dijon mac and cheese

I like the part about learning to cook where you start to be able to make up your own recipes. It makes last-minute clean-out-the-fridge meals so much more enjoyable.

Take this meal for example. A year ago it would have fallen into the "no meal" category. I had gotten home around 10 one night, realized I hadn't eaten supper, and so looked in my bare cupboards for things to scrape together.

With shells, milk, cheddar cheese, some flour, red pepper flakes and a dash of dijon mustard at the end I stumbled upon a dish I've actually made again. On purpose. When other ingredients were available. That's what I call a MEAL!

Hooray for progress.

miranda's spicy lemon pasta

It's funny who all reads your blog and you have no idea. It throws me off to hear someone bring it up because I am not really sure how I feel about the whole thing. To be honest, if it weren't for my sisters' nagging encouragement I would not still be doing it. I cannot imagine my life or what I eat to be that interesting to anyone but myself, and I'm afraid I come off as really self-centered. Or maybe I'm just afraid that I really am that self-centered and this blog highlights it.  See- I just turned this paragraph into myself. It was supposed to be about getting an email from Miranda.

So let's get back to it. I received an email from my friend Miranda last week in response to my post about the disappointing spaghetti with lemon, chile, and creamy spinach. I worked with her in college and we hadn't been in touch for several months. It went like this:

try your lemon, spinach pasta with some [sriracha] instead.
we've actually been making angel hair with a splash of lemon and this and various veggies... like mushrooms and spinach lightly sauteed.

i couldn't respond on your blog.
yes i've been cyber-stalking you.... :)

And then a follow-up one saying this:

so not to get too bossy, but i usually make the pasta and toss it with some olive oil, sauce and lemon juice then toss the sauteed veggies on top. i've noticed that if you cook the sauce it loses it's punch.

 Well! What a wonderful surprise all that was! Not just the email, but also the meal she suggested. I made it the next day with some spinach (yes, I bought another 2 1/2 lb bag), mushrooms, and  whole wheat spaghetti because that's what I had. It was so good that I've been making variations of it for lunch about three times a week.


Miranda's spicy lemon pasta
via Miranda Meyer
*I have never actually measured this out, so all of these are guesses

1/2 lb. angel hair or spaghetti
lemon
1 T (more or less) sriracha 
6-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 oz spinach
2 T olive oil


Heat a salted pot of water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and return to pot.
Meanwhile, heat 1 T olive oil in large skillet over med heat. Add mushrooms and saute until they release their water and it is almost all evaporated. Add spinach to skillet in batches, stirring until all is wilted. 
Mix together juice of one lemon, desired amount of sriracha and remaining tablespoon of oil. Pour over pasta and toss. Add sauteed vegetables and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Lemon, Chile and Creamy Spinach

I made this for lunch today. I stumbled across the recipe on Sunday and thought it sounded so good. Well, turns out it's not. I couldn't find a red Thai chile so I just went with a red jalapeno, but I doubt that's what threw it off. It was fine and I'll eat the leftovers, but I will not make it again. They can't all be gems, people!

While at Stanley's buying ingredients for this I found a 2.5 lb bag of baby spinach for $2.25/lb. After pacing in front of it for a while, I finally just held my breath and grabbed it. It was such a good deal! I had to! So now I have a crisper drawer full of spinach. Got any good recipes for it? Send them my way! Don't like spinach? Maybe don't check back here for a week or so.

feta pasta salad redo

greek-style penne with fresh tomatoes, feta, and dill

I came across this recipe while searching for ways to use up the dill and parsley I'd bought for the feta salsa. I halved the recipe and made it for lunch today with some heirloom tomatoes I got at the farmer's market yesterday. Just writing about it is making my mouth fill with drool. You should make this.

Greek-Style Penne with Fresh Tomatoes, Feta, and Dill
Bon Appétit | August 2002

• 2 pounds tomatoes, halved, seeded, chopped
• 1 cup chopped green onions (white and pale green parts only)
• 7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 ounces penne pasta

Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Set tomato mixture aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Add hot pasta to tomato mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

penne with asparagus, arugula, walnuts, and blue cheese

I just keep going back to this recipe. This weekend I made it with whole wheat pasta and it didn't turn out as wondrous as I'd hoped. Still, I ain't mad at it. The recipe says to put shaved apple on the top, but I apparently forgot to transcribe that into my cook book, because I had no idea until posting it here. I'm finding out more and more that I'd make an awful secretary. I leave chunks out of recipes all the time. Some from when I was younger are even unusable. They have like three ingredients and then just trail off like I got distracted. Huh. Anyway, if you try the apple thing let me know.

penne with asparagus, arugula, walnuts, and blue cheese

(from Cook's Illustrated)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 pound cavatappi (or penne)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound asparagus , bottom 1 inch trimmed and discarded, spears halved lengthwise if larger than 1/2 inch in diameter and cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup walnuts , chopped
4 cups arugula (lightly packed), washed and dried thoroughly (about 1 bunch)
6 ounces blue cheese , preferably Roquefort, crumbled
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1Granny Smith apple , peeled, for grating over pasta

Instructions
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain and return to pot.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until beginning to smoke. Add asparagus, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, without stirring, until asparagus begins to brown, about 1 minute. Add walnuts and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until asparagus is tender-crisp and nuts are toasted, about 4 minutes; toss in arugula until wilted. Add asparagus mixture, cheese, vinegar, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil to pasta in stockpot; toss to combine. Serve immediately, grating apple over individual servings.

using your noodle

I've been kind of sick lately. Not full-blown, but the achy, can't think about anything, sort of want to cry about it kind of sick. So, like any sane person, I've made it a priority to treat myself nice. Yesterday for lunch I warmed up left-over spaghetti noodles in a pan with butter and peas, then shredded a large amount of asiago cheese on top. I paired it with the Chicago Reader crossword (one of my all-time favorite things) and by the end I wanted to cry with joy instead of from whiny-ness.