Mascarpone Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage - It's the Best Thing Since Wonton Skins!

If I suggested you make homemade butternut squash ravioli as an appetizer for your holiday meal, what would you say? You'd say no. That's because you would envision some long complicated process fraught with disappointment.

People throw around the "best thing since sliced bread" line for all kinds of things, and rarely do they deserve such a tribute. Ready-to-use wonton skins, however, are not only the "best thing since sliced bread," they are better than sliced bread…much better.

Anyone can slice bread (except those cooks on Hell's Kitchen), but how many people make paper-thin, perfectly round wonton skins. Hopefully this video recipe shows you just how easy ravioli can be when using this easy-to-find, and very liberating product.

I've used them for tortellini, pierogi, dumplings, ravioli, and yes, even wontons, all with terrific results. There are eight million known ravioli fillings, so once you get this simple technique down you have a lot of recipes to try. I've also posted a few (very) old videos that use the same product. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 cup cooked butternut squash
1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
1 package round wonton skins
butter, garlic, and sage as needed

More Wonton Magic - click on title to read original post
(Warning: old videos with minimal production value)

Wonton Soup



Salmon Ricotta Tortellini with Spring Peas and Lemon

A Christmas Lasagna

It only took about 300 food wishes before it finally came true, but here is my favorite lasagna. Since this is such a traditional Italian-American Christmas recipe, I figured what better time to post it?

By the way, this is simply my rendition of Italian-American lasagna, and not intended to claim any type of superiority, authenticity, or other such nonsense. If your Nonna uses fresh pasta, or insists on a béchamel, then bless her heart, but that's not how this half-Italian rolls.

There are only two things you need for great lasagna; a thick, rich, super-meaty meat sauce, and lots of it; and a ricotta filling where only the finest cheeses are welcomed. For the sauce I love a combination of half Italian sausage and half lean ground beef. I also like lots of sauce.

If you use too much sauce, the worst that can happen is you have a plate of pasta with sauce, but if you don't use enough, you end up with dry lasagna, and there's nothing sadder than dry lasagna.

For the cheese mixture I like the holy trinity of whole milk ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and Reggiano-Parmigiano. If you use the real stuff, your lasagna will taste better. I also use twice as much ricotta as most recipes, which works great here since I use twice the meat as well. Hey, this is Christmas lasagna after all. Enjoy!

Ingredients (for a deep 15" x 10" lasagna pan):

For the meat sauce:

1 pound Italian sausage

1 1/2 pound lean ground beef

8 oz mushrooms, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 cups marinara sauce

1/2 cup water

Note: depending on the seasoning of your sausage, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of an Italian dried herb blend.

For the cheese filling:

2 egg, beaten

2 lbs ricotta cheese

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed

2/3 cup freshly grated Reggiano-Parmigiano

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

big pinch of cayenne

The rest:

1 lb lasagna noodles

8 oz mozzarella cheese, torn in small pieces

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese to top

View the complete recipe

This Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe (Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil) Almost Left Me Speechless!

I hope this video recipe for Spaghetti Aglio e Olio looks better than it sounds! A fairly minor cold led to a few days of semi-laryngitis, but I just couldn't wait any longer, so I summoned up my best Phyllis Diller impersonation and went for it. Like Phyllis always said, "the show must go on!"

Spaghetti aglio e olio is about as primal a pasta dish as there is. This is easily the most popular spaghetti recipe in Italy, and if you'll pardon the probably-annoying-to-Italians analogy, the comfort food equivalent to our "mac and cheese."

This is a very simple recipe – in fact, the recipe is much easier to make than pronounce. You know a recipe name is hard to say when you can't even come up with a respectable phonetic spelling. It's something close to "ah-leoh-oh-leoh." Give it a couple tries, and if you can't do it, feel free to just call it garlic spaghetti.

Anyway, this is my version (no two spaghetti aglio e olio recipes are alike), and I think it's pretty true to the classic method. The key is slowly toasting the garlic slices to a perfect golden-brown in the olive oil. If it's too light, you don't get the full flavor, and if it's too dark, it gets bitter. My advice? Do it perfectly. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound dry spaghetti

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

6 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1/2 cup olive oil (note: I prefer a regular olive oil for this recipe, as opposed to a strongly flavored extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (highly recommend Parmigiano-Reggiano)

*It's not traditional, but for extra richness add 1 tablespoon of butter when you toss with the cheese.

