Rigatoni con Gorgonzola

Faithful readers know that I adore blue cheese -- Maytag, Gorgonzola, Stilton, doesn't matter. Salad dressing, dip, crumbled onto salad ... I love it!

After an enormously stressful day at work last week, I was craving some comfort. I'd had the idea of making macaroni and cheese from scratch, which ultimately evolved into pasta with a blue cheese sauce poured over it. And so, when I left work that fateful day I headed straight to the grocery store to get my ingredients. Cooking is my favorite way to decompress, after all.

Rigatoni, with its sturdiness, seemed the perfect shape, though shells or macaroni or penne or rotini would also work well. I debated whether to add spinach or green beans or peas, but the sweetness of the peas seemed to be the perfect complement.

I boiled and drained and stirred and whisked, and came up with a dish that perfectly matched my vision. It was golden and slightly toasted on top, yet the pasta was coated in creaminess. The blue cheese flavor was present, but neither pronounced nor prominent. My dinner was hot, delicious, and a perfect nurturing and nourishing end to my day.

Now, it's a simple dish so I should really just call it "Pasta with Blue Cheese Sauce." But that doesn't have a lot of charm, does it??? Specify the shape of the pasta, and roll the "r" when you say "rigatoni" ... that's better!

Say it in Italian next, to add a little flair to it: [ree-gah-TOH-nee kohn gohr-gun-ZOH-lah]. Wow ... now it sounds like something you'd order at a fancy restaurant!

But now that you know how easy it is, you can make it yourself one day when you just need something warm and wonderful to eat to make all your troubles float away ....

Rigatoni con Gorgonzola

1 pound rigatoni
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
1 cup skim milk
4 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
few splashes Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Cook the rigatoni according to package directions, adding the peas for the last minute of cooking.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan; whisk in flour and salt, and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly


Slowly add half the milk, whisking it into the butter/flour mixture until it is absorbed.


Add the Gorgonzola, Tabasco and mustard; whisk in the rest of the milk.


When the pasta is ready, drain it and stir it into the sauce; place into a greased 9" pie dish.


Broil for 5 minutes or so, just until the top is golden.


Serves 4-6.

A Perfect Summer Meal

It was over 90 degrees out yesterday in Ann Arbor ... and I don't have air conditioning in my Suburban. I have big windows, so as long as the car is moving there's a hefty breeze; but, of course, the car isn't always moving. Those pesky red lights and folks stopping to wait for traffic to clear before turning left ... sheesh!

I love being near the water, by the water, on the water, having my toes in the water, walking in the ocean along the beach ... but I loathe being in the water. But I was so hot and sticky (and likely smelly, though no one was unkind enough to say so!) that when I got home from running errands (needed new shoes to wear to Tom's niece's wedding on Saturday, had to pick up some 'scripts) that even I had to go into the condo's pool yesterday afternoon. I slapped on some sunscreen (yeah, like it does me any good), put on my pink swimsuit, and floated and treaded and cooled off before dinner.

And then I had to figure out what to make for Jeremy and for Tom. Tom had given me some grass-fed beef and some romaine that he wasn't using, as well as a cucumber that we'd bought at the Farmers Market on Saturday morning. I had some garlic scapes and some scallions, some Ramen noodles, a carrot ... odd little tidbits and pieces.

So what did I do with them? I made a salad and topped it with cold noodles, then placed beef that I'd sauteed in a trio of sauces over the entire mix. It was cool, it was crisp, it had both protein and carbohydrates ... and, most importantly, it was delicious. A perfect "10" from Tom!

That this recipe also qualifies for Two for Tuesdays, which encourages real food as opposed to processed and hydrogenated nonsense; Presto Pasta Nights, being hosted this week by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours, which has no requirements other than using pasta; and Souper Sundays, which features soups, salads and sandwiches ... well, that's because this was such a fabulous meal that it deserves to be shared, and shared with many friends! It was serendipitous ... :)


Salad for a Sweltering Summer Day

3 squares Ramen noodles, seasoning packets reserved for another use
1/3 pound ground beef
pinch of kosher salt
2 garlic scapes, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Thai chili sauce
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 heart of Romaine, sliced thin
1 carrot, peeled, sliced thin
3 scallions, sliced thin
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/8 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

Fill a 2-1/2 quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil; break up the Ramen noodles into large pieces, add to the boiling water, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Meanwhile, place the ground beef in a small saucepan and cook until half browned. Add the salt and the garlic scapes; saute until the beef is completely browned. Stir in the chili sauce, teriyaki sauce and barbecue sauce.

Place all of the vegetables into a large bowl. Combine the oil, vinegar and teriyaki sauce; mix well, then pour over the vegetables.

Place some salad onto a dinner plate, top with some of the noodles and then top that with the beef. Serve to appreciative loved ones.

Serves 2-4, depending upon appetite.

Sometimes I Amaze Even Myself!

I was tickled to have been invited by Heather, of Girlichef fame, to participate in a link-up dedicated to "REAL food" which was "the brainchild of Alex from A Moderate Life." Real food is just what you think it is -- homemade, wholesome, fresh, delicious. No hydrogenation, none of that high fructose corn syrup nonsense, no preservatives. Just food.

And so, what better way to become initiated into the fold than by writing about my Saturday trip to the Farmers Market??? Oh, I absolutely adore the Farmers Market! The colors, the aromas, the flowers, the vegetables, the herbs, the baked goods, the honey, the syrup ... it leads me into temptation and makes me want to spend a fortune that I just don't have.

