Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

shroom pasta, originally uploaded by Kim De.

I saw this pasta dish cooked on television just a few days ago. Immediately I went to my planning calendar to make some changes to the meal plan, because it looked just that good, And you know what? It was as good as it looked, if not better. Amazing, in fact. I am a huge fan of creme sauce. I think I like this one the best. The mascarpone cheese added a depth of flavor that cream could not even dream of. And mushrooms with pasta, whats not to love?

The only change I made - the pasta. I did not have rigatoni. I was not able to make it to the store, so I used penne. Not bad, but with this sauce the larger tube of the rigatoni would help in capturing the flavor, so next time I will make sure it is in the house. Bo also loved it, and looks forward to the leftovers for tomorrow lunch.

Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce (From Giada De Laurentiis)

* 1 pound rigatoni pasta
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 shallots, minced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/2 cup vegetable stock
* 1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Re-trying an old vegetable aversion

beet, originally uploaded by Kim De.

Beets. As a child, I couldnt stand them. They were pickled and from a jar. To my buds they were slimy and tart.

Recently, my foodie friends have insisted I try beets again. Really try them. Fresh, roasted, beets. So I did. I found a recipe by Giada for a salad with the bright red root. So I made it. It was beautiful. I didnt like it. I tried, I really did. Bo eagerly gobbled his up, while I subbed sliced apple for the beets in mine. Now THAT was good!

With our salad we had European Peasant Bread with cheese. The bread was quick to make on a busy Sunday and has a decent flavor - not like an all-day bread, but what do you want for a no knead bread?

All in all, a nice Sunday dinner.

Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad (Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 medium beets, cooked and quartered
6 cups fresh arugula
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Toss the arugula and walnuts in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad atop 4 plates. Arrange the beets around the salad. Sprinkle with goat cheese, and serve.


European Peasant Bread (Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)
makes 2 large loaves

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp instant yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups flour

Mix the salt and yeast with the water in a large bowl. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading. the dough will be very wet. Cover with a towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours.

At this point you can use the dough or refrigerate (it will keep for about 2 weeks). If you are going to make the bread right away, it’s still a good idea to refrigerate the dough for an hour or two so it is easier to handle.

Cut off a section of the dough, and dust it with flour. Quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Allow to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered baking sheet.

While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 450 F and place an empty broiler tray on the lowest rack in the oven. If you are baking on a baking stone, place it in the oven to heat up with the oven.

When the oven is ready and the dough has risen, sprinkle the loaf liberally with flour and make a few 1/4 inch deep slashes on the top using a serrated bread knife. Leave the flour on top of the loaf during baking.

Place the baking sheet into the oven (or slide the dough onto your baking stone). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, quickly close the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. The top should get a good hard crust and will be deeply browned. Allow to cool on a cooling rack and brush off excess flour from the top of the loaf before slicing.

Veggie Night!

Chipotle potato, originally uploaded by Kim De.

Now when I say "veggie" this does NOT mean a meal with only vegetables - it means a meal without meat. I think Bo finally understands that and isnt as afraid of these dinners! (much)

Last night I took a cue from another blogger (thank you Joe) and made Bacon-Chipotle Twice-Baked Potatoes. A nostalgia dish that I hadnt made in years - and had never made with chipotle peppers.

It was time for a meatless meal, so I simply left the bacon off these spuds. They spent an hour baking in a 450 oven before being sliced in half lengthwise. After cooling a bit, the potato pulp was scooped out of the skin, leaving just enough attached to retain a sturdy wall. I had forgotten how tedious this process can be, but the potatoes came out of their surgery with nary a tare.

Homemade buttermilk is one of my secret weapons. I never purchase it, as I would end up throwing most of it away. Instead, anytime a recipe calls for the tangy liquid, I add 1T vinegar to 1cup milk and let sit for 5 minutes - and buttermilk is born. I let this mixture ferment while shredding a sharp white cheddar cheese and chopping up green onions and my lovely chipotle peppers. Be warned, depending on the size of your potatoes and the amount you are able to scoop out, you may or may not need all the milk called for. Add everything else first, then slowly add the milk, stirring to see if you need more.

The potatoes and other ingredients can be mashed with a potato masher, or a mixer. Then it is spooned back into the waiting skins, sprinkled with more cheese and onions and baked for 15 minutes.

