Vegetarian Spaghetti Carbonara

I love spaghetti carbonara. However, it's basically the opposite of vegetarian. I've found a way to replicate it, though. Some people don't like to add cream to their carbonara, so omit that if it's not your jam. Otherwise, carry on.

You will need:

1 pack vegetarian bacon
1/4 cup cream
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
4 cups cooked spaghetti (do this last since you'll need it piping hot)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

I like to cook vegetarian bacon in a skillet with olive oil, it crisps it up nicely. Cut it into small pieces and cook it with the garlic. Once it's crispy, take it off the heat and set aside.

Whisk the yolks and cream together, and as soon as you drain the spaghetti, add it to the piping hot pasta. Toss it thoroughly, adding the salt, pepper, parmesan, and cooked bacon and garlic as you go. After a few minutes it should be ready to serve!

I'm a bit wary of recipes that call for raw eggs, so I try to get them from pasture-raised chickens whenever I can. The brighter the yolk, the better the end result is going to look. If you can't do raw eggs, baking the pasta after everything is mixed for a few minutes will cook them thoroughly without sacrificing too much texture. It's creamier with the raw yolks, but it'll still be delicious if it's baked after.

Penne No. 4

I picked this recipe up from one of my Italian colleagues when he was feeling homesick during a teaching session. We had a hell of at time finding the ingredients, but I got to perfect the recipe when I got home. This pairs especially well with baked salmon or grilled chicken on top.

You will need:

About a cup and a half of dry penne pasta
Salted water

1 lemon
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
2-4 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
3 small or 2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, ideally preserved in oil and chopped
1/2 cup chopped salted pistachio nuts
salt to taste
1/3 cup white cooking wine
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Boil the pasta until it's fully done and strain, then set aside.

Take the butter or oil and put it into a large skillet over medium heat and add the garlic. Stir it around for a few minutes until it just starts to brown, then add the pasta, pepper and the juice from 1/2 to the whole lemon, depending on how tart you like it and how much you're making. I usually stick with a half. Turn the heat down just a tad, to medium-low.

Add the pistachios, tomatoes and salt after allowing the pasta to cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until sides of it are just starting to turn golden, pour in the wine. Let that cook off for about three minutes, then turn the heat off completely, stir the pasta one last time, and put a lid on the skillet. Allow the pasta to finish cooking itself for at least ten minutes.

Serve hot with parmesan cheese on top, or chicken, or fish, whatever strikes your fancy. In the summer months, fresh basil is a marvelous addition to this dish, and if you want to change it up you can substitute dried red peppers for sun dried tomatoes.

Orzo with Spinach Gouda Sauce

You may notice two cream based recipes back to back. This is because cream goes bad quickly and I had a full pint to use; needless to say I haven't just been cooking for myself. This one is a little lighter and probably simpler.

In the Amsterdam airport they have this little deli place where you can buy cheeses, meats, etc. I had euros left over and the exchange kiosk had a ridiculous commission so I decided to load up. I got several kinds of gouda, some of which I left with my parents. I used the aged goat gouda in this one and it came out wonderfully.

You will need:

Salted water
1/2 package orzo
1-2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 pint heavy cream
1 1/2 cup milk
3 cups fresh baby spinach or 2 cups frozen, already heated and drained
2 oz aged goat gouda, shredded finely
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
Salt to taste

Set the water to boil, add the orzo and olive oil and stir to prevent sticking. You'll want to cook this for 8-10 minutes.

Heat up the cream and milk over medium, add the spinach and chili flakes once hot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the gouda and stir until melted. Taste it and determine how much salt you want to use, then use it. Turn off the heat and allow it to thicken for a few minutes.

I just mix the orzo with the sauce while it's still hot. You can garnish it with a sprig of basil if you're feeling fancy.

Gorgonzola Fettucine Alfredo with Seared Artichoke Hearts

This recipe is loosely based on a ridiculously overpriced dish I had at a restaurant in Helsinki. Granted, the food was good, especially the tortellini in pasta sauce. But due to some linguistic misunderstandings I wound up getting a lot more food and paying a lot more money that night. Since I've been home I've been cooking up a storm -- I hardly got to cook at all abroad since I was so busy with everything else. Anywho, this is my modification of the gorgonzola pasta dish. Be forewarned, it's quite heavy but lighter than most recipes I've found for alfredo sauce.

