Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes)’ Category

Lasagna With Collard Greens – Vegetarian Pasta Dish

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , on October 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Lasagna with Collard Greens

Lasagna with Collard Greens

NOW, now, don’t go turning up your nose and thinking you don’t like Collard Greens;  BECAUSE Collard Greens taste like Kale, the darling vegetable for the last couple of years.  In fact I’ll bet if I gave you a piece of Kale and a piece of Collard Green, you wouldn’t be able to tell which is which.  Hey, maybe I should send in that taste test suggestion to Gordon Ramsey for his Hell’s Kitchen show. 

INGREDEINTS

1/2 lb Collard Greens, large leaves, stemmed and washed

Salt to taste

Olive oil for pan

2 cups Marinara sauce (bottled or fresh)

1/2 # no-boil lasagna noodles

1/2 # Ricotta

4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS  – Preheat oven 350 degrees

Steam Collard Greens for 5 minutes above 1″ of boiling water.  Transfer to bowl of cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Oil rectangular baking dish – Spread tomato sauce over the bottom.  Top with layer of noodles.  Then thin layer of ricotta.  Lay Collard Greens over ricotta, in single layer.  Top leaves with layer of tomato sauce, followed by thin layer of Parmesan cheese.

Set aside some tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese to top the lasagna.

Repeat layers till all ingredients are used up.  Top with reserved sauce and cheese.  Cover with foil.  Place in oven for 30 minutes.  Uncover and return to oven for 5-10 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

* Don’t use all your ingredients in the first layer, you should have enough for 3 layers.

Recipe from Martha Rose Shulman, NY Cooking

Read Full Post »

The Mediterranean Diet – Tuscan Pasta Tonight (Vegetarian)

Posted in Everyday Food, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Tuscan Whole Wheat Pasta

Tuscan Whole Wheat Pasta

Saturday night supper was pretty damn good if I say so myself.   I didn’t think I would jump on the all things Tuscan are good bandwagon, but I seem to hitching a ride here and there.  Last week, Wegman’s sent out their Menu Magazine and the theme of this Fall edition is Mediterranean Fresh Italian – The Flavors of Tuscany/Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.  I’m sure everyone of you has read and heard about this diet, it has been around for years. 

The Mediterranean Diet is about eating more fruits and veggies, whole grains, seafood, a glass of wine, and good fats-like olive oil.  Pasta, dairy and meat are part of it too, but with smaller portions – more like side dishes than main courses.  It all sounded fine until they got to the pasta being a side dish instead of the main course.  So, much like practicing Cafeteria Catholicism where one picks and chooses which ideologies and Vatican rulings they will adhere to, I decided to follow the recipe for this delicious vegetarian pasta dish BUT of course it was the main course.

Tuscan Whole Wheat Pasta

2 TBS olive oil

2 Leeks  or 8oz. pkg. finely chopped

2 Cloves of garlic, minced

1 Medium fennel bulb, cleaned, trimmed, cored, 1/2 ” dice

2 Jars of Wegman’s Tuscan tomato sauce*

1 lb Whole Wheat Penne Rigate**

1/2 tsp salt

1 Bag of Baby Arugula (5oz)

4 TBS of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

Heat oil in braising pan on MED heat, add leeks and garlic.  Cook, stirring about 2 minutes until translucent.  Add fennel, reduce heat to LOW.  Cook 10 minutes until softened.  Add sauce, stir.  Let simmer 5 minutes.

Add cooked pasta, 1 cup of reserved pasta water and salt.   Simmer 2-3 minutes.  Add arugula, toss and top with Parmigano-Reggiano cheese.

Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with extra grated cheese.

This is recipe is from Wegman’s Menu Magazine

* Wegman’s sells Tuscan sauce in a 17 oz. jar.  I purchased 1 jar as it is a little pricey;  The ingredients are basically tomatoes, onion, basil.  It is darker than most jarred sauces which I think may be because it is cooked down to a richer sauce.  I bought a jar of Chunky Marinara (twice the size, half the cost).  I used half of the Marinara sauce and added a little more basil.

** The recipe calls for Whole Wheat pasta so I thought “okay I’ll try it because maybe the sauce has enough flavor to overcome the cardboard taste and texture of whole wheat pastas.  WRONG!   I know it’s healthier but that pasta is dismal tasting.  I can only imagine how fantastic this dish would have been with a nice Barilla penne.  Never again….

