Pasta - - Page 6

by BS

Shooting for the Sun

Back in the early days of ES, I once ranted about the trend of making every thing on earth into a pesto, thinking that the old-fashioned basil kind could not be beat. However, one of our first ever commenters, John James Anderson, set me right:

After living in Italy for over a year there are about half a dozen pestos out there for sale on the shelves of Roman grocers; all are defined by region. Pesto basically means something that is ground. So, anything can be made into a pesto. The walnut variety of which you wrote typically should be mixed with sun dried tomatoes, garlic and Parmesan cheese (piu olio, sale e nero, claro!). Others are made with olives, onions, spinach and ricotta. But, Pesto Genovese (above) will always be king.

OK, fine. I don’t really know anything. I just pretend to be a food snob. And now that we’ve had everything from arugula pesto to nettle pesto on the blog, I’m officially a convert — anything green is better ground up and mixed with cheese, nuts and extra virgin. So when I saw sunflower shoots at the far mar this weekend and bought them on impulse, I knew immediately what I was going to do.

by Russell Warnick

Carb Attack: Mac ‘n’ Cheese Grilled Cheese

As some of you may know, our very own gansie has been on a mission to find the best grilled cheese in DC. One place she hasn’t yet ventured is my kitchen. What you see above is a mac ‘n’ cheese grilled cheese. Only you ESers would appreciate something as beautiful as this and wouldn’t mind that it means you have to hit the gym or an extra hour or two (or in my case actually going for once).

in Cheese / Recipe / Sandwich 9 comments

by BS

Thursday Three: Arugula Recipes

Spring is officially here! Which doesn’t explain why I see snow on the ground and there still isn’t a goddamn thing worth buying at the farmers’ market. Seriously, screw you apples and potatoes. I’m done with you. Because arugula was basically the only thing providing a shade of green at the far mar this weekend, here are three vintage ES arugula recipes to get you through until we start seeing some serious spring veggies.

1. Feta and arugula spring rolls

2. Arugula pesto

3. Zucchini boats with arugula, black beans and mini tomatoes

Remember, you can find all kinds of vegetarian recipes in the ES recipe index.

in Cheese / Recipe / Veggie 1 comments

by forkitude

Adventures of a Semi-Vegetarian: Pot Roast Bolognese Pappardelle

It’s okay, you can laugh at my semi-vegetarianism. Everyone does. I eat meat one day a week at the most. But when I do, it must be high quality; I’m not a fan of hormones or antibiotics or animals crammed into warehouses. Please respect your food.

After coming out of my food coma, I thought I would share this recipe for Pot Roast Bolognese Pappardelle with my fellow ESers because I know you all enjoy a good food coma. However, you must know, there are a few essentials to this recipe where corners cannot be cut:

Use fresh homemade pasta (you can make ahead).
Take time to braise your meat on low (you can make ahead).
Use homemade vegetable stock (you can make ahead).
Use a full-bodied red wine.
Season your sauce with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and salt your pasta water.

That’s it. If you don’t cut corners, this will be delicious. And yes, even semi-vegetarians will like it.

Pot Roast Bolognese Pappardelle

in Recipe / Red Meat 4 comments

by Miss K

The Unfortunate Fungus Incident

One of my favorite foodie books (an ever-growing category if ever there was) is Hungry Monkey: A Food-loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton. My own 4-month-old monkey is still happily gorging himself day and multiple times each night on breast milk, and is growing steadily rounder as a result. However, as a godmother to two just-turned-four-year-olds, I found myself nodding along with many of the book’s tales.

One moment that remains caught between the teeth of my memory is when the author describes how he spent hours lovingly seasoning and reducing a pot of split-peas and ham in order to disguise some leftovers for yet another post-holiday meal. After he finally perfects the rich green broth, he confidently places it on the table for his family’s presumed enjoyment. His daughter inspects the bowl, smiles sweetly, and says something like, “But daddy, you know that I don’t like soup.” That’s right. Not peas, not ham, not green food. No, she has determined that she cannot stomach an entire category of cuisine, an entire course. Let me just say — I feel you, man.

in Cheese / Personal / Recipe / Veggie 1 comments

by gansie

When Even Mac and Cheese Won’t Do the Trick

There was no amount of delicious mac and cheese that could comfort me.

Like everyone else, I can’t stop watching and reading the news coverage of the shooting in Tuscon.

At quarter to seven last night, my boyfriend and I decided we didn’t have time to head to the grocery store before the 8pm memorial/rally. Eager to hear Obama, we eyed our emptying shelves. We saw a box of Easy Mac. But I refused. Next door to the fake-cheese, however, led us to inspiration: a box of rigatoni.

And at that moment, I didn’t care that we spent 10 dollars for a slight wedge of brie-like goat cheese at the farmers’ market, we were using it, goddamnit, to make our own mac and cheese.

In a mad dash, 80P grabbed the grater, I found shallots and garlic and we started prepping. The mac and cheese finished moments before Arizona State opened its stage.

While I may have found it difficult to eat while crying over Christina-Taylor Green, I noticed that my creamy pasta was delicious.

in Cheese / Personal / Recipe 2 comments

by gansie

I’ve Made Peace with Summer Produce

“You still have tomatoes?” I whispered to Julia as I scanned what was left at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market.

She knew I wasn’t referring to what produce was available a mere 30 minutes before closing, but rather that tomatoes still graced the market the first Saturday in November. “They’re from the hothouse, I think,” she whispers back, eyes squinting out of secrecy.

“They’ve all been picked at this point,” Julia guesses, as she only works the stand, not farms the land. (Not that selling vegetables—and making change without a calculator!—is easy on a weekend morning.)

I didn’t try one of the last quarts of tiny yellow tomatoes. I’ve made peace with summer produce. I’ve said my goodbyes. I bought the last of my tomatoes two weeks ago, roasting them in a low and slow oven, and letting them linger in my fridge for just a few more weeks.

Using them sparingly at first—a few in an egg scramble, a few right to the mouth, a few on toast—I now must act fast before mold wins them over.

in Cheese / Recipe / Veggie 7 comments

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