View the complete recipe

Polish Grandmothers and the Pure Joy of Pierogi

I like cheese, I love pasta, and I adore mashed potatoes, so you can image the pure bliss I experience when I get to eat pierogi. They very well may be my favorite non-meat food.

Pierogi are a classic Eastern European potato and cheese stuffed dumpling traditionally made for festivals and celebrations.

There are thousands of versions using different fillings, dough, and garnishes, but this one made for an About.com assignment is fairly typical.

Above and beyond the ingredients, there are also many different ways to engineer the dish. You can make a few big ones, or lots of tiny ones (guess which is easier). You can use lots of stuffing, or just a little. You can boil and toss in melted butter, or you can fry to get a crispy crust as I did here.

My grandmother Sophie, on my father's side of the family, was from Poland, and every time we would drive to New York for a visit, the highlight of the trip was a big plate of her pierogi.

The fact that the trip was seven hours, in the back of a station wagon, in the middle of summer, with no air conditioning, with my father chain-smoking the entire trip, did nothing to diminish my joyous anticipation.

I hope you give these pierogi a try. These would make a great snowy, or rainy day project, and they can be made ahead and frozen for future use. Enjoy!

Note: This video was shot for About.com, so when you click on the video below, you'll be taken to the recipe page there.




















Filling:
1 pound russet potato
1/2 diced onion
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Dough:
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
pinch of salt
1 cup flour, plus more as needed

Butter to fry in, sour cream and chive to garnish

Pasta Fazoolander - So Good You'll Want to Take Off Your Underwear Without Removing Your Pants!

I realize that if you haven't seen the movie Zoolander, the title of this pasta e fagioli, aka pasta fazool, makes absolutely no sense. But, having recently seen someone perform the famous underwear extraction scene from the movie (see bonus video below), I just couldn't help myself.

So, is this hearty winter soup really so good you'd spontaneously attempt to remove your underwear without taking off your pants? Well, possibly, but you'd really have to love soup. Really love soup.

Regardless of whether you go Zoolander or not, no one will deny this is a super simple, very fast, and quite nutritional recipe. The addition of cheese tortellini in place of significantly less interesting macaroni, makes for an extra satisfying bowl of food.

As I say in the video, this is an answer to all the people who claim not having enough time to cook after a long day at work. This entire recipe, start to finish, takes about 30 minutes. And, if your excuse is you don't cook at all, well, this is a heck of a recipe to start with! It also happens to be the kind of dish you really want to be savoring on one of these chilly winter days. Enjoy!




Pasta Fazoolander (pasta e fagioli, pasta fazool) Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1-2 anchovy fillet
1 quart chicken, or vegetable broth
1 cup dry tortelinni
1 (15-oz) can white beans, drained
2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
parmesan cheese

View the complete recipe

Bonus Borderline-Inappropriate Zoolander Impersonation Video
The reason Zoolander was on the brain was this performance by Aubrey Huff at the San Francisco Giants' World Series parade. He went full Zoolander to remove his red "Rally Thong," the good luck charm he actually wore during the season (true story).

Minestrone Soup is a Once in a Lifetime Experience

I always feel a little apprehensive when I post a recipe like this minestrone soup. It’s the type of dish I never make the same way twice, and the fear is that someone will watch and assume that this is my “official” version.

You don’t need a recipe for minestrone, just like you don’t need a recipe for a great sandwich, or an epic salad. To make minestrone soup precisely same way every time, using a very specific list of ingredients and amounts, is to trample on the soul of this Italian classic.

Having said all that, what if you happen to make it so incredibly delicious one time that you want to experience the exact same shuddering soupgasm in the future? That seems like a perfectly sound reason for why you should write down the recipe…except cooking food doesn’t work that way.

Your perception of how a recipe tastes involves so many factors above and far beyond the list of ingredients. Remember that time you made that super awesome whatever, and it was so perfect, and then you made it again, exactly the same way, but somehow it just didn’t taste as great? This is why.

