spaghetti alla puttanesca

like this time last year, i have a glut of fruits and veggies in the freezer from last summer's preservation. i counted many, many containers of tomatoes in there recently, and figured since i have 10 tomato plants outgrowing their half-gallon pots and waiting impatiently for me to put them in the ground, it won't be that long before handfuls of cherry and salad tomatoes are coming in from the garden. time to rev up the pace on using the frozen ones!

i found this recipe for spaghetti alla puttanesca and figured it would be a great light pasta dish. it was thoroughly delicious, only i committed a common culinary sin, one that i thought i'd outgrown a long time ago--i seasoned before i'd added all of the ingredients. since i was using my frozen, plain diced tomatoes rather than canned as the recipe called for, i thought i had some salty room to spare. however, capers, olives and anchovies added quite a good bit of salt, and the result was the kind of great that would have been excellent if i'd been a little bit more patient with the seasoning. as rob diplomatically put it, "it's great! i mean, it did get a little salty towards the end..."

so, the lesson is learned one more time--taste and add salt at the end of cooking, especially when ingredients that are nearly pure salt are involved, like anchovies and olives.

speaking of anchovies, leave them out for a vegetarian version of this dish.

spaghetti alla puttanesca
adapted from bon appetit, january 2008

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
30 ounces diced tomatoes (frozen, canned or fresh)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp drained capers
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
whole wheat pasta
chopped parsley
grated fresh parmesan

heat oil over medium heat in heavy saute pan and cook garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute. add tomatoes, kalamata olives, chopped anchovies, capers, oregano, and red papper flakes. simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes (depending on how juicy your tomatoes are). taste, then season with salt and pepper.

while sauce cooks, cook pasta to al dente.

serve immediately over cooked spaghetti with parsley and parmesan cheese.

asparagus season kicks off with asparagus, arugula, and cream with fettuccine

asparagus! you and your gorgeous spears of spring! welcome back, old friend. let us waste no time. 

for the first asparagus of the season, i saw no need to get fancy. this is a simple asparagus and arugula pasta with a creamy sauce and a little bacon for fun. you can substitute another green for the arugula (spinach, etc), but the arugula brings a great peppery flavor to jazz up the sweet and grassy asparagus. leave off the bacon and substitute vegetable oil for a vegetarian version. also, though they aren't in the recipe below, when i do this again i'll add garlic and/or shallots, and possibly lemon juice or lemon zest. feel free to add them to yours!

asparagus and arugula pasta with cream
serves 2
(note: my cook times below are approximate. most important thing is to cook the veggies until the asparagus is cooked but crisp and the arugula is wilted, and they are both still nice and green.)

1/2 bunch skinny asparagus (about 1/2 lb)
1/2 bunch arugula (about 2 handfuls)
4 strips bacon
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup homemade chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for plating
salt and fresh cracked pepper 
enough fettuccine for 2

prep asparagus and arugula. remove woody ends from asparagus by bending the bottom of the stalk until it snaps off. it will know the right place to break. (this is a really satisfying task. i especially love the "pop" some of the thicker ones give.) chop into 2" long pieces.

for arugula, wash thoroughly, remove stems, and let soak in bowl of cold water for a few minutes to remove residual dirt and other matter. remove from water by hand (don't pour, or all the dirt comes with it!), and drain.

meanwhile, cook bacon in saute pan large enough to accommodate it. cook to desired crispness and remove from pan to drain on paper towels. pour off all but 1 Tbsp (reserve the rest in case you need a little more) of the bacon grease. (if not using bacon, or if bacon grease doesn't appeal, use veg oil or butter here.) heat it to medium and add the asparagus and saute , shaking pan, for about 2 minutes. add more oil if it gets too dry. add arugula to pan and cook, stirring or shaking, until slightly wilted but still bright green. add white wine to pan and cover for about 2 minutes to steam the vegetables. (watch the pan to make sure it doesn't cook too fast, and the asparagus stays crisp!)

cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling water and about a tablespoon of salt.

