli, takes about 1 1/2 cups filling.
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup white wine
about a 1/4 cup water
mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. (Traditionally, you would do this on a "floured surface", but mixing it in a big bowl makes clean up so much easier!) make a well in the center, and pour in the eggs and oil. mix slowly at first, slowly incorporating more and more flour into the eggy mixture in the center. then add the wine, and continue to mix. the dough will probably be dry and crumbly, so add a little bit of water. keep blending, and adding water a little bit at a time until you've got a soft dough that isn't wet. When it's just at the point where it will hold together, you're done. Knead for 10 minutes, like you would bread dough. It will get smooth and soft. cut into 4 parts, and roll each part into a ball. Let rest covered, for about 15 minutes.
These are directions for rolling by hand, because that's how I've done it in the past. I offered to trade home made ravioli to a friend if she lets me borrow her pasta machine!
lightly flour your kitchen table. One dough ball at a time (keep the others covered), gently roll out the dough. it will be very elastic, and the dough is not going to want to stay where you put it. I found it was easiest to get it into a long strip, and pull as I was rolling. When it is thin enough that you can see your hand though it, it's ready.
I did a vegetarian filling, basically the leftover mushroom filling mixed with some ricotta cheese. Get creative! if it's chopped up into teeny weeny peices, tastes good hot, and mixed with some cheese, it will be good! the drier your filling, the better. Wetter fillings will want to squooge out.
I did some experimenting with ravioli techniques:
the traditional method: cut dough into long strips about 4" wide. put about 1 tsp of filling every 2 inches on one side. brush around the filling w/cold water, and fold the other side over. Push down with your fingers around the filling, then cut into raviolis. I used a pizza cutter.
the Tortellini method: cut pasta into squares. put some filling in the center, and brush the edges with cold water. fold over diagonally, so you have a triangle, and seal the edges. Now bring the two 45 degree corners together and pinch with water. These ended up looking like Pope hats.
the post-modern ineffient method of making the prettiest raviolis I ended up with: cut pasta into rectangles about 2" x 5". holding the peice in your palm, brush the edges with water. put some filling onto one side, then fold over, pinching the edges shut. It took freaking forever to make these, but they looked way prettier than anything else I'd tried.
after eating about a dozen raviolis, I now have 3 freezer bags full of ravioli and Tortellini in the freezer. Nice!
Snowed in? Need something to do for 3-4 hours? Ravioli is it. All it takes is a few pantry ingredients, a little bit of imagination, and some patience.
a few months ago, I made some fantabulous Stuffed Mushrooms and had a metric ton (Ok, maybe 1 cup and a half) of filling left over.
pasta + yummy mixture = ravioli!
Follow the link above for regular traditional pasta, or here is a recipe that I found that claims to make "strong" pasta, for "wet fillings". I'd have to have both kinds of pasta next to each other to tell the difference, but I will say this made some super tasty ravioli.
Makes about 60 ravioli, takes about 1 1/2 cups filling.
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup white wine
about a 1/4 cup water
mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. (Traditionally, you would do this on a "floured surface", but mixing it in a big bowl makes clean up so much easier!) make a well in the center, and pour in the eggs and oil. mix slowly at first, slowly incorporating more and more flour into the eggy mixture in the center. then add the wine, and continue to mix. the dough will probably be dry and crumbly, so add a little bit of water. keep blending, and adding water a little bit at a time until you've got a soft dough that isn't wet. When it's just at the point where it will hold together, you're done. Knead for 10 minutes, like you would bread dough. It will get smooth and soft. cut into 4 parts, and roll each part into a ball. Let rest covered, for about 15 minutes.
These are directions for rolling by hand, because that's how I've done it in the past. I offered to trade home made ravioli to a friend if she lets me borrow her pasta machine!
lightly flour your kitchen table. One dough ball at a time (keep the others covered), gently roll out the dough. it will be very elastic, and the dough is not going to want to stay where you put it. I found it was easiest to get it into a long strip, and pull as I was rolling. When it is thin enough that you can see your hand though it, it's ready.
I did a vegetarian filling, basically the leftover mushroom filling mixed with some ricotta cheese. Get creative! if it's chopped up into teeny weeny peices, tastes good hot, and mixed with some cheese, it will be good! the drier your filling, the better. Wetter fillings will want to squooge out.
I did some experimenting with ravioli techniques:
the traditional method: cut dough into long strips about 4" wide. put about 1 tsp of filling every 2 inches on one side. brush around the filling w/cold water, and fold the other side over. Push down with your fingers around the filling, then cut into raviolis. I used a pizza cutter.
the Tortellini method: cut pasta into squares. put some filling in the center, and brush the edges with cold water. fold over diagonally, so you have a triangle, and seal the edges. Now bring the two 45 degree corners together and pinch with water. These ended up looking like Pope hats.
the post-modern ineffient method of making the prettiest raviolis I ended up with: cut pasta into rectangles about 2" x 5". holding the peice in your palm, brush the edges with water. put some filling onto one side, then fold over, pinching the edges shut. It took freaking forever to make these, but they looked way prettier than anything else I'd tried.
after eating about a dozen raviolis, I now have 3 freezer bags full of ravioli and Tortellini in the freezer. Nice!
Snowed in? Need something to do for 3-4 hours? Ravioli is it. All it takes is a few pantry ingredients, a little bit of imagination, and some patience.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fusilli with Spinach and Ricotta Sauce
I use the left-over sauce to use with pasta for another time, and used low-fat ricotta cheese. I got away with using our small food processor.
2 bunches spinach (to yield 3/4 pound trimmed leaves)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1 pound dried fusilli
Separate spinach leaves from stems. Wash and drain. Weigh out 3/4 pound leaves.
