Bleu Cheese Asparagus Orzotto

I'm just going to answer the question now... orzotto is not a word. Mark Bittman made it up and I thought it was clever. One of the great things about cooking is that you can mess around in the kitchen and no one can tell you you're doing it wrong. You're your toughest critic really. And how refreshing in a world of client critique and performance reviews. I'll take it.

...and back to the subject. The mind wanders. What I mean about this recipe is that it's treating one ingredient different than the package calls for, but yields great results. In this case, I treated Orzo pasta just like risotto. It goes against all the rules of pasta, because you don't boil it and it goes against all the rules of risotto because it isn't arborio rice. But you know what? It totally works. Look at you, such a rebel!

The key takeaway here is the technique, which creates a flavor packed pasta dish in 15 minutes. Way more tasty than ordinary noodles. I've put it together with some springy favorites, but the flavor combinations are near endless. 

Bleu Cheese Asparagus Orzotto

4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bunch chives, minced

1lb orzo pasta

1 bunch asparagus, cut in 1-inch pieces

1/2lb shrimp, deveined and tails removed

4oz bleu cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

Start by bringing chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan. In a separate heavy bottomed pot, melt butter and olive oil together. Once foamy, add chives and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add orzo to buttery pot and stir until toasted, about a minute. Add a ladle of warm chicken stock and stir until orzo soaks up liquid. Continue adding chicken stock one ladleful at time until orzo absorbs all liquid and is tender. 

While the orzo cooks, blanche asparagus in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and shock in an ice bath. 

When the pasta is nearly cooked, add shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes or until pink. At the last minute, stir in bleu cheese and asparagus. Top with chopped walnuts and a few fresh chives. Enjoy!

Weeknight Idea: Brown Butter Butternut Ravioli

True story... I had a pasta-making birthday party in the 5th grade. Some kids wanted to play laser tag, naturally I thought manual labor in the kitchen would be more fun. Thanks to the kids who stayed friends with me. I still think pasta-making is a pretty rocking Saturday night, but let's get real, no one can deal with that shit on a Monday. So how do you make it a decent homemade dinner on a weeknight?

Start with a great pre-made pasta products.Trader Joe's leads the pack in my opinion and I'm a big fan of the butternut squash raviolis. Put together a quick homemade sauce, some fresh vegetables and you've got yourself a jazzy little dinner.

So let's have a quick conversation about brown butter. Perfect sauce on a fly. It's awesome and takes 5 minutes. You literally just melt butter until it gets toasty with a sprig of herbs. So flippin' tasty. Really good with sweeter veggies like butternut squash or pumpkin.

Melt butter over low heat and watch for it to foam. That means the moisture in the butter is being released. Once the moisture is gone, the milk fat can toast. Every stove is different, so watch your butter closely once the foam subsides... it should turn a golden brown quite quickly. Always keep it moving and serve immediately once you've reached that golden color.

I mean, it's no 1995 fettucine, but get 'er done.

Brown Butter Butternut Ravioli 
1 package Trader Joe's butternut squash ravioli
3 tablespoons butter
3 sprigs rosemary
Sprinkle of parmesan cheese

Prepare butternut squash ravioli according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter over low heat and add rosemary sprigs. Swirl butter in pan and watch closely for it to foam. Once foam subsides watch closely until butter turns golden. Remove rosemary and add ravioli. Toss and serve immediately over sauteed kale. Enjoy!

Weeknight Idea: Summer Tortellini

It's been a week of pumping up the jam. I had some big, exciting professional moments to prepare for and naturally this meant rocking out to Katy Perry and Ellie Goulding in the car at 6:00am. Is there anything more intimidating that a white girl flipping her hair around in a Volkswagen? Marketing Eye of the Tiger baby.

With all of this jam pumping and PRing, we needed some quick dinners. Gotta fuel that fire, kids. It's also about 100 degrees, so that puts the damper on my big appetite. A simple summer pasta was just the ticket. I only wish I could claim carb-loading was necessary.

With pesto, yellow squash, tomato and arugula this is a delightful taste of late summer. Enjoy all of those delicious bumper crops while you still can. Plus I heard pesto is a key contributor to PR prowess. It's just science.

