When visiting New York City recently, we got an opportunity to head to Momofuku Noodle Bar in the Village, which after going through the cookbook, was a big draw for me. Going in, I knew that the two dishes I was going to have the most difficult time choosing between would be the Momofuku Ramen (which I did end up ordering) and this dish below: Ginger Scallion Noodles.

The dish is totally simple to prepare, really not much effort, but the flavors are complex and delicious.  The base of the dish is the Ginger Scallion Sauce, which for the most part is just that, minced ginger and scallions along with some soy, vinegar and grapeseed oil.  It’s less sauce and more of a rub or condiment.  Whatever it is, you’ll love it, trust me.  As David Chang of Momofuku says:

“Improvise to your needs, but know that you need ginger scallion sauce on your noodles, in your fridge, and in your life.”

Here’s how to pull it together – first for the Ginger Scallion Sauce.  Make this first, as it gets better with age:

• 2.5 cups scallions.  Basically 2 standard bunches finely diced
• 1/2 cup finely diced ginger
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil – make sure you use grapeseed, don’t substitute here!
• 1.5 tsp. light soy sauce (I used the low sodium version).
• 3/4 tsp. Sherry vinegar
• large pinch kosher salt (3/4 tsp. or so)

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl, then set aside to rest, letting the flavors blend together.  Let this mixture sit for at least 15 minutes or up to a day or two in the fridge.

Quick Pickle Cucumbers:

• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. organic sugar
• A bunch of thinly sliced cucumber slices – standard cukes were cool with us.

Combine all ingredients thoroughly with your hands and let marinate for 5-10 minutes before using.

Pan-Roasted Cauliflower:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower – broken down and sliced into small florets.
• Grapeseed oil
• Kosher salt to season

Get the oil ripping hot in your pan, then add the cauliflower (careful, the oil may splatter!!) cut side down and toss letting all sides caramelize before seasoning to taste with salt and removing from the pan.

Ginger Scallion Noodle Dish: (for 3-4 people)

• All 3 condiments from above
• 1 package of store-bought ramen noodles (around a 1 lb package, like standard pasta)

Boil the noodles for just a few minutes in unsalted water, breaking them apart the best you can.  Keep in mind these ramen noodles cook MUCH faster than their Italian counterparts, so don’t overcook them!!

Drain the noodles and place in a large bowl.  Toss in the sauce and the rest of the ingredients/condiments, along with anything else to your liking!  Serve and enjoy once well combined.

This recipe is super easy – maybe because it has just 3 ingredients total, or maybe because unlike bread, you have some wiggle room when making pasta.  Once you’ve done it a few times too, you can really hone your skills and nail it.  This recipe is all about the proportion of eggs to flour – everyone’s got their own it seems, at least that’s what I found when looking through countless cookbooks for ideas on mine.

The history of pasta is a mysterious one, at least according to most sources.  Obviously aggressively Italian, I came to realize while making certain types of noodles that most cultures eat noodles of some sort.  I’d even argue that some Asian cultures are bigger noodle fanatics than the people in Italy at all.

The noodles that I like to make are egg noodles, made from 1/2 gluten rich bread flour (or Tipo 00 Italian flour if you can find it) and 1/2 good old all purpose wheat flour (unbleached).  This makes for a somewhat sticky dough that’s really nice to knead and roll and produces a easily al dente toothsome pasta that’s perfect with many kinds of sauce.

I think you’ll agree that once you’ve mastered making fresh pasta, going back to dried is tough, though dried does still have its place.  I was inspired to learn fresh pasta recipes by our recent trip to Italy and now that I have my proportion down, it’s as quick and easy thing to make after work as anything.  Here’s my secret:

Makes pasta for 2 people – 1 egg per person.  If you want to make more, just double/triple the recipe as needed

• 2 medium eggs
• 1/2 cup bread flour or Tipo 00 flour
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached) + more for dusting and adding to finished pasta
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Other additions as you want (add in pureed spinach for green pasta, or squid ink for black pasta, etc…)

Making this pasta requires at least 1 essential piece of equipment: a pasta roller.  I’m lucky enough to have one attached to my mixer (Thanks wedding gifts) but I used to use a manual one and it worked great.  Just make sure you can clamp it down to your counter (this used to drive me nuts).  I also use a food processor to save myself a little time in mixing up the dough and bringing it together.  If you want to use the more traditional ‘eggs in the flour well’ technique, be my guest, but it’s messier and takes longer.  Start by making a mound of your flour, then make a shallow well in the middle of your mound and add the eggs.  Take a fork and mix up the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour into the middle until it comes together and you can use your hands.  Once it comes together, you can begin your kneading…

