Thursday
Pasta Amatriciana (recipe in the comments from December 5, 2007)
Green beans with tarragon vinaigrette
Hot tea
Chipotle chocolate cover hazelnuts
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It has been too long. Way too long on this recipe. We had left over Canadian bacon from my dad's visit (he likes it for breakfast) and this pasta recipe came to mind. It's exquisite and just as good as I remember. We should have this more often. Also the green ebans gave us an excuse to use more of our fresh tarragon. Always a plus :)
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, tarragon
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: Make the sauce and toss with fresh pasta.
Reaction:
"Still one of the best pasta dishes ever"
Showing posts with label Pasta is always perfect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pasta is always perfect. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday
Pasta with eggplant sauce (recipe in the comments from January 19, 2008)
Salad
Hot tea
English toffee
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We don't use a lot of prepared food, right? But here we are on our second jar of pasta sauce in five days! Chalk it up to being a bit sick and this being the LAST WEEK of my summer class (can you tell I'm excited???). While this does rely on jar sauce, this isn't a typical prepared food meal. The eggplant, garlic, pepper flakes and arugula really jazz this dish up and add a lot of veggies to boot. Everyone in our family loves this too - T is a HUGE eggplant fan. You can spice it to your preference depending on the sauce you buy and the amount of red pepper flakes. We like this with regular white or whole wheat pasta.
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Eggplant, onion, garlic, basil
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: Make the sauce ahead and toss with fresh pasta.
Reaction
J: "Local eggplant does make a difference!"
M: "Still crazy good."
Pasta with eggplant sauce (recipe in the comments from January 19, 2008)
Salad
Hot tea
English toffee
______________________________________________________________
We don't use a lot of prepared food, right? But here we are on our second jar of pasta sauce in five days! Chalk it up to being a bit sick and this being the LAST WEEK of my summer class (can you tell I'm excited???). While this does rely on jar sauce, this isn't a typical prepared food meal. The eggplant, garlic, pepper flakes and arugula really jazz this dish up and add a lot of veggies to boot. Everyone in our family loves this too - T is a HUGE eggplant fan. You can spice it to your preference depending on the sauce you buy and the amount of red pepper flakes. We like this with regular white or whole wheat pasta.
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Eggplant, onion, garlic, basil
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: Make the sauce ahead and toss with fresh pasta.
Reaction
J: "Local eggplant does make a difference!"
M: "Still crazy good."
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday
Bean Bolognese (recipe in the comments from January 9, 2008)
Salad with balsamic dressing
Italian breadsticks (the thin cracker-like ones)
Hot tea
Derby Pie with mint ice cream
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This is a rich and hearty sauce, despite being vegetarian. We bought tons of plants today for our front yard and M worked incredibly hard, getting them all planted. He needed a Meal with a capital M. Since steaks weren't in the line up, this served very well. Something about the flavors of the carrot, celery, onion, tomatoes, and white wine is just magical and the beans soak it up wonderfully. We didn't have many leftovers, but T loved it the next night. This is a definite favorite!
We made the Derby Pie (a pecan pie with chocolate and bourbon) a day late because of T's illness yesterday. This is a lovely seasonal indulgence and was made more exciting this year by the addition of Hagen Daz's new 5 ingredient ice cream in mint flavor. It was PERFECT!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, Parmesan
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: The sauce saves well. Make the fettuccine last minute.
Reaction
J: "Vegetarian Bolognese - who would think?"
M: "I liked this much better than I even remembered."
Bean Bolognese (recipe in the comments from January 9, 2008)
Salad with balsamic dressing
Italian breadsticks (the thin cracker-like ones)
Hot tea
Derby Pie with mint ice cream
______________________________________________________________
This is a rich and hearty sauce, despite being vegetarian. We bought tons of plants today for our front yard and M worked incredibly hard, getting them all planted. He needed a Meal with a capital M. Since steaks weren't in the line up, this served very well. Something about the flavors of the carrot, celery, onion, tomatoes, and white wine is just magical and the beans soak it up wonderfully. We didn't have many leftovers, but T loved it the next night. This is a definite favorite!
We made the Derby Pie (a pecan pie with chocolate and bourbon) a day late because of T's illness yesterday. This is a lovely seasonal indulgence and was made more exciting this year by the addition of Hagen Daz's new 5 ingredient ice cream in mint flavor. It was PERFECT!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, Parmesan
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: The sauce saves well. Make the fettuccine last minute.
Reaction
J: "Vegetarian Bolognese - who would think?"
M: "I liked this much better than I even remembered."
