The CookMobile » Pastas

Spaghetti with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon

Lalaine — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:22:35 +0000

This spaghetti dish is made with the leftover creme fraiche mixture and smoked salmon I used to make my shallot toasts. I ate my share cold and my daughter preferred hers hot from the microwave~both were amazingly delicious! After we’ve had our fill, this spaghetti recipe went off to join good company at Presto Pasta Night hosted weekly by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Makes 2 Servings

Ingredients

2 cups spaghetti, cooked
2 oz smoked salmon, sliced
1 cup creme fraiche
2 tbsps fresh dill, chopped
4 tbps dijon mustard
1/8 tsp kosher salt

Procedure

Prepare spaghetti according to direction on package. Drain well.

Combine creme fraiche, dijon mustard, kosher salt and fresh dill. Toss spaghetti in creme fraiche mixture. Top with smoked salmon slices and garnish with additional fresh dill.

More Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Tomato Mozzarella Pesto Pasta Salad

Tomatoes and Mascarpone over Angel Hair Pasta

Tomato Mozzarella Pesto Pasta Salad

Lalaine — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:18:58 +0000

Steamed chicken with basil pesto and pine nuts being the ultimate favorite for my brown bag lunches, I usually keep handy~sometimes storebought, mostly homemade~ a pint or so of pesto sauce in my refrigerator. I am simply in love with the heady, aromatic mingling of hard cheese, garlic, fresh herbs and nuts with olive oil on and over anything! So imagine my delight when I discovered this pesto pasta salad amongst fruit cups, sandwiches and sushi at our neighborhood Fresh and Easy market on my yesterday’s trip~another way to savor my pesto! I bought the other necessary ingredients, drove home, doved straight to the kitchen, tossed together this inspiration and had a sensational lunch in minutes. Easy and delicious!

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

16 oz uncooked penne pasta
1 cup pesto sauce (recipe follows)
1 cup boconccini (small fresh mozzarella balls marinated in olive oil)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup fresh baby spinach

Procedure

Prepare pasta according to package directions until al dente. Rinse in cold water and drain.

Toss cooked pasta with prepared pesto sauce. Cool pasta mixture. Divide fresh baby spinach on serving plates. Arrange pesto pasta mixture on top. Garnish with fresh mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes.

Pesto Sauce

2 cups of fresh basil leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tbsps Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
3 gloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp kosher salt

In a food processor or blender, combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and half of olive oil. Process steadily until mixture turns into a grainy paste, while adding the rest of the olive oil in a thin, continuous stream. Remove to a container. Gently fold in grated cheese. Add more olive oil if sauce is too thick.

Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Spaghetti with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon

Tomatoes and Mascarpone over Angel Hair Pasta

Pasta Carbonara

Lalaine — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:50:58 +0000

My friend, Benny, with me enviously taking note, has been steadfastly losing weight these past three months~31 pounds to be exact. She has made a couple of visits to my house, eyeing and begging for some of the can’t-admit-but-are-now-a-tiny-bit-too-small pants and blouses I have in my closet, which I have yet to lose hope of being able to wear again. I ain’t giving up, my friend! Shop somewhere else!

Anyway, I think as part of her devious scheme to score some of my wardrobe pieces, she has been convincing me to try this recipe for my site. Smart gal! Bacon, milk, cheese, pasta, sinfully delicious…I had a big heaping on my plate and came back for seconds! My weight scale just registered three extra pounds…ARGGH!

After I posted this, I discovered there is weekly blog event called Presto Pasta Night that is hosted by ONCE A UPON A FEAST. I hope it’s not too late to submit this.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound bacon, finely chopped
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 to 2 tbsps flour
6 cups fettucine noodles, cooked
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

Procedure

Heat a wide pan. Saute bacon pieces until crispy and oil have seeped through.
Add onions. Saute in the bacon oil under tender. Saute in mushrooms. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Spoon out around 2 tbsps of the bacon oil and add into boiling water used for cooking pasta.

