Oh Kitchen, What Won't You Do?

Last Chance & Lentil Spinach Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:16:00 +0000

Today is your last chance to enter our Local Honey Giveaway. Comment on this post with a valid email address and the winner will be picked tonight at midnight EST!

Another great blogger whose recipe suggestions I love to try is Lindsay and Taylor of Love and Olive Oil. Not too long ago they posted a delicious looking Spinach and Lentil Salad with Blue Cheese and Tart Cherry Vinaigrette and I just had to try it asap.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the puy (green) lentils they raved about, but even with just regular brown lentils this salad was tops. Some gorgonzola and bacon crumbles made it especially fantastic and dynamic. Lentils pack great protein and fiber - an ideal substitute for meat.

This recipe originated at Epicurious.

4 to 6 servings

3/4 cup green lentils
7 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
8 bacon slices (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallot
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dried unsweetened tart cherries (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups baby or regular spinach leaves
1/3 cup blue cheese (about 2 ounces)

In a heavy saucepan cover lentils with water by 2 inches and simmer until just tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Drain lentils well in a sieve. Rinse lentils under cold running water to stop cooking and drain well. In a bowl toss lentils with 2 tablespoons vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. (Lentils may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring lentils to room temperature before proceeding.)

In a skillet cook bacon over moderate heat until crisp and with tongs transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble bacon.

In cleaned saucepan heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook shallot, stirring, until golden brown. Stir in water, cherries, sugar, and remaining 5 tablespoons vinegar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a slow stream until emulsified. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Add half of vinaigrette to lentils and toss well. In another bowl toss spinach with half of lentil mixture, half of bacon, half of cheese, remaining vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.

Divide remaining lentil mixture among 6 plates and top with spinach mixture. Sprinkle salads with remaining bacon and cheese.

Inspiration Everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Don't forget to comment on this post to try and win our Local Honey Giveaway! The winner will be drawn on November 7th (Saturday).

Recently I've been aggressively increasing the number of recipes on my "to try" list from blogs I read on a regular basis. Ever since making the ginger soup with chard at 101 Cookbooks I've been really inspired to make some more of Heidi's recent recipes. Her Broccoli Cheddar Soup called out to me. Though I may have made some adjustments, mostly out of laziness or a missed ingredient when grocery shopping, this recipe turned out amazingly.

With a mild broccoli taste, smooth cheddar and mustardy kick both in the soup and in the croutons, I wanted to eat my way through the entire pot. I highly recommend giving this one a try when you have friends to eat it with you. As Heidi points out, re-heated Broccoli soup is much less appetizing. The homemade croutons baked with mustard are an idea I simply love and can't wait to try again in the future.

See the recipe at 101 Cookbooks, and definitely give this one a try.

Also, I am now the proud owner of a kitchen aid mixer (finally!), so prepare to see a lot more baking from me in the near future. Thanks Mom!

Winter Lentil Soup

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:14:00 +0000

UPDATE - The honey give away is still open, so read the Pumpkin Flan post and comment to enter!

Fall is usually my favorite time of year. The blue skies, red leaves, brisk weather make for one awesome season. However, this fall has been a mix of rain, humidity and frost. Not so much of an awesome season. Today is looking up and hopefully we will get a few days of true autumn and not transition directly to winter.

The one culinary benefit of this yucky weather is it makes me crave soup. And squash. I found this recipe in Real Simple and was immediately drawn to the combination of lentils, tomatoes and leeks. How much more comforting can you get?

Andrew had never eaten lentils before (I know, the nerve!). When we were at my parent's a few months ago, my mom had made some tasty lentil soup but someone, and I have NO idea who, ate the leftovers before he could try any. Needless to say, after a poor description of what they taste like (legume-y), I decided he would like them and we would eat this soup.

I made a few adaptations and cooked it up in one of our new Le Creuset dutch ovens (one of the extraordinary benefits of getting married - registries). I subbed butternut squash for the original sweet potatoes, spinach for kale and added a little crushed red pepper. Although we had ambitions to bake bread, we ran out of time, so I picked up a loaf of freshly bakes Garlic Tuscan bread from the big Weg. (Wegmans for the uninitiated).

YUM!!!! This was excellent and will definitely be something we make again. The flavors were great and it had just a bit of kick. Perfect for a lazy, rainy day.

This recipe is also getting shared at Magazine Mondays, hosted by Ivonne of Cream Puffs In Venice. One magazine recipe down, a million to go...

Winter Lentil Soup
adapted from Real Simple Magazine

2 leeks, white and light green parts only (about 4 cups)
1 bunch baby spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups water
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
3/4 cup brown or green lentils
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine
grated Parmesan (optional)

Slice each leek in half lengthwise, then slice each half into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons. Place in a large bowl of cold water and swish to remove any grit. Drain and pat dry.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, for 5 minutes.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Stir in the spinach, butternut squash, wine, red pepper flakes, lentils, thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Spoon into individual bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan (if using).

Pumpkin Flan for the Royal Foodie Joust (and HONEY GIVE-AWAY!)

