Pasta Dough

September 28, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

It was a Sunday of dueling pasta machines! My dear friend Jane and I decided to make homemade pasta. We both have pasta machines but are both seriously amateur pasta makers. We made three different pasta dough recipes and decided on a favorite. They all tasted great. One was just a little easier to work with. It’s a messy job for sure and you have to be patient. We had flour everywhere and little bits of pasta all over the floor but toward the end of the day we were feeling a real sense of mastery! We made ravioli and had them for dinner. It was amazing if I say so myself.

I’ll share a couple of the recipes. The one we used for our ravioli and the one that was our favorite. The two main ingredients in every recipe are flour and eggs.

Ravoili Pasta Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp salt

3 large eggs plus 1 egg for egg wash

2 T olive oil

We used a mixer with a dough hook for this recipe. Mix the flour and the salt. With the mixer running add the eggs, one at a time. Slowly add 1 T of the olive oil and continue to combine until the dough forms a ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it becomes smooth and elastic. About ten minues. Divide into two balls and brush the surface of each ball with the remaining 1 T of olive oil. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for at least thirty minutes.

Once the dough has rested start working your pasta machine. The dough has to be run through nearly a dozen times. Until it is nearly paper thin.

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup spinach wilted in a little olive oil over medium heat

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fresh grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

lemon zest

Allow the spinach to cool. Blend the ingredients together in a food processor. Put heaping teaspoons of filling about two inches apart on half a sheet of dough that has been brushed with an egg wash. Fold the second half of the dough over like a blanket. Using a pie crimper and a fork (it’s all we had) cut and seal each ravioli. Put the completed ravioli on a baking sheet covered in parchment and lightly dusted with flour. Set aside and allow them to dry slightly before cooking.

Bring a pot of salted water to a slow boil. Cook the ravioli for a couple minutes after they float to the top. If you have to cook in batches to prevent overcrowding keep the first batch warm. Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with the sauce of your choice.

We served ours with a red sauce with spinach and sweet Italian sausage. It was amazing.

The second pasta dough recipe called for cake flour. Interesting. We made fettuccine and spaghetti noodles with this dough. It was the easiest dough to work with. It had more elasticity and went through the pasta machine with less difficulty. Or maybe we were just getting a little better at the whole process.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tsp salt

5 eggs

1 T olive oil

We prepared this dough in the food processor.

Pulse the dry ingredients together to combine. Whisk the eggs and olive oil together. While the processor is running slowly add the eggs to the dry ingredients and continue running until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead it for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into quarters and wrap each in plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest at least 15 minutes before running it through the pasta maker.

Run the dough through the pasta maker 10-12 times dusting the dough with flour and folding each time. Adjust the thickness down every couple of passes. We decided to make spaghetti and fettuccine so after allowing the sheets to rest for 30 minutes we ran them through the cutting attachment. Hang the pasta on a drying rack or cook immediately. We had already enjoyed a dinner of ravioli so we dried our pasta. That drying rack in the laundry room now has a second function!

Pasta making 101. We learned a lot! And we had an absolutely wonderful time doing it. We are no longer amateurs. We are now pasta mavens!

Andouille Sausage, Tomatoes and Rice

September 23, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Andouilli is a smoked sausage made from pork and seasoned with garlic, peppers, onion, and seasonings. A little spicy. It’s very common in Louisiana Creole cuisine. The organic meat market where I purchase all of my meat makes an especially good andouilli.

One pot dishes are always a treat after a long day when you don’t have a lot of time to put a homemade meal on the table. This is a tasty dish that’s a little kicked up (you can kick it up a little more if you’d like). Some of the kick comes from the andouilli sausage. You can prep and cook this dish in less than an hour. A little bit of New Orleans on your table and only one pan to wash.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion rough chopped

1 cup rough chopped pepper (I used an orange bell pepper and a poblano)

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

4 links adouille sausage (a little under one pound)

1 cup long grain rice, uncooked

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 pint diced tomatoes

1 T tomato pastee

1 T Franks Hot Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a heavy fry pan or Dutch oven. Dice the onion and peppers, mince the garlic and slice the sausage links. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Measure out the spices and add to the sausage and vegetables along with the rice.

