4-7- 18 ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND CHOPPED CLAMS

Tonight’s dinner affirmed what I have always suspected. The emotional involvement of the cook is the most important ingredient in the preparation of any meal.

Recently I have been approaching the dinner hour with little enthusiasm, going through the motions of doing what has to be done at the last minute without any forethought. Fortunately most of the time the results have been ok, and occasionally better than ok.

I began thinking about tonight’s dinner early in the day, deciding what I wanted to do, imagining the preparation and how the dish would look and taste. I knew exactly what I wanted, and how I would do it. And because I had everything worked out in my mind, I was free to act intuitively and make additions or subtractions during the preparation. But the real key was my emotional involvement. I was passionate about what I was doing.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Angel hair pasta

2.     Chopped clams

3.     Asparagus

4.     Olive oil

5.     Shallots

6.     Celery

7.     Garlic

8.     Lemon juice

9.     Grape tomatoes – halved

10. White wine

11. Dried dill or fresh if available

12. Butter – 1-2 pads

PROCESS:

Cook the shallots and celery in the olive oil until they begin to soften, add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook uncovered over low-medium heat for several minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Next add the clams and its juice, the asparagus, and dill, and continue cooking. Several minutes later (sorry, but there is no rigid time schedule here.) add the tomatoes, lemon juice, and bless the pan with some white wine. Allow it to simmer to reduce the liquid while waiting for the pasta. Turn off the heat about 4-5 minutes before the pasta is ready and add the butter. Then add the pasta and a bit of the pasta water and dinner is ready.

COMMENTS:

This unpretentious pasta dish was everything I wanted it to be: light, delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to Patience’s freshly baked bread.

1-13-18 Kick Ass pasta

I spent all day thinking about this, and tonight I am pleased to say it worked as planned, a simple, no frills, dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Spaghetti

2.     Mushrooms

3.     Asparagus

4.     Olive oil

5.     Onion

6.     Shallots

7.     Garlic

8.     Fresh chopped parsley

9.     Butter

10. White wine

11. Lemon juice

12. Dried Tarragon

PROCESS:

I cooked the mushrooms and shallots in olive oil and garlic over high heat until the mushrooms started to brown. I removed them from the pan, deglazed it with wine and set them aside.

Next – cook the onion and garlic in olive oil and add about 2 tbsp of butter and fresh parsley. Add the juice from ½ lemon.  Keep warm while the pasta is cooking.

Wrap the asparagus in wet paper towels and nuke for  one and half minutes.

When the pasta is ready, mix it into the the sauce and transfer to the plates. Top with the mushrooms and add the side of asparagus. Sprinkle with some parsley and enjoy.

COMMENTS:

Patience loved this, and that says it all.

8-20-17 Linguine with shrimp

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Tonight I used tomatoes from Patience’s front porch garden for the sauce that created a most delightful pasta dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Linguine

2.     4 medium tomatoes

3.     Shrimp

4.     Asparagus cut in to 1 inch pieces,

5.     Fresh basil and dill

6.     Heavy whipping cream

7.     Olive oil

8.     Onion and garlic

9.     Sweet vermouth

10. Tomato paste

PROCESS:

Cut the tomatoes in half and grate them on the large openings on a hand grater, preserving the pulp and discarding the skin. Prepare the onion and garlic in olive oil, then add the tomatoes and herbs to the pan and simmer to reduce the liquid. After 5-10 minutes add a splash of wine.  Cook the sauce for about 20-30 minutes, but the timing is not critical. The idea is to cook off the excess liquid.  I added about 2 inches of tomato paste to help thicken the sauce.  While the pasta is cooking add the shrimp and asparagus, and when the pasta is almost done, add the cream. (I nuked the asparagus for 1 minute to cut down on the cooking time in the sauce.

COMMENTS:

My concern about this dish early in the preparation turned out to be misplaced. It was utterly delicious, with a unique sweetness, thanks to the fresh tomatoes. I guess I will have to repeat this using processed tomatoes to see if there is a significant difference.

Try it - you won't be disappointed.

