Pasta

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1 March 2010

Pasketti and Meatballs

Posted by fignatius under Beef, Dinner, Meat, Pasta, Pork
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Pasketti and Meatballs

There is something about this weather that makes me crave carbs and, specifically pasta.  Maybe my body needs the extra fuel to stay warm through the damp chill of late winter.  Maybe I have been denying myself pasta since the holidays and my belly just says, “okay, you are being ridiculous; make spaghetti now, please.”  Regardless of the impetus, I had to get down to making some sauce and pasta this weekend.

As a born-again omnivore and regular gym-goer, I pretty much eat an animal-based protein at every meal except breakfast.  It may not be the best course of action, health-wise, but I do try my best to keep my choices on the leaner side whenever possible.  Unfortunately, this meal was an exception to the lean meats, as was the previous Bolognese post.  Yikes!  All I can say is, enjoy a few less healthy meals now, while you can, and hit the gym a little more often.  In a couple of months, none of us will be in the mood for heavy pasta and meat dishes.

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18 February 2010

My Bolognese

Posted by fignatius under Dinner, Pasta
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My Bolognese

I will admit that the first time I ever had something called Spaghetti Bolognese, I had no idea what I was ordering.  It was my first time in Europe and I was with a person who, at the time, was almost a complete stranger, who is now my very dear friend Melissa.  Both of us were jet-lagged and on our first assignment in what would be our home country for the next 10+ months: the UK.  We were charged by our year-abroad advisor, Professor Wendy Moffat, to drop off our bags at our rooming house and head straight to a neighborhood of London that was randomly assigned to us, where we would make an attempt to observe and record the essence of that neighborhood.  Melissa and I headed to Camden Town, exhausted and hungry.  At the time, Camden was the hotbed of counterculture in London, but had its own brand of gentrification in place, as well.  Hence, we stumbled into a hole-in-the-wall cafe that served what looked to be pretty decent Italian food.  For my first meal in the country, I wasn’t ready for traditional British fare, so I figured Italian would be a good, safe bet.

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23 July 2009

Pasta and Pesto

Posted by fignatius under Pasta
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Pasta with Pesto, Summer Vegetables, and Shrimp

Pasta with Pesto, Summer Vegetables, and Shrimp

Pasta is usually not on the top of my list of things to eat, but I do really enjoy it on occasion. Since the Bun comes from an Italian-American family, he loves him some pasta of any sort, and I like to keep it lively with different combinations of ingredients. In the summer, I try to let seasonal vegetables lead the way on “one pot” dishes like this, and with green peas and asparagus, the leading color was green. I also wanted to incorporate some light protein (which I always appreciate with pasta), so I thought about adding chicken, but then thought that shrimp would make for a more interesting, more summer-y addition. Going with Heidi Swanson’s advice to cook by color, I decided on my basic pesto as a sauce for this dish. I kept the list of ingredients simple, for the most part, but if you wanted to bump up the variety of vegetables, I think that a little spinach or kale would be a nice color boost and a texture variation. Serve this with a crisp, cold Pinot Grigio and a simple dessert of fruit, nuts and cheese, and I think you have a perfect summer supper – even on a weeknight.

My Basic Pesto

 

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