Penne with Roasted Red Pepper, Ricotta, and Sausage

One of my brother's former college roommates is a chef, and he's writing a cookbook. He asked for volunteers to help him test some of the recipes, and I volunteered, knowing it would be a challenge. It's not that the recipes are hard, it's that part of the deal is that you have to follow the recipes exactly to truly test them. I think we all know how hard this is for me. I mean, one of my favorite Christmas presents this year was the Food Substitutions Bible. Which I've already read. Cover to cover. Not much of a plot.

The first recipe that Matt gave me to test is the one posted here (don't worry, I made sure it was ok with him that I post it). This was a great first one for me because 1) I almost never cook with sausages, 2) I almost never cook with bell peppers, and 3) I almost never cook with ricotta. Although it was really hard to make sure to follow all the directions exactly, it was kind of fun that my input might make it into the finished product. By the way, for those of you in the D.C. area, Matt also teaches cooking lessons. He's got a fun blog, too.


This dish really highlights the flavors of Roasted Red Peppers in a pairing that just can’t be beat. The sausages can be hot or sweet depending on your preference, or if you want a slightly healthier version, you can always use slices of grilled chicken breast.

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
6 oz         fresh ricotta
1 lb        penne pasta
2 Tbsp        vegetable oil
¾ lb        Italian sausage (sweet or hot) – removed from casings and crumbled
1 ea        onion – thinly sliced
2 ea        Roasted Red Peppers (page XX)
2 cloves    garlic
1 Tbsp        fresh flat-leaf parsley – chopped
2 Tbsp        fresh basil – chopped
¼ tsp        crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp        extra virgin olive oil
TT        salt and pepper
½ cup        Parmeggiano Reggiano – freshly grated
10 leaves    fresh sage – sliced thin
2 Tbsp        capers – drained and rinsed

Method:

1. Spread ricotta on a double layer of paper towels.  Lay another 2 paper towels on top, and press down to remove excess moisture from the cheese. Change top towels a few times as needed to pull out excess water. Set aside.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the penne and cook until al dente.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, and then the crumbled sausage. Cook the sausage until done and remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Add the onions to the pan which the sausage cooked in, and cook quickly in the oil in the pan until softened. Set aside with the sausages.
4. Place the roasted peppers, garlic, parsley, basil and crushed red pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times, and then with the blades running, slowly add the extra virgin olive oil. Remove from food processor to a small bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. When the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot in which it cooked.  Stir in the ricotta, red pepper puree, sausages and onions and parmesan.
6. Place in serving bowl or on individual plates and garnish with the sage and capers. Serve immediately.

 RESULTS: Very filling and very satisfying. It sort of socks you in the mouth with flavor. Just a note here: I initially didn't like the sage or the capers. And then they grew on me so much that for the leftovers (and there were lots, I think this made more like 8 servings rather than 4-6) I ended up adding MORE capers and MORE sage. So don't be afraid of the capers, but I think Matt said he might make them optional. Also, you might want to reserve some of the pasta water in case you pull out too much of the moisture from the ricotta (like I did).

SEEDS!

I got a Seed Saver Exchange catalog in the mail and drooooled over it for a while before deciding what I wanted. I was toying with the idea of lettuces and kale and all sort of herbs... and then I remembered that I have no where to put them yet because I didn't make my veggie bed last year. Serves me right. So I just settled on a few things.

• Milkmaid Nasturtium--I had a LOT of luck growing nasturtiums from seed last year. So much luck that they sort of took over the garden. But I just love the leaves. I'm going to restrain myself this year and just plant these in the containers in front of the garage and see how they do there. I was trying to grow clematis, but, well, that didn't seem to work out. Mostly because you have to water clematis.
• Historic Pansies love pansies.
• Basil My plan for the basil is to stagger the seeds a little throughout the season so it doesn't come in all at once. We'll see it that works.
• Black Eyed Susan Vine Lots of luck with regular Black Eyed Susans in my yard, but these aren't the same species. Hopefully it'll still work, though. I desperately need something that would work in hanging baskets.
• Blue Boy Bachelor Buttons They looked fun and are supposed to go well with the perennials in my garden--coneflowers and black eyed susans.

 In my excitement at receiving the seeds yesterday, I may have made a critical error. You're supposed to start these inside 6-8 weeks before the last frost. We're still a good 10 weeks, at least, before what people generally consider to be our last frost, but this winter has been so warm that I'm hoping the groundhog was right and spring comes early.

Overnight Museli

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2/3 cup mixed nuts and seeds (like sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds, etc.)
• 1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, optional
  1/3 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
• Dash salt
• 3 cups yogurt, plus more for garnish

PreparationCombine the oats, nuts and seeds, coconut if you’re using it, raisins, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the 3 cups yogurt, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Serve garnished with additional yogurt.

Time: 10 minutes, plus time to chill

Serving Size
4 servings 

Results
Tastes about like what you would expect: oatmeal that's been soaking in yogurt overnight--which is to say, it tasted pretty good. It's great for a quick breakfast on the go, which I'm trying to get more used to doing instead of waiting until getting to work to microwave some oatmeal (that's just too long to wait for breakfast, I think). I might try making up a few dry portions of this at the beginning of the work week in tupperware or corningware (with lids) and then just adding the yogurt the night before I want to have one for breakfast, that seems like it would work great. My one sad face about this is that with my usual hot oatmeal, I don't tend to use all that much dried fruit (more expensive, more sugar, than fresh fruit). I rely more on apples or applesauce, bananas, and fresh or frozen berries. The apples would brown if they were left cut up overnight, I would think, and I'm not sure if the frozen berries would defrost without making the whole thing a watery mess. More research is needed.