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +0000

We have never participated in the Royal Foodie Joust before, so I figured it was about time! It is a monthly event put on by Jenn, the Leftover Queen, where she provides some basic ingredients and you have to be creative. This month's challenge was inspired by Halloween and the dish had to include an orange squash (pumpkin or other) and a dark beer. Fun!!! I immediately thought of a custard type dish like crème brûlée or flan. Flan won out as I don't have the right equipment for crème brûlée....boo.

This dessert was sort of a disaster in the beginning...but overall turned out pretty awesome! Mainly a disaster because I had invited over a few of my classmates for "tasty pumpkin flan with Guinness caramel" on Sunday and didn't look at the recipe until noon on Sunday...oops. I briefly panicked when I read that it needed to chill for 6 hours and thought about cancelling. But, how could i cancel on flan??? How!!! Andrew ran to the store and got the ingredients we needed and we got to work. He made the flan part (super easy, just toss everything into the kitchen aid) and I worked on the caramel. The recipe called for 2/3 cups sugar and 1/4 cup water. I figured I could just substitute the water for Guinness and call it a day. Wrong.

The "caramel" foamed and was weird and then when I finally thought it looked sort of right it hardened as soon as I poured it in the pan. Needless to say, it did not coat the bottom. I tried again with water and sugar and it looked great until all the water evaporated and it was just one big gloppy mess in the bottom of our brand new all clad sauce pan. I again panicked and threw in enough water to redissolve the sugar. I poured it all in the bottom of the pan, poured on the flan mixture and crossed my fingers. After that I texted my friends and telling them to come later in the evening and hoped that the freezer would do a good job at setting up the flan.

And you know what? It worked! The flan turned out to be super super yummy, the caramel on the bottom was perfect and it set up great! Success! I also made a Guinness syrup to pour over the top. It was pretty, but a little bitter...the flan was better without. Oh well...
ALSO!!! This week we are doing a give away to a lucky blog reader. Up for grabs is a jar of raw honey from the bees at my school. You can read more about the arboretum where they live here. To enter to win, please leave a comment and I will draw randomly! The drawing will take place on November 14th.

Pumpkin Flan
recipe from Gourmet

1 1/3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups heavy cream

In a small skillet combine 2/3 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the sides with a brush dipped in cold water until the sugar is dissolved. Cook the syrup, swirling the skillet, until it is a deep caramel, pour it into a warm 2-quart glass loaf pan, tilting the pan to coat the bottom evenly, and let the caramel harden.

In a bowl beat the eggs with the remaining 2/3 cup sugar, beat in the pumpkin puree, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cream, and pour the custard into the loaf pan. Set the loaf pan in a deep baking pan, add enough hot water to the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan, and bake the flan in the middle of a preheated moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the flan cool and chill it, covered, overnight. Run a thin knife around the edge of the loaf pan, invert a platter over the pan, and invert the flan onto the platter. Serve the flan, cut into slices, with the cinnamon whipped cream.

More On Chard

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:06:00 +0000

While I was in Senegal the average temperature was 90 F, with a heat index that made it feel like 100. It was hot. And there was nary an air conditioner anywhere. While I was baking away, Fall was descending on the mid-atlantic. Though normally Fall seems time to wear cosy clothes, drink apple cider and eat pumpkin-related items, right now it just feels downright COLD. Seriously, I'm freezing.

So when I got home I instantly began looking for some new soup recipes. Luckily 101 Cookbooks had a delicious looking soup that featured not only my love, ginger, but CHARD! I knew it was meant to be.

I made the mistake of not adding the ginger when I put in the other veggies, so I had to let it sit a little longer, which of course caused the veggies to lose a little bit of their consistency, but it was still delicious. The extra lemon juice at the end seemed bizarre, but really gave the soup a kick - I ended up adding a little extra.

For this great recipe, check out Heidi's post for this Green Soup with Ginger.

Senegal Restaurant Food

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:51:00 +0000

I've just recently returned from a trip to visit some friends doing research in Senegal, and was fortunate to eat in some really tasty restaurants while I was there. Unfortunately, my camera had already died when we were eating more traditional meals at home, though I'll see if my hosts have some pictures they can send my way.

I have another chard themed post I'm working on (camera needs to charge!), but I thought I'd share some of my trip/food photos. Enjoy!

Pie, Pie, I Love Pie - And Tarts, Quiches, Etc.

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:57:00 +0000

I was quite pleased to see that Randi was on top of blogging these last few weeks. As she mentioned in one of her posts I was a little bit pre-occupied. I got married September 19th - left for Paris and Greece for two weeks - and have been generally a bad blogger lately. Pre-wedding planning and stress takes up a lot of time and although I wasn't blogging, I was cooking! Now that the wedding is over (and it was great!) I can dedicate more time to posting about the delicious things we make and consume.

In Front of the Parthenon

A small aside: We ate our way through Paris, Athens and Santorini. I lived my foodie dream a lunch consisting of cheese and baguette at a cafe overlooking the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. I highly suggest all three of these locations for travel!

