Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

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This weekend, I realized I was running low on tomato sauce in my freezer, so I whipped up a new batch to hopefully last me a couple months. I was left with an extra can of diced tomatoes and I also had some leftover capellini pasta from my Capellini with Clams and Saffron dish. Gourmet had a really delicious sounding recipe that incorporated both of these ingredients. The recipe is so quick, it is perfect for a week night dinner.

Ingredients:

1tablespoon olive oil

8 already cooked shrimp, deveined with the tails still attached, thawed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup sweet (red) vermouth

1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 a box of capellini

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley, optional

The original recipe is linked above. I had already-cooked shrimp in my freezer (I meant to buy raw shrimp and misread the label, sigh) so I had to alter the recipe to make up for the precooked shrimp. My shrimp still had the tails attached because I think those are more attractive. Feel free to use whatever form of shrimp you’d like.

Start by thawing your shrimp. I just ran them under cold water for 3 minutes and allowed to dry in a colander.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and vermouth. and stir to combine. I left in the tomato juice from the diced tomatoes. You can drain the tomatoes before adding for a more chunky sauce. Heat until simmering.

Add cream and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 1 minute. Add in lemon juice.

Top the pasta with 2 shrimp per serving and spoon the broth over the pasta. Add the chopped parsley on top.

The sauce had a nice sweetness to it, but I think it could be further enhanced with a pinch of crushed red pepper to add a bit of heat. I regret not having fresh shrimp for this dish because the shrimp were relatively forgettable in my version. I like that my sauce was a little thinner than the original. I think this would be great (without the shrimp) as a reheated lunch after the pasta has had time to sit in the sauce.

Pappardelle with Cabbage, Prosciutto and Sage

My CSA share this week came with cabbage. I highly doubt most people would jump for joy over cabbage. I honestly had no idea what kind of meal outside of corned beef and cabbage even used this green. So it took some sleuthing for me to find a recipe that sounded like something I’d like. Cabbage plus pasta and prosciutto? That’ll do. (I found this recipe on My Recipes)

Ingredients:

1 package of pappardelle

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto torn into smaller pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, chop the cabbage, tear the prosciutto, and chop the sage. After the onion is soft, add the cabbage and broth. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cabbage begins to wilt.

Stir in the prosciutto, butter and chopped sage. Cook while stirring until the butter melts.

Spoon over the pasta and serve.

So I’m not going to run out to the supermarket and buy all the cabbage they have to offer. But this dish was actually quite tasty. The sage and prosciutto were a great complement to the cabbage. My only complaint is I have no clue why the recipe called for pappardelle. I found it to be super difficult to eat with such thick pasta. If you plan on making this, go for another type of pasta that can still grab some of the prosciutto, cabbage and sage in every bite.

Capellini with Clams and Saffron

I am a huge Top Chef fan. So much that my parents bought me the Top Chef cookbook a few years back. However, when I moved, I stored it away and completely forgot about it. I recently found the cookbook again and came across Ilan’s dish: Fideos with Clams and Saffron. My CSA share this week came with broccoli, cauliflower and onion so I thought this would be a perfect way to use these ingredients. Note: I switched up the way this recipe was cooked, used less cream, and added onions and Parmesan. Otherwise, the recipe is pretty close to the original printed version.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound capellini pasta
1 cup heavy cream
1 large pinch of saffron threads
1/2 a medium sized onion, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup broccoli florets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2/3 cup white wine
2 dozen clams
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Continue reading Capellini with Clams and Saffron

Pesto Pasta Salad

I am in a pasta salad making mood, so I decided to make one more batch for this weekend. I already made one pasta salad for this weekend, but I have a bunch of these ingredients on hand from other recipes and I don’t want them to go bad over the long weekend. I used a recipe from My Recipes as a base and substituted ingredients I already had, and ended up with this Pesto Pasta Salad!

Ingredients for the pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil

1 bunch of packed fresh parsley

4 garlic cloves, minced

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients for the salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta

1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 small cucumbers, sliced

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.

To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.

Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.

Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

Because I am making this for the weekend, I only made a tiny batch fully mixed so I could taste it. The pesto mixture is so so creamy that you honestly might not even need the feta. The tomatoes and red onions add a wonderful contrast to the pesto and the cucumbers add a nice crunch to the salad. I will try to take some photos this weekend of the fully assembled salad, but if it is anything close to what I just sampled, I think my friends will be happy.

Yum

Pesto Pasta Salad

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil
1 bunch of packed fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta
1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 small cucumbers, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.
To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.
Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.
Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

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Italian Pasta Salad

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It’s almost July 4th weekend, so I am preparing a bunch of dishes for me to trek down to the beach.

I tend to make food that can marinate for a day or two so that I have time to make it without rushing around right before we leave. This time around, I decided to make a pasta salad based off my mom’s version.

Ingredients:

1 box of tri-colored pasta
1 can of pitted black olives, sliced
1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
6 mozzarella balls, halved
small jar of artichoke hearts, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
Italian dressing (recipe below)

Ingredients for Italian dressing:

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine or rice vinegar
1 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil

Continue reading Italian Pasta Salad

Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds

I had some left over goat cheese from my Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese dish. When I was looking for recipes, I came across this one for Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds from Cooking Light. I had no clue how seafood and goat cheese would be together, but was willing to find out!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) box linguine
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 (4-ounce) package log-shaped goat cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium (~1 cup) onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 plum tomatoes (~2 1/2 cups), roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Continue reading Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds

Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese

My CSA share came with Swiss chard this week. I wasn’t in the mood to do another leafy green side, so I looked for a recipe that incorporated the Swiss Chard within the main dish. I found this recipe in the Health section of the New York Times and thought it was worth a try.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of Swiss chard, stemmed and washed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 red bell peppers, finely diced

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 garlic scapes, thinly sliced

Salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram

1 box of orecchiette

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

To begin, boil a pot of water over high heat. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare your Swiss chard. Add ice water to a bowl. When the water boils, add salt and the Swiss chard.

Boil for 2 minutes and remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water.

Reduce the heat of the leftover boiling water to a simmer. Drain the chard and squeeze the excess water out. Chop the Swiss chard and reserve.

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and add the finely chopped peppers and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring often.

Bring the pot of water to a boil again. Add the pasta, cooking until al dente as directed on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.

In the saute pan, add the garlic scapes and salt, stirring to combine.

When combined, add the chopped Swiss chard and marjoram.

Stir and lower the heat to warm. Add the 1/2 cup of pasta water and stir in the goat cheese.

Add the orecchiette to the mixture and serve.

This was a nice alternative to the normal pasta with tomato sauce. The orecchiette helped catch some of the Swiss chard, peppers, and goat cheese so definitely use this type of pasta or another kind that can catch the ingredients. This made so much pasta, it will also be my lunch tomorrow. I have a feeling this will be better the next time around!

Creamy Baked Penne and Chicken with Artichokes, Tarragon and Lemon

I have no idea why the concept of a food swap stresses me out so much. But trying to find a recipe for this month was so difficult! I finally found this recipe from a blog called The Bad Girl’s Kitchen; she has a whole section of freezer-friendly meals.

Ingredients (I was making 10 servings):

Salt

2 pounds penne

8 tablespoons olive oil

6 cans of artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped

1 medium onion, minced

8 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 8 teaspoons)

Zest from 1 lemon

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups heavy cream

2 pounds chicken thighs

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend (about 2 cups)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Ground black pepper

3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves

that’s quite a few ingredients

To cook the pasta, boil water in a pasta pot over high heat. Add a tablespoon of salt and the pasta and cook for 5 minutes (it will be very al dente– they will cook fully in the oven later). Drain pasta in a colander and toss with two tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.

Prep your artichokes, onion, and garlic.

In a large pot, heat 6 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the artichokes, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until the artichokes are lightly browned (about 10 minutes).

Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth, wine, and cream.

Add the chicken and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken registers 160 degrees.

Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. When cooled, shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir the chicken back into the sauce, adding the pasta, peas, 2 cups cheese and lemon juice. Stir until combined and season with salt and pepper.

