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 Purple Chicken (better known as Coq au Vin)

I love French food.  I love the words, the richness, the fanciness.  I do not love the time-consuming preparation and endless lists of ingredients.  However, from time to time I can make it happen.  And I made it happen this week.  I feel fully entitled to whip out the china for a dish that has "au" in the title...and yet, Peter and I sometimes eat pizza on our wedding china, so I guess I feel entitled to use it whenever I want!  Regardless, this is a meal that is best served on fancy dishes from my le Creuset dutch oven.

I used Ina Garten's Coq au Vin recipe, with just a tiny bit of tweaking.  I couldn't find the cremini mushrooms she called for at our Harris Teeter, so I used ordinary sliced mushrooms.  I also didn't have what she calls "nice bacon," so I just used some diced up thick cut bacon.  Instead of a burgundy, I used one of my favorite cooking red wines, which is Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon.  It's inexpensive, but just great for sipping on as I cook with the rest of the bottle.  Because Peter is not a big fan of onions, I left out the 1/2 lb. of small whole onions and instead used 2 diced onions.  Like Ina calls for, we did ignite the brandy to burn off the alcohol, but we didn't get a huge flare-up like I've seen on The Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network.  We got a one-inch flickering flame.  I was disappointed to say the least.  Below is a picture of my "fire."  You can't even see it.  I know.

The flavors of this dish are wonderful.  My least favorite part of this recipe though, is the color.  The chicken soaks up all the delicious red wine as it cooks...but then it's purple.  Really purple.  And all the way through, not just on the skin.  I served the chicken over creamy polenta with a little steamed spinach and I turned the lights down, so my dinner guests still enjoyed it without commenting on the plum and amethyst hues.  

Here's the recipe if you'd like to create some purple French goodness at your house:


Coq au Vin
adapted from Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics

4 oz. bacon or pancetta, diced
1 3-4 lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
kosher salt and pepper
1/2 lb. carrots cut into 1 inch pieces (I used some shreds that I had leftover)
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 c. brandy or Cognac (I used brandy)
1/2 bottle good dry red wine such as Burgundy
1 c. good chicken stock (I used Peter's homemade stock)
10 fresh thyme sprigs
4 Tbsp. butter at room temp
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 lb. frozen small whole onions (I left these out)
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms

Preheat oven to 250.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and cook the bacon until browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Brown the chicken pieces in batches in the bacon grease for about 5 minutes, turning once.  Remove the chicken to a plate and continue to brown the other pieces until it's all done.  Set aside.

Add carrots, onions, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper to the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes over medium heat.  Once the onions are brown, add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the brandy and use a lighter or match to light a fire and burn off the alcohol.  Add the bacon, chicken, and any juices from the plate into the Dutch oven.  Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer.  Cover with the lid and put it into the oven for 30-40 minutes so the chicken can finish cooking through.  Take it out of the oven and put it on the stove.

Mash 2 Tbsp. butter with the flour and stir into the stew.  Add frozen onions.  In a medium sauce pan, add the other 2 Tbsp. butter and cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the softened mushrooms to the stew and bring the stew to a simmer.  Cook it for another 10 minutes and add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve it straight away with potatoes or your favorite creamy carb.  I chose polenta and it was delicious!