 

Read Full Post »

Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel Sauce

Posted in Everyday Food, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , on September 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This was a very good Tasty Tidbits Tuesday – we just finished dinner and it was delicious and as my husband put it “very interesting, very unusual and it tastes delicious too and I’ve never tasted anything like it”.

Last night Angela and Seth joined us for some wine and apps on the porch.  It was a warm evening and since it’s getting dark so early these days, we scattered candles all around giving the porch a soft and inviting atmosphere.  We sat and talked for quite some time drinking most of the bottle of Malbec they brought.  Angela brought us a bag of Heirloom cherry tomatoes that one of her customers from the bakery brought her!  It was an Ocean Grove food chain lol.  Turns out Angela is not really fond of tomatoes, there’s something about the consistency that she doesn’t like – all the better for me who LOVES tomatoes, JERSEY TOMATOES and even better FREE JERSEY HEIRLOOM TOMATOES.

I popped a few in my mouth, God they were like candy and there were a lot.  I started to think about what I could make with them.  This morning I saw just how many tomatoes there were and decided to leave some on Michael’ s porch (hope he found them when he got home tonight) and left some watermelon on Angela’s porch – the food chain continues….

Tonight I made Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel Sauce with linguine, well actually half linguine and half whole grain spaghetti.  It was so good, I plan to make it again soon.

Fennel

Fennel

1 Fennel bulb cut up

2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, half of them halved ( I gave away too many, so I chopped up half of medium tomato)

1/4 cup white wine

3 TBS olive oil

5 sprigs of Thyme (I didn’t have any, so I used dried thyme leaves )

pinch of sugar* (I didn’t use any, the tomatoes were sweet enough)

Coarse salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In a 9″ x 13″ baking dish, toss together the fennel, tomatoes, wine, oil and thyme.  Add a pinch of sugar and season with salt and pepper.

Bake, stirring occasionally until fennel softens and pan juices thicken, 35-40 minutes, maybe less.

I reserved a full cup of the pasta water and used it to create the sauce.  I didn’t have a lot of pan juices and some of it burned along the edges of the pan.

Toss pasta with sauce and sprinkle with grated Parmesan

Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food – November 2009

Read Full Post »

Linguine with Marinara Sauce – Deliciously Light Summer Dish

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, Uncategorized, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , on August 12, 2014| 3 Comments »

Marinara Sauce aka Sailor's Sauce

Marinara Sauce aka
Sailor’s Sauce

I love pasta! Actually other than my passion for ice cream, pasta is my favorite food.  Think about the various shapes, the many ways to prepare it and of course the myriad sauces.  This particular sauce is one from my own childhood.  We often had spaghetti with marinara sauce on Fridays – those were the days when Fridays were meatless.  I think it’s a wonderful light summer sauce and a great way to incorporate a vegetarian dish into your weekly dinners.

MARINARA SAUCE

3 TBS olive oil

2 cans of whole Italian plum tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced

Red pepper flakes – 1/2 to 1 tsp

1 medium onion – chopped

3/4 cup of fresh basil leaves – torn

2TBS fresh oregano – chopped

Salt and pepper

Add olive oil to pan ( I used my braising pan)

Squish the tomatoes into a bowl and set aside

Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté till onions are soft and translucent and garlic is fragrant

Add the tomatoes and pepper flakes to the pan, cover and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until sauce thickens.

Add the basil leaves and oregano, season with salt and pepper

I cooked the linguine and would have added it directly to the pan except that this batch of sauce was huge.  I scooped out enough sauce to fill a quart container and then added the pasta to the pan.

I sprinkled it with grated parmigiano-romano cheese and served it in the braising pan.

 

Read Full Post »

Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Posted in Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , on July 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Looks Good Enough To Eat

Looks Good Enough To Eat

It’s Tasty Tidbits Tuesday and I’ve got a great summer pasta dish for you!  I’m planning on making it the next time we are at the cottage.  If you are a regular reader you probably know that I am enamored with the fresh produce from the Garden State AND I happen to be growing some mint in my backyard!  A while ago I posted a pasta dish that had mint in it and I have to tell you it was with some trepidation that I made that dish.  I’m Italian and have been eating Italian food for a very, very long time and I had never come across any pasta dish with mint in it.   Sorry it took me so long because I’ve made that dish at least twice more since posting it.  That recipe can be found in a previous blog; https://pbenjay.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/wednesday-is-prince-spaghetti-day/

So now along comes another pasta recipe with mint as one of the main ingredients and I think it’s going to great.  I normally don’t feature recipes that I haven’t made, however, this one comes from the New York Times and I know it wouldn’t have been printed if it hadn’t been tested.