I mix my dough in the food processor.  If you want to go this route I highly recommend it – I find that it works great!  Start with the eggs this time – crack 2 in the bottom of the food pro with the metal blade attached.  Add the olive oil and then the flour to the bowl next and PULSE the blade until the dough comes together.  It may look a little bit like rough gravel or sand at first, but this is ok!  Take it out of the food processor and onto a lightly floured working suface.  Begin to knead the dough until it comes together and continue kneading for 5-10 minutes.

Place your dough in plastic wrap and into the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.  This step is essential and sill enable your dough to come together nicely.  Once done, cut into 2 parts and roll out lightly before beginning to roll in your pasta roller.

Start with the widest setting – the 1 or 0 depending on your roller.  Roll a few times on this setting, folding in half and rolling again to make sure you have the correct.  It should be roughly in the shape of an oblong oval.  Continue rolling and making the setting narrower and narrower until you’ve reached the ’5′.  At this point I usually stop, as the pasta is probably thin enough, but feel free to go further if you want.  Once there, you’ll have a few really nice sheet of pasta.  If they’re still a little tacky, add some more flour to prevent sticking.

Cut your pasta to desired width either by using the rollers or folding it back on itself and cutting it with a knife to desired thickness.  Cook only for a few minutes – don’t overcook if you can help it!!  and serve with your choice of sauce.

I set out to make some sort of simple pasta with a hint of some Spanish Manchego cheese.  Most of the time a little cheese typically goes on top of a finished pasta that we concoct from time to time – but I want to make this a little bit different.  So I decided to start with a roux and add the cheese after the roux had turned into a bechamel.  Of course, I didn’t want to make Mac and Cheese (this would have been easy with this method), so I decided to also add some spicy red chili flake and chopped canned tomatoes to the sauce before adding some of it to my sauteed vegetables.

This was totally experimental, the sort of food that I love to cook – no recipe, no ideas from other blogs, just some organic vegetables and some pasta with a sauce (that I was actually not expecting to turn out well at all).  But the result was surprisingly delicious.  Part of the credit has to go to the organic ingredients from Boston organics.

Overall, a pretty simple interpretation, good for weeknight dinner, but good enough to serve to guests as well.  I’d advise against trying to enhance it with meat or anything though – keep it simple and vegetarian, you’ll like it I promise.  Here’s what to do:

For the vegetables:

• 8-10 button or crimini mushrooms – cut in thick slices
• Steps and leaves from a bunch of Swiss Chard – chopped
• 1 medium onion – large dice
• 1 large head of broccoli – florets chopped
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes (more if you want it really spicy)
• 4-5 cloves fresh garlic – diced
• 1 lb. dried spaghetti or linguine – whatever you prefer
• Olive oil
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of milk (or more depending on how think you want your sauce)
• ~4 oz. Manchego cheese – grated finely
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
• 1 can diced canned tomatoes
• Salt and pepper

Place a large pot of water to boil over high heat for the pasta.  Start by cooking the vegetables – add a pan over medium heat to the stove and add some olive oil to the pan.  Add in the onions a broccoli first, season with a little salt and toss to combine.  Cook down and add the mushrooms with a pinch more salt.  Add the garlic and chard next and cook down over lower heat to caramelize the veg for 10-15 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, start with the sauce, but make sure you’re in good shape with the veg, as the sauce will require constant attention to get right.  Start with a whisk and a small-ish saucepan over low heat and melt the butter.  Add the flour to the butter and whisk to combine.  From here you want to cook the roux over low heat until it becomes a little darker color – stirring constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Add the milk next and stir quickly – now you’ve got yourself a basic bechamel sauce.  Season with the salt and pepper to taste and add in the grated cheese and stir vigorously to incorporate.  Add the chili flakes and basil and eventually the tomatoes and mix to combine.  Bring to a decent heat and then add most of the sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine.  Cook the pasta (salting the water first of course) then add some of the pasta water to the sauce (around 1/3 cup of it – you want to thin it out some here.  Drain and add the pasta to the sauce and mix to combine.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

This is one of those ‘I don’t have a lot of time or motivation to cook’ dinners that really satisfies.  It’s really simple to prepare and tastes the same way, but there are some tricks you can do to make the taste really good.  This is also one of my favorite ways to utilize broccoli stems, as opposed to just the florets (the stems are really good too! Especially peeled and roughly chopped).

