Presto Pasta Night #260

UPDATE: My bad!   I somehow missed out on these awesome bloggers and their entries....My sincerest apologies!
Gay, our resident Scientist in the Kitchen shared these Drunken Noodles that sound very tasty.

Deb at Kahakai Kitchen in Hawaii sent in this gorgeous Thai Garlic Soup that I could use right now - it's so grey and foggy and damp here.

This week's Presto Pasta Night Roundup has lots of Springtime.  Asparagus is definitely an early harbinger and hopefully I can find some at my local farmers market soon.   All the dishes grabbed my attention and I know you'll enjoy them as much as I do.   Thanks all for sharing!

First in is Emma of Emma's Kitchen Diary... well actually sent in for last week's roundup and somehow fell through the email cracks.  Would have been tasty last week... even better this week.  Spring is definitely here with her Pappardelle with Tuscan Sausages, Asparagus and Peas.

Next up is Heather, our favorite Girlichef with a spiced up Mac 'n Cheese with Roasted Jalapeno Salsa.  Quite the punch to our old comfort dish.

And now, another surprise dish... this time it's pasta without any pasta.   That's right.... take a very close look at the gorgeous photo and check out what Janet of the Taste Space did.  It's Raw Alfredo Sauce with Basil, Cherry Tomatoes and... that's right... Zucchini Noodles!

Stash of The Spamwise Chronicles really brings Springtime to his dish of Pasta Primavera.  I can't wait to see what ingredients I find at our local farmers market this week to make my own.

And, next from one of my very favorite food bloggers, Joanne who Eats Well with Others and has a fantastic  philosophy about fitness... in its most basic terms...have a fitness goal!   I must try that.  As for her pasta... I definitely will have a healthy bowl of her Roasted Asparagus & Tomato Pasta with Goat Cheese as incentive.

This time around, I actually prepared two pasta dishes - a main Creamy Shrimp & Mushroom Pasta with a Little Heat 

and a savory couscous that really doesn't have a "recipe"  just made with chicken broth rather than water and some fresh mint & parsley, tossed in after fluffing and just before serving.  You can see it peeking under the meat..

 It was perfect to sop up the gravy of the Tunisian Style Braised Beef Ribs found on fineCooking and "pinned" to my new obsession - my Pinterest boards.

Thanks again everyone for wonderful pastas.  Now it's time to turn over the pasta pot to Simona of Briciole who is hosting next Friday's PPN Roundup (Friday April 27).   Please share a dish mentioning Presto Pasta Nights,and  Briciole and send your entries to simosite (at) mac (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday, April 26 and check back for the roundup on Friday, April 27.
If you'd like to host a PPN Roundup. Just drop me a line to pick a date. May 18th and beyond are available.  It's never to early to sign up!

More Pinterest Deliciousness - Pasta & More

First let's start off with last night's amazing dinner... Creamy Shrimp & Mushroom Pasta with a Little Heat.   It's  adapted from one I found at Chaos in the Kitchen (a new blog to me and one I'll be visiting often for more recipes to "pin") via Pinterest.  With 10 tablespoons of butter, this one is not the healthiest recipe I've ever made, but I felt that by using light cream cheese and Barilla's whole grain penne, I'd balance things out.   Of course, the second helping, probably didn't help... but it was too good to pass up.

The night before last, I also followed a recipe to the letter for spicy mushroom skewers from Dinners & Dreamers.  I just added 1 tbsp honey to really get them to caramelize on the grill.  You can see them peeking out of the salad I made with a simple vinaigrette to accompany the Italian Sweet Fennel Sausages, made locally and found at The Italian Market here in Halifax.  

The paranoid in me, might have to copy the recipe - giving credit where due, of course!  - on the off chance, Pinterest or Dinners & Dreamers go off-line.   But I digress and hope they both ..."live long & prosper" as Spock would say.  

Tonight's dinner is in the oven... Tuscan Braised Short Ribs  and already has me swooning from the wonderful aroma. It's only half-way done, but I thought you'd like a peek.  I suppose I didn't really need Pinterest to find this recipe.  A couple of years ago, fineCooking Magazine did a Create Your Own feature on Braised Short Ribs.  At that time I made the Hunter's Style ribs.  So I probably would have just gone back there to find another one to do justice to the batch of short ribs I got at Getaway Farm Meat Mongers, at the Halifax Seaport Market.  It is the coolest thing, to be able to go to butcher shop where you actually get to meet the butcher and tell him exactly how you want your order cut.   This time 2 inches across four ribs please - and I'll take about 3 pounds.

