Pasta Shells with Gouda Cheese

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I was craving comfort food (i.e., something really unhealthy). As I watched The Food Network, one of the shows featured a macaroni and cheese dish. It looked incredible and was exactly what I was in the mood for; however, I didn’t want to make some huge casserole dish. I do have my limits when eating super unhealthy dishes so I needed to come up with my own single serving version.

For my single serving version, I figured I could just make a cheese sauce to mix with pasta shells. I did some research on cheese sauces and basically learned that you just make a white sauce and then add the cheese. I can do that! So I headed to the market and perused the cheese isle. I found gouda cheese, which sounded perfect, so I grabbed it and headed back home.

This dish ended up being pretty easy to make, and the final product was sooo luxuriously rich and tasty. The shells perfectly held the sauce to ensure every bite was a rich bite. I also added chopped sage as a garnish, but as it turns out the flavor of the sage really complimented the gouda cheese and brought a freshness to the dish.

If you prefer to cut down on the richness, just using all whole milk instead of incorporating the heavy cream should be fine. Also, when choosing your gouda cheese, find one that is relatively soft (i.e., it has not been aged for terribly long). The softer it is, the easier it will melt.

Okay, here is my recipe for the special shells and cheese:

• 1 large serving of shell pasta (or 2 small servings)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup grated gouda cheese
• dash of paprika
• healthy dose of fresh ground pepper
• salt to taste
• chopped sage

1. Start boiling water in a large pot and prepare the pasta per the directions on the box.
2. Meanwhile, over medium low heat in a sauce pan add butter and melt.
3. Whisk in flour and let cook a minute or two.
4. Add milk, heavy cream, and bay leaf. Whisk frequently until the milk is hot. If needed, turn the heat up a little bit.
5. Remove bay leaf and then add the cheese. Continuously stir until all melted.
6. Mix in paprika, pepper, and salt.
7. Once pasta is ready, drain and mix in with cheese sauce. (If sauce is ready before the pasta, you can just keep over very low heat, stirring frequently).
8. Serve with chopped sage on top.

Enjoy!

Gorgonzola Cheese and Mushroom Fettuccini

Sunday night I was looking to make something rich and filling. A couple months ago I came up with this dish and really enjoyed it. So I recreated it tonight, and it was just as I remembered it.

You may have noticed that when I cook with mushrooms, I usually choose cremini mushrooms as I did in this dish. Cremini mushrooms are baby portabellas. Therefore, like portabellas, they are meatier than the white button mushrooms and hence more earthy and tastier.

Remember that when you clean mushrooms you should never wash them under water. They tend to act like sponges and will just soak up the water, which in turn will make them tough. Instead, lightly moisten a dish towel and then just wipe off the mushrooms.

So here is the recipe (per serving):

• 1 ½ tsp Olive oil
• 1/2 Shallot, chopped
• 1 Garlic clove, chopped
• 1/4 lb Cremini mushrooms, sliced into 1/3 inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp Flour
• 1/2 cup Whole milk
• 1.5 oz Gorgonzola cheese
• 1/4 cup Sliced basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 serving Fettuccini pasta, cooked

1. Over medium heat in a sauté pan, add olive oil, shallot, garlic, and mushrooms. Cover and cook, mixing periodically, until the mushrooms are cooked through.

2. Add flour, mix, and cook for a minute (this will “cook off” the raw flour taste).
3. Add milk and stir—picking up the dried bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add gorgonzola cheese and dissolve it into the milk. (I used a whisk for this stage).
4. Lightly simmer mixture until it thickens to desired consistency (remember that the sauce will thicken further once it cools down on the pasta).
5. Add basil and stir until basil has wilted. This will take a minute at most.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. In a serving dish with fettuccini, pour the gorgonzola and mushroom sauce on top of the pasta. Garnish with extra basil.

Enjoy!

Lemon Pasta with Ham

This is an incredibly easy recipe that has a nice, unique flavor. This recipe of mine emerged from a recipe I saw in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. Her recipe, Herbed Spaghetti with Pasta, caught my eye because it called for wheat pasta. I have some leftover wheat pasta from when I made my Pancetta and Sage with Linguini Pasta so I figured this would be a great way to use the rest of it.

Martha’s recipe utilizes butter, but in my attempt to be healthier (i.e., look good for the summer!) I substituted it for olive oil. I also really wanted to emphasis the fresh lemon flavor so I used a lot more lemon zest and juice than what her recipe calls for. Lastly, I included a little thinly sliced ham (apple smoked ham--yum!) to add a nice warm flavor to the dish and provide an extra dimension.

