Pasta Puttanesca

I’ve been trying out a ton of new recipes this week and this was the last one on my menu for the week. Of all the recipes (other than the spinach salad mentioned in the previous post) this was by far the easiest and quickest meal I have made.

While I was able to find just about all of the ingredients at my local grocery store, the only thing I couldn’t find was anchovy paste and I didn’t want to mash up anchovies just to have the teaspoon needed. The next time I make this (and there will be a next time according to my husband who immediately said I needed to make it for others) I will make more of an effort in finding anchovy paste just to see what the ingredient adds to the dish – other than salt.

Speaking of salt. You really don’t need any. Between the olives and the capers the dish has plenty of salt. I salted the pasta water because I always do but I didn’t add any salt – or pepper for that matter – to the dish.

Spaghetti with Swiss Chard & Bacon

My mother came to visit this past weekend on her way to my sisters. Normally when she visits I make one of my standards. This time however I decided to try something new and slightly more healthier.

I’ve never cooked with ‘collard’ greens before and Swiss Chard is definitely in the ‘collard’ greens family. I have watched a couple of shows on FoodNetwork where the chef used Swiss Chard though so sorta knew what to expect.  When you get the Swiss Chard be sure to rinse it a couple of warm baths, draining the water each time. Aside from the particulates the water in the bowl turned a lovely shade of green as I rinsed the Swiss Chard.

There are surprisingly few actual ingredients in this recipe. Most of the flavor comes from the chicken stock and the bacon and pepper (Don’t forget the pepper!) While the recipe calls for you to use the stems I used very few of them. And the next time I make this (I was told this should go into rotation) I think I will cut back on the chicken stock as it seemed to be a bit much.

I really enjoyed the dish. Within 30 minutes I had a meal that would feed 6 people. I had the left overs the next day for lunch and it held up very well.

Apricot Pork With Rice OR Soba Noodles

I mentioned in my previous post that I had a pork and rice dish that I absolutely adore. Well now it’s a pork and Soba noodle dish that I absolutely adore. My idea for this recipe came from having quite a bit of left over pork roast and coming up with interesting ways to have the leftovers. The second time I made this pork dish I substituted the rice with Soba Noodles (which I have come to realize that I love love love them) which I stir fried with the pork once they were softened. If you don’t have any leftover pork roast you can always use pork stew meat.

This dish doesn’t really have precise measurements as it’s very much a “to taste” kind of thing.  I used Sambal Oelek to give it just a touch of heat to go with the sweetness of the apricots. And while I didn’t have any vegetables in it, I think that some broccoli would work really well with it…

Apricot Pork with Soba Noodles

Bandnudeln mit Rindfleish (Egg Noodles with Beef)

When I first saw this recipe I thought it looked like it would be relatively easy to make and sounded really yummy. It had an Asian flare to it with the use of soy sauce and slivered zucchini and carrots.
The dish was as I thought, easy to make. Most of the time was spent chopping, slicing; all of which I did before I actually started cooking.
The meal itself was a hit with friends as well as family. So much so that I was asked to write the recipe down. Per usual it was a recipe from a German Cookbook and I needed to take the time to translate it. The version of the recipe below contains my personal notes and suggestions I made while translating.

Manicotti with Three Cheeses

I have a soft spot for this particular recipe. It is the first thing I ever cooked for my husband- on our first date. It is so simple to make and you can spice it up by trying different marinara sauces.

It is by far the most requested dish that I make.

Manicotti with Three Cheeses

Chicken Adobo

I am so glad that I am not afraid of trying dishes from other cultures. If I were then I would have never come across this wonderful Filipino dish.

It is a very simple dish made with chicken or pork, slow cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, and pepper.

The chicken came out moist and had a wonderful color to it. Matt took it to work the next day for lunch and came back telling me that it was even better the next day for having been able to soak in more of the sauce.

Spätzle

I make Spätzle at least once a week. I find that I can’t make Schnitzel without making them. There are certain dishes that Spätzle just belongs with with.

There are other reasons I like to make these noodles. I get to use my noodle press. The press has a lot of history. It is only one of two presses in our family that comes all the way from what was once East Germany. (My mother has the other one.) The press is large and if you aren’t used to it, a little unwieldy. It looks like it could be used as a torture device.

My noodle press aka the torture device

Spätzle is also one of the easiest German side dishes (or main course-Käse Spätzle for instance) I could possibly make.

Granted there does seem to be a period of trial and error regarding the dough and the cooking time. It’s taken me a year or two of constantly making them to get the consistency, firmness, and texture that I remember my mother’s Spätzle having.

This recipe is actually out of my mother’s first cookbook. It works wonderfully with a hand-held noodle press. (I am not sure how it would work with a press like the one found on a Kitchen Aide) And I know that it works reasonably well with a Schupfen Brett (a board and scrapper used to smooth, stretch and cut the noodles into the water) but I haven’t mastered that particular art yet.

Every time I make this dough it tends to turn out a little differently. It calls for either milk or water, I tend to use milk. I have been known to use heavy whipping cream which makes for a “fluffier” noodle. My Tante Bärbel (Tante=Aunt) makes hers with seltzer water.

The dough’s consistency varies every time I make it. Sometimes it is thin, and other times it is thick. This is perfectly alright. It entirely depends on what type of liquid you use. Water will make the dough thinner than milk.

The real key to making Spätzle is the cooking time. These noodles rise to the top when done, but I have found that if you wait 3 minutes or so after they’ve risen to the the top that the noodles will be completely done. (I tend to wait about 5 minutes.) And you have to shock them in cold water once you remove them.

You can make these in advance and either keep them warm in a covered heat safe dish in the oven (warm setting) until you need them or reheat them in the microwave when needed.

Glass Noodles with Chicken and Young Thailand Hot Sauce

So tonight we decided to make some Thai food. I don’t use the wok often so this was going to be a bit of an adventure for me.

Unfortunately when I went shopping for the ingredients this weekend I picked up rice noodles instead of glass noodles. It was a simple mistake on my part as I didn’t recall that glass noodles are actually made of bean threads and not rice. Even with the incorrect noodles I figured I should still give the recipe a go.

I made the Young Thailand Hot Sauce this morning to give it some time to rest. All I have to say is that if you aren’t used to heat, use this sparingly.

Overall I think the recipe was very easy to follow, even for a novice with the wok such as me. The key to it was definitely timing and being able to control the heat properly. Even with the change in noodles I think that the dish worked really well. I didn’t bother with the black fungus as I didn’t have the time to go to the local Asian market. I forgot to garnish with the red pepper at the end so it looked a little bland even with the green onion. It still tasted wonderful, and the the Young Thailand Hot Sauce gave it just enough kick.

Penne With Sausage, Peppers & Tomato Sauce

I made Penne with Sausage, Peppers & Tomato Sauce on Friday last week. It was one of the many recipes that I collected over the years from different magazines that I had yet to actually get into the kitchen to make. I am really glad that I decided to try this one.

I’m all about simplicity and this is the epitome of a simple Italian dish. I used Johnsonville Mild Italian sausage, the next time I may try the hot version. I only used two bell peppers, a yellow and a green. They added just the right texture. I may try using an orange pepper as well the next time I make it.

It saves well, though I haven’t tried to freeze it. I would imagine that the peppers would break down a bit too much and become really limp.

The recipe serves six (at least that is what they suggest) and I think this would make a wonderful meal to invite friends over for dinner. It really doesn’t take much time at all.

Yeast Knödel*

*Family recipe handed down from Oma to Tante to Mom to me.