Category Archives: ITALIAN CUISINE

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

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I think of all the vegetables, I like zucchini just about the best. And I think that’s because it is so versatile and of course so tasty. Not to mention – inexpensive. Especially in the summer when you can easily grow your own, or beg your neighbors for any extra zucchini they might possibly have just laying around. (Like your neighbors aren’t going to be thrilled that someone is actually asking them for zucchini. So much nicer for them than having to leave “care-packages” of zucchini on people’s front porches in the dead of night!)

As I was saying, zucchini is a marvelous vegetable. So when I happened to be watching the Food Network a couple of days ago and saw Ina Garten make these pancakes, I was hooked. Of course, I had to change the ingredients up a bit, because that’s what I do! But the bones of the recipe are strictly Ina.

I just figured, and rightly so I feel, that seasoned salt, olive oil instead of vegetable oil, additional onion, a bit of Parmesan cheese, and a dollop of sour cream could not possibly hurt the basic recipe. And I do believe it made a difference.

So if you too are zucchini lovers, or even if you aren’t particularly fond of this mild mannered, non-presumptuous vegetable, give these pancakes a try. They make just a stunning side dish. Plus they are different. And what cook doesn’t love serving something different to their family and friends?

So get thee to the store and buy yourself some zucchini. You will be amazed at how easy the batter comes together. And the fact that the pancakes are so versatile. They go perfectly with any type of meat. And they contain (but you don’t have to announce this to your children) a green vegetable. (In some cases, sneaky is OK. I believe this is one of those times!)

  • 7 T. all-purpose flour, or more as needed
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. seasoned salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 lg. eggs
  • 2 med. zucchini (a healthy ¾ lb.)
  • 3 T. finely minced red onion
  • unsalted butter
  • olive oil
  • sour cream (Mexican crema agria is the best), opt.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Stir in the Parmesan until all bits are coated with the flour; set aside. Whisk the eggs in a good sized bowl. Grate the zucchini using the large grating side of a box grater*. Add to the eggs along with the onion. Stir well to mix the ingredients. Stir in the flour mixture only until thoroughly combined. The batter should be fairly thin (like regular pancake batter).

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But if the batter is too thin, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Note: Do not prepare the batter ahead of time or it will get soggy and won’t fry up properly.

Heat a very large fry pan over medium heat. Add equal amounts of butter and olive oil to liberally coat the bottom of the pan. When the butter and oil are hot, drop heaping spoonful’s of batter into the pan. (Make sure they are not touching. Kind of like kids in the back seat of a car.) Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, or until each side is brown and crispy. When the pancakes are done, serve immediately, or place on an oven-proof plate and keep warm in a pre-heated 300 degree oven. If your pan is not large enough to fry all the pancakes at once, wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. (The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes.) Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream.

*If you grate the zucchini ahead of time, place in a colander to allow liquid to drain. Then squeeze lightly just before adding to the eggs.

 

CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI FETTUCCINE (HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!)

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So here’s the skinny! A regular Alfredo sauce is considered by many to be one of the top ten forbidden foods. (Or at the very least, a dish that should only be consumed once in a blue moon, which for those who don’t remember, is about once every 2½ years!)

Now I am here to tell you, that is just not often enough for yours truly and Mr. C! We love us our pasta Alfredo. So in an effort to keep our desire for Alfredo commensurate with our need to keep our cholesterol at a level that is appropriate for people in their “golden years”, and not coincidentally keep our doctors from jumping up and down and yelling at us, I have modified one of our favorite “Alfredo” style dishes. Now granted, without the cream it’s certainly never ever going to replace the real deal. But, truly, it ain’t half bad! But since I know that some of you are purists, I decided to also provide you with the original recipe that won my grandchildren (Derek and Rebecca) over to the belief that broccoli is the best green vegetable ever invented!

So give my modified version a try. It still has the creamy sauce that is so important to a delicious “Alfredo”. But I have to tell you. When you warm up leftovers, no puddle of butter is left in the bottom of the bowl. (If you happen to be one of the people who has never reheated an Alfredo sauce, please believe me when I tell you that looking in the bowl after the pasta has been reheated is enough to immediately change your thinking on Alfredo Sauce. Does the term “swimming in liquid fat” mean anything to you? Well that’s exactly what your noodles will be doing if you reheat a true Alfredo sauce.)

