Pastah Disastah

So, I was being a little bit adventurous and decided to try some Angelhair pasta made from rice, rather than the usual wheat or semolina. Rice seemed innocent enough; a lot of Asian noodles are made from rice, and they are quite yummy.

Though I followed the cooking directions on the package precisely, the pasta turned out terribly. It was not very enjoyable to eat, and after sampling, I had to convince J to have a small serving for dinner so we wouldn't have to toss it all out.

When it was not quite al-dente, the Rice Angelhair tasted like uncooked rice. Thirty seconds later, it tasted like mushy rice (in a bad way). It was very glutinous, sticky, and the noodles wanted to break apart into hundreds of tiny pieces. This was not very conducive for tossing with sauce.. or eating.

I felt bad wasting so much, so I loaded it lots of tomato sauce, and more freshly cracked pepper and parmesan cheese than usual so that I could disguise the taste of the pasta itself. This is not one of my proudest cooking moments, but it's a lesson learned. I'm glad I only bought one box, as I certainly don't plan to buy this type of Rice pasta again!

Pierogi Experiment

It's not quite Casimir Pulaski Day yet, but I had had pirogi in the back of my mind for a while and wanted to try my hand at making them from scratch. What are pierogi you ask? Essentially, a pierog is the Polish incarnation of a dumpling. Italians have their ravioli, Chinese have gow (potstickers), and Polish have pierogi. Pierogi are crescent-shaped objects with an outer shell of pasta bursting with things like potatoes and cheese, cabbage, fruit, or meat.

In college, my Polish roommates would frequently cook potato & cheese pierogi. These were the best ones, the claimed. Sometimes they would eat the kraut ones, but neither fruit pierogi nor meat pierogi were deemed "truly Polish" enough for their tastes. The traditional way to cook pierogi, or so they told me, was to pan fry in heaps of butter until slightly golden, then topped with a large dollop of sour cream. (Pierogi are boiled first, but if you purchase the frozen kind, they are generally pre-boiled, so you can go straight to the frying stage.)

So, I wanted to make vegan pierogi. And I didn't have a recipe, so I'd call it an experiment.

Dough:
2 c. All Purpose Flour
3 oz. Silken Tofu (this is half of a standard-size asceptic container)
1 c. water
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

Filling:
Leftover mashed potatoes, pepper
Optional add-ins: Onions, Kraut, Cheeze of your choosing

Instructions:
Mash tofu well with fork. When the consistency is smooth, slowly add half of the flour and mix well. Add salt and olive oil. Continue adding the flour and mixing the batter. Stir in 1/2 cup of water. The mixture should be on its way to becoming a dough ball. If needed, add more water. The dough should be a consistency where it can be kneaded. It should not be sticky. Next, roll the dough out to a thin layer. Cut dough into circles with a cookie cutter or the upside-down rim of a glass.


Place a small spoonful of filling in the center of each dough-circle. Fold the circle in half, and seal the edges of your pierogi.


Next, place your pierogi in pot of boiling water, salted. Small batches work best for this. When the pierogi are ready, they will float to the top and you may fish them out. After removing pierogi from boiling water, dry well, and gently fry in your buttery substance of choice. When golden, enjoy immediately!

Notes:
Make sure you enjoy your filling it its original form--pierogis are not meant to disguise a lack of yummy-ness.
Don't overstuff the pierogi. The pasta may tear, and they won't look as pretty.
Breaking tradition is okay. The next day, I ate leftover pierogi with leftover pasta sauce.

Linguine and Zucchini

I love leftovers. But even better than plain old leftovers is being able to use leftovers to come up with a completely new creation.

Over the past week, I had been craving pasta, which is basically a staple of my diet. The craving was not helped by going out for Italian food on Wednesday night, and only eating a salad and some risotto. As delicious they were, I left wishing that I had ordered something else.

Luckily, pasta is something incredibly easy to make at home and I was able to finally satisfy the craving this evening. Conveniently, I had some leftovers laying around that I was able to use to create a fabulous pasta dinner.

The Leftovers
*Zucchini is something I did not truly enjoy on or with pasta until the summer of 2005. I spent that summer living in Verona and was exposed to many new tastes that have stuck with me long since leaving. I had some zucchini leftover from Tuesday's dinner that did not look very exciting sitting in the fridge in a container and alone. Luckily for the zucchini and for me, I remembered that it would be a great addition to the night's pasta creation. I chopped it into more convenient bite-sized pieces, and it was ready to go!
*A few days ago, J had opened up a jar of marinara sauce that needed to be finished. I hear that pasta sauce actually shouldn't be kept very long once it's opened, so I was eager to use it up. The only addition made to this sauce was some garlic powder for extra kick.
*We also had some stravecchio cheese left from the Macaroni and Cheese we made on New Year's Eve. This is one of my new favorite cheese. It is hard, pungent, and versatile. I think it is a great cheese for snacking alongside sweet fruit, using in savory dishes, or simply for nibbling alone. J and I were both surprised that the stravecchio had lasted this long (both in terms of us not eating it and in terms of it not being taken over by mold growth) and decided it needed to be consumed without further delay.

The Dish
Whole wheat linguine, with zucchini, a basic tomato sauce, and sprinkled with grated stravecchio cheese. Simple, easy to make, and absolutely satisfying! This is how I like to eat.

New Year's Eve Feast

Though we've both said that we want to reduce our dairy consumption, our New Year's Eve feast consisted of an extremely rich and tasty Five Cheese "Macaroni and Cheese." We used whole wheat fusilli mixed with a blend of Australian Cheddar, Fontina val Deosta, Aged Provolone, Grana Padano and topped with crumbled bread and Antigo Stravecchio. Sinfully delicious!

Happy New Year to all! May good food, good friends, and good health be yours in 2008!



Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb fusilli or pasta of choice
1/2 lb grated Australian Cheddar
1/4 lb grated Aged Provolone
1/4 lb grated Grano Padano
1/4 lb grated Fontina val Deosta

For Sauce:
2 T butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. plain soymilk
1 T. mustard powder
1 T. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper

For Topping:
3 slices of bread
1/4 lb grated Antigo Stravecchio

Directions:
Start by boiling the pasta and grating your cheese.
Next, use the butter and flour to begin a roux. Add the soymilk and desired seasonings and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.

When pasta is almost al dente, drain and spread into a 3 qt. casserole dish, and add the sauce and first four cheeses. Mix together well. Finally, crumble the bread and sprinkle with the Antigo Stravecchio. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until topping is crisp and brown. Enjoy!