Surprise: I'm Still Alive! And I Made Cheese Tortellini in an Alfredo Sauce!

Hello readers!

It's been a while since my last post, and big things have been happening. I moved out to Western Massachusetts, and very soon afterward I became the newest full-time gallery assistant at the Don Muller Gallery, in Northampton. Every day I get to support local and national artists, help people bring beautiful things into their lives, and have a lot of fun doing it. So while it's been a bit hard to find the time to blog, I've been busy with good things, and hopefully that counts for something!

With my new work schedule, I've become extra interested in satisfying dinners that I can throw together in just a few minutes. This Alfredo recipe, while not the healthiest thing on the planet, is a sauce that returns lots of creamy, hearty flavor for minimal time and effort. And after a long day, especially if you've barely stopped for lunch, tortellini really hits the spot. Seriously, I can't be the only person who at 8 AM thinks baby carrots, yogurt and a granola bar will be a good lunch. By 2 PM I'm usually cursing 8AM-Genevieve, and definitely looking for something filling come dinnertime.

I think that a traditional Alfredo involves all the creamy stuff I used and not a single veggie, but I added some frozen peas for color, and to slightly relieve the guilt factor. Very slightly. This recipe serves two, with some leftover sauce for lunch another day.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup heavy cream
1 9 oz package cheese tortellini
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere or Parmesan, or a combination (I used mostly Gruyere with about 1/4 cup of Parm)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (optional)


Directions:
1. In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Add peas in last two minutes of cooking. Drain.
2. While your pasta is cooking, in a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt your butter. Add cream, simmer for a few minutes, then add garlic and cheese, whisking constantly until heated through.
3. Stir in parsley, if using, and pour over pasta and peas. Gently mix to combine, and serve immediately.

If I'd had a different sort of winter - one not full of master's theses and moving and job hunting - I like to think I might have a bag of home-made tortellini or ravioli in my freezer to use for something like this. But, things being what they are, I must admit that there are some pretty good packaged pasta options out there. So, haters gonna hate.

Quote of the Day: Fettucini alfredo is mac and cheese for adults. ~ Mitch Hedberg

Pastitsio from Amy Sedaris' book I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

I sometimes describe pastitsio as "Greek lasagna," since it has all the principal parts: pasta, tomatoey sauce, ground meat, cheese, and rich creamy goodness holding it all together. But pastitsio, in all of its Greek fabulosity, is something special. The name comes from the Italian pasticcio, a type of baked savory pies which may contain meat, fish, or pasta. Many Italian versions include a pastry crust,  and some include béchamel similar to the cream sauce in pastitsio. The word pasticcio comes from pasta and means 'pie.' Anyway, it's great for potlucks and get-togethers, and is a great cold-weather comfort.

Though there are many variations on pastitsio originating from the Mediterranean region (and even from Egypt), this recipe is Amy Sedaris' Greek family recipe. And I think its fantastic. For many other fantastic recipes and lots of vintage-themed humor, check out her book, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. As you probably would have guessed, I wasn't paid to say that.

As you can tell, pastitsio is NOT light on fat or calories, but that's why it's so great for sharing with a crowd. With a salad or a veggie, a small piece is plenty satisfying. This recipe makes a large dish; enough for 6-8 people, I would say.

Ingredients

Macaroni
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
5 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup parmesan cheese or kefalotiri
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Meat Sauce
1-1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 crushed garlic clove
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
8 ounces beef broth or stock
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper

Cream Sauce
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. In a large pot, boil and drain your ziti, return to pot. Melt butter. Pour over ziti and toss. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese, the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Save a little of the cheese to sprinkle over the top before baking. Toss again and set aside. Let it cool a little before adding the eggs. Toss well.
3. To make meat sauce, brown meat in a frying pan until almost fully cooked. Drain off the fat and set the meat aside. Fry onion and garlic in oil. Add meat and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. To make the cream sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and cook until smooth. Add milk all at once and bring to a boil, stiring constantly. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Let it cool, then stir in th beaten egg.
5. Add 1/2 cup of this cream sauce to the meat sauce and mix.
6. To assemble, use a 13x9x3 inch oven dish, buttered. Spoon 1/2 of the macaroni evenly on the bottom, then top with the meat sauce. Cover that layer with remaining macaroni. Pour on cream sauce and spread over the entire top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake until a little brown, about 45 minutes.

We had our pastitsio with steamed veggies, and a salad with Greek vinaigrette (made by Mom) and a sprinkling of Feta. I followed Amy's winning recipe exactly, except for one thing. Instead of using ground beef alone, I used a "meatball mix" - a combination of ground beef, pork and veal that imparts a slightly more complex flavor. I'm not hating on the all-beef version, though. It's a classic, and I'm sure somehow my mixed-meat-method is offensive to the authenticity of the Greek dish. Overall I wouldn't even say that the difference is noticeable, so I would use what I hand on hand. Either way - Yum. I recommend pairing it with a robust red wine.

