Monday - June 9, 2010

Walnut Sage Fettuccine

(Mom’s very own creation)

I mentioned in the previous blog post that my mom and I made three different pasta sauces for dinner tonight, and this Walnut Sage Sauce was one of them. I have never tasted anything like it before, and it is awesome!! The flavor of the walnuts really opens up when they toast in the pan and who doesn’t love the taste of butter?!? This simple recipe is the product of my mother’s culinary creativity, and I hope you will all enjoy it as much as we did tonight!

Ingredients

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 stick unsalted butter

Kosher salt

¼ cup roughly chopped sage leaves

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cooked out fettuccine

Directions

Place the walnuts in a saucepan over medium heat and allow the walnuts to toast until fragrant. Add the stick of butter in pieces and then stir so that it melts completely. Once melted, add the Parmesan and the sage leaves until they wilt slightly. Season with kosher salt, to taste. Pour over desired amount of fettuccine pasta and serve with freshly grated Parmesan!

Monday - June 9, 2010

Linguine All’Amatriciana

(Adapted from an Anne Burrell recipe)

When I come home from college, I bring my appetite because my mom is truly a fabulous cook. She is the one who really got me interested in cooking and food in the first place…I mean lets face it, serious “foodies” are not the kind of people who were raised on SpaghettiOs and Ramen Noodle Soup. In fact, I had never even tasted jarred tomato sauce until college!! My mom always cooked gourmet meals when I was growing up and so she taught me to appreciate the flavors of fresh herbs and vegetables at an early age, which slowly developed into a passion as I got older.

Although I love all of my mom’s food, I love her pasta dishes the most! Tonight, her and I cooked out a box of linguine and made a trio of pasta sauces to have a little Italian pasta sampling of sorts! I made my Pesto recipe (which I have blogged about), and my mom made an impromptu Walnut Sage Sauce (which I will blog about) and an Amatriciana Sauce (which I am blogging about). This Amatriciana sauce is an excellent and easy red sauce to make for any kind of pasta, even though I prefer it with linguine. The pancetta gives a great hearty depth of flavor to the sauce and the San Marzano tomatoes are so sweet and delicious. It is really important that you spend the extra $1.50 and buy the San Marzano tomatoes for this dish, because other brands do not taste the same. There isn’t too much more to say about this simple sauce other than that it is delicious, so enjoy!

Ohhh, there is just one more thing that makes this sauce even better…it freezes really well! So if you set some aside before tossing in the pasta, you can put it in the freezer and enjoy it a couple weeks later!

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces Pancetta (cut into small bits)

1 ½ large Spanish onions (diced)

½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

2 (28-Ounce) cans San Marzano tomatoes, passed through the food mill

**Seeds make the sauce bitter

1 pound linguine

½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for garnish

Directions

Coat a large saucepan with oil and allow pancetta to cook over low heat until brown and crispy. Remove and set aside the pancetta and then increase saucepan to medium heat, adding the onions and crushed red pepper. Season generously with kosher salt, to taste. Cook onions until they are translucent and turning golden. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for about 1 hour, tasting periodically. Adjust the salt, as needed.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water (should be as salty as the Dead Sea) to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook al dente (about 1 minute less than the instructions on package call for). Then drain the pasta and add it directly to the pan of sauce. DO NOT rinse the pasta because then the sauce will not adhere to it!! Stir to coat the pasta with sauce, then add in the cheese and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toss to coat and serve with additional shaved Parmesan and fresh chopped basil!

Sunday - June 8, 2010

Pesto

Over the past two years I have both made and tried several different pesto recipes. However, being a college student on a budget, I could only make pesto when I had enough money to buy the outrageously expensive pine nuts (ohh how I dreaded buying the pignolis!!). But as my mom always says, “budgeting inspires creativity,” and sure enough I found a substitute for pine nuts….WALNUTS!! Same great taste, quarter of the price! This recipe, which is my own, uses equal parts of pine nuts and walnuts, giving the dish a greater depth of flavor and making it more affordable. I use this sauce on everything…pasta, grilled chicken, roasted veggies, sandwiches, and even as a salad dressing (equal parts pesto and balsamic vinegar). If you’re using it over pasta, add more olive oil (between a cup and a quarter to a cup and a half) so that the sauce is thinner, and when using it as a spread on sandwiches only add about a cup of oil so it is thicker.