Put the spinach leaves in a 12-inch skillet with just the water clinging to them. Cover and cook over moderate heat until leaves are just wilted, about 3 minutes, tossing once or twice with tongs so leaves wilt evenly.
Transfer wilted leaves to a sieve and place under cold running water until cool. Drain well and squeeze between your hands to remove excess water. The spinach does not need to be thoroughly dry.
Melt butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute to release its fragrance. Put spinach, garlic and butter in food processor and process to chop. Add ricotta and process until smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup water. Transfer to a large warm bowl. Add as much of the sauce as you like and toss to coat, adding reserved water as necessary to thin the sauce. Refrigerate any remaining sauce.
Pasta Harvest, Janet Flecther, 1995
2 bunches spinach (to yield 3/4 pound trimmed leaves)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1 pound dried fusilli
Separate spinach leaves from stems. Wash and drain. Weigh out 3/4 pound leaves.
Put the spinach leaves in a 12-inch skillet with just the water clinging to them. Cover and cook over moderate heat until leaves are just wilted, about 3 minutes, tossing once or twice with tongs so leaves wilt evenly.
Transfer wilted leaves to a sieve and place under cold running water until cool. Drain well and squeeze between your hands to remove excess water. The spinach does not need to be thoroughly dry.
Melt butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute to release its fragrance. Put spinach, garlic and butter in food processor and process to chop. Add ricotta and process until smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup water. Transfer to a large warm bowl. Add as much of the sauce as you like and toss to coat, adding reserved water as necessary to thin the sauce. Refrigerate any remaining sauce.
Pasta Harvest, Janet Flecther, 1995
Friday, January 1, 2010
Ditali with Asparagus
Happy New Year!
This pasta cookbook is organized alphabetically by type of vegetable that is the main ingredient. There is also information about equipment used for making pasta dishes, how to make pasta from scratch, and which pasta shape goes with what type of sauce. There is also an Illustrated Guide to Pasta Shapes, and tips on cooking pasta, making pasta sauce, and serving and eating pasta.
2 1/2 to 3 pounds think asparagus spears
1 pound dried ditali ("thimbles") or canneroni
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, in pieces
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Holding an asparagus spear in both hands, bend it gently; it will break naturally at point at which spear becomes tough. Repeat with remaining spears. Discard tough ends. There should be about 1 1/2 pounds left.
Cut spears crosswise into slices 1/3 inch think, about the same length as the ditali.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cover the pot partially. When water returns to a boil, add ditali. Cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta and asparagus. Transfer to a large warm bowl. Add butter, cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat.
Pasta Harvest, Janet Flecther, 1995
This pasta cookbook is organized alphabetically by type of vegetable that is the main ingredient. There is also information about equipment used for making pasta dishes, how to make pasta from scratch, and which pasta shape goes with what type of sauce. There is also an Illustrated Guide to Pasta Shapes, and tips on cooking pasta, making pasta sauce, and serving and eating pasta.
2 1/2 to 3 pounds think asparagus spears
1 pound dried ditali ("thimbles") or canneroni
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, in pieces
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Holding an asparagus spear in both hands, bend it gently; it will break naturally at point at which spear becomes tough. Repeat with remaining spears. Discard tough ends. There should be about 1 1/2 pounds left.
Cut spears crosswise into slices 1/3 inch think, about the same length as the ditali.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cover the pot partially. When water returns to a boil, add ditali. Cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta and asparagus. Transfer to a large warm bowl. Add butter, cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat.
Pasta Harvest, Janet Flecther, 1995
Monday, December 21, 2009
what's for dinner?
"what do you want for dinner?"
"I dunno, what do you want?"
"It's already getting late, so it needs to be fast and easy"
"and I want some meat in it"
"pasta sounds good to me".
Thank you The Kitchn, my problem is solved! Specifically, this recipe, which I simplified and quick-ified even further.
Pasta with Keibasa
1 lb pasta
1 lb read-to-eat polish keibasa sausage, sliced
2 shallots, chopped
8oz sliced fresh mushrooms
1 zucchini, sliced into half moons
salt & pepper
1/2 tbsp dried basil
pinch hot pepper flakes
2 tsp garlic powder
1 jar of your favorite store bought tomato sauce
parmesan cheese
Start the water to boil for the pasta. put the sliced keibasa in a very large skillet, and let it cook for a minute or two. It should give up some grease. Add the shallots, and cook 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and stir and cook, to let the mushrooms soak up some of the grease. If you are using Turkey Keibasa, you may need to add some oil. add the zucchini and spices. try to get the zucchini peices down to the bottom of the pan. Once the zucchini is getting to a stage of done-ness, and if you have room in your skillet, add the tomato sauce right in there, and let simmer until the pasta is done. Otherwise, heat the sauce up on the stove or in the microwave.
when pasta is cooked, drain and rinse well. serve sauce & meat & veg over pasta, sprinkle parm on top.
The only things we had to buy for this was the sausage and the fresh mushrooms. Everything else we had in the house. doesn't get much easier than that!
"I dunno, what do you want?"
"It's already getting late, so it needs to be fast and easy"
"and I want some meat in it"
"pasta sounds good to me".
Thank you The Kitchn, my problem is solved! Specifically, this recipe, which I simplified and quick-ified even further.
