Eating Well's Fettuccine Alfredo

I loved this pasta from Eating Well.  It was really yummy and reheated well for lunch the next day.  But, it didn't really taste anything like Fettuccine Alfredo, in my opinion.  It was just a nice Parmesan-y sauce.

I doubled this recipe so I would have leftovers.  I substituted summer squash for zucchini, whole wheat spaghetti for fettuccine, and dried spices for fresh.  I also just put chopped garlic in the broth and heated it up; I didn't bother with the whole blender step.  Still tasted great.

Ingredients
3/4 cup vegetable broth
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine
1 small zucchini, cut into matchsticks
2 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Combine broth and garlic cloves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the garlic cloves are soft, about 15 minutes. 
After the garlic has simmered about 10 minutes, cook fettuccine in the boiling water, stirring often, for 8 minutes. Drop in zucchini and cook until the fettuccine is just tender, about 1 minute more.

Meanwhile, transfer the garlic and broth to a blender. Process until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.  Return the mixture to the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch mixture; whisk it until slightly thickened, about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in sour cream, nutmeg and pepper. Return the pot to very low heat to keep the sauce warm. (Do not boil.)

Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan; toss to coat well. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, passing the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan separately.

Sheetal Bhagat's Thai Peanut Pasta

I brought this recipe to a picnic potluck, and everyone went back for seconds!  Using what I had on hand, I substituted yellow onion for shallots, vegetable stock for chicken stock, and regular sesame seeds for black sesame seeds.  I also omitted the zucchini.  Very tasty, and a good amount of spice-- had a nice kick, but not overly hot.  The recipe says it feeds four; I think it makes a lot more than that.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup minced shallot
½ tsp minced garlic
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
½ cup smooth natural peanut butter
1 tsp chili paste
1 tbsp vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
½ cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb linguini noodles, boiled
1 cup zucchini, small dice
¼ cup shredded carrot
¼ cup green onion, bias cut, garnish
2 tbsp black sesame, garnish

Directions:
Heat sauté pan on medium heat. Add butter, melt. Add shallot, sauté. Add garlic, cook for a minute. Add wine, let simmer and reduce by ½. Add stock, cook for 1 minute. Add peanut butter and smooth out the lumps. Add chili paste and vinegar. Cook off some of the liquid to thicken the sauce. Add cream, reduce heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sauté zucchini in 1 tbsp oil. Do not overcook; retain the crunch of the zucchini. Remove from heat, add carrots. Mix. Toss linguini with sauce and vegetables. Top with green onion and sesame seeds.

Rachael Ray's Lemon Chive Spaghetti with Veggies

I saw this recipe on the Rachael Ray show so I thought I'd give it a try.   I thought it was okay, but to me the sauce was too lemon-y.  I might try it again but I would only use one lemon.

Ingredients

Salt

1 pound egg tagliatelle, such as Delverde brand or other thin, wide pasta or egg pasta (I used fettuccine)

1/2 pound thin asparagus, trimmed of tough ends

1/4 to 1/3 pound of thin green beans, a couple of handfuls

1 cup frozen green peas (I used canned)

1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tablespoons sweet butter

1/2 cup finely chopped chives

2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 Meyer lemons or 2 ripe organic lemons

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to taste, plus some to pass at table

Pepper

2 cups mache or other baby lettuce (I omitted)

Directions

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Cook pasta to al dente according to package, about 7-8 minutes.

2)Slice asparagus in 1-inch pieces on an angle. Cut beans into thirds, also on an angle. Midway through cooking the pasta, add asparagus and beans to water so they cook 3-4 minutes in boiling water with the pasta.

3) Add peas to the pot 1 minute before draining. Reserve about 1/2 cup starchy cooking water just before you drain the pasta.

4) Meanwhile, heat EVOO in pan and melt butter into it over low to medium-low heat. Add chives and garlic and stir a minute or two. Then add wine and gently reduce a couple of minutes more. Juice the lemons, stir in Dijon and lemon juice and turn off heat.

5) Add pasta and remaining starchy water and toss to coat evenly 1-2 minutes. Add some cheese and pepper to taste. Fold in baby lettuce and serve with extra cheese on top.

