Caramelized Onions Fettuccini March 22, 2009

This recipe was inspired by Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine December 2008 issue… 

This issue had a section that highlighted pantry staples and how they can shine and help you in many quick weekday dishes.  This recipe highlighted onions and I already has a batch of caramelized onions in the fridge from making my French Onion dip, so I decided to give this recipe a try.

I switched things a bit to accommodate what I had in MY pantry at the time, so this is my very own version of…

 

CARMELIZED ONION FETTUCCINI

¼ pack of whole-grain fettuccini

2 tbs of butter

1/3 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese

Half of this caramelized onion recipe

Salt and Pepper to taste, optional

 

1. Boil pasta according to package directions in a big pot with boiling salted water.
2. When pasta is done, drain the pasta while reserving 1 cup of the water used to boil.  Return the pasta to the pot, add the butter and caramelized onions.  Mix well to combine and to warm up the onions if they were refrigerated.
3. Add some of the pasta water to loosen the mix and create a “sauce”.  Add half of the cheese and continue combining it all. Continue adding pasta water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency… mine is that all the pasta is lightly coated with a medium thickness sauce.  Add some additional salt or pepper according to your taste… you might not even need to add anything else.
4. Plate and sprinkle the remaining cheese onto your plated pasta.

 

If you do the onions ahead of time, this recipe will take you about the time it takes to boil the pasta… if you make the onions for this dish in particular, it should be ready in approximately 40 minutes according to Everyday Food. 

Make a large batch of the onions and see how many recipes you can incorporate them in… I can give you some others besides this one already:

French Onion Soup

French Quesadillas

Stuffed Brie

Undercover Carrot Mac & Cheese March 13, 2009

I am experimenting with ways to sneak in more vegetables into my nieces’ diet…  I know their moms try very hard, but they take the path of least resistance often to avoid confrontation.  Hey, I understand perfectly after spending 5 glorious 24-hour days with them.

Because they love macaroni and cheese, I thought I would try how it would taste “sneaking in” some carrots. I have done this with butternut squash and pumpkin in the past… so why not try with another orange vegetable?  And carrots are cheaper and more readily available in my fridge than those other options. 

I was fascinated by the concept of hiding vegetables and nutrients into kids’ diets when the book Deceptively Delicious came out.  I think it’s a great concept and one to try not only with kids, but for us as adults too.  Sometimes you know something is good for you, but you just don’t like to make it just for yourself… or you just like certain vegetables in certain preparations, not others.  What I also liked about the book is that besides “sneaking” vegetables into kids’ meals, it stressed you should always include a side of vegetables on your kids’ plates.  The fact that added veggies are hidden within the recipe does not excuse the fact we need to teach kids it’s important to eat salads and vegetables as part of a healthy diet.  The hidden veggies are just an insurance policy if they decide not to try the side of veggies that time around.

The mac and cheese turned out really nice… because I first tried it on myself and I was not too keen on dirtying my food processor, I just mashed the carrots into the sauce.  But the time I actually do make it for my nieces I will puree the carrots to make it blend in more with the rest of the cheese sauce.

 

UNDERCOVER CARROT MAC & CHEESE

3 medium carrots, steamed and pureed

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup Cheez Whiz – I don’t normally use this ingredient, but I had it in the fridge and I felt bad just throwing it away.  You can substitute very well with cheddar cheese

½ cup cottage cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese, divided

1/3 lbs of whole-grain pasta – I used whole wheat penne

 

1. Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 350 F.
2. Bring a large pot filled with very salty water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  I usually give it about 10-12 minutes.
3. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, prepare the cheese sauce…   in a medium sauce pan over medium heat add the buttermilk and carrot puree.  When that is warm, add the cottage cheese, most of the parmesan, cheez whiz or cheddar and let it all melt together.  Watch out it does not boil because it will make the buttermilk runny/watery… just enough for all the cheeses to come together as a sauce.
4. When the pasta and sauce are done, drain the pasta and combine it with the sauce.   Place them in a pyrex casserole dish, sprinkle with some of additional parmesan cheese and place in oven.
5. It will take about 15-20 minutes for the cheese on top to brown… that’s when you take it out.
6. Wait about 20 minutes for the cheese sauce to stop bubbling and dig in…

 

When I make these recipes, I usually don’t measure and eye-ball the ingredients.  I had some extra sauce that did not fit the casserole dish and used it to top some steamed potatoes… they were extra delicious too.

Arugula Pasta Salad February 11, 2009

Because eating more salads is one of my New Year’s resolutions… this is one of the versions I came up with.  They not all have to be with only fresh vegetables, you know.

