Tortillas and Oranges » Pasta

Cooking School: Macaroni and Cheese

admin — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 11:42:10 +0000

Cooking School/ Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients:
1 cube butter (or the equivalent of ½ cup of butter)
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. chicken bullion (or 1/2 cube Knorr’s chicken bullion cube)
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp. lowery’s seasoned salt
dash of pepper
dash of nutmeg
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or shredded Mexican cheese from Costco)
2 cups gruyere (I’ve also used jarlsberg in a pinch and it was magnificent.)
½ cup breadcrumbs (optional)

1. Make sure your cheese is shredded. If it’s not, shred your cheese right now. Mix the two types of cheese together in a big bowl.
2. Put large pot of water on high heat. Sprinkle 1 heaping Tablespoon of salt in the water.
3. Make your breadcrumbs. (you do this by tossing torn bits of 2 pieces of bread and 3 Tablespoons of butter into a pan over medium heat. Toss the butter and bread bits around and around until they are a beautiful golden brown. Set aside.)
4. Start your white sauce (which you now know is really béchamel). In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, melt 1 cube of butter. Don’t burn the butter! Stay by the butter! Don’t leave the butter!
5. Once butter is completely melted, add ¼ cup flour. Whisk for two minutes so the flour can absorb the butter.
6. Add 2 cups milk, ¼ teaspoon dry mustard, 1 ½ teaspoons lowery’s seasoning salt, a dash of pepper and a dash of nutmeg. With a wooden spoon or whisk, continue stirring béchamel over medium heat until sauce is thickened. You will know it is thick enough when it can coat the back of a spoon. This will take about 15 minutes and you CAN’T walk away from the sauce or it will burn. You have to stand by the sauce and stir it constantly.
7. Once your pasta water is boiling, add pasta and stir. Boil pasta until it is al dente. (At this point you will have two pots going: one with the béchamel and one with the boiling pasta)
8. Set up an assembly area that consists of: béchamel, shredded cheese, cooked pasta, and bread crumbs.
9. In a casserole dish that can be any shape or size (assuming you can fit everything in there!), layer the pasta and cheese (NOT the sauce and bread crumbs) in this order:
half of the pasta/ half of the shredded cheese
Repeat:
The last half of the pasta/ the last half of the shredded cheese
10. Pour the béchamel over the top. Sprinkle 1/2 cup bread crumbs on top.

11. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 or until you see the béchamel bubbling and the cheese completely melted. Oh my.

Jen’s Perfect Asian Spinach Salad

admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 01:43:41 +0000

I thought I’d share one of my most favorite salads with you. I’m making it this week for a luncheon. This salad is a WINNER. It is super yummy, it feeds a lot of people, and it is healthful. Heck, my kids even eat it (including the Spinach part). Anyway, tuck this away for when you really need a safe bet. One thing to remember–do NOT add the spinach until just about ready to serve; otherwise it wilts.

Jen’s Chicken, Pasta, and Spinach Salad
1 pound gemelli pasta-cooked, drained, cooled
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/4 sesame seeds, toasted
8 cups clean fresh spinach (COSTCO’s baby spinach)
1/4 cups chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup green onions, chopped

dressing:
1 cup olive oil
2/3 cups rice vinegar
6 Tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup soy sauce

mix pasta and chicken and toss with half of the dressing. let sit overnight or several hours. serve with spinach, don’t STORE with spinach. just before serving–add spinach and rest of dressing. if you think there will be leftovers, exclude spinach. this makes a deceptively large amount of food.

Cooking School: A Marriage Between Basil and Parmesan: Pesto

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 21:14:53 +0000

Today’s Class Notes:
How To Make Pesto:
Gather 2 cups fresh basil leaves. Wash and dry.
Place basil leaves in a blender.
Add 2 garlic cloves, ¼ cup pine nuts, ⅔ cup olive oil, ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese to blender.
Blend above ingredients to a paste consistency.
Use pesto to cover pasta or dip in bread.

Mortar and Pestle Pesto:
Place 5-7 basil leaves, 1 clove garlic, a dash of course sea salt, and a bit of lemon peel in a mortar (the bowl part). Using the pestle (the stick part), gently tap and stir the ingredients until they form a paste.

Making Pasta: Bring a large (very large) pot of water to a boil, add 4 Tablespoons of salt. Boil pasta for 1 minute less than the package directs. When draining the pasta, save 1 cup of pasta water. This water is invaluable and will help spread your pesto!

No Sugar Meal: Spaghetti Squash Bake

admin — Tue, 13 May 2014 01:49:03 +0000

Spaghetti Squash Bake:

1. Slice 1 spaghetti squash down the middle. Place both halves, flesh side down, in baking pan filled with 1/4 inch water. Bake squash at 350 for 20 minutes or until squash is soft and easily extracted.
2. Mince 3 cloves garlic and saute in 4 Tblsp olive oil.
3. chop 12 basil leaves.
4. dice 3 tomatoes.
5. Dice 1 log fresh mozarella.
6. In bowl combine baked spaghetti squash, minced garlic and olive oil, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Place in 9×13 (lasagna pan) and bake at 350 until cheese bubbles.

Tonight’s menu: spaghetti squash bake, tossed fruit (strawberries, raspberries, diced orange), pear slices, whole wheat bread with butter.

feedback: People liked this. They ate it without complaints. Biggest hits were mozarella and pear slices.

Dinner: The Kids’ Favorite Meal (minimum investment/maximum return)

admin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:45:46 +0000

It was Friday night and I felt guilty. Danny and I were leaving the kids for the third night in a row and they weren’t complaining. But I felt awful. I threw together a meal that I didn’t think much of (there was absolutely no nutritional value; pour on more guilt). As soon as I lined them up on the bar the kids all oooohed and aaaaahhhhed. What was the big deal? The meal consisted of buttered pasta, Laughing Cow cheese wedges, and mini croissants. Ellie said, “You should blog about this meal!”. Umm. Ok. I’m not sure why they found the meal so delightful but I thought I’d document it nonetheless. Next time I’ll add strawberries or clementines. Broccoli? Spinach? Anything to make me feel less guilty.

Quick Dinner: Ravioli with Simmered Tomatoes

admin — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:31:35 +0000

December weeknights are tricky. You want something warm and yummy but you have no bandwidth, given that you are wrapping, baking, shopping, and doing who-knows-what-else all day. Here is the first of a few shortcuts I use.

Ravioli with Simmered Tomatoes
1. In medium saucepan add 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 small diced onion, and one clove garlic, minced.
2. Once garlic and onion are simmering, add one 14 oz call diced tomatoes, drained. (add two cans if you are feeding more than 4 people).
3. Let tomato and onion mixture simmer while you prepare raviolis.
1. Boil water in large pot, add 2 cups chicken broth.
2. Cook frozen raviolis (Costco sells high quality frozen ravioli). Raviolis are finished once they float to the top.

Spoon simmered tomatoes over cooked raviolis. Top with grated parmesan or pecoreno romano. Add crusty bread. Enjoy while you watch the snow fall.

Thursday Throwback: Favorite Summertime Meal

admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:02:23 +0000

Originally posted June 12th, 2009

Tonight we are having friends over for Minestrone Salad with Grilled Sausage and Arugula Pesto. This is one of my favorite summertime menus. I make the salad and pesto in the morning, clean my house like a madwoman in the afternoon, then grill the sausage on the deck in the evening. People rave about this meal. Do yourself a favor and try it.

Lunch: Curry Chicken Salad

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:56:44 +0000

Who doesn’t have a Curry Chicken Salad recipe? Wait, did I just offend you by asking who doesn’t have one and you don’t have one? Lame. To make up for my lack of tact, I’ll give you one right now. This is from the June 2000 issue of Sunset Magazine. If you don’t subscribe to Sunset, do so now. You’ll be part of an elite group of people who just know more.

Curry Chicken Salad
1 cup grapes (cut in half if large, color doesn’t matter)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced green onion
Curry Chutney Dressing (listed below)
1/3 cup roasted, salted, chopped pistachios
1/4 cup chopped mint (optional, I rarely use it)

Dressing:
3/4 cup plain yogurt (greek is always best)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 Tablesp. Major Grey Chutney
1 tsp. curry powder
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Toss all salad ingredients together, coat with dressing. Serve over bed of lettuce, spinach greens, or stuffed in some good sourdough. One friend adds cooked pasta to her’s and calls it dinner. Your choice.

Pasta: Black Beans and Orzo

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:47:45 +0000

Ahhhhh, comfort food. Here we go with another gem. My dear friends in Berkeley make this all the time. I was introduced to the dish when we were invited to their summer wonderland at Lake Tahoe. After a long day on the beach, the sun goes down and a breeze hits the air. You keep your board shorts on, but you grab a sweatshirt, a card game, and a big bowl of black beans and orzo.

Black Bean and Orzo

1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained
¼ tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chile powder
½ cup salsa
½ pound orzo (rice shaped pasta)
grated mozarella cheese

Cook diced onion and garlic. Add cumin, oregano, and chile powder. Add diced tomatoes (drained), black beans (drained), add ½ cup salsa. Cover and cook at a simmer for ten minutes. Cook ½ pound orzo. Serve bean sauce over orzo. Add grated mozarella on top.

Dinner: Penne with Peppers, Lemon, and Chicken

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:04:00 +0000

I often experiment at dinner time. At 5:53pm, I’ll look at my watch and think, “Oh boy. What am I going to do for dinner? I have absolutely no idea. No plan.” After years of this routine I know that I need a few key ingredients to save the day. Do you know what I mean by a few key ingredients? When you get to the grocery store and think, “I forgot to make a list. What should I buy to get us through the week?” For me, these few ingredients include black beans, butternut squash, broccoli, and bell peppers. Without fail, if I have a bell pepper or two in the kitchen (preferably red), I can pull off something interesting.

Last night I pulled out my trusty bell pepper and knocked the ball out of the park. Here is what I created.

Penne Pasta with Peppers, Lemon, and Chicken

2 Tblsp. olive oil
2 Tblsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine (cooking wine is fine)
cooked chicken breast (I used a breast off of a rotisserie chicken)
1 large red bell pepper, 2 inch long thin strips, seeds removed
1/2 cup heavy cream
peel and juice of 1 lemon
1 pound penne pasta (bowtie or rigatoni would also work
parmesan or pecoreno romano cheese

Start water boiling for pasta. In large saute pan heat olive oil and butter. Add garlic and onion and saute for a few minutes until soft. Add red pepper and white wine and continue sauteing. If your chicken is precooked add it here (I had a rotisserie chicken in the fridge and added one shredded breast).
If your chicken is raw, cut raw breasts into chunks and add before garlic and onion, toss in heat until cooked through then add garlic, onion, bell pepper and proceed.

Boil penne pasta until al dente (I always boil my pasta for 1 minute less than the box says, and it comes out perfectly al dente).

Grate lemon rind and add to chicken and peppers. Add juice from lemon. Finally, add cream and heat through. The cream you add should not turn the chicken and peppers into a sauce, but rather bind everything together in a creamy sort of way. Does that make any sense?

Toss cooked pasta with 2 Tblsp. olive oil. Place on platter. Add chicken, lemon, and peppers to pasta platter. Grate parmesan cheese over dish. Enjoy.