The process of preparing this dish is also somewhat disconnected.  As soon as I got home from work, I put the garlic in the oven to roast, then waited around and hour before doing the rest of it.  Trust me, the garlic is worth the pain in the ass wait – and is the most important part of this dish.  Give it some time and bring it to an awesome gooey temperature with even a little crust on the outside.  If you love garlic, go with the full two heads and incorporate all of the cloves.  You can tone it down from there, but I recommend going full throttle, it’s really good and will sort of melt into the rest of the dish.

I kind of overcooked the broccoli a little bit, but hey, at least the stems held up and were good.  If you decide to blanch the broccoli before incorporating it, just don’t let it go for too long.  Here’s what to do:

• 1/2 – 3/4 lb dried farfalle pasta
• 1 large head of broccoli, florets separated and stems peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 small heads fresh garlic
• 1 medium onion
• 10-12 small crimini or other mushrooms – sliced
• 3 or 4 small sun dried tomatoes – diced small
• 1.5 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
• Juice from 1/3 – 1/2 of a lemon
• 1/2 cup shredded fresh (and good quality) Parmesano-Reggiano
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 slices of bacon (optional)

As I said before, start by roasting the garlic first! Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the heads off of the garlic and rip a small piece of tin foil off of the roll.  Place the garlic heads in the tin foil and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top before enclosing the heads in the foil.  Toss the garlic in the oven and let it go for an hour before removing it and make sure it’s soft and cooked through.  Carefully remove the cloves from the paper (don’t just squeeze it out) and set aside for later.

Next, heat a small pot of boiling water and add the broccoli for a minute of two, while prepping an ice bath at the same time.  Remove the broccoli and add it immediately to the ice bath.  Remove it once it’s cooled and set aside.

Next, create a simple saute in a skillet over medium heat by adding in some olive oil (optionally, you could also cook the veg in a little bacon fat too if you wanted to) and then the vegetables in this order: onions (cook for 3 minutes), mushrooms (cook for another 5-7 minutes), next add the broccoli and garlic and stir to combine.  Add in the red pepper and sun dried tomatoes last and lower the heat a bit before finally adding in the lemon juice.

In the same water as your cooked the broccoli, bring it back to a boil and add a decent amount of salt and the pasta.  Cook the farfalle until al dente (this type of pasta takes a little longer to cook than most!).  Then drain the pasta and add it to the vegetables – you shouldn’t need any pasta water here.  Finally, add in a little more olive oil, the Parmesan cheese and serve (top with a little more cheese as you want).  Enjoy!

I have taken on two challenges with the invention of this recipe:  the first is making a pasta-less lasagna that is hands-down delicious (you’re welcome, gluten-phobes and carb-free dieters!); the second is creating a dish that even the most critical loather of eggplant simply could not resist.  Eggplant is a touchy vegetable for some people.  How many times have I heard the claim that eggplant is “bitter”?  My response – slander!  How could such a succulent, beautiful gift from the Earth be given such a bad reputation?  The answer is the same as with most vegetables we grow to dislike.  It’s like a bad dog:  the problem is not the offender, it is the handler.  The bitter eggplant was poorly cooked.  But don’t worry, I am here to show you how to be the pack leader of eggplant.

When cooked properly and patiently, eggplant metamorphosizes, becoming tender and sweet.  In this recipe, it makes a great substitute for pasta because it is easy to cut thin and it holds its shape, but the sweet flavor it adds brings the dish to a new place.  It already created one convert when I made this dish for my good friend’s mother, unaware that she didn’t like eggplant.  She enjoyed the dish so much, she called me right after dinner to rave about how pleased she was to finally like eggplant.  Her daughter later verified that she had to ask her to stop saying, “Yum, this is so delicious,” after every bite.  Quite a compliment!

