The Best Pasta Salad

As I mentioned in my last post, the weather here lately in New York has been resembling the West Coast, which is something we just weren't prepared for. It went from a steady 60•, to a scorching 92•!  Usually in preparation for that sort of weather you dig out your summer clothes, set up your air conditioners and prepare for a few meals you don't need the oven for, or at least that's what I do. But because of the sudden appearance of Mr. Sunshine, I was caught off guard and decided just not to cook at all for a bit. I finally decided that I could handle one day of turning on my oven and stove for an hour tops to make a pasta salad. The stove would only need to be on long enough to boil the pasta. 

I had recently made a trip to my favorite supermarket, Trader Joe's, and came across this new rainbow pasta! Well, anyone who knows me, knows that two major things about me are that A) I am a fan of all things rainbow and B) since marrying into an Italian family, who considers pasta to be a major food group, I have been looking for more fun & inventive ways to eat it, because a person can only eat spaghetti & meatballs so many times. This new pasta was called Trofie Colore and resembled a thinner, stretched out Rotini.

As I was putting this salad together, I realized that it was very similar to a Greek pasta salad, minus the red onions. I had never tried a pasta salad where the main dressing was vinegar before ... usually its coupled with mayonnaise. At first I thought there was too much vinegar, but after it had time to sit, it was actually quite perfect. I had made this dish with the intention of it being dinner for my wife during those few late work nights I have during the week, but because I was such a huge fan, it would up being my late night snack instead!

I added feta cheese and left out the chives

Party Cake

I would first like to begin by apologizing to everyone for pulling disappearing act on you the last couple of weeks. It was a combination of overworking myself, being extremely busy with other activities and events, and it just being too damn hot to even contemplate turning on my oven. I'm not sure where everybody is from, but here in Brooklyn, NY it basically went from winter time weather, to feeling as if it is right smack in the middle of August. We New Yorkers were definitely not prepared for the heat wave.

During my two week hiatus, Jamie Oliver's birthday past (May 27 Th) and so I thought it would be a nice gesture to make him a birthday cake. I know it sounds kind of strange, baking a birthday cake for someone you not only will not be seeing, but don't even know… It's not like he'll get a chance to eat it, but I thought that the sentiment was there. And I have a feeling that Mr. Oliver himself might actually agree with that because he recently liked my latest tweet about making a birthday cake for him.

 

At first this cake seemed like I might have bitten off more then I can chew (food pun!), with its multiple layers, more then one ingredient for the filling and chocolate ganache like frosting -- but it was actually pretty simple. I haven't made a cake from scratch since college, so I followed the recipe step-by-step. I did wind up leaving out the pieces of shaved almonds though -- I'm not the biggest fan and I knew they wouldn't be missed by my wife. Once the cakes had cooled off, I "whipped" up some whip cream (added a dash of vanilla extract), spread it onto the face of one of them and threw on a handful each of strawberries and raspberries. I'm guessing that Jamie's handfuls are a bit larger then mine though because where his cake had a decent red layer on it, mine seemed to have s few bald spots. Then came the frosting! I've never been good a the drip frosting look. I could never figure out if you're supposed to pour the entirety of the mixture onto the center of the cake and pray that it drips off of the sides evenly, or help it along by spreading the mixture as close to the edge of the cake as possible. So I did a combination of both. It worked for the most part. It's definitely not as pretty as the one in the cookbook, but it's not as bad as some others I've made.

After working so hard to make this beautiful cake, I actually had to rush off to work and never actually got a chance to try it. In my haste, I also forgot the because it contains whipped cream, and it was a mere 85 degrees outside, I should have made room for it in my refrigerator. Alas, I completely forgot and had to throw the whole thing out last night! :-( COOKING FAIL! 

English Roast Dinner

"It is widely believed that the English people’s love of beef began during the reign of King Henry the VII in 1485. His Yeomen Warders – the royal guard – would dine on fresh roasted beef every Sunday after church, and this became such a ritual that the guards were affectionately referred to as “'beefeaters'."

I'm going to take a page out of Jamie's (cook) book this time around and give you more of the story, instead of a recipe/how to guide. Sunday dinners. We all know about them and most of us have been involved with one at least once or twice. I personally, don't remember having big family Sunday dinners together as a child, but I have definitely been a part of many different types since then. The tradition of a Sunday dinner started because families wanted to spend more time together after church, and so making a huge feast and sitting down to eat it seemed to fill that requirement. Although the idea behind the Sunday dinner is the same in most cultures, the types of food made vary. If you grew up in a German household, you probably ate something like  Spaetzle or Beef Roulanden. Or if you grew up in the Deep South, it could have been something along the lines of Creole Pan Seared Meatloaf with Tomato Gravy. And I know from personal experience that if you are having a Sunday family dinner in an Italian household, you are more then likely having pasta & sauce. In England however, a Sunday Roast dinner consists of some sort of roasted meat (usually beef, but can sometimes be chicken, lamb or pork), lots of roasted vegetables, some sort of potato, gravy and something called Yorkshire pudding. Its basically a  fluffier version of a biscuit or a pop over. 

