Olive Oil-Poached Shrimp

I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this lovely dish with you as my 200th post! Yay 200th post! I don't always have the best follow-through with things, so it pleases me to not only have been blogging for over a year, but to have actually learned from and shared so much with you - fantastic!

And fantastic is the perfect way to describe these olive oil-poached shrimp. This was a new technique for me, and I'm not entirely sure I would have attempted it, but my fabulous husband (and sous-chef) requested it. I am so glad I did, because Dave and I had an awesome time pulling it together. He peeled and deveined the shrimp, infused the oil, took lots of pictures and did a ton of dishes - and kept me laughing the whole time. Collective cartoon bird-sigh, Everyone - "Awwwww!" Sappy, but true. This was a blast to make.

This recipe has a lot of steps, but don't be discouraged - nothing is tricky. It wasn't even especially time consuming, if you want to get right down to it. The oil infused while I prepared the lime syrup and roasted the poblano. The poblano steamed while I prepared the veg. The tomatoes marinated while we tidied up. Everything was ready to go by the time our friends Jeremy and Liane came over, so we were able to have quality friend time with no worries about our starter!

I did have reservations about the poaching. Would it work? Would the shrimp be oily? Would we like it? In short, it did, they weren't, and OMG, they were delicious!! Next time we make this (because we will be making this again), we'll do way more than 8 shrimp - two per person just wasn't enough! The shrimp were tender and flavored delicately with coriander and red pepper flake - and not the least bit oily!


As much as we loved the shrimp, they weren't the only stars of the show! Neither Dave nor Jeremy particularly care for tomatoes, but the marinade brightened them up to the point they didn't even taste like tomatoes - but in a good way. The cucumber salad was sweet and crunchy, crisp and smoky. The cucumber, lime zest and roasted poblano melded together in a most beautiful way. The brightness in both the tomatoes and cucumber salad was balanced deftly by the sliced avocado and mellow lime syrup. I couldn't possibly give you enough positive adjectives to explain how terrific every part of this plate was singularly, much less blended together. I can just say that it was a symphony of flavors, and each flavor came together beautifully as a whole.

Elegant and delicious, this appetizer was. A blast to create and a joy to share. Thank you for sticking with me for 200 posts. I hope I have 200 more, just as tasty as this one.


Olive Oil-Poached Shrimp
c/o Top Chef: The Cookbook
winning recipe by Lia, Season 3, Episode 4

2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
One 750-ml bottle olive oil
1 lime
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
Salt
1/3 English cucumber
1 large poblano chile
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon
Juice of ½ navel orange
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 vine-ripened tomato
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Hass avocados

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, toast the coriander seeds and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the oil. Heat until just hot to the touch, then remove from the heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth and transfer to a medium saucepan.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of the lime, then trim off any white pith. (Reserve the lime.) Cut the zest into very fine dice, put it in a small saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then immediately drain in a sieve. Return the zest to the pan, cover with cold water again, bring to a boil, then drain. In the saucepan, combine the sugar and ½ cup water. Add the zest and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool.

Pour the syrup through a sieve set over a clean saucepan; set the candied zest aside in a small bowl. Combine the cornstarch and 1 ½ teaspoons water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the syrup and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Let cool.

Cut the cucumber in half and scrape out the seeds. Cut the cucumber, peel included, into very fine dice and put in the bowl with the candied zest.

Roast the chile directly over a gas flame, turning with tongs until add sides are lightly charred. Place the chile in a heat-proof bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 20 minutes. Remove the blackened skin, seeds, and stems. Cut the bright green parts into very fine dice, to make 2 tablespoons. Add to the cucumber mixture, along with the juice of half the reserved lime (reserve the remaining lime for another use), ½ teaspoon of the infused oil, the cilantro, and salt to taste. Set the salad aside.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest and juice, orange juice, vinegar, and salt to taste. Slice the tomato into 8 thin wedges and add to the marinade. Set aside.

Warm the remaining infused oil over low heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and add them to the oil – it should not be hot enough to sputter. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until firm. Transfer the shrimp to paper towels to drain.

Peel and thinly slice the avocados. Lightly brush some of the lime syrup onto each of 8 serving plates. Place a shrimp on one side of the brushstroke. Place avocado slices next to the shrimp. Put 1 wedge of marinated tomato between the shrimp and avocado. Using a slotted spoon to drain the excess liquid from the cucumber salad, place a small line of the salad next to the avocado. Serve immediately.

See the recipe...

Rigatoni with Sweet Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella

I hope I get this into Ruth in time! I'll type like the wind!