remove veggies from pan and reserve. add chicken or veg stock to pan and deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. let cook over medium heat until reduced by about half. stir in cream, parmesan cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. (overseasonning the sauce is a good idea here, since the veggies and pasta are unseasoned.) cook a couple of minutes longer to thicken sauce. 

toss sauce with hot pasta, and add vegetables. serve with crumbled bacon and fresh grated parmesan cheese and pepper.

sources: 
asparagus-- canales farm
arugula-- stoney plains organic farm 
bacon-- skagit river ranch 
chicken stock-- made from stokesberry sustainable farm chicken
fettuccine-- made from caity's eggs, woodring northwest 

slow-cooked beef short rib ragu with homemade pasta

okay, so it's not exactly a springy meal, but the weather was fairly wintry last week, and the short ribs in the freezer needed to be cooked. i read countless short rib recipes last week, but ultimately decided to try a short rib ragu from bobby flay. (i may have mentioned, we really really like a good ragu.)

i stewed the ribs in vegetables, wine, and stock for about 3 hours on the stove, as i don't yet own a good ovenproof braising pot (sorry, le creuset, the hundreds of dollars it will take to make you mine continue to evade me!), and served over homemade pappardelle pasta with a generous amount of chopped parsley and grated cheese. bobby's recipe called for tomato paste, which i substituted with some garden tomatoes from the freezer. i figured the stovetop preparation would benefit from a little more liquid in the pot. it was totally delicious, and made for some amazing leftovers!

short rib ragu
from bobby flay's short rib ragu with pappardelle and pecorino romano 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds short ribs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 dried bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 small carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 medium shallots, diced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups diced tomatoes (or 1 15-oz can)
1/4 cup tawny port
1 cup red wine, such as cabernet
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 cups homemade beef stock
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 pound pappardelle or other long, flat pasta
chopped parsley
grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese

tie bay leaf, rosemary, and thyme together in a pouch made of cheesecloth.

heat oil in a large, heavy bottom pot over medium heat. season short ribs with salt and fresh cracked pepper. working in batches if necessary, brown the ribs on all sides. (one thing i've learned from watching tyler florence on the food network is "color equals flavor," so let them sear long enough that they develop some good golden brown color, 5 or so minutes each side.) remove from pot and set aside. 

add carrots, celery, onion, and shallots to pot and cook over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. add flour and cook, stirring, about one minute. add port and wine and deglaze, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. simmer until wine is reduced by about half. add pouch with herbs (bouquet garni), garlic, and beef and chicken stocks. 

return ribs to the pot and bring to a simmer. cover and lower heat to low and cook until very tender, stirring occasionally, 3 hours. (the mixture should cook at a low, easy simmer-- if it gets too rowdy, turn down the heat. when done, the meat should be almost falling off the bone.)

remove and discard the herb pouch (bouquet garni). remove the ribs from the pot and shred the beef from the bones. meanwhile, with the ribs out of the pot, use an immersion blender in the sauce to blend the solid vegetables and to thicken it. (optional.) add shredded beef to pot, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered to reduce and thicken the sauce, about 20 minutes or more. (cook to desired thickness.)

serve over hot pasta with chopped parsley and grated cheese. 

sources:

delicious, grass- and potato-fed beef short ribs from olsen farms 

it's not fancy, but it is meatball soup.

i've been making this soup for years. i change it up here and there, using whatever is on hand, but the basic formula remains: meatballs, broth, leafy greens, and pasta. it was inspired by escarole and little meatball soup, epicurious oct. 2003, but i've changed up the basic measurements just a bit.

this time i threw in some tomatoes from my freezer. not bad, though i think next time i make it with tomatoes i'll go much further with it. this was more or less a soup with some tomatoes, and i think it should be either a clear broth or a serious tomato base with some italian herbs.

the meatballs take a little time to form, but otherwise this soup comes together really fast. it's the thing i make when i don't feel like cooking, though admittedly that feeling for me may be a little different than it is for some people... :) i use a pound of beef, and freeze half of the meatballs for later use. 'cos, ya know, i like to freeze things... anyway, it's filling, satisfying, and even if your thing is campbell's, this soup will deliver. as i said, not fancy, but meatball soup.