Grilled Kalamari in Fira, Santorini

I digress...We FINALLY got to go back to our regular routine of Saturday morning farmer's market shopping yesterday. I was inspired by Randi's previous post on Swiss Chard and Leek Tart (and did remember the awesome chard we had at our wedding) so wanted to make something similar. Unfortunately, there was no Swiss Chard to be found...but we did pick up some great sausage, cheese, and other goodies!

Knowing we would have to head back out to the store, I looked at Randi's recipe to see if it was a) something I definitely wanted to make and b) included any ingredients we had on hand. Ultimately, we decided to look for a recipe that was more quiche-y. I stumbled across a recipe from Jenn at The Left Over Queen that looked great. A quiche with swiss chard, cheddar and APPLES! Which was great, because apples are tasty, and we have more than we know what to do with right now!

Jenn raved about the recipe (even though she is not an apple lover) - and that was good enough for me. The following is a direct quote from me during quiche consumption:

"Oh My God, Jenn is a GENIUS!!!"

This quiche is absolutely 100% super duper tasty! It sounds a little strange at first, but the flavors are spot on. I might use a little more cheddar next time (or throw some on top) but it was sheer perfection. I had to stop myself from eating the entire dish! Andrew and I made this together as our first "hey, we're married!" meal and it was a lot of fun. Not too time consuming either.

(The only major difference was that I made a whole wheat crust - yum)

Andrew Cutting the Red Chard

Demonstrating Our New Bad-Ass Shun Utility Knife!

Doesn't It Look Good???

The link to this recipe is here.

Yeah, yeah, I'm lazy - oh well. Jenn's blog is awesome anyways and you should check it out!

A Dessert Worth Atoning For

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:24:00 +0000

Yom Kippur started tonight at sundown, and though it seems stupid, my family always eats a big meal the evening before the day of fasting. I suppose the idea is to keep you full while you fast for 24 hours, but in reality it likely stretches your stomach out, creating more hunger. Regardless, we eat a big meal the night before the fast and a small, light (typically dairy-based) meal to break the fast.

I'm going to be making another Leek and Swiss Chard Tart to break fast with, but I told my mom I would make a dessert to go with dinner before the fast begins. My mom had already made a pistachio loaf, and she requested I make something chocolate to suit my dad's tastes.

empty, blind baked

Chocolate? Ugh. Maybe your jaw dropped reading that "Ugh," but unfortunately chocolate doesn't really do it for me. I like it, I'll eat it, it's good, but I just don't get excited about it. And I really don't know what things a chocolate lover might get excited about.

full, pre-made the day before

Well, I had an extra pie crust, so I thought what about Chocolate Cream Pie? Something like that has to exist, right? And then I went on a food mag search and found Gourmet's Chocolate Pudding Pie. I used a pre-made crust cause I had one to use, but this recipe comes with a recipe and there are tons of others out there that make great crust. The one from the Lemon Meringue Pie is one of my favorites.

with whipped and a sprinkle of cinamon
not the cleanest cut, but tasty

Chocolate Pudding Pie
from Gourmet August 2009

For pastry dough
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For filling
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chilled heavy cream

Make dough:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps.

Drizzle 2 Tbsp ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful of dough: If dough doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.)

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and form into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make pie shell:
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively.

Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. While shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights.

Bake on baking sheet until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil, then bake shell on baking sheet until pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.

Make filling:
Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2-qt heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Pour filling into cooled shell and chill, its surface covered with wax paper (if you want to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 2 hours.

Just before serving, beat cream with remaining 2 Tbsp sugar until it just holds soft peaks. Spoon onto pie.

What To Do With Swiss Chard?

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Every time I'm in the grocery store I glance guiltily over at the green sections, eye-ing the kales, chards and various lettuces. I want to use them, but short of making a salad, I pretty much have no idea what to do with them. Without a pre-made plan I rarely pick up produce I am not sure what to do with.

BUT at Georgia's wedding last weekend, sauteed swiss chard was present along side delicious pulled pork, bbq chicken, fingerling potatoes and caesar salad. Many people were raving about the awesome swiss chard, including me, and so I thought, "I can do it! I too can make swiss chard!"

So the other day I picked up a bunch of swiss chard. Guess what? I had no idea what to do with it. I wasn't making any big dinners, so just sauteing the chard for a side dish didn't exactly suit. So of course I checked out the Food Blog Search to see what fellow food bloggers had come up with. One recipe in general stood out to me, and even better, it was from a blog I love and trust, Smitten Kitchen. Deb had found the recipe for Leek and Swiss Chard Tart she posted in a 1999 issue of Bon Appetit, and recreated it in January of 2008. Any recipe that lasted the test of time has me sold.

And though this recipe (and Deb's pictures) looked super scrumptious, I woefully noted a lack of cheese. Well that just wouldn't do. I grated an ounce of parmigiano-reggiano, which I sprinkled over top before the tart went in the oven. I will admit though that I used a premade tart shell from ye ole grocery store. It would probably be fabulous with the puff pastry from the original recipe or a simple tart dough. I lack patience however, so grocery store shell it is! It's no lightweight recipe, but give this one a try ;)

straight out of the oven

cooled for about 20 minutes, not exactly set
too delicious to wait...

made a mess cutting a slice

approx. 1 minute after the above picture
was taken

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart
Originally from Bon Appetit and found at Smitten Kitchen
Altered by Moi.