But like I said, if you are a purist, under the age of 30, have the metabolism of a pigmy shrew, are 6’2’’, and weigh about 102 pounds, please give my original recipe a try. It is really fabulous. Just don’t tell me about it. I might start crying, and no one likes to see tears on their computer screen.

Reduced fat CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI FETTUCCINE:

  • 2 T. unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 c. bite sized pieces of fresh broccoli
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, cubed
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T. dry white wine
  • 2 T. flour
  • pinch ground nutmeg
  • ¾ c. chicken broth
  • 1 c. milk (I use 2%)
  • 8-oz. fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente (keep some of the cooking water*)
  • ¾ c. finely grated Parmesan cheese + more for passing (or use part Parmesan and part Pecorino Romano)

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large fry pan. Add the broccoli and sauté for 2-3 minutes. (Broccoli should still be crisp.) Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove broccoli and garlic from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper; cook until the chicken is barely cooked through. Remove from pan and add to the reserved broccoli and garlic.

Pour wine into the pan and cook until very little liquid remains. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the flour. Whisk together and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the nutmeg, chicken broth, and milk; stirring until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from heat and add the cooked pasta, reserved broccoli, garlic, and chicken, and ¾ cup Parmesan. Add some of the pasta cooking water if the sauce seems too thick. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

Please note: If doubling this recipe, use only 3 tablespoons of flour, but double all the remaining ingredients. FYI: many of my recipes feed just 2-3 people. Unless otherwise stated, my recipes can easily be doubles or tripled.

* You really don’t need to use seemingly gallons of water when you cook pasta. In fact, you only need to use enough so that the pasta has room to expand and not stick together. This not only saves water and energy, but the resulting cooking water has a higher percentage of residual starch, which makes it perfect for adding to the sauce if more liquid and/or thickening is required. For more information, search Serious Eats; The Food Lab; A new way to cook pasta?

Good old fashioned CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI FETTUCCINE:

  • ¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 c. bite sized pieces of fresh broccoli
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely minced
  • 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, cubed
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 c. whipping cream
  • 8-oz. fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente (keep some of the cooking water)
  • ¾ c. finely grated Parmesan cheese + more for passing (or use part Parmesan and part Pecorino Romano)

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large fry pan. Add the broccoli and sauté for 2-3 minutes. (Broccoli should still be crisp.) Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove broccoli and garlic from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper; cook until the chicken is barely cooked through. Remove from pan and add to the reserved broccoli and garlic.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoon butter and cook until butter is lightly browned. Add 1/3 cup of the cream and boil rapidly over high heat until large shiny bubbles form; stir occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and add cooked noodles to sauce. Toss vigorously and add the chicken mixture, Parmesan cheese and the remaining cream, in about 3 additions. Adjust seasonings and serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

CREAMY PASTA WITH PANCETTA AND PEAS

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Usually when I make a creamy sauce, I use cream. Sounds reasonable, right? But in an effort to reduce the number of calories and amount of fat in the dishes I prepare, I decided to use chicken stock and 2% milk instead of cream when I prepared this dish last evening. (OK, I did use 2 tablespoons of butter, but that’s just a fraction of the amount I normally would use!) So of course the resulting product was not as rich as a regular Alfredo sauce. (How could it be without a half cup of butter and 2 cups of heavy cream?) But regardless, it was still quite delicious. And without all the fat, it just had a fresher taste to it. Perhaps it was because the other ingredients were forced to shine on their own without relying on the cream to carry the day.

Whatever the reason, we were very happy to chomp away on this pasta sans the guilty feeling we usually experience when we are eating a creamy pasta dish. Not to say, we won’t ever eat a true Alfredo again. But I think I will be adapting my other standard Alfredo type dishes too, so that we can enjoy them more often without our cholesterol numbers shooting into the stratosphere!

