Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Summer Edition

Menu: Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Summer Edition; Caesar Salad; Watermelon


Lessons learned:

1. The summer edition works! The kids still don't eat it, though.
2. Organic romaine + sourdough bread pieces + bottled Caesar dressing = easiest salad ever?

I've always loved the recipe for Shrimp Fra Diavolo in my America's Test Kitchen book.  It involves a whole bunch of garlic, a simple tomato and wine sauce, and lighting some shrimp on fire.  Over time, I've simplified it a bit to make it a simple but upscale weeknight meal.  Usually it calls for a can of tomatoes, but it being summertime and all, I decided to try out a fresher-tasting version.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Summer Edition

Half a pound of pasta (the original recipe suggests linguine, but I pretty much always use farfalle these days to make things more kid-friendly)

6 garlic cloves, minced

About three large fresh tomatoes, finely diced (and seeded if you prefer... I don't bother)

1/2 cup of dry white wine (something you would actually drink)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (if you take your spice seriously and want to make this extra fresh and summery, you can use a real hot pepper!)

1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Extra salt

About 1/4 cup cognac

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated to taste

Boil the pasta.  In the meantime, heat some oil on the skillet over medium-low heat and saute five cloves of the garlic until it turns golden.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, then the wine, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer it until much of the liquid has cooked off and it looks like about the right amount of sauce for your pasta... somewhere between 5-8 minutes.  Toss the pasta with the sauce and the last clove of minced garlic.  Yup: RAW.

Clean out your skillet and put it back on the burner over high heat.  When the pan is smoking, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and then the shrimp, making sure they are all in a single layer.  Sprinkle them with just a couple of shakes of salt, and don't turn them for about a minute so they can brown nicely.  Once they have, turn each one over and add the cognac to the pan.  It should burn off pretty quickly, leaving the shrimp with a sweet, delicate essence.

Add the cooked shrimp to the pasta and sauce, then garnish with the chopped parsley and cheese.

This serves two hungry adults.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi, Take One

Menu: Mac 'n Cheese Italian-Style; Fridge-Digger salad; Grapes

Going out back today, I discovered there were a whole mess of these:

So I grabbed them before anything else could.  I have more tomatoes than I can use.  Several bigger varieties are rotting on the vine.  I cannot tell you how sad that makes me.

I originally thought I might make two 8x8" pans of this dish and freeze one for another night, since these days I'm not home at dinner time on Tuesday or Thursday nights.  (That's a conundrum to discuss another time.)  But when I looked over the recipe, I realized that's it's actually not that kind of casserole.  Because of the need to preserve the integrity and flavor of the cheese, it seems like you pretty much have to bake it right after you've assembled it.  So I figured I would just score some (hopefully) delicious leftovers for lunch this week.

I have not had good luck with homemade mac 'n cheese in the past.  It's ALWAYS too milky.  But here's what came out of my oven tonight:

If anything, there wasn't enough sauce here, but actually I think it was almost perfect!  The focus is pretty much all on the cheese: fontina, gorgonzola, and pecorino romano (the recipe called for parmesan, too, but I didn't feel like buying it when I already had plenty of romano).  And the texture was everything I wanted it to be: crispy noodles on top, gooey cheesy pockets throughout.

However, I'm not going to post the recipe just yet because there are still some kinks I need to work out.  For starters, the original called for heavy cream and it really seems like you could get away with half and half here.    Also, it was a bit too salty, so next time I'm going to try it without adding any salt and using homemade bread crumbs instead of the packaged Italian ones I happened to have on hand.  Finally, the writers included a variation where you add tomatoes and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to resist trying that.

But if you're interested in this version, the basic idea is: cook some pasta until it's very al dente.  Meanwhile, make a bechamel sauce with a tablespoon each of butter and flour, then 1 1/2 cups of cream.  Put the drained pasta into a bowl, then put /14 cup each of fontina and gorgonzola on top, plus about 3/4 cup of romano.  Add some fresh Italian herbs if you've got 'em.  Pour the bechamel over everything, then cover it immediately with a lid of some sort to keep the heat in for a couple of minutes.  Stir it all up, then bake for 7 minutes at 500 degrees.