7-29-17 Spaghetti with shrimp and asparagus

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Tonight’s dinner is the result of our visit to the Farmer’s Market this morning where we bought a bottle of dill infused olive oil from the Paducah Olive oil store. I knew immediately what I would do with our new purchase. For a number of reasons, our crop of fresh herbs this year is short on dill, and I wanted to see if this olive oil would make up for that.

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Spaghetti

2.     Shrimp

3.     Asparagus

4.     Olive oil – plain – for cooking

5.     Olive oil w Dill

6.     Leeks

7.     Celery

8.     Garlic

9.     Fresh lemon juice

10. Fresh basil

11. White wine

12. Butter

PROCESS:

While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce – cook the ingredients in any order you wish. (It’s late and I’m too tired to write everything out tonight.)  Mix in the pasta with some of the pasta water, and drizzle with the Dill infused olive oil before serving.

COMMENTS:

The new olive oil came through and imparted a dill flavor to the dish, which was quite delicious.

6-30-17 Linguine with shrimp and asparagus

INGREDIENTS:

1.     Linguine

2.     Asparagus

3.     Shrimp

4.     Olive oil

5.     Onion

6.     Garlic

7.     Celery

8.     Fresh lemon juice

9.     White wine

10. Butter

11. Heavy whipping cream

12. Fresh Dill

PROCESS:

Cook the onion and celery in olive until it softens, then add the garlic and cook for several minutes.  Add the shrimp, asparagus, Dill, some wine and lemon juice and cook over low heat. Before the past is ready, add some butter and cream to the sauce.  When the pasta is ready, add it to the sauce and mix well.  Garnish with more fresh dill.

COMMENTS:

The next time I do this I will nuke the asparagus and add it to the sauce at the very end, so it preserves its fresh looking green color.  And there will be a next time because this was very good. 

4-11…Pappardelle with chicken, shrimp, and asparagus

It has been over a week since my last pasta post.  We haven’t stopped eating pasta; I’ve been cooking dishes that have previously been posted and did not want to repeat myself.

Our local Kroger store has been carrying organic, boneless chicken thighs and I thought I would try them with asparagus and shrimp.

INGREDIENTS:

Al Dente pappardelle (large flat noodles)

Organic boneless chicken thighs

Asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch pieces

Shrimp

Fresh lemon juice

Garlic and shallots

Dry dill

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

White wine

Butter

Olive oil

PROCESS:

Brown the chicken, remove and set aside.  De-glaze the pan, saving the residual with the chicken.

In olive oil, cook the garlic and shallots until soft before adding the chicken and  wine.  Cook covered for about 1- minutes then add the asparagus and seasoning and continue cooking.  Add the shrimp, butter, and lemon juice while the pasta is cooking.

Add the pasta to the pan, mix well, and sprinkle with some of the parsley.

COMMENTS:

 Tastes great, easy to do, and many potential variations are possible. A few quartered cherry tomatoes would add a nice touch of color to the dish.

12-17…FETTUCCINI WITH ASPARAGUS AND CARROTS IN A CREAM SAUCE

I’ve had all day to think about tonight’s dinner, and after looking through several magazines I decided to prepare a variation of a recipe in the October, 2010 issue of La Cucina Italiana. The recipe is for Tagliatelle with asparagus, and I thought I could use fettuccini for the pasta, add the carrots Patience prepared several days ago, plus some bacon, and give the dish a twist of my own. Once I begin to cooking there is no telling what other changes I’ll make.



INGREDIENTS:

Fettuccini
Asparagus
Carrots, previously cooked in butter with parsley
Garlic
Green onion
Olive oil
Bacon, coarsely chopped
Butter
Italian parsley, finely chopped
Parmigiano reggiano cheese

PROCESS:

Cook the bacon, remove and set aside to drain. Cut of the top 1 ½ inches of the asparagus and nuke for 2 minute, and set aside. Cut the remaining stems crosswise into 1/3 inch pieces.