And the first one I am going to adapt is one of our favorite pasta recipes – Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccine. So look for this recipe in the near future. And for those of you who have no cholesterol worries or don’t ever have to concern yourself with putting on weight, I will also post the “real” recipe. Which just happens to be Derek and Rebecca’s (two of my grandchildren) favorite food. (Poor kids. They unfortunately inherited their grandmother’s love of sauces.)

So if you too love pasta with a creamy sauce, give this dish a try. It takes no time to whip up. And I’m sure your whole family will love it. And miss all those calories in a traditional Alfredo sauce? I think not!

  • 2 T. unsalted butter, divided
  • ½ c. diced pancetta
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 2 T. dry white wine
  • 2 T. flour
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • pinch ground nutmeg
  • ¾ c. chicken broth
  • ¾ c. milk (I use 2%)
  • 8-oz. penne pasta, cooked al dente (keep some of the cooking water*)
  • ½ c. uncooked frozen petite peas, thawed
  • ½ c. finely grated parmesan cheese + more for passing (or use part Parmesan and part Pecorino Romano)
  • 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large fry pan. Add the pancetta and fry until crisp. Remove the pancetta from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the garlic to the pan. Cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until no liquid remains. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the flour. Whisk together and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, nutmeg, chicken broth, and milk; stirring until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from heat and add the cooked pasta, peas, cooked pancetta, ½ cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add some of the pasta cooking water if the sauce seems too thick. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

Please note: If doubling the recipe, use only 3 tablespoons of flour, but double all the remaining ingredients.

*Something I had thought for a long time just came out as being accurate. You really don’t need to use seemingly gallons of water when you cook pasta. In fact, you only need to use enough so that the pasta has room to expand and not stick together. This not only saves water and energy, but the resulting cooking water has a higher percentage of residual starch, which makes it perfect for adding to the sauce if more liquid and/or thickening is required. For more information, search Serious Eats; The Food Lab; A new way to cook pasta?

 

 

 

EASY LEMON AND BASIL SPAGHETTI

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If there is an easier pasta dish to prepare than this slightly adapted version of a Giada de Laurentiis classic, I’d appreciate it if you would send me the recipe at your earliest convenience! (And BTW, your recipe has to be as delicious.) Because, frankly, this is the tastiest quick and easy pasta I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. Now granted, I love fresh lemon, basil, Parmesan, and pasta more than just about any other ingredients. So for me, this simple dish is just about as good as it gets. And the fact that I only have to make one pot dirty is not only a bonus for me, but the resident dish washer (Mr. C) also appreciates that benefit.

So about this recipe, I have very little more to say either about the dish or about life in general. (I know – no caustic remarks directed at politicians, no firm instructions not to mess with the ingredients, not even a comment about myself or my friends that you don’t care to read about anyway!)

So, just one more little tidbit for the record. Make this dish and you will know what summer tastes like. And thank you Linder for sending me the recipe, and Giada, for sharing yet another incredibly divine recipe with all of us.

  • 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1½ tsp. lemon zest
  • scant ¼ c. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ c. chopped fresh basil + more for garnish
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 oz. spaghetti, cooked al dente

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest & juice, Parmesan, basil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooked pasta, adjust seasoning, garnish with basil, and serve immediately. (If you need additional liquid for your sauce, use a small amount of the pasta water.)

 

 

CHICKEN MARENGO (CHICKEN IN A SAVORY WINE AND TOMATO SAUCE)

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Every once in awhile Mr. C. will be completing the New York Times cross word puzzle, and will run across (or down) an answer that by its clue he knows is a cooking term or dish. And if he doesn’t recognize the term or dish, he asks me to enlighten him since I am the self proclaimed resident expert on all things cuisine. Now sometimes I can answer with assurance, sometimes with a faint idea of what I’m talking about, but more often than not, I haven’t got a clue. So when Mr. C. recently asked me about marengo, I just stared at him and shrugged my shoulders. But of course, later that morning I had to look it up.

