Frog on Deck

The Best Pasta

Ok, calling something "The Best" is a huge claim.  And if I'm being honest, I'm not 100% sure I can back it up.  That said, this is probably in the top 3 of pasta dishes I've ever had (and I've had a lot).  I can think of a Carbonara in Rome and a Piccata in Kaneohe, Hawaii of all places.  And I think I just realized that none of the three have a traditional sauce/gravy.  Hmm...

  
Anyway, this is my favorite pasta I make at home.  It's my comfort food go-to, especially when the husband is away.  It's quick, it's easy, and if you ignore the $10-15/lb cheese, it's cheap!

One more thing, I don't really have a "recipe."  The pasta is basically Aglio Olio, which is Italian for garlic and oil.  The first time I made the initial recipe, oh, 6-7 years ago, I literally ate it all, it was that good.  I've fiddled with things here and there over the years, and *gasp* took out the garlic.  It's now back, and it's back for good.  This is what I did the very first time:

Angel Hair Aglio Olio
Recipe Courtesy:  Emeril Lagasse, via Food Network

Total Time: 10 minutes, 5 minutes prep, 5 minutes cook. Serves 4 (yea right!)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 pound angel hair pasta, cooked, pasta water reserved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:To a heated skillet, add the oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the cooked pasta, salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

You can find that recipe here.

Here are a few things I've learned along the way:

• Use regular, NOT extra-virgin, olive oil.  Because evoo is the first pressing of the olives, it has a much more pungent flavor than regular olive oil.  This will help the garlic and red pepper flakes impart their flavor into the oil, which after all, is the point.
• If you love this recipe as much as I do, make the oil in a larger batch.  I made a HUGE (probably 1 liter) batch of red pepper oil about a year ago, and I still have a little.  I don't store it any special way. While I can't tell you to do that, that's how I do it.  Most recipes will tell you to store it in a cool dark place, and sometimes in the fridge, for just a few weeks at a time.  You should probably listen to that.

• I also make my own garlic oil and store the same way.  I canNOT tell you how much garlic oil I use around the kitchen.  That crusty bread from yesterday?  Yep, drizzled it on that.

• Finally, CHEESE people!  Why is there no cheese in this recipe?  While Parmesan may be the king of cheeses, I'm a girl and so I'm a bigger fan of the "queen" Pecorino Romano, specifically Locatelli brand.  It's a hard, aged, sheep's milk cheese.  It's expensive, I can't lie.  I've found ONE place outside of DC that sells it for $9.99/lb.  Unfortunately, I don't live within easy driving distance, so I buy multiple pounds at a time and store it in vacuum seal bags in my fridge.  At most grocery stores, it's over $14.99/lb.  You can get it pre-grated, but just like spices and coffee, it keeps it's flavor best whole.

When I make garlic and chili oil again, I'll happily give you the process.  It's really not difficult or time consuming, so don't feel intimidated.

Hope this pasta sounds as good to you as it did/does to me.  What are some of your favorite pastas?

Last Night's Soup

So, because of this little Hurricane Sandy thing going on, it seemed to be the perfect time to make soup.  I am a menu planner galore, but sometimes, meals get postponed for whatever reason.  Maybe I made soup two nights in a row and my husband didn't want soup a third time that week.  Yea, that could have been it.  Luckily though, cauliflower keeps for awhile.

Since I just finally decided to commit to this blog thing, I don't have any prep pictures-sorry.  Hopefully that'll be better for future posts.  I can however give you the recipe, and my changes to it.

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Soup

Servings: 4+ servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded (about a 6 oz hunk of cheese)
1 cup milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
7. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
8. Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with salt and pepper.
9. Mix in the milk and remove from heat.

You can find the original recipe here.

The notes in red are the things I changed.  Not much huh?  That's because the recipe sounded great on it's own.  With most soups, I served it along side some oven toasted bread with a touch of oil drizzled on and then rubbed with garlic.

As with a lot of my recipes lately, it came to me via Pinterest.  My goal in the coming months is to cook everything on my "Foodness" Board.  I'm noticing that I get older, I'm more willing to try things that I don't normally think of as yummy.  Cauliflower isn't the tops of that list, but other than raw, I pretty much don't eat it.

Now for the good stuff, the pictures:

I think the coloring of the soup was from the use of stock as opposed to broth.  I had the stock on hand, so that's what I went with.

I added some extra of the shredded cheese and some more pepper on top!

I mean really, what is better than crust bread with a *hint* of garlic?

Overall, this recipe was fantastic.  It was super easy, quick to make up.  It filled my tummy and is keeping me happy with it's leftovers.  I do think it needs just a little something else.  Probably a touch of acid-lemon juice?

Hope you enjoy the meal as much as I did!  And please let me know if you have any cauliflower recipes I might enjoy.  I'm definitely a roasted veggie girl which is why this recipe caught my tastebuds!

The First Post

Ok everyone, bear with me.  This is my first blog, and as such, this is my first blog post.  I tend to be a bit of a rambler, so there will be no shortage of words.  I've tried my hand at diaries/journals many times in my life, and just found that I didn't have much to say.  Here's hoping for change!

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for awhile now.  As a stay-at-home wife, I tend  to have 1. a lot of free time on my hands, and 2. a huge desire to do something to fill the void of the day.  I'm a Pinterest-aholic, and a lot of what I've been doing lately-food and craftwise-has come from there.  I will ALWAYS be sure to link back to any other blogs or pages that I get inspiration from.  You have to give credit where credit is due.

Hopefully as things get moving there will be some consistency in the posting.  But for now, this is where I leave you.  Off I go to work on pretty-ing up this page.