If you don’t love pasta, I don’t know what is wrong with you. What I do know is that my homemade baked ziti will probably cure you of whatever it is.
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pasta
When it comes to classic Italian pasta dishes, Fettuccine Alfredo is easily at the top of the list. So many home cooks fail to recreate the lush, creamy flavor because they use a store bought Alfredo sauce in a jar that doesn’t even come close.
With my simple Alfredo sauce recipe, you will never have to resort to such extreme measures again to have classic Fettuccine Alfredo at home. You should know though, that this is not a recipe for dieters! No matter how hard I have tried over the years, I just can’t make a low-fat version that matches the brilliant flavor.
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I am a huge fan of arugula and its unexpected peppery bite. While it is one of my favorite salad add-ins, I craved more. I wanted warmth and depth of flavor that just doesn’t come from even the most tasty of cold salads.
When faced with an abundance of arugula on the eve of a forecasted ice storm, I knew I had to act fast. I harvested the goods and then headed for my pantry. That’s when it hit me.
Arugula Pesto!
Of course! It made perfect sense. Five minutes to harvest and gather the ingredients, another couple of minutes in the blender or food processor and I had a brilliant green pesto that carried just enough of that peppery kick to make people wonder how you did it.
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As we prepare for building a potato condo for planting this year’s crop of potatoes, we let several of the potatoes we had on hand go to seed. Today I cut the eyes out so that they can dry a bit. In order to use the potato that did not seed, I thought it would be a perfect time to make gnocchi.
John had never had homemade potato gnocchi and so it was settled. As we don’t own a ricer, I had to find a recipe that did not specifically require one. Because I have made gnocchi in the past I knew that they were ideal but not necessary. I found this recipe and was certain that it would be a perfect complement to the marinara we made the other night.
(17) Potato Gnocchi
see link for recipe source
The flowery language used in the admittedly verbose recipe reminded me a lot of the movie “Eat, Pray, Love” that we’d just watched recently. Just felt like there were a lot of words that weren’t really all that necessary. Unfortunately I was more right than I’d imagined.
For all the decadence and prim-and-properness of this recipe, the resulting gnocchi was gummy and lacked any body whatsoever. It was unpleasant in texture and just when I was ready to sigh and give up, John took his first bite of a finished piece and I knew that he was unimpressed. That was when I decided that it was time to take matters into my own hands.
The first batch a total loss, I transferred the sticky mess to the KitchenAid and started adding flour until a good quality dough had formed. Then I rolled, cut and formed the pieces as John boiled them.
In the end the gnocchi we ate was good, but it was not the recipe I started with. Still, since we did boil the first few pieces and tasted them, we did complete this recipe for the challenge.
Verdict: The biggest “hell no” of the entire challenge. Yes, it was that bad. Gnocchi is not rocket science and it is not some epic love story that needs Julia Roberts. It’s just a potato dumpling!.
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My love for the tomato is the stuff of legends. It should therefore come as no surprise that I love tomato sauces of all descriptions. Who doesn’t need a simple recipe for marinara? This is about as simple as it gets, with just a few basic ingredients that come together beautifully.
The recipe as it is listed below comes to us by way of John’s sister-in-law Sarita. She and John’s brother Kevin were the epitome of hospitality when we visited last month, taking the time to cook nearly every meal we ate during the entire stay. Even more amazing, she sent me home with a jar of delicious home canned pickles that she was nearly out of! If that ain’t love, I don’t know what is. So without further ado…
(15) Sarita’s Marinara 
- 4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- olive oil
- 2 large cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 small can Italian diced tomatoes
- oregano
- basil
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
1. Sauté onion in olive oil till transparent.
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
It isn’t often that I taste a sauce that I wouldn’t want to alter just a bit. This is one of those rare exceptions. It doesn’t get any more basic than this and yet it is full-bodied and satisfying (and it was perfect as a dip for the garlic bread, too). I would put this up against sauces in some of the best restaurants in the country.
Verdict: A definite addition to regular rotation. I look forward to using fresh onion and tomatoes from our gardens to see how much of a difference it makes.
With this recipe we have just 5 more recipes left to complete the April Food Challenge.
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