Stir in flour into the bacon oil until lightly browned, well-blended and no lumps. Pour in heavy cream. Deglaze, dissolving the browned bits of bacon in pan.
Pour in milk. Allow to simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly.

Stir in mozzarella cheese. Continue to simmer and stir until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add in cooked fettucine. Combine until noodles are well-coated with sauce. Top with parmesan cheese. Serve hot with a side of garlic bread or cheese toast.

Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Tomatoes and Mascarpone over Angel Hair Pasta

Cheese Tortellini with Asparagus Tips and Ham

Angel Hair Pomodoro with Garlic Shrimp

Lalaine — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:42:40 +0000

Previously, I shared with you about a weekend ritual that my daughter and I have. It is a very special time that we both enjoy and look forward to. Last Saturday, however, we agreed that a weekend diet of deep-fried tofu deserves a rest and decided instead to check out the farmer’s market at the Cerritos Town Center, which is about 2 miles from the house. And boy! Was that trip a sensory overload! The sight of colorful reds and greens and yellows of fruits and vegetables strewn on tables, and the smell of roasting corn on the cob and of grilling hotdogs in the air, were a dizzying welcome (of course by then it was 11:00 AM and with barely a bite of food or a drop of drink, we were both ravenous)! There was definitely an abundance of organic avocados and oranges and strawberries and cherries, of zucchini and baby carrots and broccoli and mustard leaves, of freshly-baked french loaves and bagels and pita breads and rolls, of nuts and cheeses and honey and fruit juices.

And in all that abundance, my favorite finds of the day were some fresh thai basil leaves and vine-ripened tomatoes. The tomatoes were going for $3.00 a pound but the a-little-too-ripe ones were at $1.00. Juicy and vibrant red~they were made for sauces! And the basil…my! It had a glorious minty overtones just calling for this homemade pomodoro sauce!

I went to the farmer’s market with initial intentions to take pictures for my submission to A Scientist in the Kitchen’s To Market! To Market! event but…! In the rush of having to pick my daughter from her Saturday Microbiology class and to catch the farmer’s market before they close at 12PM, I forgot to bring my camera! Still, fate is kind. What do you know? She is hosting next week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn’s Kitchen. I am sending this recipe over to my blogging buddy, Gay, right now!!

Makes 6 Servings

8 oz (uncooked angel hair pasta), 4 cups cooked
freshly-grated romano cheese

Pomodoro Sauce

6 to 8 medium size vine-ripened tomatoes
1 cup chopped thai basil, lightly packed
3 to 5 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
2 tbsps olive oil
salt and pepper

Garlic Shrimp

12 to 14 pieces large shrimp
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter

Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil. Process until the consistency of applesauce. Sauce will be liquidy. Heat sauce mixture in a sauce pot, around 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Peel and devein shrim, leaving tail intact. Wash and drain. Season with garlic powder, pepper and salt.

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Toss in shrimp and cook until shrimp changes color, around 3 to 5 minutes.

Combine pasta and sauce, tossing lightly. Top with garlic shrimp and sprinkle with grated romano cheese. Serve hot.

TIPS:
1) Some prefer to peel the tomatoes. I used them as is and had very good results. Roma tomatoes can be substituted for the vine-ripened tomatoes. I, however, find that the freshness and subtle sweetness of vine-ripened tomatoes add dimension to such a basic sauce.

Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Sausage and Roasted Peppers Penne Pasta

Spaghetti with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon

Spaghetti Pizza

Lalaine — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:37:03 +0000

Whatever happened to Shakey’s Pizza? It just occured to me as I am typing this that I haven’t seen one in ages when a few years ago, they used to dot almost every street corner. A quick googling revealed to me that there are now only 65 or so left of the 350+ Shakey’s Pizza locations. Shakey’s was a dominant go-to joint when I was a college student in Manila in the late 1980’s. I remember guzzling pitchers of beer while enjoying the live band with my friends up to 3 AM in the morning! Mother, if you are reading this, yes I admit. This was why I always called you long distance every week asking for more allowance. I swear I wanted to stay up all night locked in my dormitory studying for my exams but the call of Shakey’s spaghetti, fried chicken, mojo potatoes and hawaiian-style pizzas was simply too hard to resist. And that cute date (whose name I can’t remember now) to share it all with made it far more difficult to choose books.

