the constant hunger

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

It's cold and wet in New York. I want to camp out on my couch under a big, fuzzy blanket and watch I Love Lucy reruns all day long. Have I ever mentioned that I love I Love Lucy? It's my favorite show of all time and I never get sick of watching it. She's adorable and I'll never understand why Ricky wouldn't let her be in the show. Honestly! 

 

This is one of my favorite episodes ever!

Getting back to the cold and wet day... When the weather is gross like today, you need something to lift your spirits. I usually self-medicate with food. It has the ability to always make me feel better. That's why I never deny myself anything, I just learn to control portions....sometimes. One thing that always puts a smile on my face is a big heaping bowl of pasta. At our house, we try to limit the amount we eat because, although it's delicious, it can make you feel weighed down. But a rainy day almost demands a generous serving of pasta.

This dish is perfect to make on a weeknight. It's quick and the preparation is minimal. I bought two containers of grape tomatoes (you can use cherry tomatoes, of course, but grape was on special) and literally cooked them down with a little olive oil and garlic. I usually add fresh basil or oregano to tomato sauce but I didn't for this dish. It was tasty enough without herbs. I served the pasta with some spicy sausages and a big glass of a bold red wine.

 

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

good quality olive oil (the more, the better)

5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

2 containers of grape or cherry tomatoes (I think they're one pint each)

salt and pepper to taste

one box of spaghetti cooked al dente

Parmesan cheese (optional)

 

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add a few slices of garlic to the oil to flavor it. Discard garlic once it has turned golden. 

Add tomatoes to pan. Careful as there may be some oil splatter! Season with salt and pepper. Let the tomatoes cook over medium-high until they begin to soften a bit, about 10 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium-low, add the rest of the garlic and let simmer uncovered for another 6-7 minutes.

Using a fork, press down on the tomatoes to release the juices. Stir and allow for sauce to thicken, about 6-7 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to pan and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Happy cooking!  

Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Saltimbocca

Now I know what you're thinking. Aren't I trying to eat healthier? Doesn't carbonara have tons of cheese and pancetta? What's going on here? Well, this is a dinner my husband prepared for me a couple of weeks ago and was too delicious not to post. He's really the expert when it comes to pasta and I am jealous of his ability to get it just right. All I can do is watch him like a hawk in the kitchen but I know what his secret is. 

There is no real secret to perfecting a recipe besides practice, and to be perfectly frank, most of the time it's all about trusting your senses. Does it look right? Does it smell right? Does it taste right? It's really nothing I can spell out in steps. When I asked my husband how he mixed the hot spaghetti in with the sauce without creating scrambled eggs, he really didn't have a straight answer. It was just about feeling. 

Now the carbonara sauce uses raw egg which is mixed in with the cooked spaghetti. The heat from the spaghetti cooks the egg a bit, but I know some people have issues with raw eggs. There is no other authentic way to make this sauce. The saltimbocca recipe is from an Italian recipe website that I am going crazy over. I won't go into detail and outline the ingredients and method for the saltimbocca, but you can find the exact recipe for it here. You can also watch Sonia prepare it with the video below.

 

 

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Ingredients:

1 box spaghetti cooked al dente 

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound pancetta, chopped

1 1/2 cups grated pecorino 

2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks

freshly ground black pepper

 

Method:

While the pasta is boiling, heat the olive oil in a small sautee pan. Cook until well browned. Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Let cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until smooth. Add about half of the grated cheese and blend. Add the cooled pancetta and mix together.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it, but make sure to reserve a couple of cups of pasta water. Add pasta to the egg mixture and toss quickly. Sprinkle in the rest of the cheese and season with pepper.

You will want to add some pasta water to the mix to create a nice creamy sauce. Add a little bit at a time until desired consistency is reached. Taste for seasoning. Since the pecorino is quite salty, you probably won't have to add salt.

Serve with the veal saltimbocca.

Happy cooking!

P.S. If you are sick of this cold winter weather, check out my picks for the best affordable beach getaways and ditch this cold!  

Cannelloni with Ricotta and Baby Spinach

Another Sunday, another marathon day of cooking, this time no music playing in the background. I made three dishes, all of them easy, one-pot suppers. I think winter recipes should be done this way. Throwing everything together in a soup pot or Dutch oven and letting the ingredients slowly cook and develop deep flavors is delicious and the clean up is a cinch. Even after a heavy eating day on Saturday (attending the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival and stuffing my face with fried pierogis at Veselka at 3:00 a.m. after too many gin and tonics) I was still craving filling options.

Today's recipe was inspired by an unopened package of ricotta cheese left over from another recipe (click for the recipe). The ricotta showed no signs of spoiling since the plastic seal had not been opened. I bought some baby spinach and cannelloni and spent some time fighting with the pasta to stuff it. This part of the process was annoying and I kept asking myself "Why did I decide to make this?" but in the end, it was worth it. 

Oh, as a side note, the package of pasta had 14 cannelloni in it. I asked my husband, "Do you think it's enough?" to which he looked at me like I was a pig. "How many do you think you're gonna eat?" he asked. "I don't know. Maybe seven." I barely finished three. 

