Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese

On our recent Spring vacation on the Disney Dream, Daniel ate a whole lot of macaroni and cheese. It was classic Disney mac and cheese. (A familiar mac and cheese given the amount of time we've vacationed at Disney through the years.) It's advertised as creamy and boy, is it ever. So creamy that at times it's like eating cheese soup with a bit of macaroni thrown in as an afterthought.

Both of the boys have made it clear over the years that they don't really like my home-made macaroni and cheese. (I don't know why, because it's delicious. But apparently it's not creamy enough.) I'm always on the look-out for a new macaroni and cheese recipe that might wean them off KD, which is the only mac and cheese they'll eat at home. So a mac and cheese recipe advertised as creamy definitely catches my attention since apparently that's what my current recipe lacks - creaminess. I was craving mac and cheese earlier this week when the weather turned a bit chilly, and this was the first recipe I came across that included the word 'creamy' and whose required ingredients I had on hand. I was so hopeful for this recipe. It required zero effort to make and it certainly looked the part (i.e. very, very creamy). And yet, sadly, it was rejected. Only by the boys. I ate it quite happily and had the leftovers for lunch the next day. It's my new go-to stovetop mac and cheese. Despite being dismissed (not for lack of creaminess. This time we claimed an after-taste. I dispute this finding.) I will make this recipe again. I have a feeling that with time, this could be a winner.

Spaghetti Tacos

I can't quite remember when it happened, but sometime this year my kids discovered iCarly. First on Netflix, then on YTV. It's a pretty goofy show, and while I don't always love some of the messaging it isn't the worst show they've watched. Fairly early on in the series I remember hearing about spaghetti tacos. This is a meal served to the iCarly gang every once in a while....a dinner option that, much like the show, seems a bit goofy. Then last week both of my boys asked if we could have spaghetti tacos for dinner. And since I like to encourage them to try new foods I said "sure" and set out to find a suitable recipe.

Black Label Chicken Parmesan

This past Saturday I was gifted with a big bag of PC Black Label food products. Which came in very handy Sunday night when I was faced with deciding on dinner. I had my eye on the big box of Fiorelli pasta that was in my bag but wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, since I wasn't on grocery duty this weekend and wasn't sure what I had to work with. Then I spied a jar of Black Label Marinara sauce in the pantry that David happened to pick up, having been inspired by our gift bag bounty. Rustling through the fridge I found some chicken breasts while the freezer yielded up some grated mozzarella cheese. A quick Google search later and I decided on Baked Chicken Parmesan, using my bottled marinara and Fiorelli pasta.

Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange

This is one of those great recipes that requires minimum effort but delivers maximum results. I made it because last week I made caramel sauce which required some cream. What does one do when one only needs half a cup of cream but one has a whole litre? One figures out how to use it up. Which lead me to Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange. All I had to do was slice some prosciutto into strips and sauté it in butter for a few minutes. Then I added the juice of one orange, some cream and reserved pasta water. To which I added my cooked pasta and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Are you kidding me? I could have eaten the whole batch but I'd already tipped off my family that I was making dinner. So I shared. This time.

Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange from Epicurious

12 ounces egg tagliatelle or fettuccine (preferably fresh)

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1" pieces
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente, about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes.

Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and divide among warm bowls.

Penne with Chili-Rubbed Flank Steak and Pineapple Salsa

One way I know that dinner has been excellent - I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers for lunch before we're even finished clearing the table. David got stuck with dinner making duty tonight. I'd picked out the recipe and bought the ingredients but got side-tracked helping plan a medieval studies project and study for a french test around the dinner hour. That might be another reason why I liked this pasta so much. Everything tastes better when you just show up and dinner is served. I'm proud of David for sticking with this dish. It included weird things like red onion and jalapeño pepper (weird is a relative term, remember). And at the point he ended up with a bowlful of this, he wasn't sure this was going to be a hit:

March Madness

So March is here. I'd say finally but in actual fact January and February did kind of fly by, with the exception of two stubborn weeks in February that felt longer than they needed to be.