So, I hope you give this amazing minestrone recipe a try soon…but only once. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 oz pancetta

2 tbsp olive oil

1 diced onion

1 cup diced celery

4 minced garlic cloves

4 cups chicken broth

1 (28-oz) can plum tomatoes, crushed fine

2 cups water, plus more as needed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp dried Italian herb blend (mine was thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil)

red pepper flakes to taste

1 cup freshly shucked cranberry beans (aka shelling beans)
2 or 3 cups chopped cabbage

1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped

2/3 cup raw ditalini pasta

extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and fresh Italian parsley to garnish the top

Leftover Turkey Manicotti – “Little Muffs” for the Day After the Day After

Manicotti, which means, “little muffs” in Italian, has to be one of the best ways ever for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. 

The moist filling will bring the driest bird back from the dead, and you can literally add anything that can be chopped up.

Leftover green bean casserole? Throw it in. Peas and Onions? You bet’cha. Cranberry Sauce? No, don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, thanks to the absence of cheese, tomato, and pasta on the usual Thanksgiving menu, this concoction will erase any connection with the aforementioned feast.

One portioning note: The recipe below made six crepes, and if you make yours slightly smaller, the filling recipe will make six nicely sized manicotti. 

I went low-carb and used all the filling to make four portions, but you should probably just fill all 6 crepes, or even double the recipe to get 12. I think you’ll want leftovers of the leftovers. So whether you make manicotti with the last of the holiday turkey, or just use the technique to recycle other meaty meals, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 crepes:

2 eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp olive oil

olive oil for cooking crepes as needed
*Note: Feel free to adjust the batter's thickness by adding a little flour or water until you get a thin consistency as seen in video. 
 

For the filling:

1 cup chopped turkey or anything

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/8 tsp red chili flakes

1 egg

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

For the rest:

1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

2 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for top

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley, garnish

Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Gnocchi – I Don’t Like Gnocchi, But I Love These!

When I tell people I don’t like gnocchi, I always have to clarify that I’m talking about the traditional, potato-dough style dumplings, and not the much easier and lighter, cheese-based versions, like this one featuring butternut squash and mascarpone cheese.

Unless created by the hands of a true master, traditional potato gnocchi are too often dense, gummy nuggets of disappointment. However, as temperamental as the classic recipe is, these cheesier, low-starch versions are really quite simple.

These are often made with drained ricotta, and you are welcome to substitute, but here we’re going with mascarpone, a very rich and luscious Italian-style cream cheese. Along with Parmigiano-Reggiano, all you need besides the cheese is some cooked squash, and just enough egg and flour to keep it all together.

Once your mixture is done, and you let it firm up overnight, you have a few options as far as final service. You can follow the spoon-boil-fry-serve method seen herein, or you can do the spoon-boil part ahead of time, and then fry in the sage butter when ready.

If you do want to make these ahead, simply fish them out of the boiling water as they’re cooked, draining well, and place on a plastic-wrapped sheet pan to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, they can be carefully wrapped up (in a single layer), and kept in the fridge for at least a day, until you’re ready to crispy up in the butter.

Either way, prepare your palate for some incredibly light, tender, and delicious gnocchi. You can use them for a first course, like I did here, or as a very special side dish to some roasted meat. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 12 appetizer-sized portions:

2 cups cooked butternut squash

1 cup mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese, goat cheese

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 oz (about 1/2 cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (if you’re going to use fake Parmesan cheese for this, don’t even bother)

1 packed cup all-purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter for frying, used in batches

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup sliced sage leaves

View the complete recipe

Macaroni and Cheese as Crunchy Potato Chip Topping Delivery System

Since everyone agrees that the best part of a macaroni and cheese is the crisp, crunchy topping, why not feature that as the star of the dish? That was the basic idea behind today's video recipe for crispy potato chip mac and cheese.

There are all sorts of "favorite" casserole toppings, but the one that seems to excite people the most is the potato chip crust. Maybe it's the extra crunch, or the cheesy flair, or that very few unpleasant memories include potato chips.So, the concept here is simple. Make a batch of béchamel (basic white sauce) using the recipe below. If you need to watch the technique, here is a video recipe for it, but use this post's measurements. To that add 12 ounces of really good cheese, and when it's melted, mix into cooked macaroni.