I discovered that Marengo is a town in Italy, and that maybe possibly Chicken Marengo was prepared for Napoleon by his personal chef after the French won the battle of Marengo on June 14, 1800. (Myth or legend, who knows?!) What I do know for sure however, is that Melissa d’Arabians recipe for Chicken Marengo, with a couple of minor adaptations on my part, is an absolutely delicious, easy to prepare, and healthy chicken dish. So who cares about the origin of the recipe even though both the French and the Italian claim it as their own creation. (Well of course they do!) And incidentally, there are about as many wildly different ingredients and ways to prepare this dish as there are Carter’s Little Liver Pills! (Actually since 1959 they have simply been called Carter’s Little Pills.) And yes, they are still being made and apparently sold. Or they wouldn’t keep making them, right??? But back to the variety of ingredients possible in a Chicken Marengo.

Some include poached or fried eggs (yikes), crayfish, Cognac, garlic, black olives, thyme, etc. The list is endless. But for my taste, this simple preparation is absolutely perfect. (And no I don’t care if Napoleon would have liked it or not!)

So do yourself a favor. First of all, don’t buy any Carter’s Little Liver Pills (talk about an expired pull date), but do prepare this amazing dish next time you want to feature chicken in a new and exciting way.

  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise, and then pounded thin
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ c. all-purpose flour
  • 3-4 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium sized sweet onion, sliced
  • ½ lb. button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 2 T. tomato paste
  • ½ c. dry white wine
  • ½ c. beef broth (yes, beef broth)
  • 1 (14-oz.) can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tsp. butter

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and lightly dredge in flour. In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Brown on both sides, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add another tablespoon of the olive oil, if needed, along with the onion, mushrooms, and pepper. Sauté until the veggies are almost soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Turn up the heat, and add the wine and let it reduce by about half. Add the beef broth and chopped tomatoes. Once the mixture begins to burble, reduce the heat, and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add the reserved chicken and any accumulated juices and cook until the chicken is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Serve immediately. Great served over brown rice.

 

 

SIMPLE ITALIAN ROCKET (ARUGULA) SALAD

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I don’t know who invented those plastic flip top boxes that contain ready to eat greens, but whoever it was, she has my everlasting gratitude. And yes, triple washed greens were invented for lazy people like me who love salad but don’t always have the willpower or energy to wash a bunch of greens. (And yes, I know part of the solution for flagging energy – more greens, right?) So for me, prewashed organic greens that come all tidily nestled in their own plastic tub or bag are an absolute Godsend. Conundrum solved!

Plus, the package provides the pull date, so I can reasonably judge how long the contents of the box or bag will last before becoming yard waste fodder. (As many of you know, I need all the help I can get with my predisposition to allow perfectly good veggies to molder in my refrigerator.)

So with pre-washed veggies in mind, I decided to post another simple salad that Mr. C. and I enjoy regularily. And the great thing about this salad; it compliments just about any entrée, Italian or not. So without further ado, the only thing left to say about this salad besides how easy and fast it is to prepare is, yummy, yummy, yummy!!!

  • 1 T. fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp. kosher or sea salt, or more to taste
  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ c. thinly sliced red onion
  • ¼ c. salted sunflower seeds
  • 4 c. baby arugula (rocket)
  • shaved Parmesan, as much or as little as you want (remember: the better the Parmesan, the better the salad)

Whisk together the lemon juice, salt, and olive oil in a salad bowl. Add the red onion, sunflower seeds, and arugula. Toss in the Parmesan. Serve immediately.

SPICY RISOTTO WITH SCALLOPS AND SHRIMP

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Sometimes I get so caught up in trying new recipes, I forget about preparing some of our old favorites. And this dish is no exception. So the other day when I was planning what to fix for our good friends Tim and Susie, I decided to go through my first cookbook for inspiration. And there on page 109 was this recipe which I had all but forgotten.

I can’t remember where I got this recipe (it was over 20 years ago after all), but I sure as heck know I didn’t invent this amazing concoction. I think it may have been a cooking class I took at an Italian restaurant back before the dawn of cell phones (not really, because the first mobile cell phone call was made in 1973). But you catch my drift; it was a long time ago!

