Pappardelle with Squash, Mushrooms, and Spinach

You know that feeling you get, when you know you've blown something off long enough that you feel so guilty that you keep blowing it off because maybe then you won't have to fess up to it? I'll admit that its that feeling that mightily contributed to my failing out of college (as I'd skip class a few too many times but feel to sheepish to return). You'd think I'd have a handle on that feeling by now, being an official grown-up and all... but no. Here it has happened again. :)

I also didn't make any resolutions last week, which is new for me. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I only started really cooking because of a New Years resolution. You see, it was what... 2000?... when I met my husband... I knew how to cook a few things... like Chicken Kate or Chicken Mom or Salisbury Steak from a Box and the like. (I rocked that food from a box, lemme tell ya!) Anyway. I met Dave the summer of 2000. By that winter, I was smitten with him (long before, actually). I really really wanted to cook for him. I made him the two Chickens... I even made him a purple banana cream pie (I can save that for another day). But then I'd exhausted my non-box foods. What is a girl to do?

What I did is make a resolution: I would buy a new cookbook every month and learn to make at least one thing from said book. I was pretty ramped up at the beginning and got a whole bunch of books at once... but still. I stuck with it. I learned to cook. I asked my friends and coworkers for recipes. I fed my husband. And you know what? I found great joy in filling his belly... in putting a smile on his face... and that propelled me forward.

Sure, its a sappy story. What it has to do with the pasta we had for dinner last week, I have no idea. But what I wanted was a nice, healthy, delicious dinner to help push me forward again. To snap me out of my blogging sheepishness and get back to sharing our meals with you. Because you know what? A lot of what we eat COMES from you - hence the blog name - and I like the fact that in sharing what I make, I celebrate what the food blogosphere has to offer! Because, seriously, you have MAD SKILLS!!! :)

Now, a little bit about this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine: Aside from all the butter, I could happily eat this on a regular basis. I felt like a nutritional rockstar the night we had this. So many veggies! And because each veg was a different kind and color, I got the feeling that we might not need our multi-vitamin that night. I'd made the pappardelle myself a few days prior and I was really pleased with the results.


Pappardelle with Squash, Mushrooms, and Spinach
c/o Bon Appetit Magazine, November 2007
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/240429

12 ounces pappardelle or fettuccine pasta

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, divided
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes butternut squash (from 1-pound squash)
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 5- to 6-ounce package baby spinach
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, melt 1/4 cup butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash and cook until almost tender, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Add mushrooms, sage, and remaining 1/4 cup butter; sauté until mushrooms are soft and squash is tender, about 8 minutes. Add spinach; stir until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add pasta to sauce in skillet. Toss to coat, adding pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.

See the recipe...

Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter

First we were on a little vacation (but that doesn't mean we didn't eat) and then I was a bit under the weather... so my posts have been piling up! I'll try to double-post the next few days to catch up!

This month's Weekend Cookbook Challenge, created by Sara at I Like to Cook, is Red and White:

So grab a recipe that has a red or white ingredient. Or use a cookbook with a red cover. Or cook a recipe by Betty White!

I made this dish last Saturday night. We'd gotten a bunch of beets in our CSA shipment the Wednesday before, so this seemed like the ideal entry. I'd looked though my cookbooks and over the internet for a good-looking beet recipe. This was important because I'd only cooked with beets once before, and they played a bit part in a wine sauce. I really wanted the beets to be the star of the show.

Doing so was a gamble, because I'd never really had beets before (the canned variety frightened me). Dave didn't have much experience with them either, so this was a big deal. The comments section of the recipe stressed the importance of the poppy seeds, too, so I made sure to grab some from the store.

What can I tell you about this dish....? I roasted the beets the evening before (with the zucchini and radishes) so I saved time on Saturday. The filling and dough were both really easy to make. Either I didn't make enough filling, or else the dough just makes twice as much, so I had lots extra egg pasta (which you'll see again soon in another ravioli recipe).

I will say that I really almost enjoyed the filling pre-stuffing it into the ravioli. But I think this dish is maybe better suited to being an appetizer or beginning pasta course... because the earthiness became too much after a while. Unless, of course, you love beets. If this is you, then make this pasta. If you have beet-loving family or friends, invite them over, because this dish is very pleasing to the eye... just.... beetly overpowering. O, and the poppy seeds really were key, as they provided a nice crunch to each bite.

Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter
Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2005
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232091

2 large red or golden beets (about 14 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
1 1/4 pounds Fresh Egg Pasta

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap beets individually in foil; place on baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Open foil carefully (steam will escape). Cool. Peel beets; finely grate into medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs.

Roll Fresh Egg Pasta dough into sheets according to recipe. Place 1 dough sheet on work surface. Using 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut sheet into 7 rounds. Transfer rounds to lightly floured baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough for total of 56 rounds.

Sprinkle 2 smooth kitchen towels with flour. Place 8 pasta rounds on work surface, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic. Place small bowl of water next to work surface. Spoon 1 teaspoon beet filling onto half of each round. Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of 1 round. Fold dough over filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges firmly to seal. Transfer to prepared towels. Repeat with remaining rounds. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen solid, about 6 hours. Transfer ravioli to resealable plastic bags.)

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and stir in poppy seeds; keep warm. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to skillet with melted butter; toss to coat. Divide ravioli among 8 plates; sprinkle with Parmesan.

Market Tip
The flavor, color, and texture of roasted fresh beets is incomparable, so don't even consider using the canned variety. When choosing beets, select bunches with bright, glossy leaves attached.

Makes 8 first-course servings.

See the recipe...