This lasagna has three different components, and then a nice cheesy top.  I find it easiest to prepare the three components separately, and then assemble and cook the lasagna.  I chose to make a tomato sauce that was loaded with veggies like fennel and kale for additional flavor and nutritional merit.  It would also be tasty with a more simple tomato sauce.  It is a little involved, so plan ahead and complete all of the steps except for baking it.  It can wait to be baked for a couple of days in your fridge.  Remember – it is a labor of love.  It is not supposed to be easy.  The messier your kitchen is when you are done and the more love you put into giving each layer just the right amount of sauce, the more delicious it will taste.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 bulb of fennel, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup of chopped kale
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• A handful of fresh basil, chopped
• 1 28 0z can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 cup of dry white wine

• 1 large container of ricotta cheese, whole milk or part skim
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• Salt and red pepper to taste

To prepare the eggplant:

Peel the eggplant.  Using a mandolin, slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 inch pieces.  Lay them out on paper towels and season them liberally with salt.  Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat in a large, nonstick skillet and put a layer of eggplant in the skillet at a time.  Cover the skillet with a lid, as this will help the eggplant steam and become soft and sweet without having to use too much oil.  Cook for about three minutes and then flip.  Cook the second side for another three minutes and remove. Place cooked eggplant on the paper towels and reserve for assembly.  Repeat this process until all the eggplant is cooked, adding more olive oil to the pan as necessary.

To prepare the sauce:

You may use the same skillet you used to cook the eggplant if it is plenty big.  Heat another two tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onions, fennel, red bell pepper, and garlic.  Season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste.  Let the vegetables soften until they become translucent, about six or seven minutes.  Add the kale and toss or stir until it is coated with the olive oil. Add the wine and let the alcohol cook off for about 4 or 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.  Allow the sauce to simmer over low heat while you prepare the ricotta mixture so that all of the flavors may blend.

To prepare the ricotta mixture:

Combine the ricotta, eggs, scallions, and basil in a large bowl.  Mix well. Set aside for assembly.

To assemble:

Assemble the lasagna in a large Pyrex cassarole dish.  I love using glass because you can see the beautiful layers of the lasagna.

Start with a layer of half of the eggplant on the bottom of your dish.  I alternate the pieces, fat side up, fat side down, for a more even layer.

Next, evenly spread a layer of half of the ricotta mixture over the eggplant.  Make sure you reach all the way to the edge so you can see each layer.

Next, ladle half of the tomato sauce over the ricotta layer and spread it out evenly, all the way to the edge.

Make one more layer each of the eggplant, ricotta mixture and sauce.  Top the dish with the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. If you are preparing the dish ahead of time, stop here and put it in the fridge.  Otherwise, it is ready to bake.

Baking the dish:

Bake the dish at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Turn the oven to broil and bake for another 5 minutes, until the top is golden brown.  Let the lasagna cool for about 15 minutes, and serve!  Serves 6-8 people.

You may think that the title of this post makes it sound like some big, heavy, complicated, difficult recipe to produce, but I want to assure you that it’s anything but.  One of the beauties of rustic Italian food is that it’s all relatively simple, even for an elegant meal such as braised duck.  This meal was almost done all in one pot, the only other hardware we used was the pot to cook the pasta and another small pan to being the pasta and braised duck sauce together with a little pasta water.

In terms of the sauce with the braised duck, well that’s actually pretty simple too.  There’s a protein: fresh organic duck legs that we bought at Savenor’s here in Boston – Some vegetables: standard mirepoix (carrots, onion and celery) along with garlic and fennel – Some liquid that starts as braising liquid and ends as the pasta sauce bringing everything together.  Other than that, a few herbs and a very simple garnish of basil and Parmesan and you have a dish that’s wholesome, hearty and a great way to serve duck!  Here’s the idea:

Serves 6-8

• 4 organic duck legs, skin on
• 3-4 medium carrots – cubed or diced
• 4 medium stalks of celery – trimmed and cubed
• 1 large yellow onion  – diced
• 1 large head of fennel – sliced in half and then cut lengthwise into strips
• 4-5 cloves garlic – rough dice

• 2 bay leaves
• A handful of dried mushrooms – porcini or shitake
• Around a cup of dry red wine (good quality preferred!) – I eyed it, like 1/3 of the bottle
• 1.5 cups good quality chicken stock
• 1 28 oz. can of peeled whole tomatoes (San Marzano preferred if you can find them)
• 1.5 lb dried Tagliatelle nests
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Basil and Parmesan for garnish

The best equipment to do this recipe in is your classic dutch oven.  If you don’t have one of those trendy Le Creuset or other models, then a good sturdy heavy bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid will do ok, but will make you stir more.