Oatmeal

Mark Bittman once again proves how worthy he is of my love and adoration with this article slamming McDonald's oatmeal, saying everything that I've been thinking since that atrocity disguised in health-food clothing was released last year. Why couldn't they have just made it healthy, since they were making it at all? It's almost evil genius-y, complete with the twirling of the mustache. Someone not paying attention might be fooled into thinking they're eating right, when in fact they are eating all wrong. Couldn't it have been easier to do it right?

OK, I'm climbing off my soapbox now. Here's a video and some recipes, which I'm sure I'll be trying soon. Tomorrow, the museli.

Rockstar dinner

I don't know if you noticed, but life in Wisconsin has been cra-cra. Haven't spent much time trying new recipes. Tonight though, I made us a great chicken dish, and not from a recipe! Roasted chicken, shredded into a sautéed mushroom sauce with olives and tomatoes, served over gnocchi. Dessert was mocha pudding (ok, I had a recipe for the pudding). Pretty great.

Roasted apples with yogurt and balsamic glaze

You may have noticed that I added a label called "food-heroin." You'll understand after you try this recipe. You can't stop after having one taste. I think it's so neat that something as tart and sour as balsamic vinegar turns into something sweeter then maple syrup, all just from heat.

From www.molliekatzen.com:

Roasting apples, which is basically a high-temperature baking process with no added liquid, gives them a wonderful, deepened flavor and a great chewy texture. You can serve Roasted Apples as a snack or a dessert, with or without a platter of cheeses. You can also gussy them up with some Balsamic Drizzle (recipe follows).

This is more a method than it is an exact recipe. Roast any amount of apples, and use any kind except red delicious, which are OK for eating but don't cook well. I like to use tart varieties, because they become sweeter during the roasting process. The inner moisture evaporates and natural sugars caramelize and intensify.

NOTE: You can make the Balsamic Drizzle several days ahead or while the apples roast. You can also skip it, as the apples are delicious plain as well.

Nonstick spray
Apples (any number, and any type but red delicious)

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Spray a ceramic baking dish with nonstick spray.
3. Core the apples, and cut them into fairly large chunks, leaving the peel on. (If the fruit is peeled, it tends to fall apart.)
4. Place the chunks either peel side-down or on their sides in the baking dish. Spacing is unimportant, since the fruit shrinks as it roasts. Just make sure the pieces are in a single layer. Put the dish into the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the apples are done just the way you like them. This is a very subjective process .
5. When the fruit feels tender to the touch (or a fork slides easily into the flesh) remove the dish from the oven, and transfer the apples to a plate or a platter with a rim.

DEGLAZING

At this point, you can deglaze the pan with a little apple juice (about 1/4 cup). To deglaze, just add the juice to the dish after the fruit has been removed, and scrape and swish it around with a wooden spoon to catch all the glazed fruit tidbits that have stuck during the roasting process. When you've scraped up all the bits and stirred it well in the pan, transfer to a small bowl (straining optional) or pour it directly over the roasted fruit.

BALSAMIC DRIZZLE

Adapted from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven
Preparation time: 30 minutes (1 minute of work)
Yield: 1/3 cup (easily multiplied)

• Balsamic vinegar, that musty, dark, aged-in-wood variety many of us have fallen in love with, makes a wonderful syrup when cooked down to about one-third its original volume. You can drizzle this amazing stuff over more foods than you'd ever imagine„everything from roasted vegetables and bean soups to potato dishes and homemade pizzettas. It's even great on pancakes, fruit, and frozen desserts, especially fruit sorbets. This might just be the most versatile one-ingredient sauce ever.
• You don't need to use an expensive brand of vinegar for this recipe. In fact, the ordinary, more moderately priced supermarket varieties work the best.
• Store Balsamic Drizzle in a covered container at room temperature. Theoretically it will keep forever, but undoubtedly you will use it up sooner than that. If it does sit around, though, it tends to harden, and that is easily fixed. Simply zap it for about 15 seconds in a microwave oven, and it will soften up again.

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1. Place the vinegar in a shallow saucepan and heat to boiling. (You might want to open your kitchen windows„this gives off strong fumes!)
2. Turn the heat way down, and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the vinegar is reduced in volume by about two-thirds.
3. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly, and store indefinitely at room temperature.

I then added a dollop of plain greek yogurt. Also, I put about a tablespoon of honey in the balsamic vinegar while it was reducing, but that's not necessary at all.

A couple of cautions:

1) do this with the windows WIDE OPEN and the fans on.

2) there's the sweet spot of the balsamic glaze being "just so" and burnt to heck. Watch it very carefully at the end. It's finished when it leaves a dark brown, almost black, thick coat on the spoon.

Enjoy!!

Haven't been doing much cooking lately (although I did make a nice yogurt sauce last night with minced garlic, salt, and pepper and optional lemon juice--would be good with salmon), but I have been doing some fun stuff. It's not a new year's resolution exactly, because I don't really like those, but I've been trying to do more things just for me.

For example, yesterday I finally motivated myself to go to the power yoga class at the gym (kicked my butt). Last week I bought a book that I wanted for no good practical reason, just because I wanted to keep it rather than have to return it to the library (I was already about a third of the way through the library book). Tomorrow I'm taking my first ever chocolate truffle class (this one, admittedly, will also benefit Chris). I also bought a voucher for a SCUBA diving class in the Cities, which has long been on my list of things to do. This could get addicting.