Rigatoni alla Carbonara

Some nights I just want to make something easy. Something I don't have to think about. Something I have all the ingredients for. Something that doesn't require the oven. Something that's still tasty, not boring. This is the meal for me.....and you.

I've made this dinner several times and it never disappoints. I'm not a huge Rachael Ray fan but she did good on this one, keeping things simple so you can taste each individual flavor.

Rigatoni alla Carbonara

makes 4 generous servings

Salt

1 pound rigatoni

1/3 pound pancetta, cured Italian meat, available at deli counter, chopped (bacon works great too!)

Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan)

4 or 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, a few pinches, crushed in palm of hand

(for kids, I’d leave the red pepper flakes out & sprinkle it on your own serving)

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock

2 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons (about 2 palmfuls) grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more, for sprinkling

A handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

A few grinds black pepper

Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When water is rolling, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente, about 8 minutes, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.

While pasta cooks, heat large skillet over moderate heat. Sauté pancetta in a drizzle of oil until it browns, 3 to 5 minutes. Add extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and crushed pepper flake. Sauté garlic 2 minutes. Add wine or stock to the pan and reduce liquid by half, 2 minutes.

Beat together egg yolks, cheese, and while whisking vigorously, stir in a ladle of the boiling pasta water. Beat in parsley and pepper and set aside.

Drain pasta. Add pasta to pan with sauce. Toss pasta with pancetta, then add egg mixture and toss 1 minute, then remove from heat. Continue to toss until sauce is absorbed by and thickly coating the pasta. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve with extra cheese, for passing.

Kettle Corn

Summer is here. Not sure if I've mentioned that before, but yes, summer, indeed, is here. *sighhhhh* 


Ok, ok, you already know how much I love summer so I won't continue on endlessly, but there really is something I haven't mentioned before about the perks of summer. The Drive-In. Remember going to the Drive-In when you were little? There is something magical about being able to sit in your car or lawn chairs or in the bed of your truck, cozy up with a blanket and eat all the treats and goodies that you didn't have to sneak in, while watching a new movie.Well, I fell in love with the Drive-In all over again this weekend. My family and I met up with some friends of ours and had good 'ol time at the Drive-In.

I made some of this Kettle Corn for my husband and I and it was sooo good. I really should have doubled the recipe. Note taken. Awesome balance between sweet and salty. Love it. And could this snack be any easier to make?? Soo simple, it's the perfect option for movie night at home too.

Now I have to admit I've never popped popcorn in a pot before. I sat there and kind of marveled at all the popping going on in the pot, under the lid. I thought it was pretty rad actually.

Homemade Kettle Corn

taken from Joy the Baker

makes 8-10 cups

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup vegetable or grapeseed oil
3 tablespoons sugar
Salt to taste.  I think I used between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon.

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Make sure that it’s a pan that you can easily lift and shake in the air.  Yea… you’ll also want to have two pot holders on hand.

Once the oil is hot, pour in the popcorn, sprinkle sugar on top and cover.

It will take a few minutes for the first pops, but once the popcorn starts popping, shake continuously until the popcorn is popped. This means that, once the popcorn really starts going, you’ll want to grab the pot with your pot holders, securing the lid, and shake the pot above the flame of the stove for a few seconds, return to the heat, and repeat this process several times throughout the popping process. This will prevent the popcorn from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.

Transfer to a serving bowl and salt lightly. Mix with a big spoon. The sugar will still be hot, and the popcorn may be sticky. Don’t burn your hands on hot sugar.  The popcorn will dry as it cools.  

Strawberry Lemonade Granita

Summertime.

Ahhh, my favorite time of the year. I adore just about everything that the summer has to offer. Sun, bbq's, beach, pool, sunblock, school's out, baseball & softball, beer (it just tastes better in the summer!), vacations, fresh fruit and veggies, and sweet treats.

Icy, sweet, creamy and tart all in one. This Granita is refreshing and light and the perfect way to end a warm summer day. My only complaint is that the recipe didn't make more! Mmmm, so good. I wish I had some right now.