Stir and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomato paste, tomatoes and Franks.

Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the pan to stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir and serve.

I served it with some steamed asparagus and a wedge of buttermilk cornbread. I’ve always been a little wimpy about spice but my palate is adjusting. I loved this dish.

If you’d like, you can add some shrimp to this dish. After the first 20 minutes of simmering, stir in the shrimp, cover, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.

NOTE: I have mentioned this before but recipes always call for one or two tablespoons of tomato paste. I open both ends of a small can of tomato paste and put the can in the freezer for an hour or so. Once the paste has firmed up push it out of the can, slice it and freeze individual slices in snack bags. You always have just the right amount of tomato paste at the ready.

Pork Tenderloin

September 21, 2015September 21, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Pork tenderloin is one of our favorite pork dishes. It’s relatively easy to prepare and, when done properly, is extremely tender. The small loins I get from my favorite organic market are perfect for the two of us with a little left over. It tastes awesome cold and thin sliced the next day. I’m always happy when no one requests additional seasoning or sauce. None was necessary for this dish.

Ingredients:

Pork loin (mine was a little over one pound)

1 red bell pepper sliced thin

1 sweet yellow onion sliced thin

1 cup baby portabellas rough chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic sliced thin

1 T rosemary

1 T thyme

1 T course ground pepper

1 T course sea salt or kosher salt

2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 325.

Slice onion and pepper and rough chop mushrooms. Heat 1 T oil in a cast iron pan or dutch oven. Cook vegetables over medium heat until tender. About 5 minutes.

Slice garlic cloves. Combine rosemary, thyme, pepper and salt and mix together.

Add garlic to the other vegetables and cook until fragrant. Another minute or so. Remove vegetables to a plate. Rub the pork loin with the other tablespoon of oil and coat both sides of the loin with the spice mix. Heat the skillet over high heat and sear the loin on both sides.

Remove the loin from the pan and return the vegetables to the skillet. Place the loin atop the vegetables and put the pan in the oven. Heat to 160 degrees.

Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice and serve on top of a generous spoonful of the vegetables.

I served the pork loin with potatoes mashed with goat cheese and fresh spinach wilted with garlic and red pepper flakes. The pork is also excellent served with smashed sweet potatoes. Enjoy! We did.

Chicken Cacciatore

September 9, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I recently picked up a Step by Step Italian Recipes magazine by America’s Test Kitchen and came upon a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore. Prepared the proper Italian way. I’ve made Chicken Cacciatore for years and years but a bit differently than the Test Kitchens. So I thought I’d try their recipe to see which we liked better. I’m always about changing things up.

Ingredients:

6-8 bone in chicken thighs (I used 2 thighs, 2 legs)

salt and pepper

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

3 portobello mushroom caps cubed (I used baby Bellas)

4 garlic cloves

1 1/2 T AP flour

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes drained

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Parmesan cheese rind

2 tsp minced fresh thyme and 2 tsp minced fresh sage (I used basil)

Heat oil in a Dutch oven to shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook, skin side down, until browned. About 4 minutes per side.

Remove the chicken to a plate and drain off all but about a tablespoon of the drippings. Add the vegetables and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender. (I also added a sweet orange bell pepper.). Season with salt.

Add minced garlic and cook another minute until fragrant. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute stirring constantly.

Add the wine scraping up browned bits. Stir in tomatoes and broth. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the skin from the chicken and submerge the chicken into the gravy as well as the Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer 45-60 minutes.

Discard the rind before serving. Taste the gravy and season to taste. Serve over the pasta of your choosing.

I served it over spaghetti with grated asiago. It was good. But the consensus at our house was the not-authentic cacciatore is better. Sorry Test Kitchen.