Cook the garlic, scallions, in olive oil until soft, then add about two tablespoons of butter, the asparagus stems, half of the parsley, about two to three tablespoons of the bacon, plus about ¼ cup of water and bring to a boil and simmer until the asparagus is soft. (I added the carrots at this time but your can proceed
Frequently.

Transfer contents to a blender or food processer and puree until smooth. Return to the pan, reheat, and add the cheese and the remaining parsley.

In a serving bowl mix the pasta and the sauce, adding some pasta water if needed. Sprinkle with the remaining bacon and serve.

COMMENTS:

I originally planned to wait until morning to post this, but it was so good I couldn’t wait to share it. I loved the combination of the carrots and asparagus, and of course with parmigiano reggiano cheese it is had to go wrong.

How good was it? No left overs worth saving; they will go to the dogs.



Note. I get the cheese online at www.ditalia,com

12-15…FettuccinI with baby clams, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes

Three days without pasta! That, my friends, is a streak that will end tonight.



INREDIENTS:

Fettuccini
Whole baby clams
Asparagus cut into 1’’ pieces
Cherry tomatoes halved or quartered, depending on their size.
Olive oil
Garlic
Green onions
Lemon juice
White wine
Dry basil and dill
Red pepper flakes

PROCESS:

Saute the garlic and onions in olive oil until soft, then add the asparagus, dill, basil, red pepper flakes, and a splash of wine, and cook for several minutes before adding the tomatoes and clams. Simmer over low heat until the pasta is ready, adding the juice of one lemon along the way. Add the pasta to the sauce, mix well, and serve with parmigianp reggiano cheese.

COMMENTS:

The stark contrasts in this dish are the result of the egg and squid ink pasta I purchased online from a small company in Michigan called al dente. This is their land and sea variety. Other than the color I could not detect any indication of the squid presence.

This was 8 out of 10 good; not my favorite, but I don’t hesitate recommending it.

11-23…Linguine with Asparagus, Sea scallops, and artichoke hearts

I would like to say this is a traditional pre-thanksgiving dinner…so I will, even though it really isn’t…but it could be…if I would remember this one year from now.

In any event…it was fun to prepare and more fun to eat.



INGREDIENTS:

Linguine
Asparagus
Artichoke hearts
Bacon
Olive oil
Garlic and shallots
Lemon juice
Dill
Butter
White wine

PROCESS:
Cook the bacon in the microwave, remove and chop coarsely.

Saute the garlic, shallots, and asparagus in olive oil with a splash of white wine, dill, and lemon juice while the pasta is cooking.

Add the butter and scallops about 5-7 minutes before the pasta is ready. When the pasta is done add it to the pan with the sauce, add the bacon and mix. Use some pasta water if needed to keep everything from getting to “thick”.



Sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano cheese and enjoy.

COMMENTS:

I used artichoke hearts in oil but frozen hearts would be better. Adding cream to the sauce is always and option. I give this a 7 1/2 or an 8 on a scale of 10.

11-9…Pasta with asparagus and butternut squash sauce

I’ve been on a mission lately to use the accumulated ingredients and leftovers in our freezer. Tonight I’ve decided to combine some frozen butternut squash ravioli filling with freshly roasted butternut squash and create a creamy butter sauce to serve over pasta and asparagus.

INGREDIENTS: Used in the butternut squash ravioli filling….

Butternut squash
Butter
Cream
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Parmigiano Regiano cheese
Nutmeg
Maple syrup
Fresh sage, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Plus fresh butternut squash, cream, mascarpone cheese, and asparagus

PROCESS:

I cut the squash lengthwise and remove seeds and stringy stuff, buttered the exposed areas, placed it in a baking dish with1” of water, and roasted it for about I hour at 350 degrees. After it cooled I scooped out the “meat” and added it to the leftover ravioli filling. At this point the “sauce” was rather thick so I added a bit of cream and mascarpone cheese and warmed it over low heat.

While the pasta cooked I nuked the asparagus under plastic wrap for 2 minutes.

COMMENTS:

OMG…this was good….so good it should be declared illegal. I debated adding bacon bits as a garnish but decided I didn’t want to distract from the cheese/squash flavor. Now if every meal could be as inspired as this....