Tonight, I'll be serving the braised short ribs over some fluffy couscous to soak up that delicious gravy, so between last night's Shrimp Pasta and tonight's side of couscous.... I have a twofer for Presto Pasta Nights.   I'm hosting again.  So if you want to join in the fun... and you should... just write up a pasta dish, mention Presto Pasta Nights (with a link),  then send me your URL and the title of your dish by Thursday, to add to the roundup on Friday.  Email:  ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com.

If you're interested in hosting a Presto Pasta Night Roundup... it's a great way to connect with and make new food loving bloggers from around the world... just drop me a line  ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com and I'll be happy to add you to the family.   I'm looking for May hosts and beyond.  It's fun, it's easy and you get a sneak peek at all the pastas everyone else has to wait for.

Pinterest & iPad - Old Traditions & New Technologies

It's Passover, and like any traditional holiday, we feast on the same dishes and recipes (or variations) we ate as children and our parents ate as children...and before them, the first immigrants bringing the ones from "back home" when they were children to their new lands and new beginnings.

One tradition during Passover...for those of us who crave bread, but observe the ritual of no breads made with rising flour to remember the hurried departure from Egypt and the slavery of the Pharoah,... is the Passover Matzo Roll.  Delicious when fresh and hard as the proverbial cement used to make the pyramids within a day.

The recipe, in its variations seems to have been around forever.  My grandmother, (on the left - not sure what she and my aunt (baby of the family), and my mom are holding,) who emigrated from Russia during the time of the last Tsar at the tender age of 19 with her husband and one year old daughter somehow knew how to make them.  I certainly remember going to my grandparents' tiny one bedroom apartment with a kitchen the size of a small closet and enjoying them.... as did the other 18 grandchildren and their parents in the late '40s & early '50s.   Back in the "olden days", her kitchen tools consisted of bowls, pots, baking sheets, roasting pans with a grater, some spoons and knives for chopping.  No Cuisinart, no KitchenAid stand mixers... none of the things we take for granted... or at least that I take for granted... helped her make incredible dinners for her seven children, their husbands and children, not to mention cousins and friends.  The tables extended from the far wall in the living room through the apartment to the front door.

My mother, the "modern cook" of the "50s & '60s, had a much bigger kitchen and more tools - the Sunbeam Mix Master is the one that stands out for me.  But when she was diagnosed with MS in the early '70s, she handed over the Sunbeam and other utensils to me and I created the traditional feasts with some twists of my own.  And while preparing the four - five course meals for 24, I always thought of my grandmother and am still in awe of what she did with so little.

Today, I can't imagine life without my Cuisinart Food Processor, my gorgeous fire engine red KitchenAid Stand Mixer, not to mention microplanes, a Griddler, ... the list is endless.  I love each and every one of my kitchen toys... especially during holidays.  I couldn't imagine making a festive dinner without Potato Kugel, or latkes, but there's no way I would spend hours grating 10-20 pounds/ 5-10kg of potatoes by hand as my mother and grandmother did!

But I'm not done in my tale of traditions and technology...  I love my iPad and ... was there really life before Google and Google searches for great recipes?!  But that led to my most recent frustration... my bookmarking  techniques - bookmark on my NetBook, bookmark on my ipad, add to a recipe box on any number of great magazine sites, bookmark on Chrome, bookmark on IE.... ACKKKKKK!!!!   And my total inability to actually finding them again.

So welcome, Pinterest my latest and so far greatest tech toy... my Honey hates when I call technology toys, but I use the term lovingly.  I love being able to be in touch with whatever I want to be in touch with, wherever I am and whenever I want it.  See something you like - article, photo, recipe, whatever your passion and "pin" it for whenever you want it.  No brain wracking about where or when you saw it.

And, thanks to Marcy Goldman, one of my favorite bakers  and author of The New Best of BetterBaking.Com and A Passion for Baking are awesome.  Not to mention her blog or her participation on FaceBook's Jewish Cooking Group.   All this to say, not only could I "pin" the recipe... I could actually find it!   Incredible Passover Rolls as published in LA Weekly.  Not sure what the squid ink refers to, but has nothing to do with these mouth-watering rolls.

