Springtime & A Recipe

The weather was warm this weekend.  I spent every moment I could outside, and it was heavenly.  On Sunday I took a little trip to Barnes & Noble and bought the book The Great Night by Chris Adrian.  It's  a retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream and wass the perfect book to read in my garden with an iced tea. Wanting to keep this warm weather trend going, I've been craving light meals, that require little effort. I found a recipe for a ricotta and penne pasta frittata that sounded delicous. I've always been a fan of frittatas, but always assumed they were complicated and time consuming.  Umm, they're not.  This recipe was quick, and served with toast and jam, it was a the perfect simple dinner.  How have you been welcoming spring?

Below is the frittata and here is the recipe.  Although it was delish, I wish I would have cooked up some bacon and had fresh fruit on hand to go with it.  Had I done that, it truly would have been the perfect meal.

Zitti Alfredo

When I first saw the book Lunch In Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Baird I knew I'd love it. I knew it even before I read the back cover.   My prediction, was unsurpisingly correct, and it is definitely on my list of top ten favorite books.  The combination of reading about food and romance was a dreamy pairing. It's amazing how connected food is to one's life, and it's a point that Baird made wonderfully clear throughout the book.  It's something I never really thought about until now, but certain dishes can take you back to a moment in time.  It makes me want to write my own novel with recipes.

There are about twenty dishes from the book I'm dying to try.  The first one I have attempted was the recipe for the alfredo sauce. Although I've always heard how easy alfredo sauce is to make, I've never had the desire to do so, because, well, buying a can is a heck of a lot easier.   But my opinion is forever changed.  This sauce was amazing and beyond easy to make. We were out of fettucine, so we used zitti - I was a little never because it's such a thick pasta, but the sauce held it's own.  So creamy, cheesey, and peppery - I will make this again and again.  See the recipe below!

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons salted butter

2 cups heavy cream

6 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (don't skimp!)

2 egg yolks, unbeaten

1 1/2 pounds De Cecco fettucine or orecchiette (or in my case zitti)

Directions:

In a large stockpot boil the water for the pasta.  Add enough salt so you can taste it.

In a sauce pan, over low heat, melt the butter. Then add the cream and stir to heat through. Then add cheese, stirring to combine.

Add the pepper, stir and cook 5 minutes.

While sauce is cooking, put the pasta into the boiling water.

Whisk the egg yolks into the sauce, continuing to whisk until the sauce slightly thickens.

Cook pasta until al dente.  Drain, then quickly return to the pot. 

Toss pasta with sauce and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

 

Spring-Time Soup

For me, spring is a hard season to cook for - in winter, there's comfort food, in the fall there's everything apple or pumpkin based, and in the summer, I want a light menu with all things fruit and vegetables.  Spring is a sort of in-between for me - although I'm over casseroles and heavy dishes I'm still wanting something a little lighter that keep keep me warm on a chilly evening and leave me feeling full.   When I was flipping through my Moosewood cookbook, I found a soup that met every requirement I was looking for in a recipe that night - it was warm, healthy, and comforting.  And when I made it, it didn't disappoint - the flavor was incredible and the combination of vegetables made for a delicious medley.    Below is the recipe - I halved it and my only complaint was that there were a few too many noodles.  A little chicken added to the recipe would also be delicious.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onions
1 small carrot, peeled & minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme (1 tablespoon fresh)
1 teaspoon dried basil (1 tablespoon fresh)
1/4 cup of water
6 cups basic vegetable stock
3 fresh or canned plum tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen lima beans
1 pound fresh asparagus,cut into 1 inch lengths
1/4 cup spaghetti broken into 2 inch lengths
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh green peas

Directions:

In a covered soup pan on low heat, cook the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, thyme and basil in the water until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the vegetable stock or broth and the tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Add the lima beans and asparagus and return to a boil.  Stir in the spaghetti and cook until al dente.  Add the salt, lemon juice, and peas and cook for about five more minutes.  Serve hot.

Lessons in Lefse

I am quite proud of my Norwegian heritage, and there are certain traditions that I've grown up with and feel deeply connected to.  As with most cultures, Scandanavian food has a taste all its own and one of my favorite fairs has got to be lefse.  It's a simple food, that isn't so easy to make, so when my grandma offered to teach me, I jumped at the chance.  If you're not familiar, lefse is a sort of potato flatbread (as tortilla is to Mexico, or Pita bread is to Greece.)  It's also a food that is traditionally only eaten in the chilly months of winter, and my family eats with a spread of butter and a dusting of brown sugar.  They can also be eaten with jelly, or corn syrup, and in Norway they even eat them with ham and eggs, or other sorts of savory meats.  So last Sunday I made my way to my Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's and spent the afternoon in the kitchen (and although I've far from mastered the art of lefse making, I'll be asking for a lefse griddle for Christmas next year!)

You will need:

A lefse griddle

A cloth covered board

A cloth covered rolling pin (with ridges)

A lefse turning stick

A potato ricer 

 

Ingredients:

- 3 cups rice potatoes (Idaho work best)

- 3Tbsp. whipping cream

- 3Tbsp. softened butter

- 1 tsp. sugar

- 1 tsp. salt

- About 1 cup flour

 

To make-

- Peel the potatoes then boil them.  Rice and mash the potatoes to remove all lumps.  Add, whipping cream, butter, sugar and salt. 

- Take one cup of the potato mixture and mix by hand with roughly 1/3 cup of flour (until it handles well.)

- Divide the dough into thirds.   Turn your griddle on to 500.

- Keep the board floured.  Start to roll out the dough.  Make sure your lefse stick stays clean and the cloth on the board stays dry.  While rolling out the dough, flip it over with your lefse stick several times.  Get the lefse as thin as possible.

- Place the lefse on the griddle.  Cook on each side about one minute, until little brown spots form.  

- Once cooked, remove from the griddle and place in a kitchen towel.  Let cool completely, for several hours in the towel. Then Place in plastic bags.  Store in the refrigerator. 

- Repeat the process.  Make sure the cloth board stays as dry as possible and the lefse stick stays clean.