Use Your Noodle

If you think the jar collection looks silly, concentrate on the pasta collection -- a sporadic mix of elbow, orzo, fettuccine, angel hair, and one whose name I cannot recall but it's short, whole wheat and tastes divine with a creamy sauce.

Making love (of a meal) out of nothing at all; well, perhaps there was something (of a meal), however, it wasn't much, but it was hearty, filled our bellies, and, most importantly, included wine. Admittedly it was a meal made from the meager scratches of both pantry and refrigerator items in my anticipation of making room for a new bundle of vittles from the farmer's market. Using pre-cooked Puy lentils, orzo pasta, white wine, creamy goat cheese, and slices of Prosciutto, I created a lovely and creamy “risotto” in the style of Emilie -- Risotto a la Emilie. I have convinced myself this is the only way to make risotto. Do not mistake my corner-cutting as disdain of the discerningly popular Italian dish. I just happen to adore the mouth feel of orzo, and its bonus, the rice-shaped pasta easily mocks Arborio rice – hey, it’s an act of God, and I cannot deny the power he has to turn orzo pasta in Arborio rice. Now if only my kitchen tap will flow with the plumiest Cabernet, well, I’m sure that is on God's list right after liberating the dolphins from the tuna nets.

In the meantime, I'll keep buying wild-caught, dolphin friendly tuna in a can and look for good Cabernet deals at Trader Joe's while satisfying my love of risotto with yet another time-friendly, healthy recipe that can be fiddled with according to seasons and tastes.

Creamy Lentil, Goat Cheese, and Prosciutto "Risotto"
with a side of Roasted Tomato Crostini
Serves 3 as a main dish

3 fat garlic cloves, squished and minced, any green germs removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup dry orzo
1/2 cup crisp and dry white wine
2/3 cup water
Salt
1 cup cooked Puy or French Green Lentils
3 ounces soft goat cheese
1 1/2 ounces Prosciutto, chopped
Small handful fresh tarragon, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil until the aroma just penetrates the air, about one minute. Add water, wine, orzo, and a medium dusting of salt to the saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Stir orzo frequently to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add more water as pasta absorbs the liquid. When pasta is al dente and the liquid is about absorbed, add the lentils, goat cheese, prosciutto, and tarragon, and stir to evenly distribute the melting goat cheese. Salt and pepper the pasta to taste, and adjust seasonings accordingly. Serve immediately.

Roasted Tomato Crostini

Half of a baguette sliced into 5-inch pieces, each piece cut in half horizontally
Olive oil
Half of a head roasted garlic*
8 medium roasted tomato halves*
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange baguette slices, cut side up, on a cookie sheet. Squish garlic from their papers, and mix with olive oil. Rub mixture onto cut side of each baguette slice. Top each slice with a few tomatoes. Salt and pepper the tomatoes, pop cookie sheet into the oven, and heat until bread is crisp and tomatoes are warm, about 10 or 15 minutes. Drizzle more olive oil over crostini, if desired, and serve.

*Make Ahead:

Roast Tomatoes: Line cookie sheet with foil and lightly oil the foil (as now the cookie sheet shall not get soiled). Cut enough tomatoes in half and arrange on cookie sheet so as not to cramp the cookie sheet with cut tomatoes. Leave a bit of room between each tomato half so they'll roast and not steam. Roast tomatoes in a 250 degree oven 2 to 3 hours, or until they're beginning to shrivel and have a touch of brown on the edges. Let cool, and store in the fridge up to one week or in the freezer up to three months. These are great to have on hand to toss into cooked pasta, to dress up a sandwich, or to just devour on their own such as I'm prone to do.

Roast Garlic: Chop the top off a head of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the top, and wrap the head in foil. Roast in a 250 degree oven for about 2 or 3 hours. To serve, squish cloves from their papers. Mix soft cloves with olive oil and spread on bread or toss with pasta. Store roasted garlic in the fridge up to a week. Roasted garlic is heavenly to mash with extra olive oil and salt to spread on bread or to toss with pasta.

The Easy (and Delicious) Way to Stuff It

While wild arugula keeps popping up in the farmer's market, bowls of arugula pesto will abound in the Tytenicz household. For that matter, when pesto abounds in the Tytenicz household, homemade ricotta cheese will follow. With its fluffy white curds, it is already lamb-like and willing to follow the assertive bite of the pesto.