In short, this is absolute perfection in risotto. The gist of the sauce (garlic, anchovies, kalamata olives, capers, tomato sauce, and parsley) is almost pure Puttanesca (on this site BTW). I strongly believe that whoever the brainchild was who dreamt up this fabulous dish simply borrowed a basic puttanesca recipe, used Arborio rice instead of pasta, and added seafood. Brilliant!

So to whoever it was that came up with this fabulous combination of ingredients, I salute you. And to those of you who give this recipe a try, I salute you too. I promise you will not be sorry, unless of course you are allergic to shellfish. Then of course, all bets are off. But if you do try this dish, and like it, send me a reply. I love hearing from you all. (If you don’t like the risotto, keep it to yourselves. I’m getting kind of a fragile ego in my old age. Right!!!!)

  • 1 T. butter
  • 1 c. arborio rice
  • 2 c. simmering chicken stock
  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • generous 2 tsp. anchovy paste
  • generous 2 T. chopped fresh basil
  • generous 2 T. minced fresh parsley
  • ¼ c. chopped kalamata olives
  • 25 capers, drained
  • generous 1 T. finely chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ lb. raw scallops
  • ½ lb. raw large shrimp or prawns, peeled and de-veined (I use shrimp that are 16-20 per pound)
  • ¾ c. dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
  • ¼ c. tomato sauce

Melt the butter in a medium sized heavy pan. Add the rice and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add one large soup ladle of hot stock. Stir and when all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, add another ladle of hot stock. Stir continuously. Continue adding stock until the rice is creamy but just al dente. Remove from heat and set aside. (You may have a little bit of the chicken stock left.)

After the rice is finished cooking, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic, anchovy paste, basil, and parsley. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the olives, capers, sun dried tomatoes, and lemon juice. Cook for 1 minute. Add the seafood and cook until just done, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, tomato sauce, and cooked risotto. Adjust seasonings and cook until just warmed through. Serve immediately.

Hint: This is a recipe where it is almost mandatory to have all your sauce ingredients ready to go before you start cooking. The cooking process goes very quickly and there simply is not time between steps to be chopping and fetching.

CAPONATA ALLA SICILIANA (SICILIAN EGGPLANT RELISH)

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People often ask me if I have ever had a failure in the kitchen. That’s like asking if a bear goes number 2 in the woods! Well, of course I have and of course they do! In fact, I don’t know a single cook who hasn’t had a few colossal defeats along the way. It’s just part of the whole cooking experience.

I also have never known a cook who doesn’t have a favorite dish or two that they wish they could perfect, but just can’t seem to come up with the right combination of ingredients or technique to make it happen. I am just as guilty as the next cook in that regard too.

Now granted, I don’t have as many complete failures as I did when I was just learning to cook, but there are still some dishes that I simply can’t duplicate, no matter how hard I try. For example, I still haven’t mastered a truly good version of a Major Grey type chutney. And really, it can’t be that difficult. Never-the-less, I’ve never found a recipe or invented a combination of ingredients that comes close to the real thing.

But then, there also used to be a dish with eggplant, onion, green olives, capers, and tomatoes that I enjoyed in Italy and wanted to re-create at home. I had all but given up on creating the perfect caponata after several failed attempts over a number of years. But thanks to Saveur and old fashioned persistence, I can now serve up a caponata that will knock your socks off! (I made a couple of changes to the recipe in Saveur, but then, of course I did!) But truly, this combination of ingredients is just amazingly delicious. Served on fresh baguette slices, there is darn near nothing that compares with this quintessential Sicilian appetizer for absolute culinary bliss. (How’s that for a description of a simple veggie dish made with easily obtainable ingredients?!)

So if you too happen to adore caponata, or even if you have never tasted this Sicilian comfort food, give this recipe a try. Caponata makes a wonderful appetizer to serve at a dinner party, especially when served with other Italian dishes. And easy! It’s at its best when made a couple days ahead, brought to room temperature or slightly warmed, scooped into a pretty bowl, then surrounded with fresh chewy baguette slices. Your guests will think you are the next best thing to Lidia Bastianich, Marcella Hazan or my personal favorite, Ettore Boiardi (Chef Boy-Ar-Dee). Just kidding! (Actually Ettore Boiardi was a real chef. In fact his restaurant Il Giardino d’Italia which opened in 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio was so well regarded that Boiardi started his canned Italian food business because his restaurant patrons kept asking him for his recipes.) Lidia and Marcella of course are also real chefs, but to the best of my knowledge, neither of them have ever forced pasta into a can!