Cook the chicken the same as referenced above. The way I’ve always made the gravy for cacciatore begins with dicing 5-6 slices of bacon. I cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered but the bacon isn’t crisp. Drain off most of the fat and cook the vegetables (mushrooms, onion, and peppers) until tender. Add the garlic and basil. Cook until fragrant. Stir in 1 T of tomato paste. Stir in 1/2 cup of dry red wine scraping up any browned bits. Stir in 1 quart of tomatoes. Add the bacon, Parmesan rind, and submerge the chicken into the gravy. Cook 45-60 minutes. Serve over the pasta of your choosing.

You see the difference. A lot more tomato, a lot less wine. And bacon. My daughter says everything is better with bacon. And in this recipe I agree.

Try it both ways. Try it somewhere in between. Cooking is all about experimenting with recipes until you find something that tastes great to you.

Let me know what you think.

Stuffed Meatloaf

August 20, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I haven’t made a stuffed meatloaf in a long time. You can stuff it with any combination of veggies and cheeses based on your personal favorites. I decided to stuff mine with caramelized onions, oven roasted tomatoes and cheese. How can that combo not be good!! I had some very special friends coming for dinner and decided this was a bit of sophisticated twist on a homey comfort dish.

First I sliced and roasted several Roma tomatoes. Lay the tomato slices out on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil, scatter some smashed garlic cloves and salt to taste. Put in a 225 degree oven for approximately 5 hours.

Grate approximately 1 cup of cheese. I used asiago and Parmesan.

Next, slice a large yellow sweet onion and caramelize it over medium heat in olive oil.

Meatloaf Ingredients:

1 pound of ground pork

1 pound of ground beef

1 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh minced parsley

3 or 4 cloves of garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350.

Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and, using your hands, mix together.

On a piece of parchment paper shape the meat mixture into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Top with the tomatoes and onion and sprinkle with cheese.

Using the parchment paper roll the meatloaf jelly roll style and place in a large baking dish.

Meat Loaf Topping Ingredients:

1 cup catsup

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Whisk together.

Pour the sauce over the meatloaf and bake for approximately one hour. Allow it to rest 5-10 minutes before slicing.

I served it with oven roasted Brussels sprouts and new potatoes. Would also be great with smashed potatoes, corn on the cob… any sides you would typically serve with meatloaf.

Tomato and Cheese Tart

August 17, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I have taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging. Not from cooking and baking. But from blogging. My father was visiting for a couple of weeks and I made a lot of very basic meals that he really likes. Potatoes in various forms, pork chops, baked ring bologna, fish, spaghetti and meatballs. And I didn’t blog those dishes. I also spent quite a bit of time recently in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with my dad and cooking in his kitchen is quite challenging. No good chefs knives, an electric stove, and odds and ends of cookware…never exactly what you’re looking for. You need to be cautious of expiration dates and the spice cabinet has salt, pepper, garlic, Lawrys, cinnamon sticks that should only be used for art projects, and a huge jar of mustard seed. Actually I SHOULD blog from his house because cooking there is more of a challenge but there is also no internet. Now I’m back home and back to experimenting with recipes as well as blogging old favorites. In a recent issue of one of my many cooking magazines I found a recipe for a Tomato, Bacon, and Gruyere Tart. I first made this as a savory breakfast dish for guests and later made it as a dinner dish with the help of a friend. Both times I modified the recipe. More modifications the second time. But both times it was absolutely yummy. Both times I doubled the recipe and made two tarts. The ingredients listed are for two tarts.

Ingredients:

2 thawed Puff Pastry sheets

1/2 pound bacon cooked crisp, drained and crumbled

2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

1 cup shredded asiago cheese

3 thin sliced heirloom tomatoes

1/2-1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped baby portabella mushrooms

1/2 cup thin sliced fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp of water for brushing the pastry

(The second time I made it I added the onions and mushrooms.)

Preheat your oven to 400.

Roll out the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface into approximately a 10″x14″ rectangle and transfer to a backing sheet lined with parchment paper.

Shred the cheeses.

Leaving a couple inch border on each side sprinkle each sheet with half of the cheeses. Top with the crumbled bacon, onion, and mushrooms.

