Spaghetti with parsley pesto

From Bon Appetit:

1 pound spaghetti
Kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted, roasted almonds
4 cups (packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3/4 cup chopped fresh chives
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Meanwhile, pulse almonds in a food processor until smooth. Add parsley, chives, oil, and Parmesan; process until smooth. Season pesto with salt and pepper. Toss pasta and pesto in a large bowl, adding pasta cooking liquid by 1/4-cupfuls until saucy. Season with salt and pepper.
DO AHEAD: Pesto can be made 5 days ahead. Cover surface directly; chill.

Meatballs!

I found the easiest way ever to make meatballs.

Take one 1-lb package of Italian sausage meat (I used spicy). Add 1 egg and enough breadcrumbs to bind. (The sausage meat is already seasoned.) Bake, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Remove and add to tomato sauce. Simmer for an additional few minutes.

Done!

Potato and pesto gratin

This was a big hit with my husband--he kept going back for more.

On a personal note, I sliced the potatoes with a mandoline, which gave me perfect paper-thin potato slices. The downside is that every time I use a mandoline, I manage to slice off part of a finger. EVERY GODDAMN TIME. Even using the protection thingey. Sigh.

The potatoes were good, though.

From the New York Times:

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (I used small new red potatoes)
1/2 cup pesto
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin with olive oil. Slice the potatoes about 1/4 inch thick and place in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the pesto. Stir the mixture until the potato slices are evenly coated, then transfer to the baking dish, making sure to scrape all of the pesto out of the bowl.

Cover the baking dish with foil or a lid and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes, then uncover and return to the oven. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are thoroughly tender, the olive oil in the dish — now a beautiful green — is sizzling, and the top is beginning to color. Serve hot or warm.

Penne with roasted sweet potatoes, prosciutto, and pesto

The other day I discovered a Costco with a restaurant supply section. Not just napkins and things, but actual professional equipment. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Not just equipment, either--this one had a restaurant supply section, where you could buy fresh seafood by the case and entire sides of beef. Naturally, I have nowhere to put a professional-grade fryer or a side of beef, but I did buy a one-pound bag of fresh basil for $8 and was deliriously happy about it.

Naturally I had to buy a bag of pinenuts, too, so I could make pesto. Which I did. Two enormous batches.

Then I peeled, cubed, and roasted two big sweet potatoes, shredded the last of the prosciutto, and tossed those with penne and some of the pesto. Roasted sweet potatoes and pesto are surprisingly delicious together. I'm going to make this again, with more sweet potatoes.

All-purpose tomato sauce

I've updated my tomato sauce recipe a bit. There are a few variations; with meat or without; with carrots and celery or without. (With carrots and celery is better, but I've made it without before, when I was out of both, and I just increased the onion, garlic and seasonings a bit.) I've included the full version below. Obviously you can leave the meat out if you want.

4 28-oz cans of whole tomatoes
1 big onion, diced
5-6 big cloves of garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
4 links of Italian sausage (2 hot, 2 sweet)
Olive oil
Seasonings: bay leaves, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper

If using the sausage, squeeze it out of the casings and brown it in a little olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Saute until softened. Add the tomatoes with juice and seasonings. Cook on low for a couple of hours, until fragrant and delicious. Season to taste.

Let the sauce cool, and then puree it in your food processor. (That way you get the better flavor of the whole tomatoes, without big weird chunks of tomato.)

At this point I usually divide the pureed sauce into various containers, and freeze most of them. That way I can always pull a container out of the freezer, and have a steady supply of tomato sauce.

This can be used as spaghetti sauce, soup flavoring, or used in any recipe that calls for either canned tomatoes or tomato sauce.

Homemade mustard

As I'm working my way through the weird stuff in my pantry (next up: star anise), I'm discovering new and exciting ways to use all of these things. A bag of mustard seeds = homemade Dijon mustard.

While I was grocery-shopping this week, I discovered my local grocery store is now stocking fresh rabbit. Naturally I bought one. I perused a bunch of rabbit recipes, and narrowed it down to recipes involving only things I already have (i.e., I didn't want to have to buy anything else in order to cook the rabbit). The winner: rabbit with mustard sauce, which I will cook tonight.

