Pasta Party

So, I’ve written a good bit about all the tomatoes I’ve been given, grown, or otherwise acquired. Today’s post is another “what-the-hell-are-you-doing-with-all-of-these-tomatoes” post.

A bread knife makes cutting tomatoes easier...and cleaner - no tomato squirt.

I saw a variation of this that was simpler, tried it, liked it, and tweaked it to become this recipe. It’s super fast, really satisfying, and tweakable to no end, so feel free to play around with it.

It starts with tomatoes – I cut my garden Roma tomatoes into halves or quarters depending on their size and set them I aside.

I then prepped the rest of what I thought I’d try in this batch: Onion, garlic, chard, kale, pesto, Parmesan cheese, and a good olive oil. I say good olive oil because it’s the sauce for the pasta, so it should be something you like the flavor of. Although butter would probably work well enough, too.

Tomato, onion, garlic, kale, chard, and spaghetti. Nom.

Anyway, sauté the onion in your olive oil for a bit adding a pinch of pepper. I didn’t add salt to the sauce because the cheese is salty enough and I knew I would want a lot of cheese J

After the onions have started turning clear, add the chopped tomatoes and a spoonful of pesto – mine came from a batch I made a while back and stored in the freezer. (Basil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, sun dried tomato, toasted cashews/walnuts/pine nuts, Parmesan, olive oil) I also added some chopped Swiss chard and kale – this was the new addition to the recipe this time..just because I had some in the fridge that needed used.

After a couple minutes when the tomatoes have started to soften and lose their skins, add the garlic and cook the mixture for another minute or so. If the tomatoes are tender enough for you, pull the skillet off the heat and add a handful of Parmesan. You could also deglaze the bottom of the pan with some white wine before taking it off the heat and adding the cheese..that’s really good, too.

Drain your pasta (I used spaghetti because I had it on hand..Fettuccine would also work well) saving some of the salted pasta water to loosen the sauce. Pour your pasta into the sauce pan and cook together until everything is coated and cooked through. If you’re like me, you’ll probably want more cheese J

Kale and chard are both super nutritious..and the fresh tomatoes are packed with all kinds of goodness, too.

Like I said, this can be added to and subtracted from to no end. It’s a really good, quick lunch or dinner and is a great way to use up your garden tomatoes.

Oh…one other quick note.. The President was in town this morning J  

The Man has quite the entourage. DOZENS of cars..lots of Secret Service.

A couple local kids, President Obama, his tank/bus, and the Marion County Courthouse.

Did I Mention I had Roommates?

So, in one of my last updates I talked about my new roommates. Since that time, I’ve added two more..dogs.

They have decided that anywhere I go, they go.

Roz seems happy about it.

That’s right, in a matter of a couple weeks my house went from just me – all by my lonesome, doing whatever I wanted – to having a female roommate, a cat, and two yappy little dogs. Animal House.

The dogs are from my parents’ house. The parents took a Spring Break trip to Texas with a couple friends and I figured watching the dogs was the least I could do given that they gave up most of last summer and the better part of a years-worth of weekends to help me put my house back together. So far the dog-watching has been alright.

That’s not to say it hasn’t come without ANY hiccups, though.

Of course, there was the mandatory marking of the territory upon entering a new place. Luckily the wood floors wipe clean easily enough. There’s also the incessant click-clacking of dog claws on the hardwood, which is something to get used to. Watching them run around and slide on the wood floors is kind of funny, though. J

Then there was the matter of the cat. Apparently cats and dogs don’t get along?

I thought this would work well, being the naïve young man I sometimes am. Charlie the cat has lived with a dog before, and Tripp (the darker black dog) has lived with a cat before. Piece of cake, I thought.

Wrong.

Tripp and Charlie detest each other.. It might have something to do with Tripp peeing in Charlie’s food bowl, but I’m not sure.