tiny meatball soup

for meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
1/4 cup minced onion
1 egg 
salt and pepper

combine all ingredients in bowl until well mixed-- use your hands. shape mixture into tiny meatballs, about the size of one of those small balls you hang on the christmas tree, or a cherry tomato. set half aside for the soup, and freeze the rest for later.

for soup:
2 medium carrots, chopped 
1/2 bunch kale, tough stems removed and chopped (any green works-- spinach, broccoli raab, chard, escarole, bok choy... cooking times vary)
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped (optional)
2 cups diced tomatoes (optional, or add more)
1 qt (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1 handful (about 1/2 cup) small pasta
salt and pepper
parmesean cheese to serve

heat stock and tomatoes (if using) over medium heat in soup pot. add carrots, leeks, and kale, and simmer until the carrots are almost tender, about 20-30 minutes. (if using a less hearty green, like spinach, add it with the meatballs.)

add meatballs and pasta and simmer until until the pasta is cooked, 15-20 minutes. alternatively, cook the pasta in a separate pot until al dente, and stir into the soup at the last minute, after the meatballs are cooked through. simmering in the broth, the meatballs cook in no time, but they don't mind simmering longer than they need so timing isn't a big issue.

season with salt and pepper, and serve with grated parmesean and crusty bread.  


sources:
ground beef-- skagit river ranch 
carrots and kale-- nash's organic produce 
eggs-- woodring northwest specialties (caity)
leek-- full circle farm 

gnocchi with romanesco and bacon. tastes good, looks cool.

i go to the farmers market every week with a list and an open mind. i'm usually planning on a couple of recipes for the week, and the other nights are to be filled with a tbd market surprise. inevitably something new and strange makes it home with us.

one such market discovery is romanesco. this gorgeous vegetable which rob and i call the "fractal fruit," abandoning accuracy in favor of alliteration, is similar to cauliflower in texture and taste. its architecture of spirals built of spirals built of spirals is absolutely hypnotizing.

best of all, it can be carved into a seussian tree. oh, to live in a grove of these!

it's terrific roasted with plenty of olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. it also makes a damn fine gnocchi sauce.

gnocchi with romanesco and bacon

serves 2

1/2 lb prepared gnocchi

1/2 head romanesco, chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1 cup chicken (or veg) broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

3 slices of bacon, chopped

blanch romanesco for 5 minutes in boiling salted water. drain and reserve.

cook chopped bacon in skillet over medium heat to desired crispness, remove from pan and reserve. drain all but 1 Tbsp bacon fat from pan and return to heat. deglaze pan with wine, scraping up browned bits, and reduce 5 minutes. add broth and reduce 5-10 minutes. add cream and reduce slightly, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.

add blanched romanesco to sauce and cover, cooking 10 minutes. stir in parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.

cook gnocchi in boiling salted water until it floats. drain, and pan fry gnocchi lightly in butter. (frying is optional-- my latest gnocchi batch is a little loose and needs this step to firm it up. plus, i like the texture of the fried bits.)

serve gnocchi with sauce, bacon, and grated parmesan cheese.

spectacular winter minestrone

one january day in college i got it in my head that i wanted to make minestrone. i didn't, however, have a recipe and wasn't sure what to do about that fact. (this was pre-internet-- for me, anyway.) when i arrived home from class that very afternoon i found the apartment complex monthly newsletter hanging on my doorknob. on page 3 was a recipe, presented by a corpulent, cartoon italian chef, for a warm and cozy escape from the january inclemency-- minestrone. sweet!

i headed out to the store immediately with my grocery list of fresh vegetables. carrots, celery, even a whole head of cabbage, for pete's sake-- i was thrilled to get home and make honest-to-god food out of these colorful raw ingredients.

sadly, the recipe was terrible. i wasn't savvy enough to realize it in advance, and was too new to cooking to know how to improve it. (now i know that 11 cups of water, chopped veg, and no seasoning does not a good soup make...) even worse, it was a bad recipe that made an ENORMOUS amount.