Anyway, all I knew going into dinnertime tonight was that I was, at long last, going to make the Italian version of mac 'n cheese that I discovered in my America's Test Kitchen cookbook.  No plans for vegetables.  I'm testing my hypothesis that if I just make a habit of grabbing the good-looking veggies and fruit when I go shopping and combine those with whatever I may have in the garden, I can pretty much ad-lib the veggies when it gets to be dinner time.  In my fridge, I found some spring mix on its last legs and some iceberg lettuce with barely one leg left.  Mixed it up with the little darlings you see above, some carrot slices, some homemade croutons (otherwise known as toast), and a nice red wine vinaigrette.  We ate it all.

Grandma Mel's Tomato Sauce

From camera issues to computer issues. A couple of weeks ago Ben spilled water on our laptop and it would no longer turn on. Soooooo on the advice of friends and the Internet, we baked, yes BAKED, our computer in the oven at 175 degrees for 15 minutes. It worked! ...but only for a few days, when again it wouldn't turn on. Baked again, worked again, until it didn't. New computer!  The end.

Anyway.

Since I made it for company last Friday, I'm going to share with you one of the most valuable recipes I know.  I'll start at my beginning, although the story really begins long before that.  I met my husband in college.  He would often visit his aunt Carol, who lived not too far from campus, for dinner.  Not long after we started doing couple-y things together, he invited me over to her house for "spaghetti and meatballs."  I declined -- too much homework, and besides, I didn't like tomato sauce!  Undeterred, he brought some back for me (plus a brownie).  Well, I wasn't converted... not yet.  But I accepted the invitation the next time it was offered, and I tagged along with John to meet his mother's side of the family -- 100% Sicilian -- for the first time: his aunt (the kindest, friendliest, bubbliest woman I have ever had the pleasure to know) and his grandfather (who laughed for minutes on end when I told him how I had been repeatedly warned about his "inappropriate humor").  Unaware of the history of what I was being served, I politely (or really impolitely) asked to skip the tomato sauce so I could toss my pasta with the Good Seasons salad dressing on the table.  What can I say?  I was barely 18.

As I got to know my future in-laws, I learned that the smooth, meaty tomato sauce was actually the signature recipe of his grandmother Carmella, who died too early of ovarian cancer in 1997.  She loved organizing big family gatherings, for which a big pot of tomato sauce and several pounds of pasta is a perfect feast.  Over time, as her illness progressed, she taught her middle daughter, Carol, how to make her sauce just right -- because as with all the best sauces, of course, a written recipe will only get you so far.  In fact, legend has it that Carol couldn't get the sauce quite right until the first time she made it after her mother had passed on.

It's been ten years after that first night of pasta at Carol's house, and the family has celebrated numerous graduations, marriages, and births -- Mel's grandchildren are all grown up now.  But her three daughters still strive to get everyone together a couple of times a year, and when they succeed we always have Sauce.  It wasn't long before I learned to love it, and the year I married John, I asked Carol to teach me how to make it.  If the joy of being surrounded by people who love you unconditionally had a flavor, this is what it would taste like to me.  That probably sounds pretty cheesy.  But seriously, don't forget: it's gotta be Pecorino Romano.

Grandma Mel's Tomato Sauce

28 ounces canned tomato puree

18 ounces canned tomato paste

At least one bottle of good Chianti Classico, Grandma Mel's favorite wine

1 tablespoon olive oil

3-4 large cloves garlic, minced

2-4 bone-in pork ribs

1-2 bay leaves

Big pinch of sugar

Big pinch of baking soda

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 pound ground beef

½ pound ground pork

¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup of minced fresh Italian herbs (dried herbs to taste are fine, too)

2 eggs, plus more if needed

1 cup bread crumbs

½ cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Extra Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste

2-3 pounds of rigatoni or cappelini

Combine all the tomato products in a big stock pot. For every can of tomato paste, add three cans of water. You can use the water to get all the extra tomato off the sides of the cans.  Put the pot on the stove over low heat. Throughout the process, stir the sauce frequently so that the bottom doesn’t burn.

Now's a good time to open that wine.  Go ahead and pour a glass for yourself, and anyone else who wants one mid-afternoon (if you're among Sicilians, you'll have plenty of company).  This isn't supposed to feel like work.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until it's golden, then add the garlic to the sauce using a slotted spoon, reserving the oil in the hot pan.  Add the pork ribs and brown them on both sides, then add them to the sauce. Next, add the bay leaves, sugar, baking soda, and seasoning.  Take your time.  Drink your wine.

In a separate bowl, combine the ground meat, herbs, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, and seasonings, adjusting the ingredients so that mixture is not too dry or too moist. Roll the mixture into meatballs, brown them all over in the  frying pan in batches that work for your pan size, then add them to the sauce.

