Orecchiette with Caramelized Garlic, Sausage and Broccoli

Courtesy of http://chaosinthekitchen.com

Orecchiette with Caramelized Garlic, Sausage, and Broccoli

serves 4, prep 5 min, cook 15 min, adapted from Fine Cooking, October 2003

• 10 oz. broccoli florets (fresh)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian sausage, crumbled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned, jarred in oil
• 3/4 lb dried orecchiette or penne pasta
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
• 3 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
• salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Heat oil in a skillet on medium high.
3. Cook Italian sausage until browned, reserve to a plate.
4. Salt pasta water and add pasta.
5. There should be about 2 tbsp of fat in the skillet, if not add olive oil to make about 2 tbsp.
6. Turn heat to medium-low and cook garlic, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
7. Add broccoli and cook until semi-tender (about 5 mins).
8. Add sausage back to the pan and heat on high until warmed through.
9. Add sun dried tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Take off heat.
10. Finish pasta (total cook time is about 10 minutes). Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain.
11. Add pasta to broccoli and sausage, toss over high heat. Add about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water as needed to moisten mixture.
12. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, cheese, salt and pepper.
13. Serve with additional cheese.

Creamy Baked Gnocchi with Spinach

This is another recipe from Giada De Laurentiis great cookbook Everyday Pasta that I made this past week. Since we've had snow and frost here for the past 2 weeks, I am in major comfort-food mode, and this hit the target in a big way. I measured out everything ahead of time and it was really fast to assemble and bake once we got home from the gym in the evening.

Ingredients:

2 (17oz/500g) packages potato gnocchi (make sure

you use the vacuum-pack type, not the kind that

comes hard & dried in a box)

3 cups (750ml) heavy cream/double cream

1 cup (250ml) chicken broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup (60 ml) all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground or fresh-grated nutmeg

12 oz/375g fresh baby spinach (seems like a lot but it wilts down)

3 oz/100g fresh goat cheese

1/2 cup (125ml) grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.

2. Place the gnocchi in a lightly greased 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, chicken broth and flour over medium heat. Continue whisking until the sauce is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to combine. Add the spinach in batches and toss until all spinach is coated in the cream.

4. Pour the cream and spinach mixture evenly over the gnocchi and gently spread the spinach out to cover.

5. Crumble the goat cheese over the spinach. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden in places, 25 to 30 minutes.

Zuccato di Pannetone

I saw Jamie Oliver's pal, Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo, give out this recipe on a Christmas cooking program and it sounded divine, so I copied it down as notes (no specific recipe was given). He said that this translates to "Pumpkin of Pannetone" because it uses leftover Pannetone bread to make a pumpkin-shaped dessert. I winged it on the assembly, and it turned out great!

Ingredients (Serves 10 to 12)

1 loaf Italian Pannetone bread

1 small bag candied fruit

100g (1/2 c) dark chocolate chips

500g ricotta (2 tubs)

100g (1/2 c) whipping cream

small handful flaked/slivered almonds

small glass of rum mixed with some water or Vin Santo liquer

Sugar

Cocoa powder

1. Layer a few long sheets of clear plastic cling film inside a medium or large mixing bowl so that

the ends of the plastic extend outside the bowl by 6"-10" on either side.

2. Slice Pannetone into 1" slices and layer in bowl, starting with the bottom and overlapping, so that you have a solid layer of Pannetone around bowl edges. Drizzle rum & water mixture over dry bread.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, candied fruit, chocolate chips and flaked almonds. Add in some whipping cream and sugar (to taste) until the mixture is sweet and creamy, but not too liquidy. Remove 1/2 of ricotta mixture to a separate bowl. Add in some cocoa powder to reserved ricotta (start with 1 Tbsp) to give it a chocolatey taste and appearance.

4. Spoon white ricotta mixture into bottom of Pannetone 'bowl'. Add a 2nd layer of Pannetone over the ricotta and drizzle with rum mixture. Spoon cocoa ricotta mixture into bowl and add the final layer of Pannetone. Note: If your mixture doesn't go up to the top of Pannetone slices around the edge of the bowl, just peel off the extra Pannetone and add to the top layer over the ricotta cream. Sprinkle some rum mixture over the final layer of Pannetone.

5. Wrap hanging ends of plastic cling film over the top of the Pannetone until covered; press down. Top with a heavy plate or two and refrigerate overnight.

6. When ready to serve, unwrap bottom of Pannetone, then remove from bowl and turn out onto a plate, removing the remaining cling film. It should be bon-bon shaped. Sift cocoa powder over the top of the dessert and serve chilled. Alternate topping: melt 200g/6oz. dark chocolate with a knob of butter and pour over chilled Pannetone before serving.

Butternut Squash Two Ways

I had a large, 2-pound butternut squash left over from our Thanksgiving table decorations, so I decided to turn into two dishes: Butternut Squash Risotto (non-vegetarian) and Thick Lentil, Garlic & Butternut Stew (Vegetarian). The risotto was a perfect, warming, 'comfort food' meal yesterday afternoon after D and I scraped the snow off the car and went for mile-long swims at the gym pool, and I'm planning to serve the stew with some fish and lamb during the next few days.