still, i've learned when the minestrone itch strikes, it must not be ignored. it can't be ignored. in fact, the universe wants you to have minestrone. i got a craving last weekend and this time i found a fantastic recipe. one thing that makes minestrone such a special soup is that it can always be made with what's in season, and this one, with winter veggies, is phenomenal.

i was able to get almost everything i needed from the stoney plains farm booth at the farmers market, including the cannellini beans. the bacon (the best in the world, as far as i'm concerned) is from skagit river ranch. the tomatoes and chicken stock came from my freezer.

winter minestrone

adapted from gourmet, january 2009

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

2 small carrots, chopped

2 small ribs celery, chopped with leaves

1/2 bunch kale

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups (or 14 oz can) diced or whole tomatoes

3-4 cups homemade chicken stock (or water)

1/2 small cabbage, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 rind from a parmesan wedge, about 2x2"

1 cup dried cannellini beans (or 1 14 oz can)

2 cups cooked ditalini pasta

if using dried beans:

sort beans and throw out non-bean material (rocks, sticks...). rinse, and soak overnight. drain, rinse, and cook in plenty of water, simmering until cooked, anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. start checking them after 20 minutes to make sure they don't overcook. drain and set aside.

cook bacon, onions, carrots, and celery over medium heat in a heavy-bottom soup pot until bacon is cooked through. it won't be crispy. (i added no fat to this recipe at all-- the bacon was plenty.)

cut the stems off of the kale and chop. chop and reserve leaves. add kale stems to pot with garlic, and season with salt and pepper. cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes or so. (the original recipe calls for a 45 minute cook time here, but i was afraid to burn the garlic.)

push vegetables to one side of the pot and add tomato paste to the cleared area and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. (original recipe calls for a browning or caramelizing of the tomato paste, but i was unsure what that exactly meant, so i just cooked it for 2 minutes.)

stir in tomatoes with their juice and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

add chicken stock, parmesan rind, chopped kale leaves, and chopped cabbage. cover and simmer until greens are tender, about 40 minutes.

add beans to soup, taste, and season with salt and pepper. simmer about 10 minutes longer.

stir cooked ditalini pasta into each bowl and serve with a loaf of fresh bread.

this soup is a bona fide remedy for a cold and rainy day. it's hearty, incredibly flavorful, and the bacon makes it a true comfort dish.

i made my substitutions and tweaks, but you should definitely read the original recipe. it's the kind that you can make over and over, making your own personal improvements on it, until one day you've got a special family recipe that you'll teach your grandkids. seriously.

acorn squash ravioli with orange-balsamic sauce

christmas '06 was spent with my cousin's family in florida. aunts, uncles, sisters, cousins and kids all descended on her home on florida's gulf coast. it was the first time our family had experienced a destination holiday and for a person of inferior temperamental fortitude the pressure could have caused an ulcer. i mean, hosting christmas is a big deal, right?

just before christmas dinner, my cousin, our hostess, pulled a beautiful bronze turkey out of the oven and moved it to a glass platter which, tragically, had been placed on the stove on a burner that was hot. when she picked up the platter to bring it to the table it shattered, and that gorgeous bird thudded to the floor in a pile of broken glass. she looked at it, stunned, for approximately 3 seconds then called to her daughter, "go get the camera!"

i wish i had her attitude in the kitchen. truly. but most of the time, i do not. where she saw family-christmas history in the making and requested it be documented, i would have walked straight out the door and tossed myself off a bridge.

our friend tristan came to visit recently and wanted to spend one evening making ravioli. he'd brought 4 darling little acorn squash from his garden which we determined would make a sublime ravioli filling. i searched around and decided on this recipe from elliemay.com, primarily because it featured an orange and balsamic sauce. (i like sauce!)

i started on dinner and began to notice that the process was not going exactly as i'd pictured it. the dough was sticky and squirrelly, there seemed to be entirely too little filling-- it wasn't long before these worries became audible as i started muttering. "the dough isn't right..." "we're going to run out of squash..."

