G is for Green Pasta

Now that I've learned to make fresh pasta, it's getting much easier to whip up a batch.  Homemade pasta is truly delicious and I enjoy making it, but I need to figure out a better way to store it because my go-to recipe from Epicurious makes so much.  I'm still surprised by the sheer quantity of pasta I get when I decide to roll out some pasta sheets, so I need to work on halving the recipe or find an alternative.

My most recent adventure with pasta included a bit of spinach.  I know green pasta makes some people a bit wary, but I love it!  I took about half a bag of baby spinach and pureed it in the food processor.  Then I added my regular pasta ingredients and used the food processor's pulse function to mix everything to a kneadable consistency.  It turned out great!  

Peter and I bought some clams and mussels and made a wine sauce to steam them in from Smitten Kitchen.  We served the mussels and clams over my spinach pasta and enjoyed our meal out on the porch.  Delicious!  

Spinach Fettucini

adapted from Epicurious

1/2 bag baby spinach leaves

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
4 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbsp. water
A pasta machine 

Puree the spinach leaves in a food processor, scraping the sides of the work bowl with a spatula to ensure all the leaves are evenly chopped.  Add the flour, eggs, and salt and pulse several times to mix.  Add water 1 Tbsp. at a time through the feeder tube until it begins to form a ball.  If the dough is too dry, add water a little bit at a time and stop when it is firm and not sticky.  Process the dough for about 15 seconds more to knead it and then transfer it to a floured surface to let it rest.  Cover the dough with an inverted bowl for about 1 hour so the gluten can relax and rolling will be easier.  

To roll the pasta, divide your dough into 8 equally-sized pieces.  Flatten each piece into a rectangle and cover the remaining pasta pieces while you work with one at a time to flatten it.  You do not want them to dry out.  Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed it through the rollers of your pasta machine.  On my Kitchenaid mixer attachment, I set it to 1 (the thickest setting) first and took it through several times to make long, even rectangles.  The mixer speed was set on the lowest speed and I thought that was as fast as I would really want to work.  I ran each pasta sheet through on setting 1 about 5-8 times, sometimes folding it in half length-wise to avoid getting sheets that were excessively wide.  Turn the dial to the next narrower setting and feed the dough through the rollers without folding.  Continue to feed the dough through each level once without folding until you reach your desired thickness.  I took my pasta through each setting and stopped at 5 or 6.  Don't skip levels of rolling because the pasta will crumble out into your hand instead of sticking together and thinning out.  Your pasta sheets should end up being about 3 feet long and roughly 4 inches wide.  Cut the sheets shorter if you like and lay them on a lightly floured surface to dry while you roll the remaining rectangles.  You can also lightly dust them with flour and hang them over the backs of chairs, a broomstick, a pasta tree, or a drying rack.  When your pasta sheets are leathery but still pliable, it's time to cut them.

To cut the pasta, I changed the attachment on the mixer from the roller to the fettucini cutting tool.  I carefully led each pasta sheet through the cutter and caught the fettucini underneath with my hands.  I put the cut pasta on a rod to dry overnight.

Mussels in White Wine Sauce

from Smitten Kitchen

2 c. white wine

1/2 c. minced shallots

handful of parsley, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. pepper

6 Tbsp. butter

2-3 lbs. mussels, scrubbed 

2 lbs. clams, scrubbed 

Add all the ingredients to boil in a dutch oven or large pot.  Boil for 2-3 minutes and then add the clams. Let the clams steam with the lid on for about 3 minutes and then add the mussels to the pot.  Cover and boil for 4-5 more minutes.  The shells will open up when the mussels and clams are done.  Ladle the clams, mussels, and broth into soup bowls and sprinkle with parsley.  You can serve this over pasta or with hearty bread to soak up the delicious broth.     

P is for Pasta

Pasta is one of those things we take for granted.  No matter the shape or color, it's generally inexpensive and very easy to prepare.  Pasta is incredibly versatile and we use it all the time at our house: spaghetti with meat sauce, macaroni and cheese, fettucini Alfredo with shrimp, pasta salad for a picnic, spicy sesame noodles with peppers, baked penne, spinach lasagna, ravioli with butternut squash sauce...the list goes on and on!  We love carbs around here.            

But where does pasta come from?  How is it made?  What is a pasta tree? Why am I able to store it in my pantry for so long? And how do they make rotini so curly?!

I first began my pasta-making adventure when I received a pasta maker for my birthday from my siblings-in-law, Jeff and Lindsay.  They know about my love of cooking and they've been making pasta for a long time.  Lindsay made us a delicious mushroom ravioli once using her handy pasta cranker and a ravioli press.  I looked on, impressed and intimidated.  Why go to so much trouble to make pasta when it's so cheap at the store?