You will need:

1/2 lb dry Fettucine pasta
Water, salted to taste, for boiling
2 tbsp olive oil

Equivalent of 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (there are sharper and sweeter versions, I went with the sweeter one)
1/2 pint heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste

1 cup artichoke hearts, quartered
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, zested or chopped finely
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup wine (if desired)

Start off by boiling the pasta, putting the olive oil in the water and stirring to prevent sticking. You'll want to cook this for 10-12 minutes, give or take.

Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and gorgonzola once hot. Stir until there are few lumps and add salt. Set aside to thicken.

Take a skillet, ideally cast iron, and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot, put in the olive oil and add the salt. Use a spatula to coat the entire skillet and add the artichoke hearts and spices. After stirring to coat each piece thoroughly, add the white wine and mix quickly. Continue to cook until the sides of the hearts begin to brown and set aside.

I like to mix my sauce with the pasta but a lot of people think it's prettier to serve the sauce drizzled over it. Whatever works. Top it with the seared artichoke and serve with hot, crusty bread.

Cucumber Feta Hodgepodge

So I went into this wanting to make macaroni and cheese. I was low on ingredients, but the stuff I did have I wanted to use up. The result was surprisingly delicious -- if you wanted, you could add some shredded chicken and that would add a nice texture as well.

You will need:

3 tbsp salted butter
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
3 oz pepper jack cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 lb pasta, already cooked (we used penne)
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 large cucumber, sliced thinly
3 oz crumbed sheep's feta
2 bread slices -- toasted brown and crumbled into crumbs
4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

Preheat the oven to 450. Heat the butter over medium until melted, add the flour and mix quickly. Add the vegetable broth gradually until there are no lumps and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the salt and jack cheese, continually stir until the cheese is completely melted. Feel free to adjust the amount of salt depending on your taste.

Mix together the pasta, vegetable butter sauce, peas, cucumber and feta until uniformly coated. Put into a casserole dish and top with the bread crumbs and cheddar. Bake for 12 minutes or until the top is deep golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Irish Macaroni and Cheese

I've been reading a lot about cheese lately, which is an interesting and disgusting but oh-so-delicious topic. Macaroni and cheese, a distinctively American dish, was based on somewhat similar European counterparts but was not made as we know it until the last few centuries. My tried and true recipe relies on sharp cheddar, but when you tread into Irish cheddar territory, it's a whole other ballgame.

I'd been experimenting with my regular recipe -- what pasta shapes work best, what cheese combinations? This one is definitely a winner. A greasy, artery clogging winner guaranteed to be a success at any potluck or family gathering.

1 1/2 cups milk
4 tbsp flour
3 tbsp European style butter
6-8 oz Irish cheddar, cubed
1 lb dry penne rigate
salt to taste
1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar

Preheat the oven to 450 and set a pot of water to boil. In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium low until melted, and mix with the flour until even. Add half a cup of the milk and mix until even. Once the water boils, add the pasta and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Add the rest of the milk to the sauce mixture and stir until hot; add the cubed cheddar. Stir until melted and add the salt. Set aside to thicken.

Drain the pasta and combine well with the sauce. Put into a baking pan and top with the mild cheddar. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top is bubbly; allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Casarecce

This is a dish I've found myself making a lot lately, probably because it's so easy and you can vary the content. I keep mine simple with sauce and vegetables but you could include anything, such as meatballs or even roasted nuts.

I'm posting the recipe I use which serves 2 people, maybe 3. Increase as you see fit.

You will need:

1 cup dry casarecce pasta
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup either provolone or mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli, spinach or asparagus

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil the pasta and vegetables for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Strain and set aside. Mix together the salt, marinara and ricotta and add the pasta. Put into a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheeses. Bake for about 10 minutes, then broil until the top becomes bubbly and begins to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Vereniki (Non-Meat Pierogies)

My stepfather grew up with two nationalities -- German and Polish. His grandfather on the German side was a baker, but every time he mentions a dish he wants my mother and I to attempt it's something from his Polish grandmother's repertoire. The famed cheesecake recipe is coming soon!

