Well, I'm famous (or infamous, depending upon who you ask) for planning out my meals in advance, buying the groceries, and always knowing what's for dinner.  However, recently, I've started a new job and I'm having trouble keeping my sanity by the time Friday rolls around.  Tonight, I got home and realized that I was missing two key ingredients for the Laksa Curry soup I was planning.  So....plan two.  I opened the freezer/refrigerator/cabinets and started scrounging.  We have lots of staples on hand, but we don't have lots of things that go together to create delicious meals, necessarily.  Despite this, I got lucky tonight:  we had the ingredients for a zippy shrimp scampi pasta.  It all came together in about 20 minutes, and it was beyond tasty.   

Friday Night Shrimp Scampi Pasta 12 shrimp, thawed if frozen 8 oz pappardelle pasta 1 T. olive oil 3 T. butter 4 cloves garlic, minced      2 lemons, zested and juiced  3 T. capers  3 T. fresh parsley, chooped  Put water on to boil for the pasta. Melt the butter with the olive oil until bubbling, then add the garlic.  Saute about three minutes or until fragrant but not browned.  Toss the shrimp, lemon zest, lemon juice, and capers into the butter/oil pan and stir around.  Saute about five minute, or until shrimp is cooked through.  Stir in parsley.   If shrimp is done before pasta, turn off the heat and cover with a lid.  When pasta is is done, drain, and toss with shrimp mixture.  That's it!  Yum...

I love this time of year...the weather is crisp, football is on, and some of the tastiest veg is in season.  About this time, I like to get creative with some of my favorite fall flavors, and I like it best when I can use local and seasonal ingredients.  While some people find the stripey, colorful winter squash fabulous table decor and little else, I find them tasty, appropriate, and perfect for a dish like this.  

Oh, and if you're in Indy and you haven't tried Good the Market's new Smoking Goose products, put your shoes on right now and go get some...their stuff is the best I've tasted.

2 medium carnival or acorn squash 

3/4 c. wild rice, cooked 

2 links garlic or Italian sausage  (I used locally smoked Smoking Goose Garlic Sausage)
1 c. diced onion
2/3 c. diced celery
1T. fresh thyme

4 T. slivered, toasted almonds 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and turn upside down in 1/2 inch of water in an oven-safe pan.  Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Bring raisins, cranberries, and cider to a boil and then remove from heat.  Allow to stand while you cook the sausage and such in the next step. 

Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and cook over medium-high until no longer pink.  Mix in onion and celery and sprinkle with kosher salt, then cook for about five minutes, or until veg starts to soften. Mix in the thyme and season liberally with black pepper.   

Mix fruit and cider into the sausage mixture, and cook for five minutes, or until liquid evaporates.

Stir together rice and sausage mixture.  Stuff this mixture into the squash halves and mound up.  Top each filled squash half with 1T. almonds and bake for 30 minutes.

Most decidedly not vegan, but very delicious, nonetheless.

Spaghetti with Spicy Sausage, Fennel 3 ways, and Mushrooms

1 lb spicy Italian bulk sausage (preferably local - I highly recomment 7 sons for those here in Indy)

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 

2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar (or processor)  

1 fennel bulb, frondy tops intact

8 oz cremini mushrooms 

1/2 c half and half 

1 lb spaghetti (the best you can find)

1 c. finely grated parmesan, plus, more to serve if desired

1 c. reserved pasta cooking water 

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Cook the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink, then mix in the fennel seed and garlic.  Cook a few minutes longer, or until the garlic smells perfect.  Remove the frondy tops from the fennel bulb and set aside.  Cut the stem off of the bottom of the bulb, slice in half vertically, remove the core, and then slice into think strips.  Add fennel bulb to the sausage mixture and stir to coat.  Remove stems, if desired, from the mushrooms and clean with a wet paper towel.  Slice thinly and add to the pan.  Stir again, sprinkle with salt, a generous amount of pepper, and add a bit of olive oil if the mixture looks dry (7 sons sausage is actually very lean), cover with a lid and continue to cook over medium heat for a while, stirring occasionally so as to prevent burning.  

Start your pasta water. 

While the water comes up to temp (do cover it with a lid to speed up this process), pick the frondy tops off of the fennel stalks.  Finely chop and set aside.  

Cook pasta according to package directions.  When pasta is just about done, add half and half and 1 c. cooking water to the sausage mixture.  Stir well and then remove from the heat.  Drain pasta and toss with sausage mixture and frondy tops in the pasta cooking pot.  Return to heat and stir, stir, stir, cooking until liquid dissolves.   Adjust as necessary with salt after stirring in 1 c. parmesan.  Top with additional cheese, if desired.

Onto vegan week #2 (we have designated one week per month until the Mini - at least - "Vegan Week").  This was our kickoff meal last night.  We both thought it was beyond delicious and that we would crave it whether or not it was Vegan Week.  So, onto the blog.

1/2 recipe homemade pizza dough (I added minced kalamata olives to my dough.  If you want to do this, add the olives when you've got a nice, sticky paste, or about 1/2 way through adding the flour)

2/3 head cauliflower, separated into small florets

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into sticks

1 c. cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed and quartered 

3 dried cayenne peppers (or other chiles, as you like)

2 tsp. fennel seed, crushed

kosher salt

black pepper

olive oil

tomato sauce or other dipping sauce, as you like 

Start out by making dough.  Remember, you only need a half recipe.  The recipe below is the whole recipe.  If you make the whole thing and want to save it, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

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 While your dough rises, start on the veg.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees while you're chopping.  Mix together cauliflower, carrots, chile, and fennel seed.  Season liberally with kosher salt and black pepper, then toss with a glug of olive oil.  Bake about 15 minutes and add the mushrooms.  Be sure to stir so that the mushrooms get coated with oil.  Bake another 10 minutes, or until veg is nicely tender.

Now, raise the oven temp to 500 degrees. 

Roll out the dough into two equal portions roughly the shape of an oval.  Top each dough with half of the veg and fold over.  Crimp the edges so that nothing escapes.

 Bake for 10 minutes or until nicely golden.  If you like, warm the tomato sauce in a small oven-safe container while the calzones bake.

 Serve, dip, and enjoy! 

Just in time for the popular New Year's desire to eat more healthfully, a tasty, satisfying vegan pasta dish.  Even my husband (a committed carnivore) says 10/10 - fantastic.  In fact, he's the one that wanted me to write it up for this blog.

1 whole celery root, diced

1 medium sweet potato, julienned (about 1 c.)

2 yellow beets, julienned (about 1 c.)

4 medium carrots, julienned (about 1 c.) 

2 small parsnips, julienned (about 1/2 c.)

6 dried chile d'arbol, smashed in  a mortar and pestle 

1 lemon, zested and juiced 

1 c. shiitake, sliced 

2 T. oregano, minced

fresh beet greens from the two beets, washed and chopped

1 lb. short pasta

olive oil

kosher salt

black pepper 

Place celery root in a pan and cover with water.  Salt liberally and bring to a boil.  Cover tightly and cook until celery root is very soft.  Drain and then mash as you like (e.g. pass through a ricer, puree in a blender, mash by hand).  Whatever method you choose, be sure there are no chunks left over.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy pan over medium-high, heat a generous glug of olive oil.  Add potato, beet, parsnip, and carrot.  Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and stir to coat.  Cook for about 10 minutes until veg starts to soften.  Add zest of the lemon, chili, oregano, and shiitake.  Stir well again and continue to cook.  Partially cover with lid and cook until the veg is tender and nicely caramelized.  Mix in the beet greens and lemon juice, then cook another couple of minutes until greens are wilted.

While veg is cooking, prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.  Drain, reserving about a cup of the cooking liquid.

Mix together pasta, celery root puree, and pan-roasted veg mixture.  Mix in a bit of the pasta cooking water as needed, until desired consistency is achieved.  

Serve in shallow bowls and top with additional olive oil.

Needing to use up a ton of Thai basil, I created this Asian "pesto" of sorts.  It's good warm, but we liked it even better at room temperature or slightly chilled.

 Asian "Pesto" with Noodles

1 c. dry roasted peanuts, plus additional for garnish

1 T. minced ginger

4 cloves garlic

2 fresh, ripe (e.g. red) cayenne peppers

2 c. (packed) thai basil

1/2 c. (packed) mint 

zest and juice of two limes 

1/3 - 1/2 c. soy sauce

2 - 3 T. fish sauce

1/2 c. canola oil

12 oz noodles of your choice (udon, soba, etc.)

In a food processor, chop first four ingredients into a fine mince.  Add herbs and, again, process well.  Add the zest and then, with the blade running, pour the juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, and finally oil through the chute.  Allow to run until the desired (for me, smooth) consistency is achieved.  Taste and adjust flavors as needed.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package and drain.  Return noodles to their pan and stir in pesto.  Serve in bowls with finely chopped peanuts as garnish.

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted a new recipe, but having a baby will do that!  Now that our son is 2 months old, I find myself able to make time to cook regularly and even blog about it a bit...

 I've made this white bean bruschetta for a couple of different events lately, and each time it gets rave reviews and people ask for the recipe.  So, here it is:

 White Bean Bruschetta

1 lb. dry Great Northern beans, cooked according to the package until just done (e.g. not mushy) and cooled to room temperature

4 large cloves of garlic, minced 

1 large lemon, zested and juiced

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

2-3 T. fresh oregano, chopped finely 

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

white wine vinegar, to taste

Heat up a generous glug of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and then add the garlic.  Cook briefly until the garlic scents the kitchen and then add beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, and oregano.  Sprinkle with a good pinch of kosher salt and pepper.  Stir well to coat the beans with the oil and saute over about medium heat until the beans start to brown and crisp a bit on the outside.  Ensure that you cook the mixture long enough such that the flavors incorporate the beans are tender inside/crispy outside, and any existing liquid evaporates.  When you're happy with the consistency add a glug of vinegar, stir well again, and cook for a couple of minutes more.  Taste and add more vinegar, to taste, if necessary.  Adjust with salt and pepper, again, to taste.

 This is best served at room temperature with crostini. 

*Alternate version:  Combine the beans through pepper and allow to sit together in the fridge at least over night (or up to a week).  Bake at 500 degrees for 30 minutes +, or until the mixture is bubbling furiously and the top is nicely golden brown in places. 

If you have pressure cooker and love risotto, you have to try this...we were so skeptical, but it worked perfectly (and really did take 7 minutes + no stirring...)

http://www.examiner.com/x-21223-Indianapolis-Food-Examiner~y2010m1d13-Dinner-in-a-Hurry--PressureCooker-Risotto