Baked Penne Gorgonzola

Baked pasta dishes are the ultimate comfort food. Melted cheese, crispy breadcrumb topping, the way it bubbles when it’s done. There’s something very soothing about assembling a dish like this and sliding it into the oven, knowing that all you have to do is pop open a bottle of wine and wait until it’s done. This cheesy pasta starts out like any other: with cheese!

For this pasta, I used a combination of gruyere, gorgonzola, and parmesan cheeses. Yep, there’s gorgonzola in there, but it’s hiding right now. Also, I was too lazy to photograph it. The wine was just for good measure, in case the dish didn’t turn out and I needed to comfort myself. (It did turn out though!)

Start by boiling the pasta in heavily salted water. Every layer should be flavored, including the pasta. Cook until just al dente, drain and toss with a little olive oil to prevent from sticking. Grate cheeses and reserve.

Then begin making your roux. A roux is simply a combination of some type of fat (butter/oil) and flour, that is used to thicken sauces or soups. Cook it over medium heat until the flour has cooked and the butter is completely melted. Then add hot milk and whisk vigorously to dissolve any lumps. Once milk has thickened slightly, remove from heat and fold in your cheeses. Check for seasonings and season well with salt and pepper.

Once the cheeses have melted, fold in your pasta, then transfer to a greased baking pan (I used an 8X8) or, to be extra fancy, use individual ramekins. Top with seasoned breadcrumbs (2 slices bread, bunch of chopped parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper), a few pads of butter, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Simply bake pasta at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until the top has browned and pasta is slightly bubbling. Thanks to my good friend Atit for the final product pictures!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

3 cups penne rigate pasta

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup gruyere cheese (grated)

1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese (grated or crumbled)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

2 cups 2% milk

1-1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

freshly cracked black pepper

For Topping:

1/4 cup shredded gruyere

1/4 cup shredded gorgonzola

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Breadcrumbs:

2 slices white bread

handful fresh parsley (dry works too, about a teaspoon)

pinch of salt

freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 stick butter (dotted on top)

Method

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt, (about a tablespoon or more). Cook pasta until just al dente (about 10-12 minutes). Drain and toss with a little olive oil. Reserve. Grate 3/4 cup gruyere cheese and 1/2 cup gorgonzola. Set aside. In a large pot, cook flour and butter together over medium heat for a couple minutes, then add hot milk. Whisk vigorously to dissolve any lumps. Cook for a couple minutes, until milk has begun to thicken. Remove from heat. Then fold in gruyere, gorgonzola, and grated parmesan cheeses. Once cheeses have melted, season with a teaspoon or teaspoon and a half of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. Fold pasta into the sauce and mix well. Then transfer to a greased baking dish. Top with more grated cheeses (see toppings above), and fresh breadcrumbs. Then dot evenly with butter and bake in the oven until top is golden brown and pasta is slightly bubbling. Enjoy with a glass bottle of wine!

September 24, 2010 | admin | 1 Comment »

Vietnamese Meatballs (Revisited)

These meatballs are always a popular choice at parties. Ground Pork is flavored with lemongrass, holy basil leaves, mint, and Thai chilies. They’re so flavorful, that I don’t even bother making a dipping sauce. If you’re not familiar with some of these ingredients, take a trip to your local Asian market.

Lemongrass is a fairly fibrous, but incredibly aromatic “grass”. Although the tops are too tough to break down, the inner bulbs can be quite tender. Thai basil is intensely fragrant; it’s a bit spicier than regular Italian basil, and is recognizable by its purple stems.

Simply combine garlic, ginger, chilies, basil, mint leaves, lemongrass, and crushed red chili flakes in a mixing bowl. Then season with soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar.

Mix in ground pork and fresh bread crumbs. Then roll into about one-inch sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until fully cooked. You may serve with a sweet-chili sauce, or even dijon mustard.

Ingredients

About 1lb ground pork

1 teaspoon crushed red chilie flakes

2 large cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch ginger (grated)

2 finger hot chilies (chopped)

2 green onions (chopped)

3 stalks lemongrass (inner bulb) (finely chopped)

1/4 cup chopped Thai Basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (about two slices white bread)

Method

Break down the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and chilies and toss into a nonreactive mixing bowl (non-metal).  Add red chili flakes,  green onions, basil leaves, mint leaves, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Whisk vigorously until all ingredients are incorporated and brown sugar has dissolved. Fold ground pork into mixing bowl. To make breadcrumbs, simply buzz two slices of white sandwich bread in a food processor until course consistency is achieved. Add breadcrumbs to pork mixture and gently incorporate until all ingredients are well mixed.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll ground pork mixture into 1 inch balls and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Should make between 15 and 20 balls depending on size. Bake in oven for about 15-18 minutes, turning in between.

September 22, 2010 | admin | 4 Comments »

Lemon Cashew Rice

This rice dish is packed with flavor. Basmati rice is toasted with garlic, cumin, cashews, and lemon zest. Fresh curry leaves give it an aromatic quality. Riffing off a popular South Indian dish, (Lemon Rice), I decided to incorporate the western approach for a seasoned rice dish. The key is to make the broth as flavorful as possible, so that each grain of rice is pumped with bold taste.