Sea salt and ground pepper

1 # fusilli pasta

1 TBS olive oil plus drizzling

6 oz. pancetta, diced

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 quart of cherry tomatoes halved

3 TBS butter

Fresh ricotta

3 cups of whole mint leaves, torn

4 scallions thinly sliced

Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta to 1 minute shy of al dente.  Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta water. 

Meanwhile heat a large skillet or braising pan over med-high heat for 15 seconds, then add oil and heat till it thins out, coats the pan when swirled.  Add pancetta, cook till fat renders – 2 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook 2 minutes till fragrant.   Add tomatoes cook til they burst, have golden edges  and begin to shrivel – about 5 – 8  minutes.

Add the pasta to the skillet and toss with the tomato-pancetta mixture; if the mixture looks dry, add a little pasta water a few tablespoons at a time.  Cook over high heat while pasta finishes cooking.  Add butter and toss until it melts and coats everything.

Divide pasta into warmed bowls, garnish with dollops of ricotta and top with a generous mound of mint and scallions.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving.

NOTES: You can use grape, pear or other diminutive tomatoes and mixing red, yellow and orange tomatoes will make your dish pretty.  Do not add the ricotta to the sauce, you want to keep it distinct so you can revel in the contrast of cool and creamy against hot, spicy and salty.  If you can find red scallions, use them.

 

Read Full Post »

Hot Italian Sausage and Tomato Pasta – Just Light Enough For Summer

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

hot-italian-sausage_300

I truly think pasta, well of course I meant to say macaroni is my favorite food.  The ways to prepare it are endless and seasonal too.  I know because I make it in all the seasons.  My sister-in-law, Stacey, brought this recipe with her when she and Matt visited us in Ocean Grove.  When she told me to buy just 1# of Gemelli, I thought to myself that we would never have enough food BUT I was wrong.  I was also concerned about the heat because our air-conditioners are not in yet and I was afraid this was going to be a heavy meal BUT I was wrong!

Hands on time – 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb of Gemelli pasta (recipe calls for fettucine)

3 TBS olive oil

1 medium red onion, sliced

2-3 garlic cloves, smashed

4 hot Italian sausages, casings removed – we used hot turkey sausage and used the whole package of 6

1 pint of red or yellow cherry or grape tomatoes

2 TBS red wine vinegar

3/4 tsp Kosher salt – I don’t measure

1/4 tsp black pepper – I don’t measure

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves – we used close to a cup

1 cup of arugula, torn

1/2 cup grated cheese (Peccorino, Parmesan, Romano)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium-high  heat in braising pan or deep skillet.   Add onion and garlic and cook till onion softens 2-3 minutes. Add sausage, using wooden spoon to crumble sausage, cook about 5 minutes.  

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta.

Add tomatoes and cook until the skins burst, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the vinegar, salt and pepper.

Once pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the sausage mixture.  Add in the basil and the arugula.  Toss gently to combine and sprinkle with the cheese.

We used the braising pan as our serving dish (which is why I LOVE my braising pan)

Original recipe from Martha Stewart

 

 

Read Full Post »

Linguine with White Clam Sauce – Tasty Tidbits Tuesday

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2014| 2 Comments »

Let me start out by saying YES this was a very tasty meal, I am so proud of myself for making this dish.  Of course many people are probably thinking, “piece of cake” but for me there was something about making the sauce with fresh cockles intimidated me.  I was determined to try and there right near the front of my favorite supermarket, Wegman’s was a big iced display of fresh mussels and clams.  And there was Gus;  Gus is the chef in residence at the Wegman’s store in Ocean, NJ.  He has a station near the front and next to the vegetables and it’s his job to cook tasty bites for customers using Wegman’s ingredients.  He ALWAYS has a great recipe for me so I headed straight to him to get his take on white clam sauce.  He happened to be cooking zucchini squash in a ginger soy sauce – very good!  Gus gave me his recipe and I took some notes, but knew that I was going to tweak this recipe myself.

