Pasta

Sometimes I wonder how people find enough time in the day to take care of everything they want to do. With all of life’s daily chores and work, these days the only way to get everything done is just not to sleep. And that’s a bad thing too, then you’re all zombified the next day which kills productivity. Granted, there are probably some things that are more of a time waster which I could probably do without…probably why I can’t find time for anything else =P

A few weeks back, I baked my sister a batch of cookies when she was in town for a competition and was informed that my cookie-fu was weak. That is, I needed lessons in cookie making to rid myself of lumpy cookies, replacing them with tender discs of tasty goodness. It baffles me really (maybe because I stink as a baker) but we use nearly the same exact recipe but turn out vastly different results (had a taste test, her’s are definitely better). One of these days I’ll get a hang of it.

Anyway, on that subject, my sister paid me a nice little visit this past weekend. While there wasn’t enough time to bake cookies (I’m old and turn into a pumpkin after 11pm), we hit Giacomo’s, GinGa, and Lineage (never been to Lineage before, but it was quite good. Except for the intense heat of the light that was above our table. Add that to an incredibly muggy day and…ugh). She also took it upon herself to visit Kelly’s and Clear Flour Bakery at my behest (but sadly CFB was out of Bostok, her favorite!)

Tomato sauce with Garlic and Basil

Time: 35 minutes
Serves : 4

Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Ingredients:
– Fresh basil (1 bunch, maybe 1 cup of leaves)
– 1 28oz can whole Italian Plum Tomatoes
– 6 garlic cloves, minced
– 5 tbsp olive oil
– Salt & Black pepper, to taste
– 1 lb Pasta (I used linguine)

Method:
1. Cook pasta according to directions on the box/bag in salted water. Drain and set aside.
2. Rinse the basil leaves, shake off the excess water, and tear them up by hand into thin strips.
3. Add the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to a saucepan and heat over medium-high. Crush the tomatoes against the side of the saucpan with a wooden spoon and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, tasting and correcting for salt.
4. Turn off the heat when the sauce is to your liking. Mix in the torn up basil and then add the sauce and pasta to a large mixing bowl, tossing to mix. Serve immediately with grated parmesan or romano cheese.

This past Sunday was nearly a perfect day. Warm enough to not need a jacket but windy enough to keep you from sweating. So what did I do? I drove out to Shrewsbury to spend 5 hours hand washing, polishing, and waxing my car. That’s some love right there! And really, the car appreciated being all prettied up =P

I switched to a manual about 5 months ago and really, it’s been a huge change to how I viewed cars. I liked driving but it seemed more like transportation than fun. Now that I’ve got the manual (it goes vroom!), driving just became much more engaging. I’m paying a lot more attention to what’s going on around me and it’s a blast to make the engine roar as you merge onto the highway. Now that I’ve switched, I don’t think I can go back. I drove an automatic a month back and I kept trying to press the clutch and switch gears…too funny!

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve read through Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Many of the blogs I read have featured recipes adapted from this book, and for good reason, Marcella is considered one of the premier authors of homestyle Italian cooking! I picked out the Rigatoni Bolognese right away. I’ve had some different versions of this in restaurants but I’ve never really thought much of it. I wished I used more tomatoes (or had more meat sauce made up for the pound of pasta suggested) but it turned out very tasty!

Quick word of caution…there’s a lot of butter used here, this isn’t diet food =)

Rigatoni Bolognese

Time : 1 – 1.5 hours
Serves : 6

Ingredients:
– 1 lb Rigatoni (I used Mezzi Rigatoni)
– Salt, to taste
– 6 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Bolognese Sauce:
– 1 tbsp Canola oil
– 3 tbsp butter
– 1 small yellow onion, chopped
– 2 stalks celery, chopped
– 1-2 carrots (about 2/3 cup), chopped
– 1 lb ground beef (I used 90% lean)
– 1 cup skim milk
– 1 cup dry white wine
– 1 28oz can whole Italian plum tomatoes, cut up w/ juice (I used half but I recommend the whole can)
– Salt, to taste
– Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
– Nutmeg

Bechamel Sauce:
– 2 cups skim milk
– 4 tbsp butter
– 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
– 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

First:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Boil enough water for the pasta. While doing the other steps, cook pasta until slightly undercooked as the pasta will be baked later on.

Second, prepare the Bolognese Meat sauce (use ingredients listed above for Bolognese sauce):
1. Using a dutch oven or medium saucepan, add the oil, butter, and onion, cook and stir over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add celery and carrot and cook another couple minutes, stirring the vegetables to coat.
2. Add ground beef, a pinch of salt, and some fresh black pepper. Break up the meat and stir until meat is barely cooked through.
3. Add milk and simmer gently until the milk has bubbled away. Add a pinch of nutmeg and stir.
4. Add the white wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated. Add the tomatoes. Simmer until ready to combine everything.

Next, prepare the Bechamel sauce:
1. Add milk to a saucepan. Heat over medium low until a ring of small bubbles forms on the outer edge of the pan.
2. Add butter to a separate saucepan. Melt over low heat and add the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Be careful not to let the flour become colored (overcooked).
3. Add milk to flour/butter mixtures a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Increase the amount of milk as the mixture becomes a little more liquid.
4. Place pan back on the burner over low heat and add the salt. Stir constantly until the sauce becomes thick, like heavy cream.

Finally:
1. Toss the cooked pasta with the meat sauce, bechamel, and 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese.
2. Butter a baking dish and add the mixed pasta. Top with 2 tbsp grated Parmesan and a little bit of butter (also parsley flakes if you like).
3. Bake for 10 minutes (or more if you like the top crispier)

Some Notes:
– This can be prepared under an hour if each stage is planned out well. I suck at planning so this really took me more like the 90 minutes but I can see how it can be done in less time!
– The Bolognese sauce can probably be prepared the night before