Start by toasting cumin seeds in a pan. Then add cashew nuts, lemon zest, garlic, and chopped green chilies. Saute onions for just a minute, then add rice and slightly toast.

Finally, add your cooking liquid and season well with salt and a little turmeric for coloring. Bring liquid to a boil and then immediately reduce to low. Once rice has cooked, fold in fresh chopped cilantro.

Ingredients

1 cup white Basmati rice

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 cup plain cashews

3-4 curry leaves (optional)

2 serrano peppers (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 yellow onion (chopped)

2 1/4 cups water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2  teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (for yellow coloring)

1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

Method

Rinse rice well and set aside. In a cooking pot, toast the cashew nuts along with the cumin seeds on medium heat, until the nuts are fragrant and light brown in color. Then, add two to three tablespoons of oil and toss. Add  onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Then fry the garlic, lemon zest, curry leaves, and serrano peppers for a minute. Toss in the rice and toast for another 1-2 minutes. Once the rice is toasted, add cooking liquid and increase heat to bring it to a boil. Once liquid is boiling, reduce temperature to low, add salt, butter, lemon juice and turmeric for coloring. Stir, then cover. Let rice simmer until all of the cooking liquid has evaporated and rice is tender. Fluff with a fork, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

September 21, 2010 | admin | 2 Comments »

Panang Curry With Pulled Chicken

Panang Curry is a popular Thai restaurant item: spicy, peanutty, and rich.  But often times, it can be served with bland, dried out meat. I’ve never been a fan of boiled chicken. I think it has absolutely no flavor or moisture. In this recipe, I roasted chicken until perfectly tender, then shredded the meat.

Simply season chicken breasts, on the bone, with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 35 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through. Let chicken rest for five minutes before peeling away skin, then shredding with your fork.

Prepare garlic, ginger, and Thai chilies by mincing, and chopping. Leave some ginger pieces whole, cutting into long strips.

The base of this curry is Massamman curry paste, a spicy blend of galangal, lemongrass, Thai chilies, and peanuts. Peanut butter provides a rich, nutty flavor.

Fry ginger, garlic, and chilies with Massamman curry paste.

Add peanut butter, chicken stock, coconut milk, and let simmer. Then fold in chicken and fresh Thai Basil. Serve over jasmine rice.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

2 large chicken breasts on the bone

salt

freshly cracked black pepper

olive oil

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch piece ginger (minced and chopped)

4-6 Thai chilies (finely chopped)

2 green peppers (julienned)

4 tablespoons Massamman curry paste–> see Cook’s Note.

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups coconut milk

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce (or to taste)—> see Cook’s Note.

Handful Thai Basil

Method

Begin by pre-heating oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. With your finger, find the loose flap of skin and spread some of the oil and seasonings underneath the skin to ensure chicken stays moist. Roast in oven for 30- 35 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through for even browning.

Once chicken has cooked, let rest for five minutes before shredding meat. Simply peel away the skin, and with your fork, begin pulling the meat into whatever size pieces you desire. Season meat with a little salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil to keep moist, and set aside.

Prepare sauce by mincing garlic, ginger, and chilies, reserving some ginger and slicing into thin strips. Set aside and reserve. Cut two green peppers into thin strips and reserve. Then heat up 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large pot or wok over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add ginger, chilies, and garlic, and fry for 30 seconds to a minute. Then add Massamman curry paste. Fry for about a minute before adding peanut butter. Mix together, then add chicken stock and green peppers. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes before adding half the coconut milk. Let simmer another two minutes, then reduce heat to low. Fold in chopped thai basil and remaining coconut milk. Then add fish sauce to taste, about one- two tablespoons or more if desired. Fold in chicken and heat through. Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!

Cook’s Note: Massamman curry paste can be found in Asian Markets. You can try to make your own, but the store-bought pastes are just fine. If you can’t find Massamman curry paste you may substitute with red curry paste.

Fish sauce can also be found in Asian markets, but also at your local grocery store in the ethnic section. It’s essentially the “salt” in Thai dishes.

September 13, 2010 | admin | 1 Comment »

Paneer Puffs

Indo-chinese puff pastry appetizer

Paneer is a firm Indian cheese. It’s incredibly rich, and what makes it most remarkable is its inability to melt. It’s perhaps the only “cheese” that you can eat as part of a meal. Rich huh? Well, it is. So much so that you can only eat it in moderation. Kind of like cheesecake: a little, and you’re in heaven, too much, and you’re sitting on the toilet in hell. Paneer is pretty versatile: it’s often used in curries as an alternative to meat. One popular recipe that incorporates paneer is Chili-Paneer, an Indo-chinese dish that’s quite popular at Indian restaurants worldwide. Indo-Chinese food is a relatively new concept in the U.S., but it has been prevalent and popular in India for years. Out of geographic convenience, a strong and steady Chinese population have settled in India and have  made an impact on its culinary scene.

In this recipe, paneer cheese is grated, then wok-fried with ginger, garlic, and chilies. Green onions, soy sauce, and cilantro  give it an Asian flare.