rob, tristan, and our other dinner guest were busily chatting away in the kitchen but would periodically hear my mutterings and interject with a casual and light rebuttal. "mmm, this looks great." "that's plenty of filling-- you know, in restaurants you get 4 giant raviolis with, like, a teaspoon each of filling in them." "nuh-uh, these nuts aren't overtoasted-- they're just right!" i decided the path of least resistance was to take their word for it, and so i soldiered on. tris jumped in to help put the ravs together, then i cooked and served. and you know what? they were right. there was just enough filling, the dough was great, and the nuts were exactly what the dish needed. it was delicious. it was, in fact, so good that i made it again the next week.

so, as a tribute to people everywhere who keep their cool in the kitchen, and to those who help me keep mine, i bring you acorn squash ravioli with orange-balsamic sauce.

acorn squash ravioli with pecans and orange-balsamic sauce

from winter squash ravioli at elliemay.com

serves 2

for ravioli:

1 batch fresh pasta dough (williams sonoma recipe here)

1/2 acorn squash, halved, seeds removed (or other winter squash)

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch nutmeg

2 to 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (or other nut)

for sauce:

juice from 1 orange

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp butter

rub squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. bake at 375 degrees, cut-side down, until soft, 45-60 minutes.

cool squash and scoop out flesh. heat olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan and cook garlic just until fragrant, 1 minute or so. add squash to pan and cook, stirring, until the squash dries out a bit, about 10 minutes. remove from heat and stir in parmesan, pecans, nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. let cool.

roll dough out into sheets (lowest setting on the pasta machine, if using one) and allow to dry out for about 15 minutes. cut the sheets into lengths twice the size of the finished ravioli. as in, for a 3x3" ravioli, cut dough to about 3x6". add 1-2 teaspoons of filling to one end of the dough strip. moisten edges with your finger dipped in water, and fold the dough over the filling, matching up the edges. press with the tines of a fork to seal and make cute little ruffles. (tristan showed me this trick!)

(the fold-over is my latest fill-em-up method because i find it easy, but you should obviously do whatever you want. cookie cutter, ravioli mold, rim of a glass, full sheets...)

place finished raviolis on a sheet of well-floured parchment paper and don't let them touch each other or they will stick together. (lesson learned.)

to make the sauce, combine the orange juice, brown sugar and balsamic and simmer until slightly reduced. remove from heat and stir in butter.

cook the raviolis in small batches (again, get too many in the pot and they will stick together) in a large pot of boiling salted water. they will float to the surface when ready, about 3 to 4 minutes.

serve with the sauce and garnish with fresh sage leaves.

sweet potato gnocchi with apple cider sauce-- super good, and super easy!

late last summer rob and i were having dinner at a fantastic little joint in portland called justa pasta. the leaves were beginning to change, the days were getting shorter, and i was excitedly describing a new recipe i'd found using fall ingredients that were soon to be available. i'd been trolling blogs for recipes and found a sweet potato gnocchi with apple cider sauce that sounded divinely autumnal-- i couldn't wait to try it out. for some reason, however, i never did. so when the leaves started changing this year, i added apple cider and sweet potatoes to my shopping list and brought them home the first day they were both available at the farmers market.

in truth, i don't know if i bought sweet potatoes or yams. the sign said sweet potatoes, but these look kinda yammy to me. but whatevs-- they totally did the job. also, after a year had passed i had no idea where i'd seen the sweet potato gnocchi with apple cider sauce, so i made a gnocchi from epicurious.com and served it with reduced apple cider and apples.

sweet potato gnocchi with apple cider sauce

from sweet potato gnocchi with brown butter and sage, bon appetit

• 2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork

• 1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 tart apple, sliced

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

(this is where i strayed from the recipe, though in retrospect my changes were completely unnecessary.)

pan fry the cooked gnocchi in small batches in butter until golden.

in a small separate pan, add 2 cups apple cider and one tart apple, sliced. simmer over medium heat until the cider reduces by about half and the apples break down. stir in a small pat of butter.

serve gnocchi hot with a drizzle of the sauce.

rob commented that it tasted like candy, and it really was quite a sweet treat. this could easily be repurposed into some kind of semi-savory dessert with vanilla bean ice cream or something. i had a few leftovers the next day for lunch with just a little melted butter and it was still amazing. next time i will probably save the cider for drinking since it's so spectacularly tasty.

