Homemade Macaroni and Cheese November 17, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Homemade Macaroni and Cheese 2016-11-17 22:32:07 Print Ingredients 2 ounces unsalted butter (one half stick) 4 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon each; dry mustard, white pepper, chile powder, and salt ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 32 ounces whole milk ½-1 pound cheese of choice, grated (I like to combine cheeses and grate myself; soft cheeses work best) 1 pound dry pasta Instructions In a large Dutch oven, melt butter and then add flour to make a roux. Allow the roux to cook for 3-4 minutes to cook the flour taste out and for the mixture to darken a bit. Season with dry mustard, white pepper, chile powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add milk in slowly, whisking as you go. Over medium high heat, gently stir the béchamel sauce until it begins to thicken. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, slowly whisk in grated cheese a handful at a time, whisking after each addition so cheese can be completely absorbed (you have now created a Mornay sauce from the béchamel base) Taste sauce and adjust with spices used earlier (dry mustard, white pepper, and salt) Turn sauce to simmer and prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and retain the pasta water. Combine pasta and sauce, at first you may not need all the sauce but as the mixture sits, the pasta will absorb more and more of the sauce. Add more as the sauce gets absorbed to achieve your desired consistency. If the sauce is too thick, thin with pasta water. Serve with breadcrumbs, bacon bits, sun-dried tomatoes, or any number of accompaniments if desired. Notes At Ladies Night Out, Kelly used Rigatoni and equal parts Vermont White Cheddar, Baby Swiss, and Monterey Jack. By Kelly Sears Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Pasta with Tomato-Blue Cheese Sauce October 5, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Pasta with Tomato-Blue Cheese Sauce 2016-10-05 14:20:12 Print Ingredients 1 ½ pounds pasta (angel hair or thin spaghetti) 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained dash of sugar salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 3/4 cups crumbled blue cheese 3/4 cups heavy cream 4 cups baby spinach half and half, for thinning extra blue cheese crumbles, for garnish Instructions Cook pasta according to package instructions. In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. When hot, add minced garlic and cook for a minute. Pour in drained tomatoes. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Stir in crumbled blue cheese. Add cream and stir, then a little splash of half-and-half if sauce is too thick. Cook for a minute or two, tasting and adding more seasonings as needed. At the very, very, very last minute. toss in spinach. Immediately toss in the cooked and drained pasta. Serve immediately! By Julie Busteed Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Spicing Things Up by Robin Nathan January 7, 2016 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Ok, so the holidays are over. It’s dark at 4:30. It’ll be months until the weather’s warm again. We can moan about it, or we can pick up our pans and do something about it! I say, fight dreary with flavor! I’ve got the first salvo right here. A classic pasta dish from the central Italian town Amatrice, a few hours east of Rome, it’s traditionally made with bucatini pasta and pancetta, but you can substitute bacon or even turkey bacon for the pancetta. Bucatini is a long, round noodle – about the size of spaghetti, but it’s hollow. The first time I ate it, I quickly realized you can’t slurp it – the hollowness makes it like a straw! You can slurp, but nothing happens! So eating it is a great way to brush up on your pasta twirling skills. You won’t get much practice, though. It’ll be gone faster than the 10 minutes it takes to make! Bucatini all’ Amatriciana 2016-01-05 19:12:51 Serves 4 Print Ingredients 8 oz. pancetta, diced olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ t. dried red chile flake 12 oz. whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved 1 pound bucatini pasta grated Pecorino Romano Instructions Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When it boils, add the pasta and cook 7-8 minutes, or until al dente. Meanwhile, put the pancetta into a large skillet and render it for about 8 minutes, until some of the fat has melted off, but the pancetta is still on the soft side. Add a little olive oil if you need to keep it from sticking at the beginning. Drain off all but 2 Tablespoons of the drippings. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until translucent, then add the garlic and chile flake and cook 30 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes. Season to taste with salt. Simmer gently. Drain the pasta and add it directly to the skillet with the sauce. Toss for a minute or two to combine. Tong into bowls and garnish liberally with Pecorino Romano. By Robin Nathan Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Pasta with Tomato Water, Basil and Garlic August 25, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Pasta with Tomato Water, Basil and Garlic 2015-08-25 11:56:28 Serves 4 Print Ingredients 4 ripe tomatoes, large dice 1 - 1 1/2 t. coarse kosher salt 12 ounces bucatini or spaghetti 10 cloves of garlic 1 cup basil, cut into ribbons 3 ounces butter, cut into chunks Olive oil, as needed Parmesan, grated (optional) Instructions Season the tomatoes with the salt and toss them well. Put a big pot of water on to boil. When it comes to a boil, add a generous pinch of salt. Smash the garlic with the flat side of a knife, give it all a few rough chops with the knife and set them a side in a small bowl. Cut the basil into ribbons or roughly chop it. Take a pinch of this basil, chop it finely, and add it to the tomatoes to season the tomato water. Heat a teaspoon or two of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook it until it is just beginning to brown around the edges and soften, a couple minutes. (Watch carefully so that it doesn't burn) Pour the tomatoes into a strainer over the garlic so that the tomato water will stream into the pan below. Set the strainer with the tomatoes into the bowl so they don’t drip on the counter, and swirl the sauce to bring it to a simmer. Meanwhile, cook the pasta and drain it. Add the butter while continuing to swirl or stir the sauce. Keep the sauce moving until all the butter is melted. Add the pasta and toss to coat the pasta evenly. Divide the pasta among four bowls and top with the tomatoes and basil. Add Parmesan if desired. Adapted from Michael Ruhlman Adapted from Michael Ruhlman Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Swiss Chard Ravioli with Marcella’s Famous Tomato Sauce July 28, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Swiss Chard Ravioli with Marcella's Famous Tomato Sauce 2015-07-28 14:39:09 Print For Pasta Dough 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 T. olive oil 1 large egg pinch of salt For Swiss Chard Filling 12 oz. Swiss chard 2 T. olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 16 oz. whole milk ricotta 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese ¼ cup chopped basil 1 t. kosher salt ¼ t. pepper 4 sheets of fresh pasta, cut into squares For Tomato Sauce 2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes peeled and seeded OR use 2 cups canned imported tomatoes with juice 5 T. butter 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half salt to taste For Pasta Dough On a bread board or the counter, place the flour on it. Make a well in the flour, and carefully add the egg, olive oil and salt. Mix together with a fork, by starting in the middle of the well, and gradually incorporate the flour into the egg and oil; when you can't mix in any more of the flour, start kneading the mixture with your hand. Next, using a pasta machine, run the dough through the wheels of the machine at no. 1 dial until it is smooth and feels like “leather”. This process could take about 10-15 times. Now, put the dough through each numbered dial (2-6 or 7) just once. Cut into squares. For Swiss Chard Filling Remove the stems of the Swiss chard. Chop the leaves into 1 inch pieces. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté till soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the chard and cook until wilted and let the mixture cool. Place the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl of food processor. Add the cooled chard mixture and blend until smooth. Spoon this mixture into a pastry bag and pipe into center of ravioli dough. Place another piece of dough on top and seal the edges. Cook in salted, boiling water. Serve with tomato sauce. For Tomato Sauce Put the prepared tomatoes in a saucepan. Add the butter, onion, and salt. Cook uncovered on very low heat at a steady simmer about 45 minutes. Cook until the fat floats free from the tomatoes. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste for seasonings. Discard the onion. Spoon over the ravioli, adding grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. By Jean True Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/