Then, puff pastry is rolled out, cut into 16 equal squares, and filled with this savory paneer filling.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and serve. Enjoy!

Ingredients (Serves about 4, recipe can be doubled)

7oz Indian Paneer Cheese (typically comes in 14 oz package so 1/2)

1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1-2 serrano peppers (minced)

2 green onions (chopped)

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

handful cilantro (chopped)

1 9X10 sheet puff pastry (thawed) (rolled out to 11X11)

Vegetable oil for cooking

1 egg and 1-2 tablespoons water for egg wash

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Begin by shredding paneer with box grater. Reserve. Heat about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a fry pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon red chili flakes and fry until darkened and fragrant. Then add turmeric powder and let bloom, tinting the oil a yellow hue. Fry for about a minute before adding ginger, garlic, chilies, and green onions. Fry for 30 seconds to a minute and then add paneer. Toss well and fry for 3-5 minutes, reducing heat to medium. Then add ketchup, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Reserve paneer in a large bowl for later.

Next, roll out thawed puff pastry dough on a floured bowl, to about 11X11 dimension. Then with a pizza cutter or knife, cut out 16 equal sized squares. Place about 1/2 a tablespoon to 1 tablespoon of paneer mixture onto each square. Whisk together one egg with a tablespoon or two of water to create an egg wash. With your fingers, spread thin layer of egg wash onto each side of puff pastry squares to seal together. Then fold over pastry from left to right, forming a rectangle. Crimp the sides with your fork to seal. Using the same fork, pierce the top to allow air to escape and prevent extra puffing.

Place each pastry on a greased cookie sheet, then top with a layer of wax paper. Gently place another cookie sheet over the top, careful not to squeeze, to prevent puff pastry from rising more than necessary. Then slide cookie sheets into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about thirty minutes, turning pastries halfway through. Don’t forget this step; it’s important to brown both sides. Once pastries have cooked, let cool for 2-3 minutes and serve.

September 11, 2010 | admin | 4 Comments »

Honey Dijon Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Honey-Dijon Chicken with Rosemary Garlic Compound Butter

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cumin and Rosemary

So I decided to jump on the compound butter bandwagon, and create a roast chicken dish. Originally, I had planned to do a Honey-Blue chicken: brined chicken breast with a blue-cheese compound butter, honey, and hot sauce. It was my play on the traditional hot wing: butter, hot sauce, honey, blue cheese. I was all excited to do it until I went to the grocery store and couldn’t find blue cheese…ANYWHERE. Who doesn’t carry blue cheese?!? Needless to say, I abandoned the idea, determined to adapt. That’s when I came across dijon mustard, and changed gears completely.

Chicken, to me, can be incredibly bland. When you grow up on Indian food, it’s difficult to find dishes that are just as bold and flavorful as a “curry” or “tikka”. I set out to make the most flavorful, but simple chicken i could.

Rosemary and garlic, a classic combination, seemed to be the best way to go.

I made a compound butter of rosemary, garlic, crushed red chili flakes, and a little salt. Then I seasoned two chicken breasts, on the bone, with a liberal amount of salt and pepper. I spread the butter uniformly underneath the skin of the chicken, then brushed the skin with a mixture of dijon mustard and honey.  For a side-dish, I peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, red onions, and seasoned them with salt, pepper, olive oil, and smoky cumin.

I roasted the potatoes alongside the chicken, until tender and slightly caramelized. The verdict: delicous. The honey and dijon really flavored the chicken well: sweetness, saltiness, and a slight acidity. The butter made the dish incredibly rich and moist. Cutting into it was like bursting a water balloon, juices everywhere. For extra flavor, I spooned the pan-drippings over the chicken before serving it. Rich, i know, but when you’re eating white meat you need to bump up the richness.  Try my recipe below:

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts (on the bone)

2 sprigs rosemary (finely minced)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

3 tablespoons softened butter (little less than 1/2 a stick)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt plus 3/4 more

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

4 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons dijon mustard

Ingredients for Potatoes

3/4lb sweet potatoes

1 small red onion (or 1/2 medium-large onion) large chop

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

freshly cracked black pepper

Method

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Begin by making compound butter. Simply combine two cloves minced garlic with two sprigs minced rosemary and three tablespoons softened butter. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes and mix well. Reserve. In a small bowl, combine 3/4 teaspoon salt with 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Use this to season chicken breasts liberally on all sides, including under the skin. Take compound butter and spread evenly under the skin, smoothing out with your hands, reserving about a tablespoon or so to spread evenly on top of the skin. Then combine honey and dijon mustard and brush over the tops of the chicken breast. Prepare roast potatoes by peeling and chopping sweet potatoes into even chunks. Chop onion into same sized chunks and mix with potatoes, seasoning with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and black pepper. Spread over a baking sheet.

Roast chicken in a roasting pan alongside potatoes at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes or until juices run clear and browned. Tent with foil and let rest for about ten minutes before removing from bone and slicing. Spoon pan drippings over the top for extra flavor and enjoy!

September 9, 2010 | admin | No Comments »