poached salmon and noodle salad bowl

If you're a fish lover like me, you always make sure you have a stash of tinned sardines and mackerel in the pantry, and at least one of those packages (found at Target, of all places) of frozen salmon.  If you have leftover baked salmon, all the better. 

And so it was today, waking up with my fish craving.  I'm catching up to the bowl craze because it's so much fun to assemble from leftovers: the fettuccine was from two nights ago, the salad dressing mixed up for today's lunch (I thought I was having a romaine salad so I made it up last night).

Poached salmon and noodle salad

The dressing:

2 tablespoons mild olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1 medium garlic, peeled and pressed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley

1 teaspoon capers

scant teaspoon dry tarragon

Fresh dill if you have it (I didn't)

Mix together and set aside.

I-2 cup leftover noodles or fettuccine

1 cup or more flaked leftover salmon, or thawed and poached or cooked in a skillet 

2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Drizzle the salmon, greens, and noodles with the dressing and toss before serving.

No politics today, just a reminder to Keep Calm and Carry On.

rigatoni with crunchy breadcrumbs, garlic, and cherry tomatoes

I do love this season of ripe tomatoes of every color and shape, but realize I prefer them as accents, rather than a thick tomato-y sauce.  A few thick pieces of perfect tomatoes on bread with Hellmann's mayonnaise and fresh pepper sums up summer to me.   

Looking at the bounty on the kitchen counter and wondering what to make for dinner, I suddenly remembered that kale salad I made a while ago, especially those crunchy breadcrumbs tossed with garlic and kale.  I ate quite a few spoonfuls of those breadcrumbs each time I made the salad.  So why not go whole hog?  

I increased the recipe for breadcrumbs, tossed in more garlic, and sauteed until they were dark golden brown, then layered them with rigatoni and blistered cherry tomatoes, cooked until they were just bursting, then topped with more crunchy crumbs and a shower of dried basil, simply because it's more assertive and I was out of homemade pesto.  A quick squeeze of lemon juice and it was perfect.  I did experiment with a few slivers of parmesan, but it didn't seem to belong in this dish, perhaps because of the breadcrumbs?



Rigatoni with crunchy breadcrumbs, garlic, and cherry tomatoes
Serves two

For the crumbs:
3 slices whole grain bread, toasted, cooled, and crumbed in a food processor 
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/3 cup olive oil (I use California)
1 pinch kosher salt

Heat the oil and garlic cloves in a skillet, then add the breadcrumbs.  Stir constantly with a spoon until the crumbs are golden brown.  Sprinkle with salt, then scrape into a bowl to cool.

For the tomatoes:

1 pint cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Melt butter in skillet, then add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat until very soft. Set aside to cool.

For the pasta:

1/2 box good rigatoni pasta (8 ounces), cooked in salted water


Optional:  1 or 2 tablespoons pesto (for the bottom of the bowls)
                 2 tablespoons sliced scallions (for garnish)
                 2 wedges fresh lemon 

Assemble:  
Set out two or medium pasta bowls.
Drizzle bottoms of bowls with a little pesto or basil oil (optional) .
Place half the pasta in the two bowls, and sprinkle with half the breadcrumbs.
Divide the tomatoes between the bowls and add the scallions.
Top with the rest of the breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle with dried basil and freshly cracked pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice and serve at room temperature.  Fabulous!

I walk by my neighbor's house at the end of the lane, inspecting the tiny pears and rosy crabapples, every morning , and admiring the huge showy flowers, white, and bright pink , next to the sidewalk. Do you know what they are?  I keep forgetting to ask her.  

Happy beautiful September!

jamie's red pepper pasta sauce with lemon, parsley, and ham and Saturday sightseeing

I love exploring this new place!  Saturday we visited the St. Paul Farmers Market, just over the Mississippi River, which was packed with shoppers and visitors, like me.  Lots of herb and flower plants, which made me feel a little wistful, as we have no garden space here - yet.    Flowers were everywhere, making for a very colorful market, and we picked up some gorgeous Italian parsley and fresh basil for our dinner recipe (and two small baskets of red and yellow shallots, for $3!)

On the way home we happened to pass this stunningly gorgeous French villa, and I made my daughter stop so I could take pictures.  Putting down my camera for a minute, I saw a poem inscribed in the sidewalk beside the house, such a surprise and a joy.  

And that night we made Jamie's wonderful red pepper pasta with Parma ham and lemon, tossing in a handful of bright, fresh broccoli we had picked up at the market.  I opted for a chunkier sauce than Jamie's - I'm sure it's just as delicious either way.  Amazingly, all three children (2,4 and 9) loved it!