Veggie Stuffed Cannelloni

This recipe is originally from allrecipes.com but I modified it slightly and they are listed below:

Ingredients

• 8 cannelloni noodles - used one box of manicotti noodles
  
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 shallots, chopped - forgot to pick up at grocery store, but I would think that it would be good to add in the next time that I make it
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream - used whipping cream instead of heavy, which probably made the sauce thinner, but not quite as fatty
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 small eggplant, diced
• 2 roasted red bell peppers, diced - was not added this time
  
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese - used the whole small container
  
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot of salted water, parboil cannelloni. (Parboiling is partially cooking the noodles in boiling water; they will finish cooking when baked.)
2. Meanwhile, cook 2 cloves garlic and 2 shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 30 seconds. Pour in sherry, raise heat to high, and reduce liquid by half. Stir in cream, and reduce until there is about 1 1/2 cups liquid. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set cream sauce aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion, 3 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, and eggplant in olive oil until all vegetables are tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in red peppers, basil, oregano, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set filling aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking dish. Stuff vegetable/cheese filling into cannelloni. Place in prepared baking dish, and cover with cream sauce.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Eggplant

The Pioneer Woman makes this dish when her husband is out of town. Happily, my husband loves eggplant. We had some eggplant in the fridge we needed to use up, so we decided to make this recipe.

Ingredients

Olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small eggplants
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used pasta sauce from a jar)
Fresh basil (I used dried)
1/2 package fusilli, about 1/2 lb. (I used whole wheat penne)
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Slice eggplant into round slices. Sprinkle one side with salt and allow to stand or 15 minutes. Turn over and repeat. Rinse eggplant and pat dry.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook onion and garlic until starting to turn color, about 5 minutes.

Add eggplant, stirring gently. Cook for 8 minutes, or until somewhat tender.

Dump in canned tomatoes (or pasta sauce) and reduce heat to simmer. Add salt and pepper and simmer until eggplant is tender. Toss in cooked pasta and chopped basil. Stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serves 2.

Pasta Disaster-- Don't Try This at Home!

So today was pretty much my worst housewife moment thus far. It was such a comedy of errors that I felt like I was in an I Love Lucy episode. I was expecting a giant loaf of bread to come busting out of the oven at any moment.

I had some BBB gift cards left over from the wedding, so among other things I bought a nifty little pasta maker attachment for my Kitchenaid stand mixer. Since I had the day off today, I thought it would be a good day to try it. I was intrigued by this recipe for "almost vegan alfredo" that I saw on Salty Girl Cooks, my favorite vegetarian food blog. Why not give it a go?

I had picked up some whole wheat pasta flour from Ecco La Pasta at Hill's Kitchen. I never made homemade pasta before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. I followed the directions, but it didn't seem right. It was sort of dense and sticky. But, I figured, maybe that's how it was supposed to be?

So I put it in the stand mixer. It's sort of working. The pasta comes out, but it all sticks together. Then... the motor stops running. It's stuck. I clean it but it still doesn't turn on. I've killed my mixer!

In the mean time, I am boiling the homemade pasta that did get made. I forget about it. It turns into a big, soggly, goopily mess. Could anything get worse?

Oh yes.

The sauce calls for a mixture of cream cheese, tofu, mushrooms, and garlic. I heat up a pan to cook the mushrooms and garlic. Too hurriedly, I grab a jar of chopped garlic out of the fridge, and....

... it smashes all over the floor.

So, no garlic. I make what's left of the rest of the sauce, taste it, and it's... blah. I mean, it's mostly tofu. If there's nothing in there, it's gonna taste like... nothing.

I ended up cooking up some whole wheat spaghetti (NOT homemade), tossed it with the sauce, and added a bunch of salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese (which kind of defeats the purpose of a "healthy" alfredo, but whatevs... I was improvising at this point).

You know, it came out... okay. Gary said he liked it. I thought he was just being kind, but then he went back for seconds, so who knows?

Here's the finished product:

So, I can't necessarily recommend the recipe, but I might try it again. It was definitely filling, I'll give it that. With some garlic and more seasoning, it might not be half bad.

And now my kitchen reeks of garlic, and I can't even eat any! How sad.

PS-- if anyone knows how to fix my$300 mixer I'm all ears.