Pasta with Keibasa
1 lb pasta
1 lb read-to-eat polish keibasa sausage, sliced
2 shallots, chopped
8oz sliced fresh mushrooms
1 zucchini, sliced into half moons
salt & pepper
1/2 tbsp dried basil
pinch hot pepper flakes
2 tsp garlic powder
1 jar of your favorite store bought tomato sauce
parmesan cheese
Start the water to boil for the pasta. put the sliced keibasa in a very large skillet, and let it cook for a minute or two. It should give up some grease. Add the shallots, and cook 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and stir and cook, to let the mushrooms soak up some of the grease. If you are using Turkey Keibasa, you may need to add some oil. add the zucchini and spices. try to get the zucchini peices down to the bottom of the pan. Once the zucchini is getting to a stage of done-ness, and if you have room in your skillet, add the tomato sauce right in there, and let simmer until the pasta is done. Otherwise, heat the sauce up on the stove or in the microwave.
when pasta is cooked, drain and rinse well. serve sauce & meat & veg over pasta, sprinkle parm on top.
The only things we had to buy for this was the sausage and the fresh mushrooms. Everything else we had in the house. doesn't get much easier than that!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
The chef who wrote this cookbook published some other books and is on the Food Network. Her books are not vegetarian, but the vegetarian dishes that I've made so far from her pasta cookbook have been very good.
This book also has some very useful pasta cooking tips and information on pasta in general.
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb blend
1 pound penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
On a baking sheet, toss the bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onion with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and the herbs. Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure it is not completely cooked. Drain in a colander.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, fontina, mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the peas, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Gently mix using a wooden spoon until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
Pour the pasta into a greased 9 X 13 X 2-inch baking dish. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and the butter pieces. Bake until the top is golden and the cheese melts, about 25 minutes.
Everyday Pasta, Giada DeLaurentiis, 2007
This book also has some very useful pasta cooking tips and information on pasta in general.
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb blend
1 pound penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
On a baking sheet, toss the bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onion with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and the herbs. Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure it is not completely cooked. Drain in a colander.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, fontina, mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the peas, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Gently mix using a wooden spoon until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
Pour the pasta into a greased 9 X 13 X 2-inch baking dish. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and the butter pieces. Bake until the top is golden and the cheese melts, about 25 minutes.
Everyday Pasta, Giada DeLaurentiis, 2007
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Pinwheel Pasta Bake
1 1/2 lb dried rotelle (pinwheels)
dash of olive oil
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
1/4 lb zucchini, chopped
3 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley
2/3 cup vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups grated mature Cheddar cheese
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil, and add the rotelle with a dash of olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain, and set aside.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan, and saute the garlic for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and zucchini, and cook, covered, for 5 minutes, or until softened.
Stir the chopped parsley and vegetable broth into the mushroom mixture, and continue to cook, covered, for a further 10 minutes. Add the rotelle, and stir in the grated cheese.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the pasta mixture to a deep casserole dish, and bake for about 20 minutes.
Vegetarian Pasta Cookbook, Sarah Maxwell, 1998
dash of olive oil
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
1/4 lb zucchini, chopped
3 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley
2/3 cup vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups grated mature Cheddar cheese
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil, and add the rotelle with a dash of olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain, and set aside.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan, and saute the garlic for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and zucchini, and cook, covered, for 5 minutes, or until softened.
Stir the chopped parsley and vegetable broth into the mushroom mixture, and continue to cook, covered, for a further 10 minutes. Add the rotelle, and stir in the grated cheese.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the pasta mixture to a deep casserole dish, and bake for about 20 minutes.
Vegetarian Pasta Cookbook, Sarah Maxwell, 1998
Friday, November 14, 2008
Mac and Cheese redux, a.k.a. Bacon makes everything better.
I would have sworn by my old Mac and Cheese recipe. Macky, cheesey, vegetably, crumbly crusty, what's not to like? the only thing that could possibly be missing starts with "b", and ends with "acon".
observe:
Better Mac and Cheese
4-5 slices bacon (turkey bacon is OK)
olive oil
1 lb shell pasta
6-8oz Muenster cheese, sliced very thin (use that Mandolin!)
1 cup shredded mixed cheese (it's ok, buy the bag of mixed shredded cheese at the grocery store. I did)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 bunch of green onions, sliced thin
6-8oz mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 bay leaf
paprika
salt & pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 350. Start salted water boiling for pasta. Cook bacon in a skillet with a little oil till crispy. Remove and chop. Cook pasta until just al denta, drain and leave it in the colander in the sink. in a big soup pot, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium-low heat, and toss in chopped bacon. slowly wisk in the flour. keep stiring! don't let it burn! the mixture will start to turn brown. this is good. slowly whisk in the milk, then add the green onions, bay leaf and maybe 1/2 tsp paprika. let this mixture simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes, stirring often, as it will form a skin otherwise. It will thicken, and get a slightly foamy look to it. turn the heat off, and stir in the shredded cheese. Stir in all your cooked pasta. Stir in mushrooms and peas, and season with salt & pepper.
Grease a 9x9 baking dish, or other shallow caserole of similar volume. Spoon in enough of the cheesy pasta mixture to just cover the bottom of the dish. now put down a layer of thinly sliced muenster cheese. Spoon in another thin layer of cheesy pasta, and cover with a layer of sliced muenster cheese. Continue till you are out of cheesy pasta and muenster cheese. Remove the bay leaf when you find it.
Put another tbsp of butter in a microwaveable dish, and melt in the microwave. stir 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs into the bowl until well blended with the melted butter. sprinkle this mixture as evenly as possible on top of the pasta. bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let sit for about 5 minutes before you eat it.
you will never want baconless Mac & Cheese again. and let's not even talk about that blue box abomination.
If it makes you feel better, just go read that whole passage again. i think i will.
