Homemade Pasta With Roasted Vegetables

Hey y'all, long time no blog.  I realize it's been 3 months since I've last blogged and that's pretty lame of me.  I started a new job so I was busy with that.  I also recently donated bone marrow to a 41 year old man with cancer (AML).  If you're interested in my experience donating bone marrow check out the blog I wrote chronicling the process here.

Anyway, I decided I needed to come back with a bang and this is the perfect recipe for that.  I, not so humbly, declared this the Best Thing I've Ever Made (and if I was every asked to be on that show on the Food Network I would use this recipe no matter what the category.  I mean, this could be a dessert, right?!).  Anyway, don't be intimated to make your own pasta.  I don't have a pasta roller or a pasta cutter and was able to get the pasta thin enough cut it in relatively even strips.  Just try it once, and you will be a convert for life.  I mean I don't think I'll be making homemade pasta on a Tuesday night after work, but if I want pasta on a weekend I will definitely be making my own.

Homemade Pasta With Roasted Vegetables

What you need:

Pasta:

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

2 T milk

Sauce:

Shrimp (I used about 12 medium-large)

1 can artichoke hearts

1 medium zucchini

Cherry tomatoes (about 1 cup)

2 T chopped sundried tomatoes

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp red pepper flakes

Juice of 3 lemons

1/3 cup white wine

1/4 cup half and half (I used fat free)

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used fat free)

1/3 cup reserved pasta water

Basil chiffonade

What you do:

Pasta:

Put the flour on a clean work surface and mix in the salt.  Mix the eggs, olive oil and milk in a separate bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the egg mixture into the well.  Make sure that the well is deep enough so that egg mixture doesn't try to escape (not like that happened to me or anything).  Anyway, use your hands to mix the flour into the egg mixture until it forms a craggly dough.  Then, you're just going to knead away.  You need to knead the dough until it's no longer sticky and is a nice soft and smooth dough.  By kneading it you're activating all the gluten, and if you don't knead it enough the pasta is going to not be yummy and delicious.  I kneaded my dough for 5-7 minutes.  Once the dough was soft and smooth I formed it into a ball and covered it with plastic wrap, then covered that with a towel and let it sit for an hour.  

Once you've let the dough sit for at least an hour, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll that sucker as thin as you can get it.  Seriously, take it to where you think it's thin enough and then roll it out some more.  It should be about 1/8th inch thick when you're done with it.  I was the most scared about this part, because I read that it was practically impossible to roll the dough thin enough.  I will tell you, it was nowhere near as difficult as I thought it would be.  So, once you've rolled the dough out lightly sprinkle flour all over the top of the dough and gently fold the dough in half, and then lightly flour the top and fold it in half again (basically we're trying to make it easier to cut the pasta into strips, if you only need to fold it in half once that's fine).  Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes, then go ahead and cut it into thin strips.  Mine ended up being about the size of fettucini (about 1/2 inch).  Once you cut the pasta into strips, then you need to unfold the strips and lay them out side by side.  Cook them in salted boiling water for 5-6 minutes.    

Sauce:

Drain the artichokes, quarter them and put them on a cookie sheet along with the cherry tomatoes and zucchini cut into half circles.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven at 425* until the vegetables are browned, about 30 minutes.  Take out of oven and set aside.

Saute shrimp and garlic in olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.  When the shrimp is done, remove from pan and set aside.  Add the white wine to the garlic and reduce by one half.  I always use whatever wine I feel like drinking that night, so I used Barefoot's new Sweet White.  It was delicious, but any wine you want to use will be perfect.  On a side note, if you mix the Sweet White wine with some raspberry lemonade it is a delicious summer spritzer.  You're welcome.  Anyway, once the wine has reduced add in the half and half and red pepper flakes and the juice of 2 of the lemons.  Let everything mix together, get warmed up and reduce slightly.  Add the shrimp and roasted vegetables back to the pan and then add the cooked noodles to the pan as well.  Add the ricotta cheese along with the reserved pasta water and stir to combine everything.  Right before you serve add the basil, sundried tomatoes, and the juice of the 1 remaining lemon.