And now you can really sit down and enjoy yourself, because the real work is done.  For the next 2-3 hours, simmer the sauce uncovered, remembering to stir every now and again and doing a taste test every so often (or getting other people to do it).  Your main concerns are not letting the bottom burn and skimming off any tomato froth that may form on top of the sauce.  After about 2 hours, cook the pasta to al dente, drain, and toss with just enough sauce to prevent sticking.  Serve the pasta on individual dishes topped with sauce, meatballs, and grated Romano.  Eat, enjoy, and think of Grandma Mel.

Makes enough for at least 8 people.

Penne alla Vodka, Take Two

Menu: Penne alla Vodka; Green Beans with Balsamic Vinaigrette; Fried Eggplant

Lessons learned:

1. Penne alla vodka is on its way back in my house!
2. I love, love, love to see my children eat my food.
3. The fried eggplant is worth it. 

It's been a good day for food at my house.  I ran a Mothers' Day 5k this morning and came back to a lovely breakfast of waffles and maple syrup prepared by my husband.  Then I treated myself to a French dip sandwich and some Pringles for lunch, it being my special weekend and all.  Then tonight, I sliced, breaded, and fried the first eggplant from my garden this year.  I put them out with just some jarred tomato sauce for an appetizer, and they were gone before I could take a picture.  Next time.

After some searching and on many people's recommendations, I decided to try Rachael Ray's "You Won't Be Single For Long" Penne alla Vodka.  I used an adaptation that I found over on Smitten Kitchen.  It was very good, but still needs some adjustments.  For one thing, I ended up with about twice as much sauce as I needed.  I also think this dish is truly naked without salted pork, so I did add about 4 ounces of bacon.  I'll post my official version when I get it perfect, but you have to admit this looks (and tasted!) leagues better than my last attempt:

At this very moment, I'm trying to resist going back for thirds.  And failing.  But we refilled my son's plate FIVE times, so I'm going to be sleeping well tonight.

Pad Thai

Menu: Pad Thai, Stir-Fried Broccoli, Sliced Pears

Lessons learned:

1. It takes 3 limes to get to 1/3 cup of lime juice.
2. Just adding broccoli and pears means there's twice as much that Sophie could potentially eat.

When I lived in Columbus, there was a place called Tai's Asian Bistro where you could get an enormous portion of good pad thai for less than $6, so it didn't seem worth it to find my own recipe.  But once I made it my mission to cook for my family every night and moved to a city where you can't find good restaurant pad thai at any price (Tallahasseeans, am I wrong?), I figured it was time to learn to make it myself.  I checked out several different recipes and found what looked like the best one in my cookbook from America's Test Kitchen.  They say it's good to use tamarind paste, but that you can substitute lime juice instead and it doesn't lose much.  Since I always have limes around and not tamarind, that's what I do.  I made a couple of other minor adjustments and added some Quorn cubes for my kids, who are spurning shrimp for the time being.

I've been really heavy on the Asian noodle dishes these days, I know.  But this is definitely a winner around here.

Pad Thai (adapted from The New Best Recipe from America's Test Kitchen)

8 ounces rice noodles
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons peanut oil
2 large eggs
Salt
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium shallot, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 pound Quorn or firm tofu cubes
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, chopped fine (optional)
1/3 cup chopped or shredded carrots
6 tablespoons chopped peanuts
5 ounces bean sprouts
5 medium scallions, green parts only, sliced thin on a sharp diagonal
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (optional)

Cover the rice noodles with hot tap water and let them sit for about 30 minutes; they should be soft and pliable but not yet tender when it's time to use them.

Combine the lime juice, water, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and 2 tablespoons of the oil; set aside.  Beat the eggs with a dash of salt; set aside.

Heat about a tablespoon of the remaining oil in a nonstick pan over high heat until it just begins to smoke.  Add the shrimp with a dash of salt; toss them to coat with oil and then let them brown on each side, for about 3 minutes total.  Transfer them to another dish and set them aside.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the shallots, garlic, and protein cubes; cook them until they are just starting to turn brown.  Add the beaten eggs to the pan and stir them until they are scrambled and barely moist.  Add the rice noodles (drained of water, of course), the dried shrimp, and the carrots and stir for a few seconds.  Pour the lime juice mixture over the noodles, increase the heat back to high, and cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are evenly coated.  Scatter 1/4 cup of the peanuts, the bean sprouts, all but 1/4 cup of the scallions, and the cooked shrimp over the noodles, and toss everything together until the liquid has been absorbed.  Garnish with the remaining scallions and peanuts and the cilantro.

