Udon with Shiitake Mushrooms and Kale in Miso Broth

I was little nervous about making this being that it has Chinese roots and all but I have to admit it was really easy, really healthy, and really good. All things we like at this time of year. I got this recipe from a vegan cookbook which I think I kind of love (thanks for the Christmas gift, Craig).

I don't know about you but I'm watching my waistline after all the abuse I've given it this holiday season. I'm not talking about a diet, but rather, just feeding my body foods that help it recover and refuel with the good stuff without feeling like I am depriving myself. Udon soup with healthy greens and veggies, check! The broth tastes just like miso soup with the volume kicked up from the mirin and soy sauce. It's mild but flavorful and just what I'm craving this night. Too often, brothy-veggie based dishes are boring and bland. Not the case here. Super-simple ingredients result in super-flavorful returns.

Speaking of that, it's beautiful out tonight. I guess you could call it the calm before the storm since we are expecting a whopper tomorrow. The photos were taken off my back deck this evening. That view always reminds me of the "little town of Bethlehem". I'm not sure why as I have never seen Bethlehem, but it's a soothing sight so maybe that's why I associate it to that. Whatever the reason it makes me happy. I love the lights of the town and the little valley I live in nestled between majestic mountains. It's breathtaking, really. Come visit. You should experience it.

These noodles are supposed to be swimming in a little broth when you serve it, but I left my mine in the broth a little too long because, as luck would have it, my husband and I were having a riveting conversation and by the time we were done the noodles had soaked all the broth up! It was still delicious.

Udon with Shiitake Mushrooms and Kale in Miso Broth

adapted from "Veganomicon"

serves 3-4

1/2 pound fresh udon noodles or dried udon noodles

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium sized red onion, sliced into thin half-moons

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

2 tablespoons mirin (optional)

2 1/2 cups water

3 tablespoons miso (see tip)

4 cups chopped kale (see tip)

2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the udon according to the package directions, about 10 minutes. When done, drain and rinse with cool water until read to use.

Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and mushrooms in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are softened but still have some crunch. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for another minute.

Add the mirin, water, and miso, and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and add kale. Toss the mixture around with tongs until the kale had wilted. Add the noodles and use a pasta spoon to stir them into the broth for about 2 minutes.

Divide the udon and vegetables among bowls and spoon some broth over each serving.

Did you know it was good luck to eat noodles on New Years Day? It is! Go ahead and slurp away! Also, just a note, I couldn't find straight miso, so I used a miso and tofu soup mix. It was basically the same thing. TIP: The recipe is based on a strong, dark miso; if you are using a light, mellow miso, you may want to add another tablespoon or so.

TIP: I separate the leaves of kale off either ends of the tough stem so I only have tender leaf pieces. Then I soak the leaves in a bowl of water for a couple minutes to rinse off any dirt. I then remove the leaves from the water, squeezing them out as I go and placing them on a paper towel to drain, and finally, discard the water with all the grit.

Also I am trying to verify my blog with another and I need to publish this code to do it:E547BAH78JAP Please ignore, or don't. Whatever.

Linguine with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms

This is some speedy linguine. You do no more to the mushrooms than slice them, steep them in oil, garlic, lemon and thyme and toss them into hot cooked pasta. The only thing you cook is the pasta. It's sort of weird for me to not cook the mushrooms in a saute pan first, but since they sit and marinate in the lemon/oil mixture, it sort of "cooks" and softens them before you add them to the pasta. the dressed mushrooms also make a great salad, but in which case boost the quantities of sliced mushrooms (keeping other ingredients the same, and obviously you're omitting the pasta altogether) to 6 cups. If all you can find is regular button mushrooms, this pasta is still worth making- so no excuse for not, or so Nigella Lawson says, who is the creator of this recipe. Obviously, I get excited about tossing all sorts of varieties in there...Trumpet, oyster, and cremini, since I've never met a mushroom I didn't like. This is a perfect, casual weeknight supper if I've ever seen one and I'm glad to have it in my repertoire.

