Penne with Swiss Chard and Sausage

I had never tried Swiss chard before this summer--it's definitely one of my favorite greens now. This dish is really quick to put together, and the flavors are great.

-2 T. olive oil
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 t. red pepper flakes
-1 small onion, finely chopped
-1 link chicken sausage, chopped
-1/2 lb. Swiss chard, stems removed and roughly chopped
-1/3 lb. penne
-1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
-freshly grated salt and pepper

1. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Before draining, reserve 6 ounces of the pasta water.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes, and cook about a minute.
3. Add sausage and cook thoroughly (if using pre-cooked sausage, cook until heated through and slightly browned). Add chard, and cook until leaves are wilted.
4. Toss sausage and chard with cooked pasta. Add the reserved pasta water, and stir in the grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional cheese.

Monica's Artichoke Risotto

Monica makes amazing risotto--when she showed me the ropes, I was psyched--I had always been too intimidated to try it myself. My first solo attempt was a few weeks ago, and I think I did pretty well!

-4 c. chicken stock
-2 T. butter
-2 T. olive oil
-2 small onions, finely diced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-10 artichoke quarters (I used frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's)
-1/2 t. dried oregano
-1 c. arborio rice
-1/3 c. dry white wine
-1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan

1. In a small saucepan, warm the chicken stock while preparing the other ingredients.
2. In a larger saucepan, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, artichokes and oregano, and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add rice, and cook for about 4 minutes.
4. Add the wine and cook until it has been absorbed, stirring occasionally.
5. Add one ladleful of warm stock, and cook until absorbed. Repeat until all stock has been used, stirring frequently.
6. Add the cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional grated cheese.

This is just incredibly good. And the recipe seems quite versatile, so if artichokes aren't your thing, something else could be substituted easily. I'm thrilled to know how to make this now--thanks so much to Monica for sharing!

Calabrian Onion Soup

I was watching Lidia's Italy last weekend, and the episode about Calabria featured this recipe for Zuppa di Cippoli--a sweet onion soup. I couldn't really imagine a pile of sliced onions making something delicious, but I kept thinking about it for days, so I decided to give it a try. The biggest selling point? The fact that there's toasted bread and cheese hiding under the finished product:

-1/2 c. olive oil

-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 t. red pepper flakes

-2 lbs. sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced

-1 T. salt

-3 c. Italian plum tomatoes (crushed or diced)

-4 c. water

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.
2. Add the onions, and stir to coat with oil. Let them cook down, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until slightly colored and reduced in volume.
3. Add the tomatoes and the water, and stir so that the onions are mixed throughout. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Serve ladled over slices of toasted bread and cheese (provolone was suggested, but I didn't have any so I fell back on parmesan). Garnish with grated cheese.

This soup was absolutely delicious. The tomato base made it total comfort food, and it was just spicy enough! You could add more or less spice--I think it was supposed to be a little more spicy than I made it, but I didn't want that aspect to overwhelm the dish. I suspect I'll be making this a lot this winter--proof that a handful of onions can turn into something truly excellent.

The Pasta Post!

Way back in May I found a pasta machine on sale, and knew it had to be mine. I had been wanting one for a while, and a discount was all I needed to persuade me to make the purchase. I eat more pasta than I should, so I was hoping this acquisition would make me work a little harder for it--also, I was looking forward to a little bit of a challenge, and to the prospect of learning how to do something new. The basic recipe I've been using is this:

-1 1/2 c. flour
-2 eggs
-1 t. salt

I first tried it without the salt, but it was a little bland. I also tried it with a little olive oil once--the flavor was nice, but it made the dough a little more temperamental to work with. I've been experimenting with different flours, too. You can use all purpose, or pure semolina--both will yield a nice pasta, but the textures will be completely different. What I find I really love is this blend--yet another fantastic product from King Arthur Flour!


