Dinner in 10 Minutes...Penne with Spinach, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

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It's been one of those tough weeks when everything seems to come together and require a major decision. I get these every five years or so and by now I just sit back and let 'er rip! For those of you familiar with the Tarot, this is the dreaded Tower card.

Obviously, dinner is the farthest thing from my mind right now. Luckily, I'm well organized and stocked up so at times like these, I can always pull something together in a pinch. Every ingredient in the pasta sauce was in the refrigerator or the pantry. If you also have a frozen baguette and a nice bottle of wine, like I always do, you will have a very enjoyable meal.

If you are new to my blog, I suggest you check out one of my first posts on what everyone should have in their pantry.  It is particularly useful at times like these. ( If you want a good laugh, check out the comments left by my children--  They are now banned for life..).

The original recipe is from Giada de Laurentis, but seeing that we were only having this as our main dish, I added some prosciutto and the pine nuts. I also altered some measurements.

Serves 6

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 pound penne
3 garlic cloves
2 ounces goat cheese
1 ounce cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
4 oz. prosciutto
Pine nuts


Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Add the prosciutto and the pine nuts. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the pasta and serve.

Dinner from the Pantry...Gnocchi with Spinach Bacon & Mozzarella

Pin It I'm still cooking from the pantry, trying to prepare for hurricane season. Today I discovered way in the back of the food closet something I must have bought years ago and never used. It was gnocchi shaped pasta from DeCecco that must have been bought by mistake thinking it was the real thing. By now, readers of this blog will know that I hate baking and working with flour, so you are never going to catch me making fresh gnocchi, even though I love it to death. It is one of those things that I save to order when I go out to an Italian restaurant.

Gnocchi is also the name given to the dry whimsical shape pasta family. They originate in the Campania region in the South of Italy. Their shape is fashioned after an empty grooved cone. They are usually 32 mm long whereas their thickness is between 1,15 and 1,30 mm. Gnocchi can be served with light tomato or meat sauces; it is also superb with pesto. Unfortunately, tonight none of these options were a possibility, but a quick look inside the refrigerator put some creative wheels in motion. As I have mentioned before, if you have a well stocked pantry, and this includes the refrigerator and the freezer, you can always put something together. On a few occasions, even you will surprise yourself, like I did tonight.

Not only did i come out with a great new recipe, I have also discovered a new pasta shell to work with! If you can't find gnocchi shaped pasta in your supermarket, try orecchetti, fussilli or any other shells or ridge shapes. Also go to my store on the right and look under gourmet food. The sauce is also delicious with real gnocchi, like the one in the main photo above from Flickr.

Ingredients

8 oz DeCecco Gnocchi or gnocchi shaped pasta

1/2 pckg frozen spinach (4 oz)

4 strips bacon

2 Tb butter

1/2 Onion

2 garlic cloves

1/2 Cup heavy cream

1 TB shredded mozarella

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese



Instructions


Boil gnocchi with spinach 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook 4 strips bacon in microwave 5 minutes. Cut in 1 in. pieces

In another pan melt 2tb butter. Saute 1/2 onion and garlic cloves. Remove garlic and discard.

Add 1/2 cup heavy cream, Boil down until thickened.Add 1 tb mozzarella stirring until it melts. This will add body to the sauce.

Add the cream sauce to the gnocchi and spinach.

Add the bacon pieces

Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese

Serve immediately and pass the extra parmesan around.

5 Meals, 10 Ingredients

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Since I know some of you will be hitting the grocery store bright and early this Saturday morning, I encourage you to see this video of Mark Bittman on the Today Show. You should also check out my post The Well Stocked Pantry, the first post I ever published on this blog. It will help you understand why having a few staple ingredients around can help you economize and put together a quick meal or a week's menu . Think of it as you would your wardrobe... if you have a few good basic pieces like a black suit or a killer white blouse, all you have to do is go out and buy new accessories for a brand new look! Additionally, if you check out the specials on the store's website or flyer in the newspaper before you go to the store, you will save a lot of money and who knows, you might even come out with a few new recipes. Remember, if you are on a budget, now is the time to transfer your shopping skills and creative spirit from the mall to the grocery store.



Note: If you are in a pinch for a Father's Day Menu, check out our post published last week!