For this week's Presto Pasta Night, I went to the lovely Jamie Oliver. (To be honest, I think I went though every cookbook I had, looking for interesting eggplant recipes - Jamie won.) This recipe can be found in his Family Dinners book, which I love. This particular cookbook is really useful for sneaking extra vegetables into meals, and I like the stealth factor. With our CSA this summer, its been a great resource for using up all these extra veggies!!

I will admit, I cheated a little. I used one can of diced tomatoes and one crushed. (One for me, one for Dave), and I really liked the added sauciness. The eggplant melted down and turned creamy, which was divine. I used a hot pepper from our porch (I can't remember the name of it), rather than dried - though I'm sure dried would be lovely. As his recipe suggests, the mozzarella melted beautifully and was nice and gooey.

This pasta meal reheated nicely, made a great lunch. I highly recommend it, and I'll absolutely make this again if we get more eggplant in our CSA.

Rigatoni with Sweet Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella
From Jamie’s Dinners: The Essential Family Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Dinners-Essential-Family-Cookbook/dp/1401301940/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-9319028-2617441?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183997400&sr=1-2

1 firm ripe pink, black or white eggplant
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 14 oz. cans of good-quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
optional: 1-2 fresh or dried chillies, chopped or crumbled
a bunch or fresh basil, leaves ripped and stalks sliced
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 lb rigatoni or penne
7 oz cow’s milk mozzarella
1 piece of Parmesan cheese, for grating

Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into ½ inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into ½ inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don’t really do this unless I’m dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one.

Now put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan, stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat. Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that’s up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.

While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.

At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! (Jamie’s words) Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. When all my guests are sitting around the table, I take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

See the recipe...

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tostadas

I gotta say, its really starting to feel like summer. (Crazy heat and humidity aside) I'm enjoying the smells of people grilling, the brightness of the vegetables, and the general excitement in the air. Now all I need is a trip to the pool and some adult beverages!

This was Wednesday's yummy dinner, also courtesy of a South Beach Diet cookbook. Not only are they healthy and taste great, but so far, all these SB recipes have been a snap to make. I want to say its because they don't have wild and crazy ingredient lists, but I don't know if that's fair. (could just be that I pull from the "quick and easy" and "summertime" books).

As I've mentioned before, I love tortillas and I love goat cheese. I switched out a few things in this recipe, just because I wanted to use what I had. My CSA delivered red leaf lettuce, so I used it instead of romaine, and I already had grape tomatoes, so I used them halved instead of chopping up bigger ones. I also added cubed fresh mozzarella, just because I've been in love with it lately. I imagine you could get away with regular black beans if you couldn't find black soybeans, too.

Dave and I both dug the crunch of the baked tortilla. He doesn't like actual tomatoes, so he went without. He did ask that next time, I spoon a little salsa on his, so he gets the tomatoes in a different way. I can see this with corn niblits and basil in the mix, too.


Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tostadas
Adapted from: The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less

4 (8-inch) whole-wheat tortillas
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 (15-ounce) can black soybeans, drained and rinsed
4 ounces reduced-fat goat cheese, crumbled (3/4 cup)
½ (1-pound) head romaine lettuce, chopped (4cups)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime, quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400°F.

Lightly spray tortillas with cooking spray and place, slightly overlapping, on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly puffed and browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

While tortillas are toasting, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in beans and heat until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

With tortillas still on the baking sheet, top with beans and cheese; bake until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with lettuce, tomatoes, and scallions. Squeeze lime over top and serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional stuffage: 290 calories, 10 g fat, 2.5 sat. fat, 13 g protein, 35 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 380 mg sodium

See the recipe...

Herb-Marinated Sirloin with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes

I'm entertaining the idea of giving the South Beach Diet another go, and because of that, I picked up The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook, and I think its wonderful!! The first time we did south beach, we only had the very basic first book to go off of, and those recipes are...well... a little boring. Since then, we've gotten the The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less and now this Taste of Summer book... so we really have no excuse for not eating a bit healthier.

Not that we necessarily were eating junk before, but I think that every little bit helps. After our first relationship with the SB diet a few years ago, we never went back to white anything - no white bread, pasta, rice, or sugar, so I think in that respect, giving this way of eating another go won't be such a shock to our systems.

Anyway, on to dinner!! I rarely make beef, but I'm trying to branch out a little. I think my trusty Polder kitchen thermometer finally croaked, because I overcooked the meat a bit. Hopefully all it needs are new batteries, but it might end up being a nice excuse to go to the kitchen store. (Woo!) We've also really been enjoying all the lovely fresh asparagus out right now, and I'm recently in love with grape tomatoes, and all roasted up, both were delicious! This dinner was a real winner and it couldn't have been easier, to tell the truth. Next time around, I'll try to do a little better with the steak, but overall, A+!!


