Hey there all! This is the first post of 2012. To kick off this momentous occasion I am bringing you a quick and delicious dinner idea. I made a pasta salad last night and it was damn good, so you should eat it too. Below are the details. Enjoy!!


What you need:

Salt and pepper

1/2 box of rigatoni
8oz black eyed peas, frozen


I large shallot, or two small, diced
1 large garlic clove, or two small, diced
a generous handful of sundried tomatoes in oil cut into bite sized pieces
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/3 cup of mix of red and green sweet peppers diced
1/4 cup of cherry tomoatoes quartered
a handful of basil leaves
1/4 of pine nuts
1/4 of pickled banana peppers, slice
1 tablespoon of parmesean cheese
4oz package of salami

Italian salad mix


Step 1
In a large pot boil water, generously salted. In small pot add the peas and cover with water and add salt.

Step 2
Meanwhile, dice the shallot and the garlic and place in a bowl large enough to hold the whole salad. Cut the sundried tomatoes into bite sized pieces,then add to bowl. Add the vinegar and the lemon juice and then slowly blend the olive oil into it, season with salt and pepper. Let this sit.

Step 3
Check on the beans. They will be tender when ready. If ready turn off heat. Add pasta to the large pot when it is at a rapid boil. It will take about 14 to 15 minutes to cook the pasta. Do not cook al dente. Cook until the pasta is fully tender. This is important.

Step 4
Chop the peppers and the tomatoes and set aside. Check on the pasta. When ready ladle the pasta out of the water with a slotted spoon. You want a little of the pasta water to drip into the bowl as you transfer it from the pot to the bowl. You don't want to pour the pasta water in, but as you transfer the pasta from one to the other, just enough will fall into the bowl. Then laddle in the peas as well. You want to Gently fold in until all is incorporated. Then you will put plastic wrap on top. Put in fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 5
Cut the salami. Toast the pine nuts and set aside. Chop the basil and put on top of the cut peppers and place plastic wrap over them until the pasta is ready to be taken out.

Step 6
Take the bowl out of the fridge. Fold in the peppers and tomatoes. Then fold in the salami. Then fold in the pine nuts and the parmesean cheese. Taste it. It may need a dash of salt and pepper.

To serve: I served this dense salad with undressed italian greens, which balanced out the meal. Eat it!!

Fresh Pasta This Weekend

Frank and Katie's Baked Ziti

This is just a snap shot of all the great food!

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Above is a picture of the baked ziti Frank and Katie made for their fabulous holiday party. It was a Christmas weekend filled with delicous food and lots of friends and family. What did you eat for Christmas? What was your favorite meal this holiday? Please share.

Pasta Inspiration

Although I could have let the sauce reduce a bit, the flavors were spot on.

What I made earlier this week was based off of this recipe from Jamie Oliver's website. I did not have time to get into pasta making that evening, especially without a pasta machine, a food processor, or even a rolling pin, so instead I made sauce.

When I finally do make pasta, I might actually buy the rolling pin, but I will probably hold off on buying the other two things. I can't wait for that day! I would love it if you joined me.

For this particular night I just used store bought pasta. I bought five boxes on sale a few weeks ago, so I have to use the reserves. I also set aside the excess basil, wrapping it up and putting it in the freezer.

I did make some slight deviations on the sauce. I bought whole tomatoes because they were on sale and I used crushed red pepper flakes because I could not find a fresh one, and lastly, I stuck a bay leaf in the sauce while it simmered because I have a huge container of bay leaves I need to use up. I also used mozzarella balls, because I love them with a spicy sauce. In the end, it was a quick awesome meal. Try it, and you will see.

Obsession!

I am obsessed with making my own pasta. Doesn't he make it look easy? Joey! Will you let me borrow your food processor this weekend?!?

Pasta Rituals

So if you're anything like me, when you come home from work you're tired and you're hungry and the last thing you want to do is get into some complex and time consuming meal preparation. Don't get me wrong. I love food and I love cooking, I'm just so hungry when I get home that I fall on my most primal instincts, which are A) get a snack, B) find the quickest way from point a (hunger) to point b (dinner).


The first thing required in my A to B dinner tactic is to make sure I have snack food at home. I bought some blue corn chips a while ago and they have served me well. At other times I've done a sliver of cheese and crackers or left over steamed plantains slices. Carbohydrates seem to be a common theme.


Pasta is a staple because it is both cheap and fast. My friend made pasta with peanut sauce for me and since then I have reconsidered my dislike of wheat pasta. Consequently, I always buy the wheat variety, but I tend to vary the shape to keep things fresh.

