Cheesy Risotto

*Not the prettiest picture, but really very good!

Cheesy Risotto
Serves 4

2 T Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup arboria rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3-4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup tiny frozen peas
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and garlic and onion and saute, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes. Add rice and season with salt and pepper. Cook another minute or so, then add wine and let it completely absorb, about 30 seconds. Add about 1 cup chicken stock and stir. Reduce heat a bit to medium. Stir often and continue adding a half cup of liquid each time liquid becomes completely absorbed. Cook 22 minutes, using as much stock as is necessary to result in creamy-consistency rice.

When rice is cooked to desired consistency, remove from heat and stir in cheese, parsley and peas, and stir to combine and heat peas.

Enjoy!

Caper and Olive Pasta

Caper and Olive Pasta
Serves 2





1 can whole tomatoes
¼ cup dry white wine
1 garlic clove
2 T olive oil
3 or 4 chopped green olives
2 T capers
½ lb linguine or spaghetti
1 cup feta

Add first three ingredients in blender. Heat oil in saucepan on medium high heat and add tomato mixture (reserve ½ cup of sauce) with olives. Stirring for about 6 minutes until thickened.

Cook ½ lb linguine or spaghetti. Reserve ¼ cup pasta liquid after draining.

Add pasta, ¼ cup coarsely chopped basil and ¼ cup parsley to tomato sauce. Coat pasta with sauce, adding pasta water if necessary. Add reserve ½ cup sauce and half of feta cheese. Place pasta in large bowl and sprinkle rest of cheese.

Enjoy!

Summertime Orzo

Sorry I have been out of touch for so long. I have been traveling a bit. Actually, I just got back from the Grand Canyon and Sedona not too long ago. It was amazing. Here are some pics:




Ok, now on to food. Obviously, since I’ve been traveling, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to cook. But now that I’m back, let’s get back to the good stuff.

I’m a big fan of orzo (rice shaped pasta), and it’s particularly good in the summer time because you can add all sorts of fun veggies to the mix. Tonight, I added cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and some feta cheese. YUMMY! It was soooo good. I highly recommend this one.

Summertime Orzo
Serves 4 (as a main dish)



1 cup dried orzo
2 medium sized zucchinis – sliced about a half-inch thick
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Dressing:
½ tsp minced garlic
1 T olive oil
1 ½ T red wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried parsley or ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste

Cook orzo according to package directions. Brush zucchini with 1 tsp. olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Place zucchini under the broiler (or on a hot grill) for 5-7 minutes, just until soft. Remove zucchini from broiler and set aside.

In a small bowl, add all of the dressing ingredients and whisk away. Add tomatoes, feta, and zucchini, and mix gently to coat.

Once the orzo is done, place it in a large bowl, add tomato-dressing mixture. Mix well. That’s it! Enjoy!

Sesame Noodles

When my cousin Sana visited a couple of weeks ago, I made these sesame noodles. She loved them, and so did I. I don't think there were any leftovers of this one.

Sesame Noodles
Serves 2-3

1/2 package (8 oz) linguine pasta
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 T sugar
3 T olive oil
3 T rice vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
1 T chili sauce
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, add pasta to a large bowl. While pasta is boiling, add garlic, sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili sauce to a saucepan and bring to boil. Make sure that all the sugar dissolves. Pour sauce over linguine and toss to coat. Garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Curried Noodle Patties

This is a dish that Heidi from 101 Cookbooks came up with. I tried it a few days ago and thought it was fantastic. The key to getting the perfect shape on this is using egg rings - definitely use them if you have them.

Enjoy!

Chutney Pasta with Mini Koftas

Generally, Indians like pasta. Though, we just don’t like your basic marinara sauce or pesto to go along with the pasta. We have to doctor it up somehow. My cousin in NY doctors his pasta by adding chopped jalapenos and diced chicken, and my mom smothers her pasta with butter, cheese, and a TON of black pepper. Basically, we need spice.

This is my doctored pasta recipe. I added mini koftas to the fray and they turned out to be quite good.

Enjoy!

