February 20, 2009
Pasta Coma
Warning: Consumption of this may impair your judgement. Do not drive, operate machinery, or attempt to solve complex problems (like who should do the dishes) after eating. (that is if you are still awake)
History: Pasta Coma originates in Egypt, where I developed it in the absence of commercially available alfredo sauces. Before being named Pasta Coma it was called “better than Johnny freakin’ Carino’s” by our flatmate Christin. Our friends Matt and Vicki dubbed it “Pasta Coma” because it puts you into a food coma before you leave the table, and the name stuck.
This is not a quick recipe: be prepared to spend an hour or so in the kitchen for this, it can not be rushed.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
4-5 cloves of Garlic, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
5-6 Sun Dried Tomatoes (cut up into small pieces)
scant 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon dried Rosemary (crushed)
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (you can use grated, if that is what you have, or if it is cheaper, although you may need to adjust the quantity)
Some fresh cracked Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Pine Nuts
about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
3 1/2 – 4 Cups of Farfalle pasta (bow-tie), dry
Pour Heavy Cream into a 1 quart sauce pan and warm over very low heat, stirring frequently.
Add the Garlic and let it to come to a low simmer while you cut up the Sun Dried Tomatoes
Add Sun Dried Tomatoes, Salt and Rosemary. (I normally crush the Rosemary in the palm of my hand with my thumb, but you can use a mortar and pestle if you want.)
Add Olive Oil
Add Black Pepper
Allow this to simmer for about 10 minutes or so, stirring frequently.
Add the Cheese 1/4 cup at a time, stirring frequently.
Toast the Pine Nuts in a frying pan (I always use cast iron) and set aside.
In a 2 quart pan, cook pasta. While pasta is cooking mix the cornstarch with about 1 Tablespoon of cold water and whisk together in a cup. Add about 2 teaspoons worth of the mixture to the sauce, stirring constantly, adding only enough to help the sauce “come together”. Add toasted Pine Nuts.
When pasta is done, drain and return to the pan. Combine Pasta and Sauce.
You can add chicken to the mix if you like. I normally cook one or two boneless breasts in a skillet with Rosemary, cut them up and add when it is served.
Feeds 2-4 depending on what you have with it… and how many of you there are.
This does not reheat very well, so keep that in mind.
Pairs well with Cabernet Sauvignon, for a true coma inducing experience.
Serve with baguette, as you will want it to sop up the remaining sauce in the bowl, and, if you are like Carrie, the pan as well.
Eat.
Sleep.
Drool.
your host for this episode : dan; 08:01 PM | Comments (0)
i’m published!
who knew?
ok so i’m not a writer, but i just wrote a book. ok correction: i compiled a photo album on line. and it’ll be here next week. if you’ve seen henry in the last 2 months you’re in the book and i’ll be stalking you to get your autograph in the book – just like a high school year book!
if you’re at All interested, you can preview the first 15 pages or buy the 30 page book here.
your host for this episode : carrie; 07:15 PM | Comments (0)
February 11, 2009
play date!
Tiger had his first play date this week, with friend Ryan. ok, Ryan is the son of carrie’s friend Courtney, and we had due dates 2 weeks apart and flip-flopped so that Ryan was born first! check out their story at their blog and see the pic of the two boys together… the pic doesn’t do Ryan justice, as he had his legs up in the air so you don’t see how long he is. but Henry is a lot bigger, though not much heavier.
your host for this episode : carrie; 12:45 PM | Comments (1)
February 06, 2009
Heather’s Mom’s Italian Wedding Soup
This is rumored to be the best Italian Wedding Soup in the World! Having not tasted all of the recipes in the world, I will stop short of that endorsement, but I will vouch for it being the best I have ever had.
Even better than Carrabba’s
Soup:
1 Package of uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut up into bite sized pieces
2 large cans of chicken broth (the good stuff, it doesn’t pay to skimp on this)
1 large bag of carrots, cleaned and cut into disks
1 Celery head, cleaned and cut into disks (including the heart and the leaves)
Peppercorns (a “sprinkling”)
Combine everything EXCEPT the celery in a large stock pot add water, leaving about 5 inches to the top and start cooking on medium.
Meatballs:
1-2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 cup sharp Ramano cheese, grated.
1 (small?) egg
Dash (or 2) of Parsley
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Mix ingredients and form into balls about the size of a nickel.
Gently roll the meatballs into the pot of soup being careful not to smash them.
Add the celery and let the soup simmer, stir occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom and skim off any reject floaters.
Cook until all ingredients are cooked thru.
Pasta:
1 box “tubitinni” pasta
Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Be sure to keep an eye on it, it cooks fast.
Rinse and drain pasta and set aside.
to serve:
1 scoop of noodles
1 ladle of soup
Garnish with grated Ramano cheese.
Enjoy!
your host for this episode : carrie; 04:52 PM | Comments (0)
Chorizo and Squash Pasta [Bake]
This is a take off of an Italian Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta that my friend Andrea makes. I wanted to make it once but didn’t have pumpkin or italian sausage, so I substituted. Turned out great, and we baked the leftovers a few days later with some mozzarella cheese on top and that was great too! Try it both ways.
Ingredients
1 pound bulk Chorizo sausage (you could also use Italian Sausage, of course)
4 cloves garlic, sliced or minced (as you like)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, (or a hefty pinch of rubbed sage)
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup stock (veg or chicken)
1 cup leftover cooked squash (or canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or evaporated milk, per Andrea’s recipe)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne or farfalle pasta, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmesan, for serving
Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat and brown the sausage in it. Remove sausage, reserve some of grease and then saute the garlic and onion 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender. Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.
your host for this episode : carrie; 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2009
“frivolous good stuff”
so, a colleague of mine has a daughter that’s been undergoing chemo lately. i’ve been following her progress on her “Care Page” and today she posted this update:
frivolous good stuff
The biggest blessings are of course family, friends, home, salvation, chemotherapy… but this is my “frivolous” list…its good to think about the fun things sometimes, i think, so without much forethought, here i go, in no particular order.
so that has reminded me that i don’t often enough give thanks for the small things. and though there are so many big things to be thankful for, taking a moment to remember and celebrate the small moments is worth the time and energy. so here’s a bit of a list of the small things, in no particular order:
cozy pj’s
warm sweaters
vanilla latte in my own kitchen
a super needy dog who is likely just trying to give Me attention
6 hours of sleep. in a row.
sunny blue skies when it’s 20 degrees
south facing windows in winter
volunteer baby sitters
wifi
the library
being able to walk to the library
the moby wrap
and i want to be sure to note that i’m also thankful for these BIG THINGS
a husband who is quick to show me that he adores me
a very healthy, very content, little man
our home
our families
our friends
all of which i count as gifts from a gracious giving God who lavishes us with good things we don’t deserve.
your host for this episode : carrie; 01:33 PM | Comments (1)