Buen Provecho!

Ingredients

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons minced garlic

4 cups packed basil leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup good extra virgin olive oil

*Possibly 1 ½ if you like your pesto thinner

Directions

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade. Process for about 30 seconds and then ass the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. While the food processor is running, slowly pour the amount of desired olive oil through the feed tube into the bowl and process until the pesto is pureed. Then add the Parmesan and pulse for one minute. Serve or store in fridge!

Saturday- June 5, 2010

Gardner’s Market

305.476.9900

3117 Bird Avenue, Miami 33133

Hours: Monday-Sunday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Check out the Menu!

- Sandwich Menu -

This morning I woke up and said goodbye to the heat and humidity of Miami as I headed to the airport to catch my flight to my hometown, Philadelphia. I rushed my boyfriend out of bed and out of the house not even letting him shower, reminding him that my having time for one last meal in Miami was imperative…a “last supper” of sorts! I knew exactly what I wanted too, a Tuscan Sandwich from Gardner’s Market.

As far as prepared foods go, Gardner’s is the simply best. No joke, I’m there about four or five days a week. Gardners is a small market with a decent selection of groceries and produce, but their specialty is really prepared foods, which range from soups and sandwiches to turkey piccatta and twice-baked potatoes (not to mention their ridiculous salad bar). Everyday there is a selection of four homemade soups and some of my favorites are the Wild Mushroom Bisque (orgasmic…but rich), the Turkey Chili (a staple meal in my boyfriend’s diet), and the Butternut Squash Bisque. All of the soups are amazing though and you can sample any (or all) of them on your own before deciding which one to get!

Gardner’s Market also makes the best sandwiches. They use the best gourmet ingredients to make their sandwiches and have about 20 different combinations to choose from, or you can always create your own! My personal favorite is the Tuscan Sandwich, which has sliced chicken breast (not lunch meat, but actual grilled chicken breast!), spring mix, goat cheese, tomato, and pesto served on Ciabatta bread. Another great one is the Napa, which has grilled vegetables (cold), tomatoes, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. It is served on whole wheat French bread, but I find that the soft bread becomes soggy with the vinaigrette so I always get Ciatbatta instead and add pesto (yummm!). Gardners also makes a few hot sandwiches such as The Jeremy, which is roast beef, cheddar cheese, and spicy aioli all melted on Ciabatta bread. Now if you find yourself torn between ordering a sandwich or a soup as I often do, Gardners offers a solution. You can get a ½ sandwich (any sandwich…even modified if you want) and a small soup for just $4.99!!!! And this special runs all day, not just during lunch. However, it is NOT advertised anywhere in the store (probably because it’s not profitable…at that price it can’t be) so you just have to ask for half a sandwich at the sandwich bar, and they will gladly make you the special. That’s the other thing about Gardners, the people who work there are super friendly and will do just about anything to get your order right. The way that they make their sandwiches is so meticulous that it is almost an art form. They cut up all the vegetables tiny, and space out all of the ingredients evenly so that every bite taste the same. It’s perfection!

On days that you want a lighter option, Gardner’s Market has one of the most incredible salad bars that I have ever seen. They have every topping imaginable, along with a great selection of gourmet pasta salads and homemade dressings (no “Wish-Bone” salad dressing packets here!). Everything is kept clean, stocked, and cold at the salad bar, so you don’t have to worry about the chicken or feta cheese that you’re putting on your salad being spoiled.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the Gourmet Burgers, which my boyfriend and I just discovered about a month ago. They are available at the sandwich counter upon request every day and they are delicious! They start with a ½ pound freshly cooked beef patty and then all the condiments of your choice come free, including bacon and/or cheddar cheese. It is served on a fresh Kaiser roll and costs just $6.99!

Basically, you can’t go wrong at Gardener’s Market so try any and everything and I promise you won’t be disappointed.