the thin chef

Ooops…has it really been two weeks since I last posted? Shame on me. Well, at least I have something tasty to share to make up for my absence.

I am, clearly, so very boring sometimes. Every time I am home alone, I eat pasta. Seriously, every time. And, when Jason isn’t here, I also tend to eat things he doesn’t like. So, when he’s away, pasta + his dislikes = my dinner. Without fail. So boring, right?

But truthfully, I never get bored with creating new things to mix in with, or put on top of, pasta. This time around, it was mushrooms and blue cheese—two things Jason will not touch. But also two things that go together harmoniously. I threw in some arugula since the gorgonzola makes a pretty rich sauce. Oh, and also because I cooked the mushrooms in a lot of butter, so I figured the green leafies offset the saturated fat. Or something.

This would be fine on any cut of pasta, but sometimes I just want the swirling and slurping that comes along with long strands. Simple and quick, but with an air of sophistication (maybe it’s the gorgonzola?), this is hearty and rich enough to make a lovely vegetarian weeknight dinner.

Pasta with Mushrooms, Gorgonzola + Arugula
serves 2

1/2 pound pasta of your choice
1 square container sliced cremini mushrooms (also called baby bellas)
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped and reserved, stems discarded
Coarse salt + ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 bag baby arugula
Crumbled gorgonzola cheese, to taste

Cook pasta per package directions. In the meantime, melt butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When butter bubbles and froths, add mushrooms, shallot, and thyme, stirring to coat everything in butter/oil. Don’t salt it yet.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and deeply golden brown and shallots are slightly caramelized. Add salt and pepper to taste–go easier on the salt than usual, because gorgonzola can be salty.

When pasta is al dente, drain–but reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water (I use a coffee mug). Add pasta to the skillet with mushrooms. Toss to combine. Add arugula, and toss until it wilts. Add gorgonzola, as much or as little as you like, keeping in mind it can be pretty strong…just taste as you go. Add reserved pasta water, a little bit at a time, tossing, until the cheese melts and forms a nice creamy sauce that coats the pasta. Taste as you go. Serve immediately.

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For our Christmas party in December, I made bite-size meatballs inspired by the ones I’d had a few weeks earlier at my parents’ annual backyard party. I should back up—this party my parents throw is no typical backyard BBQ. Anyone who knows my family knows we simply cannot throw a party without this-is-why-we-came-to-the-party food.

A fabulous gastropub here in Winter Park called Ravenous Pig catered the party, and it was outrageously delicious. I managed to take a few pictures between the bites of food. For starters, there were miniature duck ruebens, Greek lamb meatballs, corn-and-crab fritters, mini biscuit BLTs, chicken liver mousse (I die. It was so good.), as well as artisanal cheeses and house-made salumi. For the main plates, we had braised swordfish (yes, braised, and it was awesome) and venison saddle. Dessert…oh, my. Root beer floats with malt ice cream, lovely little puffs of fried dough shaped like curlicue pigtails and propped in a puddle of rich dark chocolate ganache, and pumpkin crème brûlée with pepitas brittle.

Pictured here: Lots of amazing house-made salumi and artisanal prosciutto; Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk cheese, aged gouda, Miniature duck reubens; root beer floats; and the pigtails.

So, yes, back to the post at hand. The meatballs. I failed to get a picture of them, probably because I was too busy, you know, eating them. But they were perfect little bites perched atop dollops of cool tzatziki.  When it came time for me to make party food our Christmas get-together, these were at the top of my list. (For the record, they were a big hit…but that’s not what this post is about.)

This post is, actually, about dinner. The other night, I was thinking about those party meatballs, and how I could make dinner around them. I thought it might be fun to do a Greek-inspired twist on that ever-loving Italian classic spaghetti and meatballs, using orzo and the aforementioned Greek meatballs. I used ground chicken, but I think I’ll try lamb next time. The result was a quick weeknight meal with lots of interesting flavors and textures. And it all started with those little party hors d’oeuvres.