One word of caution that I would give is to resist the urge to add more garlic. If you are like me, the one clove for the whole dish seems puny but you have to remember it stays raw and so it is quite flavorful. Too much garlic and it will get too spicy. This is a robust pasta and is very lemony. I love that, but I mention it because not everybody does, and if that is you I recommend only using half of the lemons juice instead of the whole thing. I'm kind of from the more lemon the better camp, so this is right up my ally.

Linguine with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms

adapted from Nigella Lawson Express

8 ounces (4 cups) finely sliced cremini mushrooms (or a mix of any varieties)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

4 sprigs fresh thyme stripped to give 1 teaspoon leaves

1 pound linguini ( I used whole wheat)

1 bunch fresh, flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped to give 1/2 cup

2 to 3 tablespoons freshly grated Paremsan, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Slice the mushrooms finely, and put them into a large bowl with the oil, salt, minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, and thyme leaves.

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and drain loosely retaining some water (see note). Quickly put the pasta into the bowl with the mushroom mixture.

Toss everything together well, and then add the parsley, cheese and pepper before tossing again. Eat with joy in your heart (Nigella's words, not mine).

*note- you want a little of the starchy cooking liquid from the pasta to go into the mushroom mixture with your pasta. The little bit of water helps to make the dish saucier because of the starch.

Well we are back from Lincoln, NE where we celebrated Thanksgiving with Jeremy's family. We all got sick while we were there. I'm happy to report that I was less sick than Jeremy but it was still no fun not being able to participate in everything and rather just sit like a lump on the couch. :( On an up note, my birthday was yesterday and we went to Cafe Diva, the best restaurant in town to celebrate with friends for dinner. There was Champagne and duck confit pizza with apple butter and gruyere, crab and tomato bisque, bouillabaisse, and gingerbread with marscapone gelato. It was a good night indeed. Oh, and I also got a manicure and pedicure. Sparkly christmas red for my toes, and a sparkly dark blue for my hands. I was feeling edgy and Paris chic, with that choice. ;)

You-Won't-Be-Single-For-Long Vodka Cream Pasta

Yes, "You-Won't-Be-Single-For-Long Vodka Cream Pasta" is the actually name of this dish. It originates from Rachael Ray if that's any explanation. I know you noticed the bottled, Parmesan cheese in the background too (don't act like you didn't) and for that I don't happen to have a good explanation. The truth is I was out of the good stuff and I had this left over from a SK8 church dinner.

I've begun to notice a few things since I started this blog. One of them is that it takes me about 5-7 tries with the camera before I get a good picture of the food that I can use for this blog. I shift the angle, I adjust the light, I move what's in the background until I find a suitable picture. This particular night, I had 7 faces at the table staring, anxiously waiting for me to be done so they could eat already. So, alas, this is the picture you get, with fake Parmesan cheese in the background and half of Shawn's corona on the side. Actually, after all my complaining, I find it rather charming and real. Another, is that I like to make pasta. A lot, apparently. And this pasta? It's good.

I compared other pasta vodka recipes and decided on this one for it's complexity. It wasn't hard, it just had more going on than the other recipes. It incorporated chicken stock, shallots and fresh basil to beef up the flavor, along with a hefty cup of vodka added to the sauce. In the end it was comfort food done extremely well. The sauce is a bit on the thin side, so allow the pasta to sit in the pan and absorb it some before serving. It all comes together in about 30 minutes, true to Rachael's word.

You-Won't-Be-Single-For-Long Vodka Cream Pasta

adapted from Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals 2

serves 4

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup vodka

1 cup chicken stock

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream

12 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate

20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

crusty bread (optional)

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute garlic and shallots, 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka and reduce by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes. bring sauce to a bubble, then reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, a bit firm to the bite. While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into the vodka sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Serve immediately, along with crusty bread.

Rachael says that she originally published this recipe in her first cookbook, but let it have a come back in her second for a reason: a fan of the show wrote to say that she made this menu for her boyfriend who had seconds just before he proposed. Really. He said it was the second helping that did it. Hence the cutsey name. Although, my friend Deb over at the Smitten Kitchen website made this for her then boyfriend who then proposed not long after and is now her husband...Cue up the Twilight Zone music. Let me know if it works for you!