Anywho, his birthday runs dangerously close to Christmas day, so my mother and I typically plan a larger celebration on the birthday than on Christmas. This year we went totally Polish and because we made several things, I'm adding that as a tag on my recipe collection. My stepfather's primary request was pierogies -- or vereniki in Russian -- which are essentially wheat pasta pockets filled with some variation of mushrooms, mashed potato, onions and cheese. The following recipe includes the ingredients for all of the aforementioned fillings.

These can be prepared several ways. A lot of people boil their pierogies, but this detracts from the flavor in my experience, as well as causing the homemade variety to fray apart and become pierogie soup. Therefore I recommend a method quite similar to cooking potstickers, which begins with steaming and ends with a short pan fry.

Ingredients for dough:

2-3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp full fat sour cream
1 egg
1/3 c warm water

This is easy -- knead the dough together until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed. Roll into a ball and place under an upside down bowl for an hour.

Filling:

2/3 c mushrooms, chopped finely (you may want to use a food processor for this)
4 tbsp chopped leeks
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb boiled potatoes
3-4 tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups finely cubed cheese of choice (fontina works well)
2 containers, 1/2 cup water in each
4 tbsp butter
large skillet with cover


Boil the potatoes until tender. Mash with the salt and cream until all but the smallest lumps are gone. Heat the oil, mushrooms and leeks over medium heat with a dash of salt and continue to cook until well browned, then set aside. Roll the dough out in small handfuls to about "1/8 and using a "3 cookie cutter, cut pieces of dough and set them aside. Heat the skillet over medium high.

Set to work on filling the pierogies -- we found it easiest and the most fun to mix and match fillings, since all the flavors were compatible. To do this takes practice with the dough but I will attempt to describe how I did it: taking the round of dough in my hand, I smooshed it down one last time to eliminate any large lumps and held it flat in my left hand. Using the right, I put fillings off center and rolled the unfilled end over. I pinched the sides together to get a small half moon. Repeat, setting the raw pierogies on an oiled cookie sheet once completed.

When you've assembled all the pierogies, it's time to cook them. Put 2 tbsp of butter in the pan and once melted, assemble approximately half the pierogies in the pan. Put in half a cup of water along with a dash of salt and cover for three minutes. After this, take off the cover and allow to cook until the water has evaporated. At this point, the side on the pan should be barely browning. Flip the pierogies and allow them to brown more completely on the other side, anywhere from three to seven minutes depending on your stove, so keep checking them.

Chances are with this recipe you'll wind up doing two batches in the pan. If you don't have a large party to serve or want to save some for later, they can be frozen before being fried for at least a month.

Once cooked, serve hot with sour cream on the side. Za zdarovy!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Hawaiian Almonds and Herb Cream Sauce

Whenever I come home my mom and I usually bring out the pasta maker and allow ourselves to get creative. Sometimes we have additional help from friends who join us in our cooking ventures. This was one of those incidents where I took a well known favorite -- butternut ravioli with cream sauce -- and kicked it up with a few of my own ideas. We served this alongside lemon herb chicken and greens with garlic and olive oil. What really comes in handy is a hunk of sourdough to mop up the extra cream sauce, but that's just me and my family and our questionable way of thinking.

Instead of giving three different detailed recipes for the ingredients involved in this process, I will summarize my own methods and highly recommend that you get comfortable with them before you try to serve this as more than a test. The first method is one I've mentioned before, getting the puree out of a squash or gourd. You want to slice it in half, remove the seeds and guts, place the halves cut side down in a large roasting pan with about an inch of water. Bake for around an hour at 350, remove from the oven and carefully scoop out the puree into a bowl. Mash it and you're set on that end.