You can mix the ingredients by hand, or with a food processor. I've been doing the latter because it's so easy and quick. Once you have this beautiful dough, the possibilities are pretty endless. The kneading and rolling process isn't as labor intensive as it looks--it probably takes only 10 minutes or so (photos in the previous post). With the attachments on my machine I can make a thin pasta like a spaghetti, or a thicker tagliatelle.


(From here, you can cook the pasta fresh--throw it straight into a pot of boiling, salted water--or you can lay it out or hang it to dry for later. I usually cook mine immediately because I have very little self-restraint...)


If you want to do lasagna or filled pasta, you don't even need the cutting attachment. For the lasagna, we cut the noodles to size based on the dimensions of the baking dish. I also tried tortellini, which involved cutting the sheets of pasta into 3 inch circles. Ravioli is next on my list of shapes to perfect...


(For the filling here, I used a combination of grated fresh mozzarella and ricotta--really simple, using what I had handy.)


(For the tortellini, place a small amount of the filling in the center of the circle. Dip your finger in water and lightly wet the perimeter of the circle. Fold it over into a semi-circle, sealing the edges around the filling. Then bring the two corners together around your little finger. You'll get the hang of it really quickly!)


A plate like this is worth every minute!

Summer Vegetable Lasagna

When Blake was visiting, we had a group over for dinner, and decided to make lasagna. I don't know if he had as much fun with the cooking as I did, but I was psyched about having a co-chef! We ended up digging in before I could remember to take a picture, but finished lasagnas all look more or less the same. Here's the process instead--photos courtesy of Blake!

We went all out and made the pasta. (Pasta post coming... eventually...)


For the cheese filling, we used:
-8 oz. freshly grated mozzarella
-6 oz. fresh ricotta
-3-4 oz. grated parmesan
-freshly ground salt & pepper

(You can see here parts of a working kitchen (mess); also the Newman's Own sauce in the background was really good. It would have been nice to attempt sauce from scratch too, but it wasn't in the cards...)


And for the vegetable layers:
-2-3 T. olive oil
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 t. red pepper flakes
-2 small onions, chopped
-1 zucchini, sliced
-1 summer squash, sliced
-1 bell pepper, cubed
-12-15 mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
-1/2 lb. spinach, blanched
-1 T. tomato paste
-freshly ground salt & pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and onions and saute until softened.
2. Add zucchini, squash, and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until softened and beginning to brown.
3. Add mushrooms and blanched spinach and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
4. Add tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper. Cool slightly before layering.


5. While the pasta is cooking, oil and breadcrumb a baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce.
6. Add one layer of noodles, and spread some of the cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle freshly chopped herbs (basil, oregano, and parsley) onto the cheese. Add a layer of vegetables, and top with more sauce.
7. Repeat 2-3 times until all ingredients have been used, finishing with a layer of sauce and some freshly grated parmesan.
8. Bake for 35-45 minutes at 375*.

This came out great! I don't usually make lasagnas because they tend to be too big for one, so whenever I have an excuse to make one I get pretty excited. Looking forward to the next time I get to make this!

Apple Cheddar Quiche

Like last fall, I find myself with almost a bushel of apples in my fridge at the beginning of October. I had never tried apples in a savory dish before, and--as is normally the case when I have more eggs than usual--I decided to make a quiche. I used the whole wheat crust recipe that I posted previously, and loaded it with Vermont apples and Vermont cheddar.

-2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
-2 sage leaves, finely minced
-2 sprigs thyme
-1 T. butter
-4-6 oz. grated sharp cheddar
-3 eggs
-1 c. milk (or cream, or buttermilk)

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet, and cook the apples with the sage and thyme until softened.
2. Layer the grated cheese on the bottom of the pie crust. Top with cooked apples.
3. Whisk together eggs and milk. Pour this mixture over the apples. Garnish with additional thyme leaves.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375* F. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

The apple and cheddar combination was very good, and this was a fun way to mix up the usual quiche routine in the fall.