Things have been busy but that doesn't mean I haven't been in the kitchen. I just haven't had much time to write about the different dishes I have been feeding the family lately. Last week I threw the boys a major curve ball when I served salmon for dinner. (On a weeknight no less!) Whenever I introduce a new food I try and pair it with something I know the boys already like, as if that might distract them from the fact that I'm asking them to eat something they haven't tried before. (It doesn't usually work and it didn't this time.)

Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Ricotta

The title of this post is not entirely accurate. I thought I bought broccoli rabe for this recipe but turns out I bought broccolini. Apparently broccolini is a cross between regular ol' North American broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Or so says this Wikipedia entry on the subject. Who knew? So for the official record, I made Penne with Broccolini and Ricotta. Not Broccoli Rabe.

Pasta Al Pomodoro - or, the end of the reign of V8

When Daniel finally got himself established on solid foods I decided to try feeding him pasta. I figured he couldn't choke on it and who doesn't like pasta? (Turns out Patrick, my second son. Not a great pasta lover. However he likes mashed potatoes where Daniel does not. Who doesn't like mashed potatoes? But I digress.) My decision to introduce pasta was likely an excuse for me to buy a package of the cute alphabet-shaped pasta that caught my eye at the grocery store. I know that a lot of kids are introduced to pasta with a bit of butter or Parmesan cheese for flavour but I decided to go the traditional 'red sauce' route for Daniel and served him his first bowl of pasta drenched in V8 juice. I think I figured that the addition of the V8 juice would count as a serving of vegetables. It was a raging success. In the last seven and a half years he must have eaten a hundred.....zillion bowls of alphabet pasta.

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta and Pine Nuts

Fresh off my other recent pasta triumph (Lemon Spaghetti) the pasta hits just keep on comin'. This week I made an awesome (and easy) weeknight pasta featuring asparagus, pancetta and pine nuts (oh - and lemon too!):

We are rather enjoying the whole pasta + lemon combination at our house right now. This dish came together with a minimum of prep and fuss - the asparagus cooks with the pasta and you can toast your pine nuts and roast your pancetta on one baking sheet to minimize your dirty dishes. Toss in some lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan cheese and there you have it. Another pasta dish that your husband will think took you more time and energy than it really did. Unless he reads your blog.

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta and Pine Nuts from Cooking Light
  
8 ounces uncooked cavatappi pasta
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 ounces diced pancetta
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; add asparagus to pan during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain. Sprinkle pasta mixture with garlic; return to pan, and toss well.

3. Arrange pine nuts in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 3 minutes or until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Place in a small bowl.

4. Increase oven temperature to 475°.

5. Arrange pancetta on jelly-roll pan. Bake at 475° for 6 minutes or until crisp.

6. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with pine nuts, pancetta, and cheese.

Note: Pine nuts are particularly delicious in this dish, but walnuts would also be tasty.

Lemon Spaghetti

There seem to be lots of people harshing on Gwyneth Paltrow of late. I can't turn around without stumbling on some newspaper or magazine piece about GP that vacillates between adoration and abhorrence. The woman introduced me to Forget You, so I hate to be too critical. (It's a superb running track. And a really great angry song, since you can get really potty-mouthed singing along if you reference the original version. In your head, of course.) Apparently GP has written a cookbook which partly explains the news coverage I've been seeing. I stumbled on her recipe for Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano while searching Epicurious for dinner inspiration one night and made a mental note to try it. I'm a sucker for lemon but usually get my fix through desserts - think pie, bars and pudding. Why not lemon pasta?

Chickpea Pasta

One of the food resolutions I made in January was to try and prepare more interesting vegetable dishes. We always have at least one vegetable with each meal but they are generally uninspired. Think your standard side of (boiled) peas, corn, carrots. I have also been known to roast a vegetable or two in my day (asparagus and cauliflower) but I never go all out and prepare a main course that one could consider vegetarian.

Lately a lot of my culinary experiments come about owing to some random ingredient I find hanging out in my pantry. In the case of Chickpea Pasta it was a can of chickpeas left over from my chili making phase this past Winter. I just happened to find it the day I went through one of my 'to try' recipe folders and found Penne with Chickpeas, Spinach and Roasted Asparagus, courtesy of Food and Wine magazine (LCBO). Penne with Chickpeas, Spinach and Roasted Asparagus is a much more elegant name than Chickpea Pasta but since the can of chickpeas really started the ball rolling, Chickpea Pasta it is.