But I only needed $3 to realize my goal on Saturday: I came for, I saw, and I went home with garlic scapes -- the usually discarded long, green, twirling tops of garlic. Two bunches of 'em, 'cause their season is short but they supposedly freeze well (never tried it, but I've heard it). I may not even get around to freezing them, though, because there are so many things you can do with them:

- chop them into small pieces and add them to salads or soups
- chop them into itty-bitty pieces and stir them into sour cream for a dip
- puree them with oil and toasted pine nuts to make a pesto (see my fellow Michigan Lady Food Blogger Diana Dyer's recipe, which has been receiving rave reviews among other friends who've been trying it!)

Oh, the list goes on and on! Simply use garlic scapes in any way that you would use green onions or garlic.

As I was giddily making my purchase on Saturday morning (I think it was from the Frog Holler stall, but in all honesty I was so focused on my mission that I'm not 100% positive), the woman next to me was wondering what in the world I was holding and how to use them. I told her that I intended to use some for my lunch that day by chopping them and sauteeing them in olive oil, then pouring that fabulous mix over pasta. Really, it's the little things -- there is no need for anything fancy or elaborate when an ingredient as glorious as garlic scapes is available!

And so, here is a meal that was truly so exceptional that I amazed even myself! Who needs a drive-thru or a drive-up or delivery when it's so easy to make something that's both nutritious and delicious??? I served the pasta with a fabulous Kalamata olive breadstick from Mill Pond Bakery; each could be happily devoured on its own, but together they are a thing of great beauty ... :)

Spaghetti with Garlic Scapes

12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large garlic scape, chopped fine
a bit each of kosher salt and pepper
handful of parsley, chopped
few sprigs of oregano, chopped
shredded Parmesan

add-ins for my lunch that Jeremy doesn't like:
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
2 baby Portobello mushrooms, diced
sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Bring water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic scape, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the scape pieces have softened. Turn off heat and stir in parsley and oregano.

Drain pasta and pour the garlic scape oil over it; stir to mix well. Serve immediately, topped with Parmesan.

If you want the add-ins: Saute the tomatoes, mushrooms and red pepper flakes in a tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan for a few minutes, until the tomatoes have wilted and the mushrooms are golden. Stir them into the pasta along with the garlic scape oil.

Serves 2-4, depending upon portion size and how greedily you inhale this once you find out how amazing it is!

This recipe also happily belongs with the Presto Pasta Night link-up, so be sure to visit that one, too, which is being hosted by The Sweet Kitchen this week ....

Kugel for Comfort

Shavuot [shah-voo-WOTE] is one of my very favorite Jewish holidays, and it begins at sundown tonight. It commemorates bestowing the Torah upon the Israelites and the beginning of their covenant with God; and the holiday is welcomed with a variety of learning and study sessions, which can only be enticing to someone whose ex-husband once referred to her as an "intellectual snob." (Not true!!! Though I do admit to difficulty in suffering fools ....)

To a food-obsessed chickie like moi, though, Shavuot is really about the cheesecake ... and the blintzes ... and the ice cream. Because it's traditional to eat dairy foods at Shavuot, so you get a free pass to eat all the creamy goodies you can stand. This morning I made a sweet kugel [KOO-guhl] that not only made the house smell wonderful to greet the day, but which will then be ready for me to simply re-heat when I get home later tonight after taking our anonymous patient home from the hospital. Kugel is comfort food supreme, and will be much appreciated after a long day.

I debated whether to go for the gusto and make blintzes, which just struck me as too much work after an exhausting several weeks having led up to the weekend's hospitalization. Make crepes, fill crepes, fold crepes, fry crepes ... and do I really want to clean up the mess??? So then I considered my traditional blintz casserole, which is not what everyone else's blintz casserole seems to be. Others take frozen blintzes and place them into a baking dish, then pour a creamy batter over them before baking and slicing. Mine involves pouring some crepe batter into the bottom of a dish, baking it just until set, then topping that with the cheese filling and pouring the rest of the crepe batter over the top; once it bakes, it is cut into squares. But I didn't feel like making that, either ... no reason, just 'cause. Feeling fickle today, I guess, since I usually love anything blintz-like.

But a craving struck, and it struck like a flash of both lightning and brilliance: kugel, a noodle casserole without which a Jewish feast is not complete. I'm not too big a fan of the savory kugels; and the Kugel Yerushalayim -- with caramelized sugar and black pepper, which Israelis adore -- is fairly dry and crunchy and disgusting, in my opinion. But give me ricotta cheese, sour cream, a hint of almond and lemon, and a generous amount of cinnamon .. oh, I am a happy, happy girl!

And since this dish involves noodles, it met the one very easy and welcoming condition for joining the Presto Pasta Nights recipe round-up I just signed up for yesterday. Susan, of The Well-Seasoned Cook, is our charming hostess this week; but we must not forget the fabulous woman who began it all -- Ruth, of Once Upon a Feast. Thanks for letting me crash the party -- what a fabulous way to collect recipes and make new friends!!!

Sweet Kugel

Kugel:
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
grated zest from 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 12-ounce package whole wheat noodles, cooked according to package directions

Topping:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup Nilla wafers, crushed fine
1 cup Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls cereal, crushed fine

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine ricotta, sour cream, almond extract, lemon zest, salt, sugar and eggs in a large bowl.

Stir in noodles, then place into a greased 9"x13" baking dish.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over kugel.


Bake for 40-45 minutes until topping is golden, some of the noodles are a bit crisp, and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let set for 15 minutes before serving. It's best served warm, and reheats beautifully.

Hag Sameach!!! [HAHG sah-MAY-yahk] = "Happy Holiday!" in Hebrew