Sunday Pasta

Turkey is great - for a few days - but by the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it's time for something different. Turkey soup, sandwiches, and egg rolls can only go so far...

Victor headed to the kitchen first, and whipped up a batch of fresh pasta. He has pasta-making down to a science. In about an hour - and that includes 30 minutes for the pasta dough to rest - he has it made, rolled, cut, and ready to cook. Gotta love it.

Years ago he bought me a pasta roller for Christmas - and I've used it maybe twice. He took to pasta-making immediately, and I'm definitely not stupid enough to argue. He says pasta and I say yes. I don't even ask what kind. He's making, I'm eating. Rather simple...

He has a few different recipes for pasta, but this is kinda the go-to...

Tagliatelle Fresche

Ingredients

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • Coarse sea salt

Instructions

On a clean work surface, mound flour and form a well in the center. Add eggs and egg yolks to the well. Using a fork, gently break up yolks and slowly incorporate flour from inside rim of well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead for 10 minutes. Wrap dough tightly in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 pieces. Cover 2 pieces with plastic wrap. Flatten remaining dough piece so that it will fit through the rollers of a pasta machine.

Set rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting, then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.

Roll pasta through machine, decreasing the setting, one notch at a time (do not fold or turn pasta), until pasta sheet is scant 1/16 inch thick.

Cut sheet in half widthwise; dust both sides of sheets with flour. Layer sheets between floured pieces of parchment or wax paper. Cover with paper and repeat with remaining dough.

With the short end of 1 pasta sheet facing you, loosely fold up sheet, folding sheet over two or three times from short ends toward the center. With a large chefs knife, cut folded sheet into ribbons, a scant 1/4 inch wide. Unroll strips and lightly dust with flour; spread on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets.

To cook the tagliatelle, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl and toss with sauce.

And here he is tossing it with sauce - his homemade sauce that I can a few times a year. Homemade sauce on the shelf is always a good thing...

pasta-2

 

And crunchy garlic toast is always a good thing, too. Perfect for sopping up every last bit of sauce...

pasta-3

 

It was all really good.


Turkey Eggrolls

Since we went for Thanksgiving this year, we had to cook a turkey on Friday because... well... Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without lots of leftovers... And nothing is more in the holiday spirit than on Day Six Of Leftovers swearing you'll never roast another turkey as long as you live... We were only on Day Two of leftovers, but you get the idea. Sometimes a new idea is just what you need to make the leftovers palatable.

Victor had a post on his Facebook page that showed a Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Roll. I looked at it, and said to myself, "self... you could make this." So I did!

And I really have to say it was pretty darned good! Of course, what could be bad about it? All the fun things from Thanksgiving rolled into an egg roll wrapper and fried?!?

Our dipping sauce was different - Victor used homemade cranberry sauce with sambal oelek - and I made the egg rolls with sweet potatoes, not mashed.

But what fun, eh?!?

11-28-15-egg-rolls

Here's the original video. Short but sweet.

Oh... and since man does not live by egg rolls, alone... I made Turkey Soup to go along with it.

11-28-15-turkey-soup

The rest of the turkey, stuffing, and gravy will be getting frozen for a quick meal when I'm working late...

And Victor made homemade pasta for tonight...


Pear Upside Down Cake

Pear Upside Down Cake

I've been whining about Bon Appetit for months (years)... I get that I'm not the demographic and I get that they're chasing after Saveur magazine with their unflattering photos, but it doesn't make it any easier when I'm looking through the mag... There's a lot about the magazine I just don't care for - their lack of page numbers and ugly pictures to name but two - but the (not flattering) cover photo of a Spiced Pear Upside Down Cake on the October issue did catch my attention - mainly because I wanted to know why they put a picture of a burnt-looking cake on their cover.  I had picked up a bag of different pears the other day and needed a way to make them fattening.

You will note, if you click on the link above, what I mean about a not-flattering photo - the cake really does look burnt. But with a couple of minor tweaks, it came out stellar!

I switched out the walnuts for pistachios, to begin with. I was going to use walnuts, but I put them in the oven to toast and toasted them just a tad too long. Oh, well. And you really do need the pomegranate molasses! It adds a really great sweet/tart flavor to the cake. I didn't drizzle more on the cake for serving tonight, but probably will tomorrow. I had a couple of jars in the cabinet, but if you can't find it at your local store, it's pretty easy to make. Here's my recipe. I went through a phase where I was using it all the time in a lot of different recipes. I've slowed down a bit, but still keep it on hand.

So... Bon Appetit finally came through with a decent recipe! It really is a great cake with a great texture and really really good flavor. A coupe of caveats... You definitely need a 10" pan for this and you definitely want to put it on a baking sheet in the oven - it did spill over just a tad. But it's worth the time.

Give it a try!


Sautéed Shredded Cabbage and Squash

11-09-15-cabbage-and-squash-2

I married a man who doesn't like cabbage. I mean, Victor has a bazillion or two other redeeming qualities, but every now and again, I miss my cabbage.

He's tried... He's even made me one of the best stuffed cabbage dishes, ever - courtesy of Ina Garten. But truth be known, if he never saw it again, he really wouldn't be all that upset.