So... what's your favorite traditional dish and do you use old or new technology to prepare it?

Passover Seders - New Beginnings & Old Traditions

Every year we celebrate Passover by observing a feasting ritual.  Unlike every other holiday where one gets together with loved ones to eat and drink and be merry... don't get me wrong, there's lots of that too... this evening starts with a ritual telling of  the story of slavery in Egypt and the freedom that follows.  The film The Ten Commandments tells it well.   But this post is about the things that stood out about last night's seder at my daughter Joanna and her husband Ezra.  The family has grown - they have two sons (more in a minute), Ezra's sister, Kayla has married Matthew and have a new baby.  In addition, Matt's parents and two siblings came up from Barbados to spend time with their latest granddaughter and were at the table along with some friends, making the total around the table 18.  

Some highlights for me... this year I actually got to cook with Joanna, since both daddy and Poppa were available for the playing part. My role of late is usually more about playing Gramma and allowing Jo the space and time to do the cooking.  I did get to make some things at home before arriving with a trunk full of bowls and ingredients for two salads - Fattoush with out the toasted pita, and my take on this Arugula, Mango Salad I found on Healthy Happy Life and will write up my own recipe sometime soon - with a photo (I used mixed spring greens, added strawberries, blackberries & blueberries and left out the macadamia nuts).  I brought my huge stock pot filled with 22 cups of chicken soup - Jo made the matzo balls.  And for dessert, I made some Passover brownies with chocolate chips instead of nuts- tasty but crumbly and not photo worthy anyway.   And, everyone's favorite - Chocolate Matzo Crunch, totally addictive, even if you are stuffed to the gills by the time dessert rolls around.

 Playing sou-chef to Joanna is a lovely cycle of life thing for me... I remember her as a little girl being my big helper along with her sister... the cleaning the house and getting ready... not so much fun as baking.  Now I'm the helper.  I was going to take a picture of the wonderful kitchen chaos, but her "Mummy, you can't possibly take my picture like this!" stopped me in my tracks.  It's nice to see the traditional dishes some of which started at my table - Gingery Carrot Tzimmis, Potato Kugel (same post), chopped liver, gefilte fish and others she's added along the way - especially her stuffed leg of lamb.  We would all be disappointed if those dishes didn't grace the table.  Roasted asparagus with chive vinaigrette - chives from her garden - almost didn't make it to the table - another tradition  of almost forgetting the green vegetables.

That's about the old traditions, next is about the new - the next generation and some of my favorite moments.  By the way, it took eight photos to get a family portrait - and this one is the best of the bunch.  Hard to get little boys to sit still even in the time it takes to say "falafel".

Unless of course there are pickles!  Dov, three, and from now on to be referred to as Pickle Boy must have eaten half a jar all by himself.

His older brother, Boaz, five, was serious about the ceremony of the seder and asked the Four Questions without assistance - They are usually asked by the youngest member of the family.  This is the first time that Kayla, Ezra's sister hasn't asked them.  Now she's a mom, but baby Briella is only a few months old, so...Boaz took on the role.  Another cycle of life moment.

I do find it interesting... the morning after, that once again, although food is the focus for Jewish women for days before the seder, it wasn't what I focused my camera on.  It was the joy of being together.

Whatever holidays you celebrate, I wish you the best of them and hope you get to enjoy them with your traditions, your family and friends.

Presto Pasta Night #258 & Happy Easter & Passover

As I write this, it's both Good Friday and the eve of Passover, when for eight days we Jews are not to eat anything with flour - no bread, and none of the usual pastas, but I digress... I wish all my Christian and Jewish friends the best... especially the feasting.

As for Presto Pasta Night, here are the wonderful entries.  Thanks everyone for some great sharing!  I'll be bookmarking then for after Passover!

Juli of Pictures of All My Princesses was first in with this terrific Cabbage Broccoli Salad with Ramen Noodles.

Next in Andrea of Nummy Kitchen, shared this Fried Noodle Cake with Hoisin Vegetables from an old, unused cookbook.  Glad she tried it!

I always drool over Tigerfish of Teczcape's dishes.  The photos alone have me drooling and the dishes always delight - this one is no exception.  Shitake, Woodear & Cremini Mushrooms Miso Udon.  What a savory mouthful that is!