Herb-Marinated Sirloin with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes
From: The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

Phase 1

½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 (1 ¾-pound) sirloin steak, about 1 ½ inches thick
1 pound medium-thick asparagus, trimmed
1 ½ cups grape tomatoes
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, marjoram, thyme, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt. Rub onto steak. Place steak on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and let steak sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Lightly coat a heavy skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-heat. Pan-grill steak 10 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

While steak is resting, heat the oven to 450°F. Spread asparagus and tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, and toss to combine. Roast until tomatoes are bursting and asparagus is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, thinly slice steak. Divide steak and vegetables among 4 plates and serve warm.

Makes 4 servings.

Stats/serving: 280 calories, 10 g fat, 3.5 sat. fat, 40 g protein, 7 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 250 mg sodium

See the recipe...

Succotash with Shrimp

I love the color in this dish - the greens of the zucchini and edamame, the yellow of the corn, the red of the tomatoes, and the orange of the shrimp - I really feel like this healthy dinner is something you can feel happy about eating and serving. I'd say that it could serve four if you had some bread to go with it (which is what we did).

This recipe is from Fitness Magazine. I decided recently that I get way too many magazines, and of all of them, I'd keep the cooking mags over the fitness ones, but with recipes like this, they aren't going anywhere!!

I sub out edamame for lima beans, and I swapped out shrimp for the scallops. Go with what you like, and you can't go wrong.


Succotash with Shrimp
Adapted from recipe in Fitness Magazine
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/fitness/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/fitness/story/data/1169224538664.xml&catref=ftn20&page=3

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted
10-ounce package frozen edamame
1 medium zucchini (about 1/2 pound), quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 pound shrimp
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

To make succotash, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and let cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in corn, edamame, zucchini, and tomatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.

In the meantime, pat the shrimp dry and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spray a large nonstick skillet or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until opaque, 5 to 6 minutes, turning once.

Stir vinegar and basil into the succotash, season with salt and pepper, and serve topped with grilled shrimp.

Per serving: 362 calories, 34g protein, 49g carbohydrate, 5g fat (1g saturated), 9g fiber

See the recipe...

Sloppy Joe MMMBop

So, we were about to sit down to Sloppy Joes, and MMMBop was going on the Bose. As you can see in the picture, my sloppy joe is a little wonky. I don't know where I got it, but when I first made this recipe a few years ago, we had it in lettuce wraps, rather than buns. (Could have been South Beach Diet inspired, in fact). Dave doesn't care for them this way, so he used buns leftover from last nights burgers.

This particular recipe, found in Everyday Food magazine, suggested making it two different ways - for kids and adults. Kids get smaller buns, grown-ups get cilantro and avocado. (Yay being old!)

Sure, you could easily make Manwich or other brand sloppy joe from a can, but why? This is so easy and tastes great. Me, I like the lettuce... give it a go!


Sloppy Joes
Everyday Food Magazine, September 2005
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=2543a6e806b0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=sloppy%20joe&rsc=ns2006_r3

1 1/4 pounds ground beef chuck
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tomato puree, (14.5 ounces)
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 hamburger rolls, cut into mini buns
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno chiles
2 hoagie rolls, split in half
1/2 ripe avocado, thinly sliced

For the Kids (Serves 2) In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef, breaking apart pieces with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add puréed tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, and 1 1/2 cups water. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Reserve half the beef mixture for the adults. Divide remaining evenly among the mini buns (2 per serving).

For the Adults (Serves 2) Stir cilantro and jalapenos into the reserved beef mixture. Dividing evenly, spoon over bottom halves of rolls; top with avocado slices.

See the recipe...

Sneaky Tofu

I let him take the first bite.

"How is it," I asked.

"Very good!!" he replied, mouth full.

"Rock on," I thought. "I'm glad you said that," I said.

He paused the TV and looked at me. I explained that rather than use ricotta, like most filled pastas, I'd used tofu. I promised that the recipe actually called for tofu, because there is absolutely no way I would ever thought to do it on my own.

I admit, I had reservations. I watched the whole mess come together and I was nervous. Sure, he was in the very same kitchen with me when I popped the tofu into the food processor (he is a mostly oblivious type), but would it be good? I'm so pleased with it, I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow night's leftovers. I might not yet be wondering what else I can slip tofu into, but its a start!

