Pappardelle Pasta

JD had to work late last night and since it was "girl's night" - I decided to make something that JD doesn't usually like! He isn't a big fan of wide noodles, but pappardelle noodles are my favorite! I don't know what it is about them, but they feel so luxurious and decadent!


Roasted Vegetable Pappardelle Pasta
1/2 head cauliflower - chopped
1 small zucchini - sliced into 1" thin strips (about 1/2" wide)
1 red pepper - sliced
1/2 "bushel" asparagus - cut into 1" pieces
1/2 yellow onion - diced
2 garlic cloves - minced
3 tbs capers
1/4 cup parmesan
1/2 cup white wine
1 tomato - seeded and diced
Pappardelle noodles (about 5 "nests")
evoo
Italian spices
S&P
For easy clean-up, I combined the cauliflower, zucchini, red pepper and asparagus in a large ziplock bag, added evoo (about 3 tbs) and spices, mixed it around and placed in a large casserole dish and roasted at 375 degrees for about 30 min.


Meanwhile, I boiled the water for the noodles and heated a large saute pan with evoo and sauteed the onion and garlic until translucent. I then added the roasted veggies to the pan, the diced tomatoes, capers and white wine. Once heated through, I added the noodles and tossed. Top with the parmesan cheese.

Arancini

As I was preparing dinner for my wonderful friend, Tasha and I - I noticed that I still had leftover risotto (see Lettuce Risotto recipe). I hated to see it go to waste, but I had already planned to make Pappardelle pasta with roasted veggies (recipe to come). What to do?

Arancini (Fried Risotto Balls)
Using the leftover risotto, I made little balls, rolled them in flour, a mixture of beaten eggs and milk and breadcrumbs (all three "steps" seasoned of course) and then fried until golden brown.

Sure, it was a little heavy on the carbs, but you know what? Totally worth it!!

Mushroom & Pepper Polenta

Mushrooms & Pepper in a White Wine reduction over Polenta


1 cup polenta
3 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (or less if you're trying to be "good")
Italian herbs
S&P
2 portobello mushrooms - gills removed and thinly sliced
1/2 yellow onion - thinly sliced
1 red pepper - thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic - thinly sliced
EVOO

Boil water and vegetable bouillon cubes, once boiling, stir in polenta and reduce heat to low (I usually cover it at this point, with a little bit of ventilation, because it "pops" a lot) - keep an eye on it and keep stirring to prevent sticking.
Stir in butter, parmesan cheese and seasonings to taste.
In a large skillet, add evoo and once heated (medium - low heat), add onions and garlic and saute until softened, then add red pepper and saute for 3 min., then add mushrooms and saute for an additional 3 min. Add white wine and seasonings (to taste), raise heat to medium-high until bubbling, then reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced.


Top the polenta with veggies and serve!

White Bean Bruschetta

Who says Brushcetta has to exclusively be tomatoes, basil and garlic?

A little "Shelley creation":

White Bean Bruschetta
1/4 of a yellow onion - grated
1 (or 2 if you like it garlicky) clove garlic - roughly chopped
1 can of white beans (I used Great Northern) - rinsed
Lemon zest and lemon juice to taste
1/4 tsp thyme
S&P
1/2 (or 1 whole if you like tomatoes - I used the whole tomato) tomato - seeded and diced
1 tbs parmesan

Combine all ingredients except for tomatoes in food processor and puree until smooth, but still a tiny bit chunky. Empty food processor into bowl and carefully mix in diced tomatoes.

I served this on toasted baguette slices with a slice of fresh mozzarella and then the bruschetta. Delish!

Good-lookin' Pizza

What a fun Monday night JD and I shared! We decided to have a "pizza night" and try out two new recipes! We didn't follow the recipes exactly, but that's half the fun, isn't it?!

Grilled Mushroom Kabobs and Couscous Salad

Well, first off, I made a boo-boo and thought I had couscous, but didn't, so we used a blend of brown rice and bulgar (called "Whole Grain Blends" by Middle East I believe) which is actually much healthier anyway.

We used portobello mushrooms that I removed the gills from and chopped into quarters. We noticed that the marinade was too salty the first time we made it, so I would suggest leaving out the "pinch of salt". The second time we made it (because the mushrooms were so good, we made two batches!) JD also added white pepper, finely chopped scallions and a splash of lime juice.

Delicious!!

Eggplant, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza

We made our pizza crust super thin and brushed a little bit of evoo on the dough. We also added some of the broiled mushrooms from above because they were just too good not to! We also noticed that as great as the pizza was, it was a little dry, so we made a marinara dipping sauce for the pizza and it was pure perfection!!

Halfway through

DONE!

Asparagus Tapenade, Eggplant-Zucchini-Tomato-Mozzarella Salad & Lettuce Risotto

After rollerblading at Robinson Preserve in the morning and grouting the bathroom in the afternoon, the last thing I wanted to do was go to the grocery store! What does that mean? Leftover night!

I had an eggplant, zucchini, asparagus, field greens, tomato, swiss cheese and mozzarella. What to make?

Asparagus Tapenade

I made this recipe a little differently. Friday night we had a Panini night at Michelle's house and I wanted to make this quick and easy appetizer, but didn't have time to roast a head of garlic. Now let me preface this by saying that under normal situations, I would never advise using jarred roasted garlic instead of fresh! But desperate times call for desperate measures, so I bought the jarred and used it both nights.

I also noticed that the first time I made it, it was too lemony, so this time I added lemon zest, but instead of lemon juice, I added about 2-3 tbs of Sauvignon Blanc.

Last note: I made this by sauteing the asparagus and roasting in the oven at 425 degrees (two different times) and both worked beautifully!

Eggplant, Zucchini, Tomato & Mozzarella Salad

Toss the eggplant & zucchini with evoo, s&p and Italian seasoning and roast at 425 until soft/golden brown. Pair with mozzarella and tomato slices and drizzle evoo, balsamic vinegar and spices. My favorite salad!

Lettuce Risotto

I started with the above recipe, but changed it around a little bit. I boiled about 4 cups of water with 4 vegetable bouillon cubes and reduced heat to low once dissolved.

I sauteed about 1/2 red onion and 3 cloves of garlic in 3 tbs of evoo and 1 tbs of butter. Then I added 1 cup of Arborio rice and sauteed until fragrant, added 1/2 cup of Sauvignon Blanc (my wine of choice for the evening) and once absorbed, started adding the vegetable stock.

Once the risotto was done, I added about 1 1/2 cups of chopped field greens, 1/4 cup chopped green olives (stuffed with pimientos), 2 tbs capers, 1 cup of shredded swiss cheese & 1 tbs of butter. It was delicious! I think on hind sight, I would've added less cheese, but JD, of course, loved it and it was after all, a Saturday night!

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