My last batch of ricotta cheese came out a little drier than I anticipated or wanted, which put me in a bind. I hand in mind to use the cheese as an accompaniment to fruit and honey. If I pleased, I could crumble the cheese onto my fruit; however, that idea just did not appeal to me. Knowing I had a meal starring chicken breasts on my menu this week, to use the ricotta to its fullest potential (that is, try to melt it a bit) while pairing it with my current favorite summer flavors is exactly what my experimenting self needed.

Based on a concept I read about in Mark Bittman’s May 14 column, I quickly pulled together an Emilie-elegant (read good, but not fussy) chicken dish in the time it took to heat the oven and dress the chicken breasts. After I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, I hand flattened two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each about 6 ounces. On the flat side of one chicken breast (the side where the bones were), I smeared a good amount of argula pesto, say about 3 tablespoons or so. Really, the amount of pesto is a personal preference, and I just smeared until most of the surface was covered. Atop the pesto I crumbled about ¼ cup of my dry ricotta curds. Okay, ¼ cup is probably exaggerating, I’m sure it was closer to 3 tablespoons as well, but again, I eyeballed what looked right to me. The second chicken breast was then placed on top the first to sandwich the pesto and ricotta between the two breasts. I artfully tied the contraption with three pieces of kitchen twine before pan searing the breasts in a bit of olive oil for 2 minutes on each side. And while my chicken baked, with a glass of vino in one hand and a wooden spoon in the dominant hand, I seared fresh asparagus from the farmer’s market to serve with the chicken and the quinoa I had merrily simmering on the stove.

I did serve the chicken atop a lovely quinoa dish, brimming with lemon bursts and juicy, ripe tomatoes. The quinoa was enjoyed by both Shane and me. However, Shane suggested that I serve the quinoa in a different dish, as the lemony quinoa competed with the peppery arugula in a battle of tastes and wits. I'll reserve a separate post for the quinoa.

Arugula Pesto and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 to 8 ounces each
3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup arugula pesto
3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Kitchen Twine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If ricotta is not on the drier side, drain it for 30 minutes or so in cheesecloth folded to make 3 or 4 layers.

Place chicken on a flat surface, on the side where the bones used to be facing upwards, and slightly flatten the breasts with your hands, meat tenderizer, or rolling pin. Smear pesto over one chicken breast evenly, top with ricotta cheese, and place the other chicken breast over, “bone” side down, to make a sandwich. Tie the chicken with three pieces of kitchen twine. Stuff any filling that may have escaped back into the chicken.

Over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan. Sear chicken each side for 1 to 2 minutes, or until browned. Transfer chicken to a casserole dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Serve chicken breasts on a bed of fluffy quinoa (if desired) with a side of grilled or sautéed asparagus.

How many are in your party this evening? Just one.

Yes, I'm a single gal two nights in one week. I always make big plans when this happens -- I'm actually going to read something written by Jane Austen, I'm going to give myself a pedicure, I'm going to fix something über -gourmet.

With new boots to break in on a quick trip to Jewel to pick up visitor passes for out-of-town guests who will be arriving tomorrow, über-gourmet is quickly being clouded by uber-simple. In addition to über-simple, I requested (to myself, which could be ignored, depending) something brimming with fresh vegetables and complex flavors.

You are too complicated. The chef cannot honor your request.

If you will honor my request, I will shout to the masses your great ability to turn something simple into something complex.

Oftentimes the chef can turn the simplistic into complexity, but a majority of the time it's not pertaining to food.

Did I mention I've sipped on a bit of Merlot before writing this piece? I convinced my inner chef to try a wilted arugula dish, flavored with shallots, dashes of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a drop of Dijon mustard. Shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano and lightly poached, eggs with their thick gush of bright yellow and creamy yolks topped an über -gourmet pile of greens. It's too bad I am still feeling the effect of last night's strip steak, or else I would have asked the chef to fry some bacon before adding the arugula.

What are you trying to do, replicate the Great Wall of China in your arteries?

Wilted Arugula in Warm Shallot Vinaigrette with Poached Eggs
Why not?

Serves one gal hungry for a plate o' greens.