While I'm at it, I think I'll submit this for this week's Presto Pasta Night. I'm either really really early, or super-late. I'll let Ruth decide. :)



Baked Stuffed Shells
http://food.cookinglight.com/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1215893

Stuffing:

1/4 cup boiling water

6 sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 (14-ounce) package reduced-fat firm tofu

1 egg, lightly beaten

18 cooked jumbo pasta shells

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 ¾ cups chopped onion (about 1 large)

1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)

1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 medium)

3 garlic cloves, minced

Cooking spray

¾ pound low-fat turkey breakfast sausage, casings removed

¼ cup red wine

2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt 1 (28-ounce) can organic crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons grated fresh

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare stuffing, combine 1/4 cup boiling water and sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl; let stand 20 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Drain and finely chop. Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, and next 6 ingredients (through egg) in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon 2 tablespoons stuffing into each shell. Set stuffed shells aside.

To prepare sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Place onion mixture in a bowl.

Coat pan with cooking spray; return pan to heat. Add sausage, and cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add wine; cook until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 3 minutes). Stir in onion mixture, tomato paste, and next 5 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a simmer. Cook 25 minutes or until slightly thick.

Spread 2 cups sauce over bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange stuffed shells in a single layer in pan; top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3 stuffed shells and about 1 cup sauce)

See the recipe...

Eating the Pantry

First, let me introduce myself. I am Katie, and I over-grocery-shop. (Hi, Katie!) I love to grocery shop. I love making lists and picking items out and coming home to make whatever dish I've been thinking about all day. I am Katie, and I have a problem. More on this later.

This past weekend, we emptied out our pantry, freezer, and spices cabinet. We took stock of what we had, and then we put it all back. A few items were left out, stray things like the box of hamburger helper and the mix to make beer bread (like from those parties), the boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese, yadda yadda, you get the point. Stray foods... things we used to eat way back when.

I also went though my piles of recipes - either printed from the internet or ripped from a magazine and never tried... I had piles. Big piles. Hidden under the oversized chair in the living room big. I think I kept a stack a fifth the size... of recipes I KNEW I'd try.

What accomplishing both these tasks means is that we can try to live off what we have. I need to tame my grocery store beast, and live out of the pantry and freezer. I know I can do it. I know, because as I was going through my stacks, I found this recipe for risotto - and all I needed to get was the italian sausage. It was fate. And fate was tasty.


Tomato and Sausage Risotto
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=1ca8ad948aa0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=tomato%20and%20sausage%20risotto&rsc=ns2006_r1

1 (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (10 to 14 ounces) flat-leaf spinach, washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 Cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).

Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

See the recipe...

Gnocchi Bolognese

So what if the last two real dinners we had were gnocchi? Are you counting?

Well, thats my hangup. I find something new, and I make it over and over again - 3 or 4 times over a couple of weeks. Just to make sure... its research!

When I mentioned to my (Italian) friend Stephanie that I was going to toss the two together, she seemed shocked. WHY would I mix gnocchi and bolognese??? My favorite Italian place, Filomena's, has it on their menu that way, and its the only thing I've ever had there. And I'm very much ok with that. :)

I had the extra gnocchi frozen from a couple of nights ago... and I was in the mood for bolognese. This particular recipe makes A LOT of bolognese... I just put away 5 baggies of it for future dinners, AFTER we'd already had our dinner. Mind you, its just the two of us. Dave loves it, and its an easy dinner down the road. Woohoo!

Now, totally by chance, I grated enough parm that I had enough rind to trim off and add to my collection in the freezer. As I was putting the bag away, I thought, why not actually use some of these cheese rinds? Why am I freezing them if I'm not going to use them? So, for the first time ever, I threw three in the sauce (near the end). They mostly dissolved... and I can't say that I notice a difference. I've never used parm rinds before, I don't know if I used them in the right dish, so if you have any rind experience/guidance, let me know.

PS: Turns out that Steph misunderstood me, and thought I was having (ruining) my gnocchi with bearnaise, rather than bolognese. Explains the horrified look she gave me. :)

Adapted from:
Spaghetti Bolognese
By: Emeril Lagasse
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28747,00.html?rsrc=search

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces bacon or pancetta, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
3/4 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pound ground beef or ground veal
1/2 pound pork sausage, removed from the casings, or ground pork
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup beef or chicken stock or broth
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 pound spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and the fat is rendered, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beef and sausages, and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and remove any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pan, and until half of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their juices, the tomato sauce, beef broth, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the cream, butter, and parsley, stir well, and simmer for 2 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and return the water to a low boil. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to coat. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese and toss to blend. Divide among pasta bowls and serve with the cheese passed tableside. (Alternatively, toss only the desired portion of pasta with a bit of the sauce at a time in a serving bowl, reserving the remainder for another meal.)

See the recipe...