 

Cannelloni with Ricotta and Baby Spinach

Ingredients:

One pot Basic Tomato Sauce (2 cans of tomatoes are enough for this recipe)

One package cannelloni

One large container ricotta cheese (2 lbs. size)

3 handfuls of baby spinach, chopped (you like the way I measure?)

2 cups grated Parmesan 

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

Once you've made your tomato sauce, let it simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Boil a large pot of salted water and add pasta. You want to under-cook the pasta because they will continue to cook in the oven. I cooked mine for about 4-5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and set aside on a plate. Make sure they don't touch as it will be annoying to try to separate them after.

In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, spinach, 3/4 cup of the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Make sure the ricotta is cold. It's easier to stuff when it's chilled.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Spread a few tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom of a large oven-proof baking dish. 

Now comes the "fun" part. Using a small spoon, fill the cannelloni with the ricotta mixture. Once it's been filled, place the cannelloni in the baking dish. Repeat until they've all been stuffed. You might have some ricotta mixture left over. Get creative with it.  

Pour over the tomato sauce making sure the pasta is evenly covered. Sprinkle on the rest of the Parmesan. Some people may prefer mozzarella, but I prefer the crispy crust the Parmesan makes versus the gooey stringiness of the mozzarella.

Bake in the oven for about 45-55 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Serve with a glass of red wine.

Happy cooking!

P.S. What are some recipes you've created with an ingredient just laying around in your fridge or pantry? 

Spaghetti al Limone and Glazed Salmon

It's been a busy week at work. I come home exhausted, make a little something to eat and literally pass out on the couch. On the weekends I just want to relax, cook and eat. I'm finding it harder and harder to sit at the computer and write about what I'm cooking. I need to flex my time management skills a little and find a balance between work, rest and play (blogging being play for me).

Despite my busy week so far, I managed to make a delicious dinner. I was flipping through my recent issue of Cook's Illustrated and came across a recipe for spaghetti la limone. Now I'm always a little reluctant when it comes to making Italian recipes taken from any source other than my husband. I find that there is always an ingredient in the recipe that just seems inauthentic, but the writer claims to have eaten this pasta dish in Capri so I will trust the recipe. 

I didn't want to eat just a pasta, so I flipped through Cook's Illustrated a little more and found a recipe for glazed salmon. Hmm...lemony pasta with salmon. It sounded like a good match to me.

 

Spaghetti la Limone

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots thinly sliced

1/4 heavy cream

zest from one lemon and its juice

1/2 grated Parmesan

small bunch of fresh basil, shredded 

plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Method: 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining, reserve about 1 1/2 cups pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and set aside.

In the same pot used to boil the pasta, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and saute till soft. Whisk in the pasta water and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for a few minutes. 

Remove pot from the heat and add pasta, lemon zest, lemon juice, basil, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Stir until pasta is well coated. Drizzle some olive oil and stir again. Serve.

Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

2 tbs. honey

3 tbs. dry white wine

2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 tbs. whole grain mustard

1 tsp. cornstarch

salt and pepper

1 1/2 lb. salmon fillet 

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the first 5 ingredients over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and continue whisking until thickened. 

Place the salmon fillet on an oiled baking sheet. I lined the sheet with aluminum foil to make clean up easier. Season generously with salt and pepper. Spoon over the glaze. 

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the thickest part of the fillet registers 125 degrees with an instant-read thermometer. 

Happy cooking!

Here is some other writing that I've done in the last week...

The Secret to Quick Meals

Cocktail Time Italian Style

A Hearty Meat Sauce

Monday I told you about my day of cooking soup, stew and sauce. Well, today I share with you my sauce recipe. I wanted to make a substantial sauce, something that would stick to your ribs, so a meat sauce that would simmer for a few hours on low heat was just the thing. Instead of using just ground beef and pork, I also added some thick cubes of beef chuck which would get nice and tender in the sauce and add that heartiness that I was craving. I didn't use a recipe, just kind of winged it. It's definitely the type of thing that's perfect for freezing for later use. 

 

Hearty Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 lb. beef chuck cut into cubes

extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 package white mushrooms, sliced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tbs. fresh or dry oregano

2 cans whole plum tomatoes, blended with a hand blender

salt and pepper to taste

 

Method: 

Season the cubes of beef with salt and pepper. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add a single layer of beef. Sear on all sides and set aside on a plate. Repeat until all the beef cubes are seared. 

Add a little more olive oil to the pot and add the onions. Saute till soft. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute. 

Crumble in the ground beef and pork. Season with salt and pepper. Cook till meat has browned. Return the cubes of beef to the pot and mix together. 

Pour in the blended tomatoes. Incorporate the herbs. Mix well. You may want to add a little sugar into the sauce to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to low. Let simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pasta of your choice. 

Happy cooking! 

P.S. Watch out for my guest post this Friday on Chef Dennis' blog More Than A Mount Full. If you haven't already checked out his blog, you should take a moment to do so. His recipes are perfectly executed and his food photography makes you want to reach into your computer to take a bite.