Who doesn’t love Macaroni and Cheese? We do, and a couple of our friends do as well. So, by special request, we are posting our favorite mac-n-cheese recipe. We found this recipe for a light version in Cook’s Illustrated’s “The Best Light Recipe.” It’s really good and more healthy than other recipes. According to Cook’s Illustrated, this version has 290 less calories than classic mac-and-cheese and 30 less grams of fat. The secrets are low-fat ingredients and using cornstarch to thicken the cheese rather than a buttery (and high-in-fat) roux. We have professed our love for Cook’s Illustrated cookbooks before, and likely will again. The best thing about them is that the folks at the Cook’s Illustrated test kitchens do all the work for you — testing all the different ingredients and variations to come up with the best possible recipe. We highly recommend all their books, including their Light Recipe book. Continue reading “Light Mac-and-Cheese”
Category: Pasta
Shells Stuffed with Thanksgiving Leftovers
You are probably thinking that pasta shells stuffed with Thanksgiving leftovers sounds pretty weird. And that the ingredients (leftovers, mayo, and cream/mozzarella/parmesan cheeses) don’t look very appetizing. We thought the same thing. But, lucky for you, we decided to try it anyway and discovered a delicious and easy way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. We found the recipe on allrecipes.com, one of our favorite recipe sites. We read a lot of the reviews from people who had tried the recipe and discovered that most of them were excellent, so we figured the recipe was worth trying. We were not disappointed — the recipe is an interesting way to combine our favorite Thanksgiving flavors (gravy, turkey and stuffing) into a somewhat lighter meal that didn’t result in the usual Turkey Day food coma. Continue reading “Shells Stuffed with Thanksgiving Leftovers”
Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce
Today we present two recipes in one (long) post, mostly because our last post was pretty much devoid of any culinary content. (This is a food blog, after all, folks!) First, we made a tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage, and in the past we’ve served this meaty sauce over simple pasta. On this night, however, we decided to make some stuffed shells — a favorite Italian meal from when I was growing up. Our recipe made enough for leftovers this week, plus additional shells for the freezer for yet another meal later. Continue reading “Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce”
Ravioli with Quick Red Sauce
When we were on the Isle of Capri in Italy a few years ago, we had a ravioli dish that consisted of pillow-soft ravioli dressed with a simple tomato sauce. Recently we found high quality pre-made ravioli at our local Central Market, and we served these as a week-night meal with a quick tomato sauce. Eventually, we plan on making homemade ravioli, but in the mean time, this dish was delicious. Continue reading “Ravioli with Quick Red Sauce”
Tortellini in Vodka Sauce
Dan first tried pasta in vodka sauce many years ago at one of his favorite Italian restaurants in Chicago. It has taken him a fairly long time to re-create this rich, creamy, slightly spicy tomato sauce, such that you can make it on a weeknight at home. Our version uses pancetta and half & half, as well as a half cup of vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cooks off in an exciting (to Dan), fiery fashion. Sort of like dinner and a show. Continue reading “Tortellini in Vodka Sauce”
Homemade Noodles with Two Sauces
We are always looking for interesting new cookbooks. I saw a reference to a book called “The Frankies Spuntino: Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual,” and knew Dan would like it. The authors have a couple of restaurants in Brooklyn, and their book includes all kinds of useful cooking tips. We were particularly inspired by their suggestion that making fresh pasta if you have a stand mixer “is practically painless and almost entirely automatic.” So, on a recent weekend when we had family in town, we decided to try homemade pasta using the mixer. To go along with the pasta, we cooked two different quick pan sauces — one with pancetta, white wine and tomato sauce, and the other with pecorino cheese and pepper. Everything was amazing. Continue reading “Homemade Noodles with Two Sauces”
Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Feta
This Orzo with Shrimp dish is one of our comfort foods. We use a single pot to boil the orzo pasta, saute the shrimp, then cook a quick spicy garlic and tomato sauce. Combine all of these great ingredients in a baking dish with some feta and parmesan cheese, then heat it all in the oven for about 10 minutes for a delicious meal. Continue reading “Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Feta”
Shrimp Fra Diavolo
“Fra Diavolo” is Italian for “brother devil,” and Dan and I are each blessed with two devil brothers (love you guys!). We serve this spicy shrimp over pasta, usually with a simple salad as a side dish. It is spicy, but also tangy and delicious. This dish uses only a few ingredients (most of which you may already have in your pantry), is easy to cook during the week and tastes like a dish you would be happy to eat in a restaurant. Continue reading “Shrimp Fra Diavolo”
Tortellini Soup
Tortellini Soup is a quick weeknight meal containing spinach (barely wilted) and tortellini (hence the name). The recipe uses store-bought chicken broth, but the flavor is punched up with sauteed onions, mushrooms and spices. This soup tastes like it has cooked all afternoon, but it takes less than an hour to prepare. Continue reading “Tortellini Soup”