Cheating Spaghetti Sauce

Ok, so the name of this dish is all you need to know. It's spaghetti sauce and it's "cheating" to make it. Mostly, because you don't make the sauce at all. I'm usually opposed to such things. I am, by nature, a "from scratch" sort of girl, but on occasion, I can utilize a great shortcut. Especially if it has sentimental value. My Grandma Burgos who is a fabulous cook used to make this sauce. Hers was the only red spaghetti sauce I loved growing up. Of course, back then I had no idea it came from a bottle and she just embellished it a little. Enhanced is probably a better word. You know this type of shortcut, it's the type of thing that makes Sandra Lee's "Semi-Homeade" so successful. I can't believe I even finished that last sentence since I hate, no...HATE Sandra Lee. She makes some pretty sick stuff, after all (fresh berries on steak with gravy? Carrot baby food in cake?--yak!)

My Grandma Burgos was my first example of a great cook. She mostly stuck to more simple fare (except for Christmas Eve's Danish goose) like grilled steaks (which my Grandpa grilled, so the only thing I can give her credit for is the seasoning, which by the way is perfect...lemon pepper and garlic salt) and pot roasts, perfect steamed zucchini from her garden, perfect steamed green beans, outrageous lasagna, great iceberg lettuce salad, Danish raspberry dessert and this spaghetti sauce. She was a rockstar with her all-clad cookware and William's Sonoma plates. I wanted to be just like her. I remember My Grandpa would come home from lunch and she would make him a perfect sandwich. Everything was neat and tidy with a thick slice of jack cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise with butter (gotta love the Dane's) and turkey or ham or salami on sheep hearders bread. It was perfect people, perfect, everything about it. I never knew back then that my appreciation of her lunches and dinners was developing a "foodie" in the making. I probably never told her. In fact I know I didn't. But I'm saying it now...Her cooking was in a word, special.

This sauce is a perfect shortcut on a busy night. I promise you, no one will ever know you used jarred sauce as a base, unless they ask you for the recipe, anyway. My Grandma always used ground beef as her meat of choice and it is very good that way, but I prefer sausage. Feel free to use the beef if you fancy it because the secret ingredient is the Lipton Onion Soup mix. All this sauce consists of is meat, sausage in this case, Classico jarred sauce, and Lipton Onion Soup mix. The picture shows me using the Classico Cabernet Marinara sauce but It's supposed to be the mushroom and (onion?) it's the mushroom and something-sauce. If you can find that, get it, otherwise the marinara works fine.

Cheating Spaghetti Sauce

adapted from Paula Burgos

1/2- to 1 lb. mild or sweet Italian sausage, depending on your preference (or ground beef)

1 jar Classico brand Mushroom and Olive (or Cabernet Marinara) spaghetti sauce

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup mix

Saute the sausage in a little olive oil over medium heat until cooked through. Add the spaghetti sauce and Lipton Onion Soup mix and bring up to a simmer and cook for at least 10 minutes until the flavor develops. Serve and toss with 1 lb. spaghetti.

Yield: enough sauce for 1 lb. spaghetti

If you prefer lots of sauce, you can add another half a jar without disrupting the recipe. The Italians prefer "just enough sauce", which is what this recipe provides. I love my Grandma Burgos!

Penne with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella

We love this pasta at our house. I make it a couple times a year, usually from about August-April when it is cool in the evenings. I like it best in the fall because It's comforting and warming on crisp nights. And I don't know about your neck of the woods, but up here the weather is already starting to act fall-esque. I'm not complaining. Fall is the best with it's warm days and cool mornings and nights. It is arguably the most beautiful of all the seasons as well, especially if you live in a place where the leaves get out of control gorgeous like they do up here. They paint the mountains shades of yellow, red and orange and berries start to appear on every shrub and the air smells clean. All I want to do that time of year is take long walks by day to soak in the beauty and eat eggplant pasta by night.