Strawberry Lemonade Granita

serves 4, small servings

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1 1/2 cups Lemon Simple Syrup, recipe follows

1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

½ cup lemon juice

5 fresh strawberries, quartered

Pinch fine sea salt

Place the simple syrup, mascarpone cheese, strawberries, ½ cup lemon juice and salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until the mixture is firm. Mine wasn’t ready after 4 hours, so I just left it in overnight.

Using the tines of a fork, ice cream scoop or spoon, scrape the mixture into small serving bowls or glasses.

Serve immediately.

Lemon Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cups water

1 lemon, zested and juiced

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, lemon zest, and lemon juice over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.

Yield: 1 ¾ cups

Sausage & Parmesan Eggs over Foccacia

So....this is what I was supposed to make for Father's Day for my husband. He's a pretty spectacular Dad so I wanted to make something new and different just for him. Our plans for Father's Day changed at the last minute so instead I made him a special breakfast for Happy Wednesday. Ok, you got me, there's no such thing as Happy Wednesday, but why not? It sounds like a good idea, especially if you start it with a yummy and filling breakfast that couldn't be easier to prepare.

A friend of a friend sent me this recipe that is a proven winner. Try it out this weekend and let me know how you like it!

Sausage & Parmesan Eggs over Foccacia

adapted by Linda Campbell from Giada De Laurentiis

serves 4-6

1 large loaf foccacia bread

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil combined with 1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ lb Italian sausage (the sausage you’d put in a meat sauce-not breakfast sausage)

4 eggs

¼ cup grated Parmesan

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sauté sausage in a skillet and let cool.

Cut the top off the foccacia and hollow out the bread inside. Tear the top of the foccacia and the inside bread into 1-inch pieces and save for the egg mixture. Brush the inside of the foccacia with the lemon olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sausage, cheese, salt, pepper, and milk. Whisk lightly. Stir in up to 4 cups of the bread pieces.

Carefully pour the egg mixture into the toasted foccacia bottom. Return to the oven and bake until the eggs have cooked, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cut the baked foccacia into 6 to 8 pieces and serve immediately.

The clearly incompetent grocery store closest to my home never has what I need, so in place of foccacia bread I used some sort of flat bread from the bakery. It worked fine and still tasted yummy, so don't fret about using an alternative.

Granola: Take 2

Let me tell you how an amazing woman became a dear friend of mine.

I first met her in middle school (it feels like a century ago). We weren't really friends at the time but we knew each other.

We continued on to two different high schools.

Coincidentally, my friend and I both got part time jobs working at a local restaurant. It was fun, a lot of fun. I wish jobs were still that fun and carefree. Working with your friends, laughing and playing jokes on each other. Sticking around an hour after work just because you wanted to...yeah, I miss those days.

My friend and I would chit-chat at work about girl stuff.

We both went to college and continued our lives in two different directions.

Fast forward to 2008. I was approaching my high school reunion and signed up on something called Facebook. Apparently it was some social networking site that would help me "reconnect with old friends" before the reunion - or at least that's what the flyer claimed that accompanied my invitation to the reunion. 

Reunion came and went, had a great time, and I continued to play around on Facebook.

Sometime last year my friend and I bumped into each other on FB and this time we became friends. Friends in a Facebook kinda way. Little did I know we would become great friends, in real life too.

Funny how people come in and out of your life at the right times. We have so much in common, yet are different in so many ways that it's refreshing. I am sincerely grateful to Facebook for bringing her back into my life - corny, I know, but so true. xo

This friend of mine is extremely kind, funny, loving, caring, giving, generous, smart, creative, etc, etc. I hope she knows how awesome she is.

The other day I received this in the mail from her:

Nothing fancy, but perfect for me. An article she ripped out from a magazine about making homemade granola. Yes, totally perfect for me. Thank you again, friend, for sending that.

So, the night before I received this in the mail I had some down time all to myself and was doing some "blog research" or so I'll call it. I finally stumbled across the infamous Orangette. A blog that every cooking blog reader has heard of, but, oddly I had never taken the time to actually read. So I read. I got to know a little about Orangette and who writes it. I liked it.