I would like to start off by saying that although I have made this dinner many times before, it is all about timing and often will come out differently each time I do it. The roast & veggies can cook together, but they both take a lot of prep beforehand. In Jamie's version of a roast dinner, the veg consisted of carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onion and celery. This is the first time I've seen celery involved. Usually the hint of green is made by brussels sprouts or peas. Which I prefer. The celery skin came out tough & stringy. 

Roasted Veg

I was surprised at how off Jamie was on his timing for the roast this time around. With the other recipes I've made lately, he's been pretty spot on with how long the meat has to cook for. This time around, he said to only cook the roast for 50 minutes for it to be medium-rare. 15 minutes less for rare. Now I know I've mentioned my struggle before, to find a balance in which to cook meat for this household. I like mine rare, and my wife would rather it be medium-well (bordering on burned). What I've decided to do for that is to take it out  when it's rare, slice some for myself, and put it back in for a little longer for my wife. This time around however, the slices I made for myself were not rare, they were still mooing! I knew that 45 minutes didn't seem like anywhere near enough time, but I placed all my faith in Jamie's words. In the end, I had to make us plates and then individually microwave them. 

Way Undercooked Roast

Yorkshire pudding is a finicky thing. I've made them many times before and they're almost impossible to master. They consist of a lot of milk, many eggs and not a lot of flour. The end result is something mimicking a pop-over, only slighting puffier. It's a nice, lighter substitute to a hunk of bread. The trick to these bad boys is to pour a splash of olive oil into each cup of the muffin tin, and to place it in the oven until it's scalding. Once you pour the batter in and place the tin back into the oven, shut the door and do not open it again! Something about the movement and the slight difference in the temperature will cause your Yorkshire puddings to act out. And boy did they ever! Because of my already temperamental, half raw cow I had cooking in the oven, I was constantly checking on it, willing it to cook faster. While in the mean time, the tops of the Yorkshire puddings were crisping up, but staying rather soggy, almost custard like in the middle. 

Ruined Yorkshire Puddings

End Result -- Not Too Pretty

I started cooking dinner around 6 pm and we didn't actually sit down to eat until after 9. Because my wife loves me, saw how hard I worked in order to salvage this meal and hates all of the take-out options in our neighborhood, she ate everything on her plate without complaint. Nothing actually tasted bad, and was surprisingly edible after a few tweaks, but I was extremely disappointed with this meal over all. 

Just to show you that I have made this meal before, and conquered it, I added a picture. Don't mind the pink tinge of the filter, this roast was actually cooked correctly! I'd like to leave you guys with one last thing. I am so appreciative of all those who continue to read about my crazy cooking adventures, and would love to hear your thoughts, comments or questions on anything. Please don't forget to comment in the section below and tell your friends!! Thanks!! :-)

Midnight Pan-Cooked Breakfast

This weeks recipe had to be something super quick, easy, and it would be helpful if I had already made it before. We had yet another busy weekend, a family wedding in Pennsylvania, and so Sunday night's dinner had to be pushed to Monday night. I then had to work a 10 hour day and didn't have time to eat breakfast that morning. So I decided to make breakfast for dinner. 

One of my favorite British meals, besides a Sunday roast dinner (which I definitely need to make soon), is a Full English breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried bread/toast. I have never been a fan of fried beans though, to me, beans are not supposed to be sweet. So because of this, I opt to exclude them from my Full English whenever I have one. Jamie's version of a full English breakfast is more of a late night snack after you've had a few drinks out. He even tells the story of how he concocted this recipe as a young boy, drunk and just throwing things into a pan for him and his friends. He decided to go the story route this time around yet again, instead of actually writing down the recipe.

As I said earlier, I have actually made this recipe before. Back when my "obsession" first began, not only did I watch every episode of The Naked Chef, but I taped them all on VHS and watched them over and over again. One episode was basically the exact story he mentioned in his cookbook. Except there was no underage drinking going on. He went out with a bunch of his friends and when they came back to his house, he made them all the Midnight Pan-Cooked Breakfast. All you do is throw bacon, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes into a hot pan, cook them up a bit and then crack a few eggs into the empty spaces between all the ingredients. Once it's finished cooking, it'll look like a giant omelette Frisbee. As a child myself, this was obviously one of the easier recipes to make and so I became pretty fond of it and have been making versions of it my whole life.

Roast Loin of Pork with Peaches

Last Sunday was a very exciting night for all Game of Thrones fans out there. It was the night we had been waiting an entire year for. We were finally going to learn the fate of our beloved Jon Snow. So of course this night had to be celebrated properly, we had a mild Game of Thrones party. My sister-in-law came over with her boyfriend for dinner and the much anticipated premiere. Because of this, I decided I wanted to make something that would look Game of Thrones-y and rustic. I thought that a roast loin of pork, complete with bones and all looked appropriate. And of course, plenty of red wine.