Makes a scant 4 servings... if I were serving 4 adults, I'd increase the proportions by 50%.

Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles

Intended Menu: Scented Fish Salad; Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles

Actual Menu: Scented Fish; Random Salad; Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles

Lessons learned:

1. Just because it's at New Leaf Market doesn't mean it's a responsible purchase.  If you check out the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's sustainable seafood guide -- provided right on the New Leaf website! -- it says to avoid Gulf Red Snapper.  So why do they sell it?
2. At some point, enough substitutions make a dish completely unrecognizable.

I'm still feeling quite lousy, but this is Day Three and at some point you have to start tending to at least some of your responsibilities again.  Last night my husband gave me a break by staying home from work in the morning and cooking his specialty for dinner, pasta with tomato sauce and Italian sausage.  He even got Publix's Greenwise Italian chicken sausage instead of whatever he would have gotten when we were younger (probably Johnsonville).  It was a lot like the pizza we'd had the previous night and there was no vegetable dish, but someone besides me cooked it and it was delicious.

My kids aren't really eating.  It's not just that they're not trying things at dinner, but they're even abandoning crackers, bread, and apples at the table.  Sophie has barely eaten anything in days.  I'm trying very hard not to stress about it, because she isn't asking for other food and doesn't seem to be uncomfortable.  Maybe they are both coming down with my cold and just don't feel like eating?

After two days shacked up in the house, I took the kids to New Leaf Market, mostly for some produce.  I'm still trying to understand the availability of mangoes and avocados in this region, because all of a sudden they are more expensive again (both priced at $2 each at NLM).  I would think that they would be more in season in warmer weather, but no?

I needed to get fish, and saw that the snapper in NLM's seafood section was $2 off.  I knew it was risky not to get it from a fish market and I wondered why it was marked down as well, but not feeling well, I was happy not to have to make a separate trip so I took the chance.  The fish turned out to be tasty, but looking it up later I see that it's not harvested sustainably.  I really wish that by shopping at New Leaf, I could feel confident that what I'm buying is at least somewhat environmentally responsible and sustainable.  I sort of thought that was the whole point of the co-op, and I'm willing to pay more for that confidence.  But just like at any other store, it turns out I have to do all my own research.  It does frustrate me.

There's a recipe for Scented Fish Salad in my Thai cookbook, and it looks great.  However, it called for cucumber, mangoes, and something called pitaya, also called dragon fruit.  None of these were available to me, but I figured that I could ad-lib it a little bit and I'd get the idea.  Well, what I ended up with was some lettuce, tomato, and apples which I still tried to dress with a coconut-lime dressing (my standard cilantro-lime vinaigrette with some leftover coconut milk whisked in).  It didn't taste bad.  Well, actually I really don't know since I honestly can't taste much right now.  But I'm pretty sure it wasn't disgusting.  Not yummy, though, either.  Just kind of weird.

The fish, though, was quite good.  I cut it into strips and marinated it in some spices: ground coriander, fennel, cumin, and garlic, plus some sugar and oil.  It was supposed to go on top of the salad, but it seemed like it would just wilt the lettuce, which I hate, especially when all I can really sense right now is texture.  So we just ate the fish by itself, and it was yummy.  Tilapia is a "best choice" according to Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and I think this way of preparing it would work just fine with that fish.

I've been wanting to try this peanut noodle recipe from HTCEV for a long time, especially since my husband seems to like anything prepared with peanut butter.  It's super easy, and I ended up doing a blend of tahini (sesame paste) and peanut butter so as not to be overwhelmed by the latter flavor.  Recipe below.  If you use regular semolina noodles instead of egg noodles, it's vegan.

Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles

8 ounces Chinese egg noodles or other long pasta, like linguine
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 cup tahini, peanut butter, or a combination
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced pickled ginger
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Chile sauce to taste (we left this out for the kids, although I might add some on the leftovers to clear my sinuses!)
1 large or 2 small zucchinis (original called for cucumbers, but there were locally-grown zucchinis at NLM) 
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup minced garlic chives (I forgot these, unfortunately...use scallions if you prefer)

Cook the noodles as directed on the package.  When they're done, run them under cold water and/or toss them with ice cubes.

Meanwhile, mix together the oil, paste(s), sugar, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile sauce.  Toss the cold noodles with the mixture, then peel the zucchini and grate it into the noodles.  Toss again, then garnish with black pepper and chives.

