Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Once again I am thoroughly blown away by the savoury recipes that Ina creates. I know I am constantly commenting on the amount of butter and fat that she adds to her recipes, but once I get over the shock and just lower the amount, I am time after time left with a bold melody of flavours that work perfectly against each other.

This recipe was no exception. Like the couscous we gladly ate two full servings, smiling the whole way though (even though Ian hates uncooked tomatoes).

One thing though, was it just me or were the measurements of the ingredients entirely off? I knew to double the amount of pasta but I had to cut down on the tomatoes, oil (no surprise there), basil, cheese, olives, and completely cut out the large chunks of sun dried tomatoes from the salad.

Either way, we were very happy. Thanks Ina and thanks to Cat of Delta Whiskey for choosing this week’s recipe.

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
adapted from Ina Garten
this is my version of Ina's dish

Pasta
1 pound fusilli pasta
1/2 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
1/2 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
200g fresh boccnchini, torn into pieces
1/2 cup basil leaves, julienned
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Dressing
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1-1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain well and allow to cool till warm. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the dressing with the parmesan. Mix together well. Add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and basil. Toss to mix everything around.
For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Gazpacho

Phew is it hot out there! I know that I shouldn't be complaining considering where we are situated in the world, but I was extremely thankful that this week's BB recipe picked by Meryl was Ina's crisp and cool Gazpacho.

Yesterday afternoon Ian and I walked around the area, him in surfer shorts, and me in another summer dress. All the yards right now have these stunningly bright and brilliant flowers in the most vivid pinks, blues, purples, whites, and yellows. Although the flowers were beautiful, our reason for being out there was more than just flower gazing. Ian was teaching me (yes me!) how to use his old Nikon D40. Most people don't know this about me but even though I have been through four years of a BFA in Painting and Drawing, I can't take a good picture to save my life. So it was very nice of him to give me a short lesson and teach me the basics of his old "baby".



After my lesson and running a few errands I quickly whipped up this fast and incredible gazpacho so that everyone could cool down. It was so flavourful and refreshing, especially served beside a rustic style roast beef sandwich. Of course I made a couple changes such as lowering the olive oil to a tablespoon, adding Mexican hot sauce to spice it up a bit, incorporating a couple of squeezes from some key limes, switching the onion for a milder tasting leek, and changing up the white wine vinegar for some pure Quebec Apple cider vinegar.

If you are looking for a quick dinner to cool you down this summer, look no further, you won't be disappointed. Plus you won't have to eat your vegetables for a week!


Gazpacho
this is my version of Ina's Gazpacho

3/4ths of an English cucumber
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 Italian tomatoes
1 leek
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups Motts Garden Cocktail Tomato juice
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. cup good olive oil
1/2 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp hot sauce, or Franks Red Hot

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and leeks into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor or blender fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process! After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, lime, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavours develop.

White Wine and Cream Steamed Mussels

Don’t these look amazing, well they taste amazing and are extremely simple to make.

I want to start off by saying that these are my favourite mussels and even though I order them in restaurants any chance I get, nothing tastes as good as these. Plus, if you have ever read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, as I am now, you will know that mussels in a restaurant are not always kept in the most sanitary of conditions.

On that note, it turns out that mussels in an un-named fish store near my apartment are not being kept in the most sanitary of conditions either. Yesterday I wanted mussels, and seeing as I have hardly cooked anything in close to a month thanks to school, I was hoping for a nice quiet night. Me, Ian, some CSI, and a plate of mussels for two was all I was really asking for. Thanks to the store downstairs this did NOT happen.

I started the wine and cream sauce and wonderful smells wafted through the apartment. Then, I added the mussels and to everyone’s surprise the place filled with the most horrid stench you could ever imagine. Pardon my French, I promise I have never and will never swear on this blog again, but the smell was an exact match to someone taking a S*!T in the pot. It was so bad my roommate locked his door and didn't come out for five hours. We threw it straight into a garbage bag and I walked down the street to get sushi instead. The worst part was that my stove top fan pumps all the air out onto the street and Ian and I could smell that horrible 'merde' a block and a half away. If you were on Monkland yesterday... I am truly truly sorry, it was not me.

I have made these mussels a million times before, doubled, even tripled this recipe, and have never come across bad mussels. Usually I buy them from the grocery store, not the fish store, and so today, refusing to give in to defeat, I went back to the good old grocery store and bought the mussels flown in from PEI for 3.99/2 pounds.