That would make a great meal as is, but when you add a big spoon of this impossibly crispy, cheesy, crunchy, buttery love…well, damn. Not only is this delicious, but it's a triumph of textural perfection. It's also a versatile recipe, as you can make the topping mixture and the white sauce ahead of time. I hope you give it a try, enjoy!




For the white sauce: (watch technique video here)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups cold milk
small pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or few springs of fresh
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, or to taste

Cheeses I used:
1/2 pound shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 pound shredded Gruyere cheese

For the potato chip topping:
1 tablespoon butter
1 bag (minus 6-7 chips) white cheddar kettle-style potato chips, crushed into medium-fine crumbs
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (real Parmesan cheese)
2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

View the complete recipe

Merluzzo Pasta Puttanesca - Pimp My Cod!

Merluzzo is Codfish in Italian, and I just thought it would look cooler in the title. In case you've never heard of a "Puttanesca" sauce before, it's Italian for "in the style of the whore." I know, it sounds appetizing doesn’t it? But, it really is a fantastic and fast pasta sauce that can be prepared and tossed on plain pasta, or used as a base for a more complex recipe as I have done here. I've taken the basic Puttanesca sauce and added fresh codfish and Arugula to create a very nice, and quite healthy seafood pasta. By the way, it tastes much better than it looks! The black olive tapenade I added makes for a sort of grey and muddy looking sauce, but when you dress it up with a little parmesan on top and more red pepper flakes, it suddenly becomes much more attractive (insert your own prostitute joke here).

Now, as far as the story behind the Puttanesca sauce's origins, there are many stories, some more "colorful" than others. It is pretty much agreed upon that Naples was the birthplace, but that's about all that people don't argue about. What follows are the most common explanations of this delicious sauce; the ladies of the night made this pasta sauce because the irresistible aroma would help draw in customers. It was created as a quick and cheap meal the ladies could eat in between customers. It is hot, spicy, and fast, as are the woman for whom it's named.

Regardless of the true origin, it's a great sauce, and one that should be part of your regular pasta rotation, no matter what your own personal level of virtue happens to be. I've made this version much lower calorie by reducing the usual amount of olive oil and replaced it with stock and wine. Enjoy!




Ingredients:
1 pound fresh cod
2 cups chicken or fish stock (or water)
1 pound pasta
1 cup white wine
2 tbl anchovy paste
2 tbl red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic
2 tbl olive tapenade or chopped olives
1/4 cup capers
1 bunch Arugula (about 2-3 cups)
2 tbl olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan

Creamy Mushroom Pasta Yan Yan - Asia's Top Blogger's Food Wish

Last week, while looking at my traffic stats, I noticed an unusually large number of visitors from Singapore. I followed the trail to a blog called Xiaxue, which had linked to my chocolate lava cake video. As I read the post, I was shocked to see the blog's author, Xiaxue, had sent me a comment, but that I never replied!

Even worse, I noticed the website had received numerous awards as Asia's top blog, and that Xiaxue was a bona fide Internet superstar. As you know, I religiously answer every single comment and email I get (except for the ones I don’t), so I quickly emailed her to find out about her ignored comment.

She quickly replied and said she wrote this long teary comment about how my recipe had aided in her quest to get hitched, and she told me to keep on blogging. I was so excited to get an email from such an important person for a change, instead of the usual stuff I get from you people.I thanked her, and offered to film any recipe she wanted. She asked for creamy mushroom pasta that she gets out, but wants to make at home. So, this video recipe was her food wish. I watched a couple of her videos and learned that she likes to be called Yan Yan, which explains the recipe's name.

By the way, she said that Xiaxue is almost impossible to pronounce if you're not Chinese - which I took as a challenge, and as you'll hear in the clip, I try on several occasions. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 lb white mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, sliced
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cloves minced garlic
2 oz sherry wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh chive
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
8 oz fettuccine

A Cool Weather Rerun: Mascarpone Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

I saw a great looking butternut squash today at the market, but for whatever reason I didn't buy it. Later in the afternoon I was checking some files on YouTube when I came across the pasta recipe below – my video for butternut squash ravioli!

