I Love Pasta!

Adam and I have definitely been in the habit of making our own pasta lately. It's just way better than anything you can buy in the store. And, if you have an electric pasta maker, it's a cinch. This time we made half whole wheat pasta and combined it with patty-pan squash, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, and parsley in an olive oil, butter sauce. Fantastic is all I can!

If you look back at my "Impress the Guests" blog in February, it will have the pasta directions. If you don't have the machines to make the pasta, don't hesitate to use the fresh pasta from the grocery stores.


Patty-pan Squash and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

1 package or recipe of pasta
10-12 patty-pan squash, quartered
6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and separated
1/4-1/3 cup parsley, chopped
a few Tbs. olive oil
1-2 Tbs. butter (as much as you feel comfortable using)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Wrap the cloves of garlic in aluminum foil and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them. Place in a preheated 350 oven for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Prepare pasta to package directions. If you are using fresh pasta, generously salt the water.
3. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and squash. Saute the squash until slightly softened and browned. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, butter, roasted garlic, and parsley. Allow the butter to melt completely, then toss the pasta with the mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil if the pasta looks too dry. Serve and enjoy!

Empanadas Ole!

Recently we have developed a new tradition with our neighbor by having Wednesday night dinners. We always prepare fantastic foods, drink a little too much for a Wednesday night, and have a glorious time! These nights make me actually look forward to Wednesdays. This past week Adam and I decided to re-create a dish from the Latin cooking class we took in August (as my birthday present--Thanks Mom and Dad!). I wasn't actually able to try the empanadas that were made at the cooking class, but the teacher suggested making them with roasted butternut squash and goat cheese, which is exactly what we did. We also made some more traditional empanadas filled with chorizo. We served both with a cilantro mojo sauce which will blow your mind! Mixed with homemade margaritas and a salad with black beans and avocado, this meal was a perfect hump day celebration!

A few notes:
1. I forgot to take a picture. Perhaps it was the margarita I had had, perhaps not. Nevertheless, there isn't an empanada picture.
2. I am going to give you the original recipe that has chicken and chorizo. For the chorizo empanadas we made, we followed the same recipe but simply omitted the chicken. For the butternut squash emapanadas, we roasted half a butternut squash for approximately 40 minutes in a 400 oven. Then, we mashed the roasted squash, that had been peeled, with cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Next, we crumbled goat cheese into the mixture. That's it!
3. The dough is incredibly easy in the food processor and incredibly delicious!


Chicken and Chorizo Empanadas with Clinatro Mojo (Penelope Alzamora)

Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter (4 oz.)
1 cup cream cheese (8 oz.)
salt and pepper

Cilantro Mojo
1 tsp. toasted cumin seeds
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup cilantro
1 medium poblano chile, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar

Filling
3 Tbs. olive oil
6 oz. ground chicken
1/4 cup chorizo, casing removed
1/2 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground ancho chile
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 Tbs. raisins
salt and pepper
12 green olives stuffed with pimento, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. of water

1. Dough: To make the dough, place the flour, butter, cream cheese, and a pinch of each of salt and pepper in a food processor until dough forms a smooth ball. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start making the mojo and filling.
2. Cilantro Mojo: In a mortar crush the cumin seeds. Mash in the garlic and salt, then add and mash to a paste the cilantro, poblano, and jalapeno chile. Gradually stir in the oil and vinegar. Reserve.
3. Preheat the oven to 400.
4. To make the filling: Warm olive oil over medium high heat in a medium-sized pan. Add the chicken and saute, until cooked, about 1 minute. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and reserve. In the same pan, over medium-high heat, saute chorizo, garlic, onion, bell pepper, ground ancho chile, and cumin until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pan; add raisins, olives, salt and pepper to taste. Let it cool.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to 1/4-inch thick and cut rounds using 3-inch or 5-inch cutter.
6. On each circle of dough, place about 1 Tbs. of filling. Moisten the edges with beaten egg wash and fold the pastry in half, pressing the edges together with a fork. Brush the empanadas with beaten egg.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Serve with cilantro mojo sauce.

The Best Pizza Ever, Really

Last night, we literally had the best pizza we've ever made--and we've made some pretty good pizza. We, of course, made a grilled pineapple pizza, which I've posted before. We switched it up to accommodate our hot pepper supply. We didn't have any jalapenos, so we (Adam) finely diced a habanero. Beware! Everything you touch for the rest of the night will burn! Trust me. We also made a grilled butternut squash pizza topped with blue cheese and arugula and drizzled with olive oil. Fantastic!


Grilled Butternut Squash Pizza with Blue Cheese and Arugula

1/2 recipe pizza dough, made with 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour)

1 small butternut squash, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated (or crushed)
2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup arugula
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Coat the butternut squash with olive oil and place on a medium heat grill. Grill until tender. Slice into half-moons.
2. Meanwhile, grill the pizza dough on one side. It is ready when it can easily be lifted off the grill. Flip the dough and beginning topping.
3. Spread garlic over the dough (don't be shy with the amount of garlic you use). Drizzle with olive oil and top with a bit of salt and pepper. Arrange squash, crumble blue cheese, and sprinkle mozzarella on pizza. Place back on grill until cheese has fully melted. Top with fresh arugula, drizzle with olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Eat whole pizza.

Fall is in the Air

Adam and I went to the Farmers' Market Saturday and were surrounded by an abundance of fall harvest vegetables. The warming, comforting qualities of autumn's squash and greens make this time of year one of my favorites for food. (Although, I don't like to discriminate.) While I was searching 101cookbooks.com, I found a recipe that would be perfect for my farmers' market stash of butternut squash: Roasted Pumpkin Salad. The squash and onions are roasted to a perfect sweetness; the rice is nutty and adds texture; and the dressing is tart and creamy. It's a wonderfully healthy and complete meal. The only problem is that it's difficult to stop eating! (Sorry, once again, I don't have a picture. I still have to buy batteries. I'll get on it soon! But, you can go to 101cookbooks.com for a gorgeous picture of the salad.)



Roasted Pumpkin Salad (www.101cookbooks.com, Heidi Swanson)

We used brown rice instead of wild rice. I'm sure wild rice would be just as delicious as the brown was.

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
12 tiny red onions or shallots, peeled (OR 3 medium red onions peeled and quartered)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. warm water
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and onion pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.
3. In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking - I usually need to add a touch more salt with this dressing.
4. In a large bowl, toss the wild rice with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash (I'll very gently toss with my hands here to disperse the pumpkin a bit). Finish with another drizzle of dressing and any remaining chopped cilantro.