 

ARUGULA PASTA SALAD

¼ pound of whole wheat pasta – I used penne, but any short tubular pasta will do

1 fresh tomato, peeled and diced small

5-6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

5-6 fresh basil leaves, torn small or cut thinly

About 3 tbs of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, smashed

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

2 handfuls of arugula leaves, washed well and dried

½  cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced small

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic clove, salt and pepper.  Mix well together and let the mixture marinate while you set up the rest of the ingredients.  While you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients, toss the mixture every so often to mix well.  You can do this a bit in advance if you want to let the mixture marinate more time… that’s up to you.
2. Set water to boil pasta.  Boil pasta in plenty of salted water according to package directions.
3. While pasta cooks, wash arugula lettuce well and spin dry.  Set aside.
4. When pasta is ready, drain well and return to pot where you boiled it.  Add the tomato mixture, removing the smashed garlic clove, and coat well.  Add the parmesan cheese and toss together.
5. Serve the lettuce in a salad bowl and place desired amount of pasta on top of the lettuce.  The olive oil in the marinated tomatoes will be your salad dressing.  Add the cucumber and sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top if you’d like.

Fresh Baby Spinach Pasta February 4, 2009

I’ve had this recipe in my Food Network Recipe box for the longest time…  Penne with Spinach Sauce  is a recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis that I have found fascinating since I first saw it on TV.

I did this recipe off the top of my head for my French conversation class group, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I actually made it almost the same as the original.  Two of my friends asked me for dish using spinach… so I knew they would enjoy it.  But Katherine is not a spinach fan, and she loved this dish.  She said the goat cheese in the sauce made it for her.  So this can be something to try on your little ones…  Call it Shrek’s pasta.

I used local fresh spinach, with a somewhat larger leaf than the one you get at the supermarket.  Remember to wash your spinach well before using it in this recipe…

 

 

FRESH BABY SPINACH PASTA

¾ pound of whole-wheat pasta – I used penne, but any tubular pasta would do

2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves, loosely packed, divided

3 ounces of goat cheese

3 ounces of cream cheese

1 small garlic clove, cut in small pieces

2 turns of the food processor of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top to taste

 

1. Boil the pasta in salted boiling water according to packaging directions.
2. Wash and dry well the spinach leaves.  Set aside a small bunch aside and chop.
3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, add most of the spinach leaves you have not chopped, goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic clove, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes a light green paste.
4. When pasta is done, drain well while reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.
5. Return the pasta to the pot and add the spinach mixture.  Mix well so the sauce loosens with the heat of the pasta and pot.  Add pasta water little by little to loosen the sauce to a creamy consistency.  Add the chopped spinach leaves and the Parmesan cheese and mix well.
6. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top.

 

To reheat this pasta, I added a small amount of milk to a small pot together with the left-over pasta.  I also added a bit of cream cheese and more Parmesan cheese.  The sauce was creamy and delicious again as it was when done originally.

Easy Fettuccini Alfredo January 31, 2009

I heard that when Italians feel “under the weather” all they want to eat is plain white pasta… and what I mean by white is with no meat or tomato based ragú or sauce.  Maybe some olive oil, salt and pepper and that’s it.

Ever since I learned this, when I do not want to eat something heavy I always think of these “white pastas”. So the other day I fixed myself a very easy version of a Fettuccini Alfredo.  Granted, it’s not the lightest of dishes, but it was super simple to make and it only takes the time it takes to boil the pasta.

 

 

EASY FETTUCCINI ALFREDO

1/3 pound of whole grain fettuccini noodles – I used a brand with flaxseed for added fiber

3 tbs of butter

1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste

 

1. Boil the pasta according to package directions.
2. While the pasta boils, mix together the butter and the grated cheese.  Create like a paste with these two ingredients.
3. 
4. When the pasta is done, drain it reserving about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.  Return the pasta to the hot pot and add the butter/cheese mixture.  Mix together so the butter and cheese melt with the heat of the pasta and pot. 
5. Add some of the reserved pasta water in small increments to create a creamy sauce.  Add as much water you feel is necessary to reach the desired sauce consistency.  I added about ¼ cup of water, but I eye-ball it all the time.
6. Sprinkle additional cheese and cracked pepper to garnish and season lightly.

 

Serve with a nice salad on the side for a quick lunch or dinner alternative.

I had some pasta left over and when I reheated it on the stovetop, I added a bit of half and half to bring the sauce back to its creamy consistency.

Pasta Romesco December 29, 2008

 The other day I was overzealous making a party dip made from red bell peppers, Muhamara, and I ended up with so much that I used one part for the party I was making it originally and another part I used it to make this pasta dish.

I decided to call it Pasta Romesco instead of Pasta Muhamara, in honor of the dip, because I noticed the ingredients in the dip were almost the same as a romesco sauce I had learned a few years back from a recipe book for IBS patients.  Red bell peppers, bread, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, etc.  I have seen other romesco sauces that use tomatoes as a base, but the one I learned first used red bell peppers, so we’re sticking to that version.