There it was, mocking me and my lack of butternut squash with which to make it. So, I decided to do the next best thing and repost it. It's a great recipe and perfect for this time of year. By the way, you freakishly small wooden spoon fans will be happy to know le petit bois makes an appearance. Enjoy!



Here is the link to the original post complete with ingredients!

Chicken Riggies – What if You Never Saw This?

Way back when, the only way you would’ve found out about a regional recipe like Chicken Riggies, would have been to eat it while traveling through Central New York. 

You would’ve loved it (because there’s nothing not to love) and maybe even tried to recreate it when you got home, but more likely it would have ended up fading into nothing more than a pleasant memory; referred to as “that rigatoni we had in Utica.”

I’m sure you’ll plan a trip through the lovely Utica/Rome area of New York State eventually, but in the meantime, I offer up my take on this thoroughly enjoyable plate of pasta. I think it’s fairly authentic, with two notable exceptions. I use Marsala instead of the standard white wine, and use roughly chopped thigh meat, instead of the more popular chicken breasts.

This results in a sauce that seems much richer than it actually is, and I think you’ll love the subtle sweetness the wine imparts, which works wonderfully with the heat from the peppers. Of course, as I joke about in the video, forget how tasty the recipe is…it’s worth making just for the name alone. What’s for dinner? Chicken Riggies! Riggies? Yes, Riggies!

Anyway, if you’re from Central New York, I hope I did your venerable recipe proud. If you’re not, I hope you give this gorgeous rigatoni recipe a try, and experience what only a few decades ago, you may not have ever heard of. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz hot Italian sausage, crumbled

1 onion, sliced or diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped or cubed

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 (28-oz) can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup water, or as needed

1 1/2 cups chopped hot and/or sweet peppers (any jarred or fresh peppers will work, but cherry peppers are a good choice)

*if using mild peppers, use chili flakes or chili paste to increase the spiciness.

1/2 cup pitted, halved Greek olives
3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 pound rigatoni

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese

View the complete recipe

Fast, Hot Tuna: Tonnino "Tuna Ventresca" Stuffed Shells

Today's post was supposed to be the Seared Scallops with Orange Supremes and Jalapeno Vinaigrette recipe I teased a few days ago, but then I realized the deadline for a tuna recipe contest I had entered was just days away!

This "Tuna Ventresca" stuffed shells recipe is my entry in the Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge. As you'll hear in the video, "Tuna Ventresca" is the crème de la crème of the canned tuna world. You can check the Tonnino website for more details on why this wild-caught, hand-picked, Yellowfin tuna belly is so yummy, but I'll just say it made for one incredible casserole!

What I was trying to do here was gourmet-up the good old tuna noodle casserole. While it may seem counterintuitive to "cook" such an expensive, premium quality tuna, I'm so glad I did.

The flavor of this particular type of tuna is outstanding, and while I do usually enjoy it cold, as-is, I have no problem using it like as well. A regular chuck burger is great, but sometimes we just have to grind up a dry-aged rib eye steak.

A few technical notes about the video… They gave us a 2-minute time limit, which is why the presentation is way too fast. I will be posting a longer, "director's cut" soon.

Also, the odd little intro and outro screens were for my peeps on YouTube, so they would know what was up. I hope you enjoy the video, and yes, this would work with any tuna, but if you can try it with the "Tuna Ventresca," I think you'll really enjoy it.

To vote, follow this link to the official recipe page, and just click on the "Like" button. Thanks!!




Ingredients:
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups cold milk
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup grated Fontina cheese

20 cooked jumbo pasta shells

For the filling:
1 tablespoon reserved olive oil from tuna jar
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup green peas
*1 jar Tonnino Ventresca Tuna in Olive Oil, drained
2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Fontina cheese
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

*By the way, in the spirit of full disclosure, a while back I did receive a couple complimentary samples of Tonnino tuna to try out – just in case that kind of thing matters to anyone.