Enjoy with a nice glass of wine and be impressed with yourself.  You just made homemade pasta.  You are awesome!

Mini Monday: A Mini Valentine's Day

I don't know about you, but I think there's something so romantic about sharing dessert with someone you love.  And, for some reason sharing an Italian dessert is extra romantic.  Maybe because Italian is the language of love.  Maybe it's because you can pretend you're in Venice on a moonlit gondola ride.  Either way, Valentine's Day is the perfect time to make a delicious dessert that's just big enough to share with the one you love.  Plus, if you stay at home and make it yourself you don't have to deal with all the crowds at the fancy restaurants.  And if you feel like getting a little "romantic", well you're in the privacy of your own home.  Go right ahead.

If all of that sounds good to you, then you're going to love this recipe for tiramisu.  This recipe is for a full 9x11 pan of tiramisu, but for Valentine's Day making it into a heart shape big enough for two to share takes a delicious dessert and "kicks it up another notch," to borrow a phrase from Emeril.  

 Valentine's Day Tiramisu

(adapted from Jessica Lynn Writes)

What you need:

1 1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee (room temperature)

5 T Kahlua

Lady fingers (about 30)

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 T vanilla

16 oz marscapone

6 T cold heavy (whipping) cream

Cocoa

Cinnamon

What you do:

Mix coffee and 3 T Kahlua in a shallow bowl and set aside.  

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks at a low speed until just combined.  Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until it becomes pale yellow.  Next mix in the remaining 2 T Kahlua along with the vanilla.  Then add about two-thirds of the marscapone and mix until well combined and there are no lumps.  

Now, this is wear my version of the recipe differs.  The original recipe calls for raw eggs.  If I bought high-quality farm fresh eggs, I'd probably be fine with keeping the eggs raw but I buy my eggs from Walmart.  I'd rather be safe than sorry.  If you're fine with using raw eggs go ahead and feel free to skip this next step.  Anyway, transfer the egg and marscapone mixture to a glass bowl and cook over a double boiler.  Make sure you whisk the mixture the entire time, we're not trying to make scrambled eggs here.  The objective is to heat the mixture up enough to get the "rawness" off the eggs.  You'll know it's done with the mixture kind of "breaks" and thins out.  Once that happens, remove it from the heat and put it in the fridge to let it cool.  Once it's cool transfer it back to the mixing bowl and mix in the rest of the marscapone.  Once it's mixed smooth, transfer it back to the glass bowl.

If you're keeping the eggs raw, join back up with me here.  Pour the cream in the mixing bowl (don't worry about cleaning it out), and mix on high until it will hold stiff peaks.  Gently fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into the marscapone mixture using a rubber spatula.  Then fold in the rest until there are no white streaks in the mixture.  

And now it's time to assemble the tiramisu.  Take a heart shaped cookie cutter and place it on a plate.  Take lady fingers one at the time and drop them in the coffee/kahlua mixture, quickly flip them over then remove from the coffee.  This whole process should take 2-3 seconds.  You don't want them soaked, just damped.  Place lady fingers in the cookie cutter in one layer, breaking up the lady fingers as necessary.  Next put a big scoop of the marscapone mixture on top of the lady fingers and spread it out.  Next sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the marscapone mixture, and then sift a layer of cocoa on top of that.  Put down another layer of lady fingers, then carefully remove the cookie cutter.  Next, put another layer of marscapone.  Top with some more cinnamon and a thick dusting of cocoa (enough to cover the whole top of the heart).  Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

If you want to make a pan of tiramisu, you basically do the same exact thing as above, except you lay the lady fingers in a layer on the bottom of the pan and build up from there.