1 huge bunch arugula (bagged, boxed, or picked from your farmer's market)
1 shallot, chopped
Olive oil
Dashes of Balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 eggs, for heft
Country bread, to accompany and mop up the juices

Start a medium pot of water to boil. Have 2 eggs ready to poach. When water starts boiling, poach eggs, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes (I poached 2 jumbo-sized eggs for 3 minutes, 15 seconds) for nice, soft yolks and silky whites. When eggs have poached, remove from pan onto paper towel lined plate.

While eggs poach, wash arugula. If the pieces are big, chop. If it's baby arugula (such as mine was), don't bother. In a huge, ginormous skillet, heat olive oil. Cook shallots until they are soft and slightly brown, stirring quite often. Carefully shake a bit of Balsamic vinegar into the skillet (careful, it will splatter, you may want to turn down the heat a tad before doing this). Add Dijon mustard and whisk to incorporate. Shake any excess water off the arugula, and add to the skillet in batches. Let one batch wilt, add the second batch and stir to coat with dressing, and repeat until all the arugula is in the skillet and starting to wilt. Remove from heat, pile onto plate, and season with salt, pepper, and more Balsamic vinegar if necessary, to taste. Shave Parmigiano-Reggiano over greens, top with poached eggs, drizzle with a little olive oil, and serve with bread to dip into the eggs and mop up the vinaigrette.

Following several nights of semi-heavy desserts, I decided to give myself a break, and run with the theme of colorful and vitamin-packed:

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy

1 very ripe mango, preferably Ataulfo
Juice from 1/2 a lime
Ground Cayenne pepper or other hot pepper flakes
Salt



Cut mango, arrange on plate, squeeze lime juice over mango, and with a light hand, sprinkle with hot pepper and salt. Try not to lick the juices from the plate after the mango is devoured.

Table for One

What does a temporarily single gal need on a night to herself?

Drink.

Rum-Whatever "Mojito"

2 tsp. confectioners' sugar
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
4 fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 ounces white rum (I used gold)
Seltzer or sparkling water
Angostura bitters (optional)

In a tall glass, mix sugar with lime juice. Add mint leaves and with a fork or the back of a spoon, crush against the glass to release their juices. Add rum, stir, and top with a little sparkling or seltzer water. Add a dash of Angostura bitters if desired.

Light. To find the breaker box when fuse is blown while heating tortillas in the microwave, use a flashlight.

Food. Late spring green garlic was kissed by cayenne and humbled by touches of cumin. Scallops, patted dry and lightly seasoned with salt, were tossed into the mixture and perfectly seared a golden brown, two minutes on each side.

Four white corn tortillas were heated, upon which I piled arugula, the seared scallops and green garlic, finely sliced radishes, shredded cilantro, sliced roasted red peppers, and sliced avocados. Besides a good wash-down of a makeshift Mojito, a little salt was the only extra seasoning these over-stuffed tacos needed.

Lime Butter Cookies (Sablés au Citron Vert)

Adapted from Pâtisserie Lerch From Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops by Dorie Greenspan (Emilie's note: the original recipe called for lemon; I used lime)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (use the highest grade of the best brand you can find)
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, scraped (spend the cash, it's worth it!)
Grated zest of 1 to 1 1/2 limes (more is better)
2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixer bowl, beat butter at medium speed until it is smooth. Add the sifted confectioners' sugar and beat again until the mixture is pale yellow and smooth. Beat in the egg yolk, followed by the salt, vanilla scrapings, and grated lime zest. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. Mixture will appear crumbly, much like the "course cornmeal" stage of a pie crust. That's okay. Stop beating at this point, and just work the remainder of the flour in with a rubber spatula. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half. You will probably need to use a touch of force to get the dough to stick -- just don't overdo it. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. It'll be easier to work with once it's cold.

Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick. Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours. Don't short yourself the 2 hours, as the dough is much easier to handle and cut when it's cold. From here, the dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice each log into 1/4 inch cookies. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature. Confession, I did not let my cookies cool to room temperature before I sucked in their fragile and buttery crumbs. Oh bliss when the sablés hit my tongue and melted into a hot, buttery, lime-scented sea.

Fight-Back Friday Frijoles!

I am faced with the same dilemma almost every Thursday evening -- What am I going to pack in my lunch tomorrow? The roast beef I bought for sandwiches only stretches four days - two slices per sandwich per day, except for the Thursday when I discovered I three slices of roast beef left in the package. Woohoo, bonus slice!

