Pesto!

Every year growing up, I got to choose what I wanted for my birthday dinner. And every year? Pesto pasta.

Since birthday is in March, large quantities of basil were often less readily available.

But my mother, being the savvy cook she is, had the perfect solution: make big batches of pesto all summer, and stick them in little Rubbermaid containers to be stored in the freezer. Come December, January, and even March, she could pop out one of these containers and defrost it. Fresh market pesto with snow on the ground (well, I grew up in Durham, so snowy ground is more wishful thinking).

I decided to do the same thing this year, looking towards the long northern winter where I will not see the sun for days at a time. (Why? Because class is from 8-5. The sun will rise and set and I will be in the hospital and in class the whole time!)

This pesto is not the pesto with cream you get in many restaurants in the US (I hate pesto with cream in it); it is true Genovese pesto, albeit made with less olive oil.

Genovese pesto at a market in Florence

The recipe is an adaptation of Marcella Hazan's recipe. (If you don't know of her, you should! She's often called "the Italian Julia Child"). My mother often says that Marcella taught her to cook. The old cookbook opens up right to the pesto page, and my mother's adaptation is penciled in next to the original recipe.

Blender Pesto

• 2 c fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
• 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbs chopped pine nuts or walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/3 c grated parmesan
• salt

Place the olive oil, nuts, garlic and salt in the food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds. Add the basil and process until combined. Add the cheese, then pulse until it is mixed in.

Pesto Pasta (orzo)

Summer Pesto Pasta with Zucchini

Pesto Risotto

Pesto on Fresh Mozzarella

Travelogue: Eats (....and a recipe, too: Sun Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta)

I just returned from a two-week long adventure to Berlin and Breda (which is in the south of the Netherlands) visiting family and friends. It was a wonderful trip which left me wishing I had booked it for longer...but time marches on. I start medical school one month from today.

I discovered that Berlin happens to be an amazing place for cheap eats (bowls of soup or burritos for 3 euros---and enough to be a whole meal!)

Cheese danish from the train station

Baguette with brie, tomatoes and arugula (train station food!!)

Blueberry kuchen and a cappuccino

Loaves of bread in a Berlin bakery

Arugula and fresh tomato pizza in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin

Marzipan pouch filled with layer cake and raspberry jam at Fassbender Rausch ---foodie splurge but very, very worth it.

Blissful eats.

Dark chocolate drinking chocolate at Fassbender Rausch 

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As much as I love eating out, I enjoy cooking dinner and shopping at local grocery stores in other countries. (One of my favorites is  Albert Heijn, a Dutch grocery store chain).

My Dutch friend always comments: "It's so hard to find a good cappuccino in the US". This is her version, made in her kitchen....

Berry cobbler I made to celebrate July 4th in the Netherlands (just like the peach mulberry one, but with raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)

And the last thing, Sun Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta---easy, delicious, and savory. My cousins had just moved into a new apartment in Berlin, and were still filling the pantry. One night for dinner I made this pasta, almost surprised at how well it turned out for how simple it is. Chop as many mushrooms as you like, and sauté them in butter or olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, and either chopped sun dried tomatoes or sun dried tomato paste. Add a few dashes of white wine. Allow the mushrooms to release their juices, and add some rosemary to taste. Serve over pasta with olive oil.

Pasta with Zucchini and Lemon (and other summer adventures)

I have been told by many that this, the summer between college and medical school, is The Last Summer (or something like that). While I'll have a few months off next year, there are research opportunities and clinical experiences to be had. After that, summers disappear, perhaps only resurfacing when life looks quite different.

I decided to make this summer the most perfect summer, balanced between traveling, relaxing, and, yes,  cooking. I went on a road trip with my best friend from college, exploring Brooklyn, Niagara Falls, Toronto and Rochester (where I'll be next year).

We found an adorable restaurant in the East Village that had amazing food for low prices--unheard of in NY. They served water in Mason jars with handles and had antique-y furniture. Definitely going back next time....

I'm at the beach with family, sipping mojitos and eating the Catch of the Day from Willis' Seafood Market every night. (Not to mention devouring Ruth Reichl's hilarious memoir Tender to the Bone).

My corgi mix loves the beach

Next I'm off to Europe to visit family and friends (it has been suggested that I create a new blog for my post-graduate adventures titled "Owl at Large"....).