This pasta is evidence this dip is very versatile as it is delicious.

 

PASTA ROMESCO

½ packet of whole-wheat pasta

¾ cup of the Muhamara dip

¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

 

1. Boil the pasta according to the package directions.  Remember to salt the water well.
2. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta saving about 1 cup of the pasta water.
3. Return the pasta to the pot where you boiled it and add the Muhamara dip.  If you feel the sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it out.  Add the grated cheese and mix well to combine.
4. Add more grated cheese on top to serve.

Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta November 20, 2008

When November comes around, it’s birthday time!!!!  My aunt’s, my dad’s and mine… so I decided to host a lunch to celebrate all our birthdays.  And to top it all, my sister came in from Miami to visit too, so the family was complete.

Everyone invited was not vegetarian, but because the lunch was hosted at my house, vegetarian fare was a MUST.  I had planned to make pasta – it’s the safe and easy choice; Non-threatening to the skeptical.  I was originally planning on making a pasta with gorgonzola – a dish inspired by a dinner I had in Old San Juan a couple of weeks ago.  Then, I saw 30-Minute Meals and was totally inspired by a dish Rachael Ray made…   I do not recall how she called it, but my version is called Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta…

 

ROASTED GARLIC AND TOMATO PASTA

1 pound of short whole-wheat tubular pasta, penne rigate or rigatoni works well

3 handfuls of grape tomatoes, about 2 pints

1 whole head of garlic, roasted

2 handfuls of a shredded 4 cheese blend – Fontina, Parmesan, Asiago and Pecorino

1/2 cup basil leaves

3 generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves

¼ cup of grated Pecorino Romano

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. I roasted the head of garlic the night before…  Just take the head of garlic, cut the top off and place inside a sheet of aluminum foil.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle a bit of water.  Close the aluminum foil to form a packet and roast in a toaster oven at 350F for 30-40 minutes.
2. If you do not have time or just did not plan ahead… just open up the head of garlic into cloves, smash them all individually with the side of a knife.  Place them together with the grape tomatoes on a baking sheet to roast side-by-side.  Drizzle the tomatoes and smashed garlic cloves with olive oil, salt and pepper liberally.  Roast in a 350F oven for about 20-25 minutes.  The garlic smell will tell you when it’s done.
3. When the tomatoes/garlic are about to be done, set a large pot filled with water to boil.  Salt the water as soon as it comes to a boil and drop the pasta.  Stir well to avoid the pasta sticks.  Because we’re using whole-wheat pasta, it’ll take a little longer to cook… about 12-15 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, place all the roasted garlic cloves with the skins removed.  Smash them into a paste with a large fork. 
5. As soon as pasta is about to be done, turn the stove off.  Take about 1 ½ cups of water and pour on top of the roasted garlic.  Mix the garlic and water and create like a “tea” of roasted garlic.  Add the roasted tomatoes and smash them together with the garlic tea. 
6. Drain the pasta.  I always drain the pasta over a Pyrex glass bowl to reserve some of the pasta water, just in case I need some more.  Return the pasta to the pot and pour the tomato/garlic tea over it.  Mix together well so the pasta absorbs the roasted garlic liquid.  While the pot is still hot/warm, add the basil leaves and baby spinach leaves.  Mix together well so the heat of the pasta will wilt them nicely.  Add the shredded 4 cheese blend and mix well.  Cover pot for about 5 minutes to help the spinach wilt.
7. After the 5 minutes have elapsed, serve in a beautiful pasta bowl and sprinkle with the grated Pecorino Romano.

We had a great time… everyone loved the food, specially my dad, who served himself 3 helpings.  And he’s one of the biggest skeptics of vegetarian food.  Hope you like it too… This is a very easy and delicious pasta that will feed a crowd.  It took almost no-time to make – Very care-free and perfect for entertaining.

Hope you try it and like it too…

No Boil-Ahead Pasta – Spinach and Tomato Version July 3, 2008

This idea started a few months ago, when going thru my daily fix of Serious Eats I found a Talk Thread about mac and cheese recipes where you didn’t need to boil the pasta ahead of time.  Based on that thread, that same day I made my Easiest Baked Pasta Ever!!!! Recipe post.

Inspired by the concept, I decided to give it a twist.  My friend Ana asked me to bring something to her daughter’s graduation family get-together a few weeks ago, because I would not be able to enjoy most of what she had ordered thru a caterer.  Wanting to show-off my skills with the audience, I created this recipe.  I am bold (sorry for all the modesty) because I had the guts to make a recipe for the first time for 12 people.

Thanks to all my prayers after the thought came to my mind of how scary it would be to screw this up… the recipe turned out great.  I actually learned a few cool tricks that I may incorporate into new recipe creations.   This pasta is super easy… just throw all the ingredients together in a casserole dish and voila!  The pasta is ready.  No need to even stir the pasta at all… what could be simpler???