  • 3 medium-large eggplants, partially peeled, and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
  • ½ c. extra virgin olive oil, divided (or more as needed)
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T. tomato paste
  • 1 (15-oz.) can tomato sauce, preferably made with Italian tomatoes
  • 6 oz. pimento stuffed green olives, roughly chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • ½ c. white wine vinegar or if you can find it, Ponti Italian Wine Vinegar – kind of a yellow color – sold at PFI (Pacific Food Importers) – basically my favorite vinegar
  • ½ c. golden raisins
  • ¼ c. capers, drained
  • 3 T. sugar
  • 2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
  • ½ c. finely shredded basil, or more to taste

Coat the eggplant pieces with 6 tablespoons of the olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. (If the pieces seem dry, add a little more olive oil. A little more olive oil never hurts.) Roast in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until just browned, about 30 minutes. Turn every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large fry pan. Add the onion, celery, salt, and pepper; slowly cook until the onion starts to caramelize. Add the tomato paste and sauce; let gently burble for 10 minutes. Stir in olives, vinegar, raisins, capers, sugar, and cocoa; cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the roasted eggplant and let burble for another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Adjust seasoning. Let cool to room temperature before serving or storing covered in your refrigerator for up to one week. Best made a couple days ahead and served on chewy Italian baguette slices.

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PASTA WITH BUTTON MUSHROOM SAUCE

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I know I have told you before, but sometimes a food item, particularly a veggie, can get kind of forgotten in my refrigerator. I think it’s because I am always trying new recipes and I focus on the new ingredients to the shameful neglect of what came before. And that’s exactly what happened when I recently discovered 4 very large button mushrooms lurking at the bottom of my vegetable bin. Poor things; they looked absolutely pathetic just lying there, stem side up in their very own blue polystyrene container from Costco. So what to do with these mushrooms? The frugal cook in me just could not throw them to the Gods of yard-waste. They simply did not deserve that fate! And although I know that mushrooms lose their potency over time, they weren’t slimy, so I considered that good enough.

But then, what to do with them? Well, the same thing I almost always do with an ingredient that needs to be surrounded by compatible flavors to make it more enjoyable. I make a pasta dish.

So that’s exactly what I did, and the recipe below is the result. And all hubris aside, this recipe is very, very good. Easy too! And vegetarian, if you use vegetable stock, which is my first choice for this pasta. (The dish actually tastes a lot like a meatless beef stroganoff.)

So if you need an easy recipe for a weeknight pasta dish your entire family will enjoy, pick yourself up some button mushrooms and put some pasta water on to boil. But remember: don’t cook your pasta ahead of time. If need be, make the sauce wait for your freshly cooked al dente pasta.

You know, now that I mention cooked pasta, I should provide you with my own guidelines for what I consider to be perfectly cooked pasta.

So for those of you who were not born knowing the fine nuances surrounding perfection in pasta cooking, I have listed the steps below. For those of you who already know how to cook perfect pasta, or were born with the knowledge, (like that could ever happen), just ignore my well thought out, well written, and helpful instructions!

  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • kosher Salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 lg. or 4 very lg. button mushrooms, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • ¼ c. dry white wine
  • ¼ c. vegetable, beef, or chicken stock
  • ½ c. sour cream
  • ¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 oz. pasta, cooked al dente

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, season with salt and pepper and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender and starting to brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the wine and cook until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer for one minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the sour cream. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and add the drained pasta to the sauce. Add the Parmesan. Adjust seasoning. (If the pasta seems too dry, add a small amount of the reserved pasta water.) Serve immediately.

Note: This is the perfect amount for 2 hungry adults. The recipe can be doubled or tripled as needed.