I transferred these into tupperware dishes. I included a freezer bag of cheese and put them in the freezer.

To cook, thaw the meal in the refrigerator (about 24 hours). Add to a casserole dish and top with the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with tarragon and serve.

Whew. I heated up a tiny portion of this, just to make sure it was edible. Well, it was more than edible, it was really quite good! I was impressed with how much flavor was in the dish. Thanks for such a great recipe Bad Girl’s Kitchen!

Tomato Sauce

My mom and aunts make mean tomato sauce. But sadly, they have not signed on to making sure my freezer is sufficiently filled with their delicious sauce. So I’ve finally broken down and attempted my own. Tomato sauce is quite adaptable, you can really throw in whatever you wish. Here’s my attempt at making a tomato sauce my Italian relatives would be proud of…

Ingredients:
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
1 can of pureed tomatoes
1/3 cup of red wine (whatever you already have opened will do)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons each of parsley, oregano, basil, and thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Begin by preparing the garlic and shallots. I happened to have shallots on hand, so that’s why I used them instead of an onion. Shallots kind of taste like sweet onions with a bit of garlic to them, so I thought that would work well in the sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute.

Add the cans of tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, spices, wine, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and bring to a boil. (Be careful, the tomato sauce pops up). Feel free to add more spices or sub in whatever you’d like.

see?

Lower the heat and cover. Simmer for 1 hour. If the sauce seems too thin, add a teaspoon of tomato paste to the sauce. Be sure to remove the bay leaf.

Tomato sauce always tastes better after its been frozen and has had time to meld all the flavors, so I still don’t know how well it turned out. I did have a bit with some spaghetti right after it finished cooking and so far, so good. I can already tell it doesn’t stack up to my family’s sauce, but hey, not to shabby for a girl with freckles if I do say so myself 🙂 I wish I had thought ahead and made meatballs with the sauce too. Meatballs add a nice earthiness to the sauce that really enhance the sauce. Next time…

Lasagna

Lasagna. It seems like such a simple dish that will result in many freezable meals (9 to be exact). Always looking for a way to have already-prepared lunch or dinner options, I decided this weekend was the time to conquer the classic Italian food. I mean, how much work can layering different ingredients be?

Three hours later, I ended up with this:

Not too shabby. Just a long process!

Ingredients for Lasagna:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk at room temperature

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (recipe below)

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound ground chuck beef

1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese

3 large eggs

1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente

1 package (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

4 cups shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can pureed tomatoes

Salt and pepper

2 dried bay leaves

1 tablespoon each of dried: thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley

The tomato sauce takes a good hour itself, so start this before anything else. While making the sauce, leave the milk on the counter so it can reach room temperature. Also leave out the frozen spinach to thaw.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and the rest of the spices (bay leaves through parsley). Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and remove pot from heat.

Feel free to use just some store-bought sauce. I personally can’t do it. Who told all the sauce companies that sugar should be a main ingredient? Gross. So yeah, the 25% of me that is Italian absolutely cannot handle sauce out of a jar. I digress…

Next, to make the béchamel sauce, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in another pot. When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.

um. “smooth”? yeah, I don’t know what happened

Gradually add in milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat. Make sure the heat isn’t up too high; you don’t want the milk to burn! Stir until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.

it should coat the back of a wooden spoon, like this

Remove from heat and add to tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

While the sauce is cooling, cook the lasagna according to the package directions. Lay lasagna pieces out individually on a tin foil so that they don’t stick together.

In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Break up large clumps to make sure all parts of the meat are browned, until there is no more pink meat. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To assemble (in a lasagna pan):

line bottom with lasagna sheets

add 1/3 of bechamel sauce

add all of the ricotta mixture

add all of the spinach

another layer of pasta sheets

add all of the meat

add half of the mozzarella cheese (1 bag)

add another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce

one last layer of pasta sheets

add the last of the bechamel sauce

top with remaining mozzarella cheese

add Parmesan cheese and thin slices of 2 tbsp of butter

To cook, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the lasagna pan on top, cover with tin foil and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes.

woo! finally done!