Well, I'll tell you.  It's delicious when you buy it at the grocery store and it's even more so when you make it fresh.

The process is involved.  First you make the dough and let it rest.  Then you roll out the dough using a pasta roller to make long, thin sheets that gradually dry to a leathery texture.  Next you cut the long sheets of pasta into whatever size you prefer (spaghetti, fettucini, etc.).  Lastly, you boil the pasta for about 90 seconds and serve it or store it.  Sadly, freshly-made pasta will not last for eternity in your pantry and you'll have to find ways of serving it within a week or freezing it.  In my research, I found that a lot of folks toss the cut and cooked pasta with a little corn starch and freeze it in big zipper bags until they're ready to serve it.  Then at meal time, you can boil it for like 1 minute instead of 6-8 minutes since it's already cooked.  I have yet to try the freezer method, so I'll report back.        

If you have hours to spare and you enjoy a new kitchen adventure from time to time, do this.  If you're still learning how to poach an egg and roast a chicken, click on another blog entry to read. The list of ingredients should not intimidate, but the procedure is tricky and time-consuming.  Fear not, but this one classifies as advanced.  

Fresh Pasta Sheets
from Gourmet magazine, January 2006

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
4 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbsp. water
A pasta machine

Evidently you can blend your flour, eggs, salt, and water in a food processor until it begins to form a ball.  You're supposed to add more water gradually if the dough is too dry and stop when it is firm and not sticky.  Process the dough for about 15 seconds more to knead it and then transfer it to a floured surface to let it rest.  Cover the dough with an inverted bowl for about 1 hour so the gluten can relax and rolling will be easier.  Note: I didn't use the food processor technique because Peter and I recently exchanged our Kitchenaid food processor for a Cuisinart product instead and we were waiting for the shipment of our new appliance.  The next time I make pasta, I will use the food processor because the by-hand method was pretty much a counter-top disaster.


To make your pasta dough by hand, mound the flour on a work surface (wooden, if you have it!) and make a well in the center.  Add eggs, salt, and 2 Tbsp. of water to the well.  With a fork, gently beat the eggs and water until combined.  Gradually stir in enough flour to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to the egg mixture.  Be careful not to make an opening in the outer wall of the well because you don't want your liquid mixture to spill out on the counter.  (I made this mistake, but I was too busy recovering from the leak to photograph the incident.)  Knead the remaining flour into the mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding more water gradually if it is too dry.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.  Cover the dough with an inverted bowl on your counter and let it rest for about an hour.

To roll the pasta, divide your dough into 8 equally-sized pieces.  Flatten each piece into a rectangle and cover the remaining pasta pieces while you work with one at a time to flatten it.  You do not want them to dry out.  Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed it through the rollers of your pasta machine.  On my Kitchenaid mixer attachment, I set it to 1 (the thickest setting) first and took it through several times to make long, even rectangles.  The mixer speed was set on the lowest speed and I thought that was as fast as I would really want to work.  I ran each pasta sheet through on setting 1 about 5-8 times, sometimes folding it in half length-wise to avoid getting sheets that were excessively wide.  Turn the dial to the next narrower setting and fee the dough through the rollers without folding.  Continue to feed the dough through each level once without folding until you reach your desired thickness.  I took most of my pasta to level 7 (8 is the smallest), but if I were to do it again, I'd stop at 5 or 6 because my pasta turned out more like angel hair than I intended.  Don't skip levels of rolling because the pasta will crumble out into your hand instead of sticking together and thinning out.  Your pasta sheets should end up being about 3 feet long and roughly 4 inches wide.  Cut the sheets shorter if you like and lay them on a lightly floured surface to dry while you roll the remaining rectangles.  You can also lightly dust them with flour and hang them over the backs of chairs, a broomstick, a pasta tree, or a drying rack.  When your pasta sheets are leathery but still pliable, it's time to cut them.

Fold it lengthwise a few times while you roll it through on level 1
to make a nice, even rectangular shape.  

If you skip any levels during the rolling process, the dough may
crumble out into your hand instead of stretching out and thinning.  Go in
order 1-2-3-4-5-6 etc. until you've reached the desired thickness.

To cut the pasta, I changed the attachment on the mixer from the rollers to the cutting tool.  I carefully led each pasta sheet through the cutter and the pieces of spaghetti fell out into a bowl I had placed underneath.  I should've cut the pasta into 1 foot lengths beforehand because I ended up with some majorly long spaghetti strands and they were hard to twirl and control on a fork, knife, spoon, pasta scoop, or anything!