And then we planted cabbage in the garden. Just a couple of heads, but, there it is.

That's a bit of a game-changer! It's one thing to eschew something at the store. It's another thing entirely when it's growing in your backyard. I don't think either of us really thought we were going to get actual heads of cabbage. Imagine our surprise when we did!

Naturally, if it's in the garden we have to eat it, so I started looking for some recipes, today. I wanted something that would pretty much hide the cabbage intensity and quickly found a recipe from the New York Times.

It's a mixture of shredded cabbage and shredded winter squash - in my case, it was a delicata - along with rice, eggs, and cheese. How could it be bad?!?

Sautéed Shredded Cabbage and Squash

adapted from the New York Times

for the vegetables:

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound winter squash, peeled and shredded
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • ¾ pound green cabbage, shredded
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

for the gratin:

  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup low-fat milk
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup rice or barley, cooked and cooled
  • 2 ounces Gruyère, grated (1/2 cup)
  • 1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)

put it together:

Start your rice.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet or a wok and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the shredded winter squash and the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until not quite tender, about 10 minutes, and add the remaining oil, the cabbage, sage, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Continue to cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375º and butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the cooked grains and the cooked vegetables.

Add the cheeses and stir everything together, then scrape into the prepared baking dish.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the gratin is set. Allow to cool for 15 minutes or longer before serving. The gratin is good hot, warm or at room temperature.

I used dried sage and thyme - I always have dried herbs on hand - and cut the amount back to 1 teaspoon each.

The flavor was very much like that of a stuffing - and both Victor and Nonna loved it! Victor actually said I could cook it any time I wanted! That's a pretty big compliment from a non-cabbage-liker!

It really is full of Autumn flavors and I think it would be great for Thanksgiving!

Methinks we shall be making this, again!

 

 

 


Farfalle Pasta with Lamb Sausage and Pork

I was perusing old issues of La Cucina Italiana last night looking for dinner ideas. I am still pissed at Condé Nast for folding the US version of the magazine. It was the best food magazine out there - and puts Bon Appétit to shame. I still get the La Cucina emails - in Italian - and get some good recipes - also in Italian - but it's just not the same as getting the magazine and drooling over what's going to be the next meal.

I especially miss Victor's recreation of the Pasta Issues - where he would make the majority of the recipes from scratch with fresh pasta. They were some good-eating years.

The magazine is no more but I do have my dozen or so issues I had saved, so out they come now and again, for inspiration.

The inspiration for tonight's dinner came from a recipe from the 2011 Pasta Issue - Mafaldine al Ragù di Coniglio - Mafaldine Pasta with Rabbit.

I've had rabbit many times and really enjoy it, but it's not all that easy to find out here in 'burbia. Well... other than hopping through the yard, that is... but I prefer my lapin already dressed, thankyouverymuch.

So, fresh out of Thumper, I did have lamb sausage and a small pork loin end - perfect substitutes.

11-02-15-farfalle-with-pork-and-lamb-sausage-2

One of the things that intrigued me about this recipe was using a teaspoon of cocoa powder in the sauce - and a half-cup of milk. Two ingredients I usually don't associate with Italian pasta dishes. But both of them did their magic. This sauce totally rocks!

I used D'Artagnan Lamb Merguez Sausage because I wanted a bit of an earthy flavor to kinda mimic the rabbit. If I didn't have the sausage, I'd probably drop in a couple of chicken livers. Not a lot - just something for a bit of back-flavor.

Pasta with Lamb Sausage and Pork

  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Fine sea salt
  • 8 oz Lamb Merquez Sausage - removed from casing and crumbled
  • 2 lb pork loin - cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound mafaldine or pappardelle - or farfalle
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and water. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil until hot. Add onion, celery, and carrot; cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes, then stir in parsley and a pinch of salt. Add the meats and cook, covered, about 10 minutes. Add cocoa mixture, wine, and milk. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, until pork is tender - about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from heat. Shred pork and return to skillet.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. When pasta is cooked, drain and add to ragù, mixing well. Add cheese and mix well.

Check for seasoning and add additional salt and/or pepper, as desired.

11-02-15-farfalle-with-pork-and-lamb-sausage-3

This is definitely one of those times I wish technology could allow for scents to be embedded in web pages. Not only did this taste fantastic, it filled the house with a really rich aroma. It was ridiculously simple to make - and I know I'll be making variations for years to come!

 

 


Flourless Chocolate Cake

I got a text at work on Saturday to bring home some whipping cream. Victor said I wouldn't be sorry.

Once again, the boy was right. I wasn't sorry. I was thrilled. Flourless Chocolate Cake was awaiting me!

Victor found the recipe years ago from Tyler Florence and has tweaked it over the years - and every time he makes it it is better than the time before. It is truly one of my most favorite desserts. It is dense and fudgy with a wicked good chocolate flavor. It calls for a full pound of chocolate - and the better the quality, the better the cake.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

  • 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 9 large eggs, separated
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
  • 1/4 cup strong black coffee
  • 2 cups heavy cream, cold
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1-inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs – this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.  Add the coffee and mix well.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

Serve at room temperature dusted with powdered sugar and the whipped cream.

Make one. You won't be sorry.