On to some books, that are nearly as yummy, but with less saturated fat. Been getting a lot of reading done lately - blew through volumes II and III of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. I know he's putting together some epic plot line, but after volume one, it's kind of going down hill for me. Read volume III of Deathnote, and Yup, still morbid and fascinating. Should have been embarassed that I could identify the black and the white shinigami action figures that were on sale with the anime at Best Buy? If i think about it, the best part of this series is the sweet nearly loligoth fashions of the Shinigami. Maybe i should go get Paradise Kiss or Gothic Sports. Same fun fashions, less death.
Picked up my first Robert Sawyer book, Mindscan. I'm about half way through it, and definately enjoying it. Kind of pre-Stross-singularity, when the technology to copy your brain has just been invented, and it marketed to eldery people who don't have much time left. Copy your brain into a younger mechanical body, and let your old body life out any life it might have at the nicest retirement home ever on the far side of the moon. Kind of six million dollar man with a twist. But what happens when your old body doesn't die? which one is the real you? You both have the same memories up until the moment your brain was copied, you have the same fingerprint, the same genetic code. Most of the book deals with the philosophical definitions of personhood, through a legal battle. Double fascinating.
Finished Tony Horwitz's A Journey Long and Strange. Was really good, and I like his spry writing style. If all history books were this sarcastic and humorous, I would have been a history major. I suddenly have the urge to hop in my car to road trip to all the places mentioned in the book. If that's not a sign of a good regional history book, than I don't know what is.
observe:
Better Mac and Cheese
4-5 slices bacon (turkey bacon is OK)
olive oil
1 lb shell pasta
6-8oz Muenster cheese, sliced very thin (use that Mandolin!)
1 cup shredded mixed cheese (it's ok, buy the bag of mixed shredded cheese at the grocery store. I did)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 bunch of green onions, sliced thin
6-8oz mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 bay leaf
paprika
salt & pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 350. Start salted water boiling for pasta. Cook bacon in a skillet with a little oil till crispy. Remove and chop. Cook pasta until just al denta, drain and leave it in the colander in the sink. in a big soup pot, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium-low heat, and toss in chopped bacon. slowly wisk in the flour. keep stiring! don't let it burn! the mixture will start to turn brown. this is good. slowly whisk in the milk, then add the green onions, bay leaf and maybe 1/2 tsp paprika. let this mixture simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes, stirring often, as it will form a skin otherwise. It will thicken, and get a slightly foamy look to it. turn the heat off, and stir in the shredded cheese. Stir in all your cooked pasta. Stir in mushrooms and peas, and season with salt & pepper.
Grease a 9x9 baking dish, or other shallow caserole of similar volume. Spoon in enough of the cheesy pasta mixture to just cover the bottom of the dish. now put down a layer of thinly sliced muenster cheese. Spoon in another thin layer of cheesy pasta, and cover with a layer of sliced muenster cheese. Continue till you are out of cheesy pasta and muenster cheese. Remove the bay leaf when you find it.
Put another tbsp of butter in a microwaveable dish, and melt in the microwave. stir 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs into the bowl until well blended with the melted butter. sprinkle this mixture as evenly as possible on top of the pasta. bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let sit for about 5 minutes before you eat it.
you will never want baconless Mac & Cheese again. and let's not even talk about that blue box abomination.
If it makes you feel better, just go read that whole passage again. i think i will.
On to some books, that are nearly as yummy, but with less saturated fat. Been getting a lot of reading done lately - blew through volumes II and III of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. I know he's putting together some epic plot line, but after volume one, it's kind of going down hill for me. Read volume III of Deathnote, and Yup, still morbid and fascinating. Should have been embarassed that I could identify the black and the white shinigami action figures that were on sale with the anime at Best Buy? If i think about it, the best part of this series is the sweet nearly loligoth fashions of the Shinigami. Maybe i should go get Paradise Kiss or Gothic Sports. Same fun fashions, less death.
Picked up my first Robert Sawyer book, Mindscan. I'm about half way through it, and definately enjoying it. Kind of pre-Stross-singularity, when the technology to copy your brain has just been invented, and it marketed to eldery people who don't have much time left. Copy your brain into a younger mechanical body, and let your old body life out any life it might have at the nicest retirement home ever on the far side of the moon. Kind of six million dollar man with a twist. But what happens when your old body doesn't die? which one is the real you? You both have the same memories up until the moment your brain was copied, you have the same fingerprint, the same genetic code. Most of the book deals with the philosophical definitions of personhood, through a legal battle. Double fascinating.
Finished Tony Horwitz's A Journey Long and Strange. Was really good, and I like his spry writing style. If all history books were this sarcastic and humorous, I would have been a history major. I suddenly have the urge to hop in my car to road trip to all the places mentioned in the book. If that's not a sign of a good regional history book, than I don't know what is.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
kravin' some kugel . . . and lentils!
Recovered from nasty cold: check.
Survived artery clogging kugel: check.
Got out from living under a rock and discovered lentils: check.
Royaly screwed up lentil recipe to create something wonderfully delicious: check!
I'm not entirely sure what a lentil or a legume really is, but when simmered in broth for a while, they are quite tasty, quite healthy, and unlike rice, you're not hungry again half an hour later. I found this magnificent recipe for Lentil Barley Soup on the Epicurious website, and then proceeded to mess up nearly every measurement (especially that pesky liquid measurement!). And you know what? It turned out just divine. Here's my sfanu'd version:
Lentil Barley Stew
2 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
l large container chicken broth (about 4 cups)
1 cup pearl barley
1 can diced tomatoes
2/3 cup dried lentils
1 small bunch swiss chard
salt & pepper
Saute onions and carrots in oil until soft. Stir in cumin and garlic. Add chicken broth and barley, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, and simmer for 25 minutes, partially covered. Then stir in tomatoes, and lentils. Bring back to a boil, then turn heat down to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Chop chard into 1” pieces, and add to stew. Season with salt & pepper, and enjoy!
