Fusilli with Caramelized Cauliflower, Corn and Capers

Fusilli with Cauliflower, Corn and Capers
alongside Hill Country Sausage and Pickled Okra

Time for spring / summer pasta dishes. Roast vegetables are a sweet touch - balanced by the tartness of a few capers.

1. Three ears fresh corn, cut from cob. Saute in oil until browned. Remove. 
2. A whole head of cauliflower cut into 1/8" to 1/4" slices. Cook in same large skillet as corn, don't wipe out between uses. Add olive oil and brown until cauliflower is soft.  
3. Add 2-3 tablespoons capers. continue to cook. 
4. Chop 2-3 tablespoons garlic, add a few dashes of hot pepper flakes and a tablespoon of fennel seed, gently crushed. Add corn. 
5. Meanwhile, cook 1 pound of pasta and drain. 
6. Add vegetable mixture to pasta. Top with toasted bread crumbs. 

This dish was inspired by a Judy Rogers as published in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, which has become a recent favorite source for recipes that involved a minimum of ingredients and maximum taste and variety. Beware, though, the recipes are highly dependent on high quality ingredients and mastery of moderate to advanced technique.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Exotic Mac and Cheese has been a trend for some years now. Yet I think that an excellent recipe that is close to the universal vision of the ordinary dish is something we all should have in our repertoire. 

I saw a promising recipe from avante-garde food creationists Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbott on  Tasting Table - an interesting website / email newsletter  (but please keep reading mine, too, OK?). They offered an innovative twist to make M&C - evaporated milk. But the original recipe was a little too rich for me - so I made a few minor modifications. I hope you try it. 

1 pound pasta
-- I recommend Barilla brand. Digitali (shown above) is a great shape for this dish.
1 stick unsalted butter
12 ounce can evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
8 ounces pepper Jack cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
2. Cook pasta, but stop cooking at 75% of the recommended cooking time. Drain, and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. 
3. While pasta cooks, add butter, evaporated milk, salt and cayenne in a large saucepan.
4. When the butter has melted add the cheddar and jack cheeses a little at a time. When incorporated into sauce, add pasta and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.  
5. Butter a large baking dish. Add mac and cheese mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan and breadcrumbs evenly over top. 
6. Turn oven to low broil and  place dish on middle rack. Cook until nicely browned. 

New Years Feast - Lobster Thermidor, Pasta with Monkfish and Zucchini

Well - the downscaling continued a bit at New Years. Well, at first it did. NY Eve dinner was somewhat straightforward, mostly by keeping the number of dishes small. Again, at first. Once we hit upon the Appetizer Throw Down, things started getting a bit more involved. More on the throwdown in the next post.


New Years Eve Dinner

• Lobster Thermidor and Lobster Tails, Gourmet May 1941 (that's not a typo - but it was reprinted in 2001)
  
• Radiatorre with Monkfish, Thyme and Zucchini, Batali Molto Italiano.
• Haricot Vert with Cirtus and Garlic, Batali Molto Italiano.
  
  

Lobster thermidor is a classic dish from another era, and as stated by the Gourmet editors, it's surprising how good it remains. Of course it follows the rule of excess butter and cream: how can it be bad with that much butter and cream? Actually, it's not even those ingredients that are the secret - nor is it even the lobster. An effective quantity of reduced sherry is what adds the intense flavor to this rich blend of lobster and dairy. Finished under a broiler to add slightly browned top and it can't fail.

Though the flavors can't fail, there are technique aspects that can. I wasn't pleased with the consistency of my butter/cream sauce, so turned up the heat to let it reduce a bit. Turning my back to work on other dishes, I let it simmer too long and the cream sauce broke. By that, I mean that it broke down from a creamy sauce to a buttery/oily sauce. Now this could be a disaster if the consistency of the dish were paramount - but fortunately this is not the case here. Simply filling the lobster shells with the resulting mixture still lead to a luxurious and still rich blend of lobster and sauce flavoring.