Eggplant is such a versatile vegetable, which blends so well with the heartiness of the pasta and the richness of a full-flavored tomato sauce. I'd venture to say you should feed this to people who think they don't like eggplant and see if they don't change their minds. It's that good. Simple, as almost all authentic Italian cooking is, and soul-soothing. That's what sums up this dinner in a nut shell. It's actually Sicilian in origin, but served all throughout Italy in small trattorias. This is what I sent out for my families Christmas recipe exchange last year. Or was it the year before that? Oh well, now I can't remember but this recipe did indeed go out. It was worthy.

Penne with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella

adapted from Patricia Wells "Trattoria"

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 small onion, minced

2 plump fresh garlic cloves, minced

sea salt or kosher salt

one 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes in puree

1 firm medium eggplant (1 pound) cubed (do not peel)

1 pound dried Italian tubular pasta such as penne, gemelli, ziti or fusili

2 cups cubed whole-milk mozzarella

In a large deep skillet, (large enough to hold the pasta later on) heat 1/2 cup olive oil over moderately high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the eggplant and cook until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. (the eggplant will soak up the oil immediately, but allow it to cook without added oil, keeping the pan moving to avoid scorching.) Season generously with salt. Remove the eggplant from the pan and onto a plate and set aside. Allow the pan to cool off while you cut the onions and garlic.

In the same skillet used for the eggplant, (which should be relatively cool at this point) combine the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt, stirring to coat with the oil. Cook over moderate heat just until the garlic turns golden but does not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and stir to blend, and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 3 tablespoons salt and the pasta, stirring to prevent the pasta from sticking. Cook until tender but firm to the bite. Drain thoroughly.

Add the eggplant and pasta into the pan with the tomato sauce. Toss to blend. Cover and let rest off the heat for 1-2 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. transfer the pasta to warmed shallow bowls and sprinkle each serving with cubed mozzarella. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

Sometimes I use 2 eggplants instead of one because I love it so much. Make sure to buy the real deal mozzarella (it should be soft) because it's much better than the string cheese like processed stuff. I also add the eggplant back into the sauce before I add the pasta in, although you don't have to do that. I just think the eggplant absorbs the sauce and tastes better if you let it sit a few minutes and allow the flavors to mingle.

Soba Noodles with Shiitakes

It's no secret that I love to cook. However, I have had my share of flops in the kitchen and 8 times out of ten the culprit is Chinese/Asian food. I love and adore this kind of food and crave it on regular basis. When we are in Denver we make it a point to either go to PF Changs or Pei Wei (or Tokoyo Joes) if not both, multiple times. Now I know they are chain restaurants people, and there are probably so many other, better more authentic choices out there, but I don't know about them. So, if you know the Denver area well and like this type of food, please send me a shout-out!

While this type of cuisine is delicious it tends to be daunting in the kitchen. That whole balancing perfectly the salty, sour, sweet, spicy thing just messes me up. I have made decent Pad Thai, but it wasn't great or anything. I have made good cold Asian cucumber salads, but come on, not too many people could screw that up. I did make good orange shrimp once, come to think about it...hmmm, I might have to dig that recipe out and test it again. OK, but my stir-fry's are pathetic and most of the time taste like burnt soy sauce and just the other week I made an atrocious (and I mean that) Asian salmon noodle bowl. It was foul. I don't even know how I could mess it up that badly. Well, in my defense, the recipe itself was messed up first, but I did absolutely nothing to save it. I managed to make it worse, actually.

Anyway, given my track record, I was shocked I tell you, when I made this (which is Chinese-ish) and it tasted really good. Dang good actually. It wasn't especially complex and maybe that is why I succeeded. Whatever the reason, I am feeling victorious! And after you make this, you will too.

It's light but hearty. It's a great summer dish but would be equally good in cold weather and just take note; it tastes better if you eat it with chop sticks. I admit, I steal a couple wooden ones whenever I am at Pei Wei. I know, its horrible. Please don't think less of me. The only thing is I would have liked something else to go with this. My husband thought it was great on its own so it's not a must, but a little cold Asian cucumber salad would have been nice. Or dessert. I guess if I had had dessert after I might not have felt this way. You make the call!