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday
Pasta primavera (recipe in the comments from May 1, 2008)
Salad with creamy dill dressing
Hot cocoa
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It feels very spring-y here in Buffalo and we're especially grateful given that the middle part of our country got a fair amount of snow this weekend. M and I did our first big spring yard clean-up yesterday and we had a lovely soaking spring rain this morning that transitioned to warm, bright sun by this afternoon. What a perfect day for a primavera celebration! Despite this, both M and I are tuckered today, so our side is a simple green salad. Regardless of complexity, this is a fantastic, seasonal meal that we relish returning to :)
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Squash, garlic, Asiago, basil, parsley, dill (for dressing)
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I like this best fresh, but you can re-heat it - just don't let the sauce come to a boil.
Reaction
J: "Rain, then sun, plus crocus = primavera"
M: "A wonderful taste of spring!"
Pasta primavera (recipe in the comments from May 1, 2008)
Salad with creamy dill dressing
Hot cocoa
______________________________________________________________
It feels very spring-y here in Buffalo and we're especially grateful given that the middle part of our country got a fair amount of snow this weekend. M and I did our first big spring yard clean-up yesterday and we had a lovely soaking spring rain this morning that transitioned to warm, bright sun by this afternoon. What a perfect day for a primavera celebration! Despite this, both M and I are tuckered today, so our side is a simple green salad. Regardless of complexity, this is a fantastic, seasonal meal that we relish returning to :)
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Squash, garlic, Asiago, basil, parsley, dill (for dressing)
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I like this best fresh, but you can re-heat it - just don't let the sauce come to a boil.
Reaction
J: "Rain, then sun, plus crocus = primavera"
M: "A wonderful taste of spring!"
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday - Happy MLK Day!
Afghan noodles (recipe in the comments)
Cucumber salad
Here's another recipe I can't believe I haven't blogged! This is a classic I grew up with. My mom got this out of a Time Warner Cookbook series she has - the "Fresh Ways" series. This was one of my first exposures to ethnic cooking at home, launching a major focus of my cooking career. At this point, I doubt this is in any way an authentic Afghan meal, but it is definitely not a traditional flavor. The mix of chili powder, yogurt and mint in the sauce blends in truly unexpected ways with a pretty standard tomato/meat sauce for pasta. This is one of the recipes we could eat FAR more often then we do, making it seem crazy that we haven't had it in over one and a half years. At any rate, this is wonderful. Everyone should add these flavors to their repertoire!
Afghan noodles (recipe in the comments)
Cucumber salad
Hot tea
Cookies
Here's another recipe I can't believe I haven't blogged! This is a classic I grew up with. My mom got this out of a Time Warner Cookbook series she has - the "Fresh Ways" series. This was one of my first exposures to ethnic cooking at home, launching a major focus of my cooking career. At this point, I doubt this is in any way an authentic Afghan meal, but it is definitely not a traditional flavor. The mix of chili powder, yogurt and mint in the sauce blends in truly unexpected ways with a pretty standard tomato/meat sauce for pasta. This is one of the recipes we could eat FAR more often then we do, making it seem crazy that we haven't had it in over one and a half years. At any rate, this is wonderful. Everyone should add these flavors to their repertoire!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Mint, onion, garlic
Time: 40 minutes
Make ahead: This sauce is fabulous left over or even made ahead and frozen for a later meal.
Reaction
J: "I've missed this - a lot."
M: "Fabulous blast from our past!"
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Thursday
Pasta primavera (recipe in the comments)
Salad
Hot tea
Cocoa almonds
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It's spring, so pasta primavera has to make an appearance. We couldn't call ourselves seasonal cooks without it! This is a fairly simple recipe, though I have no idea how authentic it is. That said, it does somehow perfectly capture spring flavors. The white wine, lemon, and light herb-y flavors mingle with the tiny amount of cream for a perfect combination. It has warmed up again here into the upper 50s and we had a partly sunny day that's drifting to rain overnight. It's quintessential spring. We couldn't have picked a better meal for tonight!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Squash, garlic, Parmesan, basil, parsley
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: This will reheat fine as long as you are VERY careful not to let the sauce boil (AKA curdle).
Reaction
J: "Perfect spring!"
M: "Spring in a bowl!"
Pasta primavera (recipe in the comments)
Salad
Hot tea
Cocoa almonds
______________________________________________________________
It's spring, so pasta primavera has to make an appearance. We couldn't call ourselves seasonal cooks without it! This is a fairly simple recipe, though I have no idea how authentic it is. That said, it does somehow perfectly capture spring flavors. The white wine, lemon, and light herb-y flavors mingle with the tiny amount of cream for a perfect combination. It has warmed up again here into the upper 50s and we had a partly sunny day that's drifting to rain overnight. It's quintessential spring. We couldn't have picked a better meal for tonight!
Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Squash, garlic, Parmesan, basil, parsley
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: This will reheat fine as long as you are VERY careful not to let the sauce boil (AKA curdle).
Reaction
J: "Perfect spring!"
M: "Spring in a bowl!"
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