10-31…THE PASTA QUEST AT 6 MONTHS

I began this pasta marathon six months ago. One hundred and twenty pasta meals and 5 pounds later, it is time to stop and take stock of what we’ve done.

My goals were: 1. To show how delicious pasta dishes could be prepared with simple local fresh, and supermarket ingredients, and 2. To demonstrate the infinite ways pasta can be prepared. I think I’ve done a pretty good job in meeting both goals. But if I am to continue this for the full year as planned I will have to make some concessions. It is becoming increasingly difficult to prepare a different dish each night I cook without a great deal of planning and preparation requiring more and more of my time. Since I have every intention of continuing this for the next six months, and since it is supposed to be fun, and not something to stress over, I’ve decided on the following:

I will continue to cook pasta every night we eat at home, and endeavor to present 2-3 new dishes every week, and to the extent possible, I’ll introduce a few variations in the repeat dishes.

Now to the good part…

LINGUINE WITH BROCCOLI, LEMON, AND FRESH HERBS



INGREDIENTS:

Linguine
Olive oil
Garlic, chopped or finely sliced
Red pepper flakes
Lemon juice and/or zest
Fresh oregano chopped
Broccoli
Bacon, chopped

PROCESS:

Cook the bacon and remove from pan and discard the fat. Or, cook the bacon in the microwave and set aside.

Place the pasta in the boiling pasta water. About 5-6 minutes before you expect the pasta to be ready…al dente…don’t over cook…sauté the garlic and broccoli in the olive oil with the Oregano and red pepper flakes. When the pasta is done add it to the pan, along with some of the pasta water, and mix well. Add the lemon juice or zest and mix. Sprinkle with bacon and Parmigiano Reggiano and serve.

COMMENTS:

Very good! I finally managed not to overcook the broccoli, and by not adding the lemon until the end the broccoli remained nice an green.

Oak Park Illinois

Today is my last day in Oak Park. I will leave O'hare at 10 PM and get to put my arms around my wife one hour later. It has been a great visit, but I'll be glad to be back in my studio and kitchen. Amy and I collaborated on some great meals... Crab cakes and Capellini one night and Linguine Alio Olio crudo with assorted toppings last night.

Oak Park is a wonderful community, especially if you like arts and crafts style architecture (Frank Loyd Wright's first home and studio are here). The neighborhoods are a mixture of prairie style and Victorian architecture as you can see from these iPhone photos taken on my walks.


Amy and Bob's house








And of course there were the grandkids...


William the artist/writer with his journal


Abigail the rocker with her base guitar


And Abigail the hockey player...I'll will get to see her play later today!

10-26…Pasta with Abigail and William

This post is coming from Oak Park IL where I am sitting in for parents away on a business trip…the pleasure is all mine.

Italian sausage in a quick tomato sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

Italian sausage cut into 1” pieces
San Marzano tomatoes
Garlic and onion
Olive oil
Basil

PROCESS:

Brown the sausage, remove, and deglaze the pan with wine, saving the remnents with the sausage.

Add olive oil and sauté the garlic and onions. Add the tomatoes and sausage and simmer covered for about 30 minutes, adding the basil in about 10-15 minutes.




COMMENTS:

I was in such a hurry to start eating that I forgot to take a photo of the finished dish….

10-25…Crab cakes and Capellini alla Renzulli

OK…now this is a new experience for me. For my last meal at home for 5 days I’ve decided to make crab cakes and serve them with a light cream sauce on a bed of Angel hair pasta. My original plan was to use dill and lemon in the cakes, but Patience said she was in the mood for Cilantra so there has been a little change of plans.



INGREDIENTS…FOR THE CRAB CAKES:

8 oz. backfin crab meat
Egg
Cilantro
Cucumber diced into ¼” cubes
Juice from one lime
Mayonnaise
Cracker crumbs
Flour

PROCESS:

Mix all ingredients well and form into cakes and place in refrigerator for about one hour. Dust lightly with flour before cooking in olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove and keep warm.



INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE:

Olive oil
Garlic, pressed
Fresh dill coarsely chopped
Butter
Heavy whipping cream
Lemon zest
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

PROCESS:

In the same pan used to cook the crab cakes add more olive oil if needed, then proceed to cook the butter with the dill, lemon zest, and cream, adding the cheese after 4-5 minutes.

When the pasta is finished place a nest of pasta along side a crab cake and add the sauce over both.


COMMENTS:

This was fantastic! I have nothing else to say.

10-24…Welcome home Patience pasta

I wanted something different, some subtle Italian aphrodisiac. (I won’t know until later if I’ve been successful.) I checked the fridge and came up with this mish mash of ingredients; if it works I’ll be able to retire completely.



INGREDIENTS:

Farfalle pasta
Chicken breast, filleted
Bacon
Garlic, onion
Olive oil
Sun dried tomatoes in oil
Capers
Arugula
Fresh parsley, basil, and oregano
White wine

PROCESS:

Coarsely chop the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove, drain, and set aside.

Cook the garlic and onions in olive oil and add the chicken breasts to brown. Remove the chicken and cut it into small pieces. Return the chicken to the pan along with the chopped sun dried tomatoes and herbs. When the pasta is added to the water add the arugula to the pan, cover, and simmer over low heat while the past cooks. Add a splash of wine before the pasta is done.



Add the pasta to the pan, mix well and add parmesan cheese over the top before serving.

COMMENTS:

Wish me luck!

IT'S NOT PASTA BUT.....

With Patience out of town, and a dinner invitation last night I've not been cooking any pasta. I thought I might do so tonight until I watched Eat Street on tv and decided the pasta could wait one more day.


Chicken Caprese

This is a piece of toasted multigrain bread with mayo, chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil pesto, inspired by the amazing food I saw on tv. It was delicious!

THE QUICK & NOT SO QUICK and a note about barns

The not so quick...another barn, this one rendered with pen, ink, markers, pastel, and watercolor pencils.


The quick...a small marker sketch of Bee Bee's, a fantastic gift shop in downtown Paducah.


Why all the barns?

Barns evoke a number of feelings in me, some very personal. I am reminded of the cold winter days milking our family cow in our barn, leaning my head into the cow's flank to absorb her heat, while cats and kittens milled around the pail waiting for a squirt of milk. And there are the not so long ago memories of our barn on the Maryland farm...escaping the cold winter wind and relishing the warmth and the smells of the horses in freshly cleaned stalls. (note the that I'm focusing on the winter days and not the hot, sticky days of summer, getting slapped in the face by the cows tail as she shoos away the flies. I should also mention here that in Maryland Patience did ALL of the mucking...her choice. I got to enjoy the fruits of her labor.)

I am especially fond of the rambling dairy barns, where one or more additions have been tacked on to the main structure, often with only function in mind, resulting in a mish mash of architecture and texture...much to my great delight. Looking at these rural icons, many of them now abandoned or a little more than storage facilites, I wonder about their stories, and the hopes and aspirations of the farm families when the barns were new and ready to serve.

I am saddened to see so many of these wonderful structures, from the simplest to the most elegant, fall into disrepair and treated with such little respect and appreciation for all that they have provided.