Penne with Heirloom Tomato Sauce and Roasted Tofu

I'm pretty proud of myself.  This was a dinner that's original destiny was to become a quick and healthy dinner to use up my heirloom tomatoes.  Yet as soon as I tasted the sauce, I knew I would have to snap a picture and blog about it (hence the poor light/photo quality).  I used three different varieties of heirlooms (don't you dare ask me what kind, I forgot) and their flavors exploded into a magical concoction right on my stove top!  The sauce had a strong rich flavor with a slight acidity that hit the tip of the tongue.  With the addition of a little sprinkling of sugar the flavor also took on a bright quality.

I was still settling into Seattle when I made this and was itching to cook in my kitchen.  Alas, I didn't have too many groceries and I was exhausted.  I did have about $20 worth of heirloom tomatoes that I had bought a few days earlier at Pike Place.  Sadly they began to go bad a lot sooner than I had hoped and I'm shockingly not a fan of plain tomatoes.  So when life gives you good quality, but a little bit old, tomatoes... make some pasta sauce!

But pasta sauce and noodles is both boring and soo college.  Solution? Roasted tofu!  It is healthy, delicious, easy and eco friendly.  Not to mention easy of the pocket book; I bought a twin pack of tofu for $2 or $3 at Trader Joe's.  While my combination of flavors suited my taste, use any combination you're comfortable with.

For this recipe, you may use any type of whole wheat pasta cooked to the manufactures directions.


Heirloom Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:

• 4 large heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 (approx) cup basil, chiffonade

Directions:

1. Heat chopped tomatoes in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
2. Once the tomatoes have reduced (or achieved a more liquid consistency), stir in garlic, salt, sugar and pepper.  Simmer over low heat until tomatoes break down further, approximately 20 minutes
3. When the sauce has reached desired  consistency, remove from heat.  I prefer to have a chunkier sauce, but you may either puree to have a smooth sauce.  Stir in basil and serve.

Roasted Tofu
Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Dash of Paprika
• Dash of Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss tofu in a small bowl with remaining ingredients.  Arrange tofu on baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and flip tofu with tongs to the other side.  Bake for another ten minutes.  Tofu is down when the outsides are crispy but the inside remains soft.
3. For this recipe, combine with tomato sauce and spoon onto pasta and toss before serving.

Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas

I fell off the blogging bandwagon.  As in fell off in the middle of a desert that's on an island in the middle of the Arctic Ocean and the nearest cell phone tower is 30 billion nautical miles away.

And I apologize.  My camera is back loaded with pictures... as is my Aperture library.  I'm pretty sure my "To Do" list for blogging is longer than my "Don't Forget to Pack for Seattle" list.  I swear I didn't mean to do it!  I... I... got addicted to 30Rock (it is impossible to deny the awesomeness that is Liz Lemon).  And I'm moving to Seattle in, oh, T-minus 10 days.  Enough of the excuses!  I will do better!  Pinky promise!

At least this recipe is worth it!  I clipped this recipe out of Real Simple last summer with the dream of making it sometime during the school year.  Jump to almost a year later and I finally made it!  It's a easy dish to make with a feasible ingredient list - perfect for someone who is health conscious and on a tight budget!

One night I decided to make dinner for my mom to give her a night off.  When I told her what I was making she insisted that she does not like zucchini... cut to that evening and she ate a double helping of the topping!  Score!  What I liked most about the dish is how the bite of the crushed red pepper contrasts perfectly with the smoothness of the Parmesan and Chickpeas.  It gave it just the right amount of kick.


Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas
Adapted from Real Simple (August 2009)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. linguine
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 small zucchini, cut into thin half moons
• Kosher salt
• 1 15oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
• ½ cup (2oz.) of grated Parmesan (separate into two bowls)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Before draining the pasta, set aside ½ cup of the pasta water (it helps the cheese stick to the pasta later), drain and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the zucchini and ½ teaspoon of salt.  Frequently toss the zucchini, until tender (about 4 to 5 minutes).  Add the chickpeas, garlic, and red pepper until everything is evenly heated (about 2 to 3 minutes).
3. Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and half of the Parmesan.  Serve the pasta and zucchini in two separate bowls; top the pasta top with zucchini mixture and some Parmesan.
4. For storage for leftovers, let the pasta cool before tossing it with the vegetables and Parmesan.

Mac n' Cheese Bake

 Just look at that cheese oozing out

I doubt you've ever had a anything as decadent as this.  I made this last Tuesday for our house's weekly viewing/hosting of LOST.  I have been making this for two years, or ever since I bought Amy Sedaris's "I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence."  While I originally bought this book for the comedy, I ended up using it for the recipes.  The Greek recipes in here are authentic and absolutely wonderful.  But this is my favorite recipe - there are so many different kinds of cheese and so much richness.  When I made this I forgot to buy some yellow cheddar cheese so I had to use some Asiago cheese... but I'm not complaining!

Amy Sedaris’a Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from: I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence

Ingredients:

• 1 box of elbow macaroni
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup grated smoked Gouda
• 1 cup grated white Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups grated mild yellow Cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 thin pats of butter

Directions:

1. Boil macaroni in salted water to al dente. While you are waiting for it to boil, melt together  butter, cheeses, cream, milk and salt and pepper.
2. Drain macaroni and put back into the pot. When cheese mixture is melted and smooth, pour over macaroni and mix well. Add to a 2-quart casserole dish.
3. For topping, mix together Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper, and sprinkle on top of the macaroni and cheese. Top with pats of butter.
4. Bake at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until browned on top. One should be forewarned: this is a very rich dish. Not appropriate for diners with heart problems, the elderly, or breast-feeding mothers.

Balsamic Vinegar Pasta with Sautéed Red Onions & "Bacon"

First off, bacon is in quotation marks because I obviously used fake bacon, aka Boca Bacon. But the dish that I was attempting to replicate had real bacon in it. Here is the story behind the dish: When I was in Rome (Italy) about a month and a half ago, my sister had a dish for dinner that she loved, but I wasn't able to try it because it had bacon in it. She thought the combination was so unique and so original... and she begged me to try and replicate it when we got back home. Sadly, I wasn't able/didn't replicate it until the day before she left for college. While I thought the dish was absolutely fantastic, she too thought it was quite good, but not the same as what she ate in Rome. Anyways, here is the recipe, I really recommend you make it, I doubt you've had anything like it before!

Balsamic Vinegar Pasta with Sautéed Red Onions & "Bacon"

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of dry, straight pasta (I had to use penne because that's all I had in my pantry, I wouldn't use it again)
• 1 small red onion
• 6 strips of Boca Bacon, broken into pieces
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• Approx 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and put back into pot.
2. Cut red onion into thin slices then cut those slices in half. Heat up olive oil in a frying pan, add red onions and saute until translucent. At the same time, cook the Boca Bacon in your preferred way. I personally liked cooking it in the skillet.
3. Break up cooked Boca Bacon pieces and stir in with the red onions. Add about 2 TBSP of balsamic vinegar and minced garlic; cook for about 2 more minutes so the balsamic vinegar's flavor has some time to infuse into the onions. Add kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper to taste.
4. Stir onion/Boca Bacon mixture into pasta. Stir in the remainder of the balsamic vinegar and serve immediately while it's hot!
5. Sit outside and Enjoy!

Fresh Homemade Tagliatelle with Pesto

I finally saw Julie & Julia. It was a good movie... but I kept on thinking I was watching two movies at the same time (if that makes any sense). However, two things happened after watching the movie. One, I left the movie feeling famished. Two, I gathered up all my cookbooks and read through them figuring out all the things I can make, photograph, and blog about. I just want to cook and bake as much as possible. After seeing the movie I became incredibly inspired to actually seriously start writing a cookbook. Well - maybe in a year or two - but as of now I will keep on cooking, photographing and blogging. Oh yes, I also felt incredibly inspired to try totally new (and complicated) recipes and be totally ok with messing them up, but being able to say I tried/did it!

But about this recipe - it's fresh, handmade, Tagliatelle with Pesto I made a few days ago. I made it before the movie, realized the movie was starting in 30 minutes, so I heated it up after the movie and ate it for dinner. I must say - for how relatively easy it was to make - I was impressed. Next time I make it though, I will spend more time rolling it out (to get it super thin) and cutting thinner strips of pasta.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups strong white flour (I just used King Arthur's plain AP flour... it turned out well)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 Tbsp olive oil (I primarily use olive oil from Crete - I think it tastes better)

Directions:

1. Sift the ingredients into a bowl and stir in the salt.
2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to stir the eggs while gradually drawing in the flour. After a few minutes the dough will be too stiff to use a spoon and you will need to use your fingers.
3. Once all of the flour has been incorporated, turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (it took me about 5 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
4. Roll out out the pasta so its REALLY thin (this is where I kinda messed up) and fold into thirds and cut out long, thin strips, about 1cm wide.
5. To cook, bring a pan of water to a boil, add 1/2 Tbsp of oil, and the pasta will take about 3 minutes to become al dente (aka fully cooked).
6. Drain the pasta, place in bowl, mix in pesto, pour a glass of red wine, sit back, & enjoy!

Asparagus and Parmesan Risotto - An Italian Experimentation

I had never made Risotto before, in fact my first time every having risotto was at this little restaurant off the beaten path in Florence, Italy (i.e. just a few weeks ago)! And honestly, I don't know why I had never eaten it before, it was wonderful! While I may have had a culinary epiphany, I still know why I was continually deterred from actually making risotto. Almost every thing I read online or watch on the Food Network continually reiterates how difficult and time consuming risotto is to make! I had a mental picture of me making risotto; standing over a stove for two hours continually stirring a pot waiting for something to happen. Luckily, this mental image was never fulfilled. While risotto is a relatively time consuming meal to make (as when it is cooking, you must be paying full attention to the pot), it wasn't too difficult (I would say anyone who is an intermediate cook would be able to successfully make the dish). The one ingredient to make a successful risotto dish: patience.

Ingredients:

• 29 oz of vegetable stock
• 3/4 lb. fresh asparagus, washed, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer. Add asparagus and simmer over moderate heat until just cooked, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes, depending upon stalk thickness. Using a slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to a plate. Cover the stock and keep it at barely a simmer.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 1 minute. Add rice and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until it is coated with oil, about 1 minute.
3. Add the wine, stir and simmer until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add 1 scant cup of hot stock to the rice, cook and stir often, until it is completely absorbed. Continue to add the stock 1 cup at a time, stirring gently until absorbed.
4. The risotto is done when the rice is creamy and tender but still slightly firm, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the asparagus and Parmesan cheese. Season with pepper to taste and serve.

Pesto!

Happy (belated) Memorial Day! Yesterday was filled with a lot (a lot) of cooking. I went to the grocery store at 9am, started cooking at 10:30am, and finally finished around 3:30 pm. No breaks.

Over the next few days I will be posting these recipes: Eggplant Parmesan, Tomato Sauce (for the eggplant parm), Pesto Sauce, Grasshopper Brownies, and a mint chocolate garnish. Now, you will be pesto! This is a potent pesto that will delightfully coat pasta or be a nice sauce for pizza (recipe for that later).

Ingredients:

- 3 cups of (packed) basil leaves

- 6 cloves of garlic (minced)

- 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts

- 1/3 (ish) cup of olive oil

- 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese (grated)

- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rough chop the basil, then place in a food processor with the garlic and combine until a smooth paste is formed. Add in pine nuts and combine.

2. While the food processor is still running, drizzle in the olive oil.

3. Transfer basil/garlic paste to a bowl and mix in parmesan cheese with a fork. Once well combined, add salt and pepper until it tastes 'good.' I personally put in a good amount of salt (maybe a 1/2 TBSP...maybe more...who knows, I don't really measure).

4. Enjoy! If kept in an airtight container, the pesto should keep in a fridge for a while (a couple weeks to a couple months)

Maybe if I'm up to it, I'll post another recipe tonight.