Start by removing the fat and skin from your duck legs.  Reserve a couple little pieces of the skin and fat though, instead of tossing it out straight away.  Salt your cleaned duck on both sides and pour a glug of olive oil into your pot that you should start over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is almost smoking, add the duck legs and sear on one side until it’s brown.  Flip them and do the same on the other side and then remove the duck from the pot.  Add in the reserved pieces of duck fat and lower the heat to medium.  Render out some of the fat, then remove the skin pieces and discard them.

Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot along with bay leaf and stir to combine.  You don’t want to color the vegetables, so stir often to prevent them from browning.  After 5 minutes or so, add the fennel and stir to combine.  Cook all of the vegetables together for around 10-15 minutes, then add the wine and the mushrooms.  Let the alcohol cook off for 2 minutes, and then add the tomatoes and chicken stock to the mix. Once the tomatoes are added, crush them up a bit with the back of a wooden spoon on the side of your pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then add lower the heat to low, maintaining a melow simmer.  Add the duck legs back to the pot and cover.  Let this cook for around an hour or until the meat starts to pull back from the end of the leg bone.  Once the duck is done, remove it and pull the meat off of the bones, shred the meat with 2 forks (should look a little like the pic) and then discard the bones.  Leave the sauce uncovered and turn the heat up slightly, then put the pulled meat back into the post.  Sitr frequently, letting the sauce cook down to your desired consistency – around 15-30 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking down, cook your pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Once the pasta is finished, combine it in a warm skillet with a little pasta water from the cooking process.  Plate and top the dishes with fresh basil (chiffonade) and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Summer has come and gone and as usual, I’m wishing for more of the nice weather and great fresh, simple ingredients and recipes.  Fall season is here though, and with it brings the awesome earthy, organic flavors of squash, apples and mushrooms.  I gotta say, it might be my favorite season of the food calendar.  The nights get shorter, the beer gets darker and so does the food.  Bring it on!

Our local farmer’s market is still hanging on to some of the last fruits of the summer though, as there was still an abundance of summer squash, as well as some late season tomatoes, which I’m happy for as I try to wrap my head around doing some canning for the winter.  This recipe really was thrown together at the last minute and the final product was good, so I’ve decided to post it – if for nothing else then as another good idea on using summer squash – an ingredient that I find sort of difficult to innovate dishes around.  When in doubt – make a pasta, it is really hard to screw up.

The dish is sort of similar to one of Aimee’s classic pasta recipes like Linguine with Little Neck Clams and Chorizo Sausage or Pork, Spinach and Feta Ragu with Vodka Sauce. The one thing that differentiates this dish from the rest is some of the ingredients, the fact that it doesn’t include any meat (hence the ‘Primavera’ aspect of it) and the combination of summer and fall flavors.

I also added some Marscarpone cheese to the dish to finish it, as it added a layer of creaminess to the dish, something I like with veggie pastas.  The other tip I want to share is a method of finishing a pasta, something I will always do now (especially after reading Bill Buford’s book ‘Heat’).  This method entails actually under-cooking your pasta somewhat in the pot, then removing it and finishing it in another pan with a tablespoon or two of your pasta water.  This really creates an awesome binder between the flavors that are in play and will make any pasta better, I promise.  The pasta itself will finish cooking and your final result will be perfect!  Here’s how it went:

For the tomato sauce first:

• 1/2 a large white onion (1/2 for the sauce, 1/2 for the veggie portion)
• 1 medium carrot – shredded on large holes of a box grater
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup good (at least decent) red wine
• 1 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes (optional and add based on your own heat preferences)
• 1 tsp. fresh oregano (optional)
• Salt and fresh pepper
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Start the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion and carrot and season with salt.  Sweat the onion and carrot and let them cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add the garlic, oregano, a little more salt and red pepper flakes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so.  Add in the wine and let it reduce by half to 3/4.  At this point, you should start the rest of your dish!!!  Add in the tomatoes and the bay leaf with a little more salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low, add a little water and keep the sauce at a slow simmer while you cook the rest of the dish:

• 2 medium summer squash or 4-5 small round summer squash – shredded on a box grater
• 1 bunch red kale (or green) – chopped
• 1 small head fennel – sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 a large onion (large dice)
• Small bunch of basil, 1/3 to 1/2 a cup – roughly chopped
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup almonds – whole and chopped, then toasted in a small pan over low heat until golden brown
• 1/2 cup good dry white wine
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese, ricotta, feta…)
• 1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Start a large pot of boiling water.  In another large skillet (aside from the sauce) over medium/low heat, add the butter and olive oil.  When they’ve come up to temperature, add the onions and fennel and cook them for around 10 minutes, until they begin to caramelize.  Add in the kale and combine it with the other veggies – it should wilt a little as it cooks down.  Before adding the squash, turn up the heat on the pan a bit and make some room for it on one side of the pan.  Add it in and let it brown a little bit before mixing it together with the rest of the veg.  Finally, add the basil and cook to combine.