I ate the bonus slice on Thursday's sandwich - it was shamelessly delicious - which left the still nagging thought of what to pack for Friday's lunch. As the only meals we ate at home this week were pizza and salad on Sunday evening, and leftover pizza and fresh salad on Wednesday evening, leftovers in my brown bag were just not possible. Running down to my favorite sandwich shop for a bite only to stand in a line runs out the door and down the sidewalk seemed daunting. A meal from home seemed more cozy and relaxing, something that fit into my lazy schedule. Walk to the break room and heat up a meal or walk to get a sandwich, stand in line for 20 minutes, pay $7, and rush back to work?

For greater of two months, the urge to cook has been the apparition that can't settle into an afterlife. When the urge to settle strikes, I strike back. Admittedly, what I put together for my lunch was more of a flirtatious slap than an out-and-out brawl. But I had to whip up a meal for my lunch out of pure shame -- I was supposed to make the very meal for supper. Somehow, between walking to the train and walking through the doors of the restaurant, there was a change in plans. I am almost positive strong brainwashing tactics were involved, tactics that caused my mind to detour from thoughts of homemade black beans and rice to thoughts of beef, cilantro, soft corn tortillas, and cactus salad. Shane was a happy accomplice.

And when we arrived home, hours later, full of beef, cilantro, soft corn tortillas, cactus salad, and the beer we bought on the way to supper, I had to look my thawed bag of black beans square in the eye and dare them to whip themselves into something scrumptious. And what darling little beans they were to soak up the fresh onion and garlic, dashes of cayenne pepper and cumin, roasted red peppers, thyme sprigs, and the few splashes of red wine vinegar, just for balance, and today as I ate their almost forgotten velvety texture over brown Basmati rice, garnished with fresh cilantro and squeezes of lime, I was grateful I made the time to reacquaint myself with old friends packed in the freezer and amongst the various clutter of sugars and spices. Shane dunked his store-bought cookies into milk lightly flavored with chocolate syrup, yet he still seemed jealous when he smelled what was cooking at 8:00 last night. "You can't possibly eat all that for lunch tomorrow," Shane observed.

"Perhaps I'll share the rest," I answered.

Perhaps, but Monday dawns so brightly, so quickly.

Friday Frijoles

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, green germ removed, chopped
dash of cayenne pepper
2 tsp. cumin
3 cups cooked black beans, un-drained
1 large roasted red pepper, chopped
2 or 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Couple sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Chopped fresh cilantro and lime wedges to serve

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Soften onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic, cayenne pepper, and cumin. From here, don't stand over the pot and inhale. After a minute or two of constant stirring so the garlic doesn't burn, add the beans, bell pepper, two tablespoons of the vinegar, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir frequently as the beans will stick to the bottom of the pot if neglected (and I know this because I sometimes do neglect my beans). Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs, adjust seasonings, add more vinegar if the taste buds scream for it. Serve over cooked rice, and garnish with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and a few glasses of Modelo Especial.

Leftovers make a great Saturday breakfast -- just heat and add sliced avocados (Modelo optional.)

Late Spring's Desire; Summer's Hope Blooms Eternally

There’s an angst growing everyday as I await every eggplant variety, the hideously ugly heirloom tomato, and anise-scented basil leaves large enough to serve as lettuce on my BLT, ahem, BBT. If every herb standing at attention makes it into my basket (and believe me, they will), the excess goes into clean jars, and topped with olive oil, they’re preserved in my refrigerator for a taste of summer herbs when the thermometer again dips into the 50s, 40s, and 30s. It’s time for farmer’s market season.

While the trees are still struggling to bloom, it’s the love of tomatoes that causes me to lament – the memory of their sweet flesh and juicy finish taunt me as I prowl the grocery store and stumble upon their December counterfeit. It’s not soon enough, my mind reminds me daily, and just when I think I’m losing hope, tomatoes will spill from countertops onto windowsills, decorate the dining room table, only to eventually snake into the living area where a bowl of Green Zebras and Brandywines sit atop my antique coffee table not collecting dust, but instead attracting eyes and mouths and olfactory nerves until I audaciously seize them and roast them.