Makes about 6 side servings.

Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

Last night we had some wonderful friends over for dinner. Sam and her two girls who happen to be the same ages as my girls! Both husbands weren't able to be home for dinner so we had a girl's night complete with talking about our periods, 80's music on Pandora, and lots of giggling little girlies. It was fantastic.

I was 14 years old the first time I had macaroni and cheese from a box. I was staying with a friend and I loved it! My mother, chef du jour de la homemade food, was horrified. Since then I've elevated my tastes from Kraft to Annie's in a box but I'm back to realizing homemade is really the best.

Lessons learned:

- Food is always better when shared with friends.

- Homemade macaroni and cheese is a crowd-pleaser (unless your crowd includes someone dairy-free, which our party did not last night)

- A mix of american and sharp cheddar give the pasta slight twist.

- Fruit salad is extra delicious with a little bit of cinnamon.

- When I'm really hungry it's easy to forget to take a picture of the meal.

The official menu:
Homemade macaroni and cheese, broccoli, peas, fruit salad

Mac 'n Cheese My Mom's Way

1 box of elbow macaroni (last night = 1.5 boxes)
1 lb of American cheese (last night = plus 1/2lb sharp cheddar cheese)
Milk
Butter

Boil the elbow macaronies according to the box directions.

Drain the noodles and pour them back into the big pot.

Add some butter. (a couple tablespoons should be enough but it's all about personal taste)

Add some milk. (a tablespoon at a time as needed)

Break the cheese into small chunks. Add a few at a time stirring constantly.

Continue adding milk and cheese until the consistency looks good to you.

Eat. And if you're like me and my dad you'll want to add some pepper to your bowl.

Coconut Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Mango

Menu: Coconut Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Mango; Sauteed Broccoli with Garlic and Soy Sauce

Lessons learned:

1. I don't usually saute broccoli, but I will be doing it often from now on.  Tonight's was perfect.
2. Don't forget to shake the can of coconut milk before you open it!

Last time I made this, I didn't even finish my portion.  The only thing I could taste was watered down noodles.  But tonight I gave it another shot, and I think everyone is glad I did.  Even Sophie ate a varied dinner: mangoes, "naked nuggets" (Quorn tenders), carrots, and broccoli.

I was good and cooked the broccoli first.  I don't know why I never saute broccoli, but I gave it a try tonight with peanut oil over medium-high heat.  After the broccoli had cooked for two or three minutes, I added some minced garlic and a couple splashes of soy sauce.  I let it cook for another two or three minutes, then decided it needed about 1/3 cup of water.  As soon as that boiled off, they were still just slightly crunchy -- perfect.

Coconut Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Mango

8 ounces rice noodles, medium thickness
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled (deveining is good, too... I forgot tonight and we didn't notice)
More protein for kids, if needed
2 tablespoons peanut oil, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon minced pickled ginger
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup chopped or shredded carrots, your preference
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup coconut milk, or maybe a little more if you like
1 mango, cubed
Crushed red pepper to taste

Break the noodles (wrapping them in a dishcloth is helpful) and cover them with hot tap water.  Let them soak for about 25 minutes, not much longer or they'll get waterlogged.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat.  Prep the shrimp as needed and add it to the pan, letting it cook without stirring too much.  (Note: I now add Quorn tenders to many meals with shrimp so my kids get some protein and I can still say it's from the same meal.  I also happened to have some egg whites in my fridge, and I decided to use it with some cornstarch to coat the shrimp.  I don't think this recipe needs the egg, but if it just happens to be convenient for you, it works well.)  Cook the shrimp until it's pink on both sides, then take them out and put them aside.

Lower the heat under the pan to medium-high and add more oil if necessary (it probably is).  Add the ginger, garlic, and carrots and stir-fry them for about 30 seconds.  Then add the fish sauce and sugar and combine them evenly with the other items in the pan.  Add the noodles, which should still be just slightly stiff and starchy.  Pour the coconut milk over the noodles, then stir them continuously to ensure that they absorb the flavors in the pan evenly.  Add the shrimp back to the noodles and stir in the mango, too.  Sprinkle with red pepper and you're done!

This serves two adults and two kids pretty well.  John and I both had small second servings, as we usually do.