As far as the pasta goes, I like to use a mix of bread flour and semolina -- 2 cups of each, 6 eggs, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a dash of salt. This yeilds enough to feed 6-8 people. You combine the two flours and salt, form a cavern in the middle of the flour and pour the eggs and oil into it. Mix it from the inside working outwards until the dough is an even consistency. Stick it into the fridge for anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, I always mix the dough before starting the rest of the recipe. When you're ready to work with the dough, take small handfuls at a time and knead them first. Once they're stretchy and able to withstand rolling out, either put them through a pasta mill to the next to thinnest setting or use a rolling pin to get the sheet as thin as possible. If this is too much or if you're crunched for time, many high end grocers sell prerolled sheets of pasta -- the only restriction is that it absolutely must be fresh pasta, otherwise the ravioli can't stay intact.

For the filling, you will need:

3 cups butternut squash puree
2/3 cup toasted Hawaiian almonds (cashews also work well), crushed finely
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp sage
dash of chili powder
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together and set aside, try to make it as smooth as possible.

Herb Cream Sauce:

1/2 quart half and half
1/4 cup flour
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp fresh chopped sage
1 tsp dried thyme
2 springs fresh rosemary, leaves crushed and separated
2 tsp fresh chopped oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the butter over medium in a saucepan until liquefied; add the flour and mix into a paste with a whisk extremely quickly. Add a cup of the half and half and, again, whisk extremely quickly to incorporate the flour-butter mixture into the liquid. Add the rest of the half and half once you've eliminated most lumps and add the salt/pepper. Keep an eye on it and whisk often, after the sauce starts to get hot youll notice it thicken a bit. Add the herbs at that point. Keep whisking until the sauce reaches the consistency of yogurt -- not as thick as pudding. Take off the heat and set aside.

You should have several sheets of pasta ready to work with. Take about a tablespoon of the filling and place it near an edge. Slice a square or circle around the filling, leaving about a half inch on each side for attachment. Slice out another piece the same size and put it over the filling on the first, fold the edges together. Square ravioli tends to make the best use of your pasta dough and is easiest to fold by far but with some practice, circular ravioli can offer a different aesthetic to the meal you're preparing.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and set aside a large plate or bowl for the ravioli. Putting about 8 in at a time, boil the raviolis for 2-3 minutes and scoop out with a slotted spoon. Do this repeatedly until they're all cooked. At this point you can arrange them on the plate and top with the cream sauce. Some people like this with a bit of shredded fontina, but when done right, the cream sauce provides plenty of flavor.

At-Home Pesto Sauce with Fettucine

I'm finally moved into my new house and back in the kitchen! As I've written about, I'm experimenting with new recipes that I can incorporate into a healthy diet. Pesto sauce is delicious and contains healthy fats from olive oil and pine nuts. It adds flavor to plain pasta and bruschetta without taking over. I'm posting my blender-free method because hand chopping allows the separate flavors to sing rather than being, well, blended into each other. The pieces aren't uniform and the sauce is a bit "chunkier". The hand chopping is totally worth the extra effort and saves lots on cleanup. So let's get started!

Pesto:
2-3 c loose fresh basil leaves (I buy the live basil, it tastes much better this way)
1/4c pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Fettucine:
2 tbsp salt
1 box fettucine
1/2 c finely shredded asiago cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Using a mezzeluna, pizza cutter or sharp knife cut 1/3 of the basil until very fine and almost paste-y. Place into a mixing bowl and move onto the next 1/3. You want to do this in batches to avoid bruising and pulverizing the leaves.

Once your basil is chopped, do the same with the pine nuts and garlic. Slice until very fine and incorporate into the basil. Add the salt and olive oil, set aside.

Boil a pot of water and add the olive oil and salt. Add your fettucine and cook until al dente. Immediately after straining add the pesto and toss until all the pasta is evenly coated. Top with asiago and serve!

Portobello Linguine

I promised I'd pass on the way to use those discarded asparagus stems! This recipe is a combination of Boursin sauce and a fabulous dish I had at La Grotta. La Grotta cooks seasonal fresh Italian food, down to making their own pasta. I recieved a sampler and was pleasantly surprised at the use of asparagus in the linguine; this is a simple recipe that SEEMS much more complicated. Great for fooling anyone you want to impress! :]

Portobello Linguine

Sauce:

1 (8 oz) package neufchatel cheese or low-fat cream cheese
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/2c skim milk
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
1/2tsp ground black pepper
1/3c grated asiago or other hard cheese
salt to taste

Heat all ingredients over medium-low heat until cheese melts and sauce begins to simmer. Remove from heat immediately.