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed (I used a premade tart shell from the store)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll out pastry on floured work surface to 12-inch square. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold under; crimp edges. Cover; chill.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until leeks are very tender but not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Add chard; saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Whisk cream and next 5 ingredients in large bowl.

Mix in cooled leek mixture. Pour filling into crust. (Sprinkle grated parm over top if so desired)

Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake until filling is puffed and just set in center, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes.

Wedding Presents

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:04:00 +0000

This past weekend was Georgia's wedding, and I'm going to go ahead and blame wedding preparation on the last on blog posting :) I know Georgia has some pictures lined up for posts when she gets back from her honeymoon.

Not only did the bride and groom get presents for their wedding, but those of us in the bridal party got a snazzy present from the couple. Georgia got us really beautiful stoneware cookie jars and accompanying organic scone mix. I LOVE mine, and I got to choose the best flavor (I think), Blueberry Ginger. I think foodies would agree that this is a scone win.

beautiful cookie jar

tasty scone mix

Though I'm usually a fan of the fully homemade variety of baked good, this Lollipop Tree brand is pretty excellent - lots of great organic flavors and simple ingredients. I only added three tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup of water and 2 eggs to the mix. I opted not to roll out the dough and instead made drop scones. These were quick, easy and delicious. Thanks Georgia and Andrew! I'll likely be taking this to a cheese party I'm going to tonight ;)

Want some of our own? Check out the Lollipop Tree website.

Empanada Buffet

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:08:00 +0000

It's been a loooong time since I've posted, but now that I've finished grad school and have more time on my hand, I've been excited about cooking again. The last few months have been a rotation of tacos, broiled fish and pizza. But now that Georgia has been staying with me a few nights out of every week, its inspired me to cook something that takes more than 15 minutes.

While wandering around the grocery store trying to decide what to make for dinner, I noticed the empanada discos in the freezer section. I was psyched and decided that since I've never made empanadas, I would try filling them with a variety of thing. With a couple more ingredients in tow, I headed home and made delicious dinner.

Fillings included: Caramelized onions with spinach and ricotta; sauteed eggplant with marinara sauce, cumin and nutmeg; taco style - with ground turkey, taco spices, cheddar, tomato and avocado; and dessert - sweetened goat cheese and pureed blackberries.

Some of the empanadas popped open, but I did put more filling in each then I probably should have.

I was debating whether to add the egg wash on top of the empanadas, but I think they look pretty beautiful with it, so I'm glad I did.

A really delicious and easy meal to make a come-back with :)

Daring Dumplings! Our First Daring Cooks Challenge!

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:22:00 +0000

The creators of Daring Bakers have launched their new website - thedaringkitchen.com - and with it a new group called the Daring Cooks. As Randi already partakes in the Daring Bakers, I thought it only right to join this new group. Fun!

This month's challenge was to make traditional dumplings. Jen of Use Real Butter was the host and did a great job explaining the process and coaching the novice through. And trust me, we where novices...Her wrap up and the recipe here.

I have been making sushi by hand for years, but never ventured into dumpling making. They always intimidated me a little, so I am incredibly appreciative of this challenge! Although I had grand ambitions to make one batch of shrimp/pork dumplings and one batch of potato-leek dumplings, we ran out of steam after the first ones were done and couldn't wait to dig in.

The dough was really tough (as she warned) but did soften up a smidge after sitting for 15 minutes. Next time I will add a bit more water to the dough. Because they were so tough, it was a little hard to roll them into nice circles for the wrappers. Andrew did the pleating and did the best with what he had. Besides the fact that they weren't quite as pretty as some of the others (I think these things take practice), they sure did taste great! I can't wait to experiment with other flavor combinations. Thanks again Jen!

Andrew gets his hands dirty!

Potstickers Away!

Lily thinks she might want one too...

Oh so tasty!

Giada's Penne with Spinach Sauce

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:51:00 +0000

When in doubt - turn to Giada! She has got me out of a food jam many times. Well, I suppose, this did not constitute as a jam...but it was a "what do we make for dinner?" moment. I made this pasta dish a few months ago and remembered how delicious and easy it was. And as you must know by now, delicious + easy = Georgia's favorite type of recipe!

Also, this is on the healthy side of pasta recipes, especially if you use wheat pasta (which you should!). Full on fiber and cancer-fighters, this pasta dish is a winner. I love pasta - my quarter of Italian ancestry is a strong one. Unfortunately, if you are not careful, pasta meals can be high in calories and fat. Boo! I love finding ways to satisfy my carb cravings in a more heart and waist healthy way.

You could do this dish hot or cold - we opted for hot this time. Giada uses a plain goat cheese, but we found a garlic-chive goat cheese at the farmer's market that made our dinner extra garlicky!!! Good thing we both had garlic breath, wink wink...

Also, because this is a pasta recipe, I submitted it to Presto Pasta Nights hosted this week by Daphne of More than Words.