Happy Valentine's Day

Seared Sea Scallops With Creamy Risotto: Part Deux

The very first recipe I posted on this blog was creamy risotto with pan-seared scallops.  I was really happy with the risotto but I thought the scallops could use some work, so I decided to try it again.  And I'm happy to say that these scallops turned out 100% better than the last ones.  The trick to making these is starting with a really hot pan, so hot that it's slightly smoking.  Also, do yourself a favor and use sea scallops.  The first time I made this I used bay scallops (the really small scallops), but this time I used sea scallops and they were so much better.  

Seared Sea Scallops with Creamy Risotto

What you need:

Sea scallops

Salt

Pepper

2 T butter

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

3 cups (approx.) chicken stock

2 shallots, finely diced

7-8 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

What you do:

Warm the chicken stock in pot, and let it sit on low heat.  Heat a little olive oil in a pot or deep pan.  Saute the garlic and shallots until the shallots for a few minutes, then add in the rice and allow it to toast a bit.  Pour in the wine and stir until it has been fully absorbed by the rice.  Add about one ladle full of the chicken stock to the rice and stir until full absorbed by the rice.  Continue adding chicken stock to the rice and stir until the rice is creamy and tender.  Once it's done, remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and season with a little salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan.  Season the scallops with a little salt and pepper.  Let the pan get really hot and once it starts slightly smoking, put the scallops in flat side down.  Now whatever you do, do NOT move the scallops.  If you want them to have a nice sear you have to put them in the pan and leave them alone.  Let them cook for a few minutes.  You can look at the sides of scallops to see how much they are cooked.  They will turn from translucent to white as they cook.  Once they are about two-thirds of the way cooked they should have a pretty good sear on them and you can turn them over and let them cook the rest of the way.  You can take them off the heat when they are still a tiny bit translucent because they will continue to cook as they sit and you definitely don't want overcooked scallops.  

Serve the scallops over the risotto and spoon some of the butter from the saucepan on top of the scallops.  

Date Night Dinners: Mussels in a white wine cream sauce

I love making meals that look really impressive and fancy that are actually super easy (and way less expensive than going to a fancy restaurant for dinner).  Cole and I love seafood, but I wanted to make something different than our usual shrimp, salmon or tilapia for dinner a few weekends ago so I decided that I would splurge and make mussels.  For some reason I thought that mussels would be expensive, I'm not sure why. Little did I know, they are actually one of the cheapest types of seafood you can get.  I got 2 lbs from Walmart in the little frozen seafood section for a little more than $3.  That's a good deal in my book.  So, what I thought was a splurge turned out to be a really inexpensive dinner.  I love it when things like that happen.  

Anyway, the mussels I got were already cooked so I just had to boil them in water (in the little bag they came in) for about 5 minutes to warm them up.  I thought it was weird at first, but they turned out great.  

Mussels in a White Wine Cream Sauce

What you need:

2 lbs mussels (fresh or frozen)

5 shallots diced (or 1/2 a large onion)

4-5 large cloves garlic minced

3-4 tsp thyme

1 1/2 cups white wine (whatever kind you like to drink)

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup fat free half and half

Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

What you do:

Saute the minced garlic and shallots in some olive oil in a large pot.  Add the wine and allow it to reduce by half then add the chicken stock, thyme, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.  Allow the chicken stock/wine mixture to reduce down, then add the half and half.  Allow everything to simmer together for 10-15 minutes.  At this point, if you have fresh mussels you will add them to the sauce mixture and allow them to cook for 5-7 minutes.  If you're using fresh mussels don't use any that are open before you cook them because that means they are dead..  If they're only slightly open you can tap them against the counter and if they close up they are fine to eat, but if they don't please discard them.  You definitely do NOT want to eat dead mussels.

If you're using frozen mussels like I did, while your sauce is simmering boil the mussels in the bag they came in then transfer them to the sauce and mix everything around in there a little bit.  Whether you're using fresh or frozen mussels do not eat any that aren't open after cooking them.  

I served the mussels over linguini and with homemade french bread (recipe forthcoming, don't worry) and artichokes.  

