Pasta Inspiration

Got home on Wednesday night, not too excited to make the healthful vegetarian option I had planned for that evening. Then Dave expressed a desire for something a little basic and comforting, like pasta.

So, I jumped into the fray and created this dish for us. I chopped up some butternut squash and sauteed the cubes until they were lightly browned and softened. Then I tossed in a sliced leek, sauteed some more. Threw in the broccoli. Tossed the whole thing over pasta with farmer and parmesan cheeses. Quite a success.

Next time, I will make this so there are more veggies in the sauce, and that's the way I wrote the recipe up for you.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Leeks and Broccoli

• 1 1/2 cups cubed butternut squash (little bite-sized cubes, about dice-sized - 1/2 a medium squash)
• 3/4 cup sliced leek (about 1 medium leek, including some of the green part of the leek - could also use 1/2 scallion, if leeks are unavailable)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
• 8 oz. pasta (shells, rigatoni, penne)
• parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled farmer's cheese (or feta)

In a large skillet, heat up a little olive oil. When hot, toss in the squash. Saute over high heat until browning and softened (about 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of your cubes). Add the leeks to the skillet. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and garlic and saute - add a little water (about 1/4 cup) to the skillet if everything seems too dry. The sauce is done when the broccoli is cooked (still crisp-tender).

In the meantime, boil up your pasta. If the sauce is done ahead of the pasta, just hold it on low heat until the pasta is finished. Toss the pasta with the vegetable sauce and the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 3-4.

Week of November 25

Welcome back from your Thanksgiving holiday. We had a very restful and thankful four days off and hope you did too. Now that the starting gun for the holiday season has gone off, I hope to remain mindful of what's truly important while managing the stressful aspects of this time of year.

I did most of cooking on Saturday this week, as Sunday was spent at a Pampered Chef party at my friend Jim's house. It was a lot of fun and I spent too much money (fun!).

On Saturday, I:

• Made the Shrimp Gumbo from the December issue of Fine Cooking
• Made French Onion Soup (sort of) from the December issue of Saveur (I added creamed onions and mashed potatoes left over from Thanksgiving dinner)
• Cooked up some beans on the woodstove
• Prepped green salads
• Made Saturday dinner :-)

Menu for the Week
Saturday
Indian dinner
Chicken with Indian spices (adapted from December Fine Cooking)
Spinach with paneer
Moon dal
Parathas

Sunday
Pan fried haddock with scallions, garlic, ginger and green chilies
Bok choy with peanuts
White rice

Monday
Shrimp gumbo
Corn bread
Green salad

Tuesday
Semi-French onion soup (has creamed onions and mashed potatoes stirred into it)
Green salad

Wednesday
White bean puree with rosemary and olive oil
Roast butternut squash
Broccoli with lemon and black olives

Thursday
Green curry chicken soup with rice noodles

Friday
Pizza

Drink of the Week: Bald Head Cocktail

First, I have no idea where this drink's name comes from. I found the recipe on CocktailDB by dong a random search for gin-based cocktails. (Anyone out there with an idea?) The name caught my eye, and then I noticed we had all the ingredients on hand, and the choice was made.

What we both found wonderful about this drink was the way the pastis merged with the vermouths to produce a rich, honeyed flavor. It was really great; not "ginny" at all.

Bald Head Cocktail
Shake together in an iced shaker:

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• dash of pastis (Pernod or Ricard may be names you are familiar with)

Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Week of November 18

This is an "easy" week ... Only three work days to plan for. Oh ... and Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey y'all.

The picture is of my bee-yoo-tee-ful quince caramels (post to come).

On Sunday, I:

• Did battle with about 10,000 other supermarket shoppers
• Made Alice Waters' carrot soup
• Made lentil soup
• Made Sunday dinner

Menu for the week
Sunday
Italian-style meatloaf
Polenta
Broccoli di rape

Monday
Carrot soup
Ham and cheese sandwiches

Tuesday
Baked pasta with ricotta and mozzarella

Wednesday
Lentil soup

Thanksgiving
Tryptophan Fiesta and recovery period

Drink of the Week: Pomopolitan

Don't let looks deceive you, this is not Carrie Bradshaw's Cosmopolitan.

I bought a bottle of pomegranate simple syrup and we've been trying it in a few drinks. (Yes, I know that pomegranate simple syrup is technically just grenadine, but a lot of what you can find is just colorful sugar water, no pomegranate involved.)

Pomopolitan

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. pomegranate simple syrup
• juice of 1 lime

Put all everything into an iced cocktail shaker and shake shake shake. Strain into a martini glass.

"Leeky" Pasta

Last night's dinner was inspired by a recipe from December's Bon Appetit (original here). It was already a pretty easy recipe, but I made it even less fiddly (no parsley-walnut pesto, although it does sound nice). It was on the table in less than 20 minutes and was really satisfying.

Angel Hair Pasta with Leeks and Radicchio

• 2-3 large leeks, washed, large leaves trimmed off
• olive oil
  
• 1 softball-sized head of radicchio
• 2 tablespoons butter
• parmesan cheese
• 1 pound angel hair pasta
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
  
• salt and pepper

Set your pasta water aboilin'.

Cut the leeks into 4" long(ish) pieces and then slice (the long way) into long, thin ribbons. Heat a large skillet over high heat and saute the leeks in olive oil with a prinkle of salt until softened and browning in spots.

While the leeks are cooking, slice the radicchio into long shreds (discard the core sections).

After about 10 minutes, the leeks should be softened. Toss in the radicchio and turn down the heat. Add the butter and grate in some parmesan cheese. Toss everything together and hold over a warm flame.

When the water starts boiling, add your angel hair (it won't take long to cook) and cook to al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the leek mixture. Toss in the pine nuts.

Serves about 4

This would be really nice with whole wheat spaghetti.

Butternut Squash Salad

This is another photo from my "oh crap we forgot to take a picture before dinner" series. I just love posting slightly appetizing pictures of leftovers on plastic plates in my office.

Anyhoo ... this is a really great salad. I am not a huge butternut squash fan, and when I do eat it I prefer a savory preparation (no maple syrup or brown sugar for me). This salad is one I read about on Orangette. She lifted it from the Casa Moro Cookbook (which I haven't read yet, but will be soon).

This doesn't really need a recipe, but I'll post it below anyway. The tahini/lemon combo is great on the squash. If you are a cilantro-hater (you know who you are) try parsley, mint and/or fennel fronds instead.

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad

• 1 butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks (your call on what "bite size" means, just make sure the pieces are about the same size)
• 1 finely minced clove of garlic
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red or sweet onion (or scallions)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (or one of the alternate herb options above)
  
• 3 tablespoons tahini (stir it well before measuring)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon's worth of juice)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water

Toss the squash with the garlic, a drizzle of olive oil (just so it's shiny, not drenched) and salt to taste. Roast in a 425 oven on a baking sheet until tender and gently browned.

While the squash is roasting, toss the chickpeas, onion and cilantro together in a bowl.

Make the dressing: whisk or shake together (in a jar) the tahini, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil and water. Taste for salt and pepper.

When the squash is done, throw it into the bowl with the chickpeas. Toss with the dressing (you may not need all of it) and serve.

This makes super leftovers, but definitely follow Molly's (and my) advice, and heat the leftovers up to just warm before eating. Toss with a little more dressing.