Here is the recipe I used (for four people). If you make this, don’t worry too much about measurements—just go with what tastes right for you:

• 4 Servings of wheat spaghetti or linguini (about 8 oz, or 4 cups cooked)
• 1-2 tbsp Olive oil
• 4 oz Ham, thinly sliced
• 2 Lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 ½ cups Parsley, chopped
• Salt & pepper

1. Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to boiling. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and add pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente.
2. While waiting for water to boil and pasta to cook in step one, add olive oil and ham to a pan over medium heat. Let cook until ham is thoroughly warmed and begins to brown. Set aside.
3. Once pasta is ready, drain and place pasta back into the pot. Do not rinse! You need the starch to help the lemon juice stick to the pasta.
4. Mix in the zest and juice from the two lemons, as well as, the parsley.
5. Add salt & pepper to taste.
6. Place pasta in serving dishes and sprinkle ham on top. You may also want to add a little parsley on top to garnish.

Enjoy!

Pancetta and Sage with Linguini Pasta

My friend, Fiona, came over for dinner last night before we headed off to a party celebrating Michelle Yu and Blossom Kan’s publishing deal for their first novel China Dolls (Michelle explains that the book is Sex and the City meets The Joy Luck Club). This was my first time to cook for Fiona, who recently moved to New York from London, so I wanted to make sure I made something that was really good but also easy so that I could still entertain her as I prepared the meal.

I found in my refrigerator the remaining pancetta leftover from making my Pancetta, Bean and Spinach Soup. I also had some sage leftover from another dish I had made earlier in the week. Since I love the pancetta so much, I wanted to use it in a dish that would allow it shine. So the first thing that came to mind was a pasta dish. Perfectly easy!

So here is how I made it (for two servings):

• 2 servings of linguini pasta (See Note 1)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 ½ tbsp butter
• 1/3 lb pancetta, chopped
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 8 fresh sage leaves, sliced
• Fresh parmesan cheese to top (I used Parmigiano Reggiano)

1. In a pot over high heat, fill with water third thirds full. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and salt. Let cook until the pasta is al dente. (Reserve some pasta water for step 3!)
2. As pasta is cooking, in a small omelet pan over medium low heat add butter. Once melted, add pancetta, shallot, and sage. Cook until pancetta is nice and juicy.
3. From the pasta pot, take about 1/3 cup of the pasta water and mix it into the sauce. Turn heat up to medium. Let it cook down until the sauce has a good, slightly thick consistency (like a gravy consistency). See picture.
4. When pasta is finished cooking, drain it and add to serving bowls. Do not rinse the pasta—you want the starch on the pasta surface because this helps the sauce stick to it. Add sauce on top of pasta. (I prefer adding the sauce to the top of the individual servings because if I mixed it with the pasta first, all the pancetta would just fall to the bottom.)
5. Top with crumbled parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Notes:

1. As you can see from the picture, I used whole wheat linguini pasta. I chose it because I am trying to be healthier, but it also has a great flavor that I thought would compliment the strong pancetta paste. Although traditional pasta will also work well, I do think the pancetta and whole wheat pasta make for a good combination of flavors.

Dinner Parties at Gemma's

I love dinner parties—especially Gemma’s. Gemma is our English friend who moved over to the states for college and never left. Lucky for us, she brought over her English ways of hospitality, which include her fabulous dinner parties (dinner parties are very popular in England).

Gemma is a great cook as she is really not afraid to try any recipe, and if she finds a particular dish a challenge to make, it gives her all the more reason to keep trying it until she gets it perfect. Such a good friend to have…

Last Sunday evening Gemma and her husband, Sebastian (a 6’8” Californian), hosted six of us for dinner. Since it was a “work night,” the evening was a bit more chill than usual (her last event was a champagne brunch which began at 12 noon and ended at 11pm) but the food was of course just as great.

The following was the menu:

Mixed Greens Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Balsamic Dressing

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream

Baked Ricotta and Mascarpone Tart with Chocolate and Orange

Since Gemma is a pro at giving these dinner parties, she was smart to keep the salad simple (but tasty!) and the entrée was something she found in Bon Appetit’s January 2006 issue as being fast and easy. I think this is important when giving dinner parties because the last thing you want to do is be stuck in the kitchen the whole time slaving away. The key is choosing recipes that do not taste like they were “quick and easy,” which of course these recipes succeeded at.