Soba noodles with Shiitakes and Cabbage

adapted from Gourmet Magazine August 2007

For the sauce:

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons korean hot-pepper paste (or sriracha, which is what I used)

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

For Noodles:

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoons finely chopped peeled ginger ( I omitted this b/c I don't enjoy ginger)

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

10 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced

6-8 cups Napa cabbage, thinly sliced

6 scallions, thinly sliced

8 to 9 ounces soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)

1 cup frozen or fresh shelled edamame

Stir together all sauce ingredients until brown sugar is dissolved, then set aside.

Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat, stirring until pale golden, then transfer to a small bowl.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then saute ginger and garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shiitakes and saute, stirring frequently, until tender and starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, then add cabbage and most of the scallions (reserve some for garnish) and cook stirring occasionally, until cabbage is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add sauce and simmer 2 minutes.

While cabbage is cooking, cook soba and edamame together in a pasta pot of boiling, salted water until noodles are just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and remove excess starch, then drain well again. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with vegetable mixture. Serve sprinkled with reserved scallions and sesame seeds.

*If you aren't able to find Korean hot-pepper paste (or sriracha) substitute 3/4 teaspoon chinese chili paste and reduce the amount of soy sauce to 1/4 cup.

Serves 4

I didn't feel like spending $18 for all the fresh shiitakes called for in this recipe. If you don't either, just buy one carton (usually 3-4oz) of fresh shiitakes and one pouch of dried shiitakes. Reconstitute the dried shiitakes in a small bowl of very warm water for about 45 minutes. Save some of the water you soaked the mushrooms in for the 1/3 cup water called for in the sauce. it will add more flavor. Just make sure to only use the first third of the liquid so you don't get any of the grit at the bottom that have fallen off the mushrooms. Then slice up all the mushrooms and saute as directed, except them remove them from the pan and set aside. That way, you can sprinkle the mushrooms on top of every ones dish rather than them being randomly mixed in. Then, you can make sure everyone has a nice portion.

Did I mention how healthy this is for you? Buckwheat is actually a vegetable and that is what soba noodles are made from. It's awesome.

Zucchini Ribbon Pasta with Basil Oil

Your first bite with all it's long and ribbony strands of zucchini just barely cooked and still deliciously fresh is just that. Delicious. Running through whole wheat al dente pasta that tastes faintly of basil and garlic and all tied together with salty parmesan cheese and a light dressing of oil. It's light but substantial and a perfect summertime dinner for anybody.

See my note down below to make this dish vegan.

I have the obvious suggestions like make sure you only make this dish when zucchini are in season and to use freshly grated parmesan cheese. When you have a meal like this that uses only a few choice ingredients, it's important that they be of high quality. It sometimes can mean the difference between a good meal and a great one.

I'm not sure who to credit this dish to. I suppose Michael Chiarello. I saw him make it a long time ago on food network and had seen it in one of his cookbooks at my friends house and had wanted to make it but never got around to it. Isn't that always the way? Then, while perusing that wonderful Smitten Kitchen blog I saw she had made it and brought it to my attention once again. So here it is, probably changed a bit from the original as Smitten tweaked it and then I tweaked it a little bit more. Well, thats not really true since all I did was change the way you cut the zucchini. The original recipe calls for a mandoline so you can cut the zucchini with the fine french fry cutter to make long, thin matchstick strands that resemble spaghetti. This makes total sense and would be easy to eat it that way with the pasta and all but I don't own a mandoline. So, I shaved zucchini into long ribbons by using a standard vegetable peeler and it worked out very well. The point is to have the zucchini very thin so that there is no need to cook it. You just add it into the hot pasta and it slightly wilts and becomes absolutely perfect.

Zucchini Ribbon Pasta with Basil Oil

adapted from Michael Chiarello

3/4 pound whole-wheat dried spaghetti

3/4 pound zucchini

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons coarsley chopped basil leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

basil oil (or your favorite store bought flavored oil)

Basil Oil:

makes 1 1/3 cup

4 cups packed basil leaves

2 cups good olive oil

For the oil: In a blender, puree the herbs and oil together until completely smooth. Put the mixture in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over moderate heat. Simmer for 45 seconds, then pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Don't press on the mixture, but you can tap the strainer against your and to get the oil through faster.

