Orecchiette with Spinach Cream Sauce

This is a quick - not to mention beautiful and tasty - supper fix!


For 3-4 servings, you'll need:

+ orecchiette pasta, 1/2 pound
+ 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
+ garlic, 2-3 cloves, minced
+ fresh spinach (baby preferred), 1 pound
+ olive oil
+ S&P
+ ground nutmeg, 1 pinch
+ heavy cream, 1/4 - 1/3 cup
+ 1 chicken breast, roasted and sliced (optional)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned. Add spinach, and stir until mixture wilts and cooks down. Season to taste; cool.

Blend spinach mixture in food processor until mostly smooth. Add cream, and continue to blend until thick and creamy.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Toss with sauce (and chicken, if using); enjoy!

(Does this recipe remind anyone else of the Arthur episode where D.W. desperately wants earrings, but thinks they may turn her ears green?)

Purple and Green Asian Stir Fry

I used green beans and red onion in my version, but I suppose that eggplant, green bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage or even purple cauliflower would have worked, as well.


For 4-6 servings, you'll need:

+ dry linguini, 1/2 pound
+ 1 large red onion, sliced into rounds
+ green beans, 1/2 pound (that's several large handfuls)
+ garlic, 2 cloves, minced
+ fresh ginger, 1 1-inch segment, peeled and grated
+ olive oil, 3 tablespoons
+ S&P
+ 2 chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into chunks
+ soy sauce, 1/4 cup
+ hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons
+ 1 lime, juiced
+ brown sugar, 2 tablespoons

Cook pasta according to package directions. In the meantime, bring olive oil in a skillet (or wok) to medium-high heat. Add the onion, green beans, garlic and ginger. Stir gently until everything is coated in oil. Add chicken, and reduce heat to medium; cover, and cook for about 3 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lime juice and brown sugar. Remove the lid from the pan, and add the cooked linguini and glaze. Toss gently until noodles are evenly coated and glaze has thickened. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Parmesan Cheese

A delicious, albeit not beautiful, product, straight from the little kitchen in my new one bedroom.

For 2-3 servings and some leftovers, you'll need:

+ whole wheat pasta (penne or another short shape), 2 cups, dry
+ 1 large white onion, sliced into rings
+ garlic, 2 cloves, minced
+ fresh thyme, 3 sprigs
+ butter, 3 tablespoons
+ sugar, 1 tablespoon
+ parmesan cheese, grated, 1/4 cup
+ S & P

Melt butter over low heat. Add onions; cook gently for 1-2 minutes. Strip leaves of thyme from the stems; discard stems. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes; add sugar. Cook until onions are evenly caramelized and garlic is lightly toasted. Remove from heat.

In the meantime, liberally salt water and boil; cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain; toss with butter and onion mixture, until each piece of pasta is evenly coated. (I nearly skipped this step, but Jeremy saved the day!) Remove from skillet, and place in a serving bowl. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese; serve.

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Chicken

What's not to love?

For 2 servings, you'll need:

+ 1 chicken breast

+ whole wheat penne (any short shape will do), 1/2 pound

+ fresh grape tomatoes, 1 pint

+ garlic, 2 cloves, minced

+ S&P

+ olive oil

+ red wine (I used Syrah, but basically any red will do), 2 splashes

+ heavy cream, about 1/3 cup

+ parmesan cheese, grated, about 1/2 cup (more, if you like)

In a skillet, bring 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to medium-high heat.  Liberally season the chicken on both sides with S&P.  Cook for about 6-7 minutes on each side.  Allow to rest, then slice thinly.

Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions.

After removing chicken from pan, deglaze pan with red wine.  Add the tomatoes, toss to coat in oil and wine, and cover.  Every minute or so, remove lid and give the tomatoes a gentle wiggle. When all of them are blistered (their skins are shriveled up), add the garlic and chicken.  Cook for just a minute; remove from heat, and stir in heavy cream and parmesan cheese.  Serve atop pasta.  Enjoy!

Broccoli and Goat Cheese Spaghetti

A great vegetarian option, though you could certainly add chicken. Couldn't be much easier to prepare- or much faster!

For about four servings, you'll need:

+ 1/2 pound of whole wheat spaghetti

+ 1 1/2 - 2 cups broccoli florets

+ 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

+ 1 large shallot, thinly sliced

+ butter, 3 tablespoons

+ olive oil, 3 tablespoons

+ goat cheese (chevre), 4 ounces

+ S&P

Cook pasta according to package directions, just until al dente. Drain.