Roz, our old, deaf dog is just along for the ride. She, very likely, doesn’t know where she is, nor does she seem to care. As long as the Milk Bones keep coming, she’s a happy camper.

Coming home to let the dogs out did cut our St. Patrick’s Day plans a bit short. We walked home only to let them relieve themselves and ended up taking a five hour nap. Oops. J It was fun up to that point though!

Maybe just one more before bed..

And, because I don’t have stunning progress pictures for you just yet, I took a picture of dinner from Monday night. I will call it “Cleaning out the Fridge Risotto” It’s what you make when you want risotto but only have four carrots, a partial bag of spinach, and some Parmesan cheese in the fridge.

"Cleaning out the Fridge Risotto" made a nice big dinner and a couple lunches. Tasty!

It was delicious. But it’s still time for grocery shopping.

Neighbors

On a sad note, our neighbor across the street isn’t doing very well.

He’s 83 years old, and has been in poor health for a year or more. Being the tight-knit bunch that we are, the neighborhood has taken shifts watching after him, making sure he’s alright, has groceries, etc. A couple weeks ago his 89 year old sister – who is, incidentally, the cutest old woman in the history of the world – moved in to help take care of him.

Some member of my family is over there at least once a day, at which point we’re usually told stories of growing up on the farm, working on the lines at John Deere, raising children, and random Italian family traditions which I LOVE. A few nights back, Lucille (his sister) invited us over for a family treat: polenta topped with parmesan cheese and marinara sauce. As we ate, Lucille told us about her father and how he would serve the polenta on a large linen-covered board in the center of the table. With a cloth napkin draped over his arm, he would serve his guests like a waiter in a fine restaurant, and they would all drink homemade wine and have a merry old time.

To return the favor (and to stock their refrigerator with leftovers for when they got hungry) I thought I would make stuffed shells.

I started with a pound Graziano Brothers Italian sausage (a Central Iowa delicacy), a third of an onion, a large teaspoon of fresh garlic, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes – well salted and peppered, browned, and drained. In a large bowl, I combined the sausage mixture with two pieces of bread-worth of fresh bread crumbs, a large beaten egg, and equal parts Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses – just enough so the mixture holds together well enough to fill the shells.

Boil half a pound of large/jumbo shell pasta in a large pot of salted water for 6-8 minutes – until softened but not ready to eat... they’ll finish cooking in the oven later. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a separate pot, combine two tablespoons of butter and three tablespoons of flour over medium-high heat. Wisk together and cook for two minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Gradually pour in a cup or two of warm milk or cream. Add a pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes if you like, and wisk occasionally to insure there are no lumps. The mixture will thicken to coat the back of a spoon, but add more milk if you feel it becomes too thick. After the sauce has had the opportunity to thicken, take it off the heat and add more grated Parmesan.

The best way to know if the end product is going to be any good is to taste the different components throughout the process. If the components are good, the result will be good too…unless it’s like that episode of “Friends” with the meat trifle..

The other component is marinara sauce. We happened to have homemade sauce in the freezer, but store bought will work just fine. If you’ve got an afternoon, make your own sauce and use it in this recipe, but no one will blame you if you don’t want to make your own marinara.

Spoon a ladle-full of the marinara into the bottom of a buttered 9x13” baking dish..enough to cover the bottom – this will keep the shells from sticking and will help finish cooking the pasta in the oven. Take a large tablespoon and fill each shell with the meat mixture. You can then fill in the gaps between the filled shells with remaining marinara and white sauce, making sure to cover the exposed portions of shells with sauce of some kind…otherwise the pasta dries out in the oven and can be kind of crunchy in spots.

Once you’ve drizzled your sauce over the shells, grate more cheese over top (including mozzarella this time), salt, pepper, oregano, and bake at 375 degrees until melty and bubbly.

Then, take the meal across the street to your neighbor and share it. I don’t care who you are, but this stuff if rich, filling, and awesome. If you don’t know your neighbors, invite friends over and make your own traditions! Mangia, mangia! J