Rigatoni alla Boscaiola

I was craving a pasta with Italian sausage and was searching for a recipe.  I found a this one that sounded tasty in one of Lidia Bastianich's cookbooks.

I used a mix of shiitake, crimini and button mushrooms. The cream and parmigiano-reggiano added a nice richness to the sauce. This is a really easy pasta dish and one that I will definitely make again. 

Buon Appetito! 

White Bean Ragout with Toast

This is a super easy, delicious and hearty vegetarian meal for any night of the week. I saw the recipe a few months ago in Bon Appétit, and I'd like to officially add it to my repertoire. Not only is it simple and yummy, but also the recipe yields double the amount of soffritto (chopped aromatics; in this case onions, peppers, garlic and tomato paste) so that you can freeze some for later. Then you have it ready to go to quickly make this dish again (which I'm going to do tonight!), or you have a base ready for countless other sauces and soups.

Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Tart

Do you have a bunch of veggies that you don't know what to do with?  Well here is an idea....make a roasted vegetable tart based on a recipe in Bon Appetit!  I made it and it was great!  Very hearty and filling, and of course tastes amazing with all the different flavors from the veggies.  It is a bit time consuming but well worth it!  Try it!

Spring Pastas!

First of all, a lovely pasta dish with prosciutto, asparagus, mushrooms and peas...

This is the recipe I used, except instead of fettuccine I used some fancy "casereccia" noodles that Jimmy brought home from Murrays. (It is very hard to go into Murrays without bringing home a few fancy things).

It was a very yummy Pasta Primavera indeed!

Another recent dish, also from Bon Appétit: Pasta Carbonara... "The Silkiest Carbonara" to be exact! And oh my was it silky. I have made carbonara in the past, but I don't think it was ever THIS good. I guess the trick really is lots of egg yolk but not so much white. I used pancetta instead of the guanciale, but I'd love to try the later another time. This dish is decadent and SOOO delicious!

Roasted Potato and Halibut Puttanesca

I saw this recipe in the latest Bon Appetit and had to make it!  I love all things puttanesca - olives, anchovies, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, etc...yummmmmm!  This one can stand on its own or you can serve it up with some pasta for those starchy carb lovers out there.  I changed the recipe slightly: I used anchovy paste instead of filets, I roasted the potatoes and shallots right on a roasting pan, and I cooked the fish right in the tomato sauce instead of separately. It came out really good and is definitely one I would make again!

' Note: This recipe would work really well with tilapia as well. (Halibut can be a little expensive sometimes.)

Pasta with Radiccio

Another beautiful ingredient at the farmers market right now: radiccio. Searching for something new to try with it, I found this great fall recipe for Pasta with Roasted Radiccio. You gotta try this it's so good! The roasted radiccio is SO yummy, it's bitterness perfectly complimented by the kalamata olives and pine nuts. The only thing I left out were the sun-dried tomatoes, which I'm not a huge fan of. I used fresh cherry tomatoes instead, and I thought they were perfect. We served it up with a little lean steak. Yum!

Caprese Salad

I love a caprese salad!  Anytime, anywhere!  It's so easy and so good!  Last night I went to TJ's and they had these brown tomatoes called Kumatos that looked like they could be tasty, so I decided to try them and make a caprese salad.

I sliced the "kumatos" and mozzarella and topped them with some chopped basil.  Then I put a pile of arugula in the center, and drizzled olive oil over the entire thing along with some freshly ground salt & pepper. Yum! Yum! and Yum!

Best Doggy Bag Ever

So if you remember, I did a post about the tomato jungle that is growing in Mom & Harold's backyard: Garden Greatness.  Well yesterday I got to take home a doggy bag of the finished products!  The little baby ones are the best - so sweet!

Farmer's Market!

From May through December, we've got the farmer's market in Van Vorst Park every Saturday, and in the Grove Street Plaza on Mondays and Thursdays; both right around the corner from us. Here's Saturday's bounty:

With the lovely Jersey tomatoes, domestic mootzy and basil from our little fire escape herb garden (which, by the way, is growing like crazy!) I made a nice Caprese Salad. Jimmy grilled up a piece of tuna and sauteed some asparagus and squash. Fresh, easy and delish.