Given the richness of this dish, there was more than we could eat, and even the leftovers lasted for a while. Tossed over pasta or rice it was great. Also a little bit at room temp spread onto a cracker turned into a nice instant appetizer.

The pasta with monkfish, thyme and zuchhini turned out to be more than I had expected. More as in "more better", not more work. This recipe is now about the 5th or 6th straight hit dish from the Molto Italiano cookbook. It requires a tomato sauce to also be made, but that too was an outright success. Here's why:

When I started cooking seriously right after college, one of the things I was trying to grow past was "college student tomato sauce". By that I mean a simple saute of onion, cans of tomato sauce/paste/tomatoes with dried basil and oregano added. From there I graduated to sauces made with fresh herbs, whole peeled fresh tomatoes, some simmered for hours (the Italian-American kitchen stereotype). In fact, over 25 years I've made all manner of sauces. Rarely are the complex and long simmering ones really that much better than a sauce made simply with high quality ingredients. I know I've made several from Cooks Illustrated that were very good.

However, the Batali Basic Tomato Sauce was successful on all fronts. It had few ingredients, little technique, little babysitting, and MAXIMUM flavor. He calls for whole canned tomatoes. A well known fact is that canned tomatoes imported from San Marzano near Naples are generally a superior product for tomato sauces. In fact, they're close to the quality of fresh grocery store quality Roma tomatoes, without the hassle of peeling. I've been using this one, branded as San Marzano, for many years with good success. Sorry to see that an online specialty site is selling them at $5.50 for a 28 oz can, as I get them for about $2.75 in a local grocery store.

Back to the recipe. Simply saute onion, fresh thyme then two cans of tomatoes. Then simmer down to a thick sauce. I was sceptical that it would thicken appropriately without assistance. Not a problem. The thyme gave it all the flavor it needed.I broke the whole tomatoes in half while cooking so they would release their juices.

Added to the monkfish and zuchini the sauce was superb. Once spread through the whole pound of pasta, it was not the typical thick coating (picture jarred sauce - yuck) - but more a thin sheen of tomato everywhere, with large chunks of tomato halves interspersed throughout. Wonderful.

The simplicity of the sauce and the finished dish were impressive, as was the taste. Many layers of flavor from very few ingredients. I have to admit, I've become quite impressed with Mr. Food Network Star Batali, and look forward to cooking and eating my way through more of his creations.

Weekday Menu - Awesome Pasta with Mushrooms, Peppers and Kale

I had made a few Mario Batali appetizers for Thanksgiving from his cookbook Molto Italiano. One was his topping for Crostini using sauteed kale and pancetta. I also had roasted some mushrooms, red peppers, shallots and garlic. These two dishes were left over, and I had a pasta in mind. So here's what happened:

- Marinated Eggplant Appetizer
- Cavatappi in Mushroom, Kale and Pepper Sauce

The eggplant came from the same cookbook, with the secret ingredients being mint and orange zest. These two cut through the traditional viniagrette flavors and introduced a brightness. The citrus alone would have been OK, but the pairing of both citrus and mint is what made it stand out. Reminder - do NOT overcooked eggplant when grilling, roasting or broiling. I didn't this time, and was glad for it.

On to the pasta. I started with some onion and garlic sauteed in oil. Added in the leftover mushrooms and peppers. Put about 1/2 a cup of heavy cream, which would sauce over a pound of pasta (17.5 oz package of high-end Rao's cavatappi). I might have added a little white wine before the cream.....but as it's a week later I forget.

Oh yeah, I had more pancetta on hand. I diced it and included it in the saute with the onion.

OK - this is all sideways. Cream is not added yet. As the pasta finished, I introduced the kale, which had PLENTY of red pepper flakes to spice it up. Tossed in a handful of diced tomato, then quickly on to the small amount of cream.

Combined this with the pasta and added high quality parmesan.

Results? One of the best pastas I've ever made.