Fresh Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta Cheese Filling

Menu: Fresh Ravioli with Ricotta Cheese Filling; Random Crunchy Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and Rosemary

Lessons learned (so many tonight):

1. The first thing you need to do when making homemade pasta is pour yourself a glass of wine.
2. The food processor doesn't make mixing the flour and egg any easier.
3. Flour.  Flour.  Flour.  Flour.  Flour.  Flour.  Flour.  Flour.
4. The pasta maker is not my friend.  Not yet, anyway.
5. Roll the dough through the pasta maker in small batches.
6. Flour, and flour some more.

I love fresh pasta, and I love ravioli.  When I got married, one of the things I put on our registry was a pasta maker.  I also added a ravioli attachment that turns out not to work so well, which I found out after a blood-boiling seven-hour stint in my mother-in-law's kitchen one evening (finally served dinner at 10pm, very grumpy).

Even without the ravioli attachment, my pasta maker is not what I would call user-friendly, but at least you can learn the pitfalls and get used to them.  Not that I have, but I'm trying.

Tonight I got the idea to let my food processor do a lot of the kneading of dough.  It's no electric mixer, but it has a dough attachment, right?  Definitely not worth it, as it turns out.  I still had to do plenty of kneading, and just ended up getting a big dish dirty.  This is the first lesson I learned.

After messing with my pasta maker for several minutes and learning that I needed to practically drench it with flour due to the consistency of the dough, I finally started rolling some sheets successfully.  That's when I realized that I should have opened the wine first thing.  I'd like to claim that my unkempt hair below is a result of my efforts in the kitchen, but I'm pretty sure it was looking that way all day.

As I was making the sheets, I had problems with them getting too long for me to handle, or too sticky to make it through the thinnest, most hazardous, setting.  I learned to use pretty small clumps of dough -- like just big enough to fit in the palm of my hand -- and eventually I abandoned the last setting.  Next time if I have more patience I might try it again.  Here's what I finally ended up with:

Wow, that's a lot of flour.  And you know what?  THEY STILL STUCK TOGETHER.  And to the paper underneath.  Rrrrrrrrrrgh!  OK, so next time I will dump a cup of flour onto the paper and definitely not let any of them touch each other.  You will also notice that they are not gorgeous.  After all the frustration with the pasta rolling, I decided I couldn't care less if they were pretty.

Let me address the obvious question here.  Why make my own ravioli from scratch?  Is it really that much better than frozen ravioli, or especially the fancy fresh ravioli that you can buy in many stores?  I don't know if this would be true for other people, but my answer is yes.  The filling was so fresh and fantastic.  Not even in the same category as cheese ravioli from the freezer section; plus I got to use organic ricotta.  Also I love that you can flavor homemade pasta any way you want.  I just went with plain for tonight because I was so rusty on the prep, but in the past I've done spinach and lemon-pepper and they were yummy.  I would also love to do roasted red pepper and one full of Italian herbs.  The possibilities are endless.  And the more I do it, the easier it will be.  I'll get my method down.  And they really were yummy.

I had to do a blind shopping trip this afternoon while we were out, so I ended up just throwing together an odd salad of lettuce, apples, carrots, radishes, and croutons.  I threw in some rosemary and dressed it with the last of my mustard vinaigrette.

Fresh Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta Cheese Filling

2 1/4 cups all-purposed flour, plus more as needed (I needed LOTS more)
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated hard Italian cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 egg

OK, so most recipes for fresh pasta that I've ever seen say to just pile your flour on the countertop or table and then make a "well" in the middle for your eggs, which you then start cutting in with a fork.  I much prefer to just use a bowl!  Put the flour, salt, and eggs in a small mixing bowl.  For me, it worked to keep my canister of flour open and next to me with a scoop at all times during this process; that way I could always dip my ball of dough right in it if needed, or sprinkle it over any of the surfaces I was using.  Once you're all set up there, just start kneading and keep going until the dough isn't sticky anymore.  When it's the right consistency, cover the bowl with a damp towel to prevent the dough from drying out as you work.

Next make the filling, so it's ready to go when you need it.  Just mix the cheeses, seasonings, and egg together in a bowl and keep it next to your work area with a small spoon.

I happen to have a pasta maker, so I'll give directions for that.  For ravioli, you could try using a rolling pin, but that's just not going to get the dough as thin as a pasta maker will, so be warned.

Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces.  Each piece may seem small, but as you feed it through the pasta maker at each setting, it can get very long and hard to manage without tearing it.  Clamp the pasta maker to your counter or table, attach the feed tray, and turn the dial to the thickest setting (on my machine, that's number 1).  Feed your first piece of dough through each setting once or twice, trying to keep the sheets straight and even as they go through.  My dough was fine going through only once on each setting until I got to the thinnest one.  If you're going to use the thinnest setting, you probably need to feed the dough through the previous setting at least twice beforehand.  Mine tore and crimped each time I didn't do that.