Penne with Spinach Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
serves 6

1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne
3 garlic cloves
2 ounces goat cheese
1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.

Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

Brioche s'il vous plaît

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:04:00 +0000

One of Andrew's constant complaints about Central Pennsylvania is there aren't any good french bakeries (if you know of any, let us know!). He loves brioche and is sad that there are no local sources...well until now! Because I am the world's best girlfriend I told him that I would try to bake some. I have been baking regular yeast bread for years, so figured that it would not be too much of stretch. I got a recipe out of the Joy of Cooking and had at it. I am not including the recipe here, because I assume that most of you have or have access to a copy of this book. If not, GET ONE!!! It is a must have and has saved my butt on several occasions.

In the recipe, they say that the dough is a little sticky and not to worry. Ok, a little sticky is a bit of an understatement. And, yes, I was worried. It had no shape whatsoever when it first was mixed together and even after adding some more flour would have been impossible to knead. My second little setback was that I didn't realize that the dough required a few hours refrigeration. The plan was to make these for breakfast, but oh well. After three hours in the fridge the dough doubled nicely and they were a nice afternoon treat.

Looking back, they were pretty easy to make and relatively fool proof. If you are having a brunch or just feel like a special breakfast, make these. Not exactly health food, but a nice treat.

Get some good butter, good jam and runny cheese and be transported to a cafe on the Seine.

photography by Andrew of Falling Leaves Photography

My Coping Method - Cooking

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:47:00 +0000

The last few weeks have been a bit hectic. My semester is done - finally - but involved three final exams and a final project on top of each other. In addition, my grandmother passed away and the funeral was up in Connecticut. It was a stressful week, one that I wasn't necessarily prepared for. My grandmother was a wacky lady, full of life at 81 and her death was very unexpected. I have a lot of great memories of her and her funeral was a true celebration of her life!

Although I did not really have the energy to blog or take photos, I was cooking up a storm. I found that when Andrew and I were in the kitchen, it distracted me. The kitchen is my happy place. We made brioche (post to come tomorrow), strawberry muffins (above and not worth mentioning further), a great one pot meal - Chicken with Tarragon and Leeks - from Real Simple. We had friends over for a semester's end bbq and grilled steak, peppers and rosemary potatoes. Martha Stewart Surprise Cookies were the dessert (yum!). These cookies were basically a devils food cookie with a marshmallow topper and covered in a fudge icing.

We grilled, we baked, we coped.

My mom is forever reminding me that I do not cook for them enough. Granted, this is tough as I live four hours away now, but in honor of Mother's Day and going to CT, I made a new version of the Orange Olive Oil Cake that I posted about in April. OMG - it was delicious!!!! I substituted lemon peel for the orange and poured the batter over about 2 cups of blueberries. Wow. I had to cook it a little longer (the berries were frozen), but it wound up being more of a pudding than a cake. It was moist and flavorful. I got compliments from everyone and will definitely make it again.

Anyway, the only picture unfortunately was of the blah strawberry muffins. These could have been called un-strawberry muffins. You win some, you lose some.

Blogging will be back on track this week!

Rest in peace Grandma, we all love and miss you.

Whole Foods Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Randi) — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:39:00 +0000

Every Tuesday Whole Foods does this thing where each department has samples out. Last week though they were trying something new. Since its asparagus season the store was featuring asparagus and therefore each department's sample was asparagus based. Also more awesomely, they were asking everyone to vote for their favorite. It was an awesome Whole Foods Department Challenge.

The produce department had two samples, a grilled baggett with roasted asparagus and fresh mozzarella and an asparagus leek soup. Even though the bakery department had super delicious asparagus and feta croissants, I felt that on asparagus deliciousness alone, the asparagus leek soup was my favorite. It might have had something to do with how cold and rainy it was outside, you never know. Either way, I picked up the recipe and resolved to make it this week for dinner. I might have cooked it down some more to make it a little thicker after pureeing it, but otherwise it was tasty, filling and good for you.

Asparagus Leek Soup

1 large leek, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 shallots, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/4 cup cream
parmigiano-reggiano grated over top of each bowl

Using only white and pale green parts, cut leek in half and rinse. Then chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Saute with better, shallots, salt and pepper.

When leeks are softened, after 3 minutes, add cut asparagus, broth, and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered for about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

Using either the traditional blender or an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Pour through a sieve if desired (I didn't do this, I like pulp), then return to pot and add cream and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer till hot. Serve immediately and grate parmigiano-reggiano over top.

A Late Dinner - Curried Eggplant With Tomatoes and Basil

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:51:00 +0000

My semester is almost done!!! Only three take home finals left and then freedom - for a few weeks anyway...One of the best things about the end of classes is that I can focus more on cooking. My classes are at night, so on the three days that I had to drag myself to school, it was hard to put together anything but a quick meal. Yesterday we loaded up at the farmers market with fresh veggies with some good dinners in mind.