Why? While the kale and roasted mushrooms and peppers would have not been an enourmous investment of time at the front end of this recipe, it would have added considerably. In fact, since I did broil some eggplant, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But the flavors of each (the mushroom and kale dishes) were able to really combine in that they were made 2 days prior. Add the convenience factor and a small amount of cream and parmesan.....well, I won't get much of an argument, even from those that didn't get to enjoy this dish.

Italian Night.....with Clams

Got side tracked with that last post about 60 Minute Gourmet. Where I initially wanted to head was this past Thursday's version of 60MG, which drew from recipes from Mario Batali. These recipes are all available on Epicurious,

• Vongole Origanate - Clams with Oregano and Bread Crumbs
• Portobellos with Arugula and Spinach
• Pasta Diavolo with Shrimp

Actually, that last recipe is not Batali, but comes from Gourmet, July 2003. In fact, it's the main disappointment on this menu, despite having 39 mostly rave reviews in Epicurious. Probably the reason for all that support is that it's a simplistic recipe. Red sauce with capers and wine, but it didn't even include base vegetables like onion. It was OK, and easy, but not really a good sauce to return to. Not bad if you're pressed for time.

The Clams were the winner here. Very nice recipe using fresh bread crumbs and fresh oregano. I pre-loosened the clam meat from the shell so the finished product slides right off the shell. Since Margie generally doesn't like clams and definetly doesn't like mussels, it was a nice turn to prepare this dish and find her enjoying it.

The portobello salad is fine. The viniagrette proportions are very good, and include a little touch of anchovy paste. No one wold ever know it's in there, and it adds a little depth and richness. I recommend anchovy paste in a tube - it can keep for several months in the fridge.

Another Tuna and Pasta Dinner

Well, Tuna was on sale this week, and Nora likes it alot, so I went back to an old favorite from Cuisine Rapide, and then did a variation also from CR for some vegetable and shrimp pasta.

• Grilled Tuna with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme, Cuisine Rapide
  
• Buccatini with Shrimp and Vegetables
  
• Marinated Grilled Vegetables - Mario Batali advertisement in May 2008 Gourmet
  

The pasta was nearly a one-pot dish, with Green Beans, Broccoli and this shrimp added in at the end. The sauce was derived from the somewhat dated, but awfully delicious, Cuisine Rapide cream sauce. From a base of sauteed garlic in oil, add finely cubed tomatos and cook them down, add herbs and cream. Using 2/3 C of cream in 1 pound of pasta does not make a rich, gooey cream sauce, so a) it's not that unhealthy and b) imagine whats going into the cream sauces in your favorite restaurant.


The Tuna is a solid standby dish. Marinate the tuna in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and thyme sprigs. Grill with as much thyme and garlic still adhered to the steaks.


More on those marinated vegetables sometime soon. They're to die for, but require a bit of an explanation. The first of which this is the ONLY recipe from an advertisement that I've ever made.

Just A Menu - with Crab Pasta

Note to self: even if there's not time to write details and recipe critique, at least get the darn menu into a post. After all, the purpose of this blog is first and foremost as a recipe index.

Saturday October 11 - VERY quick dinner

• Cucumber and Radish Salad - Gourmet January 2008
• Fennel and Coriander Crusted Tuna - Bon Appetit
  
• Spicy Crab Pasta with Lemon - Gourmet May 2008 - the cooking school issue

Cukes - OK? Yeah OK. Nothing special. From the Southern cooking issue

Tuna - still a favorite.

Crab pasta - from the cooking school issue, which has some GREAT recipes. This one is not great, just good, but in a white-trash, simplistic kind of way. No depth of flavors, just a squirt of hot sauce so only one type of heat. Crab+Pasta+butter = always enjoyable. Short on herbs and the lemon didn't contribute enough character. Still - simplistic and tasty. But you're better off spending your $24 on crab legs in a better recipe.

4th of July Menu

• No Knead Bread - New York Times, Nov 21, 2007 - Dr. Hertzberg's version
• Texas BBQ Brisket -Cook's Illustrated, Summer issue - about 4 years ago (I'll update)
• Pickled Cucumbers, Carrots and Zucchini - My own pickling mixture
• Pasta Salad with Tomatos, Olives and Herbs Cook's Illustrated, May/June 2008
• S'More Cheesecake with fresh berries - Bon Appetit, July 2008

Note: you may need a subscription to access the NYT link above.


We're heading into the holiday weekend, have invited a family over, but could end up on our own. Since it's the week before our big summer vacation, I'm resorting to tried and true recipes. The only new attempt will be the S'Mores Cheesecake. If the recipe didn't call for fresh berries I would have passed it by. But since it does, I paused and will give it a try. Since my kids (and Ms. Finn) are such giant s'mores fans, I know they'll like it. The recipe is available at epicurious.com, and 100% of the reviewers so far gave it a 4 out of 4 rating. We'll see.

The no knead bread has been a big hit with both adults and kids since I first ran across it in the New York Times about 6 months ago. But in addition to this version, I'm also going to make the 12-18 hour version that is cooked in a heavy enamel pot from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, also published in the New York Times, but back in 2006. The downside seems to be the 12 hour rise time, but the upside is that it appears to be a larger loaf. I'll report back on this version as well.

Pasta Salad with Tomato, Olive and Herbs

From Cooks Illustrated - May / June 2008

I wasn't expecting too much from this recipe, just a simple fill in for a summer grilled dinner. In fact, 10 days later I can no longer remember the dinner. Maybe it was steak, but it I'm not sure. But the real reason for the memory lapse is because THIS dish came up by surprise and wowed me and Ms. Finn.

As with most CI recipes, this one was developed with extensive "scientific" experimentation in the kitchen. The secret to success is mostly in well chosen proportions and one sleeper ingredient - fresh toasted bread crumbs.

Oh.....I just remembered - it was grilled ground lamb patties on skewers - from the June Gourmet. Good idea, not enough seasoning. Quite bland, enough so that the kids liked them after all. And it was a little tricky to get the logs of ground lamb to stay wholly formed while on the grill. Close - but not enough make it again.

Back to the pasta. Fresh bread crumbs toasted in oil with garlic were added to a pretty pedestrian pasta salad with tomato, olives and more garlic. The recommended pasta was farfalle or other mid-sized tubes which is a good match for olive quarters and tomato cubes. The quatity of olives was excessive - 1C for a pound of pasta (or was it, incredibly, a half pound - dear lord). So I cut that back.

The additional mouth feel of the bread crumbs tied together the core ingredients. Seasoning was spot on. This is a keeper. In fact, I can't wait to go back and check the recipe for variations. I hope they published some!!

Paul's Italian Pink Sauce and Salmon

1 pound Sockeye salmon filet
1 pound fettucine (preferably high quality brand such as Rao's)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" or 2" pieces
2 large shallts, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2/3 C crushed tomato
1/2 t tarragon
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 C cream
1/4 lb gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 C grated parmesan

1. Saute salmon in skillet in 1/2 T olive oil. Press filets with spatula for 1 minute, cook one minute and set aside. Preheat oven to 450 deg.
2. Par boil asparagus in 1/4" of water in skillet 2 min max, less if using thin asparagus. Remove to plate, shock in ice water if asparagus is very close to finished.
3. Cook pasta and reserve, keeping warm (e.g. towel over colander).
4. Saute shallots and garlic in 1 T olive oil. Add tarragon, pepper flakes, tomato puree and S&P and bring to boil. Simmer 5 minutes.
5. Add cream, bring to boil, add gorgonzola and 1/4 C parmesan until cheeses are incorporated and sauce is thickened. Add more tomato if you'd like a "pinker" sauce. Add asparagus.
6. Transfer salmon to oven for 4 minutes.
7. Toss pasta and sauce.

Serve pasta topped with a salmon filet. Pass additional cheese.

OK - this recipe sounds like a coronary in the making. However, it's so rich that a small portion will do. If one person eats 1/2 or 1/3 of this recipe, then the waistline and cardiac police deserve to make a house call. But a little restraint, and a serving of about 1/6 or so of this should be ample and satisfying.