I thought the Chickpea Pasta presented well:

And it would surely qualify as vegetarian. In addition to the spinach and asparagus (and chickpeas, natch) you'll find shredded carrot and sun dried tomatoes in that there bowl. David and I both had the same reaction to this dish. It was good, but the chickpeas were kind of distracting. David never met a legume he liked so he stick-handled most of his out of the way (in the nicest way possible, given as he is to generally praising anything I make). I was game to like the chickpeas but something about the texture, especially compared with the other elements of the dish, didn't work for me. Overall I enjoyed this pasta but wouldn't rush to make it again. So back to the veggie drawing board!

Pasta Carbonara Florentine (or, Saturday Night Special)

Saturday night is my least favourite time to cook. For years, we tended to go out for dinner Saturday night rather than agonize over what to make for dinner. Then the kids came along and we started ordering pizza, seen to be easier than cooking and/or dragging the kids along to a restaurant. Now that our kids are older we could certainly go out if we wanted. Or order pizza. But we seem to have been blessed with children who (a) dislike leaving the house and (b) don't like pizza. Our kids never ask to go out to eat. Would rather stay home and eat alphabet pasta drenched in V8. Or devour a tray of veggies with hummus. True story! Patrick actually reminded me one night last week that I had forgotten to give him his carrots at dinner. My kids are not perfect eaters, to be sure. (I mean, who doesn't like pizza?) And neither are their parents. Because despite being pretty much fully formed, functioning adults together for going on 18 years (good grief!) we still can't agree on Saturday dinner.

Catching Up

I'm a few Sundays behind (3 to be exact) for which I have no great excuse. So let's just get to it.

Linguine with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes is a sentimental favourite that I can't help making every few months. This was the first recipe I tried from epicurious, a website that was recommended to me by a colleague at work when the Internet was still a fad. Yes, I'm that old.

I like this recipe because it brings together a number of ingredients that my husband would say he doesn't like, yet he mops his plate whenever I plunk this down in front of him. The sauce combines balsamic vinegar, sugar, sun-dried tomatoes and basil with a bit of chicken broth. Thus far I have always made two chicken breasts with enough of the sauce/dressing for four, and we still manage to devour every last bit. This dish is also impressive enough, and easy enough, to serve company which I have many times.

The flavours of this dish can be quite strong, so the boys received a serving of plain linguine with some chicken I had pan-fried but removed before the sauce step. I drizzled a bit of the sauce over each kid plate to give it some kick; I can't say they thanked me for it. My older son thinks all pasta should be consumed drowned in V-8 juice and my younger son doesn't much care for pasta at all. So not a raging success, but a blast from the past for my husband and I who savoured every mouthful.

Lasagna

We're all getting a bit tired of roasts and stews around our house, the traditional fare of cold Canadian winters. Spring sprung as of last Friday and while the snow disappeared from our yard a couple of weeks ago (good riddance) the chill in the air still speaks of 'stick to your ribs' food. I decided lasagna could be a compromise dish - hearty enough for Winter but with a promise of Spring.

I've tried lots of lasagna recipes over the years. Some were simple but most were complicated. Ironically, the best lasagna I ever made was one I put together with leftovers found in the fridge. Ever since my 'discovery' it's the only lasagna I make. It uses ingredients that are typically available where I live year round and this Sunday when I served it, my older son actually tried and liked it. So it is definitely a keeper.

Lasagna
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 red pepper, diced
handful of button mushrooms, sliced
1 package tofu, crumbled
2 jars spaghetti sauce (I usually use a basic sauce)
1 large block of mozzarella cheese
1 box of precooked lasagna noodles

Heat some oil in a skillet. Add the onion with some minced garlic (if you have on hand) and saute until softened. Add the diced zucchini and red pepper. Saute for another couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms soften (another minute or two) add the tofu and spaghetti sauce. Saute until heated through.

Spoon a layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x12 glass baking dish. Top with lasagna noodles. Put another layer of sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Add more noodles and a last layer of sauce. Sprinkle with more mozzarella cheese and a bit of fresh grated Parmesan cheese (if you have on hand). Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.