Excellent winter comfort food. Speaking of comfort food, I had a major kugel craving last weekend. So there was nothing to do but make my mom's traditional, buttery, artery clogging lukshen-kugel (noodle pudding, and pronounced exactly how it looks). This recipe is so Paula Deen that for the first time I will be offering (and pushing you towards!) healthier recipe options. Swap out the noodles for flour, and I swear you've got cookie dough.
Mom's Lukshen Kugel
1 12oz package egg noodles (or “No Yolks” egg-less noodles)
1 stick butter at room temperature (or margarine)
¾ cup sugar (or sugar substitute)
5 eggs (or equivelent egg-beaters)
1 large can crushed pineapple
½ cup white raisins
2 tbsp vanilla
cinnamon
Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Combine all other ingredients except cinnamon in a large bowl. When noodles are cooked, rinse under cold water, and fold into other ingredients. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking dish, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
Not much in book news right now. Actually, quite a bit of news. . . way too much to cram into this double recipe entry. So next time, no recipes, but maybe a double or triple dose of book news. Sound good? See you next time!
Survived artery clogging kugel: check.
Got out from living under a rock and discovered lentils: check.
Royaly screwed up lentil recipe to create something wonderfully delicious: check!
I'm not entirely sure what a lentil or a legume really is, but when simmered in broth for a while, they are quite tasty, quite healthy, and unlike rice, you're not hungry again half an hour later. I found this magnificent recipe for Lentil Barley Soup on the Epicurious website, and then proceeded to mess up nearly every measurement (especially that pesky liquid measurement!). And you know what? It turned out just divine. Here's my sfanu'd version:
Lentil Barley Stew
2 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
l large container chicken broth (about 4 cups)
1 cup pearl barley
1 can diced tomatoes
2/3 cup dried lentils
1 small bunch swiss chard
salt & pepper
Saute onions and carrots in oil until soft. Stir in cumin and garlic. Add chicken broth and barley, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, and simmer for 25 minutes, partially covered. Then stir in tomatoes, and lentils. Bring back to a boil, then turn heat down to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Chop chard into 1” pieces, and add to stew. Season with salt & pepper, and enjoy!
Excellent winter comfort food. Speaking of comfort food, I had a major kugel craving last weekend. So there was nothing to do but make my mom's traditional, buttery, artery clogging lukshen-kugel (noodle pudding, and pronounced exactly how it looks). This recipe is so Paula Deen that for the first time I will be offering (and pushing you towards!) healthier recipe options. Swap out the noodles for flour, and I swear you've got cookie dough.
Mom's Lukshen Kugel
1 12oz package egg noodles (or “No Yolks” egg-less noodles)
1 stick butter at room temperature (or margarine)
¾ cup sugar (or sugar substitute)
5 eggs (or equivelent egg-beaters)
1 large can crushed pineapple
½ cup white raisins
2 tbsp vanilla
cinnamon
Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Combine all other ingredients except cinnamon in a large bowl. When noodles are cooked, rinse under cold water, and fold into other ingredients. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking dish, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
Not much in book news right now. Actually, quite a bit of news. . . way too much to cram into this double recipe entry. So next time, no recipes, but maybe a double or triple dose of book news. Sound good? See you next time!
Monday, December 31, 2007
home made pasta is suprisingly easy.
What do I do when I'm on vacation, and bored out of my bleeding mind? I make pasta. From scratch, without a pasta machine (i'm not even sure what a pasta machine is, or does).
For approximately 1 pound of pasta, blend the following in a bowl:
3 large eggs
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
when your mixture is smooth and mixed well, and has become a dough, divide it into 4 dough balls, put them back into the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. On a floured surface, roll out one ball at a time into a very, very flat rectangle. This stuff is not going to want to roll. Nope, it's elastic, and doesn't like stretching. And you want to stretch it and roll it, not crush it under the rolling pin. So, every few rolls, pick it up off the table, gently stretching it, and flip it over. Gravity will do most of the hard work for you. Get it as thin as possible (can you see the fake wood grain of your laminate kitchen table through the dough? It's thin enough), and cut into long strips with a pizza cutter.
The strips have got to dry. I dry them on my folding clothes drying rack, but you can use the backs of chairs, or lay a broomstick across two chairs and use that. Roll out at cut the rest of your dough. It's more tedious than difficult.
After your pasta has dried for about two hours (or whenever you want to eat it later), start a big pot of water boiling on the stove. Get out a big skillet, and chop up the following to go in the skillet with some olive oil or butter:
1 zucchini, cut in quarters and sliced
1 sweet pepper, diced
8 oz mushroom, sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt & pepper
saute all that up as your water is boiling. Put the pasta in the water and boil for about 5 minutes, or until it's “al dente” (flexible, but still has a little bite to it). Because I used plain old regular flour, and not that traditional semolina stuff, this pasta won't be anywhere near as starchy or sticky as store bought pasta. It also cooks much faster, because it isn't industrially dried.
Pasta done? Good. Drain it and pop it back into the empty pot. Dump in sauteed veggies. Now, here's the cheating part. Dump in one jar of your favorite store bought alfredo sauce. Stir, enjoy.
What's with the store bought sauce? I suck at making white sauces, and I made the flippin' pasta from scratch, so i'm going to use a store bought white sauce. Deal with it.
Now, wasn't that tasty? Yes, it was!
I'm about half way through Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt's memoir of growing up poor and starving in Ireland. This book is hard to read, because it's damn depressing. Frankie's dad is a drunk, and his mother is simply powerless. I'm kind of surprised there isn't more suicide. Oh yeah, they're all Catholics. But if i'm going to finish this book, I better finish it soon, because it's on loan from a friend.
