Fettuccine With Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta

The May 2010 cover of bon appetit magazine has a lovely picture of fettuccine with peas, asparagus and pancetta. I made this entree this past weekend for Mike and me. It is quick, 40 minutes, easy and uses two of springs most plentiful vegetables - peas and asparagus. The taste is light and lemony and the pancetta gives it just the right amount of salt and crunch. Once you get started the pace is quick so I would have all ingredients prepped and measured before cooking.


FETTUCCINE WITH PEAS, ASPARAGUS AND PANCETTA

• 12 ounces fettuccine or penne
• 3 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
• 1-1/4 pounds of asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups shelled fresh green peas, blanched 1 minute in boiling water, drained, or frozen peas (do not thaw)
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts separated from dark green parts
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, cook pancetta in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon drippings from skillet. Add asparagus to drippings in skillet; saute 3 minutes. Add peas, white and pale green parts of green onions, and garlic; saute until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. (Here I put my pasta bowls in the microwave to warm before plating.)

Add vegetable mixture, 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, dark green parts of green onions, 1/2 cup Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, half of parsley, and half of basil to pasta. Toss, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if needed. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle pancetta, remaining parsley, and basil over. Serve adding additional Parmesan cheese.

Prep 40 minutes Total 40 minutes

4 servings

Calories 559 Fat 18g Fiber 8g

This recipe easily converts to two servings although I liked it so much I wish I had made the entire thing, so I could have eaten it again the next day. I reduced the pasta to two ounces per serving and used half and half instead of cream reducing calories and fat.

Life is good-enjoy!

Dusty's

Mike and I went to visit our daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Tony in early February. They live in Silver Lake, CA.  Wikipedia describes Silver Lake as "... a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles.  Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but is best known as and eclectic gathering of hipsters, the creative class and a noticeable presence of LGBT people."  My oldest daughter Katie visited late last year and described it as a dressy upgraded Nicaragua! I loved it. We stayed in a Days Inn on Sunset Boulevard and walked everywhere and felt safe early in the morning and late at night. Since eating is my main passion in life Silver Lake was like my new best friend. There were so many restaurants to choose from -  from hole-in the-wall taco stands to fancy eateries. It's also a haven for vegans.  (I have learned, from a good source, that one of the fancy places puts rosemary on their Biscuits and Gravy-YUK. Sometimes those folks in California take things just a tad to far.) But I digress...


Sarah and Tony took us to brunch at a place called Dusty's. Dusty's is located on Sunset Boulevard a few blocks from their home. This spacious, airy restaurant is best described as a French Bistro. The day we went everyone enjoyed mimosas and the most wonderful food.  For breakfast they serve egg and bacon dishes, poached egg Molliere, Florentine omelets, French toast and Provencale Crapes.  At lunch and dinner times you can choose from quiches, pasta, burgers, roasted lamb sandwiches, croque monsieur and steamed mussels.  These are just a few of the things that you can get.  I selected a dish called Eggs A La Luna.  It's an english muffin, with melted fresh mozzarella, topped with steamed asparagus spears a poached egg, fresh parmesan and crispy prosciutto. It was irresistibly good.  When they say fresh it was like they had picked the asparagus that morning in their backyard.  This is such a simple thing to make that no specific recipe is necessary.  It is a quick and easy breakfast to assemble and with asparagus now at the farmer's market this is the time to make it.  I made this once with thick sliced bacon and another time with sliced ham.

                                                 Eggs A La Luna with thick sliced bacon

                                                          Eggs A La Luna with ham


Life is good, enjoy!

The Dreaded Dandelion

When I was a little kid I loved dandelions.  I remember trying to impress my mama by bringing home hand fulls of them. By the time I got them home they would have wilted but tended to perk up after she placed them in a coffee cup full of water. I loved it when the flower turned into that big puffy ball of seeds. I would blow on it until the stem was clean -  not really understanding that I was helping make more dandelions.  Most folks today despise the dandelion. Folks use huge amounts of chemicals to poison them. We hate the dandelion so much that we would rather our children and pets be exposed to chemicals instead of having to look at that yellow flower in our manicured lawns.

I moved into a new house in Columbus, IN last fall. The house looks out over a 48 acre park in a flood zone.  The city cares for the park - mows and does the mulching and edging, but they don't try to kill the dandelions. Most days I walk Boston Beans through this park. Yesterday the field was full of  blooming dandelions and wild violets.

                                      Noblett Park, Columbus, IN

When I got home I spent some time trying to learn about the dandelion. I found a website written by "Wildman" Steve Brill who is known as America's Greatest Forager. The Wildman's URL He takes people on tours of parks and other areas and teaches people what is OK to eat.  According to Steve, "[t]he leaves [of the dandelion] are more nutritious than anything you can buy. They're higher in beta-carotene than carrots. The iron and calcium content is phenomenal, greater than spinach. You also get vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, E, P, and D, biotin, inositol, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc by using a tasty, free vegetable that grows on virtually every lawn. The root contains the sugar inulin, plus many medicinal substances." So I thought I would give eating the dandelion a try.  I knew the park didn't use any chemicals. so I figured that I wasn't going to die.  I read that I should try to find leaves that had just emerged without flowers. These leaves would be less bitter.  Eureka!  I found one. 

My Dandelion Green w/ no flowers!

When I got home with my basket of greens, I cut them off their tap roots and cleaned and spun them dry.

Steve mentioned that his preferred way to eat the greens is to saute them. He didn't give a lot of direction so here is his recipe with a little bit of my improvisation. 


Steve Brill's Sauteed Greens

• 4 cups washed dandelion green
• 1.5 T. olive oil
• 1/4 white onion, sliced thinly
• 1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 carrots
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over a medium flame.  Add all ingredients except salt and pepper. Lower heat and saute for 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.

OK - so now everyone knows I am an old hippie at heart.  This was not the best thing I have ever made nor was it the worst.  The greens had a wonderful chicory and endive taste but were very tough even after 20 minutes of cooking time. I thought about boiling them for a while, but my man Steve said all or most of the vitamins would be washed away.

After lunch I went back into the field, picked another batch of greens, washed and spun them dry.  They are laying on my sun porch to dry over the next few weeks. I'm going to smash them up for hot tea.  I'll let you know how that goes!

Life is good, enjoy!

Peas & Ham With Creamy Orzo

 I love it when my April issue of  Cuisine at Home  arrives. I know that I only have six more weeks until April gets here and lighter cooking can begin. This little recipe, from Cuisine,  takes a scant 20 minutes to make but packs great flavor and taste. Even my grown son Will eats this, and he hates peas!


If you live in the south your fresh peas are already arriving. Here in Indiana mine are still trying to stick their heads out of the soil.  So gather your fresh peas (frozen for those of us up north) your leftover Easter ham and give this a try.

Peas & Ham With Creamy Orzo

• 1 cup dry orzo pasta

• 1/2 cup diced onion

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup dry white wine

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

• 1 cup fresh peas

• 1 cup diced ham steak

• 1 egg yolk

• 1/4 cup Parmesan

• salt and black pepper to taste.

Cook orzo according to package directions; drain and set aside

Saute onion in oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute.

Stir in wine, cream, broth, peas, and ham simmer over medium-low heat until peas are tender; 4-5 minutes. Stir in cooked orzo.

Off heat stir in egg yolk and Parmesan until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

I made this with half-n-half instead of cream and was pleased with the results.


Off to the side of the magazine Cuisine offered 5 quick pea recipes:

• Pea Soup: Simmer 2 cups peas in 2 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water for 5 minutes. Puree soup in a blender with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot or cold with whipped sour cream.
• Pea Crostini: Smash cooked peas with some goat cheese and spread a generous amount on toasted rounds of French bread. Top crostini with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and grated Parmesan.
• Peas n' Rice: Stir cooked peas and chopped fresh mint into cooked basmati rice.
• Peas n' Pasta: Stir cooked peas, arugula, and prosciutto into cooked pasta. Drizzle pasta with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Minted Peas: Blanch peas and serve with butter and minced mint leaves.

None of us has an excuse to throw out our peas!  Live is good-enjoy!

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Back in 2006, Mike and I were driving from Indianapolis, to Boston to visit our daughter Sarah. I had picked up a copy of Julie Powell's Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously and began to read it out loud. The reading went on for hours and the laughter was obnoxious. The book was originally a blog that details Julie’s goal of cooking Julia Child’s book Mastering The Art of French Cooking in 365 days. The blog was published, as a book, Nora Ephron wrote a screenplay and the wonderful Meryl Streep played Julia. I loved the book and I loved the movie, but I thought then and still think now that Julie Powell got the short end of the stick. The book was laugh out loud funny and brave. I know no one who has ever cooked that entire book. Without the blog there would have been no movie and much of the world would have missed out on knowing two remarkable women.

In a tribute to Julie Powell and to Julia Child today’s recipe is for Julia’s Boeuf Bourguigon.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

• A six ounce chunk of bacon
• A 9 to 10 inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
• A slotted spoon
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 Tb flour
• 3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine, or a Chianti
• 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1 Tb tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• ½ tsp thyme
• A crumbled bay leaf
• The blanched bacon rind
• 18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock
• 1 lb. quartered fresh mushroom sautéed in butter

DIRECTIONS:

Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardoons (sticks, ¼ inch thick and 1-1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1-1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate the heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2-1/2 coups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

FOR IMMEDIATE SERVING: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

FOR LATER SERVING: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

I have made this dish several times over the years and I’m always tired when I finish it. Julia Child makes you work for your dinner, but the flavor and taste of this dish makes the hard work worth it. She also suggests that you serve it with a full-bodied, young red wine such as a Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux-St. Emilion, or Burgundy.

If you’ve gotten this far and would like a new copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking I have an extra. Just post a comment with your email address and I’ll send it to you. I only have one so first request wins! Life is good – enjoy!

California BLT's

The following recipe is another of Ina Gartens. She makes these sandwiches, wraps them in butcher paper and takes them on a picnic. Mike and I eat them at home, on picnics and on our roof top. They are like green eggs and ham - you would eat them anywhere! Try them before the tomato season ends.

California BLT's

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 6 thick-cut slices of smoked bacon 
• 4 slices of good white bread, cut 1/2 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons good mayonnaise (she recommends Hellman's, I recommend reduced fat)
• 4 to 8 green lettuce leaves, washed and spun very dry
• 1 ripe Hass avocado
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 large ripe tomato, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking wire rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon on the rack in a single layer. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes,until the bacon is browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Place the bread slices on a sheet pan and toast them for 5 minutes. Turn the slices and toast for 1 more minute, until all the bread is evenly browned. Place 2 slices of bread on a cutting board. Spread each slice with about 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Cove the slices with a layer of lettuce. Peel the avocado and slice it 1/2 inch thick. (I like to cut the avocado into small chunks and mash it up a little bit - it seems to stay on the sandwich better). Toss the avocado slices gently with the lemon juice, and arrange on top of the lettuce leaves. Place 3 slices of bacon on top of each sandwich and add a layer of tomato slices on top of the bacon. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Spread each of the remaining 2 slices of toasted bread with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and place, mayonnaise side down, on the sandwiches. Cut in half and serve.

These sandwiches are so good. They are so filling you don't need to serve anything with them except a spoon to pick up what falls out when you take a bite. Life is good - enjoy!

Potato-Crusted Flounder Stuffed with Fire-Roasted Red Pepper & Chorizo

This recipe was lifted straight from The Food Network - they lifted it from a small restaurant called Noah's. Noah's  is a 75 seat, chef owned and operated, restaurant located in Stonington, CT - just seven miles from the town of Mystic. Their menu looks fantastic and so is this dish.

When I first started doing this blog I said some of the recipes were easy and some were not. This one proved to be quite difficult for me. I have adapted it over the years to make it much easier and much less time consuming. The original recipe had you making a fresh tomato sauce and a stuffing that took so much time that you were exhausted before assembling the dish. The trick is to make the stuffing the day before you need it. You will have plenty left over to freeze so making the dish for a second and third time is a breeze. One of the ingredients in the stuffing is chorizo. I hate to admit it, but I don't trust anyone's chorizo but my own, so I'll make that too. I'll give you the recipe but you can always purchase it and save yourself even more time.

Day One

Making Chorizo and Stuffing

I found a chorizo recipe in Cuisine Magazine, Issue 68 on page 34.

Sweet and Spicy Chorizo

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 poblano chile , roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine brown sugar and spices. Blend in remaining ingredients except vegetable oil.

Saute the mixture in vegetable oil. Drain and set aside. You will use the chorizo in the stuffing.

Stuffing

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 pound of chorizo, diced small if you are purchasing it already made
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, stemmed and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 ripe red bell peppers, charred over an open flame, chilled, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1-1/2  to 2 cups breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper

To make the stuffing: In a large saute pan, add the olive oil, then chorizo, and let it cook for about 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, and saute on medium heat until the onions are soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the oregano and bay leaf and cook another 2 minutes, until you can smell the herbs cooking. Add the diced bell peppers and sherry and let simmer 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Fold in the bread crumbs until all liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it. Adjust and set aside.

I generally make this dish for two. At this point I freeze the stuffing into 1/2 cup portions which is all you need each time you make the dish. You are done for the day. Relax and have a glass of wine!

Stuffing in 1/2 cup portions

Potato-Crusted Flounder Stuffed with Fire-Roasted Red Peppers and Chorizo

Serves 2

After Fish Has Been Plated

Day Two

Tomato Sauce

You can make your own sauce, but I find this dish has so much flavor that it really overpowers the sauce. I say canned is fine.

• 1 - 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
  
• drizzle of olive oil
• 2 fresh basil leaves, torn
• salt and pepper to taste

Stuffing

1/2 cup of stuffing

Potato Crust:

• 1 large russet potato
• salt and pepper
• 1-1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Flounder:

• 2 fresh flounder fillets per person, about 4 to 5 ounces per person
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Filets Placed on Potato Mounds

1. Place the ingredients for the tomato sauce in to a small pan and simmer.
2. To make the potato crust: Using a mandoline shred the potato into a bowl. Add sat and pepper and add cornstarch. Mix until blended and set aside.
3. To stuff and crust the fish: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Lay out the fillets flat on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Place a golf-ball sized piece of stuffing in the center of 1 fillet. Spread to distribute the stuffing evenly over the filet. Top with second fillet. Repeat process with remaining fillets.
5. Heat a large nonstick, oven proof saute pan over med-high heat. Add olive oil. When hot put two mounds of shredded potatoes in the basic shape of the fish in the oil. Lay the stuffed fillets on top of the potatoes - press down lightly. Let sit until the potatoes are golden brown about 5 minutes. Carefully flip over stuffed flounder (check to make sure potatoes are good and brown before flipping). Place the flounder in oven for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
6. Remove the fish from the oven. Ladle tomato sauce onto serving plates. Lay the stuffed flounder over the sauce and serve with a vegetable, such as sauteed spinach.

I know this dish looks and sounds complicated, but once you have done it you will find that it is quite easy. I began making this in 2005 and always find that it makes everyone who eats it smile. Life is good - enjoy!