Last night's dinner ended up being super late, because we decided it was a good time to advance our photo setup and build a white-box (probably the wrong term) for light reflection. Needless to say, with building the setup, shooting the muffins we made (post on these later), and shooting the curry, dinner did not commence until about 8:45pm. Oh well.

This recipe is from Real Simple, which is my go to magazine for good recipes. As we had been stuffing ourselves with meat for the last week, I opted for this vegetarian dish. It looked light and simple, a perfect summer meal. The flavors were good, but lacked a little pop. We ended up sprinkling more salt and curry over our plates and that helped. Also, definitely serve with plain yogurt, it does wonders. All in all, the combination of eggplant, tomatoes, basil and curry is a winner. Thumbs up again RS!

I submitted this post to Magazine Mondays over at Cream Puffs in Venice for her blogging event.

Curried Eggplant With Tomatoes and Basil
four big servings

1 cup brown rice
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (preferably Greek), optional

In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. (Do not lift the lid or stir!) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Serve over the rice with yogurt, if using.

Orange Olive Oil Cake

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Good News!

The quality of the food photography on this blog is likely to improve. As some of you may know, Andrew went to photography school and has quite the eye! I finally decided that he should be recruited for the blog. He loves to eat, cook and take photos, so why not combine the three? We have been studying different techniques and hopefully will have great results!

On a different note, I made this cake last weekend for his parents who are recovering from a bug (not the Swine flu, don't worry!). I was inspired by the blueberry crumb cake I made a few weeks ago, in which I substituted olive oil for some of the butter.

After doing a quick search, I found this recipe for Orange Olive Oil cake. It is from more than burnt toast, but is an Anna Olson recipe. Be sure to check out her post, she has some great info on Ms. Olson and the cake. Apparently someone at work is paying her to make this because they loved it so much!

Wow, was this cake yummy! The orange flavor was on the subtle side, but worked perfectly. Because of the olive oil, the cake was very moist. You may notice that on the picture below it looks almost uncooked in the middle, but that is just from the olive oil sinking a little. I think I may have stirred it too long. Anyway, I will be sure to make more baked goods with EVOO in the future.

Olive oil is healthy right? How can you go wrong?

I am also bringing this cake to a virtual bakesale. Lauren, from I'll Eat You is holding a virtual bakesale in honor of her one year blogiversary. Way to go Lauren! She is raising money through firstgiving to donate to the World Food Program. What a great cause? Check out the site and give a little if you can :)

Orange Olive Oil Cake

2 eggs
1 -1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup 2 %milk
zest of 2 oranges or tangerines
1 cup + 2 T all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 °F and butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add olive oil, milk and orange zest and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to olive oil batter and stir just until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool completely, then turn out onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Everything Tastes Better Grilled

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:26:00 +0000

A few years ago, Bobby Flay grilled pizza on an episode of Boy Meets Grill. It looked absolutely delicious and I knew that it was something that I had to make. After all, what doesn't taste better grilled? My first attempt at this pizza challenge came shortly after, when I was living at home with my parents. It was pretty good, but I recall having some troubles with the dough...either way, when Andrew and I were headed out to the local farmer's market on Saturday morning, I suggested that we get some ingredients to grill pizza. As usual he was game and we stocked up on some goodies. We both got chorizo sausage (there is a place at the market that makes seriously the best chorizo I have ever eaten) and I got a portabello, ricotta and basil. Andrew got some yellow peppers, sheep's milk feta and a red onion.

A word of advice, have all the ingredients prepped before you start. I forgot how quickly the dough cooked and snapped a little teensy bit in my frenzy.

Andrew!?! Stop snacking and help me with the pizza!!!!

I later realized I could just turn off the grill and get stuff ready....turn off grill??? Novel idea!

Because I was lazy, we got some pre-made pizza dough at Wegman's which worked fine. If you oil the dough before you put it on the grill, it doesn't stick at all.

This is a really fun meal to make and pretty impressive if I do say so.

I didn't write the entire recipe from the episode, just listed the ingredients we had on hand. You can find Bobby's method here.

Grilled Pizza
Pre-made pizza dough
Pizza sauce
Feta cheese
Ricotta cheese
Yellow peppers, sliced
Portabello mushroom, sliced
Red onion, sliced
Chorizo sausage, grilled and sliced

Keep an eye on your dough to make sure it doesn't get too singed...I had a small accident, but it still tasted great!

Confessions of a Foodie

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:40:00 +0000

This morning, as I was lying in bed, I thought of exactly what I wanted to write about today. Unfortunately, as I did not write it down...I don't exactly remember. Oh well, here goes nothing...

If I could I would wear a t-shirt and jeans every day (which I do pretty well at), I hate shoes and own significantly less pairs than my fiance, I don't have that great a sense of interior design. Although I order a snooty drink at Starbucks (Grande, non-fat, 130 degree Latte) I am one of the least snooty people I know. I hate shopping for clothing or shoes, but could spend hours walking around Williams-Sonoma or Crate & Barrel. When I get their catalogs in the mail, I bring them to the bedroom and read them like a good book. This is what my love of food has done to me. My kitchen is loaded (and will be more so after our wedding) with goodies - a phat KitchenAid mixer, Brevelle Juicer, Le Crueset tea pot and much more. You know what - I use them all. My kitchen is my domain.