Happy rainy Monday to you all....

busy day chicken soup with greens and pasta

What a wild morning!  When I woke up, the rain was pouring, a soft wind blowing, trees shaking and waving, the dark clouds racing across the sky towards the coast.  Two hours later the sun came out and all that is left of the storm is a pretty carpet of leaves in the front yard.

Busy day, busy day!  Articles to write, pictures to take, recipes to double check.  As I was making one dough, and wrapping another for the fridge, I saw the leftover chicken, the lovely fresh kale, the herbs in the drawer still (surprisingly) firm and green. Which gave me an idea.

I pulled out a pot, and, in between mixing and measuring the tart and pie dough, quickly washed and trimmed and cut and tore the vegetables and the chicken, into the pot.  In with the stock, the sprig of rosemary, and last of all the pasta bubbling away.  This was the easiest lunch to pull together in some chaos of sorts, and I'm grateful to sit down to a big bowl of it in a half hour.


Busy Day Chicken soup with greens and pasta

2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced scallions (green onions)
1/2 cup Italian parsley, rough chop
1 cup sliced celery
1 teaspoon thyme
pinch hot pepper flakes if desired
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 or 2 cups leftover cooked chicken, cut in chunks
3/4 cup macaroni or small pasta.  I used large ditali from Italy

1 cup packed torn kale greens, set aside to add at the very end

bring the water and stock to a rolling simmer and add everything but the pasta/macaroni and the kale.
Simmer fifteen minutes, then add the pasta.  Cook until pasta is soft, take off heat, and stir in the torn kale.  Taste for seasoning and serve with bread and curls of parmesan cheese, if you want. (which I definitely wanted!)

Have a wonderful day!

roasted grape tomatoes with rigatoni, basil, and parmesan

There's something about watching my baby tomato plants grow, oh, so ever sloooowly that makes me impatient.  All six varieties I bought are just barely blooming today.  So, of course, a quick visit to the market was necessary if I wanted to make this simple roasted tomato and pasta supper.  As I rummaged through my jars of pasta shapes, I chose my very favorite, rigatoni, though there are lots of others that may jiggle your pasta passion.  Check out THIS page to find your favorite!

I roasted the tomatoes, first tossing them in a bowl with olive oil, garlic cloves, olive oil, and basil leaves from my garden.  I added a touch of butter ( I do love butter!), and salt, a pinch of sugar, and roasted for 40 minutes or so.  As they cooled, I boiled up the pasta, then quickly drained and tossed.  A shaving of parmesan, a sprinkle of more basil and all was good, and delicious.

You will need:

1 pint little grape tomatoes
1 or 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced very thin
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 little basil leaves, minced
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
parmesan cheese grated on top after cooking

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Toss the whole grape tomatoes in the oil, salt, and basil
Add the butter and sugar and toss again.

Roast the grape tomatoes for 40 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and tender, stirring them once or twice and adding more oil if they are too dry.

Smush a few of the tomatoes with a spoon, and roast another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 2 cups dry rigatoni.  Let simmer/boil for 8 minutes, then drain.

Toss the tomatoes and pasta with the juices from roasting, then serve with a shaving of parmesan on top, and a grinding or two of fresh pepper.

Happy almost July!

juicy turkey burgers with salmoriglio sauce

I have had this scrap of paper taped to the side of the fridge for at least a year.  I think I was in a doctor's office when it caught my eye in one of the magazines in the waiting room.  You'd be proud of me - I did NOT slide the magazine into my bag, but I neglected to write down where it was from.  This recipe seems to come close when I googled it today.  It's really a sauce for fish, but as I was cooking up fresh ground turkey burgers this morning, it flashed into my sleepy morning brain that a sauce of fresh parsley, a little garlic, lemon zest and juice, and oregano just might be the perfect topping for those somewhat bland but juicy burgers.  And oh, so it was.

I usually would stir everything together in a big bowl, as I do for turkey meatballs, but this time I spooned the pan juices over the burgers, then added a teaspoon of the salmoriglio sauce on top.  It is a very bright but pungent sauce, so a teaspoon seemed just right.  I can see this sauce in so many other dishes besides fish and turkey:  pasta for sure, whether hot or cold pasta salads or sides.  It's perfect with avocado, ramping up the buttery avocado with a little excitement.  How about stuffed broiled mushrooms?  Absolutely.  And a spoonful stirred in to any number of soups would had a zing.   I know the name is somewhat of a mouthful, but I haven't found any Italian to English translation, so we're stuck with it.