Weeknight Idea: Summer Tortellini
1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini (I like the kind from Trader Joe's)
1 yellow squash, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 bunch basil, chopped
2 handfuls arugula
Salt and pepper

Prepare tortellini according to instructions on package. Drain thoroughly before placing in a large bowl. While tortellini cooks, saute yellow squash and onion in a large skillet with olive oil. It should soften up in about 5-8 minutes. Toss squash with tortellini in the bowl. Add tomatoes, pesto, cheese, basil and arugula; tossing to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Weeknight Meal Idea: Orzo Pesto with Asparagus

Sometimes you just don't have it in you. We travelled on Sunday, so I was totally off my grocery game. No lists were prepared and I aimlessly wandered the aisles hungry after work. This is against everything I stand for.

Shit happens. It's just groceries.

So I threw together a quick pasta dish that I knew would provide leftovers for lunching. Enter Orzo Pesto.

Here's all it takes:
Boil water for pasta and cook to package instructions.

In a large pan, heat one tablespoon olive oil and sauté a chopped shallot (onion would be fine too). Add one bunch sliced asparagus, one pint cherry tomatoes, halved, and one can chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Don't forget salt and pepper. Sauté for five minutes, then add one small jar store bought pesto.

Toss with cooked orzo and top with Parmesan cheese.

Boom. Dinner is done in 20 minutes.

Vegetable Lasagna

I don't actually watch that many cooking shows. For some reason they never cook on them anymore, but rather endure some sort of extreme cupcake challenge, whilst displaying distasteful hairstyles and an unsafe amount of cleavage (watch out for a boob grease burn). I know, I sound like such an old crank, but where did all the cooking shows go? Even holy Ina has sold out.

Once more, public broadcasting comes to my rescue. Without fail, every Saturday, the geniuses at America's Test Kitchen grace the airwaves with practical, technique-driven cooking programming. Ahhhh...cue to chorus of angels. Their recipes are certainly not exotic, but focus on the best way to prepare American favorites. They seriously test everything.

I usually watch to pick up good tips and technique, but after seeing this Vegetable Lasagna, I actually followed a recipe. Well...almost. They've officially solved the mushy veggie lasagna epidemic. This popped with bright flavor and the layers held up beautifully.

It all starts with some gorgeous fresh ingredients. Take a moment to smell the fresh basil, it has probably been months since you had it. You'll instantly be transported to the stuff of Caprese dreams.

Technique comes in to play immediately. Eggplant has a tendency of getting watering or bitter. By salting and cooking the microwave (atop paper towels) before adding to the lasagna, you remove all of the excess moisture, but none of the flavor or meaty texture.

After a run in the microwave, the eggplant is combined with zucchini and yellow squash in a quick saute, adding a flavor infused oil at the end for fresh herb flavor.

In another round, spinach is sauteed and again drained on a paper towel. Is this methodical? Yes, but it really does work to take out the extra water that ruins a typical well-intentioned lasagna.

Separately, ricotta, parmesan and half and half form a simple cream sauce. This is one area I strayed from the America's Test Kitchen recipe. Maybe I'm a purest, but I do prefer the authenticity of good ricotta, as opposed to cottage cheese. I also figured half and half would give me the same effect with, you guessed it, half the fat of cream. 

The original recipe also called for a no-cook tomato sauce. Maybe I'm conceited, but I thought my homemade marinara would just be better. I had the time, so I made a big batch and now my freezer is stocked up for hectic weeknights. Worth it.

Now you've got all of your components ready, so set up to assemble. This is the fun part after all.

Look at those lovely layers! While I didn't follow the recipe to the tee, I learned some valuable techniques to improve on any lasagna. Plus I didn't have to see Christopher Kimball's boobs.

Vegetable Lasagna
3-4 cups homemade marinara
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles

For Cream Sauce
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For Filling
1 1/2lbs eggplant, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon salt
1lb zucchini, diced
1lb yellow squash, diced
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon thyme, minced
12oz baby spinach
3 cups shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine cream sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss eggplant with salt. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and microwave for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through. Return eggplant to bowl and add zucchini and squash. In a small bowl, 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic and thyme; set aside.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (a nonstick skillet is ideal, since eggplant can stick) and add vegetable mixture. Cook for about 6-7 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to do this in two rounds. You want to avoid the veggies being piled on top of one another. Once vegetables have softened, push to the sides of the pan and add oil, garlic and herb mixture to the middle of the pan. Cook for 30 seconds before tossing ingredients together in the pan. Remove vegetables from pan and reserve.