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There's something particular about summer cooking, also known as "What to do with all the zucchini?! " Oh, that prolific vegetable that is nearly sickening by the end of the summer (I heard someone joke once that they started leaving yellow squash on people's porches and then running away--"Take it! Please!! I have too much!!").

Lemon and zucchini go particularly well together, and this recipe is adapted from a recipe by a favorite chef of mine, Jack Bishop.

Pasta with Zucchini and Lemon

Boil water for pasta. Cut zucchini into matchsticks: slice thin pieces diagonally, and then cut across the diagonal slices to make the "matchsticks". Sauté the matchsticks with olive oil and lemon juice (add a bit of lemon zest for extra zing). Bishop adds mint, which I put in only if I have it readily available. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over good pasta with parmesan cheese.

And maybe some mojitos.

Creamy Parmesan Orzo

One of my best friends visited me this weekend for May Day, which is a beautiful end of year festival at Bryn Mawr.  Everyone wears white, dances around the may pole as well as the may hole (the feminist response to the may pole, a Bryn Mawr tradition--see below) and then sits out on the green listening to music.

It was a lovely, gorgeous and fun day which began with mimosas and strawberries and cream at 8 am and lasted until late in the day.  

When we woke up the next morning, we were starving. I opened up the fridge and saw, well, not much. Our choices, I said to Dylan, are pasta, or pasta. I was planning on making orzo with olive oil and salt (plain, ridiculously easy and still delicious especially with good olive oil!), but then I had an idea. 

When I was in high school, I used to babysit for a family every week. In the beginning, I made the younger daughter Annie's Shells or Kraft mac n' cheese for dinner as it was easy for all of us. One day though, we were out of both those options. I decided to make homemade mac n' cheese using Fannie Farmer's recipe for Béchamel (White Sauce). Every week after that for the next few years, I was asked to make "Anna's Mac n' Cheese", as the younger daughter dubbed it. 

I thought of this simple sauce yesterday, but was out of "mac n' cheese cheese" (I like to use a sharp cheddar). I had a pre-grated container of Trader Joe's parmesan and romano mix, so decided to use that.

The result was perfectly creamy and delicious, completely easy yet impressive.  Some kind of greens (kale in garlic and olive oil or roasted asparagus) would go well with it--but that would involve a trip to the grocery store!

• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs flour
• 1-1/4 c milk, heated
• 1/2 to 1 c grated parmesan (or other) cheese*
• salt
• pepper

*The amount of cheese you put in is really up to your own taste. When I made it for the girls I babysat, I would always let them "test" for the appropriate level of cheesiness.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes until a paste is formed (be careful not to let it burn). Add the milk and stir until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to stir while it cooks for another minute or two. Add the cheese and stir in to let it melt. Taste test for "appropriate cheesiness" and remove from heat. Mix into the pasta and serve.

Note: A skin will develop over the sauce if it is left for two long, but if you're not using it right away you can cover or pour a thin layer of milk over it.

Asian-Inspired "Spaghetti and Meatballs" with Soy-Ginger Glaze

I saw these meatballs on amazing food blog SmittenKitchen, and I knew I absolutely had to try them. My friends and fellow foodies Glynis and Lydie came over to help cook (Glynis is the one that introduced me to SK in the first place). We made some Udon noodles to go with the meatballs; the soy-ginger glaze turned out to be a wonderful sauce for the pasta as well.  The recipe can be found on SmittenKitchen. I didn't have any mirin, so I added a bit of maple syrup for sweetness.  As I only had light brown sugar, I also threw in a drop of molasses. Of course, there was chocolate cake for dessert!


Next time, I want to sauté some bok choy for just underneath the meatballs. I have a feeling this dish is going to become a favorite...

What (the) Nonna Taught Me: Pasta with Leeks, Lemon, and Olive Oil

Pasta, pasta, pasta, pasta! A song my dad used to sing to me, joyfully proclaiming the delight and deliciousness of pasta.


I have always loved pasta. Pasta of any type--my favorites ranging from pesto to Chinese noodles with bok choy, tofu, and black beans. This winter break, I was fortunate to be able to travel to Italy with my family. I was in pasta heaven. Never had I eaten such an incredible variety of pasta sauces: gnocchetti with pomodoro, trofie al pesto (pesto was invented in Genoa!), penne alla arabiatta, linguini with carciofi (artichokes), and so, so many more.