For something happier, i've gotten sucked into the warped singularity of insanity that is Tim Powers Last Call. Powers has that ability to write up rediculous magical happenings that are just wrong, and it works, and the only thing you want is more. The man writes literary heroin. This book is mostly poker and tarot card stuff, which I have just about zero knowledge off, but it's still really good, and no one does body swapping like Powers. Oh, it's good stuff.
Oh yeah, happy new year! We're making cookies and chili for the party tonight. I'll only give you the cookie recipe if they come out tasty, and I can't give you the chili recipe, because it's a secret.
For approximately 1 pound of pasta, blend the following in a bowl:
3 large eggs
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
when your mixture is smooth and mixed well, and has become a dough, divide it into 4 dough balls, put them back into the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. On a floured surface, roll out one ball at a time into a very, very flat rectangle. This stuff is not going to want to roll. Nope, it's elastic, and doesn't like stretching. And you want to stretch it and roll it, not crush it under the rolling pin. So, every few rolls, pick it up off the table, gently stretching it, and flip it over. Gravity will do most of the hard work for you. Get it as thin as possible (can you see the fake wood grain of your laminate kitchen table through the dough? It's thin enough), and cut into long strips with a pizza cutter.
The strips have got to dry. I dry them on my folding clothes drying rack, but you can use the backs of chairs, or lay a broomstick across two chairs and use that. Roll out at cut the rest of your dough. It's more tedious than difficult.
After your pasta has dried for about two hours (or whenever you want to eat it later), start a big pot of water boiling on the stove. Get out a big skillet, and chop up the following to go in the skillet with some olive oil or butter:
1 zucchini, cut in quarters and sliced
1 sweet pepper, diced
8 oz mushroom, sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt & pepper
saute all that up as your water is boiling. Put the pasta in the water and boil for about 5 minutes, or until it's “al dente” (flexible, but still has a little bite to it). Because I used plain old regular flour, and not that traditional semolina stuff, this pasta won't be anywhere near as starchy or sticky as store bought pasta. It also cooks much faster, because it isn't industrially dried.
Pasta done? Good. Drain it and pop it back into the empty pot. Dump in sauteed veggies. Now, here's the cheating part. Dump in one jar of your favorite store bought alfredo sauce. Stir, enjoy.
What's with the store bought sauce? I suck at making white sauces, and I made the flippin' pasta from scratch, so i'm going to use a store bought white sauce. Deal with it.
Now, wasn't that tasty? Yes, it was!
I'm about half way through Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt's memoir of growing up poor and starving in Ireland. This book is hard to read, because it's damn depressing. Frankie's dad is a drunk, and his mother is simply powerless. I'm kind of surprised there isn't more suicide. Oh yeah, they're all Catholics. But if i'm going to finish this book, I better finish it soon, because it's on loan from a friend.
For something happier, i've gotten sucked into the warped singularity of insanity that is Tim Powers Last Call. Powers has that ability to write up rediculous magical happenings that are just wrong, and it works, and the only thing you want is more. The man writes literary heroin. This book is mostly poker and tarot card stuff, which I have just about zero knowledge off, but it's still really good, and no one does body swapping like Powers. Oh, it's good stuff.
Oh yeah, happy new year! We're making cookies and chili for the party tonight. I'll only give you the cookie recipe if they come out tasty, and I can't give you the chili recipe, because it's a secret.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
short and sweet
Shrek the III - thumbs down. it's like the scriptwriter and the joke writer were working in two different rooms, on two different continents. and how many kids want to watch a movie about learning to be comfortable with having a baby? just take them to Juno.
Feast for Crows finally finished it. now i know why everyone is so up in arms they have to wait so long for the next book. cuz we wanna know what freakin' happens with the rest of the characters, that's why. and Martin, please don't become another Robert Jordan. it's unbecoming.
We the Living - yup, i still cry at the end. this book is dangerous. i should never read it again. it makes me. . . ambitious. and rebelious. bad!!
ARC's i need to read:
The Future Happens Twice, by Matthew Browne
Paraworld Zero by Matthew Peterson.
interesting, two matthews.
If you missed them the first time, here are reviews of some M. John Harrison books: Viriconium, and his latest baby, Nova Swing.
need something quick and easy for dinner? this is quick and easy, and makes leftovers.
Angel Hair Extensions
1 lb angel hair
6 slices turkey bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 chopped sun dried tomatoes (buy the ones in the jar w/olive oil, and drain the oil)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 package frozen spinach, defrosted
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
shredded parmesan cheese
get a big pot of water boiling. while it's heating up, put 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, and cook turkey bacon till crisp. remove the turkey bacon and drain on paper towels, then chop it. put a little more olive oil in the skillet, and add sweet pepper, and garlic. cook till soft. add sun dried tomatoes, green onions, chopped bacon, and spinach, adding more oil if needed. stir, and cover. Your angel hair should be just about done by now. stir the balsamic vinegar into the skillet. if you've timed this right, your angel hair will be ready to strain right about the time the spinach has heated through and absorbed a little vinegar.
strain the pasta, toss with spinach and bacon mixture, and garnish with some parmesan cheese.
you can probably make this dish faster than you can read the recipe. enjoy!
Feast for Crows finally finished it. now i know why everyone is so up in arms they have to wait so long for the next book. cuz we wanna know what freakin' happens with the rest of the characters, that's why. and Martin, please don't become another Robert Jordan. it's unbecoming.
We the Living - yup, i still cry at the end. this book is dangerous. i should never read it again. it makes me. . . ambitious. and rebelious. bad!!
ARC's i need to read:
The Future Happens Twice, by Matthew Browne
Paraworld Zero by Matthew Peterson.
interesting, two matthews.