Roasting tomatoes is the ultimate triumph of my summer, and in the off-months, my favorite canned, whole Roma tomatoes will suffice; they will have to suffice. There have been a number of times I’ve almost succumbed to the December tomato; my eyes and mouth water for summer. However, I have had success in roasting canned whole tomatoes. The texture is not spot-on to fresh, but the flavor is fresh, succulent, and beats any cardboard tomato I eyeball in the supermarket. A long, low temperature roasting not only brings out the balance between tomato’s natural sweetness and acidity, it also breaks down the flesh to create an easy sauce made even more pungent with roasted garlic, olive oil, a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper.

And turn a can of plain, whole tomatoes into a thick, garlicky sauce is exactly what I did to put a little oomph into a Spanish tortilla and ease my angst until I can pick out my own beauties from summer stalls.

Spanish Tortilla

Serves 4

4 or 5 small red-skinned potatoes, whole, boiled
8 large eggs
A few generous dashes of salt
Pinch of cayenne or crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.

Slice potatoes into rounds. Set aside.

Whisk eggs, salt, and red pepper in large bowl until well blended. Mix in potatoes. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and carefully add the additional tablespoon of olive oil. Add egg mixture; cook 3 minutes, occasionally stirring egg from sides of skillet. Place skillet in oven and bake eggs until set in center and no longer wet on top, about 20 minutes.

Remove tortilla from oven. Immediately place skillet on cold wet kitchen towel to prevent further cooking. Let stand 2 minutes. Run spatula around edge of skillet and under tortilla. Lift skillet and tilt, sliding tortilla onto platter. Cut into wedges and serve with Garlicky Tomato Sauce and a nice, crisp salad (salad suggestion follows).


Not Quite Summertime Garlicky Tomato Sauce

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, juices drained
Pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 heads garlic
Good pour of olive oil
5 or 6 stems of fresh thyme

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

In a casserole dish or ovenproof pot, arrange the tomatoes on the bottom being careful not to overlap or crowd the tomatoes. You want them to get a bit of a caramelized texture and taste. Use more than one dish if necessary. Overcrowding with steam rather than caramelize the tomatoes. Sprinkle a bit of sugar over the tomatoes and finish with salt and freshly ground pepper. Slice the top off each head of garlic and tuck each head into the tomatoes. Pour a good amount of olive oil (1/4 cup should do it), and tuck in the fresh thyme stems. Roast for 3 to 4 hours, or until tomatoes and garlic are browning nicely, and garlic is soft and sweet. Remove from oven and discard the thyme. Let the dish cool for a bit, and then squeeze the soft cloves from the garlic skins. Discard skins, and mash garlic and tomatoes together to form a thick sauce. Adjust seasonings if necessary.


Feta and Lime Tossed Salad

Serves 2 medium-sized salads; double for 4 people

1 small head romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 ounces Feta cheese (sheep or goat preferable)
4 scallions, white and some green part chopped
1/2 medium lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and freshely pepper to taste

Combine lettuce, cheese, and scallions in a medium bowl. Squeeze lime over greens, drizzle olive oil over, season with salt and pepper, and toss salad until the dressing is incorporated into the greens.

Sunday’s Cadence, Wednesday’s Song

I love a cozy Sunday supper, even when the weather is (supposedly) turning warmer. I really love a hearty salad, even when the weather is (supposedly) staying cooler. Salads are a wonderful way to use leftovers that cannot quite stretch for a full-blown meal. Just yesterday evening I whipped up a colorful plate of greens to eat with a pizza dressed with pesky leftover butternut squash that had been sitting in my freezer for almost 2 months.

Peppery baby arugula teamed with a diced Pink Lady apple (one-quarter hungrily devoured by yours truly), two tablespoons of toasted walnuts, and half of a leftover pork chop, sliced. Sweet and tangy maple dressing brought out the grassy undertones of the arugula, and is there any kind of pork that does not work well with a good douse of both apple and maple flavors? Thick slices of butternut squash, caramelized onions, and goat brie pizza flecked with fresh thyme accompanied the light salad, and I can now relax knowing I’ve successfully cleaned from my fridge and freezer lingering leftovers.

However, at times I purposefully make more than enough meat, vegetable, etc. at one meal just so I can whip up a “leftover” salad later in the week. In this respect, chicken is a salad chameleon. Not only is it standard for walnuts/pecan, raisins/grapes/apples/, green onion/red onion, curry/traditional, mayonnaise-based chicken salad. Chicken also stars in club salads, Cobb salads, and, in its processed counterpart, chef salads.