Salmoriglio Sauce

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled
about 1 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley, not packed down

2 heaping teaspoons grated lemon zest
a few pinches of kosher salt
freshly cracked pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano ( I had no fresh)
3 tablespoons good olive oil

Place the garlic and parsley in a food processor and whizz until fairly fine.
Stop the processor and add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and oregano .  Process briefly and scrape into a bowl, then drizzle on the olive oil and stir.

Taste test to see if it needs more salt, then use sparingly in desired dishes - a little goes a long way.  If you plan to use this on fish or meats, chicken or turkey, just use your clean fingers to coat before baking.


Spring is coming here in New Hampshire- I planted my Italian parsley seedlings yesterday!

asparagus and avocado pasta with garlic and parsley

What a beautiful blue sky today!  Moving into February, the bitter cold slowly warmed, with two pretty snowstorms with light  snowflakes (as opposed to that freezing rain/snow glop we had in January)  that were a joy to shovel.  I even braved going down to Norway Pond and taking a little walk on the snow covered ice.  Looks like the tundra, doesn't it?

Then a light lunch with the new pencil-thin asparagus, farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, and avocado, sharpened with garlic and parmesan, finished with Italian parsley.  Sigh.  What a wonderful Monday!

Asparagus and avocado pasta

a small handful of very thin new asparagus (about 10 stalks)
1 1/2 cups farfalle pasta
2 T. unsalted butter
1 large clove of garlic, minced
Half an avocado, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
a few cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley
1/2 t. dried basil (or fresh, if you have it, I didn't)
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
a squeeze of fresh lemon over all

Adapted from Everyday Food 2006

Gently bend the bottoms of the asparagus stalks until they snap off easily, leaving the most tender parts of the stalk.  Cut the asparagus into 2 inch pieces.

Fill a medium saucepot with water, add a bit of salt and bring to a boil.  Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove asparagus to a bowl with a slotted spoon but do not drain the water off.
Bring the water back to a boil and cook the pasta for 10 minutes.  Remove half a cup of the pasta water, and drain off the rest.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the pasta pot, add the asparagus and garlic, and cook for about 4 minutes.  Add salt and pepper, basil, parsley, the pasta water, the parmesan, the second tablespoon of butter, and the avocado and cherry tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat..  Remove and taste for seasonings, then squeeze a little lemon juice over the pasta before serving.

Serve with extra parmesan.

A year ago:  Sweet Pink Valentine cookies

rapini and rigatoni pasta with lemon juice, olive oil, and hot pepper flakes

Another stunningly beautiful Autumn day here .  Sun shining, filtering through the high branches of mostly yellow leaves (not many sugar maples in these woods anymore), clear air, perfect temperatures for walking and hiking.  But then I remembered that fresh bunch of rapini (also known as broccoli rabe and my favorite green next to spinach) in the fridge. With my first cup of coffee I checked my bookmarks menu, remembering two recipes I'd filed there.  One was from Smitten Kitchen, the other from The Kitchn .

One a soup, one a very garlicky dinner dish. Both used red pepper flakes, one used fresh lemon juice, as I always do with any pasta dish.

The soup is a must-try for later, when the real cold weather arrives, but the rapini and pasta dish I made got slightly tweaked from the original recipe :  a tiny sliver of garlic because I can no longer tolerate a lot of garlic, a little less olive oil, more rapini, lemon juice, and those pepper flakes, and I took her advice to match the size of the pasta to the size of the greens, something I'd never really thought about before.   Best of all, you only need one pot to make this - though I did warm the olive oil in a small saucepan.


Rapini and rigatoni pasta with lemon juice, olive oil, and hot pepper flakes

Set a large pot of water on the burner, bring to a boil.

Set out your ingredients:

2 cups rigatoni pasta
4 packed cups of washed rapini, cut into 2 inch lengths ( I used most of the stems)

Juice of half a large lemon
1 clove of garlic, sliced ( more if you want)
generous pinch red pepper flakes
kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

When the water comes to a boil, toss in the pasta and set your timer for 6 minutes on high boil.
Add the rapini when the timer dings, and set timer for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes, take pot off the heat and drain, then place back in the pot, and stir the lemon juice into the rapini and rigatoni.

In a small saucepan, warm the olive oil briefly, along with the garlic, and hot pepper flakes.
Drizzle over the rapini/pasta, add salt to taste, and spoon into a serving dish.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of more olive oil.