One restaurant we went to, Il Caffe di Chico, served the best food I have ever eaten. It was a tiny little café in Florence, with a handwritten menu stuck up on the wall. I had linguini with artichokes one day, and then next day had penne with leeks.


When I got home, I bought some good quality pasta and olive oil, and attempted my own version of the dish.

Penne with Leeks, Lemon

• Leeks (1-2)
• Olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Lemon juice
• One pound good quality penne
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

Boil water for pasta. Cook pasta al dente (don't overcook--just done...). While the pasta is cooking, sauté garlic in olive oil. Cut leeks lengthwise in half, then slice each half crossways into thin slices. The layers will fall apart so that you have thin strings of leek. Sauté the leeks until tender (5-7 min) and slightly browned (they won't get as clear as onions, but it's the same idea). Add a splash of lemon juice, or as much as you like. Leeks are quite sweet, so I find that the flavors of the lemon, olive oil and salt balance each other out nicely. When pasta is done, toss the leeks with the penne.


The roasted vegetables we got as a side dish were also incredible--they were perfectly cooked, tender yet not mushy. We asked the waiter how they were done.

Roasted Veggies

• Sliced or chopped vegetable (we had radicchio, artichokes, leeks---anything that roasts well)
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Water

Coat the veggies with olive oil, and sprinkle them with lemon juice and a the tiniest splash of water. Roast in a high temperature oven (375, 400, or even 450º) for ~30-40 minutes, depending on the size and texture of the vegetable (for example beets, which I wouldn't put lemon juice on, would take longer than leeks).

Triumph over Butternut Squash, thanks to Mark Bittman

In early September, I drove through Upstate New York to visit my grandparents. On the way home, I spotted a roadside stand filled with gorgeous butternut squash.
 

Roadside stands are rare these days, especially those of this genre--an "honor code" stand. There is a small box for money, and the squash just sitting there for the taking. The large squash (HUGE in my opinion) were $1 apiece and the small (regular sized) were just 50¢ each. (At Trader Joe's the other day, one of these was $1.99). I scrounged around in my car for change, and bought seven for $3.50.


My first project was a simple roasted squash, cut in half and placed on aluminum foil with a tiny bit of olive oil. I baked them at ~400º (I think, or maybe it was 350?) for ~30-40 min, until they were tender and soft.

 

I still had 5 squash, and needed another meal. I looked up "Mark Bittman butternut squash" on Google--always trusting my favorite NYTimes food writer.


Unfortunately, I attempted this without a Cuisinart. Butternut squash is hard to chop, so be warned--this took forever! The result was delicious, but grating the squash by hand nearly defeated me....


This pasta is amazing. However, it is sweet, so I served it with salty garlic sauteed chard (and a tarte tatin for dessert!)

Butternut Squash Penne
adapted from Mark Bittman

Mark says: "Some butternut squashes are sweeter than others, and there's no way to predict this by appearance. Since this sauce relies on sweetness for its character, if the squash seems a little bland, add about a teaspoon of sugar. It will brighten the flavor considerably".

•     Butternut squash (peeled and seeded--start with 1 per pound of pasta)
•     Salt to taste
•     Olive oil (~2 tbs.)
•     Black pepper to taste
•     1 pound cut pasta (I used penne)
•     1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
•     1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
•     1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (I left this out to make it vegan, leaving some on the table for those who wanted to sprinkle some on top)

Cut squash into chunks, and place in food processor. Pulse machine on and off until squash looks grated. (Bittman says you can also do this grating by hand....this is way too difficult. Attempt only if you have a lot of time or patience!)


Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.


Place a large skillet over medium heat, and add the butter or oil. A minute later, add the squash, salt, pepper and about 1/2 cup of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add water, about 1/4 cup at a time, as the mixture dries out, being careful not to make it soupy. When the squash begins to disintegrate, after about 10 or 15 minutes, begin cooking the pasta. While it cooks, season the squash with the nutmeg, sugar if necessary, and additional salt and pepper if needed.


Cook pasta al dente.


Toss pasta with squash. Taste, and adjust the salt, pepper or nutmeg as you like; then, toss with the cheese and serve.


**There is something to be said for good pasta. If you can, go to a specialty foods store and get a pound or two of really good pasta for an amazing upgrade.....


Update: I had a brilliant idea a few weeks ago when I made this. After doing everything as above, I put the pasta in a lasagna pan, covered it with parmesan cheese, and baked it in a 350º oven for 20 minutes or so until the top of the pasta was crunchy.