Starting with a base of baked chicken, boiled potatoes still in their skins, and romaine lettuce, I let my refrigerator’s contents strut their stuff in this part chef, part chopped, all tasty salad. Here are the ingredients that made the final cut:

3 boiled red-skinned potatoes, whole, in their skins
1 six to eight ounce cooked chicken breast or thigh, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
5 radishes, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped (good for optional crunch, however, I’m not allowed to use celery in Shane’s salad)
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola
¼ cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 ½ bunches romaine lettuce, finely chopped

Dressing (from Gourmet February 2008):

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon mild honey (*I used 2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut potatoes into 1 ½ inch cubes and roast in 425 degree oven until browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Mix dressing ingredients, and add salt and pepper to taste. Once potatoes have cooled a bit, mix the remainder of the salad ingredients together and dress with 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey mustard dressing. Serve immediately.

Easy-Peasy or Asparagus "Risotto"

I like sticky rice. I always look forward to the bowl-shaped mound of sticky rice that accompanies my Thai curry basil. When I make red beans and rice, I purposely overcook the Basmati rice a touch just so the grains stick together for a pleasantly gluey feel in my mouth.

Creamy, small grains of rice that are melded together with the help of cheese, wine, and chicken broth, naturally, I’m a huge fan of risotto, when someone else makes it. Hey, I love making complex dishes, I love standing in front of my stove creating and cackling, but for all the love of my labor, I cannot make a satisfying risotto when my stomach is on an early schedule and my planned meal will not arrive until later in the evening. Sure, there are boxed instant risottos, and I am sure there is even parboiled Arborio Rice. Honestly, I never thought of these options, and I cannot even say they appeal to me. From scratch is my motto. However, fast and from scratch is my mission.

After a day of schlepping files and standing at the copy machine, I cannot stand the sound of my stomach’s whining. When it is time to appease my belly's infant-like tendencies and my longing for creamy rice-like dishes, I whipped up a short, pasta version of risotto using orzo pasta in place of risotto. Innovative? Not especially. Dang good? You know it!

Asparagus and Shrimp "Risotto"

This is one pasta dish that begs to not be al dente. Allow the orzo to get very soft and creamy

For two servings:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 oz asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed, green germ removed, and minced
8 oz shrimp

2/3 cup dry orzo ½ cup white wine
1 - 2 cups chicken stock
½ cup or so grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat butter. Add asparagus and sauté until they are crisp tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and shrimp. Sauté until shrimp is just turning opaque, about 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat, remove skillet from burner, salt and pepper mixture to taste, and cover to keep warm. Not only do I usually cover the skillet, to get the skillet out of my way, I'll put the it in my oven (not heated) until I'm ready to add the asparagus and shrimp to the rest of the dish.

While asparagus and shrimp are cooking, bring wine and 1 cup of stock to a boil and add orzo. Cook, uncovered, letting the liquid simmer merrily, letting the orzo absorb the wine and broth. If the liquid in the pot is absorbed and the orzo is not soft and creamy, add more stock. When orzo has reached your preferred stage of creamy and liquid is almost absorbed, add the Parmigiano Reggiano, asparagus, shrimp, and salt and pepper to taste.

If the variety police are patrolling, here is an equally good variation:

Prosciutto and Baby Pea "Risotto"

2 medium shallots
1 tablespoon butter

½ cup white wine
1 - 2 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup dry orzo
½ cup or so grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 cup frozen baby peas
3 oz prosciutto, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Sauté shallot and butter together in a medium stock pan. Add wine and stock. Bring to a boil. Add orzo and proceed as above but add the peas to the orzo and liquid during the last 4 minutes of cooking the pasta. Add Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto, and salt and pepper to taste.

Mangia!

Okay, I wanted to shout something Italian, and the first thing that came to mind was, “MANGIA!” which roughly translates to the English word EATS! It seemed appropriate enough. Eats, eats! To eat is what we wanted on Friday evening, as two skinny creatures who emerged from an Italian hibernation only to shout, “We wants to MANGIA!” And we wanted to "MANGIA" fast. Using lavish from our favorite Lebanese bakery and a few provisions I had in the fridge, I quickly assembled Friday night's fare. There was even enough time after supper for Shane and I to play Rummy, every game of which I graciously lost.