Now back to the magazine article (stay with me). I'm sitting at the Doctor's office, waiting to be called and reading about granola. Half way through I randomly remembered that Orangette (aka Molly Wizenberg) writes a monthly column for Bon Appetit. Hmm. I glance down to the bottom of the first page and see  Bon Appetit.com / June 2010. Oh, cool. I then glanced to the end of the article and read Molly Wizenberg is the voice behind the award-winning blog Orangette and the author of a Homemade Life. I thought that was a pretty cool coincidence.

Today I made granola from a recipe that my friend sent me, from Bon Appetit magazine, written by Molly Wizenberg, who is Orangette. Check it out.

This granola blows away the last granola I made. I love it. And you should try it. If you're the make-your-own-granola kinda gal.

Everyday Granola

makes about 5 cups

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3 TB (packed) brown sugar

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp (generous) salt

1/3 cup honey

2 TB vegetable oil

1 cup assorted dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit. Do ahead – Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight.

I don’t care for coconut, so I left it out completely. I used dried cranberries, but left it out of the entire mixture – that way it can be added to individual bowls when wanted.

Sea Scallops with Saffron Aioli

WARNING, for the faint - this post does contain a slight mention of urine

School let out last week. Thursday to be exact. My kids are already bored. What the?!?! Really??? This is going to be one looong summer....Grrrr

The older kids were getting on each other's nerves so I sent them to their rooms to cool down while I started dinner. It was warm out and I wanted something light so I decided I wanted to make scallops. I poured myself an ice cold beer, turned on some great salsa music and enjoyed the calm while I cooked dinner.

For some reason it was unusually calm. Hudson had fallen asleep in the short 5 minutes he was in his room. Fine with me. I gathered the rest of the family and we sat down to eat. Mid-dinner I hear him crying from his room. I hollered to him that he can come out of his room now. We continued eating. Then, out of the corner of my eye I see him in the living room, standing behind the couch. What is he doing, I thought. Then in a split second, I said out loud, "Is he peeing?!" I dashed over to him, and sure enough, his pants were down, and there was a decent sized puddle on the floor. Are you kidding me??? I pulled up his pants and moved him to the couch, because he was obviously not awake, where he continued to sleep for the next hour.

The scallops didn't quite taste the same after that, but they were good nonetheless.

Sea Scallops with Saffron Aioli

serves 4

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, plus 1 teaspoon zest

1/8 teaspoon (pinch) saffron threads

1/2 cup best-quality mayonnaise

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 to 16 large sea scallops (I used 2 pounds & they weren’t very large. It served 2 perfectly.)

Freshly cracked black pepper

Put the orange juice and saffron in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 1 minute, until orange juice is infused with the saffron; stir in the zest and remove from the heat to cool slightly. Whisk the orange mixture and the mayonnaise in a small bowl until combined. Season with salt and set aside while you cook the scallops.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season well with salt and pepper. When the oil is rippling, add the scallops and sear, turning once, until golden brown but still opaque in the center, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the scallops from the skillet to serving dishes, (3 to 4 per person), and drizzle with the aioli. Serve immediately.

Notes:

* I purchased these scallops on sale. I wouldn't make this recipe if I had to pay full price for them.

*Not really sure what the saffron added to this meal. It may or may not have been attributed to the fact that my saffron was a couple years old. (I realized this after the fact.) Saffron can be pretty expensive so I'm just throwin' that out there.

*We liked the aioli but added some Slap Ya Mama for some heat. It seemed to need a little something extra.

banana bread

Bought some bananas. Ate a few. The rest went spotty brown before I could say "School's out! Hello SUMMER!!!" Instead of throwing these bananas and my money in the garbage, I decided to save them by making banana bread. Everyone in the family loved it - everyone - from age 2 - 31. Success.

I searched through my cookbooks and noticed a few recipes called for cake flour. I didn't have any on hand so I went with the recipe that called for all-purpose flour. I doubled the batch. Made the first loaf without nuts and then added walnuts to the second. Both are delicious. You could also get kinda crazy and throw in a handful or two of chocolate chips. I'm just sayin'.

Banana Bread

taken from the Joy of Cooking

makes 1 loaf

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

5 1/3 TB unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch (6 cup) loaf pan.