In a small separate pan over medium/low heat, add in the almonds and brown them until golden, then take them off the heat.  When the water comes up to a boil, add a few pinches of salt and the pasta, stir and cook until it’s JUST al dente and kill the heat but don’t drain it!

Meanwhile, when the veggies are cooked to a desired doneness, add in the wine and cook off until there’s very little left.  At this point, add in the tomato sauce that you made in the separate pan to the veggies and cook together for a few minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and adjust the seasonings to your liking.  Add in the marscarpone and mix together.

So now you should be ready to combine the sauce and the pasta.  The way I do this is in a separate pan (the one I used for the sauce).  Simply ladle around a cup of the sauce into the pan once it’s gotten hot, and grab a bunch of pasta with tongs and add it to the pan and combine it with the sauce.  Next, add in around 1-2 tablespoons of the water you cooked the pasta in to the pan and mix together.  Serve the pasta on a dish of your choice and top with grated Parmesan.  Buon appetito!

A long time ago, I made up the decision to give up eating beef and, consequently, I didn’t eat meatballs for many years. About a year ago, I saw a woman in an Italian restaurant eating spaghetti and meatballs and seeming to enjoy every bite, and I realized how much I missed eating them.  It then occurred to me that meatballs, like burgers, could certainly be made without beef.

I began a search for authentic meatball recipes, and I found one that used buttermilk, an ingredient that I don’t often use, but the author of the recipe claimed to have tried several different recipes and suggested this method above all others so I decided to give it a try.   I chose to substitute the ground beef with ground turkey and hot Italian sausage meat, and the result was even more delicious than any meatball I remember from my years of eating beef.  The recipe would work just as well with ground pork, lamb, chicken, beef, or veal any combination you prefer.

The reason I love this meatball recipe is it produces very moist and tender meatballs, despite the fact that I use turkey, which is leaner than beef, and therefore has a tendency to dry out. The Parmesan, parsley, and garlic add wonderful flavor.  I often don’t mention that the meatballs are made without beef to my guests until the have already tried them, and most admit that they would not have been able to tell the difference, or even that they like them better.  Try them out and you can be the judge.  Here’s how they are made:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey meat
• 3 hot Italian sausages, removed from its casing
• 1 egg
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 3 slices of white or Italian bread
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. (standard package) dried semolina spaghetti
• 4 cups prepared simple tomato fennel sauce (see previous post)

Begin by soaking the slices of bread in the buttermilk until the bread becomes soft enough to smash into a mush with a fork, about 1/2 hour.  In a large bowl, mix the meat, egg, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper, and bread mixture until thoroughly combined.  Do not be afraid to use your hands to mix.

To form the meatballs, use a tablespoon and scoop heaping spoonfuls of the meat mixture into your palm.  Gently roll into a ball, taking care not to over work the meatball, and place on a cookie sheet.  Try to form the meatballs to be uniform in size.

Once all the the meatballs are prepared, heat a large, heavy bottom pan, such as a dutch oven, over medium high heat and add about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Place one layer of meatballs in the pan, being careful not to overcrowd them.  Do not try to turn the meatballs until they are brown on the first side, and then turn them to cook on the other side.  Once the meatballs are browned on all sides, remove from the heat.  At this time, cook the remaining meatballs in the same way.

Once all of the meatballs are browned on all sides, add the sauce to the pan (see previous post for recipe).  Stir to work all of the browned bits into the sauce, and reduce the heat to low.  Add the meatballs back into the sauce, making sure they are fully submerged.  Let them finish cooking in the sauce, for at least another twenty minutes or so.

Pour the sauce and meatballs over spaghetti, garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese and serve.

Serves six people. Enjoy!

The Italians call this dish linguine con vongole, which simply means linguine with clams.  The traditional preparation is often prepared with the option of a tomato based red sauce or a wine based white sauce.  In this preparation, we have combined the two, using wine and chicken stock as the base for the sauce, but including fresh tomatoes to add color and acidity.