This time I did time how long it took me to prepare and serve our vittles :

5:45 p.m.: walk in door; greet Shane; change from work clothes into jeans and a sweater; take care of necessary “functions”; wash hands; preheat oven to 450-475 degrees.

6:00 p.m.: thaw lavish in microwave; wash, peel off skin, and thinly slice red onions; chop green olives; crumble feta cheese; wash and chop fresh thyme.

6:15: spread lavish onto cookie sheet; brush with olive oil; scatter feta cheese; scatter onions and olives; pop cookie sheet into oven.

6:16: sip some merlot.

6:20: chop pre-washed romaine lettuce and toss into bowl; throw in extra sliced onions; shred some Parmigianino over lettuce; slice one lemon in half; set lemon aside.

6:21: sip some merlot

6:25: check pizzas and notice they are browning along the edges and cheese is starting to brown and melt; turn off oven but keep pizzas in oven.

6:26: dress salad with juice from half the lemon, tablespoon olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper; toss salad.

6:30: remove pizza from oven and cut each piece in half.

6:32: toast dinner with Shane and tuck in.

Including preheating the oven, I had supper on the table in approximately 47 minutes. You too can enjoy a fast and tasty flat bread pizza! Additions such as roasted red peppers (patted dry if juicy), slices of cured beef or Prosciutto, and fresh basil (wait until the pizza comes from the oven to add fresh basil) would be wonderful variations.

Oh, oh, oh, I also think goat brie, sliced figs, and Serrano ham with fresh thyme would oh so divine…

Flat Bread Pizzas (serves 2 for a full meal, 4 to 6 for appetizers):

2 large pieces lavish bread (each almost 12 inches in length)
Olive oil
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
5 or 6 Spanish or Greek green olives, chopped
Handful chopped fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 450-475 degrees (I hit my dial somewhere in the middle).

Arrange lavish breads on cookie sheet and fold each in half lengthwise and crosswise. Brush with olive oil. Scatter over top feta cheese, onions, and green olives. Pop cookie sheet in oven, and bake pizzas for 10-15 minutes, or until brown on the edges and cheese begins to melt. Watch closely and check after 10 minutes so flat bread doesn’t burn. Remove pizzas from the oven and scatter thyme over the top. Cut in piece in 2-4 pieces. Serve with a crisp romaine salad. Shane and I even took some of our crispy edges from the pizza and threw them into the salad. What convenience – pizzas with built in croutons. After a few sips of merlot, I feel like a genius!

Carbonara Nights

Four days ago I had enough provisions to feed an army of 500, fresh from the training field. This morning, with a slight panic, I discovered I’m down to a knob of Parmigianino, one onion, one bunch of broccoli, a head of garlic, and some wilting celery and parsnips. The onion must be saved for tomorrow night’s black bean soup. Forget the parsnips and celery, they just don’t sound attractive to me today.

Tonight, in front of my stove, I am Ricky Bobby; “I ‘wanna’ go fast.” Thank the heavens that I keep a few staples on hand, including both pasta and eggs. By combining my love of Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and Shane’s love of roasted broccoli, I created a pretty sophisticated meal from almost a bare pantry.

Gemelli Alla Carbonara di Brocoletti

Really, you can use any pasta you have in the pantry. I had whole wheat gemelli and linguini. I preferred the gemelli, as the smaller pasta turns this dish into a grown-up version of macaroni and cheese.

Start a large pot of water to boil and ignore it. Slice the top off a head of garlic and wrap in foil. Cut the tough stalks off two small heads of broccoli. Complement the small shape of the pasta by cutting off the stems of the broccoli, and cut heads into florets about an inch or so across. Toss broccoli with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, salt, sweet paprika, and a touch of cayenne pepper.