If you missed them the first time, here are reviews of some M. John Harrison books: Viriconium, and his latest baby, Nova Swing.
need something quick and easy for dinner? this is quick and easy, and makes leftovers.
Angel Hair Extensions
1 lb angel hair
6 slices turkey bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 chopped sun dried tomatoes (buy the ones in the jar w/olive oil, and drain the oil)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 package frozen spinach, defrosted
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
shredded parmesan cheese
get a big pot of water boiling. while it's heating up, put 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, and cook turkey bacon till crisp. remove the turkey bacon and drain on paper towels, then chop it. put a little more olive oil in the skillet, and add sweet pepper, and garlic. cook till soft. add sun dried tomatoes, green onions, chopped bacon, and spinach, adding more oil if needed. stir, and cover. Your angel hair should be just about done by now. stir the balsamic vinegar into the skillet. if you've timed this right, your angel hair will be ready to strain right about the time the spinach has heated through and absorbed a little vinegar.
strain the pasta, toss with spinach and bacon mixture, and garnish with some parmesan cheese.
you can probably make this dish faster than you can read the recipe. enjoy!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
big news in the read.eat.rinse.repeat household! we have graduated from clunker station wagon to drumrollplease chrysler sedan! it's new and shiny, and everything works! woohoo!
this was the first weekend after we got the car, and where did i go with it? 2 libraries, and then 2 bookstores. i'm such a book-nerd.
i'd gotten Jeff Vandermeer's Shriek: An Afterword out of the library around Christmas time, and instead of realizing it was a "2 week only" checkout because it was new, i started reading it a few days before it was due, and only got 50 pages in. so now i've got it again. only 30 pages in, and i was already overcome with sensory overload: smell, touch, taste, all of it. usually authors go mainly for the visual. Vandermeer writes like someone with bad eyesight.
i can probably blame Stephen Lawhead for me not getting to Shreik on time, Paradise War was so awesome, that now i've got the 2nd book in the Song of Albion trilogy, The Silver Hand. and while i was at the library, i couldn't resist Meiville's first novel, King Rat. I can't wait to get my hands on his newest, Un Lun Dun.
i can't possibly be helpful to my favorite authors if i insist on getting their books out of the library instead of buying them, so i did actually *gasp* spend money on books today. first up, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, for our reading group at Worm's Sci Fi Haven, and i couldn't resist buying the next Fullmetal Alchemist volume. I'm finding if i don't buy them when i see them, i can never find them again. now i'm up to 5!!
ok, on to food!! and holy crap, i made home made pasta last weekend! and turned it into ravioli!
first things first, pasta is way easier than it looks. it just takes a lot of patience.
for every pound of pasta you want to make (i made one pound), you'll need 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs and a pinch of salt. if you're going to make ravioli (i did), you'll want stronger pasta, so use 2 2/3 cups flour and 4 eggs, and another egg for later.
blend the 3 ingredients together until you get a dough. knead for 10-15 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. if too dry, add a few drops water, if too sticky add some more flour. wrap tightly in plastic wrap and leave for 30 minutes at room temperature. divide dough into 3 or 4 peices for easier handling. stretch it with your hands, then roll out with a rolling pin until it's so thin you can see your hand through it. if you are not making ravioli, cut thinly, and let dry for one hour before cooking.
i used mashed potatoes flavored with garlic, parsley and rosemary for the insides of my raviolis (so i guess they were closer to perogies?). whatever you put into your raviolis, make sure it is spiced well (the pasta is bland) and has a very smooth pureed texture.
when you have your dough thin enough, cut the edges with a knife or pizza cutter so you have a long rectangle. put a teaspoon of filling down on side of the rectangle, each teaspoon about 1 1/2 inches apart from the next. you don't want your raviolis too big, because they will expand while cooking. brush egg around the filling. this is the glue that holds the sides of the ravioli together. fold the other side of rectangle over, and press down very hard around the filling. you don't want any air bubbles and you want all the seams closed. use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the raviolis apart. cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until done.
the main ingredient is patience. the next main ingredient is time.
this was the first weekend after we got the car, and where did i go with it? 2 libraries, and then 2 bookstores. i'm such a book-nerd.
i'd gotten Jeff Vandermeer's Shriek: An Afterword out of the library around Christmas time, and instead of realizing it was a "2 week only" checkout because it was new, i started reading it a few days before it was due, and only got 50 pages in. so now i've got it again. only 30 pages in, and i was already overcome with sensory overload: smell, touch, taste, all of it. usually authors go mainly for the visual. Vandermeer writes like someone with bad eyesight.
i can probably blame Stephen Lawhead for me not getting to Shreik on time, Paradise War was so awesome, that now i've got the 2nd book in the Song of Albion trilogy, The Silver Hand. and while i was at the library, i couldn't resist Meiville's first novel, King Rat. I can't wait to get my hands on his newest, Un Lun Dun.
i can't possibly be helpful to my favorite authors if i insist on getting their books out of the library instead of buying them, so i did actually *gasp* spend money on books today. first up, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, for our reading group at Worm's Sci Fi Haven, and i couldn't resist buying the next Fullmetal Alchemist volume. I'm finding if i don't buy them when i see them, i can never find them again. now i'm up to 5!!
ok, on to food!! and holy crap, i made home made pasta last weekend! and turned it into ravioli!
first things first, pasta is way easier than it looks. it just takes a lot of patience.
for every pound of pasta you want to make (i made one pound), you'll need 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs and a pinch of salt. if you're going to make ravioli (i did), you'll want stronger pasta, so use 2 2/3 cups flour and 4 eggs, and another egg for later.