Quote of the Day: Tomato and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French; sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon makes it Greek; soy sauce makes it Chinese and garlic makes it good. ~ Jenny Morris

Adventures in Pesto-Making

Despite all the Italian food I ate growing up, pesto seems to have largely passed me by. This is probably because my grandparents were Sicilian, and pesto originated in Genoa, in northern Italy. Still, because of my love for the stuff (and a great affinity for all fresh herbs, really) I thought I might as well give it a shot.

The first surprise in this process, the product of my internet research, is the idea that you really should blanch your basil before making your pesto. I know, it seems crazy to dip those fresh little leaves in boiling water to keep them from turning an icky brown, but that does seem to be the method. Another trick, which may be combined with the blanching or used in isolation, is to float a thin layer of olive oil over the pesto to protect it from the air, and thereby prevent basil oxidation. Knowing that Tuesday is a long day, on which I usually don't get home until 9:15 or so, I made the sauce last night. To my great relief, it was still lovely and green this evening.

The second surprise was - What? Why are pine nuts so expensive? I still don't have an answer to that, but now that I know that a little goes a long way, I am less distressed about it. They bring all the richness and velvety deliciousness to the sauce, so I can forgive them their hefty price tag.

The yield from this recipe doesn't look like much, but for us it was more than enough, so I would call it about three servings. If you want to get all old-timey, or if you just have anger issues, you can definitely use a mortar and pestle instead of a food processor. I recommend toasting your pine nuts first (see Cook's Note), and of course the pasta you will cook according to the package directions:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed plus another couple of leaves for serving

1 tablespoon pine nuts, lightly toasted plus a few for serving

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic

1/2 box of whole wheat spaghetti; about 7 oz.

Directions:

To blanch the basil - 

1. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Bring a pot of water to a boil (large enough that a colander can fit inside).

2. Place basil leaves in boiling water and stir so that they blanch evenly. Leave in water for 15 seconds, then pull colander out and plunge basil into ice water to stop the cooking process.

3. Squeeze excess water from the basil and place in food processor.

To make the pesto:

1. Combine garlic, blanched basil, Parmesan, pine nuts and olive oil in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as needed.

3. Toss with pasta, sprinkling a few toasted pine nuts and a freshly-torn basil leaf or two on top.

Cook's Note: Toast your pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir frequently and keep a close eye on them, as they burn very easily. Remove from heat when fragrant and slightly golden in color.

I had some adorable baby leaves starting on my otherwise listless and garbage-bound basil plant, so I used those instead of tearing up the big, sad-looking ones. So cute, right?

Yum! Not only was this sauce delicious and easy to make, it is very fragrant and quite lovely to look at, too. If you are so inclined, you can add some fresh parsley along with the basil. The only caveat for this recipe is that if you are not a great lover of garlic, you might want to cut it down. Like, by half. Brady was too stuffed up to notice that I was loading him full of garlicky goodness (yay!) and I'm a big fan of the stuff, so we were both happy, but if your sinuses are functional and you are not a garlic-fiend, you could scale it down a bit.

This worked great as a make-ahead, and tonight took only as much time as it takes to cook the pasta. Once perfected with just the right amount of garlic to suit your taste, this will be a great classic dish to have in your repertoire.

Quote of the Day: Pounding fragrant things - particularly garlic, basil, parsley - is a tremendous antidote to depression. [...] Pounding these things produces an alteration in one's being - from sighing with fatigue to inhaling with pleasure. ~ Patience Gray

Cheese Ravioli with Fresh Tomato & Artichoke Sauce

You won't hear this on your local news, but the planet is hurdling towards the sun, Philadelphia-first. Or at least it feels that way. It has topped 90 degrees already in the last two days, and we have a hot weekend ahead, which makes me grateful for tasty dinner recipes that require very little actual cooking time. Especially because we haven't installed our air conditioner yet. Gross.

 Ingredients:

about 1 lb Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

about 6 oz of quartered, marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, thoroughly smashed

9 oz-ish package of cheese ravioli (we used three-cheese agnolotti)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the ravioli according to package directions, and drain.

2. While the pasta cooks, combine tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onion, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and about a pan-turn's worth of olive oil in a medium to large skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until veggies are heated through.

3. In a large bowl, toss the ravioli or agnolotti with a bit more olive oil. Add half the tomato sauce, and stir CAREFULLY to combine pasta and sauce.

4. Serve pasta and top with remaining sauce. If serving family-style, do the same on a serving platter.

As I was getting ready to serve this, I wished I'd had some fresh basil on hand. Next time I will chop some and sprinkle it over the pasta just before serving. With a little Parmesan instead, it was still very tasty.

The only part of this recipe that takes any time is the peeling, chopping and seeding of tomatoes, and as long as you cook your pasta with the lid on, you won't mind making this light, fresh, yummy dish on a warm evening. This made just the right amount for the two of us.

Quote of the Day: "A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins." ~ Laurie Colwin