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Category Archives: Pasta and Noodles
Recession/Depression Dinner Series # 15: An easy Vegetarian Dish using Farfalle, Golden Beets, Beet Greens and Pinenuts.
I cannot believe it has been already been another full week to our recession proof meals. Tonight’s dinner ended on a high note with a recipe from Bon Appetit’s February issue which was all about 50 easy ways to eat Green. It is was a pasta dish and I loved this recipe as it was all about not wasting right down to recycling the water that you used for cooking. I am not going to tell you much about the process of making it as I want you to check out the recipe, but I will say that we both loved the end result it was sweet from the beets and nutty from the toasted pine nuts, a really great combination – kind of like our relationship, I am sweet and Lenny is nutty!
As well I have attached a little podcast we did tonight. It is a recap of our recession dinner series and what to look forward to this week. It is our first so be kind. We hope you enjoy!
Recession/Depression Series – Podcast Episode 1
[display_podcast]
$ (price tomorrow) for 6 servings. 4 for dinner (yes, Lenny ate 3) and 2 for lunch tomorrow.
Recipe: Farfalle with Golden Beets, Beet Greens, & Pine Nuts
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large onions small dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bunches golden beets with fresh healthy greens; beets peeled, each cut into 4 wedges, greens cut into 1 inch wide strips
12 ounces farfalle pasta
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and stir until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil and onions to same skillet and saute until beginning to soften and turn golden, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to saute until onions are tender and browned, about 30 minutes longer. Add garlic and stir 2 minutes. Scatter beet greens over onions. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil over; cover and cook until beet greens are tender, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook beets in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beets to medium bowl. Return water to boil. Add pasta to beet cooking liquid and cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.
Stir onion-greens mixture and beets into pasta. Add pasta cooking liquid by 1/3 cupfuls to moisten. Season with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Divide pasta among shallow bowls. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve. Eat.
We had a long week at the office. There is so much to do that we will probably be spending our weekend there as well. After getting off of Bart, we decided to stop by the Attic for a cocktail. I have not been there in years and Lenny has never been. It was just as I remember it, the vibe was perfect, low-key, easy to sit, sip and talk and the cocktails were smooth as well as reasonably priced. One turned into two!
By the time we got home we were pretty hungry, after-all, I only ate cookies all day. The cupboards were pretty much bare except for these few dinner options – some uncooked orecchiette, broccoli, onions, garlic, Parmesan, and garlic. Usually when left with these options I make a Chez Us standby, Pasta with Parsley and garlic.
Tonight I did it a little differently since I had the broccoli. First I sauteed finely minced garlic with some olive oil. After the garlic was soft, not brown, I added the broccoli, some water (if I have leftover white wine I use that instead), salt and red pepper flakes. While this was cooking I cooked the orecchiette. I thought the broccoli would have been perfectly cooked instead it was slightly perfectly overcooked. Next time I would start after boiling the water for the pasta. Once the pasta was cooked, I drained (save some of the water) it and then tossed it with the saved water and the broccoli mixture. To serve …. just pass the Parmesan and cracked pepper.
Easy dinner in under 30 minutes. It is lightly, slightly spicy and very garlicky!
My sister Daniele is a lucky woman, she has a man who likes to cook for her, which is probably a good thing as she just does not have any interest in the cooking department. Tonight he made us one of his signature dishes, Pasta with Sea Scallops. He sauteed the scallops with butter, olive oil and garlic – the smell was incredible! Then he made a very creamy Alfredo sauce. I have never made an Alfredo sauce and am glad to have one to add to our recipe collection as it was simple and by far the best one I have eaten.
Fantastic and easy meal … bowl of pasta with a creamy sauce and sauteed scallops with a hunk of french bread and a glass of vino! All Daniele had to do was the dishes!
(recipe to come)
Ever since I discovered the cooking Blog, Under The Tuscan Gun, I have had Parmigiana of some sort on my mind. Lenny loves eggplant parmigiana, I love them all. After all, who does not love gooey cheese and tomato sauce? Since we are doing a big ride on Saturday (today, which was tomorrow when we ate this) we also wanted to load up on carbs, so …. that is where the kind of comes in.
I took a chicken breast, thinly sliced it and then cooked it with some olive oil and chili peppers. It was ultra moist and juicy because we like to use organic or free ranging chickens. Then I cheated …. I added a jar of premade Italian tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese and cooked pasta (we like little ears), tossed it all together, put it into a baking dish and baked until bubbly. We served it with a big loaf of garlic bread. Even though I did not take the time to make my sauce and I used premade garlic bread, the meal was still really great; well, you could really tell that the bread was premade, not so great. The pasta dish tasted like Chicken Parmigiana which is what I was after!
Next time … we will be making the eggplant parmigiana.
Saturday night, I will tell you how we are going “local”!
It has been awhile since I have blogged about a meal at Chez US. This does not mean, I have given up the position at the stove, it just means my MOJO has been somewhere else. On top of traveling for pure pleasure the past couple of weeks, I just have not been snapping with the camera. It is coming back, I can feel it, so watch out!
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If you are familiar with Donna Hay, you know exactly what I am talking about when I mention her cookbooks and magazines. Not only is the food styling and photography stunning; but, the recipes are brilliant!
I am always looking for good, quick meals that we can whip up in less than an hour during our busy work week. Time and time again, I turn to Donna! Not only are her recipes easy but each one uses the freshest seasonal food available. As well, they are usually meant for 4 servings which makes it easy to half for two. Every time we try a new recipe, we are equally as happy as the time before. This was NO exception ……..
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 We entered the Desperation Dinner contest over at Chowhound last month. Our entry was our Roasted Garlic and Flat Leaf Parsley Pasta, because ” We keep three fresh herbs in the kitchen, in a vase on the counter at all times–Basil, Cilantro and Flat Leaf Parsley. Whenever you are in a pinch for a quick meal, or some extra added flavor or maybe a little bit of garnish to your dish., you have it. As well, we always have garlic, shallots and yellow onions on hand–you can do so much with them!!”
While we did not get 1st place with our Desperation Dinner, we did get Honorable Mention – check it out!
 Another fantastic Donna Hay recipe was cooked at our house last night. I am in love with her recipes – so simple and so good! Thursdays are our late night to eat so I am always looking for something simple to cook, that is not a left over, from a frozen box or can; something fresh, easy and delicious. The Asparagus and Mint Pasta was just perfect.
This dish SCREAMS Spring and Easter. A light cream sauce made of minced garlic, lemon juice, asparagus, mint and sweet peas (okay they were frozen, but I imagine fresh ones would be pretty fantastic as well). I was afraid that the sauce may be a bit heavy with all the cream that is added; but, it was exceptionally light, very refreshing with the Meyer lemon and mint undertones. We use whole wheat pasta which is not as pretty, but I like to think it is “healthier” as well it added a nutty flavor which blended very well with the sauce and salty pancetta chips that garnished the dish.
This is a great dish to add to your Spring menus – flavorful and easy, dinner in under 30 minutes!
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