To cook the pasta, I tossed the freshly cut spaghetti into a pot of salty, boiling water for about 3 minutes.  This was too long.  If you make fresh pasta and it's thin, it only needs about 90 seconds.  Watch the pot! Stir the pasta so that it doesn't form a large blob because the cut dough is stickier than dried pasta.  You can test the doneness of the spaghetti by pulling a single noodle out and tasting it or just using the side of a fork to cut a noodle against the side of the pot.  If it takes some pressure, it's probably al dente.  If it cuts pretty easily, it's "well done."

With my first batch of homemade pasta, Cynthia made a tomato sauce with herbs from my patio, diced peppers, garlic, onions, and crumbled bacon.  It was fresh and delicious!        

 

F is for Foxfield

The last Saturday in April is a holiday in Charlottesville.  We call it Foxfield.  It is the sunniest, preppiest, most entertaining splash of spring you've ever seen.  Oh, and it's a steeplechase horse race, but some people go to Foxfield and never see a horse.  Even though the undergraduate students make up the greatest percentage of the massive crowd, there are plenty of plots for us "grownups."  We actually watch the horse races (and take $1 bets too)!

I enjoy the challenge of creating a picnic for Foxfield because it has to be sun-proof.  It has to be easily packed and organized so that we can set up quickly, chow down and hang out for hours, and then pack it all up again.  This year's spread was pretty delicious, so today I'll share my menu.  I had plenty of helpers to create the meal and even more helpers to consume it, so I can't take all the credit for putting this together.  Nonetheless, I was the planner and that's a role I love.  

Foxfield Menu

Assorted sandwiches (roast beef, ham, turkey, grilled chicken)

Blue cheese, cranberry, spinach, & apple wraps

Italian pasta salad (with feta and pepperoni)

Sesame noodles with red peppers and carrots

Prosciutto and spinach Stromboli

Texas Caviar (a chunky salsa with black beans, hominy, & black eyed peas)

S'mores Cookies

Rice Krispie Treats

Crudités with red pepper hummus

Watermelon

Mimosas, Bloody Marys, the "Monarch," & other cocktails

Gourmet Jello Shots

Wraps made with a blue cheese spread, dried cranberries,
granny smith apples, pecans, and spinach

Italian pasta salad with tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and pepperoni

Sesame noodles with carrot ribbons and thinly sliced red peppers

Stromboli with prosciutto and mozzarella, plus spinach and
mushrooms from the farm box

Texas caviar: a chunky salsa made with black-eyed peas, black beans,
yellow and green peppers, hominy, tomatoes, and jalapenos

S'mores cookies with chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows

Rice Krispie treats

Vegetable crudités with red pepper hummus

My "gourmet" jello shots were one of the biggest hits of the day.  I purchased 2 oz. condiment cups with lids from a restaurant supply shop here in Charlottesville and mixed up several batches of jello shots.  My varieties?  Cranberry jello with vodka and lime juice made a classy cocktail.  Orange jello with vodka made marvelous mini screwdrivers.  Lime jello with tequila was the perfect mini margarita.  Lemon jello with sweet tea vodka made a fantastic Arnold Palmer.  We got lots and lots of compliments on our fun jello drinks!       

I failed to take pictures of our sandwiches, but we tried something new this year and it was a success.  The night before the picnic, we had a sandwich assembly line and created at least 20 different combinations of bread, meat, and cheese.  We used turkey, spiral sliced ham, roast beef, and grilled chicken breasts marinated in caesar dressing.  We had a variety of cheeses also, including cheddar, pepper jack, brie, swiss, and blue cheese.  We used sub rolls, sandwich buns, bagel thins, and whole wheat bread.  After each sandwich was built, we labeled the plastic sandwich bags with incredibly cute labels made by Lotta Jansdotter.  I gave the pen and labels to my sister-in-law, Lindsay, because she's got the perfect handwriting of a designer, and she stickered each sandwich with a little love.  They looked so cute I could barely stand it.  Let me add that we got lots of compliments on our adorable sandwiches and how professional they looked.  "Are these from a deli?" was my favorite comment.  To keep the sandwiches from getting soggy, we left off any condiments and just put a small cooler under the table that held mayonnaise, mustards, pickles, and banana peppers on ice.  It worked out perfectly.  In general, our Foxfield weekend was a great, preppy, picnic success!  

Lindsay & Peter busy on the sandwich assembly line