But I digress, the reason for this rambling intro is that last night we had some friends over. I decided to make a recipe out of the Williams-Sonoma catalog. Chipotle Chicken Paninis. The recipe called for their new Spicy Chipotle Rub which we promptly went and purchased. Wow, am I glad we did, the stuff is amazing!!! Seriously, get some.

We decided to grill the sandwiches outside and used ciabatta, not sandwich bread, but other than that, followed the recipe pretty closely. These things were AMAZING. I went to bed thinking about them and woke up thinking about how I wish we had more...I also submitted this recipe to Magazine Mondays over at Cream Puffs in Venice, because although not technically a food magazine, I think it counts because it ended up in the "will make someday" category. The image above is what their version looks like and what made me drool enough to want to make them. Below is our creation:

Lily wanted one too...

To go along with the sandwiches, we had a simple caprese salad and I made a Blueberry Crumb Cake from a Dorie Greenspan recipe. The cake was equally awesome. Put it this way - four people housed an entire cake in one sitting...maybe I shouldn't admit that - eh, whatever. The only change I made for the cake was substitute 3 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 of butter. This resulted in a moist, slightly healthier cake. I think in the future I'd up the blueberry amount also.

Either way, an evening of excellent food and good company - we even got to play dominoes!

Chipotle Chicken Sandwich
inspired by Williams-Sonoma recipe

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each about 8 oz., tenders
removed and breasts butterflied

8 tsp. spicy chipotle rub

1 loaf ciabatta, cut into quarters and sliced

Olive oil for brushing

8 tsp. mayonnaise

8 oz. Pepper jack cheese, cut into slices

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick

Rub each chicken breast on both sides with 2 tsp. chipotle rub. Grill for about 5 minutes on each side, until done. Transfer to a plate. Construct sandwich with mayo, cheese, avocado and chicken breast. Put sandwiches back on grill for a few minutes, until slightly toasted. Serves 4.

Comfort Food from Childhood - Potato Puffs

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Growing up, whenever we had any leftover mashed potatoes my mom would make potato puffs the next day. I'm not sure if there was ever an official recipe or it was just something she threw together....either way I was always very excited when she made them. Who doesn't love fried potato products??? Not this girl. Trust me, once you make these once, they will become a staple. They are very easy, not too time consuming and make excellent leftovers. I just had two cold for a little snack :)

These little bundles of potatoey goodness are my mom's version of a potato pancake. As it is the Passover season, I thought it would be a fitting solute to my quasi-Jewish heritage to cook them. Andrew and I made roasted-red pepper mashed potatoes (yum!) the other night and I purposefully made extra with these in mind. I didn't get my mom's recipe prior to cooking them, I just went by feel. As a consequence, they aren't as fluffy as hers were. Still delicious though! Below is the actual recipe, but these can't really be messed up....

Potato Puffs
per one cup of mashed potatoes

1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup of milk
a dash of salt and pepper
oil to fry (I suggest EVOO)

Whisk all the ingredients together until light and fluffy. In the meantime, heat about 1/2 inch of oil on medium high. When the oil is ready, drop in dollops of the mixture. When the edges start looking cooked through flip them. The end result should be nice and golden brown.

The frying process should be done by feel, much like a pancake.

Greek Shrimp with Lemon and Feta

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:31:00 +0000

After the temperature remains consistently over 40 degrees, the word barbecue clicks on in my head. Any day that is slightly warmer and sunnier (over 50 usually) and that is all I can think about. I know that to some of you barbecue has one definition - ribs, pulled pork, etc. To me it means lighting up the grill.

Luckily for me, I met a man who also loves to grill, so when I call him at work and say, "you know, its hot and sunny, do you want to BBQ tonight?" I know the answer. So far this year we have unearthed our grill umpteen times from its super stylish green tarp covering. Last weekend we were planning our weekly dinners and decided to do some kabobs on Tuesday (the weather forecast looked favorable). Andrew has a book that he bought from Weis of all places (a local grocery store) entitled, "Kabobs - 52 Easy Recipes for Year Round Grilling." We have made several of these already and all have been super tasty. The page we settled on was - Greek Shrimp with Lemon and Feta. Sign me up!

Tuesday turned out to be gorgeous, so I played hooky from school to give this meal and the man the attention they deserve. Plus, who wants to be learning about planning law when it is 65 and sunny, come on!

They turned out great. We used scallops along with the shrimp and served them over Kashi Seven Grain Pilaf mixed with some spinach and leftover marinade.

Greek Shrimp and Scallops with Lemon and Feta
serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 pound large shrimp
1/2 pound sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup feta, crumbled
1 lemon, cut into wedges

For marinade: Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes into a bowl. Mix well. Add the shrimp and scallops and stir together so that all the seafood is covered with marinade. (You could also use a big Ziploc bag) Refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours.

Thread the scallops and shrimp on skewers (we have metal) and grill until firm - about 2 minutes per side. The shrimp will be pink and the scallops firmer. Be careful with the scallops, they are fragile, but if you are gentle with them, it will all work out fine.