Note: fresh herb oils are better to toss into pasta at the end rather than cook with, so the oil keeps it's fresh, uncooked taste.

For the pasta:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt (at least 2-3 tablespoons. You want it salty to flavor the pasta) Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.

While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, run a vegetable peeler over the zucchini to create long, thin ribbons. Or, cut with a mandoline or by hand into the longest and finest juilenne you can manage. Assuming you zucchini is very finely cut it does not need to be cooked. Otherwise place it into the pot of water with the pasta for the last minute of cooking and drain with the pasta. The zucchini should still be slightly crunchy.

heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and saute briefly until light brown. Add the red pepper flakes. Quickly mix in the basil and remove from the heat. When the pasta is al dente, drain through a colander, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Pour the pasta into a warm serving bowl; add the zucchini, basil oil (recipe above) the garlic mixture, and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Toss well, adding cooking water as needed to make a smooth sauce. taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Grate about 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese over top and serve at once

My kids ate this up like it was candy, so it's a winner all around. I have to admit that I didn't use the basil oil for this recipe as written. I have made this oil before and it is incredible but my Grandma just brought me back fresh tuscan herb olive oil from the wine country a week ago and I used that. It, was also incredible. If you have flavored oil on hand by all means use it too.

You could make this vegan by omitting the parmesan cheese. It has so much flavor that it would be equally delicious.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

I have been gone for the past 2 weeks, soaking up the sun in California, my home state. Last night I had the pleasure of cooking dinner for my Grandma and Grandpa Burgos at their house in Camarillo. I was feeling very uninspired and didn't really know what to make. My Grandma is a great cook even though she doesn't do it much anymore because her chemo treatments leave her with limited energy. After days of thinking about it (am I the only one who obsesses over food like this?) I decided I would just make linguine shrimp scampi. I make it a couple times a year and so it is considered a "regular" at my house. I think I have mentioned before that even regular meals only get made a couple times a year since I am usually trying new recipes and techniques out.

This pasta is so good! It's very fresh and lemony despite all the oil and butter called for. Honestly, it looks like a lot, but when you consider it's the sauce for the whole dish, it's not too bad relatively speaking. I love it because it's one of those dishes where you prep everything in advance (chopping parsley, mincing garlic, zesting lemons, extracting lemon juice, measuring salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes) but once it's done the whole dish takes 5-8 minutes to make. It's great for company because you can whip it out in no time. And as long as the people you are serving like lemon, it's a real crowd pleaser!

I used whole wheat pasta because it's healthier, and normally I would say you can't tell the difference, but in this case you can. It's still great with the whole wheat, but I think white pasta better suits this particular meal. It's your call.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Kosher salt

1 pound linguine

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I use 5)

5 tablespoons olive oil

9 garlic cloves, minced

1 to 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on (I use 1 lb, but you can use as many as you want)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced in half rounds

1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Measure out and chop all ingredients so they are waiting for you

Cook the linguine in a large pot of boiling water for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in another large (12 inch) heavy bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

serves 4-5

This is great served with bread for dipping and a green salad with italian dressing (home made is better). Don't be scared by all the garlic called for in this recipe. It's the perfect amount.

After dinner I served a dessert consisting of fresh frozen berries in a hot white chocolate sauce. I'll post that in a few as it is easy, impressive and yummy-licious. One disclaimer. tThis is NOT my photo. I didn't have my camera when I made this and so I just snapped a picture from my cook book. It looks exactly like this, though, every time I make it.