Pasta:

1 box linguine (I like spinach linguine, but any kind works)
1 tbsp butter
~1 lb portobello mushrooms
1/2c finely chopped asparagus stems

Boil pasta and drain. You may use whole asparagus or just the stems, they should be chopped so finely that the fibrous texture is broken up. Heat the butter over medium in a skillet. Remove stems from portobellos and chop into as large or small pieces as you desire -- I prefer to chop them quite finely, but many people enjoy a "chunkier" dish. Saute the asparagus and mushrooms in the butter for 5-8 minutes and add to cheese sauce. Serve hot over linguine.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is the comfort food of a lifetime. My great grandmother made it, my grandmother had her recipe, and my mom had her own version. The way I make it is to minimize saturated fat, but sometimes when I've been sick I'll cook it the way my mom did (plenty of butter). This dish actually became quite well known among my college friends as well; leftovers were rare in those days! However, this does preserve well for a few days, so don't be afraid to put the excess in tupperware for later. Try this on a cold day when you need a hearty warming side dish.

I use olive oil in this dish, but a lot of people don't like the flavor of EVOO. Feel free to substitute vegetable oil or, God forbid, butter.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Sauce:

2c lowfat milk
1/4c olive oil
1/2c shredded sharp cheddar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
salt to taste

Heat the milk and oil in a double boiler or over low heat in a small saucepan. When hot, add flour and stir well. Continue stirring and adding cheese and salt. Set aside to cool.

Macaroni:
1 box (12 oz dry) penne pasta
1c shredded sharp cheddar
1/4c bread crumbs + 1 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Boil and drain penne. Combine with sauce, and spread in a "9 x "9 baking pan or casserole dish. Top with cheddar and bread crumbs if desired. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes or until golden and bubbly; set aside to cool for 20 minutes. Cooling is important, as it makes the macaroni "scoopable". Enjoy!

Glorious Crowns: Broccoli

I've never had qualms with broccoli; as a child, it was one of my favorites and a relief in the face of mystery vegetables like turnips and collard greens. Not only does its mild flavor go with everything from pasta to Thanksgiving dinner, but it has recently been shown to fight heart disease:

Researchers "gave broccoli extract to lab rats for one month and measured its effects on the rats' heart muscle. Compared to a control group that ate a regular diet, the broccoli-fed animals had improved heart function and less heart muscle damage when deprived of oxygen. Broccoli's heart-healthy effects are likely due to its high concentrations of certain substances that seem to boost levels of a heart-protective protein called thioredoxin, the researchers note." (Science Daily, Jan. 24 2008)

For a half cup serving of steamed broccoli, you're only doing in 27 calories for 3g, or 10% DV of fiber. It's also a significant source of vitamin A (24%), vitamin C (84%), and iron (3%). However, many people want more flavor in their food than plain steamed broccoli can provide, so here's a quick and easy way to integrate it into an old favorite; this is one of my staple weight loss foods in the summer, when squash is in season.

Baked Veggie Penne (serves 6)

8 oz package penne pasta, whole grain
3 small yellow squashes, cubed
1 cubed zuchinni
2c chopped raw broccoli
16 oz. jar marinara sauce
pinch of chili powder
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 tsp oregano
a pinch of basil & thyme
1c grated hard cheese (fontina, asiago, manchego, parmesan, romano, etc

1. put water on to boil in a large pot.
2. preheat oven to 4oo F.
3. once water begins to boil, add pasta and squash, broccoli, and zuchinni.
4. allow to cook until pasta and veggies are both tender, around 6-8 minutes.
5. in a separate saucepan, combine marinara, chili powder, garlic, and herbs over medium heat, reduce to low when the sauce simmers.
6. strain pasta and veggies, transfer to a medium-large sized baking pan. follow with marinara, top with grated cheese. bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly brown and bubbling.
7. allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, serve hot.

Nutrition Info:
16g protein, 8.6g fat, 55g carbs, 10g fiber, 356 calories overall.