Spaghetti Squash

I don't like squash. People always get very excited about butternut squash tortellini, or a puree of sorts. Yuck.

However, I've been intrigued for some time about the spaghetti squash. Could this be? Does it actually have the consistency of pasta? Does it taste like squash? So many questions....I finally decided to answer them myself. 

I figured that a squash that lends itself to being smothered in any type of sauce, is probably a great place to start introducing squash to our diet. 

I decided to grill some chicken breast, sauté some onions and chopped tomatoes and then toss it all with some pesto. It was great. The squash completely shared its flavour space with all the other ingredients and the texture was not off-putting at all (meaning it didn't resemble squash). I wouldn't go so far to say that you could completely pass it off as a pasta but it definitely does the trick without changing too much. 

I actually made this a few months ago. I'm not sure why I didn't post it but I just found the picture on the camera while I was transferring the recent posts. I thought it deserved some blog space. 

Easy Beef Stroganoff

I have a confession to make. I actually tried this recipe a month ago and fell in love. However, it was right in the midst of when life got crazy so I never ended up posting about it. The picture does no justice here, but here it is anyway.

Even though we're not big beef eaters in the Smart-Clutterbuck household this is quickly falling into regular rotation around here. I made it again last night and was just as pleased as I was with it a month ago. 

It couldn't be any easier. The recipe was as follows:

• About a pound of steak (I used sirloin)
• 1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• garlic
• 1 onion 
• mushrooms (as many as you want)
• Sour Cream

Brown the meat, remove to cook the onions, mushrooms and garlic, add the rest of the ingredients and the beef, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes. Add some sour cream.

I served it over some egg noodles and both Clutterbuck and I couldn't resist having seconds.

Fresh Pasta...take 2...and 3...and 4....

Yum yum yum!!!

My first attempt at making pasta with the KitchenAid Mixer. It went OK but I'm still trying to find that perfect balance to keep the dough from being too dry. I tried two different versions both were satisfactory but not perfect.

The first was a the KitchenAid recipe. It took me two tries, the first batch went straight to the trash, it did not pass go or even collect $200. It was a crumbly mess.

4 eggs
3.5 cups of flour (sifted)
1 tablespoon of water
Pinch of salt

It produced a huge batch of dough and I used it to make Bucatini in my pasta press. I have no clue what I'm going to do with all this pasta....especially since I'm not even sold on the texture of this batch, but it seems like such a waste to throw it out. I'll probably let it sit in the fridge for a while until my emotional attachment loosens and then I'll get Clutterbuck to toss it...its much easier for everyone that way.



The second batch seemed a bit better but still didn't really meet my expectations. It was a smaller batch though so it was much easier to hand knead (well moderately easier).

2 eggs
1.5 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of water
Pinch of salt

I used this batch to make dinner (pictured above). The bolognese sauce was the true star. It was a really slow cooked ragu with only a few key ingredients:

Large tin of diced tomatoes (drained)
Onions and garlic (finely chopped)
2 stalks of celery (finely chopped)
Bay leaf, fresh basil, crushed chili peppers

Simmered for a few hours uncovered and then the fresh pasta was tossed in to the pot with the sauce to finish cooking it all.



I think my next attempt will be my own made up recipe. It will look something like this:

2 eggs
1 yolk
1.5 cups of flour
tablespoon of water (as/if needed)
pinch of salt

I'll also start with the eggs in the mixing bowl and add the flour (the above recipes were done in reverse).

I'll keep you posted....in the meantime, does anyone want some "fresh" bucatini???

Pasta with Wild Mushrooms and Baby Spinach

This was FANTASTIC! I will definitely be making this again and SOON.

I bought some dried porcini mushrooms and re-hydrated them in some chicken stock. While they were soaking I sauteed some finely chopped onions, garlic, fresh button mushrooms and cherry tomatoes in some garlic oil. I chopped up the now re-hydrated porcinis and threw them into the mix.

Once it was all heated through I added the porcini/chicken liquid and a little cornstarch to the pan and let it simmer until thickened.

I served it over some fresh fettuccine and baby spinach. The fresh pasta soaked up the sauce beautifully and the heat of it all wilted the spinach just enough.

This dish reminds me so much of something I have ordered (more than once) in a restaurant, but for the life of me, I can't think of where.

I will for sure be making this again.

Baked Beef Ziti

I decided to take a stab at a recipe I tried a while ago. It has all the ingredients I love in a dish. Pasta, Ground Beef, Onions, Tomato Sauce, Garlic, and Cheese, but the last time I made it we weren't too happy about it. It was quite bland and made a HUGE amount that we resented having to eat for days after.
This time around it was fantastic. I went really heavy on the herbs and even had some fresh basil to throw in at the last minute. I also decided against Ziti because its a round smooth noodle....in other words its not very good at clingy to sauces. I used a Rotini instead and it was perfect.
We really enjoyed it and have been enjoying it since (made Sunday...its Tuesday). We had it with a garden salad...yes Clutterbuck and I have different salad dressings...he will only ever eat Russian which I am not a fan of at all. Actually lately I've noticed I'm much more of a fan of no dressing on my salad...wow never thought I'd see that day.
Thanks to K.Hill who also made this recipe on the weekend (that's what gave me the idea to make it again). I'll have to ask her how hers was....we can compare notes.

Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Very Yummy and incredibly simple. I sauteed some mushrooms and cooked asparagus in some garlic oil and chilies. Tossed in some cooked pasta, a bit of the asparagus water, lots of parmesan cheese and an egg yolk. Voila a creamy but not CREAMy sauce.
Can't wait to try this again with whatever other veggies I have on hand.

Lazy Lasagne

So we had this damn leftover spaghetti sauce, and even though we're so close to garbage day I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out.
I had some leftover 5 cheese tortellini so I layered it with the sauce and some parmesan and baked it all for about 30 minutes. It was really good.
I'm sure I didn't invent this recipe, but I still feel rather smug for thinking of it on my own. Plus I'm always pleased to use up leftovers in a way that makes them not seem like leftovers.

Spaghetti....sigh....

Made spaghetti last night. It was good...I guess

A few years ago when I was living on my own I realized my love of spaghetti, nothing fancy just your standard meat sauce with any type of long noodles. I would make it almost weekly and live off it for days (this is notable because I rarely eat any kind of leftovers!). Then a few years after that when I was dating an Italian I fell in love with his family's spaghetti. A very light sauce made with homemade canned tomatoes (I proudly canned my own one season), a few onions, garlic and angel hair pasta. Same thing, I'd make it all the time and then live off it. Same concept just different recipe.

Its amazing how your tastes change...in the last few years I just can't get that excited about either recipe. The recipes haven't changed, the ingredient list hasn't changed, well actually it has a bit because of my new love of mushrooms, I put them in everything. The difference now is that I've got a whole bunch of it sitting in my fridge at home and all I can think is "Shit, what am I going to do with it now? garbage day isn't until Tuesday". Clutterbuck probably won't eat it because all those tomatoes are too acidic for him.

Is there a way to make a spaghetti sauce that is good for one sitting and doesn't create a weeks worth of leftovers? And don't say "Oh just freeze the leftovers" Because A) I won't, and B) We don't have room in our freezer anyway.

Tonight I'm going to make a mushroom risotto for the first time ever...I'm much more excited (and a bit apprehensive) about that. I'll deal with the spaghetti another time.

Speaking of taste changes....mushroom risotto?!? HA for anyone who's known me for a few years, would I have even entertained such a dish when I was younger?? HELL NO, I would have turned my nose up faster than you can say Jack Robinson. (Wikipedia)

The Final...

Definitely a success. I'm still feeling rather smug. Although I think the pasta machine is a must. A uniform thickness and the ability to roll without a rolling pin would be much better.
Ravioli or lasagne is the next challenge.
Oh and one more thing, as an afterthought I threw in some fresh mushrooms to roast with the rest of the veggies. YUM! They sucked up all the roasting juices and were fantastic.
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What a perfect day to...

Make pasta!


I've always wanted to try this and can't think of a better time than a rainy Saturday. I've been toying with the idea of investing in a pasta machine, but after a slow day like today I needed a challenge, and since I already have a box of store bought pasta ready to go in case of failure, why not practice before I invest in the pasta machine.


The recipe is so ridiculously basic: flour, eggs, salt. I started with a pile of flour with a well dug in the middle, cracked the eggs into it, added a bit of salt, and started to "attack the eggs", as one youtube video put it. Slowly you start to incorporate the flour from around the eggs and a dough begins to form. I think my dough was a bit too dry, and didn't have that yellow colour that I've seen in other pasta doughs.


Anyways after lots of mixing and kneading I had something that resembled pasta dough. I let it sit for a bit and then I rolled it out as thin as I could (which it clearly didn't want to do). I rolled it up like a jelly roll and sliced it into thin pieces and unrolled them. They resembled fettucine or tagliatelle...but still perhaps a bit dryer than they should be.


Here they are drying on a broom handle (clean of course)




Phoebe noticed them at some point and was very interested...she spent a good 5 minutes trying to get a better angle to look up at them.




Once they had dried a bit I put them in a ziploc bag and let them sit at room temperature, as directed when searching "how to store fresh pasta" on google. I boiled a bit of water and threw a few noodles in, they seemed satisfactory, but I'm still apprehensive. I opted not to add more flour when putting them in the bag because of their dryness to begin with, but now I'm worried they will become one big dough ball while sitting together in the bag.



Now I'm going to roast some veggies (tomatoes, zucchini, pearl onions, garlic) and then toss them with some pesto, sundried tomatoes and some of the fresh cooked pasta. I will post a picture of the finished product, as well as mine and Clutterbuck's review of the successfullness (is that a word) of the whole dish.