Angel Hair Pasta with Broccoli and Garlic Sauce - And, why most vegetable pastas aren’t very good

Today's recipe video is a very simple broccoli "alia olia," but it's also a good example of the proper way to use vegetables in pasta. I almost never order veggie pasta in a restaurant. The main reason is that the vegetables are almost never cooked properly, or I should say prepped properly. Take this broccoli pasta as an example. In a restaurant the same ingredients would be used, but all broccoli pieces would be added at the same time. So, by the time the stems were tender the tops would be mush, or even worse, the tops would be perfect and the stems hard and crunchy.

You have to have a game plan when doing a vegetable pasta. If you are using vegetables that have different cooking times, you can't add them all at the same time, yet that's what most people do. One strategy is to cut the longer cooking veggies smaller and leave the more tender veggies larger, so they all cook at about the same time. Another trick is to precook the denser vegetables, like carrots, before combining them with less dense things like squash.

In this pasta, I separate the tops and stems of the broccoli. I basically make a sauce with the diced (and much tougher) stem pieces, and the tender flowers at the end so I get a nice uniform doneness. Anyway, all that being said, this is a delicious way to eat that broccoli all those doctors' keeps talking about. By the way, if you're a Chef that remembers the "garnish the edge of the plate" era (explained in clip), I'd love to get a comment from you. What we're we thinking? Enjoy!

(I'm going to try embeding two video players, from both YouTube and Brightcove, in case one of the sources is down, or one works better on your browser than the other. The Youtube embed is a smaller player, but not as temperamental as the larger Brightcove version.)

Ingredients:
1 pound angel hair pasta
1 1/2 pound broccoli
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste

View the complete recipe

Spicy Rice Noodle Salad – Strange But Chew

The first time I had a spicy, cold rice noodle salad, it wasn’t the bold flavors that caught me by surprise, but the strange and addictive texture. It was so different to any pasta salad I’d ever had before, that I was kind of bummed I hadn’t known about this stuff sooner. Makes me sad to think about all the time back I wasted on those stupid, tri-color fusilli salads.

Anyway, this is pretty easy and delicious stuff. I’m not even sure these noodles are technically cooked, but simply softened in very hot water to your personal preference of tenderness. You can, and many do, boil this stuff like pasta for a couple minutes, and have what’s much closer to a proper al dente angel hair, but I much prefer the toothsomeness you get using the hot water method. 

Unlike undercooked wheat flour pastas, this isn’t a gummy, crunch, but much more of a “pop” or “snap” as your teeth break through the almost tender noodles. Once soaked with the vibrant dressing, and topped with the optional, but highly recommended grilled chicken, you have a change-of-pace lunch that will be the talk of the water cooler.

Speaking of the chicken, all you’ll need to do is double the dressing recipe, and pour half over some boneless skinless chicken thighs (or any other cut). Let sit out, marinating for 30 minutes, and then grill to caramelized perfection. I hope you give this great spicy rice noodle salad a try soon. Enjoy!

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Ingredients for 2 large servings:
1 package (6.25 oz) thin rice noodle (soaked in almost boiling water until desired tenderness, rinsed, drained thoroughly)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 or 2 tbsp samal or other ground chili sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup carrot julienne

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup packed mixture of chopped basil, mint, and cilantro

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1 tsp sesame oil

Optional:

6 grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs

sliced Fresno chilies

View the complete recipe

Sun Gold Penne Pasta - A Delicious Antidote for Your Overgrown Bush

Most cherry tomato gardeners have a love/hate relationship with the plant. You love that the plant grows into such a huge bush with minimal effort, and by the end of summer is producing handful, after handful of the small, sweet fruit.

That's also what causes the inevitable feelings of guilt and shame as so much of the crop goes to waste. You can only give away so much before people start making excuses. In an attempt to give you one more recipe to use up some of those tomatoes, I present this penne pasta featuring a simple, but surprisingly flavorful sauce.

I used mostly Sun Gold tomatoes, which are my favorite variety -- so incredibly sweet; they're like eating little balls of sunshine. When turned into a quick puree with some garlic and fresh herb, they make a fast and very tasty pasta sauce that may help put a little dent in your bumper crop.

The best ways to eat cherry tomatoes are as follows: First, plucked warm off the vine and eaten raw standing in front of the plant. Next best is raw, in some sort of salad. Third best is made into a sauce as I've done here.