Greek Pasta and Meatballs
Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus additional for sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus additional for sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, divided OR 2 teaspoons dried dill, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
3/4 pound ground meat (i.e. beef, lamb, turkey, or chicken)
1 egg white
2/3 cup uncooked orzo
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes or great-quality jarred marinara sauce
Crumbled feta cheese, to taste

Preheat oven to 400º. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine oil and onion in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook until mostly translucent, about 3 minutes. Add 1 clove minced garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir, and cook until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a small bowl, and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried dill), 1 tablespoon mint, breadcrumbs, and cooled onion mixture in a medium bowl. Add ground meat and egg white. Use your hands to mix everything thoroughly, being careful not to squish or compact the meat too much.

Roll meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs (you should end up with about 20 total). As you roll them, place meatballs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake meatballs until tops are golden brown and insides are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the kind of meat you choose.

While meatballs bake, cook orzo according to package directions. Heat the remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add remaining garlic, and stir until fragrant and just turning golden. Add crushed tomatoes or marinara, and remaining herbs. Stir, and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through.

To serve, divide orzo among 4 serving bowls. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce over each serving, and top with 4 or 5 meatballs. Top with crumbled feta, or pass it at the table so everyone can add the amount they prefer.

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This was officially the first really chilly day in Birmingham, but the cold was slowly seeping in all week in the form of drizzly rain, cloudiness, and general ick. Instead of my go-to comforting soup or baked-something-or-another, I took one glance at our CSA box brimming with ripe tomatoes and huge stems of green and purple basil and had an idea. If it couldn’t be warm and sunny outside, I’d cook something that would make it that way inside.

I made a quick tomato sauce with lots of fresh basil and tossed it with whole-wheat penne for just the right amount of heartiness. It was bright and warm and just the perfect way to really bid farewell to the warm weather and usher in the lovely fall. If it’s still warm enough where you are to have red, ripe tomatoes and fragrant, fresh basil, this is a great last taste of summer.

Simple Tomato-Basil Penne
serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon anchovy paste or 2 anchovies, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Hot red pepper flakes, to taste
2 large or 3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 pound whole-wheat penne
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
Coarse salt, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet with high sides or a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add anchovy paste, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until fagrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, and add tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, cook pasta until just underdone, when it’s still just a little too chewy in the middle. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid, and add pasta to the pan with the tomato sauce. Toss to combine; if the pan looks dry, add a splash of the reserved cooking water. Cook until the pasta is al dente, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add basil, and stir to combine. Taste, and add salt if it needs it.

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I’ve been away for awhile, haven’t I? I could give a million excuses, but instead I think I’ll pick up where I left off. Sound good? I appreciate those of you who’ve continued to check in here time to time to see if I’d gotten my act together and rejoined the land of the blogging. It’s only been two weeks, but in a world of daily updates {and minute-by-minute tweets}, two weeks feels like two months.

Truth is, I’ve been making a lot of repeat dinners…another savory tart here, another stir fry there…and I haven’t really been branching out in the kitchen. We’re also doing some major budget tightening here at Chez Thin Chef, so as my grocery budget shrinks, I tend to rely on go-to, inexpensive meals. More on what these entail soon, I promise.

Anyway, I made this delicious pasta for one a few weekends ago when Jason was out watching football. I’d been running around all day, and it was just chilly enough outside to warrant a hooded sweatshirt. Those evenings call for something carb-y and creamy and comforting. And, if you know me at all, you know that when I’m home alone, I make pasta.

For budget {and laziness} reasons, I relied on what I already had on hand. Once the combo of bacon and goat cheese came to mind, the dish came together quickly. Smoky, slightly chewy thick-cut Georgia bacon, creamy Alabama-made chèvre, and a few handfuls of {gasp} frozen spinach—but only because my fridge lacked fresh—created this lovely balance of fatty, creamy, and veggie…all atop a serving of small seashell pasta. This is for one serving, but as always, it can easily be doubled or quadrupled as needed.

Oh, and my camera battery died, and when I grabbed the replacement battery from my bag, it was dead, too. Oops. So I grabbed my iPhone to snap a picture of this yummy little bowl, and then I had some fun and turned it into a polaroid via Rollip.com since, let’s be honest, the iPhone is no Canon Rebel.