Butternut Squash Risotto (serves 4)

taken from Martha Stewart's Living CookbookThe Original Classics

5 cups/1250 ml chicken stock (home-made or store bought)

1 lb./500g raw butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 2 cups)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

4oz./125g pancetta, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 & 1/2 cups Arborio (risotto) rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley or tarragon

(I used a dash of dried tarragon as well as the parsley)

1. In a saucepan, combine the stock and squash; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; let simmer (squash will not cook completely).

2. Meanwhile, warm the oil in a medium saucepan (large enough to hold the finished risotto) over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta; cook, stirring, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is crisp, about 8-10 mins. Using a slotted spoon, remove pancetta and set aside on a paper towel to drain.

3. Add the onion and garlic to the rendered fat; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the rice, raise heat to high, and continue stirring until the edges of the rice are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine; cook, stirring until the wine is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium high; season with salt and pepper. Add about 1 cup/250ml of the hot stock and squash. Cook, stirring, until nearly all the stock is absorbed. Continue adding stock and squash, about 3/4 cup (180ml) at a time. Cook, stirring, allowing each addition to be nearly absorbed before adding the next, until rice is creamy but a little firm in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. (Some of the squash will start to disintegrate and will start to form a golden, creamy paste around the risotto). Stir in the parsley or tarragon and reserved pancetta. Serve. Note: Martha suggests topping the risotto with toasted pumpkin seeds, if desired, but I skipped this option.

Thick Lentil, Garlic & Butternut Stew (serves 4)

taken from Sonja Edridge's recipe in Waitrose's October Everyday Recipes

Note: I halved the recipe and it made 4 side dish portions

4 Tbsp mild olive oil

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

5 tomatoes, roughly chopped

200g/7oz red lentils, washed

1000g/2lbs. raw butternut squash, peeled

and cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 4 cups)

600ml (2 & 1/3 cups) vegetable stock

1. Heat a large, non-stick pan with 1 Tbsp of oil. Add the celery and cook for 4 minutes, stirring, to soften, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, lentils and butternut squash. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer, then cook for 20-25 minutes (adding a little water if necessary) until the liquid has been absorbed and the lentils are cooked.

3. Season well and spoon into bowls. Drizzle in the remaining olive oil and serve with rustic or crusty bread. Note: I cooked the stew a little longer until it was nearly the texture of mashed potatoes and plan to serve it as a side dish, rather than a meal. You may also wish to season with salt and pepper--I did.

Quick Italian-Style Chopped Salad

This recipe started out as 'Quick Chickpea Salad' from Easy Summer Food, but I wanted it to be more substantial, so I added chopped salami and baby bocconcini (mini mozzarella balls) from Trader Joe's to the salad, and it was great. You could also add any of the following: partially sundried (sun-blush) tomatoes, olives, prosciutto, cooked chorizo, tuna, other vegetables, lettuces or herbs. You can also partially prepare the salad ahead of time by combining just the dressing and the chickpeas, allowing the chickpeas to absorb some of the dressing flavors, and adding the fresh ingredients just before serving.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed & drained

4 marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

8oz./250g very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved

8 scallions (spring onions), sliced diagonally into 1/2" pieces

a handful of fresh basil leaves, torn

a small bunch of fresh chives, snipped

leaves from 4 springs of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 oz. (55g) fresh shaved Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp black pepper, cracked with a mortar & pestle

hard italian salami, chopped

mini mozzarella balls, or mozzarella cut into bite size pieces

Dressing

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 small garlic clove, crushed

sea salt & fresh ground pepper

1. Put the dressing ingredients in a bowl and beat with a fork. Add the chickpeas, artichoke hearts and salami (if using), and toss in the dressing. Cover & chill for up to 4 hours.

2. When ready to serve, add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, scallions, basil, chives and parsley. Stir gently, sprinkle with shaved Parmesan, salt and pepper, then serve.

Monday Night Pesto Pasta Carbonara

On Monday night I didn't have anything planned to eat, but we needed a break from Thanksgiving leftovers and I had a bunch of random leftover bits in the fridge taking up space, so I decided to get creative....what resulted was a sort of Pesto Pasta Carbonara. It was great!

Here's what I used (made about 3 large servings):

Remains of a jar of store-bought pesto, 1/4 c. to 1/3 c.

Remains of a tub of mascarpone cheese, about 1/2 c.

Remains of a jug of milk, about 1 cup

1/2 lb (250 g) Messicani pasta spirals from M&S (any small curly or shell shaped pasta will do)

1/2 pot of Sunblush sundried tomatoes in oil, about 1/2 c. (120g), drained and chopped up

Remains of a bag of frozen peas, about 1 cup

1/2 pot of Sainsbury's cubed pancetta, or 50 grams (sliced, chopped pancetta would also work)

Fresh grated parmesan cheese, about 1/4 c., or to taste

First, cook the pasta until al dente in a pot of salted, boiling water according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. In a small frying pan, heat a spoonful of oil over medium high heat and cook the pancetta cubes until crispy. Drain oil from pan and set pancetta aside on a paper towel to drain.

In a large saucepan, combine the milk, pesto sauce and mascarpone cheese over medium-low heat (taking care that the milk doesn't get too hot and boil or burn), until the mascarpone is mostly melted and combined with the milk. The sauce should be creamy. Add the frozen peas and sundried tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring, until peas are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add cooked pancetta and Parmesan cheese to sauce and stir to combine. Add drained pasta to sauce mix and stir to coat. Serve hot with extra Parmesan cheese topping, if desired, and a green salad.