Now you need to decide what size you want your raviolis to be.  I ended up making larger ones.  In my opinion these are tastier because there's a larger amount of filling to be had in each one.  But they can look kind of shapeless and sloppy, too.  If you want the large ones, lay out one sheet of pasta horizontally (from your view) on a floured surface and spoon large globs of filling onto either the right or left side of the sheet, spaced out by about 1/2" - 3/4".  Then fold the other side over the filling side and press down around the globs to seal them in.  If you're worried that it won't stick, sprinkle or brush a little bit of water on the dough first.  If you want to make smaller ones, you can put smaller globs of filling all along the horizontal sheet on the half closest to you, then fold the far half over toward you and seal in the filling.  When you're done, cut the squares with a pizza cutter and arrange them on a floured tray.  Repeat until the dough and filling are all used.  You can get 20-25 large raviolis or maybe 35-40 smaller ones.

Boil a large pot of water.  When the water is boiling, add the raviolis but make sure you don't overcrowd the pot; they're done when they float at the top.  It takes very little time, like less than 2 minutes.  It's easy to work in batches if you have a slotted spoon or similar tool to fish the raviolis out when they're done.

Serve immediately with your favorite tomato sauce and some grated cheese.  And save some wine for when you're eating.

Ants on a Tree

Menu: Ants on a Tree; Stir-Fried Green Beans; Sliced Apples

Lessons learned:

1. Easy on the heat while the noodles are cooking.
2. Don't forget the ginger.
3. Don't forget the bean sprouts!
4. Don't forget the brown sugar!!

I know.  "Ants on a tree" is not the most appetizing name for a recipe.  But it's really good if you can find the right balance of flavors, and I love it because it doesn't require pre-soaking the rice noodles.  Apparently, the name comes from the way the ground meat looks on the rice noodles in the original recipe.  I don't know who would want to be thinking about ants while they're eating, but the name stuck in our house.

I've made this a lot so I don't use a recipe anymore, but it's been a while so unfortunately I forgot some things.  I forgot the ginger until the noodles were already soft.  I forgot the bean sprouts until after I had already garnished with cilantro (the picture below is pre-sprout).  And I forgot the brown sugar entirely.  It was still tasty, though, and hopefully I'll get back into practice.

The original recipe calls for cooking the noodles in chicken broth, but I will often use vegetable broth, depending on what I have on hand.  I'm very partial to Wolfgang Puck's chicken broth, ran out of it a while ago, and it wasn't available at the last store where I was shopping.  What they did have was mushroom broth, which I thought could be good.  I went ahead and bought it to use here.  It was tasty, but I'm not sure I want to use it again because my protein is Quorn, which is made from fungus like mushrooms, and I don't want to overdo that element.

I wanted to dress the green beans with Ginger-Hoisin Vinaigrette, but I ran out and didn't have it together enough to make more.  The rice noodles have a lot of soy sauce, so it wasn't my first choice to use it on the veggies as well, but it was the easiest and most reliably tasty thing I could think of to do.

I'm so happy: this is the second meal in a row that Ben has eaten as is, the same way John and I eat it.  He loves flavored noodles!  AND he tried his green beans and liked them!  So he ate pretty much everything on his plate, plus seconds of the noodles.  Sophie only ate apples and the Quorn tenders from the noodles.  She asked for seconds on them, and I tried to tell her she could have seconds if she would taste a green bean.  In response, she freaked out.  I definitely think we will need to use that strategy soon, but I just don't think she's able to respond to it yet.

This dinner would have been good with a beer, but I've had alcohol several nights in a row now, so I decided I'd give it a rest.

Ants on a Tree

Vegetable oil
1/2 red onion, or more to taste, chopped
4 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of minced pickled ginger (I use the kind in a tube because I hate grating the real stuff)
8 ounces ground pork or other crumbled protein (I also add Quorn tenders because they're easier for the kids to eat)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste
1/4 cup soy sauce
8 ounces rice noodles, medium thickness
2 cups desired broth, plus more if needed
1/4 cup rice vinegar
5 ounces bean sprouts
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil at a medium setting in a large pan or 300 degree on an electric skillet.  Add the onion, garlic, ginger, protein, and pepper and saute until the onions are soft and the protein has browned.  Add the noodles, broth, soy sauce, and vinegar.  Increase the heat if necessary to bring the liquid to a simmer, and stir frequently to ensure that the noodles absorb the liquid evenly, adding more broth as needed.  When the noodles are pliant, mix in the bean sprouts and then add the sugar and sesame oil.  Garnish with cilantro just before serving.