But I only had regular yellow kiddie mustard, no more Dijon/whole-grain mustard. I did have mustard seeds, white wine vinegar, and white wine. So I've made my own mustard for this rabbit.

No surprise, it tastes better than the store-bought stuff. I may have to start doing this on a regular basis.

Added bonus: it takes almost no effort.

1/4 cup mustard seeds
1/4 dry white wine (I used dry vermouth instead)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
pinch of salt

Combine everything in a non-reactive bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 2 days. Puree (keeping in mind this will never achieve a perfectly smooth consistency). Refrigerate for up to three months.

Egg and pesto stuffed tomatoes

I'm back from a mini-vacation to Montreal; I'll get a post up all about it soon!

In the meantime, I'm fixing quick and easy dishes using what's already in the fridge. In this case, egg and pesto stuffed tomatoes.

Slice the top off each tomatoes, and a sliver from the bottom, so that the tomato will stand upright. Scoop out the inside. Place a big spoonful of pesto inside each one, and crack an egg in. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or so.

Roasted tomato, egg, melty pesto. What could be better?

Guacamole

You know you want some.

3 avocados
1 lime
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 jalapeno, minced
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
Fresh cilantro to taste
Salt

Peel and pit the avocados, and mash together with the other ingredients. Salt to taste.

Spicy tomato hummus

Another pool party hit, and perfect with veggie sticks.

This hummus, with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 6-8 canned tomatoes added. Puree and adjust seasonings.

Black bean dip

I'm going to a pool party today with some very old and dear friends from college. I'm taking this, with some chips.

2 can black beans (or the equivalent amount of dried beans, soaked and cooked)
1 tomato
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder, and oregano
cilantro
salt and pepper

Puree everything together in your food processor, and adjust the seasonings.

Bell pepper sauce

This comes in three different colors, and all can be made in the microwave. These are excellent with grilled meats and fish.

Green pepper sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped leek
2 minced garlic cloves
1 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook oil in a 2-quart container in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in rest except pepper, microwave 3-4 minutes. Add pepper, cook for 4 minutes, covered. Puree till smooth.

Yellow pepper sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small chopped onion
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 chopped yellow pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook oil in a 2-quart container in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in rest except pepper, microwave 3-4 minutes. Add pepper, cook for 4 minutes, covered. Puree till smooth.

Red pepper sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small chopped onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook oil in a 2-quart container in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in rest except pepper, microwave 3-4 minutes. Add pepper, cook for 4 minutes, covered. Puree till smooth.

Habanero sauce

Homemade habanero sauce is a great way to use up a summer bounty of hot peppers. Be warned, this stuff is HOT. It's not really meant for eating all by itself, unless you're into that kind of thing. It's a great addition to salsas and soups, though, to really liven things up a bit.

Be sure to wear gloves while chopping the habaneros!

12 habaneros, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice

Saute onion and garlic in veg oil until soft. Add the carrots with a little water. Boil, reduce, and simmer until the carrots are soft. Puree in blender with the peppers until smooth. Combine puree with vinegar and lime juice, and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Cantaloupe salsa

This is amazing with chips or grilled fish.

3/4 cup chopped fresh cantaloupe
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno

Mix, let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Rhubarb compote

It's that time of year again: fresh rhubarb!

But I'm not yet excited about the strawberries I'm seeing. They're still the giant, flavorless, hard varieties, shipped in from who-knows-where. I'd rather wait for the fresh, local version.

So instead of making strawberry-rhubarb pie, which is my favorite rhubarb use, I made rhubarb compote and ate it over vanilla ice cream.

Take 3 big stalks of rhubarb and cut them up. Combine them with 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Let the rhubarb sit for about 15 minutes, with the sugar, until the pieces begin to exude some juice. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring frequently. Cover and simmer on low until the rhubarb is tender, another 10 to 15 minutes.

At this point the compote will look largely like pink mush. That's okay. Cover, turn off the heat, and let cool without stirring. Refrigerate for at least two hours (it'll thicken as it cools).