Artichokes are probably my favorite vegetables.  They are delicious, interactive, and so interesting looking.  I just love, love, love them. 

I was just so pleased with this meal.  I usually am really hard on myself when it comes to judging the food I make, but I was overall very happy with this.  Of course, there are things I will tweak next time I make this, but if it comes out like this every time I make it I will be happy.  

Cole, of course, said he loved it which is not a surprise because he always says that about everything I make (even the time I made a horribly disgusting raspberry white chocolate cheesecake).  He did say that he wished the sauce was a little thicker, which I agree with.  If you use heavy cream instead of half and half that would help thicken up the sauce, but I at least attempt to eat healthy so I think next time I will mix the half and half with a little bit of flour before I add it to the sauce.  That should help thicken it up some without adding more calories and fat.  

Two pounds of mussels was plenty for Cole and I for dinner.  If you were using this as a first course or appetizer you could probably get 4-5 servings out of this amount.  And I guarantee you ladies, if you make this for your boyfriend/husband he will be SO impressed.  It looks like you put a ton of effort into it too, so you can probably negotiate yourself a massage or a trip to Yumilicious Yogurt.  Or both, who knows?

 

Creamy Risotto and Pan-Seared Scallops

I don't know why, but I have always been intimidated by cooking seafood.  I love it, but I was always afraid I'd mess it up somehow and end up giving everyone food poisoning.  Cole loves seafood too even more than I do, especially scallops, so for date night I said "what the hell" and decided to make scallops.  I have to say, I'm not sure why I was so scared to cook seafood.  It turned out delicious, if I do say so myself, and neither one of us ended up in the emergency room with food poisoning.  Successful date night in my book.  Just a reminder that risotto, while quite impressive, can be kind of a pain to make.  You basically have to stir it continuously for at least 30 minutes, so it helps to have an assistant to help do the dirty work :-)

Creamy Risotto and Pan-Seared Scallops

What you need:

5 1/2 cups chicken stock (or broth)

2 T olive oil

1 small sweet onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely shopped

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 T fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 T unsalted butter

1 lb sea scallops (fresh or frozen)

What You Do:

First bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a medium pot.  In a pan with high sides (or a pot) heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.  Add the rice and combine well with a wooden spoon until the rice is well coated with oil, then add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the wine and stir until most of the wine has been absorbed by the rice.  Add about 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it as been absorbed by the rice.    

You will continue doing this for a while, just keep adding the chicken stock and letting the rice absorb the liquid.  Don't forget to stir frequently (and by frequently I mean almost continuously.  I told you that you'd want a partner to help do the dirty work).

Meanwhile, let's get started on the scallops.  Make sure you rinse them really well and remove any of that abductor muscles that are still attached.  Once you make sure they are clean, go ahead and season them.  I stuck with just salt and pepper, but I think when I make this again I'll be a little more creative with the seasoning.  To sear the scallops, add 1 T olive oil and 1 T butter to a large saute pan and place over high heat.  When the pan begins to smoke add the scallops, making sure they don't touch each other.  Sear the scallops until the form a a golden crust, then turn over and do the same on the other side (about 1 1/2 minutes each side).  Don't overcook the scallops or they'll be chewy.   

The aforementioned helper.  Look how excited he is about stirring.  It will take about 30 minutes for the risotto to finish cooking (you may not need to use all the stock).  Once the rice is tender, stir in the cheese and chopped thyme.  

Serve the scallops over the risotto and garnish with fresh parsley.  I also served mine with a couple slices of french bread I put under the broiler for a few minutes and rubbed with a clove of garlic.  

I highly recommend this recipe, although I was not 100% happy with the way the scallops turned out.  Nonetheless, it was delicious, impressive looking, and a great date-night dinner.  Cole gave it two thumbs up, and went back for seconds (and maybe thirds).

If you try this recipe let me know what you think, and if anyone has any tips on pan-searing scallops please share!