Pasta with Bacon, Spinach & Goat Cheese
serves 1

1/4 pound (or so) short-cut pasta, such as seashells, penne, or bowties
2 (or 3 if you’re so inclined) slices thick-cut bacon, cut into small strips
2 very generous handfuls fresh spinach (or frozen, if you must, thawed and squeezed of excess water)
Drizzle of olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons crumbled chevre (or to taste)
Hot red pepper flakes, to taste

Cook pasta in plenty of boiling, well-salted water according to box directions. Meanwhile, cook bacon over medium heat until mostly crisp and golden brown. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.

Drain pasta, and return to pot. Add bacon, spinach, and a drizzle of oil. Toss with tongs or 2 spoons until spinach is wilted and everything is nicely coated with oil. Place in a serving bowl, and top with chevre and red pepper flakes. Taste, and add salt if needed. (Pasta should be seasoned from the salty cooking water, and bacon is quite salty itself, so make sure to taste it before adding salt!)

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Fresh pasta is one of those singular food pleasures. Meltingly tender and buttery soft noodles, dressed in a light, homemade sauce are unlike anything else. I’ve waxed poetic about making it at home before, so I’ll spare you the sentimental details {but you can read them for yourselves, and find the recipe, here}.

My in-laws are in town, and we’ve been eating out since Friday afternoon. Jason and I thought it would be good to spend an evening in, and it was actually my dear husband who requested fresh pasta. Though it is a labor-intensive process, I couldn’t say no. Plus, spending an afternoon in the kitchen with flour on my hands is always a good day for me.

Yesterday, we got some gorgeous locally grown tomatoes, and they became the sauce for our golden strands. Simmered for 2 hours, the tomatoes {sweet as they already were} tasted like they had been injected with honey. Sweet but not cloyingly so, the sauce was a celebration of my favorite summertime ingredient.

Garlic bread and a salad completed our meal. Fabulous.

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Last I left you, I promised to tell more about my homemade pasta experience. As you may know, I am getting married in May. This past year has been an exciting, wonderful time in preparation, but I must say…the last couple of weeks have been especially wonderful, because we’re beginning to receive wedding gifts.

Among said gifts is a hand-crank pasta maker. Growing up, I spent a handful of Saturdays with my dad, rolling out pasta in the kitchen, and then slurping the fresh noodles with some kind of homemade sauce, and thinking to myself that there was never anything more delicious. I am among the lucky few to have grown up with a father who does things like makes pasta from scratch, bakes sourdough bread, preserves lemons, and uses the Thanksgiving bird for scratch-made stock. What can I say? The man is unique, and I am a more educated and inspired cook because of him.

I digress. Making pasta is among one of the easiest and most satisfying, if not time consuming, things you can make. Flour and eggs magically transform into a ball of supple, golden dough. Actually, let me back up. They transform into the golden, supple ball when you use the correct amounts of ingredients. For my inaugural pasta making, I followed Mario Batali’s recipe for basic egg pasta dough, which is the same as the one found in the Italian cooking Bible, The Silver Spoon Cookbook. Their recipes were as follows: 4 cups all-purpose flour + 4 large eggs. Maybe a teaspoon of olive oil. And a sprinkling of water, if the dough looks dry. Perfect, I thought. It can’t be wrong. If millions of Italians use this and an expert of Italian cooking uses it, it’s got to be perfect.

Fuming at Mario Batali in his smug orange clogs, and frustrated at wasting 4 beautiful organic eggs and almost all of my flour, I almost gave up. But then I remembered how great homemade pasta is. So I started over. This time with a scant 3 cups of flour and 4 more eggs, plus another egg yolk and about a teaspoon of olive oil. Belissima—it was perfect. I later found a Batali recipe calling for 3 1/2 cups flour and 4 extra-large eggs. Perhaps I just got a dud recipe.

(4 eggs plus 1 yolk — perfect!)

(Nice and moist…much better this time.)

(Beautiful ball of dough, with the bad one in the back. For shame.)

It rested (next to the offending lump of unyielding, rock-hard dough, just to show it what it should look like) for 40 minutes or so, and then Jason helped me roll it into silky strands of fettuccine.