 

 

NO BOIL-AHEAD PASTA – SPINACH AND TOMATO VERSION

2 cups whole wheat pasta – macaroni, penne or rigatoni would all work well

3 tbs melted butter or olive oil

2 cups white cheddar cheese, shredded – I used a whole bar Cabot’s Hunter’s Dangerously Sharp variety

4 oz Fontina cheese, shredded

4 oz cream cheese

3 ¾ to a 4 cups of milk

1 tsp mustard

1 cup spinach – you can use fresh or frozen

½ cup chopped tomatoes

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large casserole dish, about 9″ x 13″, toss the pasta and the melted butter or olive oil, whichever you’re using.  Spread the pasta as evenly as possible to allow for even cooking.
3. Now, without stirring anything sprinkle the cheddar and Fontina cheeses on top of the pasta.  Add the spinach and the chopped tomatoes as evenly as possible over the cheese.  Add the cream cheese in small pieces on top of the spinach and tomatoes.
4. Mix together the milk and mustard and pour carefully over the whole thing.  Try not to displace the pasta a lot.  The idea is that now the pasta is all enveloped in the milk and this makes the cheese kind of mix a bit with the pasta.
5. Place in oven for about 45-55 minutes until golden brown on top.
6. Allow the pasta to cool off a bit before serving it.

 

People loved the mini pieces of cream cheese… because we placed them kind of last, the cream cheese melts a bit, but does not disappear within the sauce.  Instead, they stay on to like soft pillows of cheesy goodness.  Everybody had something to say about the cream cheese bits… specially my mom and Ana.

I hope this inspires you to be brave and to try new dishes on people even if you’ve never done them before.  My advice… start small and this pasta is easy enough to be a sure hit.

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Some of you noticed the aluminum tray the pasta is in. So, just for clarity and transparency purposes…

I cooked the actual pasta in a glass Pyrex casserole 9″ x 13″ dish.  Because this pasta was to be consumed in the home of my friend Ana, whom I love dearly as if she were my own sister but who is undoubtedly a meat eater, and I didn’t want my Pyrex dish, that has never ever been touched by a non-vegetarian utensil to be forever ruined by someone, that even though, very well intentioned, might try to serve themselves with the same serving spoon as the other meat dishes there or wash it with the same rag as the other meat-including trays.  For that reason, I transferred the pasta when it was cooled off, into this disposable aluminum tray.  Aluminum is not my favorite, but is what’s most accessible at the grocery store and I am sure the majority of the people who consumed it didn’t even care.  I must say I was EXTREMELY LUCKY I was able to transfer it in one piece preserving the look and appetite appeal of the dish.   The photo was taken by friend Ana at her home, with her camera, as I forgot completely to take a picture while at home in the original glass dish.

I hope this clears out any confusion…

The easiest Baked Penne… ever!!!! February 15, 2008

This is one of the easiest recipes… ever!!

The funny thing, it has not been even 24 hours since I learned about it.  I was perusing one of my favorite food blogs – Serious Eats… and in one of the Talk threads there was a discussion about making mac & cheese without boiling the pasta first.  Then, one of the participants – his/her name is hanak- mentioned this recipe for Baked Ziti without even boiling the pasta.  I always get stumped at what to do for lunch… so when I read this today, my lunch dilemma was immediately solved.  I would do this while I finished some stuff at the computer.  God bless  hanak and the Baked Ziti recipe…

I modified the recipe a little – as you know… can’t bear to make a recipe “by the book” not even once.  Here is the recipe as it was given to me today and with notes on the modifications I made to it today at 1PM:

 THE EASIEST BAKED PENNE

8oz whole wheat pasta – I used penne, but ziti or any tubular pasta would work

28oz can of crushed tomatoes – I used a 26oz carton of Pomi crushed tomatoes

6 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp chopped garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh Mozzarella -  optional

Grated Parmesan cheese – optional

1. Soak the dry pasta in the olive oil for around 20 minutes.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 
3. Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

This is a picture of the pasta at this point.  It is DELICIOUS just like this!!!!  A bit oily to my taste, so maybe the next time I will try to see if I can cut the oil in half… but believe me, it’s been a while I tasted a pasta that I would eat as is, without any cheese.  This one is awesome.  I even bragged to my mom about it already…

 

I decided to use up some leftover fresh mozzarella cheese… so I added a few pieces in the dish, sprinkled some grated parm/romano cheese and put it back in the oven with the residual heat after I turned it off.  It is really good, but as hanak said… it does not need it.

Thanks a lot to my fellow online foodies, but specially to hanak and this awesome Baked Pasta recipe…  they are all a source of inspiration and hunger-relief. 

GRACIAS!!!!