Allow to cool if you plan on putting into individual containers (as I did). I find it hard to believe that something with this much cheese, pasta, and sauce could honestly taste bad. But seeing how much not-so-good-for-you things went into this, I think I’d sub in some “less” bad ingredients next time (skim milk, partially skim cheese, low fat ricotta, ground turkey).

Although this was quite the task, I think it was totally worth it. I’ve already had this for lunch one day this week and have plenty more stored away in my freezer for future meals. Yum.

so. many. meals.

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

I have quite the aversion to pig products (pork, ham, pancetta, etc) and my poor boyfriend usually just has to suffer through dinner without these ingredients. But the January/February issue of Cooking Light had a recipe for Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca that looked delicious, so I decided to finally treat him to a little bit of prosciutto. (I hope he doesn’t get used to this!)

Ingredients:

4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 fresh sage leaves
Extra dried sage (if you want a bit more sage taste)
2 ounces very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 oz angel hair pasta

Chicken Piccata Over Pasta

Chicken Piccata is one of those meals that I always happen to have the ingredients on hand, making this my go-to dish on a “I forgot to go food shopping” night.

Ingredients: (1 serving, multiply as needed)

1 chicken breast

Salt and pepper

All-purpose flour

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon

¾ cup chicken stock

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup brined capers (optional)

Fresh parsley (optional)

1/2 cup pasta (I used lemon-pepper pappardelle)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions. Set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. While it heats up, combine a small amount of flour (maybe 1/4 cup), paprika, parsley, garlic powder, and onion powder in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge chicken in flour. Shake off excess flour mixture. Reserve the extra flour mixture for later use.

Add chicken to the heated saute pan. Cook for 3 minutes until browned. Flip and cook for 3 more minutes on the other side. Remove from pan and place in a bake safe dish (you want to use the saute pan to make the sauce). Place chicken in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

finished chicken

In the original saute pan, add chicken stock. Before juicing the lemon, use some zest from it and add it to the stock– I used a grater. (Be careful to not to down to the white part inside, that is very bitter). Add lemon juice, and capers (if you’d like) and stir, scraping up the brown bits from the chicken. Bring to a boil. Add white wine and again bring to a boil. Add butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. While constantly stirring with a whisk, sprinkle flour into the sauce little by little until thickened to your liking.

thickened sauce

To assemble dish, pour sauce over pasta and chicken. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon if preferred.

finished dish

So I have no clue how/why the sauce turned brown. BUT it was amazing. The lemon zest enhances the lemon juice without being too sour. I admit, this isn’t a pretty dish at all, so I don’t think it is exactly one to make for company. But it sure did make my stomach happy after a long Monday. Enjoy!

Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts

Despite growing up on pasta, I didn’t experience fresh pasta (besides ravioli) until recently, and I fell in love with it. As much as I wish I had my own pasta maker so that I could enjoy it all the time, I don’t have the space, money, or time to whip out fresh pasta for dinner. However, I found a place near me that sells fresh pasta in different widths (spaghetti to lasagna sheets) and flavors (egg, spinach, pumpkin, etc). So I was beyond excited when this month’s Cooking Light came with a recipe for fresh Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts. I made some very slight alterations (ie bigger mushroom to pasta ratio) but the overall recipe is mostly intact.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound fresh fettuccine
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped blanched hazelnuts (You can find blanched hazelnuts in stores. I already had hazelnuts, so I blanched them myself. I’ve included a how-to below)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 package each of portobello, cremini, and shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved or grated
2 tablespoons chopped chives

To blanch hazelnuts:

As you can see in the bottom right corner in the above photo, I had shelled hazelnuts on hand. Instead of buying blanched hazelnuts, I decided to try on my own. It honestly was pretty darn simple!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet (just for convenience, use one with a lip so that they don’t roll off. Cook the hazelnuts for about ten minutes. Using a paper towel or a cloth towel, take a few hazelnuts at a time and rub them back and forth within the towel to remove the dark brown layer. Some of mine were being stubborn, but I think it was overall a success.