This spaghetti pizza recipe is another pasta dish from my friend Benny’s kitchen repertoire. I believe this was taught to her by her boyfriend’s sister’s husband, Joe. Taking traits from both spaghetti and pizza, expect it to be a sure-fire hit with kids and kids-at-heart alike!

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

8 oz spaghetti (4 cups cooked)
1 1/2 cups cooked italian sausage, ground
3 cups pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce can be substituted)
6 to 8 slices pepperoni
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps green pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsps red pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsps black olives, sliced
1/4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
olive oil

Procedure

Following package directions, cook spaghetti noodles aldente. Drain and set aside in a mixing bowl.
Remove casing from italian sausages. With a knife, mince sausages to ground texture.

In a skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onions until softened, around 1 to 2 minutes.
Add in and saute italian sausages until browned, breaking and separating to small pieces with back of spoon. Remove from heat. Drain and discard any accumulated juices.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Pour egg mixture onto spaghetti noodles. Mix well making sure noodles are fully coated.

Lighty grease bottom and sides of a flat baking dish with olive oil. Place and press noodles tightly onto bottom of baking dish. Spread crumbled italian sausage evenly on top of noodles.
Spoon sauce on top of meat. Layer pepperoni, mushrooms, olives and peppers on sauce.
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375 F for around 35 to 40 minutes, removing foil at the last 5 minutes of baking to allow cheese to brown very lightly. Remove and let stand for around 5 minutes before cutting to squares.

TIP:
Experiment with your choices of toppings and add-ons! Think pizza with a “noodle crust”.

Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Spaghetti with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon

Pasta Carbonara

Chicken Noodle Soup

Lalaine — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:09:41 +0000

Here is an easy but delicious take on the everyday and very tired chicken noodle soup. The ingredients are simple~strips of chicken, full-bodied stock, fideo noodles, mirepoix and a dash each of salt and
pepper. As it is the heart of this soup recipe, please visit Simply Recipes for detailed instructions and other links on how to make quality chicken stock.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 cup mirepoix (1 stalk celery, 1/2 onion, 1 carrot)
5 to 6 cups chicken stock
1 cup boneless chicken thigh meat (sliced to thin strips)
2 coils of fideo noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Procedure

To prepare Mirepoix:

Peel onions and carrots. Wash and trim celery. Cut vegetables into cubes and place in a food processor. Use “”pulse mode” to finely chop.

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil. Saute mirepoix until softened, around 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in chicken strips and continue to stir until meat browns lightly, around 4 to 5 minutes.

Break fideo noodles into pieces. Saute in pan with the mirepoix and chicken, until lightly browned.

Pour in chicken stock. Allow to boil. Lower heat to simmer. Cover and continue to simmer until chicken and noodles are fully cooked, around 10 to 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Soup Recipes in the Archive:

Sculpin Fish in Miso Broth

Chicken Soup with Pandan Leaves

Cheese Tortelleni with Asparagus Tips and Ham

Lalaine — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:23:32 +0000

For a pasta that is supposedly inspired by “a navel viewed through a peephole“, tortellini never fails to deliver for my family. It has graced my table in many forms but mostly with cream, as in this tortellini with asparagus and ham recipe. Aside from its versatility, this pasta has the added bonus of fitting well within a busy mom’s daily juggle of chores as preparation can be wrapped up in less than 20 minutes.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

16 oz cheese tortelleni, frozen
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup asparagus tips
1/2 cup ham slivers
2 to 3 tbsps mozzarella
1 tbsp parmesan, grated or shredded
salt and pepper

Procedure

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Add asparagus tips during the last 30 seconds of cooking. Drain tortellini and asparagus. Return to sauce pot.