They came out FANTASTIC! Just as they always do. I don’t want to turn anyone off of making their own mussels because they are so easy and never really give you problems. On the contrary, I wanted to post these because it is one of my favourite all time recipes, that’s why I went at it again today, just to prove that yesterday’s batch was a fluke, a one time problem.

I guess the moral of the story is that you should always buy any type of perishable from a place that you know has a large turnover and everything will turn out great.
(Sorry again for the swearing)


White Wine and Cream Steamed Mussels
adapted from Jen's Step-Mom's Recipe

2 pounds of mussels (1 bag)
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup 10% cream
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. vermouth
1 tomato
1 package white button mushrooms, sliced
½ an onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Place mussels in cold water and discard any that will not close when you knock the shell on the counter a couple times. Melt butter over medium to high heat in a large stock pot. Cook onions and garlic for 2 min., then add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Deglaze with wine and vermouth for 3 minutes, and then add the salt, pepper and cream. Bring to a light boil, strain the mussels and add them to the simmering ingredients. Cook uncovered for 5-8 minutes, or when all have opened up. Add the chives to the mussels and discard any mussels that do not open during cooking.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna with an Abruzzi Flair - Daring Bakers March 2009 Challenge

I knew this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was going to be a long and tedious one, but I was up to the task. I also figured that if I was going to put so much effort into one meal Ian and I should share it with friends. And just like that, Supper Club was born.

The idea of supper club came from my brother who holds one every 3 weeks in Oshawa. Basically one person or couple cooks, then old and new friends get together for a delicious home cooked meal. Different people host every time so that it doesn’t get too hectic and new people are always popping in.

Of course I had to make this lasagna for the first club, but I changed it up to reflect my background. The Italian side of my family comes from the region of Abruzzi. There the area makes their lasagna with hundreds of teeny tiny meatballs in the tomato sauce instead of a simple meat ragu. My brother and I have all these great memories of our aunts and cousins making this dish for big family dinners. The Abruzzi version is a very simple layering of mini meatball tomato sauce and paper thin strips of fresh pasta. There really isn’t a lot of cheese involved, nor does there need to be.

My version has the hand made fresh spinach egg pasta and the béchamel sauce of the region of Emilia-Romagna, but with a little Abruzzi flair!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Cherry Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

Hey BB's. What to say about this tart? Well how about crazy amazing. Or maybe insanely good. I guess just simply tasty will do. Anne Strawberry picked this Ina inspired tart (of course made with butter filled puff pastry) that BB's all over the world lovingly made and enjoyed.

I made three sizes of the tarts thinking that I could eat a couple small ones with my hands like appetizers, ummm...no, they were so good I ate all three sizes with my hands. Nuts to utensils.

The tomatoes were like fresh berries, they burst at every bite releasing delicious juice in your mouth. It was nice to have a 'summery' dish to remind us that winter (horrid horrid winter) is over and of what's to come.


Cherry Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart
adapted from Ina Garten's book 'Back to Basic's'

1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted (PC makes it pre-rolled)
Good olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
salt and black pepper
3 tbsp. dry white wine
2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
4 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
20 mini tomatoes, cut in half
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 10 by 10-inch square. Using a 6-inch wide saucer, cut 1 circle from each sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with smaller round plate, and possibly a cup, until most of the pastry sheets have been cut out. Place the pastry circles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add salt and pepper, the wine, and thyme and continue to cook until the wine has evaporated and the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat. Score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border. Place some of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Place the cherry tomatoes on top of the onions. Crumble goat cheese on top and brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle over some salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Once baked add the basil on top of each tart. Serve warm or cold.

Retro Saucy Chicken

When my mom first made this meal that could feed an army, the recipe only called for four ingredients. Four. And three of those come out of a can or package! Seriously, how can something that tastes so good and homemade come from a can of tomatoes, a can of cranberries, a packet of onion soup, and a ton of chicken? It’s an enigma, but I guess it has been passed around for a very long time because I just heard that the old school original recipe used salad dressing instead of tomatoes. Eww. Who ever thought to switch that ingredient up is a genius.

In keeping with the tradition of altering the recipe as it is passed on, I often brown some mushrooms and green pepper before tossing everything together. But feel free to switch this up any way that you would like, it’s such a fast and easy dinner. Just promise me no salad dressing.


