Better than Carbonara Carbonara

October 26, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Pasta Please at 10:00 am | Comments »

carbonara

Because I’ve always been a baker first, I’m a stick-to-a-recipe kinda gal when it comes to cooking. Thankfully, my husband is the exact opposite: he refuses to even look at a cookbook, and is always concocting the most unbelievably delicious dishes from various ingredient combinations. The Carbonara pictured above (taken with a crappy mobile phone camera) is one of our favorite dishes here at home. It’s based on a recipe I downloaded from the Pioneer Woman, by Pastor Ryan, with a few choice tweaks:

We use Fettuccine instead of Linguine, because we always have Fettuccine in the house.
We use two cups of stock, and omit the white wine. We’ve used Chicken Stock and Beef Broth, and both were delicious.
We add about half a block of an 8 oz. block of Cream Cheese to the egg mixture, mashing it all up.

Did the Cream Cheese throw you? We wanted a creamier Carbonara, and I was all set to add some heavy cream to the recipe, when the husband suggested using Cream Cheese instead. Actually, he recommended Mascarpone- which just goes to show you how much he knows about what’s in our pantry on a daily basis. What we always have is Cream Cheese, so that’s what I used- and it. was. awesome.

Rainy Day Plain Spaghetti

April 2, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Pasta Please at 12:44 am | Comments »

Spaghetti

I love rainy days. Not zero-visibility, wrath-of-God thundering days, mind you- I mean enough rain to make the grass and trees look just a little bit greener, rain I can hear on our roof without fearing that it will take our window shutters off.

Today is such a day. The air is cool, and the dogs don’t mind getting themselves wet outside. On days like today, there’s nothing like a bowl of hot pasta- hot spaghetti to be precise- to curl up on the sofa with.

My husband introduced me to the joy of “plain” spaghetti- that is, perfectly cooked noodles with nothing more than a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper. That’s it. Sometimes, I like to throw on a bit of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, perhaps a clove of crushed garlic- but make no mistake about it: the pasta is the star here.

It follows, then, that the pasta must be perfect. Start with good pasta- fresh if you have it, but there are several dried pasta brands I love as well, including Barilla and De Cecco. Bring your water to a rolling boil, salt it well (think seawater), and cook your pasta according to the directions on its packet. What I like to do is this: if the packet says “11 minutes”, I start tasting it at 9 minutes.

Drain your pasta- do not rinse it- and, working quickly, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on it, sprinkle with kosher salt (not too much- the pasta is already salty from the cooking water), freshly ground pepper, the optional Parmigiano, and- you’re done.

Now, my husband and I like having this and this alone as a meal, but it’s also wonderful paired with other dishes, such as grilled chicken or salmon.

Quick Dish: Paprika Cream Chicken

December 20, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Beef- It's What's For Dinner, Fast Meal Ideas, Pasta Please, Quick Meal Ideas, Recipe, Yummy Can't Say No Chicken Recipes at 1:35 am | Comments »

Here is another one of my concoctions. I actually got the idea from one of those recipe cards you get from the supermarket. They were promoting the use of McCormick spices and I thought I’d try them. I have never been one to follow a recipe to the letter, though, so I am sure that my version of this dish turned out differently. Anyhow, this dish is easy and quick to make, you will probably find yourself making it often.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, sliced
1 small onion
4 tomatoes
½ cup light cream
Paprika
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil

Preparation:
Wash the chicken well and then drain. Season with salt, pepper, and some paprika. It really is up to you how much of the seasoning you want to use – I just threw everything in there. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a thick pan and then fry the chicken strips for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook the chopped onion in the same pan until translucent. Add the diced tomatoes. Cook this for about 5 minutes, stirring all the while. You can also add more paprika at this point.

Put the chicken back into the pan and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through. This took about 10 minutes. Make sure you stir every once in a while. You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if you want.

Add the light cream slowly and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add salt and more pepper and paprika to taste. For garnish, you can throw in some parsley.

This dish can be served over cooked noodles or rice – I chose the former.

Pasta Salad

August 14, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Pasta Please, Recipe, Salad Recipe at 9:14 am | Comments »

pasta salad

Ingredients

3 cups fusilli pasta
3/4 cup broccoli florets
3/4 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup red onion, sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

What’s next

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water. Place pasta in a large serving bowl add the all the vegetables and toss to combine. Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar together, whisk until smooth. Pour over salad and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Greek pasta

July 29, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Pasta Please at 10:49 am | (1) Comment »

greek past

Ingredients
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
10 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

What’s next
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and beans in a large non-stick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
Add spinach to the sauce; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly.
Serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with feta.

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