In a skillet, melt butter and saute shallot until translucent. Add garlic, and continue to saute until soft. Add broccoli and 2 tablespoons olive oil; cook until broccoli is tender. Add spaghetti and stir in goat cheese; mix until cheese is melted and coats the pasta. Drizzle on the last of the olive oil, and enjoy-- preferably with a big piece of crusty bread.

Pesto Pasta with Balsamic Bacon

Yessir, folks.  Balsamic bacon, and that's all I have to say about that.

For about three servings, you'll need:

+ 8 ounces of whole wheat pasta

+ 1/4 cup of pesto*

+ 4 slices of bacon

+ balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons

+ parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

+ S&P

Put bacon and balsamic vinegar in a plastic bag; marinate in refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place bacon on a baking sheet, and roast for 5-6 minutes.  Drain on paper towels; when cool, crumble.

Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente (usually about 7-8 minutes).  Immediately after draining, toss with pesto and fold in cheese and bacon.  Add S&P to taste.  Enjoy!

* Since coming to college, I've been using store-bought pesto, which is generally pretty decent.  I usually avoid jarred pesto in favor of the fresher options in the deli section.  When I'm home for the summer (with access to a food processor), I'll perfect my pesto recipe and get it up here!

April Pasta

I put this together with some pretty random ingredients we happened to have in the fridge, and it was a hit. The marinade for the chicken was inspired by J, who used to dip his chicken tenders in honey as a kid. The prosciutto and feta add a salty bite to what is, otherwise, a relatively sweet dish.

For 2 giant servings, you'll need:

+ 2 chicken breasts, trimmed
+ 1 lemon
+ 3 cloves of garlic
+ olive oil, 4 tablespoons
+ honey, 3 tablespoons
+ 3 thin sheets of prosciutto
+ 1 bunch of asparagus (get the skinny guys, for this)
+ whole wheat pasta (penne or another short shape), about 2 cups
+ butter, 3 tablespoons
+ feta cheese, crumbled, 1/4 cup

For the chicken:
Remove the tenderloin from each breast. Place a layer of plastic wrap over the chicken breasts, and beat (using another pan-- a cast iron skillet works really well) into cutlets.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Crush 2 of the garlic cloves, and add to the oil. Drizzle over chicken; allow to marinate for at least one hour.

For the rest:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet, and place the prosciutto slices on it; bake for 5-6 minutes or until crispy. When cool, give it a rough chop. Set aside.

Remove the woody stems of the asparagus; discard (or save, to make vegetable stock or even asparagus soup). Cut the asparagus into thirds, on the bias. Crush last clove of garlic; set aside.

Bring a pot of water to the boil; salt liberally and cook pasta until al dente (usually around 7-8 minutes, but keep an eye on it). Add the chicken (with the marinade) to a baking sheet, and bake for 5 minutes. Turn heat to 450 degrees F, and bake for another 3-5 minutes (start keeping time as soon as you change the temperature; do not wait for the actual oven temperature to rise). Remove from oven, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice into bite-sized pieces.

Melt butter in a skillet; add the asparagus (and remove the crushed garlic clove). Saute on medium heat until tender. Remove garlic. Add the cooked pasta and chicken; toss.

Sprinkle crispy prosciutto and feta cheese over pasta; serve. Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese

Simple and delicious! I took my mother's time-tested recipe and added my own personal touch. I baked mine in two 10-ounce ramekins, but you can use a casserole dish if you want.

You'll need:

+ short pasta (macaroni, penne, etc.) -- I used 20 0unces)

+ sharp white cheddar, grated (for 2 10-ounce servings, I used 8 ounces of cheddar)

+ parmesan, grated (I used 4 ounces in the sauce, plus another 2 tbsp for the topping)

+ goat cheese, crumbled (chevre-- I used 4 ounces)

+ heavy cream, 1/4 c.

+ S&P

+ bread crumbs, 2 tbsp

+ butter, 1 tbsp

+ flour, 1 tbsp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a boil, liberally salt, and cook pasta until al dente -- about 6 minutes. Strain.

In a saucepan, make a roux using the butter and flour. Before allowing the roux to brown, add the heavy cream; do not allow the cream to boil. Gradually add cheese, whisking constantly, until melted; salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat; fold in pasta and coat in cheese sauce.

Evenly distribute pasta & cheese mixture between ramekins. Sprinkle bread crumbs and reserved parmesan on top; bake for 15 minutes or until cheese begins to brown and bread crumbs are toasty. Enjoy!

-> As a side, I made zucchini slices: J and I cut two zucchini (on the bias) into 1/4" slices and sauteed them in 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil with 2 cloves of minced garlic. We lightly salt-and-peppered them-- delicious!