My advice for making pasta: First, start with 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk and 3 cups of flour (unless your eggs are enormous). You can always add more flour to a gloopy dough, but you can’t take it out. I’m not here to make a liar out of Mario Batali (or any number of internet sources that all gave the same amounts of ingredients), but the 4+4 thing didn’t work for me. Secondly, almost every recipe says to make the dough on a large cutting board by mounding the flour and creating a well in the center in which to put the wet ingredients, but I don’t have a large enough board. I made a well in the middle of flour in the largest bowl in my kitchen, and it worked just fine.

My Pasta Dough
Serves 4 to 6 depending on cut of pasta

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

In a very large bowl, or on a large wooden cutting board or clean countertop, mound the flour into a mountain shape. Use your fingers to make a well in the middle, turning the mountain into a volcano. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and oil into the center of the well. Use a fork to lightly scramble the eggs, and then slowly but continuously stir the eggs, incorporating a bit of flour each rotation.

Keep stirring in this manner until about half of the flour is incorporated. The dough will look raggedy. Scrape the dough off of the fork, and then use your fingers to finish mixing in the remainder of the flour.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. (Skip this step if you’re already working on the counter. Duh.) Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it’s elastic and smooth. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rest for 30 to 45 minutes at room temperature.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, and follow your pasta maker’s instructions for beautiful, tasty pasta.

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When I was in high school, I decided for about a year that I was a vegetarian. In fact, for a while, I was vegan. Then I realized that my 100-pounds-soaking-wet self didn’t do so well without any animal protein at all. So I put the milk and eggs back in rotation. Then one day, I missed chicken, and I indulged in a PF Chang’s chicken lettuce wrap. After that, I realized that food was just more delicious when you eat meat.

Anyhow, my wonderful parents, while secretly knowing this was just a phase, made my eating preferences a priority in the house. We had this cookbook and leaned heavily on the dishes listed in it, especially the Eggplant Parmesan. Unlike many Italian-American dishes, it was super light and fairly healthy save for the layers of melty, gooey mozzarella cheese. I still enjoy making this dish when I have time to let it bubble away in the oven…on weeknights, though, that’s not always possible. So I did a little eggplant parm remix, and turned it into a pasta sauce. It was perfect with whole-wheat pasta, which I find a little too hearty for lighter sauces. Unfortch, not the most photogenic of dishes, but you get the idea…

Eggplant-Tomato Sauce with Whole-Wheat Pasta
serves 2 with leftovers

Olive oil nonstick cooking spray
1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
Handful fresh basil, torn
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 box whole-wheat rotini, penne, or other short-cut pasta
Garnish: 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450. Generously coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place eggplant on the baking sheet in one layer, and spray again with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta per package direction. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried oregano, and salt and pepper. Gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove eggplant from oven, and add to tomato sauce; stir to combine. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Add pasta to sauce, and add pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the consistency of the sauce is to your liking. Stir in fresh basil and Parmesan. Serve, topped with mozzarella cheese, if desired.

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Last summer, I had a delicious pasta dish at a restaurant in Winter Park called Luma. It had fresh house-made pasta, corn, dill, and maybe shrimp or crab, but I don’t recall exactly. It was the crisp pop of the corn against the silky fresh pasta that I remember the most. I’m not sure that corn with pasta is a pairing that is visited very often, but it is one of my favorites. I’ve done my own spin on that Luma pasta before…here’s the sequel.

As I mentioned in my last post, Jason being out of town gives me an excuse to eat the bad stuff he doesn’t like, such as creamy pasta sauces, fatty steaks, and stinky foods like olives and anchovies. Yeah, yeah, he probably keeps my arteries clean simply by not liking butter and cheese, but I can’t help that I love the bad stuff!

So in a compromise, I decided to fill my pasta dish with lots of veggies…and toss it all in goat cheese, melting it on the stove so it was creamy and lush. (I didn’t make a huge effort to get a pretty picture—it just looked too tasty!) If you’re watching calories or you just don’t do goat cheese, this would be perfectly delicious without it. A lovely ode to the last days of summer.