a few tips:

the recipe says to drain the ricotta for 2 hours, but i didn't build two hours into my prep time so i put it in cheesecloth and squeezed as much moisture out as i could.

the sweet potato flesh is very fibrous which i suspected would not contribute to a smooth dough. i processed the sweet potato and ricotta together in the food processor to get an even consistency.

after mixing the sweet potato and ricotta, remove to a bowl to add the flour. don't add the flour to the food processor mixture or the dough will become overworked and hard. i found that i used only about half of the flour the recipe calls for-- just enough to get it to the point that it's no longer sticky.

this is a really forgiving gnocchi dough, i discovered. it was easy to get the consistency i wanted and the dumplings held up perfectly when cooked. i fried them in a non-stick pan because i've become so accustomed to my other potato gnocchi beginning to break down in the boil and then sticking maddeningly to the saute pan, but i don't think these even needed that safeguard.

the recipe made enough that i was able to freeze another meal's worth. freeze in a single layer (not touching) before boiling, and then transfer to a freezer bag or container. when you're ready, they can go straight from the freezer into a pot of boiling water and will be ready in about 5 minutes.

beef stroganoff, hold the beef

the motivation behind our move from portland to seattle was simple-- rob's job was here, and i no longer had a job anywhere. since i was unemployed and therefore home all day, i got to be the one who essentially unpacked and put the house together.

it was during one day of unpacking that i turned on the food network, which i'd never really watched before, to see if there was anything worth having on in the background while i looked for the right place to display comic book action figures. that's when i discovered tyler florence and his show tyler's ultimate. i got hooked pretty fast, primarily because tyler's recipes are all based on fresh ingredients and taste. he's not offering you a lightened up version of mac and cheese substituting craisins for the mac and chickpea puree for the cheese-- oh no. tyler is afraid of neither fats nor calories, so long as the end experience is, according to his shtick, "the ultimate." (he is from texas, after all.)

one saturday morning i got rob to watch an episode with me. tyler was making beef stroganoff using slow braised short ribs and it looked SO GOOD to us that we bought the ingredients and spent the afternoon making it. while it did taste amazing, there was something about the short ribs that didn't quite fit with the rest of the dish. we had our leftover sauce with the addition of peas the next night and realized our folly-- the dish needs no meat! especially not pricey meat cooked separately and served on top of everything else.

we recreated the (now) mushroom stroganoff a couple of nights ago with great success. i still used tyler's sauce recipe as a base, but made a few modifications including adding some mushroom stock to cut through the cream.

mushroom stroganoff

modified from tyler's ultimate beef stroganoff

1 1/2 lb mushrooms (i used cremini and chanterelles)

1 shallot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup brandy

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 - 1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth for a vegetarian dish)

small sprig fresh thyme

salt and pepper

pasta

wash, trim and slice mushrooms, reserving trimmings.

in small saucepan, add chicken or veggie broth, mushroom trimmings, and small sprig of thyme, and simmer over low heat while working on the rest of the sauce. taste and add salt if necessary.

heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add mushrooms. saute until they begin to cook down. add shallots and garlic and cook until the liquid lost from the mushrooms is reduced. add brandy and cook until reduced.

add mushroom stock to pan, pouring through strainer to catch the solids.

remove pan from heat and allow to cool slightly, then slowly add cream and stir. return pan to heat, add peas, and cook until sauce begins to thicken and reduce. it should be thick enough to stick well to pasta.

stir in mustard and sour cream and warm though. season to taste with salt and pepper.

serve over pasta of your choice. we had it with fettuccine which worked out quite well.

chanterelle mushroom feast!

i've learned over the last couple of years that when fall comes to the pacific northwest, saying you're going for a hike might be met with, "are you going mushroom hunting?" there are quite a few forageables in this part of the country, and a fair-sized population of people interested in finding them.