A photo of clams

Fettucine with White Clam Sauce

Here’s what I did:

Olive oil to cover the bottom of a braising pan

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 to 1 whole Vidalia onion ( I happened to have a half in the fridge)

red pepper flakes 

1 small container of Wegman’s Garlic Cheese Butter

2 cups of chicken broth (use vegetable broth if you are vegetarian) I never thought to use broth, added great flavor,

1/2 cup of white wine

1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley

1-2 TBS fresh oregano

1 bag of fresh clams

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Shredded or grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 # Barilla linguine (i’m convinced Barilla pasta has a lovely flavor of its own and adds another flavor to the dish)

Prior to preparing the meal put the clams in a basin of cold water with a lot of salt to soak for at least 30 minutes.  The clams will rid themselves of any sand.  I let them sit longer and changed the water a couple of times and put some ice in at one point to keep them cold.  Then I put them in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Put a pot of salted water on to boil.

Heat oil in braising pan on medium.  Add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook till softened and golden.  Add the chicken broth and white wine, raise the heat slightly and cook down about 1/3 to 1/2.  

Add the container of garlic cheese and half of the parsley.  Toss in the oregano.  Add the clams and turn up the heat.  As the clams begin to open in 5-7 minutes, remove the clams with a slotted spoon to a bowl and start to shuck them, leaving as many as many as you would like to remain in the shell.  I tried to pick out the smaller ones to put aside for the pasta.  Once I started shucking I put the linguine in the boiling water.

When the pasta is about a minute away from being done, I put the clam bodies back in the pan. Season with salt and pepper. I reserved a cup of pasta water in case I needed it to add to the sauce.

Drain the linguine and add to the sauce in the braising pan.  Toss well.  Sprinkle grated cheese on top, the rest of the parsley and add the clams in the shell. 

Buono Appetito! Mangia!

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Read Full Post »

Super Sunday Supper – Straight From The Pasta Maker

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

For the past several days, I’ve been planning on making the Spring Pasta recipe I posted earlier this week.  However every evening one thing or another prevented me from making it.  And before you read any further, I still haven’t made it!  BUT I did make another pasta dish utilizing seasonal vegetables.  

I gave my husband a choice between a wok stir-fry of chicken and vegetables or pasta.  He picked pasta probably thinking he might get an Arrabiata sauce and meatballs, NOT!  I sent him to Fairway to buy some ingredients but being the non-cooking man/husband that he is, he didn’t put it together that what he bought would be what he ate.

This recipe comes directly from Barilla’s web site and after reading through it I knew it would be easy to make and hopefully tasty  too.  I’m telling you all this because I altered the recipe slightly and will explain along the way.

Rotini with Braised Fennel, Carrots & Scallions

Rotini with Braised Fennel, Carrots & Scallions

Barilla’s Whole Grain Rotini with Braised Fennel, Carrots & Spring Onions

Ingredients

1 box Barilla Whole Grain Rotini (he forgot and bought regular)

4 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 Clove garlic (I used 2 and could have used at least one more)

2 Fennel bulbs

1 Medium Carrot (he brought home a bag of small carrots) (I used several >1 medium carrot)

1 bunch of Scallions

1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (I used all I had in the house but was somewhat short)

1 TBS Fennel fronds chopped (I used a lot of the fronds)

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil

Sauté minced garlic in oil in a large skillet, until garlic turns slightly yellow, about 3 minutes ( I used a large braising pan)

Cut the fennel bulbs in half, then in thin slices – I cut the cores out first

Add to skillet, along with the carrot cut into roundels (rounds) about 1/8″ thick.

Braise for about 10 minutes, covered, over medium high.

Season with salt and black pepper; keep covered and cook through, stirring occasionally. I cooked longer judging when fennel was cooked and slightly softened.  At this point I thought there would not be enough sauce so I added chicken broth or to keep it vegetarian, use vegetable broth.  

Cook the pasta according to box directions

Stir the scallions cut on a bias 1/2″ long, cook an additional 3 minutes. I also added a shake or two of red pepper.

Once the pasta is done (I put aside a cup of the water) and drained, add it to the vegetables and toss to coat.

Stir in the grated cheese and the fronds.

We both thought the dish was tasty but it could have been more so!  It needed the full amount of cheese and possibly more offered on the table. The red pepper gave it some zest and I think it would have been very bland and dry without the chicken broth.  By the second helping we both said how delicious it was.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Read Full Post »

Wednesday Is Prince Spaghetti Day!

