orzo soup

I literally just made a promise this week that I wouldn't post about soup again until September. Apparently I shouldn't make promises I know I can't keep.

This soup is just to good to keep quiet. I'm justifying the post by the fact that it's hardly "soup" in the traditional sense. Since it does have a broth base though, I suppose it has to keep it's name. It's a breeze to make and I've made no alterations to the original recipe as it appears on 101 Cookbooks. I typically cut the chard into "ribbons" to add some interesting texture. If you can get your hands on these fire roasted tomatoes, I whole heartedly recommend them. They have chilies which pack a little extra heat with the red pepper flakes. Also, for those of you who may want to default to chicken broth, this is a case where you need to stick to veggie broth. The flavor is well worth it. Have fun with the egg whites, they're my favorite part of the process! Enjoy! - jz

orzo soup
serves 4 to 6 (taken from 101 Cookbooks) 

7 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups whole wheat orzo (or other small pasta i.e. pastina)
2 cups chard or spinach, chopped
1 14-ounce can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, well drained
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
good quality extra virgin olive oil
3 egg whites
fine grain sea salt
some grated Parmesan cheese (to finish)

Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until just tender - about ten minutes. Stir in the chopped spinach;In the meantime, heat the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and a splash of extra virgin olive oil in a separate saucepan. Taste, and salt a bit if needed. Just before serving, slowly pour the egg whites into the soup, stirring quickly with a whisk. The whites should take on a raggy appearance. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve the soup in individual bowls, with each serving topped with a generous spoonful of tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, and dusting of cheese.

squash macaroni & cheese

It has already been a hectic week and today is only Tuesday. After staying late at work I can honestly admit I was in no mood to spend my night in the kitchen once I made it home. As I was driving away from the city contemplating what would be the quickest and easiest thing to throw together (and not end up eating popcorn for dinner), I remembered the tray of squash macaroni and cheese patiently waiting for me in the freezer.  I know what you're thinking, squash has no place in macaroni and cheese. I can assure you though it does. I originally found this recipe on a blog that I follow called Cole's Kitch.  It's yummy as is but I've made a few tweaks since I have made this quite a few times, sometimes only with what I had on hand. The recipe with my favorite additions and substitutions is below; and as I mentioned, this dish freezes well. Enjoy!

squash macaroni and cheese
yields 6 servings

1 medium butternut squash
olive oil
herbs de provence
12 ounces penne pasta (or any other shape you prefer)
1 large shallot, diced
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Rub the cut side with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs de provence. Place squash cut sides down on a cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 1 hour or until tender. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Once the squash has cooled, scoop out the insides and mash in a large bowl with a spoon.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add shallots and cook about 2 minutes. Add nutmeg, pepper, and red pepper flakes and continue to cook until the shallots are translucent. And flour and mix well. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Increase heat and continue stirring until the mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat and allow the sauce to thicken, still stirring constantly. Stir in cheese until it is fully melted.

Add sauce and rinsed noodles to the bowl with squash. Mix well. Transfer to a baking dish (or two) and bake covered for 30 minutes. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over top of the dish. Bake for 5 - 7 more minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn a golden brown.

homemade pasta

I've given you marinara. I've given you meatballs. The final missing ingredient? Pasta! Of course you can buy a box of pasta at the grocery store. Or maybe you even spring for the "fresh" stuff sold in the refrigerated aisle. But do you really want your freshly made marinara and meatballs to suffer such injustice? I know you don't. That's why you're still reading.

Now if you don't have an Italian grandmother, don't worry. You can still successfully make fabulous, fresh homemade pasta. Unless you truly want to go old school and roll it out yourself, it does take some equipment. I have always used the aid of a pasta roller, which is most easily operated with two people. I have since upgraded to the amazing pasta attachments for my KitchenAid stand mixer as you can see here; making pasta production that much easier. That all being said, this contraption wasn't always in existence and I think it's safe to conclude that the pasta came before the roller. I recently saw pasta being made strictly by hand on an episode of No Reservations while Anthony Bourdain () was visiting Sardinia. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to trying it out that way. If you don't have a pasta machine though it doesn't seem that complicated by hand. And just because your pasta may not look perfect doesn't mean it won't taste amazing. Let me forewarn you though....once you go fresh, it's hard to eat anything out of a box again.

The recipe listed here is a tried and true favorite with my family. One batch will make approximately 8 servings. Once the pasta has dried it can be frozen for up two months. Semolina flour can be found at Italian/gourmet/specialty food type shops.

pasta dough
yields 8 servings
(if you want to make more, don't double the recipe; make two separate batches.)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour (2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup semolina flour)
2 eggs
1/2 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl; create a "well" in the center. By hand, beat eggs and water together. Pour into the "well". Using a fork slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Once the mixture becomes thick (should be a crumbly mess at this point), transfer the mixture to a lightly floured flat surface. Begin to knead the mixture until it comes together in a ball; texture should be similar to bread dough but heavier. If the mixture is dry, add water SLOWLY, a teaspoon at a time.

Form into a ball, cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Cut into 4 or 5 pieces and feed through pasta machine or roll out by hand. Lay pasta out on a flat surface to dry; gently toss with flour to prevent sticking. Pasta can be cooked almost immediately. Add to a pot of boiling salted water; let boil for about 5 minutes. Drain and serve.

TIP: Let pasta dry completely before storing; it can be left out overnight.

meatballs

I feel my last post left something lacking. I mean, what good is a great marinara recipe without the meatballs (and fresh pasta) to go with it? Also, a friend of mine has been looking for a good meatball recipe and I can't think of a better way to pass this one along.

So here you have it, meatballs!

meatballs
yields approximately 25 - 30 
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground sausage
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 C milk
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs, plus more if needed
1 TBL olive oil

Mix ground beef and sausage together in a large bowl with hands. Add in eggs, milk, garlic salt and pepper and mix well. Add bread crumbs. Mixture should be moist but still hold its shape if formed into meatballs.  Roll into 2 inch balls. Brown meatballs in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once all sides have browned, transfer the meatballs to a large pot of marinara sauce and simmer until cooked through.

marinarathon!

I'm not going to lie. I have been on a bit of a hiatus from my kitchen lately or at least from blogging about what I have been up to in my kitchen. Well today the dry spell ended! I woke up this morning with cooking and Christmas on my mind. Weird I know, but what can you do? After breakfast and a lot of coffee, I dedicated the rest of my day to my long lost friend and to the spirit of the season. On today's menu: marinara!

Last year around this time I was fortunate enough to receive a Kitchen Aid mixer complete with the pasta attachments. Since then I have been making loads of fresh pasta and experimenting with tomato sauce. Marinara is simple enough and everyone has their own formula. Once you've found yours, I promise you'll be hesitant to buy anything in a jar again. Especially if you are crafty enough to jar your own.

Now as far as tomatoes go, I personally like to use canned when it comes to marinara. For one, canned tomatoes are much quicker and easier; no boiling or peeling required. Also, they have spent their shelf life swimming in their own juices giving them a rich flavor that can be hard to achieve with fresh. For an even richer sauce, feel free to add meatballs. I promise it will be worth it and should have a post up with a great recipe soon.

The base for the recipe below is found in Giada DeLaurentiis' Everyday Pasta and yields about 2 quarts of marinara. So long as you have a large enough pot, I say double it! Or you can be as ambitious as I was today and sextuple it! You can always freeze the extra or can it as I mentioned. I'll let you guess what a number of my friends will be receiving for Christmas this year...

basic marinara sauce
yields about 2 quarts

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery stocks, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more taste
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium - high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are tanslucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the parsley and thyme and saute for about 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!