I was introduced to this dish at an early age, as it is perhaps my mother’s most favorite dish to cook and eat.  I would find myself drawn to the kitchen with smells of garlic, wine, and fresh seafood at least twice a month.  Although it was such a staple in my household, I never tired of the dish, which I attribute to the fact that each “batch”, as my mother called it, varied in it’s outcome.  The best “batches”were always the ones made with the most fresh little neck or manila clams, and contained just the right balance of pork, which could include chorizo or linguisa sausage or bacon.

I like to served the dish in large shallow bowls with plenty of fresh sourdough to dip in the sauce.  A caeser salad makes a great accompaniment to this dish as well.  Do not be afraid to make more than necessary, as this dish is often even better the next day.  Just remove the shells from the clams and cover prior to refrigerating.  Here’s how we make it happen:

• 1/2 large sweet onion – diced
• 4 garlic cloves – roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped Crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh ripe tomatoes – roughly chopped
• 1 lb. Chorizo, Linguisa sausage or bacon
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth, heated
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano
• 3 Tbsp. butter

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. good dry (or fresh) linguine pasta
• Salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Set the pasta water to boil prior to beginning the sauce.  By the time your water is boiling and your pasta is cooked al dente, according to the directions on the box, your sauce will be done.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.  Add the butter and olive oil and wait until the butter bubbles.  Add the onion and cook it until it begins to soften, then add the sausage (removing any casing) and cook it until it browns.  Add salt and red pepper to taste, but take care to not over spice.  Next add the mushrooms, garlic, oregano, and thyme, and stir to combine.  Cook until all of the vegetables soften.

Add the tomatoes and wine, and allow the wine to reduce for about three minutes on high heat.  Add the heated chicken stock and allow the stock to reduce by half.  At this point, there should be enough liquid to cook the clams, but if there is not, freely add more chicken stock as necessary.

Add clams to the broth.  The clams should be soaked and scrubbed clean so they will not add sandy grit to your dish.  Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow the clams enough time to open.  Check intermittently and stir.  Once all or almost all of the clams are open, add the cooked pasta directly to pan and stir into the sauce.  If one or two clams are not open, discard them as they are not safe to eat.  Finish the pasta with the fresh parsley and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional).  Serves four to six people.

Summer has always been my favorite season, for many of the obvious reasons.  But as a lover of food, what I appreciate the most about this time of year is how frequently the opportunity arises to share meals with friends and family.  It seems as though someone is always extending an invitation for a barbecue or a potluck, and I am always trying to come up with recipes that I can contribute that feed a whole crowd and are easy and affordable to prepare.

I love this orzo dish for many reasons.  One thing I like is that it is not a dish that is sensitive to being left out in the heat for several hours, so it makes a great addition to a picnic.  The dish takes about twenty minutes to prepare and will cost you at most fifteen dollars and feed 12-15 people as a side dish easily.  The Mediterranean flavors accompany just about anything you could possibly throw on the grill, it’s low in fat and high in nutrition, and I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like it.

The list of ingredients below uses mostly Greek flavors, and can be modified to accommodate any other vegetables you particularly like or happen to have on hand, such as asparagus or artichoke hearts.  In this pasta I have substituted the traditional use of spinach for heartier kale.  I love to use kale with pasta because it can be chopped and sauteed briefly and will hold its shape and texture much better than spinach, which tends to soften dramatically and release a lot of water.

Next time someone asks you to bring a salad to a summer dinner, try this one out.  It also works great on its own as a main course lunch serving.  Here is the way I have prepared it…

Ingredients

• 1 box of dried orzo pasta
• 1 bunch of kale, washed and roughly chopped
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, mined
• 1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup of good quality feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
• Salt and black or red pepper to taste

Follow the instructions on the orzo box to prepare the pasta al dente.  While the water is coming to a boil, heat a medium-sized skillet with one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the sliced onion and cook until it begins to caramelize, about six minutes.  Add the kale and two of the three minced cloves of garlic.  Saute until the kale softens and the onions are fully caramelized, about four or five more minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until they are just heated through, another minute or so.

When the pasta is cooked to al dente, drain the water and put the orzo in a large bowl.  Add the sauteed kale and onions, the chopped scallions, the pine nuts, parsley, and feta cheese.  Stir well to incorporate all of the ingredients.  Dress the pasta salad with the rest of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss well and serve warm or cold.