This serves 2 or 3 very happy people.

bow-tie pasta with arugula-avocado pesto and goat cheese

What can I say?  Still hot and muggy here in New Hampshire, and my appetite has been just as spotty as a cool breeze.  Mornings are cooler, if you leave the windows open at night, so this morning I woke up hungry, first time in ages.

I was planning to make cookies ( which, in this humidity, instantly fall apart), but somehow segued to this tasty green pasta dish, which ended up being my breakfast. Brunch. Whatever.  It was 11 am:)   This also makes for a nice light supper, perhaps with raspberries and cream for dessert.

I had a little basil, but not enough for basil pesto.  But I had lots of peppery arugula, so mais oui, that could work.  No tahini, no pine nuts, so I stuck with garlic and a little parmesan and a nice new tube of goat cheese.  

What a gorgeous brunch/supper , hope you enjoy!



Makes 2-3 servings.

First, boil up about 1 1/2 cups bow-tie pasta.  Boiling salted water, about 8 minutes, then drain.

In your food processor add:

1/4 cup packed basil leaves
2 fat cloves of peeled garlic
1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan
2 packed cups arugula
1/4 cup olive oil (mild is fine)
salt and pepper

Process the above and taste.  Adjust salt and pepper, and if the arugula is just too strong, add:

Optional:
1/2 avocado
quick squeeze of lemon juice

Topping:

About 3 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese


Place a heaping spoonful of green sauce on each plate, add the pasta, and a spoonful of goat cheese, top with a basil leaf and serve.

OR:  you can twirl it all together and serve that way.  Both are lovely.

Drier air tomorrow, I hear, and it can't come soon enough!  Hope you have a sweet day.

chicken & celery, tomato, and clementine soup with rosemary and rigatoni

We have been in the deep freeze for the last ten days, with nights reaching 8 below, and days not budging from 10 degrees, in spite of some very welcome sunshine.  The next few days should be inching up slowly, for which I am very, very grateful.  It may sound wimpy, but I didn't go out if I didn't have to, thanks, I think, to the scare I got in the fall with pneumonia.  But today has finally hit 20 degrees, so I'm hopeful we're out of our January freeze.

I've been going to bed early, snuggled under two wool blankets and a down comforter AND long johns and wool socks in the chilly bedroom , but happily occupied with plenty of books and cookbooks.  One of them was a real favorite of mine when I was making soup for a small ski area a long time ago  -  Recipes from the Night Kitchen .  While I often changed the recipes, they were full of fun and imagination.  This one started out as a chicken and rosemary stew, and ended up with clementines, celery, and a handful of pasta stirred into the soup and topped with cheddar.  It's a tangy, perky soup, and the color brightens this icy, snowy day.  

Makes about 4-5 servings.

2 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or minced
1 medium onion , peeled and roughly diced
2 clementines, peeled and sliced in circles
1 cup canned plum tomatoes, cut into large-ish pieces
1 t. thyme
4 six (6) inch springs rosemary, stripped from stem, or just throw in whole and fish out at the end of cooking
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock

2 medium skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 T. butter or olive oil for browning the chicken

3 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

For the pasta:

2 cups rigatoni
boiling water

Cook until tender and drain

Garnish with shredded cheddar

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed stewpot .  Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, then add the clementines, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf and cook briefly, then add the chicken stock.  Turn heat to low and cook, partly covered, for 40 minutes.

Just before the 40 minutes are up, melt the butter or oil in a skillet and saute the chicken until just cooked.  

Add the chicken, parsley, and celery to the soup, stir and taste, adding more seasonings as needed.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Place a large spoonful of the pre-cooked pasta in the bottom of each bowl, add hot soup, then sprinkle with the cheddar.

Stay warm!

arugula, basil and walnut pesto

Hooray, it's pesto time!  Yesterday I picked up the most beautiful arugula at the farmers market.  Before I ate every single delicious, peppery leaf, I remembered to replenish my pesto supply with this zesty pesto.  


I like the mix of more arugula than basil, and I like a thick texture, so it sticks to the pasta - my preferred being Barilla cellentani, pretty little corkscrews .  You can toss some of the pesto with the pasta, or serve it on top, and let your guests swirl it around.  Best of all, I use toasted walnuts, much less expensive than pine nuts, even if you can find them.  


Makes 1 cup of pesto:


1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 medium cloves of garlic, peeled
1 cup packed arugula
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
1/2 cup olive oil, with a little more for drizzling
1 T, fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper


Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven and let cool.
Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until chopped well.
Add the garlic, parmesan, basil, arugula, olive oil and salt and pepper and pulse
until thick.  Add the lemon juice and pulse one more time.