Pour in heavy cream and ham. Stir well to completely heat through, around 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in mozzarella. Continue to stir until cheese is melted and cream sauce slightly thickens, around 1 to 2 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot topped with parmesan cheese.

TIP:
Do not overcook pasta during the initial preparation as it will continue to cook when the cream base is added. I used ham slivers to decrease amount of time required to heat through.

Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Spaghetti with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon

Pasta Carbonara

Tomatoes and Mascarpone over Angel Hair Pasta

Lalaine — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:10:28 +0000

This is a fast and easy angel hair pasta recipe that pulls together with less than ten ingredients and in around twenty minutes. However, its simplicity belies a superb pasta dish and a dreamy cream sauce. To further decrease preparation time, canned diced tomatoes may be used in place of the fresh and proceed to step two.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

8 oz angel hair pasta, around 4 cups cooked
4 to 5 medium-sized fresh tomatoes
8 oz mascarpone
1 1/2 cups water
3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps fresh basil, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 tbsps olive oil
salt and pepper

Procedure

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a sauce pot, combine tomatoes and water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until tomatoes are tender and skins start to loosen. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. Peel skin from tomatoes. Discard peels. Coarsely chop tomatoes.

In a skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onions and garlic until tender, around 2 to 4 minutes.
Add tomatoes, squishing and mashing in pan with back of spoon. Pour in reserved tomato juice.

Add mascarpone and stir until sauce becomes thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place pasta on serving dish or bowl. Spoon on mascarpone-tomato sauce. Top each serving with basil.

Eggs and Dairy in The CookMobile Archive:

Mushroom, Goat Cheese, Spinach and Pepper Panini

Chicken with Apples and Brie

Sausage and Roasted Peppers Penne Pasta

Lalaine — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 12:19:03 +0000

A Fresh and Easy market opened in my neighborhood last month and one of my glorious food finds during my weekend visit was a bag of petite sweet peppers.

I must admit I bought them solely because of their wonderful colors. I wasn’t sure on how I can showcase and give them justice. I normally use bell peppers in my afritadas and curries but the flavors and sauces of these dishes are so thick and rich, they tend to drown the peppers. I found this penne recipe that uses jarred red bell peppers and I decided to substitute. The sauce in this pasta is light enough to allow appreciation of these sweet peppers. The roasted sweet peppers, spicy sausages and red pepper flakes liven up this quick and simple penne pasta recipe.

I forgot to send an entry last week to Presto Pasta Night so I am hoping I’ll remember tomorrow to email Ruth over at Once upon a Feast to inform her of the link. It’s 4:39 AM, huhumm…so sleepy!

Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients

1 lb penne, uncooked
1 1/4 cups brocolli florets
5 tbsps olive oil
4 links hot sausage, sliced to rounds
2 tbsps parsley, chopped
4 to 5 pieces sweet peppers, sliced thin
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt

Procedure

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions. Add broccoli during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain well, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking broth.

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil. Saute sausages until cooked and lightly browned, around 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

Saute peppers in whatever amount of oil left in pan until slightly tender. Remove from pan. Pour in tomato sauce and reserved cooking broth to skillet.

Bring to a slow boil, simmering until slightly reduced, around 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in penne, broccoli, peppers and sausages. Combine until coated with sauce.

Season with salt to taste. Sprinkle in red pepper flakes. Serve hot.

Pasta Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Spaghetti Pizza

Angel Hair Pomodoro with Garlic Shrimp

Pasta lover? Try these recipes from around the web:
Baked Macaroni
Tagliatelle con Branzino
Almond Pesto Fettucini Pasta
Gnocchi with Prawns and Asparagus
Spaghetti Putanesca
Zesty Garlic Prawn Pasta