blend the 3 ingredients together until you get a dough. knead for 10-15 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. if too dry, add a few drops water, if too sticky add some more flour. wrap tightly in plastic wrap and leave for 30 minutes at room temperature. divide dough into 3 or 4 peices for easier handling. stretch it with your hands, then roll out with a rolling pin until it's so thin you can see your hand through it. if you are not making ravioli, cut thinly, and let dry for one hour before cooking.
i used mashed potatoes flavored with garlic, parsley and rosemary for the insides of my raviolis (so i guess they were closer to perogies?). whatever you put into your raviolis, make sure it is spiced well (the pasta is bland) and has a very smooth pureed texture.
when you have your dough thin enough, cut the edges with a knife or pizza cutter so you have a long rectangle. put a teaspoon of filling down on side of the rectangle, each teaspoon about 1 1/2 inches apart from the next. you don't want your raviolis too big, because they will expand while cooking. brush egg around the filling. this is the glue that holds the sides of the ravioli together. fold the other side of rectangle over, and press down very hard around the filling. you don't want any air bubbles and you want all the seams closed. use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the raviolis apart. cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until done.
the main ingredient is patience. the next main ingredient is time.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Mac and Cheese & stardust
barely 24 hours since the first post, and not only has my buddy E requested i post my fave mac and cheese recipe, but i posted two book reviews yesterday. impressive!
food first, so you have something to eat while you read.
Baked Mac & Cheese
ingredients:
1 lb twisty or small shell pasta
3 cups grated cheese (you should have a blend of at least 2 kinds of cheese)
2 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
4 green onions, sliced
1 bay leaf
paprika
salt & pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
optional items
can tuna fish, drained
can pre-cooked chicken, drained
6-8oz mushrooms
1-2 cups frozen veggies such as corn, carrots, broccoli, or peas.
directions:
preheat oven to 350
cook pasta in boiling water until just nearly done. drain the pasta, rinse with cold water, and it can stay in the colander in the sink. into the same pot, melt the 2 tbsp butter over med-low heat. slowing whisk in the flour, stirring constantly. the mixture will start to turn brown. this is good. slowly whisk in the milk, then add the green onions, bay leaf and maybe 1/2 tsp paprika. let this mixture simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes, stirring often, as it will form a skin otherwise. turn the heat off, and stir in 2/3 of your cheese. this is also the time to add some salt and pepper, and any optional fish, chicken, or veggies you want to add.
stir it all up really good, adjust any seasonings to your taste. pour half of it into a greases 9x9 baking dish, or casserole of similar volume. do a layer of half your remaining cheese, then do another layer of the rest of the cheesy macaroni mixture, then finish off with a layer of the rest of the cheese.
in a small microwave save bowl, melt the remaining butter in the microwave. stir in the breadcrumbs, and sprinkle this mixture over the mac & cheese. put it in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the top starts to brown, and the cheese is all bubbly. let it stand a few minutes after you take it out of the oven, so it can firm up a bit.
mmmm!
and what goes better with home made mac and cheese than a good book?
book reviews that went up on Sci Fi Haven the other day are A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller, Jr, and Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. i liked them both tremendously, and they are both very moving stories, albeit in incredibly different ways. they are making a movie of Stardust, by the way.
thanks to some charity (read: take these books or they will get thrown away) at work, i'm now the proud owner of "Timeline", by Michael Chricton, and "Nightmares & Dreamscapes", by Stephen King. Also just started reading "Eifelheim", by Michael Flynn, and getting through "Dr. Futurity", by Philip K Dick, for my Reading Group
food first, so you have something to eat while you read.
Baked Mac & Cheese
ingredients:
1 lb twisty or small shell pasta
3 cups grated cheese (you should have a blend of at least 2 kinds of cheese)
2 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
4 green onions, sliced
1 bay leaf
paprika
salt & pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
optional items
can tuna fish, drained
can pre-cooked chicken, drained
6-8oz mushrooms
1-2 cups frozen veggies such as corn, carrots, broccoli, or peas.
directions:
preheat oven to 350
cook pasta in boiling water until just nearly done. drain the pasta, rinse with cold water, and it can stay in the colander in the sink. into the same pot, melt the 2 tbsp butter over med-low heat. slowing whisk in the flour, stirring constantly. the mixture will start to turn brown. this is good. slowly whisk in the milk, then add the green onions, bay leaf and maybe 1/2 tsp paprika. let this mixture simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes, stirring often, as it will form a skin otherwise. turn the heat off, and stir in 2/3 of your cheese. this is also the time to add some salt and pepper, and any optional fish, chicken, or veggies you want to add.
stir it all up really good, adjust any seasonings to your taste. pour half of it into a greases 9x9 baking dish, or casserole of similar volume. do a layer of half your remaining cheese, then do another layer of the rest of the cheesy macaroni mixture, then finish off with a layer of the rest of the cheese.
in a small microwave save bowl, melt the remaining butter in the microwave. stir in the breadcrumbs, and sprinkle this mixture over the mac & cheese. put it in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the top starts to brown, and the cheese is all bubbly. let it stand a few minutes after you take it out of the oven, so it can firm up a bit.
mmmm!
and what goes better with home made mac and cheese than a good book?
book reviews that went up on Sci Fi Haven the other day are A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller, Jr, and Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. i liked them both tremendously, and they are both very moving stories, albeit in incredibly different ways. they are making a movie of Stardust, by the way.
thanks to some charity (read: take these books or they will get thrown away) at work, i'm now the proud owner of "Timeline", by Michael Chricton, and "Nightmares & Dreamscapes", by Stephen King. Also just started reading "Eifelheim", by Michael Flynn, and getting through "Dr. Futurity", by Philip K Dick, for my Reading Group
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