Serve over the pilaf with the lemon wedges. Sprinkle feta over top.

Enjoy! Happy Grilling Season!!!

For the Next Time You Need to Bring an Hors d'Oeuvres...

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Randi asked me the other day "What should I bring as an appetizer?" I feel like this always comes up. You are asked to bring an hors d'oeuvres to a party and all you can think of are simple and boring things - chips and dip, guacamole, cheese dip...etc (props to you if you have an arsenal of good recipes). I slightly panicked when Andrew's mom told us that we needed to bring one to Christmas dinner, but I remembered a recipe I saw Giada make that looked amazing (another problem I have is that I see things that look good, but forget to make them). Thank goodness I saw the episode recently! See, bumming around and watching TV comes in handy for entertaining :)

I doubled this recipe for 8 people and had leftovers (including the three that fell on the floor and got to be a special Christmas snack for the pooch). It was really easy - just simple assembly and oh so good. I will be making this for years to come! Also, I can imagine that it would be easy to modify with different protein/cheese.

Oh Giada, I love you! You are a life saver yet again!!

Apricot and Chicken Bruschetta
makes 10 pieces

1/2 loaf ciabatta bread
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup apricot preserves
5 ounces fontina cheese, thinly sliced
6 ounces roasted chicken breast, cooled and thinly sliced
3 ounces (about 5 slices) prosciutto, thinly sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the bread into 10 slices, each about 1/2-inch thick. Brush the bread slices with the olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool to room temperature.

Spread each slice of the toasted bread with the apricot preserves then place a slice of the cheese on top. Arrange the sliced chicken on top of the cheese. Cut each piece of prosciutto in half and place on top of the chicken. Transfer the bruschetta to a serving platter. Drizzle with the extra-virgin olive oil and serve.

How Sweet It Is - Salmon and Sweet Potato Frittata

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:09:00 +0000

Lately I have been on a big salmon kick. Apparently, you are supposed to eat two servings of Omega-3 rich fish per week (hard to do admittedly but a worthy goal) and I got tired of the usual salmon recipes, so I've been experimenting. Last week I made a Roasted Salmon with Fennel and Onions (which was totally awesome and I will post on when I make it again for Andrew), but this week I made a Salmon and Sweet Potato Frittata - mostly because I love sweet potatoes and had a few in the fridge.

Sweet potatoes are a funny vegetable, you either love or hate them. I love them. LOVE THEM. We grew up eating baked sweet potatoes on a regular basis and I make them whenever I get the chance. People douse them with sugar and butter to make them more desert like, which I don't totally understand, because they are so yummy (and very good for you, lots of beta carotene and fiber).

This one-pot meal was another hit from Real Simple (I'm on a kick, what can I say). It made great leftovers. I cut the cheese a little to make it a little healthier.

Salmon and Sweet-Potato Frittata
serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and grated (3 cups)
1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 pound skinless salmon fillet, diced
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cups Swiss cheese, diced (8 ounces)
1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 375° F. In a deep 8- to 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add salmon and cook 5 minutes for the salmon or until cooked through. Remove the skillet from heat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cheese, tarragon, salt, and a few grinds of pepper and add to the skillet. Stir. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 20 minutes or until set. Transfer the frittata to a plate; cut into wedges.

Long Overdue!

kitchensuccess@gmail.com (Georgia) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:07:00 +0000

I am not going to give excuses. Randi and I have been painfully negligent of this blog for the past million months - mostly me I suppose as it is registered in my name...But on this Christmas morning, I decided to use the new year (a little early) to get back in the game! This is the first of three recipes I will post this morning. So here goes:

My future mother in law gave me a subscription to Real Simple magazine for my birthday (thanks Dorry!) and they always have spectacular and simple (hence real SIMPLE I suppose) recipes. The thing I love about their recipes is that although the ingredient combinations are sometimes a little odd, the flavors are spot on! This recipe calls for Savoy cabbage, which I'd never used before. If you are like me, I have a love-hate relationship with cabbage. However, this cabbage will change your mind. When I bought it, the card next to it read "Great to cook with!" This cabbage is not bitter like green or purple cabbage and has a really pleasant flavor. It cooks down really nicely, but is great raw in salads too.

I also experimented making my own pasta for this dish. I had never done it before, and sans pasta machine it was still pretty easy (I will definitely get a pasta maker though, as it is a little hard to roll out the dough). Unfortunately, I can't find the exact recipe I used, but don't be afraid, you should give it a try!

Anyway, this was quick, easy and delicious - a total winner. I am also submitting it to Presto Pasta Nights of course - to start off 2009 right, the creator of PPN, Ruth, will be doing the roundup this week. I will be making it again for sure:

Pappardelle with Cabbage, Prosciutto and Sage
serves 4
8 ounces pappardelle or some other wide pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 head Savoy cabbage -- quartered, cored, and sliced (8 cups)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 pound sliced prosciutto, cut into strips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the cabbage and broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage begins to wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the prosciutto, butter, and sage and cook until the butter has melted. Serve over the pasta.