Ode to Summer Pasta
serves 2
The intent of this dish is to showcase the veggies; the pasta is kind of a backdrop. If you want more carbs or just a bigger portion, increase the pasta to 1/2 pound.

2 to 3 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, cut into matchstick-size pieces
1/3 pound angel hair or thin spaghetti
1 good-size ear of corn, kernels cut off and reserved
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 container crumbled goat cheese
Scant 1/4 cup pasta cooking water or chicken stock
8 to 10 leaves fresh basil, torn or chopped

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat (closer to medium). Add the onions, a pinch of salt, and a little pepper, and toss to combine. When onions begin to soften, add zucchini. Add a little bit of chicken stock or more oil if the skillet looks dry. At this point, drop the pasta, and everything should finish up about the same time. When zucchini just starts to soften, add corn kernels, and toss everything frequently until veggies are soft. Add tomatoes, and continue to cook, stirring, until tomatoes are wilted. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Reduce heat to low.

Drain pasta, reserving some water if using, and add pasta to the skillet. Toss with the veggies, and add the reserved cooking water or chicken stock a bit at a time, and toss until everything is combined. Let sit for 30 seconds to allow the cheese to melt, and then thoroughly stir or toss to coat everything with the cheese. Add more water or stock, if needed. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, add basil, and serve.

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It’s been one of those weeks where I just feel like we haven’t had our fill of veggies. As I’ve said before, I never met a vegetable I didn’t like, but sometimes it’s just not the easiest (or, let’s face it, tastiest) to eat a ton of good-for-you stuff in one meal. When I was in college, my quick remedy to this issue was to throw a bunch of seasonal veggies into a pot with pasta and cook them pretty much all at once. I finished it with salt, olive oil, and a handful of mozzarella cheese. I’d eat it for days. It was easy and tasty, albeit really plain.

So tonight I decided to take that idea and give it a little nudge in a more creative direction. I roasted the veggies, tossed them with cooked pasta, some tomato sauce, fresh basil, and a bit of cheese, and then baked it to bring it all together. I used Barilla Plus pasta (have you tried it?) it’s got lots of fiber, protein, and even omega-3. Definitely better than regular pasta, and the texture is great, too.

Baked Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
serves 2 with leftovers
For the sauce, you can use plain canned tomato sauce or marinara

1 small bunch broccoli, about the size of 2 fists
2 yellow squash
3/4 pint grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/2 lb short-cut pasta (penne, macaroni, rigatoni…)
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
8-10 basil leaves, chopped
1 big clove garlic, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450. Cut the broccoli and squash into bite-sized pieces, and place on a baking sheet. Add the tomatoes, and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until everything is tender and brown in spots.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in well-salted water until just under-done. Drain, and then add roasted vegetables, tomato sauce, basil, and garlic. Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste. Lightly oil the bottom and sides of a small baking dish. Add about half of the pasta-veggie mixture, then top with 1/2 cup cheese. Add the remaining pasta-veggie mixture, then top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Raise oven temperature to broil; broil until the cheese is bubbling and brown in spots. Let cool 3 minutes before serving.

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If you’ve read this blog before, you know I have a serious love affair with pasta. Same goes for summer. So on my own for dinner last night, I decided to combine these loves in a light, perfect-for-hot-weather supper. To me, the flavors of shrimp, corn, lemon and dill blend seamlessly, and tossed with pasta, it was my nod to the last few weeks of summer.

Summer Pasta
serves 2
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
12 to 16 medium shrimp
3 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut off
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb fresh or dried linguine (any pasta would do, really)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
Juice from one lemon

In a large nonstick skillet, heat butter and olive oil together over medium-high heat until butter starts to bubble. Add shrimp and corn to skillet and add salt and pepper. Meanwhile, cook pasta per package directions. (If using dried pasta, start cooking pasta before you start the shrimp and corn.) Cook corn and shrimp, stirring often, until shrimp are opaque and just barely firm. Lower heat to medium, add zest and dill, and toss to combine.

When pasta finishes, drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Toss pasta with corn mixture, adding pasta water a few spoonfuls at a time until everything is combined. Off the heat, add lemon juice and toss once more to combine. Serve topped with additional fresh dill, if desired.

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