Posted in Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Wednesday Is Prince Sphaghetti Day

Wednesday Is Prince Sphaghetti Day

I probably should have saved this for ThrowBack Thursday, I mean who remembers Prince spaghetti?  Growing up in an Italian family, I certainly do remember the macaroni products we had in our home.  My father did buy Prince spaghetti, however I clearly remember the LaRosa brand boxes of shells and I think the family favorite was Ronzoni.   When I was a young married, I always stuck with Ronzoni and because I saw my parents pour the pasta out of the pot and into a colander and then rinse it, I did the same!  I can’t remember now when I learned that was definitely NOT the thing to do!  Rinsing the pasta removes some of its flavorful starch that was released during the cooking process.  Not only do I NOT rinse my pasta, I often save a cup of the water to add to my sauces.  Specifically the pasta water is used in many of my vegetarian pasta dishes to make a thin sauce that may also have some broth, butter or oil.

Look For The Red Rose

Look For The Red Rose

What do I buy now?  I love the taste of Barilla macaroni products although so many of my Italian friends swear by De Cecco.  So recently, I purchased some De Cecco linguine and I swear it didn’t have the same flavor.  De Cecco is made in Italy so I’ll give it a few more tries and see if I like the results.

This Wednesday, even though it is STILL raw and cold outside, not to mention raining,  I thought I would try welcoming Spring into the apartment with a truly Spring-like pasta dish.  To quote Pure Wow , the site where I found this recipe by Erin McDowell; “We had a good run, soups and stews.  But as temperatures rise and flowers bloom, we’re ready to swap rich and hearty for light and fresh”.

PASTA WITH PEAS, ARTICHOKES, LEMON AND MINT

Serves 4-6  Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb bucatini, spaghetti or other long pasta

1 1/2 cups fresh peas

12 marinated artichoke heart quarters, drained

3 TBS unsalted butter

1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese

2 TBS lemon juice

Salt

2 TBS freshly chopped mint for garnish

Lemon zest for garnish

Directions

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water, cook till pasta is al dente, 6-8 minutes (or according to package instructions). One minute before pasta is done, add the peas to the pot.  Before draining, ladle out and reserve 1 cup pasta water. 

Drain pasta and peas in colander and immediately add artichoke hearts.  Toss to combine.  

Return pasta and vegetables to the pot, then add the butter and Pecorino cheese, and toss to coat.  Add 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water to and the lemon juice, and continue tossing until the mixture forms a creamy coating.  Add additional water if needed.  Season with salt to taste.

To serve, transfer pasta to plates, and top with mint, lemon zest and black pepper.

Pasta Peas & Artichokes

Pasta Peas & Artichokes

Enhanced by Zemanta

Read Full Post »

There’s A Whole Lot Of Cooking Going On…

Posted in Everyday Food, Ha-P 2 B in OG, We Called It Macaroni (Pasta recipes), tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

gorgonzola

Gorgonzola (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Back at the shore where I have a decent-sized kitchen albeit a minute stove (20″) and able to shop at my favorite grocery store, Wegman’s, I’ve been cooking up a storm these past couple of days. By the way did you hear on the news that Consumer Reports rated Wegman’s the best supermarket chain in the US AGAIN this year!  I couldn’t be happier because as my readers know, I LOVE Wegman’s.

Last night I made a dish that had my husband doubtful when he heard what it was…Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Gorgonzola Cheese.  His first reaction, “Cheese! You’re making a pasta sauce with cheese?” I assured him he wouldn’t die from it and I silently thanked him for not mentioning that the fact that the spaghetti was whole wheat (his concession to me).  Actually I’m not even sure he heard me when I said whole wheat because he was in shock over the Gorgonzola cheese – this from a man who slathers Blue Cheese dressing on his salads and sour cream on his baked potaoes.  Uh huh, you know the type!

Needless to say it was amazingly good and I hope to serve it sometime for guests because it was delicious.

Ingredients

8oz whole wheat spaghetti ( I used about 12 oz)

3 TBS butter ( I used 5 in the end)

1 medium onion thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 small or 1 large head of escarole chopped crosswise ( I used a cello bag of chopped escarole)

4 oz crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.

The directions that follow are for 8 oz of spaghetti and since I had increased that amount I increased the butter and escarole.

Heat 2 TBS butter in braising pan.  Add onions and garlic and cook till soft and lightly brown.  Season with salt and pepper.  Meantime cook pasta.  

Once onions are soft and pasta is almost done, add escarole and cook it till it wilts.  Add 1 TBS butter to pan. 

Drain spaghetti (reserve a cup of water) and add to braising pan with escarole mixture.  Mix well and then top with sprinkled Gorgonzola cheese.  I was afraid my sauce might be too dry so I added some of the pasta water to  keep the dish moist.

All I can say is that there were NO LEFTOVERS!

Enhanced by Zemanta

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »