One of the benefits of having people over for grilled pizza? The left-over toppings! Labor Day brought pizza making with friends, and the next day we had some bell peppers, mushrooms and onion already sliced in the fridge. Left behind was also a link of linguica, so that night I threw it all together with some vermicelli noodles, tossed it in a bowl with a dash of olive oil and said, "Eat." It was one of those happy accidents that I liked enough to put it back on the menu, with more intention. This is the fourth iteration of this experiment, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results.
Tools:
Knife, cutting board, large skillet, spatula, large pot, strainer to drain the water, measuring cup; aluminum foil
Ingredients:
1 each of red, green and yellow bell peppers, rough medium dice; 8-9 crimini mushrooms, sliced; 1 portabello mushroom, sliced; 1 yellow or sweet onion, sliced; 2 links linguica; 1/2 cup low sodium or homemade chicken stock; 1/4 cup chardonnay; olive oil, salt, pepper, water for boiling; 5 cloves garlic, sliced; 1 tbsp butter
Heat two turns of olive oil in a large skillet. Cut the linguica in thirds, and then halve the thirds. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the linguica flat side down.
You might as well get your pasta water boiling.
Cook the linguica for about 5-8 minutes over medium high heat until the oil starts to darken, and the flats are browned nicely. Flip over the linguica to sizzle the skin a little. (You can remove it, but I like it. Up to you.) Remove from pan and cover with aluminum foil.
Add all of the mushrooms to the pan and stir. Don't worry about crowding them- it's ok. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then push them to the side.
Add a dash of olive oil and the onions. Sprinkle salt over it all.
Let it be for about a minute, and then stir everything together and cover, stirring occasionally and cooking over medium heat, for about 7 minutes or until the onions start to soften and the mushrooms start to brown.
Add the bell peppers & sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Cover it up. Add the pasta to the water. Boil the pasta for 8-9 minutes or until al dente. Stirr the mushroom-onion-pepper mixture occasionally. The liquid from the peppers & onion will help deglaze the bottom of the pan. Scrape up all those delicious bits as you stir.
Turn the heat up to high and remove the lid.
Add 1/4 cup of wine and cook until evaporated. Add the linguica & garlic and cook for 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant. Turn heat to lowest setting, stir and cover.
Microwave (or heat over the stove) the chicken stock so it is warm.
Drain the pasta, and add back to the pot. Drizzle with olive oil and turn, add 1/2 the chicken stock. Move the linguica pepper mixture off the heat and put the pasta pot on the burner at the low setting.
Combine the linguica mixture with noodles and the remaining chicken stock and the butter. Toss, remove from heat, adding extra pasta water one tablespoon at a time as needed. Serve.
Lemons.
They say if life hands them to you, make lemonade. And if you're over 21, add vodka.
They're the subject of a number of colloquial phrases, if you think about it. One of my personal favorites- easy-peasy lemon-squeezey - is used so often in my daily conversation I'm sure people wouldn't mind strangling me. Aside from life lessons and the easy squeezing, there's also lemon laws, and lemon-fresh, and now one of those fast-food restaurants has co-opted the whole lemon idea for some fruit smoothies.
But lemon borders on conterversial in my household-- I love it and would use it in almost every meal if there wasn't an occasionl protest. I like bold lemon flavor and I can drink gallons of lemonade in the summer. Clearly, I'm a way bigger fan. And so when dinner for the week is settled, there's usually a lemon something that ends up on one of my nights. Since I cook most nights I get my way: we eat a lot of lemon- and bonus: no one will get scurvy.
One lemon dish we both agreed on was this creamy pasta with lemon pepper chicken. The lemon doesn't overpower the other flavors, instead it works beautifully with the garlic and ricotta as a mellow base for the chicken. This recipe makes for a pretty quick dinner. I paired it with a green salad dressed in a vinaigrette using cranberry-pear balsamic vinegar from Amphora Nueva. Big yums.
One other thing to note- this is best consumed the night it is made. Leftovers were just ok. The lemon flavor falls a litle flat the next day and the pasta absorbs a lot of the liquid, making it a little mushy. You can halve the recipe if it's just for two-- or let life hand you some lemons, invite some people over and make some creamy pasta with lemon-pepper chicken instead of lemonade.
Creamy Pasta with Lemon-Pepper Chicken
Tools:
Cutting board, knives, measuring spoons, grater or zester, something to juice your lemon, spoon, spatula, pasta claw, paper towels, measuring cups; large pot, large nonstick skillet; aluminum foil
Ingedients:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2 tbsp olive oil, 3-4 minced garlic cloves; 1-2 lemons for: 1 tbsp grated zest, 3 tbsp juice; 1 pound spaghetti or vermicelli nooddles; 1 cup ricotta cheese; 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley; water for boiling; salt & pepper
I always start my water first if I'm making any pasta dish. It's way easier to bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and bring it back up than to wait and have an ill-timed marrying of pasta and whatever it goes with. So fill your large pot with about four quarts of water and put over high-heat. I like to add a sprinkle of salt to the water.
Trim the chicken if necessary and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet until it starts to shimmer and barely smoke. Add the chicken and cook until browned & cooked through- roughly five minutes each side.
While the chicken browns, combine the lemon zest, ricotta and Parmesan cheese and a 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Your water should be coming to a boil, so after you flip the chicken breast, add the pasta and cook just until al dente- it's okay if the pasta still has a little bite. This will probably take 9 to 10 minutes. Reserve a cup of pasta water when you drain.
When the chicken is ready, transfer to a cutting board or plate and tent with foil. Let it rest for at least five minutes. Once it's rested, cut crosswise for diagonal slices.
Heat the remaining oil in the empty skillet until it starts to shimmer.
Toss the garlic into the oil and stir, with 3/4 tsp of pepper, for about thirty seconds. You'll smell when it's ready.
Add the lemon juice, reduce heat and simmer until it's reduced to one tablespoon.
Remove from heat, add chicken and accumulated juices.
The pasta should be ready. Drain it and don't forget to reserve at least a cup (if not more) of the water. Add the pasta back to the pot and stir in the ricotta mixture.
Add the chicken and the parsley and 1/2 a cup of the pasta water, adding more as needed.
Season with salt & pepper and finish by sprinking a little grated Parmesan.
September brought three different birthdays at work and so of course, that meant three different kinds of cupcakes. I planned on blogging them all but it turns out a second hand is required for photographing while dealing with volatile caramel, and making gluten-free cupcakes requires a lot of timing and attention. Mission: Blog3Cupcakes was abandoned and Mission: BlogAnything began.
I love peanut butter, and cake, and when I first came across this recipe it seemed like a big hand-to-the-forehead DOH! Instead of cupcakes, I used two loaf pans and made a peanut butter cake with a jam & peanut butter frosting that was presented as half sammies. It was really good, so it seemed like a natural evolution to a peanut butter cupcake with chocolate. The chocolate was good, but next time I'm going to try and keep the PB & J theme intact. There's something really comforting and nostalgic about that archetypal sweet and salty taste.
This recipe is adapted from the June 2010 issue of Cuisine at Home. (Issue 81)
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
Tools
muffin/cupcake tins, whisk, hand or standing mixer, measuring cups and spoons, spatula, medium bowl, large bowl, muffin/cupcake liners
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached; 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. table salt, 1 1/4 cups whole milk; 2 tsp. vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter; 1 stick of unsalted, softened butter; 2 cups granulated sugar; 1 cup packed brown sugar; 6 room temperature eggs
A word about the peanut butter: Don't use an all-natural kind. I am kind of a staunch Adams Creamy kind of girl- I scorn the Laura Scudder and Sunny Select varieties. I made the mistake the first time I made this recipe of sticking to my guns- it wasn't a disaster, but it was nothing I'd want proclaim, "I made that!" about. The crumb of the cake will be drier and coarser, and more like a cornbread than a cake. The natural peanut butter is much harder to cream and incorporate. Just trust in Jif or Skippy or whatever brand you prefer-- I know it can be difficult, but sometimes you just have to compromise your principles to eat something delicious.
Preheat the oven to 350, and line the tins. Set them aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set that aside.
Combine the milk and the vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup. Set it aside.
In the bowl of your standing mixer, or a large bowl if you're using a hand-mixer, cream the peanut butter, unsalted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
It's going to take about 5-7 minutes on high speed. Make sure the sugar dissolves into the peanut butter, but don't over do it. It won't be super light and fluffy like creaming plain butter and sugar-- but resist the temptation to overbeat. You don't want the cake to be too dense. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds after each addition.
Add about 1/3 of the flour mix to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed just until it's mixed.
Add a third of the milk. Continue alternating the flour and milk, beating just until mixed.
I like to use an ice cream scoop to measure my cupcakes, because it helps keep things neat and evenly distributed. Divide the batter among the tins, and bake for 22-26 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. This recipe makes roughly 36 cupcakes, so you might have to repeat this step.
The frosting I used was pretty simple-- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup of dutch cocoa, 2 tbsp of powdered sugar and a sprinkle of salt. Combine it all. Let stand in the fridge for about an hour so that the cocoa can dissolve. Remove from fridge and beat until it is the consistency of whipped cream, a little thicker if you're piping it onto the cupcakes.
Pour a glass of milk and put one in your mouth. Voila!