Serve over ice cream, cake, or eat all by itself.

Chimichurri

Chimichurri is an Argentinean meat sauce, made mostly from parsley and olive oil. It's great with grilled meats and vegetables. I served mine with the last of the roasted whole fish.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 small onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro (I used some of each)
1 tablespoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine and let sit for 2-3 hours before serving to let the flavors develop. If you can't chop everything super-fine, just run it through the food processor to get a better consistency.

Crockpot sun-dried tomato spaghetti sauce

Oh crockpot, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

This is a really deep, velvety sauce. The sun-dried tomatoes give it an extra dimension of flavor, and if your kids balk at the mushrooms and carrots, you can puree the whole thing when it's done.

2 large cans of whole tomatoes, with juice (or 4 14.5 oz cans)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, the kind packed in oil, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped carrots
2 bay leaves
3 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups broth or water

Combine all, cook on low for 9 - 10 hours or high for 5 hours. Serve over pasta.

Calzones!

Sometimes you're just not feeling pizza, you know?

I had some pizza dough ready to go last night, but for whatever reason, I wasn't excited about pizza. Then, suddenly I thought: calzones! I haven't had calzones in forever! They're basically folded-over pizza pockets!

I used this pizza dough recipe, which can be a little sticky, so use plenty of flour to roll it out, and put a piece of parchment paper on your baking sheet. Also, if you divide the dough into four pieces, each fourth will be enough to make four decent-sized calzones. (So if you want more, use more sections of dough.)

Pizza dough
3/4 cup ricotta
Handful of greens (spinach works well; I used carrot greens and parsley), well chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Divide the dough and roll out into thin circles. Mix the ricotta and other ingredients well, and place a scoop of filling in the middle of the dough circle. Fold it over and bring up the opposite edge, to seal it tight. Place on a baking sheet. Cut vents into the top of each, and brush with a little olive oil to give it that nice brown color. Bake at 450 for 25-30 minutes, or until browned on top. Serve with tomato sauce.

Canned tomato salsa

I confess, I've never made canned tomato salsa before. Because that would be gross, right?

Actually, not. After looking at the ingredients on a tub of so-called "fresh" salsa, I was appalled enough to decide to make my own fresh salsa--albeit with canned tomatoes, as we all know you can't get decent fresh tomatoes this time of year.

It turned out really well. Plus, you can just dump everything in the food processor, so it took even less time to throw together than fresh salsa.

1 28oz can whole tomatoes, with juice
3/4 roughly chopped onion
1 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 cloves garlic
2-3 jalapenos
1 teaspoon pepper
Juice of 1 lime

Throw everything into a food processor and pulse until well-blended. Let stand for a bit to let the flavors meld.

Gravy

Good gravy is just pan drippings, reduced.

You know all that goo in the bottom of the roasting pan when you take the turkey out of the oven? That's gravy.

Leave it in the roasting pan and remove all the solids with a slotted spoon. (Onions, carrots, whatever you put under the turkey when you roasted it.) Set the pan over two burners on the stove. If you need more liquid, add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer while scraping all the browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Let cook slowly for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, mix 1/4 cup water with 3 tablespoons cornstarch into a smooth paste.

Whisking constantly, pour this into the simmering broth, then cook for one minute.

There! Done!

You can add salt and pepper to taste, maybe a little port if you want to get fancy.

Cranberry syrup, and then cranberry sauce

I made two things from the exact same batch of cranberries: cranberry syrup, and then cranberry sauce.

The cranberry syrup is for cocktails, and is just simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, stir over heat until the sugar dissolves) with cranberries in it. I let the cranberries steep until the syrup had cooled all the way down, then strained them out and put the syrup in the fridge.

Then I thought, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with these cranberries. Most of them are still whole, and they've been soaking in sugar water for like two hours. I bet I could reuse them in cranberry sauce, and I wouldn't even have to add sugar!"

So that's what I did.

I made this cranberry sauce, without the brown sugar. It was yummy. And I felt all frugal and stuff.