Whisk together thoroughly the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the flour mixture until blended and the consistency of brown sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs. Fold in the bananas and nuts just until combined.

Sausage, Ricotta and Spinach stuffed Manicotti

I am a dinner-table-Mom. I don't think dinner is insignificant. Quite the opposite. Dinner is important to me. While I always love to serve a good meal to my family, the food really is not what is important. The dinner is what is important.

My family, sitting at the same table, sharing a meal together, and talking to each  other. This is dinner.


It is the one time, throughout our busy days, that we take time as a family to be together - as one. The T.V. is off, the hands are washed, and the conversation flows. Mind you, this is not the marines, everything does not always run smoothly, but ultimately it is my family, together. Yes, I continually have to remind the kids to sit in their chairs straight. Yes, the glass of milk or water or apple juice is occasionally knocked over and I holler at the kids to be more careful. Yes, I do find some of the baby's food tossed on the floor and our dog, Hurley, is doing his best to clean up the evidence. Yes, Emily keeps yelling at Hudson to quit chomping and I have to remind him to chew with his mouth closed. Yes, many meals shared at our dinner table are chaotic and not quite picturesque.... But I wouldn't trade these dinners for anything.

These dinners are the moments when we share our lives with our family. The good, the bad and the ugly, it can be expressed during dinner. This is when you know your family, your whole family, is listening. This is when we hear about the perfect part in the play that Emily is trying out for. Or about the endless drama Emily is having with the girls at school, because that's what happens when they're 10. Or, even better, how Emily has a crush on a boy...in her class...who is a baseball player. This is when Hudson tells us he is getting really good at addition and subtraction and that 1 + 10 - 50 = 100. Or that he can't wait for football season because he knows he will be one of the best players on the team. This is when Brooklyn, topless at the dinner table, sings 'Happy Birthday' to us because that's one of her favorite songs to sing. Or she's completely silent, for the first time all day, because she is chowing down. This is when we talk about our goals, weekend plans, struggles and plans to overcome them. This is when our family focuses on each other. And, within a flash, the dinner plates are cleared, one by one the dinner table is emptied, and the hustle and bustle of our lives picks up right where it left off. That was dinner.

Mama's Sausage, Ricotta and Spinach stuffed Manicotti
serves  5-6

sauce

2 28 ounce cans of peeled, whole plum tomatoes (use San Marzano with basil, if you can)

8-10 TB butter

1 ½ medium onions, peeled and cut in half

Salt

filling

1 TB butter or olive oil

½-1 lb fresh (or frozen) spinach

1 TB olive oil

½ large onion, diced

1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed

1 ½ cups Ricotta

½-3/4 cup Parmesan, grated, plus more for sprinkling

Salt & pepper

1 gallon size Ziploc bag

1 box Manicotti shells

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First, start making your sauce. Put the canned tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt (to taste), and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for 45 minutes, or until the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from time to time, mashing any large piece of tomato in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and correct for salt. Discard the onion before tossing with pasta.

Meanwhile, get water ready to boil manicotti. Cook until al dente, drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large sauté pan, add spinach and sauté until spinach is completely wilted. Set on a plate to cool.

Add olive oil and onions to pan, sauté until onions are translucent. Add sausage, breaking into bite size pieces as it browns. Place on a plate with paper towels to soak up the grease and set aside to cool, slightly.

Chop cooled spinach into bite size pieces and place in large mixing bowl. Add Ricotta, Parmesan, sausage, salt and pepper. Mix until combined. Place mixture into a gallon size Ziploc bag, seal, and make a diagonal cut in one of the bottom corners.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, lightly cover the bottom with sauce. Then, fill the manicotti, squeezing the filling out of the bag into each side of the shell and place in the baking dish. It is ok to fit them in the dish tightly. Once they are all filled, cover the top with the remaining sauce. Top with a Parmesan cheese. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Doughnut Muffins

I wouldn't really say that I am a morning person. No, I wouldn't really say that at all. I do, in fact, love my sleep and am not very fond of waking up. I don't like to be early anywhere, which means I try to wake at the very last second possible.