Pork is one of those things that I always enjoy but don't experiment too much with, plus I am the only one in our house who eats it. I am an avid pork chop maker, and I recently learned how to make an AMAZING pulled pork using my crock pot, but my pork cooking skills don't go far beyond that. So because of this, I put all of my trust into Jamie Oliver and followed his directions precisely. Fans of Jamie all know that he is a big fan of not only making flavorful butters, but of putting said butters under the skin of whatever meat he is cooking. That is exactly what this recipe called for as well. Softened butter which has been flavored with pepper and lots of thyme, and then placed underneath the skin and between the bones of the pork, along with sliced peaches. Sounds a bit odd, I know. But at this point, most of Jamie Oliver's recipes have been pretty odd, and they have all come out rather delicious. Once it was cooked, the peaches no longer tasted like peaches, they took on an interesting combination flavor of peach and pork.

The last time we had my sister-in-law over for dinner, I made Jamie's Parmesan & Truffle mashed potatoes and an artichoke side dish. Since the main course was new for me and my wife had been asking for those potatoes again nonstop, I figured I would make side dishes that I knew were a hit. This time I made much more though. Jamie's recipe is pretty simple. Potatoes, butter, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil. All to taste. Although the flavor is amazing, they are a bit dry for my liking, so I decided to add butter and quite a bit of half-and-half. I probably would've added cream, but I didn't have it in the fridge.

Entire meal -- pork, potatoes & artichokes

This artichoke recipe I went with was the first one I made when I started this project, Pan-Cooked Artichokes with Lemon, Thyme & Garlic. I think that the lemon, butter and garlic combination is always the way to go with artichokes. I decided to make more of these as well, since they were also such a big hit last time, and because I am known for messing up an artichoke or two.

Let's talk about that for a minute. I am absolutely in love with this recipe! It is probably one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted, and I have been pretty much obsessed with artichokes recently. However, the preparation of these artichokes is absolutely ridiculous. Jamie insists that the more you do it, the easier it will become. Well I have said this before, and I'm going to say it again, I call bulls***! Not only is it terribly hard, but I really believe that it's a waste as well. After cutting off all of the outer leaves, and scraping out all of the fuzzy bit inside, all you're left with is the heart. I knew that it supposed to be the best part of an artichoke, but it's not the only part of the vegetable. I have to be doing this wrong.  The coloring seems to finally be in my favor, but the result looks nothing like the picture in the cookbook. 

End result

Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce, Spinach & Crumbled Ricotta

I had a crazy busy couple of days last weekend, so I wanted to make something fairly easy. I remembered how much I loved the pappardelle pasta the last time I made it, and wanted to use the other bag I had waiting for me in the cabinet. Unfortunately, the only other pappardelle recipes I could find in all three of The Naked Chef cookbooks were full of items either Danielle or I wouldn't eat -- rabbit, spicy sausage, leeks. Which is why I opted for this recipe and just switched the tagliatelle for the pappardelle. As far as I can tell the only difference is an inch in the width (pappardelle is 1  1/2 inches wide, where the tagliatelle in only 1/2 inch wide).

I should have used two cans of tomatoes though like Jamie said to, but after pouring in the first can I thought it looked like more than enough. Again, I was wrong and should have listened. It does cook down a lot and I would have liked a little more sauce in the end.

After I finished the meal, I realized that I think I was supposed to just place the cooked spinach on top of the finished pasta dish, and then the cheese on top of that. My colander was too small to securely put on top of the pasta pot, so I wound up throwing the spinach into the sauce. It worked out well because the spinach wound up cooking in the sauce, but I don't think it's what Jamie had in mind.

One thing I have to add is that ricotta cheese does not crumble! I am not sure what kind of ricotta cheese they have in England, but the kind we have here is almost like a paste. I tried putting a small amount on some paper towels and tried smashing it together to try to get some of the water out. In the end, it didn't do much. I tried ripping it up and "crumbling" it to the best of my ability. 

Squashed Cherry Tomato & Smashed Olive Salad

I had the day off from work on Monday and decided to take advantage of being home, so I made myself a Jamie Oliver salad for lunch. It was basically just cherry tomatoes, olives red wine vinegar, olive oil & pepper. You can also throw in a little of arugula at the end to fill it out a bit, which is exactly what I did. Jamie was not kidding, when he warned me to place my hand over the cherry tomato before squishing them -- those suckers squirt out juice and seeds like crazy! It went absolutely everywhere! I probably should have heeded his warning.

One thing I was not very happy about was again, the layout of this recipe. It was written more like a short story or a letter to a friend, rather than a recipe. There was no list of ingredients you would need, I guess maybe because there were so few, he figured he didn't need to actually spell it out for you. It would have been nice to be told exactly which types of olives to use though. I just wound up getting a Mediterranean mix and used a few of each. 

That's my only complaint with this recipe however. Everything else was very tasty, and it was very quick!

I did want to add in one more thing and let you all know that it looks like Jamie and I am well on our way to becoming fast friends! Ha ha! Okay, not really. But he did respond to another tweet of mine! I let him know that I completed his highly coveted Chicken in Milk recipe last week and got a response back!! 

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