Keep in the fridge, well covered, or freeze for winter - if you can wait!

violets and fresh chive pasta

This is not a usual Spring - the violets, lilacs, and chive plants are a month ahead of schedule. No matter - I still celebrate their coming with a simple pasta dish that is perfumed with their essence. While I wonder if this is the year I finally make candied violets, I take a moment to inhale the scent of fresh chives - just before the buds blossom. Ahhhh. That's Spring for me!

To make:

Two handfulls of pasta ( I use vermicelli or thin spaghetti)

Boiling water

sea salt

olive oil

unsalted butter

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh chive spears

more salt, pepper, olive oil and unsalted butter to taste

fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add a little salt and olive oil.

Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes, then drain.

Toss in the fresh chives, more salt, pepper, olive oil, and unsalted butter to taste ( not more than a tablespoon of butter or oil) and sprinkle on the parmesan.

Serve with joy!

Happy Spring!

pasta with roasted squashes, bacon, and brown butter

Last pickings from the garden and farmers market veggies: beautiful roasted squash chunks, baby tomatoes, basil, thyme, bacon ,and brown butter. Sprinkle with nutmeg and parmesan curls and bless the season!


I'll post the recipe later - my daughter needs a ride to pick up her medication and here in the country, that means HOURS. *

Back again, after a wild and beautiful ride through villages I've never seen before. My daughter and her family have moved out of the city to a charming hillside cottage, surrounded by acres of mowed fields and working farms and sugarhouses. On the way, I drove over Pitcher Mountain and stopped to say hello to the Highland cattle there - the photo above doesn't have the long horns the Highland have, or the shaggy coat, but she ( or he) is utterly charming and docile.

So now, let's get to the delightful pasta! I used much of the odd halves of squashes, the handful of cherry tomatoes, the half a red pepper, and the gleanings of the last fresh herbs from the garden. A glaze of nutmeg and brown butter tossed with the spaghetti and veggies make it taste nutty and rich - topped off with parmesan or Pecorino and minced fresh herbs, it's even better.

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 425F.

3 sliced garlic cloves

3 cups cubed squashes ( I used pattypan and butternut)

1 small white onion, peeled and sliced

2 T. olive oil

a handful of cherry tomatoes

1/2 t. kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper to taste

1/2 red pepper, sliced

6 strips thick bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 package thin spaghetti

4 T. unsalted butter

1/2 t. nutmeg

Minced fresh herbs

Grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (optional)

Place the olive oil in a large bowl, add the vegetables, and toss well. Spread vegetables on a baking pan and bake for about 25 minutes.

While the veggies are baking, make the brown butter. Place the butter in a small saucepan and gently heat, swirling the pan a few times, until the butter turns a light brown. Take off the heat and immediately pour into a small bowl. Add the nutmeg to the butter, and stir.

When the vegetables are done, sprinkle the bacon on top of the vegetables, drizzle with half the butter mixture, and stir. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook for about 8-10 minutes.

Drain, put back in the pot, and drizzle half the brown butter on the pasta, stir.

To make individual servings, use tongs to place a nice nest of pasta in each bowl, top with the vegetables and bacon, a sprinkle of herbs, and some cheese.

Now you get to dig in!

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Inhale: the scent of basil

Does any herb intoxicate the senses like summer basil? Inhale - and smile.

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Pasta salad with basil, sun-warmed tomatoes, and artichokes:

To hot, drained vermicelli add:

*

Gently diced fresh tomatoes

As much sliced fresh basil as you want

A good drizzle of olive oil

Several squeezes of fresh lemon

chopped artichoke hearts from a jar

Kosher salt and pepper

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Pesto pasta:

If you have a cup of basil leaves, you can make pesto. This makes about 3/4's of a cup of pesto.

3 garlic cloves

1 cup basil leaves, firmly packed then sliced

about 1/2 - 3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup parmesan cheese ( or none, or more)

kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

juice of a half a fresh lemon

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Place the garlic cloves in a food processor and chop finely. Add the rest of the ingredients and blitz until smooth. This is highly adaptable to individual tastes - so feel free to experiment.

You can scrape this into a jam jar and stick in the freezer until January - when it will bring a smile to your face and a reminder of sweet summer days.

Or you can just toss gently with hot pasta and dig in. Use a little ( a few tablespoons) or a lot, like the whole jar:)