Pasta Side Confession

pasta side

It’s Sunday. The only things I’ve done all day are eat, bitch about being hungover, nap, and try to read the WaPo print edition’s Outlook page. I’ve found that it’s much easier to read other people’s opinions than to create my own. Oh, and boycott football. Effing Birds.

Regardless, it’s now Sunday night. The chocolate and vanilla pudding I scarfed down at 5pm is no longer containing my hunger. 80’s watching the Duke game and not really paying attention to my grumbling stomach. We end up deciding that it’s just too complicated to order in; he’ll have the rest of our chili (details to follow in a later post) and I’ll play scavenger.

Okay, so before 80 and I lived together, well, 80 lived alone. Many nights I came over and “we” both cooked dinner. Other nights he ate cereal, I’m sure. And other nights, he ate packaged dinners. Although I surely didn’t approve of this, I understood the desire to want an effortless meal. Well, I’m not sure how a remnant of his solo days made it to our place (well, just like our Duke shower curtain, I guess) but there it was – a pasta side in the pantry.

So yes, I followed in the footsteps of our microwave corespondent, Liza, and whipped up a pasta side. I also took her advice and ate the whole thing myself – no side about it. Since I don’t have a microwave (her suggested cooking medium) I had to do it the old fashion way – on the stove top. I basically followed the directions exactly for “Creamy Garlic Shells: Pasta shells in a garlic, parmeasan and romano cheese sauce,” but I added some freshly grated parm cheese, black pepper and red pepper flakes after it was finished cooking.

The shells weren’t terrible, but they weren’t amazing, either. But they did the trick. I didn’t have to slice, dice, or um, cut anything. Just a couple stirs in the eleven minute span of boiling water, milk, butter, pasta and chemicals.

I’m a freaking hypocrite. Shhhh.

Eastern Market

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It’s cold out. That means a few things here in the nation’s capital: false predictions of snow, networking functions disguised as holiday parties, and the seasonal closing of farmers’ markets. While the first two remain hallmarks of D.C., there is hope for the District foodologist (the term “foodie” is sooo over)—historic Eastern Market (7th and C Sts., open Tues.-Sun.).

When a better part of the South Hall—the area designated for food vendors—burned earlier this year, shoppers were saddened by the loss of both the community dwelling and the delicious crab cakes from the Market Lunch. Luckily, with the help of many devoted advocates, including federal and local elected officials (they can create change!), Eastern Market’s food vendors continue to sell their goods in the newly created East Hall.

The interior of the market conveys a different feel now: The bright white walls, floor, and ceiling of the new structure is in stark contrast to the original dingy-yet-homey atmosphere. Fortunately, much of the food remains the same, with fresh produce and unusual cuts of meat. So while D.C. collectively holds its breath until spring for the rest of the region’s markets to reopen, check out what the Market’s top vendors have to offer in their new digs:

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Don’t Worry, That Duck Bacon Hasn’t Gone Bad Yet

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So I have to admit, I’ve been less of a crazy chef since moving back home to New York. When not surrounded by 10 like-minded culinarians living on the same block, I’m a lot less likely to come up with insanity like hot dog sushi. If I’m just cooking for myself, I often end up preparing a non-blog-worthy sandwich, salad or stir-fry. Which kind of sucks, because, you know, I have a food blog.

But this week, I finally got around to watching the Top Chef Holiday Special on DVR. In addition to such scenes as Padma playing Dirty Santa (not nearly as exciting as it sounds), it got me right back into the mood to be running around my kitchen, hastily throwing random ingredients together in attempts to semi-invent something semi-fancy. Remembering I had some awesome leftovers like duck bacon in the freezer, I put together this quickfire dinner.

If I was Rachel Ray, I’d call it a gourmet 30-minute meal. But then I would have to tell you dumbass things like its OK to substitute baloney for prosciutto, so let’s just call it a tortellini explosion.

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A Better Butter Sauce

Ravioli Plate

You know how nutritionists say that home cooking is healthier since it allows you to control your portions?

Well, what if you have no self-control, what happens then? I’ll tell you what, you end up making pasta sauces made with butter, parmesan cheese, and more butter. Portion control my ass.

Chef Gansie this past weekend made the long trek across DC to Eastern Market do some ‘research’ (check out her article in the Onion next week!). Over there at the Market, there is a wonderful Italian food and Pasta station with all the varieties you could think of. When I lived over on the Hill I would drool over the 12 kinds of tortellini, admire the colorful ravioli, and then go home and order Al’s Pizza.

But this time, my wish came true as Gansie returned with some Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli. These fresh-made pasta squares also contained ricotta, romano, sage, nutmeg, and tumeric. Needless to say, these aren’t your mama’s ravioli. But at a cost of 6.75 for six pieces, your mom might have to help pay for them.

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I Now Pronounce You Mac and Cheese

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Editors Note: My first official propositioner! And yes, I can make up words on my own blog. Okay, so back when I posted about my second catering gig, I jokingly requested that potential clients could contact me for hire. To my utter fucking shock, I get an email from belmontmedina. It wasn’t a request for catering providers, but a proposal for a partnership. We decided to conduct a formal meeting (Stetson’s Famous Bar and Grill) and discuss our future business together (why I consider T.O. like an ex-boyfriend.) So while we still hash out the details (don’t worry, BS, you’ll get a cut) we at least decided she should send me a couple blog posts, you know, as a try out.

My first experience with Easy Mac came in college. My mom completely spoiled my sister and I by making EVERYTHING from scratch. And since I come from a Southern family, we got the good stuff- mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, poundcake and the like. The one time my mom tried instant mashed potatoes, my sister and I rebelled.

Then one day, I arrived at college. It was there I discovered to my horror, that some people’s parents DON’T COOK. (it was also there that I discovered that salsa added to Easy Mac capped off with some Boone’s Farm made for a somewhat balanced meal, and an ideal accompaniment to late night Golden Girls reruns.)

Recipe post jump.

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I Love You Mac and Cheese!

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I LOVE MAC AND CHEEEEEESE! I seriously can’t sing it loud enough. So for my birthday, since I was cooking for guests (the best people in the world!) I decided to compromise my Liza tendency of using the microwave (yes, you can make mac and cheese with the microwave), and actually make REAL macaroni and cheese. But after looking at many different recipes, I thought you know, I’m going to take note of the ingredients from these recipes that I see as essential BUT I’m going to make my mac and cheese HEALTHY! And yes, just like cooking mac and cheese in the microwave, this too is possible and DE-LISH!!!

Cook two bags of WHOLE GRAIN macaroni

Drain pasta and return to sauce pan

Mix 4 tablespoons of VEGAN butter in the noodles

In a separate sauce pan, mix 1/2 cup of egg substitute, 6oz of evaporated milk, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, 2 tablespoon of paprika, and dash some pepper to your preference

Pour this into the macaroni, and dump a bag of organic shredded cheddar cheese, and a bag of 2% shredded “mexican style” cheese

Mix all together put stove on low heat and you have Fabulous ooey gooey Mac and cheese goodness!

For more Mac and Cheese info, and an Ode to Mac Cheese see after the jump!

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Hott Links: Drop Dead Gourdeous

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Three squash-y fall recipes that look amazing:

Whole Wheat Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter [cookthink]

Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash [101 Cookbooks]

Post Brasserie’s Chef Weland: Kabocha Crepes [Counter Intelligence]

Photo: FatFree Vegan Kitchen

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