Perfect Pasta:

1)      Use pasta which contains at least some semolina flour

2)      Use a large cooking pot

3)      Add cold water (1 lb. pasta = 5-6 quarts of water) to the pot

4)      Cover the pot and bring the water to a rolling boil.

5)      Add kosher salt (about 1-2 tablespoons per pound of pasta)

6)      Add the pasta all at once

7)      Stir immediately with a wooden spoon to prevent the pasta from sticking together and to the bottom of the pan

8)      Bring the water back to a boil as quickly as possible. Then reduce the heat only enough to prevent the water from boiling over on to your stove top. Do not cover the pan.

9)      Continue to periodically stir the pasta so that it cooks evenly

10)   DO NOT RELY ON THE PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCURATE COOKING TIME. Taste testing is the only way to know when the pasta is al dente. (Al dente means “to the tooth” in Italian and refers to the fact that the pasta has a slight resistance when you bite into it. The pasta doesn’t have a hard center, nor is it soft.)

11)   If you are using the pasta for a hot dish with a sauce (like this recipe), save about a cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta (don’t rinse) and add it to the sauce and serve immediately. (Or you can place the hot pasta on a plate or in a serving bowl or platter and immediately cover with sauce.)

12)   If you are using the pasta for a cold dish (like my recipe for Shrimp and Macaroni Salad or Tuna Macaroni Salad), drain the pasta and immediately rinse with cold water. (Rinsing the pasta serves to both stop the cooking process and remove the thin coating of starch that can cause it to be sticky when cold. This method also works well for lasagna noodles.)

 

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH A BUTTER, SAGE, AND LEMON CREAM SAUCE

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Once in a while I have a stroke of genius. I’m not bragging here, I’m just stating a fact! And when I decided that I needed a simple meatless pasta dish to serve along with a chicken pasta casserole for an upcoming JazzVox pre-concert meal, I thought about one of my favorite pasta recipes – Pasta with Butter and Sage. But as much as I love that recipe (on this site BTW), it is a last minute wonder. And frankly, with as many as 35-40 people coming for a meal at 1:00pm on a Sunday afternoon, I just don’t have the luxury of serving “last minute wonders”. So I thought, how can I basically duplicate the flavors in one of my favorite pasta dishes without the last minute anxiety. (And yes, even though I have been cooking for a crowd for more years than I care to admit, I still suffer anxiety especially when there is a time restraint involved.) Frankly, I don’t know how caterers and restaurant chefs keep their sanity. If I had made a career in the food service, I would probably be serving time in a mental institution and you would not be hearing from me on a cooking blog! But more about this pasta.

Good pasta sauces usually involve multiple ingredients and a lot of time. This sauce has very few ingredients and takes almost no time to prepare. Now granted, this is not a low cal sauce. Anytime one of the ingredients is heavy cream, you know the calorie and fat count are going to be high. But this isn’t an everyday kind of sauce. This is a want to impress my date, about to propose marriage, must impress my in-laws, or desperately need to show my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend why he chose me over you kind of sauce! So once in awhile, this is the sauce you should make for any of the afore mentioned reasons or just to celebrate being alive. If there ever was a sauce that serves to remind us that life is truly wonderful, this is the one.

And for all you foodies out there who know down to your toenails that Parmesan cheese goes with all foods Italian, this is one time I would recommend against its use. (I know – almost un-American, right?) But this sauce has a really delicate flavor. And although Parmesan is fabulous in a standard Alfredo sauce, it is my belief that the strong hint of fresh sage and lemon in this sauce would be overwhelmed by the addition of Parmesan cheese.

  • ½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 10-12 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (or more to taste)
  • 1 T. flour
  • ½ c. chicken broth or milk
  • 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 c. heavy cream
  • pinch kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 6-8 oz. angel hair or thin spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until the butter is a light golden brown; add the sage leaves and remove from heat. Whisk in the flour, return to low heat and cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth, lemon juice, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Cook until the mixture is hot and thickened.* Adjust seasoning and add the hot pasta. Serve immediately.

*The sauce can be made ahead of time and gently re-heated just before you are ready to serve.

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