House Spouse

A couple of weekends ago, I sat lazily watching the Saturday food and cooking programs aired on our local public television station. Christina Cooks (how I hate her wagging, scolding finger!), Mexico: One Plate at a Time, Every Day Food, Check Please, etc. It was during this indulgence that I caught the episode of America’s Test Kitchen in which they make Penne alla Vodka. Despite Christopher Kimball’s usual snootiness (he’s really an ass, don’t you think?), he was convinced into enjoying the vodka sauce prepared on the show.

Since you can’t get the recipes from the show online without paying a subscription price, I decided to wing it and go from memory when I prepared it a couple of nights ago. Here’s my interpretation.

Penne Alla Vodka
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
1-2 T olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
1 med onion
2 cloves garlic
1/3 c high quality vodka
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes*
1/2 c heavy cream
about 12 leaves fresh basil, chopped
salt, pepper
1 lb penne

*I purchased box of 8 or 10 cans of Del Monte organic diced tomatoes at Costco and flew through it. I don’t want to advocate for such a big name brand, but these tomatoes were quite good.

Directions:
Begin by heating salted water for the pasta. I’ve recently started heavily salting my pasta water which has resulted in me wanting to eat a lot more pasta.

In a large, 12-inch skillet or sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Once the onions begin to soften, about 5-6 minutes, add the garlic and the tomato paste. Work the tomato paste into the onions. This is what is going to give the sauce a sweetness. When that’s all combined and going, add the can of (undrained) diced tomatoes and the vodka. Stir to combine and allow that to simmer for about 4 to 5 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off and the sauce to thicken.

About this time, the water should be coming to a boil. Add your pasta and stir. You should pay careful attention to the pasta while it’s cooking because you’ll want to take it off the heat and drain it just before it reaches al dente.

Back to the sauce though… Slowly stir in the half cup of cream and add the basil. Stir and taste, adding salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat off and tend to the pasta.

Once the pasta is done, return it to the pot and add the sauce. Stir and combine everything together. The sauce will be somewhat absorbed into the pasta (which is why it needs to be cooked just this side of al dente). Top with some freshly grated cheese and enjoy.

In the picture I’ve posted, the sauce is a little less creamy than what should result from this recipe. I had used 1/2 cup of cream for a dessert the previous day and was saving the remaining 1/2 cup for the vodka sauce. Well, that morning, Andrew saw the cream and though, “Mmm…real cream in my coffee,” not realizing my intention. However, the sauce was still delicious, so if you’re watching your calorie intake it’s fine to use a little less cream.

I just love how all the food bloggers I read are chomping at the bit to get their hands on and cook with something other than a root vegetable now that spring is taunting us with the promises of things greener.

Not Eating Out in New York posted a recipe for sliders with honey and spring onions that had me me drooling yesterday as I poked around the Internet looking for some dinner inspiration. Without any beef in the house, I had to pass. I did notice the post on curried sweet potato soup, however, read through it, and snapped my laptop shut to gather ingredients and start cooking.
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I made this slow cooker mac & cheese a couple weeks ago, and my reaction was mixed.

There’s not any dairy in this recipe which is interesting. The “cheese” sauce is made with white beans and cashews and while creamy and tasty, it doesn’t taste cheesy. For me, that’s a not-so-good thing. For others, I think the creamy texture is what they’re looking for in a mac & cheese dish.

This picture is actually the concoction that’s about to go into the slow cooker, which is unfortunate because I think this is when the dish was at its best.

I’m sharing the recipe because I do think this is one that’s worth trying. I will be tweaking it to my liking, because it could be a nice go-to for comfort food days.

Mac & Cheese Florentine
from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

Ingredients:
8 oz elbow macaroni
10-oz package frozen chopped spinach (cooked and well drained)
2 T olive oil
1 med yellow onion, chopped
1/2 c unsalted, raw cashews
1 3/4 c ater
1 15-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 T white miso paste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch of nutmeg
salt
1/2 c dry bread crumbs

Directions:
Cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain. Toss in the spinach and set aside.

Heat 1 T of oil in a medium skillet and sauté the onion. Set this aside.

Grind the cashews to a powder in a blender or food processor. Add 1 c of the water and blend until smooth. Add the onion, beans, miso paste, the rest of the water, the lemon juice, mustard and nutmeg and season with salt. Blend this until it’s smooth. Pour the sauce over the macaroni and spinach and mix well.

Transfer this to a lightly oiled crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.

Before serving, sauté the bread crumbs in the remaining oil for 3 to 4 minutes or until they are toasty. Sprinkle these over the top of the casserole.