Roast both the broccoli and the garlic in a 425 degree oven until the broccoli is brown and crispy, and the garlic is soft and mellow. Grate a good chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano into a large bowl; beat in one egg, a generous dash of salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Once the water is boiling and just before taking the broccoli and garlic out of the oven, add about 3 oz or so of pasta to the boiling water. While the pasta cooks, remove broccoli and garlic from the oven, and carefully squish the garlic from its papers. Chop the garlic if necessary. Once the pasta cooks, (mine took a mere 5 minutes), quickly drain the pasta, cooked al dente of course, and immediately toss the hot pasta into the bowl with the egg and cheese mixture. Toss. Keep tossing. Okay, stop tossing long enough to add the broccoli and garlic to the pasta. If you please, toss the pasta mixture again. If there is Parmigianino leftover, sprinkle a bit on top, or save it for a salad. Serve immediately, or as soon as you can pull Shane away from nytimes.com.

This isn’t quite “Shake and Bake”, more like roast and toss, but it’s still pretty fast!

Tired and Saucy

I don’t want to think about chopping, simmering, or much less cleaning dirty dishes. I’m wiped. My limbs are molded from cast iron skillets. I am akin to the leashed Chihuahua whose owner is dragging it over ice and chill in all good intentions to make it doodle and potty Chihuahua-style. I’m shaking, I’m cowering from the cold, so just take me home and I can sleep in my sunbeam (only to growl at the occasional bug that walks across the floor, but that’s just a personality flaw).

And I still have to go grocery shopping.

Anticipating such days of laziness, I have started doubling sauce recipes that I can store in quart-size freezer bags. By squeezing out as much air as possible (without squirting the sauce out of the bag), and flattening the bag, I can stack my sauces in the freezer for lazy days’ quick bites. Of course there are times when I forget to label the bag, and I can’t always tell a beer-ready barbeque sauce from a wine laden Ragù, but what better way to set the stage for adventurous eating than by tossing silky and smooth pappardelle with a smoky barbeque sauce? Learn from me: take the time to label your bags. If your freezer has been around long enough to quote “Where’s the beef?” and you wonder the same as you root through its contents, I gently command you to include the date of freezing on your label.

Besides storing a basic, homemade tomato sauce, wonderful to keep on hand for last minute pizzas, I like to keep a variety of sauces within easy access. Over the past weeks, I have concocted batches of exotically inspired sauces that invite me to share their warmth and destinations. Ginger-infused spicy peanut sauce whose original intent was to dress a cold noodle salad works beautifully in an all vegetable stir-fry. South Indian curry hints of sweet coconut milk and beautifully picks up the briny goodness of shrimp. A scoop of rice (basmati optional) and sautéed green beans round out this light meal. An old favorite, tangy romesco sauce delivers a wallop of chile peppers, toasted nuts, and robust garlic. Two or three bites and I'm hankering for one sangria after another.

Romesco Sauce is a Shane and Emilie Favorite. Normally I toss whole wheat linguini with the sauce and serve with a dozen and a half of quickly sautéed shrimp. But Friday evenings call for something different and something casual – with pizzazz. And with a quart-size freezer bag not even a quarter full of romesco sauce and a smattering of shrimp neither are enough to feed 2 adults without a little stretching. My endeavor has to be creative in order to stretch the remains of both the shrimp and the sauce and make it so that Shane doesn’t need an after supper ice cream fix. Shane will want an ice cream fix, but, by golly, he won’t need an ice cream fix.

Thanks to my vivacious sourdough starter that gives more than I can take, earlier this week I prepared pizza dough, and it’s been sitting in my refrigerator begging for attention. After lugging home a week’s worth of groceries, I heated the oven to a cozy 450 degrees. Knowing the oven would continue to cook the shrimp to a succulent texture, 30 seconds was all it took to just sauté the shrimp. Over 10 inches of stretched pizza dough, I spread roughly a ½ cup of romesco sauce, scattered the sautéed shrimp, and to give the pizza one more depth of flavor (not to mention sustenance) a good dose of goat cheese completed my last minute nosh.

Twenty minutes crisped the bottom of the crust nicely while leaving the edges chewy, but not too soft. The goat cheese was a touch brown. I was afraid to leave it in longer for fear of overcooking the shrimp, but for those who prefer a browner crust and cheese, five more minutes should suffice. To down play the richness of the pizza, a crisp romaine salad dressed with a crumbles of goat cheese, sliced Kalamata olives, olive oil and red wine vinegar garnished the empty spots on our plates and perfectly complemented the flavors of the pizza.

The verdict?

Emilie: absolute bliss.

Shane: we’ve made it far into the evening, and no ice cream has been consumed.