ATK Volume 3: Polenta with Mushroom Sauce

This one is a winner, kids. There were a couple of things added/changed, but the bottom line is that it was delicious and we totally recommend it. Chelsi wanted to make our own polenta instead of buying the pre-made polenta in a tube, but we ended up not doing that in order to save (a bunch of) time. It'd probably be improved slightly with the homemade polenta, but it's not necessary.

Some changes that were made: we used fresh oyster mushrooms instead of dried porcini (just because the store we went to didn't have them and we didn't feel like searching), which meant we didn't need the water, and used a little bit of homemade mushroom stock that Chelsi had in the freezer. Also, Chelsi seasoned with salt and pepper throughout the cooking, instead of at the end, and added some red pepper flakes as well. We also put it all over egg noodles, which we both agreed improved the flavor and texture.

Here's the original recipe:
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 Lb white mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup sweet Marsala (we used dry, and we wondered if sweet would be TOO sweet)
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper
1 (18 oz) tube polenta, cut into 8 rounds

1. Combine porcini and water in bowl and microwive covered until soft, about 1 minute. Strain porcini, reserving liquid. Chop porcini fine and set aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespons oil in saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add white and porcini mushrooms and cook until browned. Stir in Marsala and reserved mushroom liquid and simmer until pan is nearly dry (this step took much longer than the original recipe claimed it would). Add cream and simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in large non-skillet. Cook polenta rounds until well crowned and crisp (this step also took longer than the original recipe claimed it would). Serve with mushroom sauce (over egg noodles, if you know what's good for you).

We'll be making this dish again, I'm sure, but next time we'll be doubling it!

Calamari and Spaghetti

I have a love for all things calamari and scallops. I've been getting better at cooking scallops, but I've only tried to cook with squid once before, and it came out edible, but overcooked and less interesting than I'd hoped. This was my second attempt, and it was delicious.

Ok, so the photo/presentation isn't the best in the world, but I've been trying to step away from the safety of having a recipe in front of me and cook more from the gut, and this was a really tasty success, so it was worth sharing. If I were on a pretentious cooking show, I'd say something about it being a "very simple dish that lets the ingredients speak for themselves."

Tip: Buy pre-cleaned squid. They're pretty easy to clean, but it's time consuming

I don't have exact measurements, because I didn't use a recipe, but here are the ingredients:

Calamari (I only used the bodies, not the tentacles, and cut them up into little tubes)

Garlic

1 Shallot

1 can of tomatoes (I used italian)

Red pepper flakes

White wine

Italian Parsley

Salt + Pepper

Parmesan

(I think I put just a touch of dried rosemary in there as well)

I cooked the garlic and shallot in olive oil, added the tomatoes, pepper flakes and white wine, and let it reduce for a little bit. I added the calamari, and right at the end, the parsley. Make sure you don't over cook the calamari, it cooks quickly (2-3 minutes) and gets rubbery if it's over cooked.

(This post is by Jed, even though it says it's from both of us)

ATK Volume 1: Pasta with Spicy Cauliflower Sauce

This was pretty tasty. We made it vegetarian and didn't quite exactly follow the recipe, but pretty close. Basically, I told Chelsi what to do to follow the recipe, and she ignored me. We thought it could use more tomatoes and a little more spice. We also wondered if it'd be good to use an immersion blender on the sauce to puree it before putting it on the pasta. Chelsi added paprika to the cauliflower to try to simulate some of the flavor the bacon would give it.

The dish was yummy, and we'd both make it again, but it needs a little adjustment.

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen, more ATK recipes to follow

5 slices bacon, sliced thin (we omitted this ingredient to make it vegetarian)

1 Tbs olive oil

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 onion, sliced thin

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs finely chopped parsley

salt and pepper

1 lb orecchiette or penne (or really, any pasta you want)

1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese (we used parmesan instead)

Chelsi pretty much winged it, but this is pretty much what she did:

Heat olive oil in a pan (she used a dutch oven)

Add cauliflower and cook for 4-6 minutes

Add the onion and sweat them 4-5 minutes

Add garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 30 seconds or so

Add tomatoes and water, cook until just about done

Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste

EAT!

(This post is by Jed, even though it says it's from both of us)