Heat remaining olive oil in pan and saute spinach for three minutes. Remove from pan to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Combine with eggplant mixture.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and prepare your ingredients for assembly. Start with 1 cup of marinara sauce at the bottom of the dish. Next add a layer of noodles, followed by half the veggie mixture. Cover with half the cream sauce mixture and then half of the mozzarella. Repeat with sauce, then noodles, then veggies, then cream sauce and cheese. Top with a last layer of noodles, 1 cup of sauce and then remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 20-25 minutes before serving, letting the lasagna set. Sprinkle with fresh basil before serving.

Original recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Spaghetti and Meatballs

It's rare that pasta is necessary for health reasons. Carbs were needed for science...legit. Because this: 

Led to this:

So proud of the Husband for running and (even more impressively) finishing the CHICAGO MARATHON on Sunday. 26.2 damn miles fueled on the finest refined carbs this girl could muster. Homemade marinara and meatballs were most certainly in order. 

This is the base of many awesome things.

Simmered for the afternoon to perfection. This will make A LOT of sauce, but if I'm going to take the time, I always make extra for the freezer. Saved stuff like this are a lifesaver on hectic weeknights.

While the sauce gets good, I started mixing up this meatball business. I put a healthier twist on tradition with spinach and lean turkey.

Be careful not to over mix or tightly pack your meatballs. No one likes tough balls. Everyone loves Schweddy Balls though.

It's immature, I know, but I could have made some disgusting marathon chafing joke. I could have, but I didn't. Such a lady I am!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For sauce -- makes 10-12 cups sauce (I reserved 2/3 in the freezer for future use)

3 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes

4-5 garlic cloves

3 carrots, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 small yellow onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup red wine

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For meatballs

1 lb lean turkey

1 cup frozen spinach, defrosted

2/3 cups bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1/2 cup grated parmesan

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

S&P

1 lb thin spaghetti

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium high heat, saute onions until soft (about 10-15 minutes). Add garlic, carrots and celery and saute for another 10 minutes or until carrots have softened. Add red wine and crank heat to high, scraping off the bits from the pot. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and red pepper flakes and simmer over low heat for at least an hour. Remove bay leaves. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start by squeezing all of the liquid from the spinach. Combine spinach, turkey and all remaining meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Take care not to over mix or squeeze too tightly. Gently roll into 1-2 inch balls and back in the oven until golden, about 30 minutes. 

Both the sauce and meatballs can be prepared ahead of time. When ready to serve, prepare pasta to box instructions and serve with meatballs and sauce. 

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Still dreary in Chicago. I'm ready for caprese and grilled goodness, but the rain is keeping the sunshine away. Even the dog is over it. Making the most of these last cool days and hoping it's the last time I'll crank up the oven until after Labor Day. This false hope may just be the Missouri girl in me, thinking spring should be 80 degrees and full of red buds. Hopeful led to hearty this Sunday with stuffed shells, chock full of lean turkey, spinach and artichokes. Recipe inspiration from Giada, but gave it my own groove (and showed less cleavage than she does).


Marinara was called for. Nothing beats the real thing. I started with my mise. 

The goods. Onions, garlic, celery, carrots, tomatoes, olive oil, red wine, S&P, bay leaves and chili flake. 

The chili flake makes this. The need for heat. 

Don't forget the wine. Layers of Montelpuciano flavor. 

Now for your filling. Ground turkey, artichoke, fat free ricotta, parm, two eggs, garlic, basil, spinach and onion. 

Artichokes somehow look alien and artful at the same time. My husband may love them more than me. 

I browned my turkey with onion and garlic, added the artichokes and spinach in the last two minutes. Let it cool. Patience chickadee.

Combine your ricotta, egg, parm and basil. 

 Smoosh it all together. Make sure your turkey is cooled. 

Marinara on the bottom of your pan. 

Stuff your cooked pasta shells with the turkey cheese mixture. It will be messy and somehow soothing. 

Arrange however you think is pretty. Don't take photos of the shells that you overstuffed and cracked. Focus on the good ones. They'll all taste wonderful. 

Top with sauce and shredded mozzarella. Think about old timey casseroles and potentially fool yourself that you made lasagna, just for a minute. 

Wait in anticipation and chop some basil to distract yourself. Hmmm...what kind of cocktails would this be good in? Wonder how on earth you skipped a mint julep on Derby Day. Seriously, how did you miss that? Bring it back... pasta is almost done. 

Melty and bubbly. Officially hungry. 

 All up in the kitchen in my heels... dinnertime. Thanks Beyonce.