This is quite the opposite from my husband. He's bright eyed and bushy tailed early, early, early, weekday or weekend. He also lives by the mantra, "If you're on time, you're late, if you're early, you're on time." I hate this mantra. But it's good, I suppose. If you're into that sort of thing. Luckily, my kids take after Daddy in that regard and they hate being late anywhere. Good for them.

So, if you are a morning person like my husband, these Doughnut Muffins would be a delicious way to start your day. If you're not a morning person, like me, just do what I did. Make them around three in the afternoon and they'll serve as a great appetizer before dinner. Remember there aren't rules about when you can eat Doughnut Muffins so you decide. Regardless, they are scrumptious and mine were gone within 24 hours.

ps. This qualified for my pantry cooking! You probably have all the ingredients already.
pps. Kids love to help with the last step-shaking the bag of sugar and cinnamon!

Doughnut Muffins

borrowed from Evil Chef Mom who found it in Blue Ribbon Cookbook
makes 24 mini muffins (it made 36 for me, yay!)

muffins:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature **
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature

cinnamon sugar coating:

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 2 (12 cup) mini muffin tins.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and buttermilk. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in one fourth of the dry ingredients. Then beat in one third of the milk mixture. Continue to alternate until all ingredients are incorporated, finishing with dry ingredients. Do not over mix. The batter will be heavy, it's ok.

Fill the prepared muffin cups just to the rim with batter. Bake until lightly golden and firm to the touch, 15-20 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet.

To coat the muffins: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a paper bag. Brush each muffin generously with melted butter. Then place a few muffins in the bag with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Shake well to coat the muffins. Repeat. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Jelly Doughnut Muffins: Allow muffins to cool and use a small pastry tip to make a hole in the bottom of each muffin. Fill the pastry bag with your favorite jam, jelly, or citrus curd, and squeeze into the muffin.

**If you don’t feel like buying buttermilk, you can make your own. One quick way is to add one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk and let it sit, about 5-10 minutes – or 1 ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1 cup of milk. Very easy and inexpensive! Courtesy of Food Lover's Companion.

Cornucopia Salad

I first made this salad about five years ago for my best friend's baby shower. I served it along side a cup of carrot soup. I remember it as a lovely day, filled with excitement, joy, anticipation and laughter. I wanted everything to go perfectly because that is what my best friend deserves. The luncheon was a success. The soup was delicious and the salad was mouthwatering. Everyone loved it and my best friend was happy. Mission accomplished.

Since then, this salad has become a regular in our home. My husband is always requesting it. This salad is perfect for a baby shower, perfect as a side dish, perfect as an entrée, perfect for lunch, perfect for dinner, perfect for a summer day, perfect for Memorial Day, perfect for whatever-you-want-to-call-it-day. This salad is perfect. It is hearty and filling, yet light and refreshing at the same time. Best of all, you don't feel guilty having two servings (or I don't at least!).

Cornucopia Salad

serves 6

Candied Almonds:

½ cup sliced almonds (walnuts and pecans turn out great too!)

3 TB sugar

½ head green leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

½ head Romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

1 cup chopped celery

4 green onions, chopped

1 11-oz can Mandarin oranges

1 avocado, cut into chunks

1 apple, diced

¼ cup dried currants (I use dried cranberries)

½ cup crumbled Bleu cheese

3 chicken breast halves, cooked & shredded

(I boil my chicken with garlic salt & pepper or you can buy a rotisserie chicken to skip a step!)

Dressing:

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¼ cup oil

1 TB chopped parsley

2 TB sugar

2 TB white wine vinegar

(I prepare my dressing in the bottom of the bowl and then add the lettuce-toss to coat evenly-then top with the rest of the ingredients and toss again)

Prepare Candied Almonds: Melt 3 TB sugar in frying pan with sliced almonds, stirring continuously until almonds are coated. Don’t let sugar burn. Spread out on foil or parchment paper to cool.

Mix all salad ingredients and Candied Almonds. Toss with dressing.

**Unfortunately I do not know the origination of this salad. My friend gave me a photocopy of this recipe from her cookbook years ago.