Blanched hazelnuts, w/ some brown left on (oh well)

Cook the fettuccine in boiling water with no salt or fat added (if there are directions, follow them. mine, I guessed 5 minutes and it tasted A-ok to me). When draining the pasta, put a bowl or measuring cup under the colander to reserve 3/4 cup water.

To prepare the mushroom/hazelnut mixture, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the blanched hazelnuts and cook for 3 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on them, you want a somewhat even toast on them. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

toasted hazelnuts

Add oil to the pan. When heated, add the garlic and mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir in chopped sage, pasta, reserved cooking liquid, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and toss. I gave it a minute to sort of meld together over the heat (I have an electric stove, so I turned off the burner, but left the pan over the still warm burner). Remove from heat, and add cheese, hazelnuts, and top with chives.

This turned out great! The flavors were fantastic. I was pretty wary about a sauce-less pasta dish; my previous posts show how much I love sauce, but there was enough going on that a sauce wasn’t needed at all. A definite plus, this took about 20 minutes from start to finish! How I love feasible week day meals.

Sauces for Ravioli

As much as I love cooking, sometimes I am just too exhausted at the end of the day to whip together a tasty meal. But why should my taste buds be punished? So I always keep a few different types of ravioli in my freezer for a quick meal. Tomato sauce on meat or cheese ravioli is great, but I tend to lean towards mushroom, pumpkin, butternut squash, or spinach fillings. So here is a short list of a few different sauces (besides tomato) that you can cook in the time it takes to cook the ravioli.

White Wine Sage Sauce

(great with mushroom ravioli)

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried sage
1/2 cup white wine (whatever you have open, I have been using a Pinot Grigio recently)
Optional ingredients:
Truffle oil
Panko bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese (grated or shaved)
Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!

To make, add the olive oil to a saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat, and add the garlic and sage. Let cook for one minute. Add the white wine, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let simmer for a few minutes until it reduces. Remove from heat and pour over cooked ravioli. I really enjoy adding a little drizzle of truffle oil and then topping the ravioli off with panko and parmesan cheese. The truffle oil enhances the flavor of the ravioli and the panko adds a bit of a light crunch to the dish.

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

(great with pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

4 sage leaves

Lemon juice, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!

To prepare, melt butter in a saute pan until a light brown color appears (about 3 minutes). Add the sage leaves and cook for one minute more (to help the leaves get a little crispy). Remove from heat and add a few drops of lemon juice. Add some Parmesan cheese and mix. Pour over the ravioli and serve.

Brown Butter Sage Sauce with Dried Cranberries

(great with pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon dried sage

1-2 teaspoons dried cranberries

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!

To prepare, melt butter in a saute pan. Add the sage and dried cranberries and cook until a light brown color appears (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper and mix. Pour over the ravioli and serve. Note: If you have walnuts, they would be fantastic in this dish, I just didn’t have any. Toast the walnuts in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the walnuts to the melted butter when you add in the sage and dried cranberries.

Roasted Walnuts – more of a topping than a sauce

(great with cheese or spinach ravioli)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove chopped garlic

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Parmesan cheese (grated or shaved), to taste

Note: This is for one serving, so multiply as needed!

To prepare, heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and walnuts and cook until the walnuts are slightly toasted, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes). Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Remove from heat and pour over ravioli. Top with the Parmesan cheese.

Pasta in a Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce

When the weather gets cold, I start craving pasta, pasta, and more pasta (I fully blame this on my Italian mother). I don’t want to get stuck eating the same thing every night though, so I try to have a few recipes on hand that I can cycle through so that I don’t get sick of my delicious carbs.

Combining my love of mushrooms with my affinity of pasta, I tend to use this recipe a lot. This recipe does include whipping cream though, so I wouldn’t suggest making this a weekly staple. But it is a really easy and comforting meal.

Ingredients:

1 box uncooked farfalle pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 package of each of the following: shiitake, cremini, portobello and oyster mushrooms (if your supermarket has an exotic mushroom blend, grab 2 of those. If some other mushroom is calling your name, feel free to sub), sliced
½ cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
Pepper, to taste
¼ cup dry white wine (I just used whatever white wine was on hand and open)
2/3 cup whipping cream
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley