Spaghetti with Bok Choy

Here's what happened: I was in the mood for lots of garlic, crushed red pepper and olive oil with spaghetti (otherwise known as aglio e olio, but if I'm being honest, I never think of that entire phrase in my head when I'm putting the dish together) and some bok choy was sitting around solemnly waiting to be forgotten. As home cooks like to do, I asked myself "why not?" and threw some shredded bok choy in with the pasta (this step was done a few minutes before the pasta was done). I am happy to report that it worked out! The bok choy didn't add a ton of flavor, but it brightened things up visually and the spaghetti pairing was an unusual way for me to enjoy it. I may end up doing the exact same thing with the rest of the bok choy; it's just so simple yet delicious.

Spinach and Orzo Salad

I've been on a nutrition kick lately and wanted to make something not-so-boring for a weekday lunch. I found this Spinach and Orzo Salad recipe over at Simply Recipes, which was used as a starting point. Some adjustments that were made:

I used capers (already had some) instead of olives and left out the pine nuts. I had canned artichokes waiting to be used, so I threw those into the mix. I didn't blend the spinach because I lacked the proper equipment (leaving the leaves whole) and the vinaigrette was made with white wine vinegar and without the dried herbs.

This one is a keeper. The olive oil in the vinaigrette gives the salad a slight richness, which was a pleasant surprise, and the feta works well with the other ingredients. I am so looking forward to my Monday lunch!

Conchigli with Asparagus and Pecorino

I get hit with waves of "I need to get my life together" periodically and today was one of those days. First order of business: using up asparagus from the other night (I sauteed in a dry pan, threw in a little butter, then added some pasta water to steam the asparagus through).

The conchigli was purchased a few weeks ago when I made chicken noodle soup for Charles and it's been sitting in my pantry ever since. I thought the shells would be a good size for the small chunks of asparagus and I was right! Add in shaved cheese (from a wedge of pecorino I'm determined to burn through) and you've got a comforting and simple dinner with which the annoyances of the day fade away.

The best part of cooking asparagus is that it requires very little prep. For tonight's dinner, I didn't even break out a cutting board. I just snipped the asparagus with kitchen shears! Very Nigella, no?

Friday Night Tomato Sauce

Friday night was finally here and rain had descended on LA as if it were any other "normal" city. After driving home, I had no desire to venture out into the wet streets again. Lucky for me, there was an onion, some garlic and a can of tomato puree lying around. In went some sugar to balance out the tomatoes, some salt and pepper and dried oregano. And a boiling pot of spaghetti and a dusting of pecorino later, dinner was ready.


These days, I like going out more than holing up, but this week was far from a barrel of fun and all the elements were in play for a cozy night in. Let's hope this weather keeps up the entire weekend!

Spaghetti with Greens

Last weekend, I had two lovely friends in town, so I was too busy flitting about town to make home-cooked meals. But, now that life has settled back into its usual groove, I was able to make some wonderful greens last night. Then, for today's dinner, I tossed some spaghetti with them, grated pecorino cheese on top and called it a day.

I adore greens (kale and collard are my favorites) and even if I wasn't from the South, I believe our love is so meant to be that we would have found each other some way somehow. And... ending crazy talk. But, seriously, try making them at home; I made mine by heating olive oil, throwing in chopped garlic, and adding in a mix of kale, chard, and mustard greens. Once the greens wilted down, I poured in some chicken broth and cooked them for 20 minutes - 25 minutes more.

Although greens are supposed to be high in nutritional value, I admit I don't know how much is left after you cook the hell out of them. But, they're one of those rare comforting non-fried foods that make me very happy and are fabulous with pasta (spaghetti in this case as I haven't had it much lately and had a package in my pantry).

I am submitting my dish to Presto Pasta Nights, the brainchild of Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. This week's host is Erin over at The Skinny Gourmet. Looking forward to the lineup as always!

Vietnamese Shrimp Noodle Salad

I finally got a bottle of fish sauce, but my joy was short-lived when I realized I was at a loss about what to make with it. I love Vietnamese food, but I wasn't up for a lot of marinating or complicated recipes (I know, shocking!). After some research, I landed on Nigella Lawson's Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad recipe, which I used as a guide with some substitutions and improvisation.

I liked the dressing a lot (love the zing of fresh ginger) and the sugar snap peas were a good call, but I should have cut the noodles for easier eating. By the way, I used rice sticks, which seem pretty similar to what Nigella refers to as glass noodles.

Overall, this salad served me well as a light dinner and it'd be great to take to a potluck (I can count on one hand the number of potluck-esque events I've been to, but maybe that will change this year). I'll be submitting this for Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Ivy at Kopiaste. Back into the PPN groove!

Sausage and Fennel Penne

I love the combination of Italian sausage and fennel for a pasta sauce; it's rich, hearty and the fennel gives it a bit of texture and a good punch of flavor. I'm pretty I was first introduced to using fennel in pasta by Rachael Ray (one of her bazillion pasta episodes, but no complaints here!).

I like fennel a lot (I prefer it cooked more than raw), but it has a slight licorice taste, so some may not be as enthralled (but, try it before writing it off as nature's deranged version of Good & Plenty). I thought this pasta dish would make a tasty workweek supper that I could submit to Presto Pasta Nights! I missed last week's roundup, so was determined to make it this time around. This week, it's hosted by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.

Best of all, I made enough sauce for lunch tomorrow and another dinner later this week. And with just half a pound of sausage!

Penne with Mushrooms and Tomato Sauce (As Promised)

I had a helluva week. I developed a hacking cough, stayed home sick one day and have been drinking more tea than I can last recall. I am on the mend, but still dread bedtime because I never know if my body is going to betray me and cause me to cough intermittently through the night. Tonight, I felt well enough to make dinner.

I hope that the penne will fortify me to kick this sorry cold in the ass. I hadn't taken Robitussin in many years, but I did the other night and it was very unpleasant. I had to use sour patch kids as a chaser (note: using a chewable "chaser" is not the best way to get the vile medicinal taste out of your mouth). Anyway, stay healthy and remember to wash your hands often as the cold/flu season seems to have arrived!

Weekend Cooking

We had plans to go to the Hollywood Bowl for the second time (we later determined it would be the last visit for this year due to traffic and other stress), so I whipped up some meatball sandwiches. This photo was right before I draped some provolone on the sandwich and wrapped it up.



The meatballs were made of ground beef, a bit of ground pork, grated parm, breadcrumbs, oregano, garlic, an egg and salt and pepper. I cooked them in a pan and let them simmer in a sauced made of canned tomato sauce, garlic and oregano. The sandwiches were deemed a resounding success by Charles!

My lunch today was spaghetti tossed with cauliflower, garlic and grated parm. The first half of the cauliflower was roasted in an oven the other day, but today I was too impatient and opted for pan cooking. I have to admit the cauliflower is better roasted, but a) my kitchen gets pretty hot when the oven's at 400 degrees for half an hour and b) I usually burn the garlic and it never makes it off the baking sheet. Using the pan method did, however, keep the garlic slightly toasty and still edible, thus I was able to incorporate it into the spaghetti.



Now, I'm just drinking Bud Light and watching Kiss of the Dragon (you show them, Jet Li!) before the weekend forlornly comes to a close.

Not (At All) All'Amatriciana

Yes, bacon was in this sauce. Yes, tomatoes were involved. But, those factors are not enough to designate this dish as "all'amatriciana," which is usually made with guanciale (cured pork jowls, which is something I never have around the house) or pancetta (the ballsier Italian cousin of Hormel bacon).

I used some of the same ingredients as this Babbo recipe, but these simple recipes make their stand with quality ingredients and I did not have such pork products, the appropriate type of pasta (I had linguine in the pantry, which is flat and does not hold the sauce very well) or fresh parsley at hand. But, it fit the bill for a cheap dinner and got me pining for "real" pasta season's return (cold pasta salads are apropos for summertime, but they're understudies to me).

Pairs well with: True Lies
With good comfort food, you need a movie that will distract you gleefully from whatever drove you to the plate of pasta/corn dogs/chicken fried steak. I love this movie dearly and always watch it whenever it's on. Some choice scenes: 1) Jamie Lee Curtis's misguided yet saucy striptease; 2) Arnold riding a horse into an elevator; and 3) Bill Paxton as a car salesman who pretends to be a spy to get lucky with gullible housewives. I leave you with this bit of dialogue when Jamie Lee Curtis gets the call for a secret assignment:

"The codename of your contact will be Boris. Your codename will be--"
"Natasha?"
"No. Doris."

Staycation

I read an amusing New York Times article the other day about "staycations" and how people are hanging out locally more than traveling out of town for vacations. As I am a personal money management nut (because I have terrible budgeting/spending habits), I have been reading about this phenomenon for a while in various blogs/forums/articles. I am so tickled by the term "staycation" and am looking to incorporate it into daily conversation more, which shouldn't be too difficult as I am staycationing this Labor Day weekend.

So far today, I have:

- Eaten leftovers from El Coyote (where they charged me 50 cents for pickled jalapenos, which they did not inform me about! Really, people? I don't think that's something they should charge for.)

- Made some rotini with butter, parm and pepper. Adam had some very helpful directions, which made for a butter-blunder-free pasta snack.


- Re-watched Volver. I loved it in when I saw it in the theater and a while back, I was able to buy the DVD for super cheap thanks to those persistent Borders Rewards emails and a gift card. I have been meaning to open the DVD for months; it was just as good as I remembered. Thanks, staycation!

Bacon and Spinach Pasta

I love making a basic tomato sauce with canned tomatoes, onions, garlic and oregano; it's easy and tastes better than the murky taste of jarred sauce. There was a time when I kept tomatoes and pasta stocked in the pantry for those days when I didn't want to have to think about what to make for dinner. Those days have faded, or rather, I put an abrupt stop to them when I started noticing that I was consuming way too many carbs for someone who has to will and then drag themselves to the gym for a 30 minute run. Nowadays, when I do make pasta, I try to do something different and not so dependent on tomatoes to stretch my horizons. Enter bacon and spinach.

Many Italian recipes I see use pancetta, but bacon works just as well for me and costs less in most cases. I was looking for a pasta dish that would be filling, but not coma-inducing: this recipe fit the bill nicely. The bacon tasted wonderful (I used Niman Ranch bacon that may or may not have contributed to the flavor) and the baby spinach wilted quickly and cut the bacon's fatty intensity. The spinach helps especially in ignoring the fact that the sauce, so to speak, is mostly bacon fat (but in a good way!).

Pairs well with: Con Air
This pasta is the kind of meal where you lounge on the couch and eat leisurely, which calls for a movie that requires very little processing or who-dun-its.This Nicolas Cage starrer from the Bruckheimer catalog is one of the best action films to be spawned during the '90s and is perfect for comfort meal dishes. I conjecture it's got the best dialogue-per-minute stat that will have you laughing heartily. The absolute best part, though, is John Malkovich as Cyrus the Virus who says things like, "my own proclivities are well-known and often-lamented facts of penal lore."

Shrimp Linguine

At the end of the day today, I really wanted to unwind by having a drink and dinner out, but I resisted. I knew I'd feel very disappointed with myself since I had determined this week would be the one to kick off the great kitchen resurrection of '08. So, I headed to the store instead and picked up a few things for a basic shrimp linguine. I usually do not like a lot of parsley because of its grassy quality, but I have been craving fresh herbs lately (I believe the summer weather is the culprit) and this parsley not only hit the spot, it smelled strangely intoxicating. Or maybe I'm just thinking of the wine.

Pairs well with: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
I watched this movie on TV and cried profusely (I don't recall the plot particulars that made me so weepy, but I cry very easily while watching movies). But, that's not why I am recommending it. No, the reason is that the bright lemon and fresh parsley flavors in the linguine were very clean and sunshine-y, which brought the Greece scenes in "Sisterhood" to mind and how they made me want to jump in the ocean, eat seafood all day and wear all-white outfits.