Retro Saucy Chicken

2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 lb button cremini mushrooms
1 green pepper sliced
1 can whole berry cranberries
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 envelope Lipton’s onion soup
1 handful of raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in large sauté pan and brown chicken pieces. Remove chicken to oven proof casserole dish.
2. Sauté mushrooms and onions. Add tomatoes, cranberries, onion soup mix and raisins and stir until combined and hot.
3. Pour mixture over chicken. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni

Things I love....
-Pasta
-Ricotta
-Spinach
-Tomato sauce
-Béchamel sauce
-Anthony Sedlak
-yes, you too Ian, the most.

Things that I ate for dinner...
-Pasta
-Ricotta
-Spinach
-Tomato Sauce
... you get the point.

Yes, I took this pic myself, sans Ian so it isn't as nice, but it's getting better. I think.

Ricotta-Spinach Cannelloni
adapted from Anthony Sedlak's book "The Main" 2008
serves 4
Spinach Ricotta filled Cannelloni
4 6x5 inch fresh pasta sheets
8 ounces spinach
1 tbsp butter
2 cups fresh ricotta
1 egg
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper

Béchamel Sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cup milk
bay leaf
salt
freshly ground pepper

Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 x 690 ml jar good quality Italian brand strained tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian dried herbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg white
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup grated mozzarella


Spinach Ricotta Filled Cannelloni
Wash and drain spinach. In a pan, melt butter over medium high heat.
Add spinach and cook until leaves are wilted. Season with nutmeg to taste. Drain cooked spinach in a colander, pressing down firmly to remove excess liquid. Finely chop drained spinach with scissors and gently combine with egg and ricotta. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Béchamel Sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit but does not colour, about 2 minutes. Stream milk in, whisking as sauce thickens. Bring to a low simmer. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and cover with Clingfilm.

Tomato Sauce
Heat olive oil and garlic in a pot over medium heat. Gently fry garlic for a minute; add strained tomatoes and Italian herbs. Simmer gently about 10 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Preheat oven to 375.

To assemble
Lay pasta sheet on a flat surface. Spoon 2-3 tbsp of spinach filling evenly along bottom edge of each sheet. Brush egg white along top edge of sheet. Gently roll bottom edge up and around to form a tube shape. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of a medium, oven safe dish. Arrange filled cannelloni on top and pour béchamel sauce over. Spoon remaining tomato sauce just to cover. Sprinkle parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top and bake until tomato sauce is bubbling and hot around edges, about 20-30 minutes.

Simple Italian Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

Finally, my exams are over and Ian and I have been reunited once again. I rushed over to his house after my exam and imagine what I saw.... Ian and his roommate, unshaven, in their pjs, watching Paris Hilton's "My New BFF". Yes, it's true. Both of them were sick this week and daytime TV reduced them to this. Although I'll admit it, my brain was fried from an intense exam, I too sat down with them and watched the horrendous atrocity. It was so bad. So, so bad.

If I hear one more person say 'frenemy' (friend and enemy) or 'ttyn' (talk to you never) I will start shooting at the TV.

Ok, now that that rant is out of the way, on to dinner. I had to get them out and shaven so we went to the grocery store and within a couple hours were eating home made Italian meatballs with penne and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano to top it off.

This is usually a fail safe method to good tomato sauce, and you can substitute sausages for meatballs, it works just as well. The key here is to buy the best canned whole tomatoes that you can find, like Pastene or any tomato grown and picked in Italy. The idea is that it is an Italian tomato that is picked at its prime and cooked only once. The diced tomatoes and tomato puree are cooked twice and lose a lot of their flavour. Also, putting the tomatoes through a ricer gives it the perfect texture and is a step that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Ok, I will tell you the secret to perfect meatballs. Mix in a couple ladlefuls of sauce when you are mashing the meatballs together, that way they will never be dry. I can't believe I just gave that away. Use it wisely. ttyn (just punch me now).

Simple Italian Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

Sauce
2 cans whole tomatoes
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Meatballs
300g lean ground pork
300g lean ground beef
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, and Italian spice
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 egg

Sauce
Soften the garlic and onion in oil. Once softened, pass the tomatoes through a ricer into the pot. Add Italian spices and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 1-1/2 hours.

Meatballs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add all ingredients together and mix thoroughly with hands. Form into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then add to the sauce. Make sure sauce simmers for minimum 45 minutes so that the meatballs become fully cooked.