Serves up to 4 people.

Linguine with Spicy Clam Sauce

Menu: Linguine with Spicy Clam Sauce.  The end.

Lesson learned: Tuesday night dinners are about to get a lot simpler.

Tonight I went to a regular running group that meets at 6pm... right when I would normally be cooking and serving dinner.  It was a good workout, so I decided I'm going to go every Tuesday, even though that means I won't be at dinner.  I'll have to make something earlier in the day that doesn't need to be served hot, or that John can easily just heat up: I'm thinking maybe pizza, sushi...

But this week, I already had plans to make my favorite homemade pasta dish, linguine with spicy clam sauce.  Just about everyone who has been a guest at my dinner table has been served this meal, and my husband and I have been known to eat the entire pound ourselves over the course of one night.  It's addicting to the point where putting leftovers in the fridge early is my only hope.  Anyway, John found out great news at work, so I wanted to make it even though we wouldn't be able to eat together.  What's even better is that Ben always loves it, so that means it's a dinner that 3/4 of us will eat!  There aren't very many of those these days.

I had plans to make a salad, too, but I ran out of time before I had to get the kids out the door and to the track.  Even when I don't have somewhere to go during dinner, I've often found that my vegetable dishes get short shrift unless I make them first.  I need to work on sticking to that order.  I'm also planning on putting out a plate of crudites around 6pm, the time at which Sophie has started bugging me for food like clockwork every night.

I was disappointed to see that I had run out of linguine, so I had to make it with farfalle tonight.  Somehow not as classy, but still yummy.

Linguine (or other pasta) with Spicy Clam Sauce

1 pound linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium shallots or 1/2 red onion, chopped
4-6 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste (I keep it mild for the kids)
1 cup half and half
3 6.5-ounce cans chopped or minced clams with juice
2-3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1-2 ounces fresh basil, chopped
Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta; cook to al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, and pepper.  Saute until the onions soften and the garlic is turning golden, then add the half and half and the clam juice, leaving the clams aside.  Add the Italian seasoning and bring the sauce to a steady simmer over medium-high heat.  Let the sauce boil down by about half as the pasta cooks.  Combine the thickened sauce with the drained pasta and toss with the clams, basil, and a generous amount of grated cheese.  Wait a couple of minutes before serving to allow the sauce time to cling to and soak into the pasta.

Makes 4 generous servings; could be stretched to 6 with other courses.

Pantry Day

Attempted Menu: Homemade Spinach-Ricotta Ravioli with Tomato Sauce; Arugula Salad with Strawberries and Goat Cheese

Actual Menu: Pasta with Tomatoes and Herbs; Garlic Bread; Arugula Salad with Strawberries

Lesson learned: if I don't want to go to the grocery store, I probably don't have to.

For whatever reason, I couldn't sleep last night.  I've been cranky, irritable, and lazy all day.  I had plans to go to the grocery store, but I could barely keep up with the things I had to do here at home.  So, dinner was improvised.

I think many people try to minimize trips to the grocery store, especially in my situation.  I don't, for two reasons: (1) I'm always in need of places to take the kids, and (2) fresh produce.  The garden's in between seasons right now, so that second one is even more important.  So it happens I still had tomatoes and strawberries on my counter, plus the Italian herbs and arugula still in the garden.  It was good enough.

We cooked a pound of pasta and did a little customizing.  John thinks that plain-as-plain pasta is a treat (don't ask me, I have no idea), so I put half of it aside.  In the other half, I mixed in olive oil and lots of bread crumbs with Italian herbs.  Then I took some out for the kids and put it on their plates with some marinara from a jar that probably only had a couple of weeks left at most.  For me, I mixed in the fresh tomatoes, fresh herbs, garlic, onions, and some Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Sophie only ate strawberries and garlic bread.  Ben ate strawberries, pasta, and some bread.

UPDATE: I was wrong about the kids' marinara being good for a couple more weeks.  When I went to put it away, I noticed a patch of mold on the inside rim of the jar.   So despite all my efforts to feed my family well, it turns out that sometimes I serve my children moldy food.  I guess there was more than one lesson I needed to learn last night.