Using a sharp knife or mandolin slice the tomatoes thinly. If you are using heirlooms alternate colors.

Fold the long sides over and cut small vents. Fold the short ends a little and pinch them together. Brush with the egg wash.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy every bite. We did!!

When I served this for breakfast we has toasted cinnamon bread and fresh fruit.

This recipe is only limited by your imagination. You can change up the cheeses and add other veggies like thin sliced summer squash, artichokes, spinach or kale. I think I’m going to make it with gruyere and blue cheese next time.

Meatballs Italian Style

July 23, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Spaghetti and Meatballs… The all-American Italian favorite. Almost everyone I know loves spaghetti and meatballs. And most everyone has their own recipe and technique when it comes to meatballs. Truthfully mine might never be the same twice. It depends on what I have in the refrigerator and pantry. Tonight’s meatballs were pretty good and I documented my steps so maybe, if I follow my own instructions, they will actually taste the same twice.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chuck

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 large egg

1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese

1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped

1 T Worcestershire

1/2 medium onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

Preheat oven to 350. I bake my meatballs but you can fry them if you prefer.

Chop the onion, garlic and parsley.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, mix the ingredients just until they are combined. Don’t over mix.

It looks like there is more “stuff” than meat but when it’s mixed it’s perfect.

This recipe made 9 medium sized meatballs. I lined a baking dish with non-stick foil…one of the best inventions ever…and baked them for 20 minutes. I like to finish the cooking in my tomato sauce.

I let them simmer for about an hour in my tomato sauce and served them over bucatini, a pasta that resembles a thick spaghetti noodle but has a hollow center. It’s a great pasta to serve with a rich thick tomato sauce.

Served with a cold crisp salad and a crusty baguette it’s a meal you’d be proud to serve you guests. My dad is a Finn who loves his spaghetti and he enjoyed dinner tonight.

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Egg Sandwich (BLTE)

July 21, 2015 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

This is by no means original. Nor does it really require a recipe. But it sure is an awesome sandwich! The New York Times food section recently had a peanut butter banana sandwich as one of their feature dishes and I personally think a BLTE trumps a PBB. But that’s just my opinion. A quaint little brewery we stopped at in Indiana last December had the option of adding an over easy egg to any sandwich on their menu. I had their BLT with an over easy egg. It was great!

We spent today on the home end of a road trip and this was an easy thing to make for dinner.

Ingredients:

Bacon

Beef steak tomato

Romaine lettuce

Eggs

Italian sour dough bread

Mayonnaise

These ingredients are my personal favorites. Obviously you can substitute your personal favorites…turkey bacon, miracle whip, wheat or white bread, Roma tomatoes, ice berg lettuce. There are no rules. It’s a sandwich.

Cook your bacon until it’s nice and crispy. Again, that’s my taste. My mother used to like her bacon just barely warm. Floppy. I set my oven on a low temp and keep the bacon warm while I work the rest of the ingredients.

If you’re making multiple sandwiches go ahead and toast your bread and keep that warm in the oven as well. Slice your tomato. I like thin stackable slices. Wash your lettuce and trim the cores back a bit.

Fry your eggs and just flip them briefly. Over easy does it.

Now that everything is cooked and sliced some assembly is required. Give your toasted bread a nice coat of mayonnaise.

Next add the lettuce. This line up keeps the tomato from making your bread all soggy.

Now you can add the tomato. I sprinkle it with a little coarse sea salt.

Bacon comes next. As many slices as you’d like.

The grand finale. That over easy egg.

Isn’t that just a thing of beauty? If you like a good BLT the E is the icing on the cake. Serve with a couple napkins.

I have to be honest. Maybe this isn’t for everyone. I put this sandwich in front of my 87 year old father tonight. He looked at it for a minute like perhaps I had made a mistake with the placement of that egg. Then he proceeded to deconstructed it. He slid the egg off the top of the sandwich and said, “I’ll just eat mine on the side.” He enjoyed his dinner. And really, that’s all that matters.