Fettucini With Prosciutto, Peas, Mint & Lemon Basil

Pin It This is one of my quick, easy to make meals for a weekday night. Granted, it is not what you would eat if you are on a diet, but once in a while it's okay. Just watch your portions and add a green salad. Most of the ingredients are staples in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer. If you missed my earlier post on the well stocked pantry, click here. If you don't have prosciutto, add more bacon. You can always substitute pancetta for both the bacon and the prosciutto. Play with it! Lemon basil is something I discovered last year and I always have it in the garden. I just got some last week in the Garden Section of Home Depot but I'm sure you can get it at most nurseries. It is wonderful with pastas. If you can't find it, either add more mint or use regular fresh basil. Don't use the dry stuff, it is too strong for a delicate dish such as this.

Ingredients

1 lb. Fettuccine Barilla

2 bunches of scallions, chopped

2TB butter

4 strips bacon

2 garlic cloves, mashed

1 small carton heavy cream

4 oz. dry white wine

6 oz Prosciutto di Parma

6 pkg. frozen baby peas

1 TB chopped lemon basil leaves

2 TB chopped mint leaves

3 TB Parmesan cheese

Red Pepper Flakes

Directions

Boil the fettuccine in plenty of salted water according to package direction. In another small pot, melt the butter add the garlic, scallions and bacon. Cook until bacon is slightly done and the scallions are translucent. Add the cream and the wine and boil down until reduced by half. Keep in low simmer until fettuccine finishes cooking. 3 minutes before pasta is done, add the peas to the water (that way you don't have to dirty another pot!). Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the water in case you need it to thin the pasta at the end. Mix the pasta with the sauce, add the chopped lemon basil and mint, the Parmesan cheese and a couple of shakes of the red pepper flakes.

Dinner from the Pantry...Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Pin It This is my go to meal when I haven't planned ahead and need something quick. It's all made from the staples I keep around. What makes it special is the Marinara Sauce, which is quick, authentic and delicious...what you get in Italy and in only 20 minutes. The recipe is adapted from Lidia Bastianich, co-owner of three New York restaurants, several cookbooks and the celebrated PBS show, Lidia's Italy. I used to stay up until 1:00 a.m. to catch her show here in Florida. Use what you need and freeze the rest for a million other things like Bruschetta, Eggplant Parmeggiana or another quick meal of pasta. It is also a good base for Penne alla Vodka. That's why I keep a bottle handy in the freezer! Use the best and freshest ingredients, after all that's what makes this simple sauce great.

Marinara Sauce

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic peeled
1 box Pomi Crushed tomatoes(or one 35 oz San Marzano tomatoes seeded and lightly crushed, with their liquid

Salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
Crushed hot red pepper (go easy!unless you like it hot)
10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Heat the oil in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Whack the garlic with the flat side of a knife, add it to the oil, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

Carefully slide the tomatoes and their liquid into the oil. Bring to a boil and season lightly with the salt, sugar and red pepper. Lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer and cook, breaking the tomatoes with a whisk or a spoon (if you got the can of whole tomatoes) until the sauce is chunky and thick, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil* about 5 minutes before the sauce is finished. Taste the sauce and season with salt and red pepper, if necessary. Set aside.

You can bring to a boil and cook the spaghetti while the sauce is cooking if you are pressed for time. I prefer to cook my sauce first and let it settle. It will get thick but I thin it with water from the spaghetti just before I pour it off the saucepan.

*Do use fresh basil and do not chop until right before you add it. Herbs release their best aroma when they are just cut and you want this released into the sauce, not the counter.

Spaghetti

Boil the spaghetti for about 10 minutes in a big pot with lots of water and a dash of salt. Don't skimp on the water! This prevents it from sticking in the pot. When the spaghetti is almost done and before you drain, take one or two laddlefulls of water and add it to marinara sauce to thin. If you want to eat it like a real Italian add the spaghetti to the sauce, not the other way around, and cook it in the saucepan for a couple of minutes. This and the water helps the sauce stick to the pasta. Add freshly grated Parmeggiano-Regianno and enjoy. I serve mine with a baguette and a tossed salad.

Wine suggestions: Peppoli from Antinori, if you can afford it, or Santa Cristina, the least expensive of the Antinori wines. Monte Anticho, found sometimes in the supermarket and fairly inexpensive, is also good. But stick with Italian wines, preferrably from Toscana-- remember terroir! P.S. You can find Peppoli sometimes at Costco, at great savings. It is one of my daughter's favorites.