This was a big hit with both of us, and we were both glad there were leftovers for lunch! Creamy innards, with a crispy potato shell makes the warmth of the chipotles shine. I have no doubt smoky bacon would add great depth to this dish - maybe next time.


Bacon-Chipotle Twice-Baked Potatoes (Adapted from CL)

2 large baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
3 oz (about 3/4 cup) shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 Tbs finely chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Using a fork, pierce potatoes in a few places. Place into the oven and bake until tender, about 5o to 60 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool slightly. Slice each potato in half lengthwise - scoop out the fresh, making sure to leave a 1/4" thick shell. In a large bowl, add the potato flesh, buttermilk, 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) cheese, green onion and chipotle chile - mash with a potato masher. Stir in bacon - season mixture with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

3. Evenly divide the mixture between the 4 potato shells. Place filled shells into an 8" baking dish coated with nonstick spray - scatter remaining ounce (about 1/4 cup) cheese evenly over the potatoes. Place into the oven and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

A Tart Dinner

So I go through phases with my recipes - I find one source and use it for a long time until I move on to a new one. This spring when I was obsessed with grilling, I used Bobby Flay recipes almost exclusively. Now that it is hotter and I dont want to grill always, I have moved one. My new source is a blog I enjoy called Culinary in the Desert. My dinner inspiration again came from that blog.




Tonight was a "veggie" night. I try to have two per week. Anytime I announce that tonight is the night, I get disappointed looks and eye rolling - until dinnertime when Bo tries the food. Suddenly veggie night isnt so bad! Tonight was no exception. We had (loosely) Chard and Feta Tart. Loosely because I used the recipe as a suggestion, but made several changes.

First, I had spinach that needed to be used up, so instead of buying chard, I used what I had. I also had grape tomatoes so I added those too. I doubled the lemon zest - and was glad that I did! The zest really pulled the rest of the flavors together!! I subbed cottage cheese for the ricotta, and since I dont (yet) own a tart pan, I used a deep pie plate. If cottage cheese is used again, it will do better if I drain it.

Sauteed mushrooms were our side dish, again, something in the fridge that needed to be used.


I diced two garlic cloves and sauteed in a touch of olive oil. Added to that were baby bella 'shrooms I had sliced in half. Red wine to the pan helped to keep things moist while they slowly cooked, then a few snipped chives from my garden rounded off the end of the dish.

So how did Bo like this meal? First thing he said was "this is too fancy to be eaten in front of the tv (tennis was on)". Then I got the vigerous head nod and smile which let me know this can be a repeater!!!

We are leaving for Indiana this afternoon, so no cooking or blogging until Sunday when we return. Have a great July 4th!!!


Chard and Feta Tart (Adapted from Eating Well and Culinary in the Desert)
***NOTE*** My changes are in ()

For the crust
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 Tbs cold water

For the filling
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups chopped chard, leaves and stems separated (I used 4 cups fresh spinach plus 2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced vertically)
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs water
2 large eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese **will do better if drained well)
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (I used 2 t)
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives (I didnt have so I left out)
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. To make the crust

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in
oil and water - stir the wet ingredients into the dry until a soft dough
forms. Scoop the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a
couple of times just until the dough comes together. Wrap in saran wrap and
place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400.

4. Remove the dough and roll to a 12" circle on a lightly floured surface.
Carefully move the dough to a 9" removable bottom tart pan coated with
nonstick spray. Gently press the dough into the bottom and up the sides -
trim off any overhanging dough. Use a fork to prick the bottom and sides in
a few places. Place in the oven and bake until lightly browned, about 20 to
22 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

5. To make the filling

6. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chard stems - cook,
until just tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic - cook until fragrant,
about 30 seconds. Add chard leaves and 2 tablespoons water - cook, stirring,
until the leaves are just tender and the water has evaporated, 2 to 5
minutes. Scoop the mixture into a sieve set on top of a bowl and set aside
to drain and cool for 5 minutes.

7. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, lemon zest 1/8 teaspoon
pepper. Add the chard mixture, olives and feta - fold together until
combined. Scoop the mixture into the cooled crust and smooth over the top.
Bake until the top is lightly browned and the center is set, about 30 to 35
minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.