i've been intrigued by the idea of a mushroom-gathering expedition for a while now, but lacked two pieces of critical information: 1) where to go, and 2) what to look for. you have to go with someone experienced, and as i understand it, mushroom hunters who have their own trusty spot are reluctant to share such treasure with others. thankfully, i have a couple of friends who are clever enough to have recently gotten themselves invited on a hunt for chanterelles, and who also happen to be spectacular cooks.

dinner monday night with b and v was an incredible chanterelle feast. first up, the mushrooms were sauteed in sherry and mixed with a little creme fraiche, served on crostini. unreasonably delicious. next, we had them roasted with asparagus, cooked with bacon and tossed with boiled new potatoes, and made into a stroganoff-style sauce which was served on rare beef. there was so much amazingness on that table it was overwhelming. at the end of the night they sent us home with a couple of pounds of our very own chanterelles. awesome!

chanterelles are one of about 30 edible, forageable varieties in this part of the world. they are difficult to cultivate since their growth depends on a symbiotic relationship that takes place at the root level of certain trees. they are, as are all mushrooms i've learned from the most recent issue of edible seattle, actually the fruit of a larger organism called the mycelium that makes it's home in the soil. because they have to be hand picked from the forest floor, chanterelles are quite expensive. but if you know where and how to find them, you've got a goldmine on your hands.

so, what to do with my paper bag o' delicacies? i decided to stretch them as far as i could, and make several different dishes. first was homemade pappardelle with chanterelles in a creamy tomato sauce. i essentially followed a recipe for pappardelle with wild mushrooms, rosemary, and light tomato sauce from the summertime anytime cookbook by dana slatkin.

recipe here: pappardelle with wild mushrooms, rosemary, and light tomato sauce

it was... good, but not amazing. the pasta was good, the sauce was good, the mushrooms were good, but at the end of the day, it was pasta with mushrooms in a tomato sauce-- not the most exciting way to show off the flavor of such a coveted ingredient. the next night i changed direction.

on a back episode of top chef i was re-watching for the 3rd time tuesday morning, a chef made a gnocchi dish with lobster, bacon, corn, and chanterelle mushrooms. heck yeah! i'll just leave off the lobster, make up a sauce, and it'll be great! i had made a couple of pounds of gnocchi earlier in the month and frozen it for just such an occasion, so this would even be a relatively quick meal. it was uncomplicated and delicious! if it had been served to me at a restaurant, i'd have only been disappointed that there wasn't twice as much of it on the plate.

gnocchi with chanterelle mushrooms, corn, and bacon

(serves 2)

1 lb prepared gnocchi

2 slices bacon

1 ear fresh corn, kernels removed with a sharp knife

1/2 - 3/4 lb chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, small ones left whole

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

pat of butter

olive oil

salt and pepper

cook bacon over medium heat and remove to drain on paper towels. crumble or cut into bits. drain off most of bacon grease and return pan to heat.

add mushrooms to pan. when they hit the heat, they will lose a lot of their liquid pretty quickly and cook down a bit in their own juices. when they are softened and golden, remove from pan and reserve, reserving also the mushroom liquid in a separate bowl to be used in the sauce later.

saute the onions and garlic in the same pan with some olive oil or butter. cook until onions are transluscent, or caramelize if you want. (i usually add the garlic at the last minute to sweat it but not risk burning). add corn to pan. cook a few minutes more until corn cooks through and the mixture begins to marry. it smells really good at this stage...

add white wine to pan and deglaze, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. cook 2 minutes or so until the wine reduces and the mixture thickens. add chicken stock and cook a few minutes more, again, reducing and thickening. repeat with reserved mushroom liquid. stir in a pat of butter for added richness.

add mushrooms and crumbled bacon to the sauce and warm through. season to taste with salt and pepper.

serve on gnocchi. i boiled and pan fried mine in butter to give it a little texture. note: if using frozen gnocchi, do not thaw before cooking.

it's just dirt, it won't hurt anybody, but i don't like gritty meals and chanterelle mushrooms are filthy! to clean, remove the part of the stem that was underground and brush or scrape off as much of the rest of the dirt as possible. they're pretty robust, they can take it. wash under running water, paying attention to any trapped dirt in the gills. clean only just before use, though-- don't clean and store wet or they will, um, i don't know what they will do, but it might not be pretty. they will last several days in a paper bag in the fridge.

