Success!

I needed to post because we had a here-to-fore absolutely unheard of event occur. Are you ready? Ben uttered the words .... "I am a fan of this salad." Now, Ben is not one to praise any fruit or vegetable, and yet, here was unabashed enjoyment of several vegetables and one fruit. Again, normally it is a struggle to get this guy to eat anything that does not fall in the meat/potatoes/beer/cheese category and he complains if I make vegetarian anything. So as a public service to anyone out there in the same predicament, I offer this recipe for your enjoyment. It is a seriously good way to enjoy the summer produce and is all-around awesome.

Blackberry Vinaigrette Goat Cheese Salad

(serves 2 for meal or 4 as salad appetizer)

1 pint blackberries
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 T vanilla sugar (or plain white sugar)
Small handful of lettuce leaves (your variety choice), torn into bite size pieces
2 "baby" yellow crookneck squash, sliced into thin coins
¼ cup roasted pine nuts
3 oz of a semi-soft goat cheese
4 oz of grilled chicken, diced (optional)
2 medium size tomatoes, wedged into 8 pieces

Toss the blackberries with sugar and vinegar; let sit while the salad is prepared. Place lettuce in shallow salad dishes, sprinkle with squash coins, and dot with goat cheese. Place tomato wedges around the outer edge of the plate. Sprinkle pine nuts across the top of the salad. Add warm diced chicken. Use a slotted spoon to split the blackberries between the salads leaving a dozen in the bowl. Crush the remaining blackberries with the balsamic vinegar and split the mixture across the salads. Enjoy!

Recipe - Pasta Sauces!

Tomatoes are one of the most wonderful vegetables (yes, it's a fruit, I know), because of their versatility and breadth of flavor. Cooking is all about bringing certain flavors to the forefront and combining those in harmony. Tomatoes are both sweet and acidic, which gives you a lot of flavor combinations: spicy, acidic marniaras, bright and clean tomato consume, sweet tomato tarts, and so on.

While there are millions of saucing possibilities, I am going to cover a few variations on a single good base tomato sauce. As always, you should experiment with your food. The marinara below can be the starting point for anything from rich, creamy sauces, to spicy arrabiata, to "funky" flavors. I've used this base and added cinnamon and other "sweet" spices, and used that as a savory sauce for chicken sausage.

This is one of those basic recipes that should be in everybody's repertoire. Stop buying jars of tomato sauce! They're full of sugar, taste bad, and cost a lot more than making the sauce below. This sauce can be ready in 15 minutes if you are in a hurry, or let it sit for 45+ minutes to thicken and bring out some depth of flavor.

Basic Tomato Marinara

1 - 22 oz. can of crushed tomatoes. Tomatoes ONLY. Don't get canned tomato sauce or tomatoes with spices added...that stuff tastes like crap.
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons (?) olive oil
Fresh (preferred) or dried basil and oregano

Peel the garlic, crush it with the blade of your knife, and then mince. Heat the oil in a sauce pan until it shimmers (but don't let it smoke). Turn the heat down to medium and saute the garlic for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until it is aromatic...if the garlic browns or burns, then the oil is way too hot.

Pour the can of tomatoes into the pan and stir to mix in the garlic. Immediately add a generous amount of basil and a few pinches of oregano, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. (You don't need much, or any, salt with canned tomatoes, because they have already added some.) Generous means 2-3 tablespoons of dried basil, or a good sized bunch of fresh basil that has been chopped up. I generally shake the container until most of the surface of the tomatoes is covered in basil. Stir in the spices and let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, while you prepare your pasta. The longer this sauce cooks, the better it will be.

That's it! How easy is that, huh?

Variations:

• Try sauteing a small onion (diced) or a minced shallot with the garlic.
• Try this with fresh tomatoes! Take about 2 pounds of fresh, and blanche them to easily peel. Discard the skins. Cut open the tomatoes, and seed them. Save the seeds, water, and goo that comes out, for thinning the sauce later. Dice the seeded tomatoes and proceed as above, adding some of the tomato water to the pot as needed. This will need to cook much longer (1 hour+), to break down the tomatoes. You can serve this as a chunky sauce or throw in a Cuisinart to create a smooth sauce.
  
• Try different spices...crushed red pepper for a spicy arrabiata, less or no basil, or marjoram and sage for a more savory flavor.
• Add a tablespoon of cream for a pink sauce...delicious, but more filling as well.
  

The New Hotness

The New Hotness is a favorite variation of ours, using spicy Italian sausage and red pepper. Start by sauteing about a pound of hot Italian sausages. I prefer to remove the sausage from the casing and crumbling it, but you could also cook them whole and then slice the sausage for the final sauce. (It's called the New Hotness because we came up with the recipe on a night that we watched Men In Black II, back in the day. Remember Will Smith saying he was going to drive? "Old and busted....new hotness.")

Once the sausage is cooked, remove and drain the grease (both from the sausage and the pan). Proceed with sauteeing garlic and onions above, adding just a touch of olive oil to the pan if needed. Add the tomatoes and herbs, but also throw in a dash of cayenne pepper, or a few dashes of crushed red pepper to taste, plus generous black pepper. Also add the cooked sausage back to the pot at this point.

So there you go! Easy-breezy-lemon-cheesey, right? (No lemons required.) Enjoy!

Recipe - Fresh Pasta

As promised from the Pre-Father's Day post:

Fresh pasta is extremely easy to make, is a specialty of mine, and is delicious with any sauce. (Next posting will be sauce options.) I'm obviously biased, but I think that this pasta formula make a noodle superior to any fresh pasta that I've ever bought (with apologies to Lazzaroli's). You can mix by hand, but it is much easier if you have a KitchenAid or similar stand mixer. I have heard of people using a Cuisinart for this, but I've never tried it.

The process below reads as being very long and complex, but it really isn't...I'm just detail oriented when it comes to food. Try making fresh pasta some weekend when you have an hour or two to play around. Worst case, you have to cook a box of dried pasta for dinner instead.

Ingredients

Makes pasta for 4 generous servings

2-1/4 cups fine durum semolina flour (buy in bulk at Whole Foods or similar store)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt (1/2 teaspoon? I just give the grinder a few twists)
All-purpose flour as needed

Start by mixing all ingredients except for the all-purpose flour in the bowl of the mixer, using the paddle attachment. The dough will be very sticky and wet. Add the A-P flour by tablespoons while mixing, until the dough comes together and becomes very slightly tacky, but not sticky. Switch to the dough hook and knead for a few minutes. (The dough will get stickier as you knead it, because the flour continues hydrating. You may need to add more flour by pinches.)

To mix by hand, form a well in your flour for the eggs and slowly mix in with a fork until the dough forms. Continue adding flour until the right consistency is reached, then knead by hand for several minutes.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes (wrap it in plastic or put in a big ziploc bag overnight in the fridge for silky smooth noodles). Knead the dough by hand for a minute and then separate into 6 pieces. Let the dough rest again for a few minutes.

Next, flatten your dough balls with a rolling pin and then run through a pasta roller until you reach the desired thickness. Remember that the pasta thickens and expands when you cook it. Lay the sheets out on a flat surface to dry slightly (just a few minutes). Cut your noodles, either with the machine for spaghetti or linguine, or by hand for tagliatelle. Cut the sheets to length if they are for lasagna or ravioli. If you are not cooking them immediately, cover with a towel and let dry. If you plan to store your noodles, form them into "nests" before they get dry, let them dry for an hour or two, and then freeze in a sealed container (Tupperware, etc.).

Finally, to cook, plunge the pasta into salted water at a rolling boil. Stir gently to ensure that the nests separate. Very fresh noodles will cook in just a minute or two, and dried fresh pasta will take 5-6 minutes. As always, feel the noodles and taste when you are getting close. Either pour into a strainer or extract the noodles with a pasta serving fork if you are cooking in a few batches (which I do).

By the way: I will never forgive you if you rinse your pasta in cold water...you are literally washing away all the flavor. If you plan to leave the noodles without saucing immediately, just toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil while still hot to keep them from sticking together.

Sauce (or not), eat, and enjoy!

Notes:

I had a lot of trouble with pasta recipes in books until I developed this formula. The main problem was that most cookbooks don't want to spend much time explaining texture, moisture, etc., because most people won't even try to make pasta, and almost nobody will spend the time to understand the full process.

The first doughs I made either didn't hold together or were so wet and sticky that you couldn't work with it. This recipe will allow you to get a sheet of pasta that is paper thin if you want...one that you can literally see through. I've also tried to address the moisture issue; to get perfect noodles you do have to feel your way through the dough. Too dry and they won't hold together correctly. Too damp and you either can't roll them out, or you can roll them but then they form a big sticky clump after you cut them. Starting out you should err on the dry side, once your initial dough ball has formed, and you will do fine.

• You can roll out with a rolling pin if you don't have a machine, but it is a LOT of work. You are better off hand rolling thick noodles, like bucatini or pici.
• The amount of added flour that you need varies by a number of things, but is mostly dependent on how big your eggs are, the flour you buy (density, moisture level, etc.) and how humid it is. You will get the feel for the right dough after making it once or twice.
• Substitute 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the semolina with whole wheat flour for a nutty, grainier noodle. Alternatively, substitute the same or more with all-purpose flour for a silkier, creamier noodle.
• If the dough is not cooperating, just cover with a towel and let it rest. Come back in 30 minutes. The gluten in the flour has to hydrate and then develop...that is what gives the noodles their structure and substance. If you rush this, your noodles are going to fall apart. This is the same process that traditional bread dough goes through, to give the surface and crumb that solid, glossy texture.

Anyone can make good fresh pasta, easily, if you are willing to try. As always, eat well and enjoy!