Stash of The Spamwise Chronicles is another one of those food bloggers I adore - gorgeous photos and brilliant dishes.  This one - Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce, Samphire and Fried Breadcrumbs with Bottarga really have me regretting not buying some Bottarga when I was in Montreal.   

Rachel, The Crispy Cook is back with a gluten free delicious sounding Pizzoccherri for those who usually just get to wishful think here at PPN.  

Janet from the Taste Space (and new to PPN) brings a whole new meaning to Alfredo - Check out her High Protein Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta.  It might even induce me to do some of the bike riding she does. 

and Gay our resident Scientist in the Kitchen came up with this Drunken Linguine that's a great Thai dish if ever there was one.

Next in...Pam of Sidewalk Shoes actually has a request... ideas to make this Ham & Cheese Macaroni Bake come out creamier.  Can you help?

Joanne, who Eats Well With Others always, and I do mean always comes up with fantastic posts.  Naturally this time is no different. The  Pasta with Tomatoes, Pine Nuts & Raisins looks fantastic - almost has me ready to run a marathon myself... or at least have a bowlful while watching one on TV. 

and Katie of Feeding Boys & a Firefighter shares a wonderful looking Macaroni & Broccoli Souffle for kids of all ages to enjoy.

Last but not least - at least I loved this Roasted Eggplant, Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna with lots of surprises on the tongue.  

So thanks everyone for such mouth-watering treats this week.  And don't forget that next week Gillian of So So Simple Life from way way Down Under (New Zealand!) will be hosting.  Send your entries to cajun(dot) moon (at) xtra (dot) co (dot) nz  and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday April 12

If you'd like to host a PPN Roundup. Just drop me a line to pick a date. April 20th and beyond are available.  It's never to early to sign up!

Roasted Eggplants & Hunting Through Bookmarks

I bought two beautiful plump eggplants a week or so ago. (This photo from an earlier purchase but too cute to pass up here.) I had a particular recipe in mind and bookmarked it.    Then "Life" took over and the eggplants started to ... age... not so plump and firm, but still usable.


Truth be told... I couldn't remember which recipe I bookmarked... not even a general idea... was it on a blog?  a magazine site?... was it complex? ... simple?... was it spicy?...sweet?  What culture inspired it?.  I had no idea, So I did what many of us do, I started going through my bookmarks.  It got tiresome very quickly, so I just gave up and did a search, which landed me on a recipe for a delicious spread/dip on Canadian Living Magazine that I added to my "recipe box" on their site.  I now have recipe boxes on more sites than I remember, bookmarks on IE and Chrome... if only there was a way to consolidate.  I'm sure there's an app somewhere...sigh.    Now I'm addicted to Pinterest... a great clipboard where I can "pin" from anywhere, organize by my peculiarities.  The coolest part is that I don't have to remember where I initially found a recipe or a place I want to revisit.  I had thought of many options, like Grilled Eggplant Rollups with Feta, Mint & Chili or Roasted Eggplant with Preserved Lemon.  But my Honey is not a big eggplant fan so I have to hide it in dishes.

Oh... and the recipe I tweaked from Canadian Living...delicious

Roasted Eggplant & Garlic with Olive Tapenade

The thing about eggplant is that it's very prettiest raw...A stunning purple on the outside and pale flesh with tiny freckles from the seeds.   Once it's cooked is just sort of looks ... well... drab.  Add some black olives to the mix and it becomes an even less pretty brown mush.   But don't let looks fool you... this is one very tasty spread or dip.  

I really have been dreaming... or obsessing....about roasting the eggplant and combining it with other tasty ingredients in a lasagna using the multigrain noodles in my pantry so that I could be ready for Passover - no flour except for matzo and matzo meal.   I tried for last week's Presto Pasta Night but only just got around to making it yesterday.  Roasted Eggplant, Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna... which will be my entry to this week's Presto Pasta Night.  I'm hosting and if you want to join in the fun, just write about it, mention Presto Pasta Night and email your URL to me -  ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday.... but I digress.  


The coolest thing about lasagna is NOT the cleaning up - pot for noodles, possibly pot for sauce, bowls to mix various fillings....the coolest part is being able to be creative - no need for any recipe really, just inspiration points.    So what's your favorite thing to put in a lasagna?