First Things First..The Well Stocked Pantry

Pin It I always keep in my pantry things that I know I will use all the time and that can take me out of a jam if I get surprise guests. With what I keep on hand, I can always pull together a meal, including hors d’oeuvres and dessert in no time. As I use them, I make sure I replace them on my next trip to the store so I will not have to make little trips every time I need something. It also forces you to cook at what you have which can be more economical and more creative. Here’s what you’ll find in my pantry:

1. Anchovy paste
2. Apricot jam
3. Baking powder
4. Baking soda
5. Beans – split peas, lentils, garbanzos they last forever!
6. Bread crumbs
7. Capers
8. Catsup, Heinz
9. Chocolate squares semi sweet & unsweetened
10. Clams, chopped, canned for dips and pasta
11. Flour
12. Garlic paste in tube Amore
13. Honey
14. Horseradish
15. Lemon, lime, fresh!
16. Mayonnaise, Hellmann’s made with olive oil
17. Mustard, Dijon
18. Non-stick spray
19. Nuts (pine nuts, slivered almonds, walnuts)
20. Olive oil (Extra Virgin)
21. Olives
22. Onions
23. Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
24. Paper, parchment, tin foil, Saranwrap
25. Parmalat whole milk (for emergencies)
26. Pasta – Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Penne, Lasagna noodles
27. Pepper, both black and white
28. Pimientos
29. Polenta
30. Raisins
31. Red pepper flakes
32. Rice, Arborio for risottos
33. Rice, Jasmine
34. Rice, White from Mahatma
35. Salt
36. Soy sauce
37 Stock, Chicken and Beef in cans or cubes usually from Knorr
38. Sugar, Dark Brown
39. Sugar, Powdered
40. Sugar, White
41. Tomato juice (Campbells)
42. Tomato paste (Hunts)
43. Tomato paste in a tube (Amore)
44. Tomatoes, Crushed (Pomi)
45. Tuna, solid white, canned
46. Vegetable oil
47. Vinegar, Balsamic and White
48. Vodka, for Martinis, Bloody Mary and vodka sauce
49. Wine, white or Vermouth
50. Worcestershire sauce
51. Ziplock freezer bags

*Flour Tortillas (both large and extra large) Lipton Onion Soup and Jiffy Corn Bread Mix are optional but I try to keep some always in my pantry!

Herbs, Spices, Extracts etc.

Living in Florida, I am able to grow fresh herbs, and I do. Parsley is something you need fresh, don’t bother with the stuff in the bottle. So is mint and chives. There is nothing like fresh rosemary, tarragon, oregano and basil. As a matter of fact I have several varieties of basil, including one that I love for salads called lemon basil. Still, I keep the dry stuff on hand, just in case. By this time, I must have every spice in the universe, but the following is what I consider must-haves.

1. Allspice
2. Almond extract
3. Basil
4. Bay Leaves
5. Cayenne pepper
6. Cinnamon
7. Cloves
8. Cream of tartar
9. Curry powder
10. Goya’s Mojo Criollo, great for marinades
11. Herbes de Provence
12. Kitchen Bouquet
13. Nutmeg
14. Peppercorns
15. Rosemary
16. Saffron & Pimenton de la Vera (for Spanish dishes)
17. Sage
18. Tarragon
19. Thyme
20. Vanilla beans and extract
21. White pepper

To be kept in refrigerator:

I have several friends whose refrigerator looks like it is for sale…empty! The following won’t take up much space and will come in handy when you have to put something together fast. If nothing else, you can always get a good breakfast out of it!

1. Butter, unsalted
2. Carrots(baby) and Celery
3. Cheese, Parmesan (Parmeggiano Reggiano)
4. Cream cheese
5. Eggs
6. Garlic peeled
7. Heavy cream (optional, but great to add to pastas, sauces and cream soups)
8. Milk
9. Orange juice
10.Red potatoes, they last forever in the fridge
11.Sour cream

To be kept in the Freezer:

1. Baguette
2. Frozen petite green peas
3. Frozen whole onions and chopped onions
4. Pancetta
5. Peppers, Green and Red, frozen whole
6. Very Thin sliced bread from Pepperidge Farm
7. Vodka!

Now we can cook!