Of course, by this time of the year you are so over the first two options that even though this is only the third best way to enjoy them, it will seem even better that the best two ways... I mean, do the math.

Anyway, I hope you give this pasta a try, and remember, this is suppose to be an extremely simple pasta -- perfect for enjoying the sunny goodness of the tomatoes, so resist the temptation to complicate things by adding lots of "stuff." Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 cups Sun Gold cherry tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves sliced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
14-oz dry penne pasta, cooked
salt to taste
1/2 cup grated real Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano)

The Pan of Olive Oil that Launched a Thousand Emails

Well, maybe not a thousand, but I did get quite a few requests for the sauce that went with the homemade pasta my Uncle Bill made during my trip to New York. We did two videos together, one was the “Homemades,” and one was an amazing chicken recipe called Chicken D’Arduini. In that post I said I would try to demo the olive oil sauce that went over the homemade fettuccine. Well, I haven’t filmed that yet, and have lots of great excuses why, some of which are even true.

So, in the meantime, since it’s such a simple sauce, I’m just going to talk you through it. You can see most of what’s happening in the photo of the pan. I can’t give exact amounts because it’s just not that kind of sauce.

While the pasta is cooking (I think we cooked about 2 pounds), put a heavy sauté pan on low heat. Add lots of olive oil, maybe a good cup. Add 5 or 6 anchovy fillets, and 4 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté on low until the anchovies melt and the garlic begins to sizzle. Add some chopped fresh basil and some hot pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Do NOT brown the garlic. Turn off the heat. In a large pasta bowl, cut up a stick of butter into small pieces. Grate about a cup of Parmesan cheese (the real stuff!). When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it to the pasta bowl, and toss with the butter for a few moments. Pour over the olive oil mixture, and add the grated Parmesan (save a little for the table), and toss until everything is coated. This is best served as a side dish due to its obvious richness, and was great with the Chicken D’Arduini, as it would with any similar recipe.

This is not the type of pasta to eat if you are thinking about grams of fat, or calories, or those new “skinny jeans.” In fact, this is a dish best eaten when your brain is completely void of all thought. So, clear your mind as you slurp the buttery, salty, spicy, garlicky, cheesy goodness. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Red Clam Sauce - One of my "Go To" Favorites

There are certain recipes all cooks have that form the base of their culinary repertoire. These are recipes that are fast and easy, that they can create from memory, with no notes, in any kitchen, for any group, any time of the year. Some Chefs refer to these as their "go to" dishes. This red clam sauce is one of my "go to" recipes.

It's incredible simple to make (much easier than saying "canned clams" as you'll hear in this clips running gag). It takes about 15 minutes start to finish. It's bursting with flavor, yet only uses a few ingredients and except for crushing a couple cloves of garlic, requires no prep. This sauce is great on any pasta, but I enjoy it best on angle hair or spaghetti. And, yes, I DO put some Parmesan on my clam pasta, thank you very much. Never say never when it comes to food. Some Chefs (fascists) say you can never put cheese on seafood pasta, never, ever, never. Well, while I agree that Parmesan would not be a great choice on some seafood pastas using very light, delicate varieties of fish and sauce. On this red clam sauce and its strong, bold flavors and meaty clams, the Parmesan tastes wonderful, and no one can prove me otherwise.

Please note while watching the video recipe the secret to what I think makes a great pasta dish. Under-cook the pasta by a minute, drain it, add it back to the pot (off the heat of course) and pour over the hot sauce, cover and let everything meld together for a few minutes. The hot sauce and steaming pasta will finish cooking and the pasta will absorb all those amazing flavors. I can't believe it when I see a plate of plain pasta with the sauce just ladled over! Anyway, give this a try and maybe it will become one of your "go to" recipes. Enjoy!

1 pound pasta
2 cans (6.5 oz) chopped clams in juice
3 cups tomato sauce (plus 1/4 cup water to rinse jar)
1 cup good white wine
1 tbl anchovy paste or 2 fillets
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbl capers
2 tbl olive oil
Parmesan to taste
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herb to taste, basil or Italian parsley