I also buy sauce. I know there will be hecklers who will go on about how I could very easily make my own, which, in a pinch, I've done before. Don't forget, however, that one of the highest values in this whole adventure is speed. You can't beat pouring from a jar.

Additionally, I keep Parmesan cheese in the house. I have a chunk of it and grate what I will mix into my pasta with a steak knife. To recap, having to make you're own pasta sauce is a load of crap, but grating your own cheese will certainly, the palate, please. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself).

For a long time I was only eating pasta. It was really sad because when I lived near the Park Slope Coop, I always ate great produce and I varied what I ate quite a bit. I was lamenting my addiction to pasta and my lack of vegetable eating, but not really doing much about it until I went to visit my aunt.

While I stayed with her she made extravagant meals every night. There was a lot of grilled meat, but what struck me the most was her sauteed spinach and the green peppers left on the grill. I was in heaven, it tasted so good and it was just the inspiration I needed to re-inject the color green into my daily eating habits.

Now that I'm back in New York, I am still eating my pasta but I've also added a lot of green to my plate. I supplement my meal with mixed salad greens that are drizzled with olive oil and toasted sesame seeds and some other cooked greens. The first week I had sauteed spinach just like my aunt made. I ate it cold out of the fridge for a week. The following week, however, I opted for steamed kale drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of pepper flakes.

Adding the green hasn't added much time to my meal prep, but it sure has added flavor and nutrition. When I get home, I get my snack food out. I heat the water for the pasta. take out the pre-washed greens and put them on a plate. I then take out the cooked greens and put them on the plate too. I take out the olive oil and the pasta sauce and the cheese. The pepper flakes and sesame seeds are already on the table. I season my greens and cook the pasta. When it's close to done I drain the water and put the pasta, still in the pot, back on the heat. I pour the sauce on with the cheese, mix for a minute or two and serve. This whole ordeal never takes more than fifteen minutes and it's just so yummy.

Innovations from a Kitchenett

I have been cooking in a new kitchen the last month. Of course, every new kitchen brings along quirks and challenges that a good cook should work around or incorporate into her or his cooking style. I, for example, am refraining from purchasing too many gadgets for my kitchen, which would clutter a very small space.

A long time fan of avocado toast, I have altered my eating habits to accomodate the reality of my new space. Now I eat either rye bread, untoasted or I substitute bread all together for tortillas. I don't have a toaster anymore and I'm reluctant to purchase one because there just isn't much space.

Another lesson one might learn from a small space is how to make your space work for multiple purposes. My stove, for example is not just a source of heat to cook food. I also use the oven as pan storage and, until recently, I used it to dry dishes. It worked out so well as a dish-drying object that I quite regret buying my dish rack, which takes up a lot of space.

Instead of investing in a coffee pot that typically rests on the counter, I bought a coffee press. By doing this I keep my precious foot of counter space free to chop vegetables and hold my drink; water or wine, I drink it out of a short glass tumbler: one cup, two purposes.

By adjusting to my space and making it my own I have come across a couple of food ideas you might want to try out, whether you're in a space crunch or not:

Wilted Kale with Shitaki Dressing

27 wide shreds of sweet potato

1/4 of a bunch of kale chopped

1/8 of a medium sized cabbage, shredded

1 garlic clove slivered

1 tablespoon of corn oil

Salt, to taste

Aunt Annie's Shitaki Salad Dressing, to taste

Spunky music, also to taste

Heat oil. Sizzle garlic. drop vegetables. Blaze temperature. Swirl. Salt. Smell. Lower heat. Cover. Sing along to your song. Lift cover. Turn again. Plate. Drizzle. Mmmmmmm.

Spicy Sausage with Penne (I know it sounds phallic, oh well)

1/2 box of penne

2 links of sausage (I used lean turkey sausage and that totally worked, but you can get whatever)

1 glove of garlic

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

1/2 an onion

marinara sauce

tablespoon of olive oil

to taste, italian spice mix or dry basil

salt, to taste

Put water, salted, to heat. Slice those links! Mince that garlic! Pop those cherries! Breath, pause, now--sliver that onion. Heat the oil; drop the garlic, brown on medium high temperature with onions. When pan gives first hint of smoking add tomatoes with sausage. Toss with conviction. Let pan rest and cover. Water should be at a boil. Add the pasta. Pour a glass of wine or eat a piece of chocolate, sit, relax, take an intermission from the kitchen. After your rest, rise, check the sausage. Is it cooked? If so, pour marinara to your liking. Drain pasta, when al dente. Combine penne with sausage. Let them make an aquaintance under simmering flame while you dress table. Serve. Enjoy.