Cabbage and Potato Gratin

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

Interestingly, I know several people who don’t like potatoes. It’s hard for me to imagine that. I love potatoes. I grew up in a meat and potatoes family. I like potatoes prepared every which way. Au gratin, scalloped, mashed, French fries, baked, chips, boiled, pancakes, American fries, hash browns…is there a more versatile carb?? I learned something new about potatoes while perusing Facebook…I had no idea there was a whole site featuring “funeral potatoes.” Dishes traditionally made for funeral dinners (of course) and for pot lucks. Apparently these funeral potato dishes originated with the Mormons. I’ll have to do a little more research to find out about the Mormon connection. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City one of the souvenir food pins featured a depiction of funeral potatoes. I bet very few readers knew that!

But we’ve all eaten funeral potatoes. Most of us have made them. They consist of frozen hash browns or tater tots, cream soups, maybe some onion, sour cream, butter, cheese, and corn flakes or crushed potato chips for crunch. Ringing any bells?? They are delicious!! Most of us know them as Cheesy Potatoes.

Tonight I decided to make a cabbage and potato bake. Apparently another name for this potato cabbage combo is Rumbledethumps. It’s a Scottish dish. What I made tonight is a variation of traditional Rumbledethumps.

Ingredients:

1 medium head of green cabbage

2 pounds of potatoes

1/2 cup of buttermilk

4 T butter

chives

1 cup gruyere cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450. Core the cabbage and slice it into thin strips. Add the cabbage to a pot of boiling salted water and cook for about 5 minutes.

Drain the cabbage and set aside.

I used redskin potatoes and did not peel them. Boil the potatoes until they are tender enough to mash.

Once they’re done, mash the potatoes using the buttermilk and butter. If you need more buttermilk to make a nice creamy potato add a little more.

Mix the cabbage, potatoes and chives together. Stir in the shredded cheese.

Put the mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is browned.

I served this tonight with chicken Marsala and green beans but this would make a great side dish for a beef roast or pork loin. This could also be served as a main dish with a side salad. If there is another cheese you prefer like cheddar or Swiss that would be good as well.

Another new potato dish! Tasted great.

Asparagus and Garlic Pasta

May 29, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

On one of our weekly shopping expeditions my friend and I discovered the most awesome pasta made in Grand Rapids Michigan by the Local Epicurean. The box says it is “hand made pasta by passionate artisans.” I believe them. There are numerous combinations including lemon dill, asiago oregano, portobello Parmesan, red beet, asparagus garlic and several others. I’ve purchased and cooked many different pastas that purport to contain various vegetables but they seem to only be colored pastas. The Local Epicurean pastas actually taste like the ingredients they are infused with. Each package has cooking instructions and a recipe. This is the recipe, slightly modified, for the asparagus garlic pasta.

Ingredients:

4 T olive oil

1 cup asparagus cut into approximately 1″ pieces

1 cup grape tomatoes halved

1 cup of sweet yellow peppers rough chopped

1 cup mini portobellos

4-5 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 cup shallots sliced

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1 package asparagus garlic pasta

Put up a large kettle of salted water for the pasta and bring it to a boil. This pasta cooks very quickly, 4-6 minutes.

Prep all of the vegetables.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add all of the vegetables stirring occasionally. Cook 5-6 minutes until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the vegetables are cooking grate a generous cup of parmigiana reggiano.

Once the pasta is cooked drain but do not rinse.

Add the pasta, cheese, and about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to the vegetables.

Toss until well combined and serve. Enjoy every bite.

You can add shrimp, scallops, or thinly sliced chicken breast but I served it as a vegetarian meal. It could also be garnished with some fresh parsley or basil. Serve with a nice salad and some good bread and you have a meal that you’d be proud to serve any guest. And how easy was that! If you cannot find this particular pasta the recipe would still make a very tasty dish.

I was recently at Eataly in Chicago with my daughter and was inspired to make my own pasta. I haven’t made pasta in a very long time. Years and years. I just think it would be great fun especially if I can talk someone into doing it with me. Maybe that will be one of my next blogs. We’ll see.