Obama Family Linguine with Shrimp

Blue and I celebrated Obama's victory with our NH canvassing friends. We enjoyed a delicious meal and fine company. This recipe is easy and tasty. Enjoy!

OBAMA FAMILY LINGUINE AND SHRIMP RECIPE

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs fresh shrimp (shell on)
Several garlic cloves
Sun-dried tomatoes (sliced in olive oil)
Chicken broth
1 box linguini
Fresh basil (julienned)
1 tbsp olive oil
Cooking Instructions

Clean, de-vein shrimp. Remove shells and let soak in hot chicken broth.

Thinly slice garlic. (The more garlic, the better the flavor of the dish).

Cook pasta and set aside. (Important not to over cook pasta)

In large sauté pan, heat olive oil on high heat and sauté garlic cloves until they begin to brown slightly.

Add fresh shrimp and cook until just beginning to turn pick. Add salt and pepper to flavor shrimp.

Add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook for another minute.

Add pasta. Mix pasta into the garlic, shrimp and sun-dried tomato mixture until pasta coated entirely with mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly add a bit of the shrimp shell and chicken broth liquid to remove reserves from bottom of pan.

Remove pan from heat and let sit for a few moments.

Add basil over top of dish before serving.

Recipe Notes

Pasta with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce

Over the last couple of months I've been trying to eat healthier but have refused to give up my love of cooking, eating and great food. The added focus and exercise has paid off in my waistline and I feel like I've never eaten better. I discovered this dish in Cooking Light (September 2008) and have made it twice. It's delicious and goes so well with some fresh baked bread. I wouldn't eat it every night, but it's a healthy splurge meal for once in a while. It's also very easy and quick to make. The original recipe called for ziti. Any tube shaped pasta would work well. I didn't have any penne, rigatoni, or ziti so I used riccetti (which my better half tells me means "little curls" in Italian).


Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce
(From Cooking Light, September 2008)
2 Servings (serving size is 1 1/4 cups)

4 ounces uncooked ziti
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
6 tablespoons of half-and-half
3 tablespoons of gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 cup fresh spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper, and minced garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Stir in half-and-half and Gorgonzola cheese; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in spinach and pasta; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing occasionally.

If you're following Weight Watchers one serving of this is 7 points. Calories are 335; fat is 10.4 grams; Protein is 12.3g; carb 49.9 g; fiber 3.6 g

Bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the evaporated skim milk, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Strawberry Pasta

Yeah, Strawberries! Made with delicious food bank farm strawberries. Sounds bizarre, but really just wonderful!

Review from Bluesky who partook of the pasta: Delicous, delicious...OMG...Watch you don't stain your shirt..

Ingredients

1 pint fresh strawberry
1/2 lb spaghetti (I used Bucati-Spaghetti tubes)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
mint sprig (to garnish)

Directions

1Purée strawberries in blender.

2Drain to remove seeds. (not really necessary)

3Cook spaghetti according to package.

4Drain and toss with cheese.

5Heat butter and cream in a small saucepan.

6Pour strawberry sauce then cream over pasta

7Serve with additional cheese and garnish with mint, if desired.

Baked Pasta with Roasted Eggplant & Grape Tomatoes

I opened the refrigerator tonight to find a container of ricotta cheese, just about to expire, some grape tomatoes and an eggplant. I thought about roasting the tomatoes and putting them over pasta (I also had some fresh basil). A Google search for "roasted grape tomatoes over pasta" brought me to a recipe for Castellane with Mascarpone and Roasted Grape Tomatoes

Almost perfect...I modified the recipe with what I had and created this Baked Pasta with Roasted Eggplant & Grape Tomatoes. It was delicious (if I do say so myself)!

• 1 pint of grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• crushed pepper flakes
• 2 TBSP or more of chopped fresh basil
• 1lb of short or shell pasta (I used whole grain cavatappi - or corkscrews - with flax)
• 1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese
• 1 cup of finely grated Parmigianno-Reggiano (or more)
• 1 medium sized eggplant

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch disks and slice the tomatoes lengthwise.

2. Line a shallow baking sheet with foil and lightly oil it with olive oil

3. Arrange the tomatoes, cut sides up, and the eggplant in the pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and the chopped basil. (I actually roasted the tomatoes with the basil in one batch and the eggplant with olive oil in a second batch. The eggplant needs to be turned half way through cooking). Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes are plump.

4. Take the tomatoes and eggplant out of the oven and allow to cool.

5. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta well and transfer to a bowl with the eggplant and tomatoes. Mix the reserved water in a small bowl or measuring cup with the ricotta cheese. When smooth pour into the bowl with the pasta, tomatoes, and eggplant. Stir well. Add 1/2 of the parmesan cheese.

6. Lightly oil a 13x9 (3 quart) baking dish. Toss the pasta mixture again and then spoon into the dish. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top. Bake pasta in a 400 degree oven until golden and bubbly, 18-20 minutes.

YUMMY!

Mafalde Alla Gorgonzola with Asparagus

On Sunday, we found a use for the chunk of gorgonzola. The recipe of choice was Penne Alla Gorgonzola from Gourmet magazine with some twists. It involved a bit of Asparagudrama. We started at Serio's on State Street in NOHO, looking for a bunch of local asparagus. They didn't receive a delivery, so we went with their suggestion and stopped at Fido's veggie and flower stand. Alas, Mr. Fido said he was all out-with the rain, the asparagus didn't grow enough and he wasn't able to pick any new asparagus the night before. His stand is at Mom's and his farm is in Hadley. Blue knows all of the suspect asparagus farm stands in Hadley, so I picked her up for our Hadley jaunt. Fortunately, we found the asparagus at our first stop, what I will call Blue Umbrella Farm due to the blue umbrella shading the cooler on which the asparagus perched.

The recipe was a success, so here you go with my adjustments: mafalde substituting for the penne and the addition of asparagus spears.

Mafalde Alla Gorgonzola and Asparagus

12 oz-1 lb. Mafalde (looks like a skinny lasagna)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp dried sage, crumbled or thinly sliced fresh sage
1 cup whole milk
1/2 lb. gorgonzola cut into pieces 1.5-2 cups
1/4 c. black pepper
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

Cook pasta in 6-8 quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente
While pasta boils, heat butter in a 12 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook sage, stirring 1 minute. Add gorgonzola and cook, stirring and breaking up cheese, until sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes (sauce will be thin). I found that it took a little longer than the two minutes for the sauce to become smooth. Reduce heat to low and stir in pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste.
You (or a cooking partner) should start steaming the asparagus as you begin preparing the sauce. Once the asparagus is a bit tender, remove and cut into four pieces at the diagonal. Set aside.
Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain pasta. Add pasta and parmesan cheese, stirring to coat. Add in the asparagus in at the last moment. Serve.

Enjoy!