Chutney Pasta
8 oz. cooked spaghetti
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
2 T vegetable oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
4 or 5 dried red chilies
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
Handful of chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

In a medium pot, heat the oil, cumin, mustard, coriander and red chilies until the seeds begin to brown and pop. Add the diced tomatoes, cayenne pepper and cilantro. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on medium heat.

Mini Koftas

1 lb ground beef
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
¼ tsp. cumin powder
¼ tsp. coriander powder
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ cup chopped onion
1 serrano chili, finely diced
¼ tsp. salt
Chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Form meat mixture into mini meatballs. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

If you want, you can freeze the koftas also and use them in a curry.

Bibi's Bhendi and Saffron Orzo

After eating mostly junk this past weekend, I wanted something semi-healthy and spicy. I decided on Bibi’s Bhendi with some saffron orzo.

Bibi used to make bhendi for me when I was a child. I LOVED her bhendi – the blend of the odd-textured okra with the spices and tamarind was too good even for a young kid like myself, who did not care for green vegetables, to pass up. Every time I make this dish now, I think of Bibi cooking in the kitchen and me alongside as her sous chef. She encouraged me so much in the kitchen, it was awesome. Sometimes I think that I enjoy cooking so much because it gives me time to just remember her.

Bibi’s Bhendi (Indian Style Okra)

3 T chopped onions

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp turmeric

½ tsp cayenne pepper

Handful of chopped cilantro

Serrano chili, diced

3 tomatoes – chopped

1 lb okra, sliced in half-inch pieces (I use frozen cut okra – it’s easier and tastes just as good)

½ tsp tamarind paste (you can find this in any Asian supermarket or at Whole Foods)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 T water

Heat oil in a medium-sized pot; add onions and sautee until soft. Add tomatoes, salt, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cilantro, and Serrano chili and simmer until tomatoes are soft. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Add okra, water, and tamarind, and simmer until okra is soft. Stir often. This should take about 10 minutes. Serve with the orzo (recipe below) or with basmati rice.

Saffron Orzo (adapted from Giada DeLaurentis)

5 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 pound dried orzo
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, bringing the stock to a simmer. Add the saffron, stir, and allow the saffron to bloom, about 5 minutes. Return the heat to medium and the stock to a boil, then add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain orzo and transfer to a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Toss to combine.

Yield: 6 servings

Garlicky Pastaragus

If you want garlic oozing from your pores, this easy weeknight meal should do the trick.

Garlicky Pastaragus
Serves 2

8 oz. cooked penne or fusilli pasta
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 lb of asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Salt, to taste

1. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium high heat.
2. Let garlic brown slightly, but don't let it burn.
3. Add asparagus, and sautee until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add chili flakes and stir.
5. Add the cooked pasta to the asparagus sautee and mix together well.
6. Add parmesan to the pasta and mix well.

Enjoy!

WAH Day

Tuesdays are my work-at-home days. This would, theoretically, allow me to spend more than a half-hour preparing dinner, since there is no commute time to contend with or any real fatigue resulting from a long day at the office. So, instead of boiling up some pasta and having that for dinner, I could, theoretically of course, roast a tenderloin, or something of the sort. Well, yesterday I worked at home, and this is what I made….



I know…I know…but at least I made my own sauce. I could lie and say that the sauce took a couple of hours to make, but it really only took 20 minutes.

My cousin’s former nanny taught me this oh-so-simple sauce recipe. I did tweak it, of course, since the one she made was for two toddlers – hence, no real seasoning. Anyways, I figured I should give credit where it is due – so, thanks Lydia (wherever you are).

Oh-So Simple Pasta Sauce
Serves 2

2 T olive oil
12 oz. or 1 small carton grape tomatoes – sliced in half
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Crushed red pepper (optional)
Fresh torn basil
Fresh torn parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in medium-sized sauce pan on medium-high heat.
2. Add garlic and cook until it is golden, but not brown or black (that is bad). Then, add the tomatoes. Let them cook down. It should take about 5-7 minutes. Keep stirring during this time. 3. Add crushed red pepper. Stir.
4. Add parsley and basil and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve over any kind of pasta you want (I prefer spaghetti – the sauce sticks better).

* By the way, if you notice from the pasta picture above, I added chicken to the pasta. It was just some leftover cooked chicken, but it tasted yummy.