Mac 'n Cheese

I invited the Chopping Block over for dinner, and I made her some macaroni and cheese! I also served it with some sweet carrot mash, some cornbread (with corn kernels hidden inside), and some barbecue ribs.

Ricotta with Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Pasta Shells

Another recipe taken from Simply Recipes. I might was well make a rule that I would only make food from Simply Recipes.

I first know of this dish from eating in the UCSF Mt. Zion hospital cafeteria. It was actually pretty good because they make a new entree dish every day so I get to try new things everyday. Their ricotta stuffed pasta shell dish used really really large pasta shells. The shells were the size of my palm!

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

I asked the Chopping Block what I should cook, and she suggested a pumpkin recipe from Martha Stewart, except I thought that it wouldn't turn out very well. I think pumpkin has a pretty mild taste, and I didn't think it'd work with pasta. After some searching around, I found a Rachel Ray recipe, albeit I'm not a fan, but it looked more promising than Martha Stewart's.

Meal Planning Part 2: Seasonings & Pesto Pasta Salad/Crepes

Awhile ago, I posted meal Planning Part 1 and then life, as it is wont to do...descended into chaos...

Which is the very reason I meal plan. Continuing with the topic, I'm going to suppose that the beginning meal planner has kept a food diary and knows his/her tastes. The next thing to do is research. What you want to know is how to flavor the dishes you want to make. There are 3 types of cuisines we eat in my house:

Asian
Italian
Mexican

All forms are intensely Americanized...no avoiding it. I'm white :P But I <3 learning traditional recipes...even if they degenerate into Americanized-whatevers as I become comfortable cooking the dishes. However, my neccesities are my oil and herbs and honey...and garlic....

From 2010-08-01

See?

So this (plus Mirin and Sherry, which I think are missing from this pick) are my essentials. These are what my meals start and end with. In differing quantities and mixtures, these oils, herbs, etc bring flavor to my meals.

My suggestion to the beginner is to choose a lot of recipes you like which require a selection of the same seasonings. Keep those seasonings on hand and develop techniques that use them to their full effect.

The next repertoire to build is based on your favorite (or edible) veggies/meats. Yes, this can be determined in part by budgeting. An example of our favorite dish this summer has been Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad.

First, you need the veggies:

From 2010-08-01

The artichoke hearts and olives came in cans, most of the rest was fresh.
Pesto came in a bottle, but if you have time and fresh ingredients Helen's Basil and Parsley Pesto would be a good addition :P

I used frozen chicken which I defrosted/slightly cooked in the microwave, cut into bite-sized pieces, then added to a pan that included: olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I cooked the mixture until the chicken was brown with the vinegar and flaky.

The eggplant and mushrooms were cooked separately in a similar mixture. The eggplant is done when browned by the seasonings and soft.

When done the veggies and chicken look like this:

From 2010-08-01

The salad is made by either
a) tossing the chicken with pesto
b) adding a portion of chicken, veggies and noodles (we use wheat noodles) together and tossing with pesto.

Or the same mixture can be added to a simple batter:

From 2010-08-01

made from flour, water, an egg and a touch of salt. Cooked like a pancake and then with the mixture added:

From 2010-08-01

You get chicken pesto crepes.

So the veggies and chicken (stored separately) can be made in large enough quantities to be eaten in different meals for 3 days.

This is why establishing precisely what you eat is important. If you love olives or tomatoes, you can create multiple dishes that use the same veggies in different ways. The seasonings will also be used differently.

What are your favorite vegetables? Have favorite ways of cooking them?

Gordon Ramsay’s Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta

The Chopping Block and I had a dinner party because we are old! She even wore a sweater! :O She made her avocado fries (see previous post here). I made Gordon Ramsay's pasta except I used penne and chicken instead. You can see Chef Ramsay making it on hulu here. There wasn't really a written recipe, so I just used what I thought were the right amounts. :| (I think I fed 6 hungry people.)