As often is the case, the dessert was the main attraction. This Gemma did slave away on all day. For starters, get this; she made her own pastry for the pie! Sebastian commented that when they woke-up Sunday morning, Gemma’s first words were, “I’ve got to get started on the pastry!” She was disappointed by the end results (aren’t all artists their own biggest critics?), but I thought it tasted great.

The pie filling was very unique by combining both chocolate and orange flavors with the ricotta and mascarpone. If you are up to the challenge, I do recommend that you try this recipe. And keep in mind that you can buy the pie crust already made at the market!

Here are the recipes from the evening:

Mixed Greens Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Balsamic Dressing

• Bag of mixed greens
• Goat cheese
• Couple handfuls of toasted walnuts
• Balsamic dressing (balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixed)

Simply mix all ingredients together. You can toast the walnuts in the oven or stovetop, but keep an eye on them as they can burn quite quickly.


Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream
Makes 6 servings.
Bon Appétit, January 2006, Cara Brunetti Hillyard, Hamilton, VA

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 pound farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
• 1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
• Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish. Sprinkle with basil. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Baked Ricotta and Mascarpone Tart with Chocolate And Orange
Serves 8
Jamie Oliver, “Jamie’s Kitchen”

• 1 x basic sweet pastry recipe (see below)
• 250g/9oz ricotta cheese
• 250g/9oz mascarpone
• 125g/41/2oz icing sugar
• zest of 3 oranges
• seeds from 2 vanilla pods
• 2 eggs, separated
• 100g/31/2oz best-quality cooking chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• icing sugar, for dusting

Make the pastry and line a loose-bottomed 28cm/11 inch flan tin. Bake blind (i.e. with no filling) and allow to cool. Roll the extra pastry out to the same thickness in a long rectangular shape, dusting as you go, and divide into 14 strips 2.5 cm/1 inch wide. Set these aside - you will need them to finish off the tart.

Turn the oven down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3. Whip together the ricotta, mascarpone, icing sugar, orange zest, vanilla seeds and egg yolks until smooth and shiny. In a separate bowl whip up your egg whites until stiff - you can test if they're done by holding the bowl upside down over your head. Obviously the mixture should stick to the bowl and not fall on your head! Gently fold the egg whites into the mixture.

Pour into your cooled tart mould and sprinkle the chocolate over the top. Lay 7 strips of pastry across the tart, equally spaced, and then place the other 7 the other way on top of them like a lattice. Use your thumbs to trim any excess pastry off the side of the mould - this will stick it to the pastry below. Brush the pastry with a little of the beaten egg and then dust with a little icing sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

This tart can be served hot or cold with some ice cream, crème fraiche or cream.


Sweet Pastry

• Make 2 x 28cm / 11 inch Tart shell
• 250g/9oz butter200g/7oz icing sugar
• a medium pinch of salt
• 500g/just over 1lb flour
• seeds from 1 vanilla pod
• zest of 1 lemon
• 4 egg yolks
• 2-4 tablespoons cold milk or water

You can make this pastry by hand or in a food processor. This is enough to make 2 x 28cm / 11 inch Tart shells

Stage 1: Cream together the butter, icing sugar and salt, then rub or pulse in the flour, vanilla seeds, lemon zest and egg yolks. When this mixture has come together, looking like coarse breadcrumbs, add the cold milk or water. Pat together to form a ball of dough. Lightly flour and then squeeze it into shape. The idea is to get your ingredients to a dough form with the minimum amount of movement, i.e. keeping your pastry flaky and short (the more you work it the more elastic it will get, causing it to shrink in the oven and be chewy, and you don't want that to happen).

Stage 2: Roll the pastry into a really large, short and fat sausage shape, wrap it in Clingfilm and put it in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.

Stage 3: Carefully slice off very thin slivers of your pastry lengthways. You can make the slices thicker if you like, but remember that the tart will take longer to cook. Place the slivers all around your tart mould, fitting them together like a jigsaw. Push the pieces together and tidy up the sides by cleaning any excess pastry from the rim of the mould. Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

Stage 4: Bake them 'blind' (i.e. with no filling) for around 15 minutes at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 - this will cook them all the way through, coloring them slightly.

Once completely cooled, the shells can be filled. With baked fillings, like the Plum Tart on page 295, the tart shell has to be baked blind for around 12 minutes at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 before being filled and then baked once more.

Try this: Once your tart shell has been baked blind, brush the inside of it with a little egg white and then put it back in the oven for 30 seconds - no longer. This will give it a nice waterproof layer which will protect it from a moist filling. The pastry will stay crumbly and crisp for longer instead of going all soggy.