just a handful left! what to do tonight?

flour + eggs = pasta

i first decided to try homemade pasta a couple of weeks ago, and it was a JOKE. my first batch of dough was so hard that i was sore for 2 days from trying to knead it. i trashed that batch and started over, getting a much more reasonable density, but had only a glass from the cabinet to use to roll it out. i don't even own a rolling pin. by the time i was done, i had dough that was about 1/8" thick, and any attempt i made to roll it out further was met with the dough springing back onto itself. i made ravioli, and while they tasted okay, they were thick and clumsy and hard. as i said, a JOKE.

so, i bought a pasta machine. the dough is fed through the rollers, and comes out in perfect, paper-thin sheets. but again, trials and errors. after my first try using the machine, i thought, man, have we been fooled! this is almost faster than cooking dried pasta! the next 4 times, however, were disasters. either too crumbly, too dry, or entirely too sticky-- all ended up in the garbage.

i decided to try again, but take it slower this time. i would not be outsmarted by a couple of eggs and handfuls of flour. it happened that i caught an episode of everyday italian on the food network, a show i never watch but perhaps should, just in time to see giada de laurentiis making pasta dough with her aunt. i took careful notes and tried again.

giada's dough recipe made more than i was willing to commit to, so i found a classic pasta recipe on the williams sonoma website. fresh pasta recipe here. it worked! they use the well method, which works fine, but i took a tip from giada and got the dough started in the food processor. just pulse the flour and eggs together until the dough begins to stick to itself. it won't form a ball. turn the dough out on your board, and knead until it's smooth and elastic.

the batch i'd made a couple of weeks ago was filled with ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella, and the sauce was roasted sungold tomatoes with fresh basil. seems williams sonoma had the same idea, and had it published on their site. i followed theirs this time, which added lemon zest to the filling (great touch!) and more olive oil to the sauce. it was delicious! cheese ravioli with cherry tomato sauce.

making fresh pasta may not replace buying fresh or dried. i'm on the fence so far. but, it's a great alternative, and it's right up my alley to know that if i have flour and eggs, i have pasta.

a pound of pasta dough goes a long way, so i had plenty left over. i decided to try two ways of preserving it-- i used the machine to cut it into fettucine, then tossed the noodles in flour so they won't stick to each other and formed them into nests.

one group dried for an hour and went in the freezer, another group dried for 24 hours and went in the pantry. i really have no idea what the results will be, but it seems i'll have the chance to find out.

gnocchi success! but a different sauce next time.

i've wanted to try tyler florence's potato gnocchi recipe for a while now, but haven't been prepared for the mess it was sure to make. but really, what else is a partly-cloudy sunday afternoon for if not plastering your countertops with gooey potato dough and throwing flour all over yourself?

tyler's recipe calls for russets, but after consulting with the knowledgeable gents from olsen farms at the saturday farmer's market, i went with a variety called cal white. it has a bright white flesh and a light and fluffy texture. i'll definitely do more with these potatoes.

tyler's recipe is here. i followed the gnocchi recipe exactly, but after reading some reviews decided to take a slight detour on the sauce.

gnocchi with peas and prosciutto cream sauce

1lb or so prepared gnocchi, drained

1tbsp butter

1/2 shallot, chopped

1 c green peas

1/2 c chicken stock

1/4 c white wine

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

4 slices prosciutto

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

bake prosciutto in 350 degree oven, 10 minutes or until crispy.

after boiling and draining gnocchi, pan fry in batches in butter over medium heat to a golden brown.

in a separate pan, saute shallots in olive oil until softened. add chicken stock, white wine, and heavy cream and cook until slightly thickened. add peas and cook until heated through. adjust seasonings. taste and adjust for cream/stock ratio as well.

serve gnocchi with sauce, crumbled prosciutto, and grated parmesan cheese.

i have to admit, i did not love the sauce. primarily, i did not think the peas did much for the dish. maybe a simple cream sauce next time, and the peas as a side? but at least i got the hard part down! searching for a great sauce will be a welcomed task.