Baked Camembert Pasta

I do not consider myself a writer. I just thought I would take advantage of this time we have together to let you know that. In fact, I don't even really enjoy writing, but I do love cooking and this seems like a good way to document my foodie life. If I were to die my children could look this site up and say, yeah, wow, Mom used to make that for us. I'm not trying to be morbid. I have no plans of dying anytime soon, I'm just saying...that is what I am doing here. Well, that and I have this weird fascination of trying to remember what I made exactly a year ago today or two years ago today and sometimes, I get lucky because I will have written what I was making for dinner on my calendar and it can be forever documented. I know, I'm strange, it's ok. One thing I am sad about is that I am sooooo not computer savvy and so I have not figured out how to get pictures of the food I make onto this blog. It is probably ridiculously simple but still, I have not the foggiest. You eat first with your eyes and lots of times a recipe doesn't appeal to me until I have seen a picture of it. I want so badly to inspire people to cook delicious food but without fabulous pictures and witty writting I feel I am lacking. Maybe my ability to communicate will improve over time and I will figure out how to get pictures up on posts. Really, I want an awesome camera. I occasionally take pictures of my food and I have to tell you they don't always look so good. The type of camera you have makes all the difference. The lighting, the zoom, the softness, the sharpness. I love a good food picture!

These things are on my mind becuase I have been reading the food blog Smittenkitchen.com which I highly recommed, and it is the epitomy of a great food site. Lusty close up pictures of the process, prep and finished product (all taken with the utmost taste and quality) and superb writting skills to boot. It's good ole clean food porn is what it is. That sounds bad. I actually can't believe I said that, but I don't really know what to compare it to. Anyway her site gets about a million views a month. That's alot! How fun that must be! You should check it out. It's written by a woman named Deb and she endears herself to you over time.

Self wallowing aside, I did make a heck of a dinner last night thankyouverymuch! It's baked camembert pasta and it tastes even better than it sounds! You pop the top rind off a round of camembert cheese, leaving a tiny lip around the rim to hold everything in (camembert is reminescent of Brie) and then you top it with fresh rosemary and slices of garlic, a little drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and bake it until it is oozy and gooey. Then you spoon this lovely scented cheese over rigatoni pasta tubes that have been tossed with fresh spinach that have wilted from the heat and you are in absolute heaven. Heaven, really.


Baked Camembert Pasta
adapted from Jamie Oliver

1 8-ounce box camembert cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Freshly ground balck pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces parmesan cheese
sea salt
1 pound rigatoni pasta (or penne) I used whole wheat
6 cups (about 6 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves (I use a whole salad carton)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Open the box of cheese (camembert comes in a wooden round box) and unwrap it. Place it back in the wooden container. Score a circle into the top of the skin, or rind, leaving a border , then lift it off and discard. Peel and finely slice the garlic. pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalk. Lay the garlic slices on top of the cheese, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Scatter the rosemary leaves on top and gently pat with your fingers to coat them in oil. Grate the parmesan.

Place the box of cheese still in the wooden containers base on a cookie sheet and put into the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden and melted. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When your cheese has about 12 minutes left to cook, add the rigatoni to the pot and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, add the spinach tot he pot (it only need cooking 10 seconds or so) then drain the pasta and spinach in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water. Return pasta and spinach to the pot and let the spinach wilt. Drizzle with a couple of lugs of extra virgin olive oil and add the grated parmesan (or you can just top your individual bowl with parmesan if you dont want to get your pot all cheesey) If the sauce is a little thick for you add a splash of the reserved cooking water to thin it out a bit. Season with salt and pepper and give it a good stir. remove cheese from the oven.

Divide the pasta among your serving bowls. Either drizzle the melted camembert on top or pop the box of cheese on the table and let everyone help themselves to a lovely, gooey spoonful.

My only 2 notes on this is 1) make sure you really do slice your garlic very thin or else they wont cook all the way in the oven and this will lead you to biting into a spicy chunk and having garlic breath all night...not good and 2) this recipe is really long winded for something so simple. Really all you do is prep some chese, bake it and cook some pasta that you have added spinach to. This recipe comes out of Jamie's new cookbook "Jamie's Food Revolution"

So this is not the healthiest recipe, lets face it, but it's ok to have once and a while. Plus if you swap regular pasta for whole wheat, like I did, with the fresh spinach it makes it not such a gulity pleasure. Oh, and what a pleasure it is! Thank you Mr. Oliver, thank you.