Saturday, August 20, 2011

We're having spaghetti tonight. Psych!

Spaghetti Squash A tasty but extremely healthy alternative to real pasta


Ingredients:
-1 medium-sized spaghetti squash

-1/2 24-oz jar marinara sauce

-1/4 chopped onion

-3 cloves minced garlic

-1 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon pepper

-pinch red pepper flakes

-cooking spray

-2 basil leaves, for garnish



Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375.

-Cut spaghetti squash exactly in half lengthwise. Place rind side up on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.

-While spaghetti squash bakes, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat, coated with cooking spray. (You can also use a little olive oil.) Saute onion five minutes or until slightly tender. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat down to low and add the sauce. Keep warm.

-When spaghetti squash is done, let it cool a few minutes. Take a fork and run down inside of the squash. It should be in the shape of small pasta noodles. Do this over a colander in case there's any excess liquid.

-Divide "pasta" evenly over two plates. Top with sauce and garnish. Yields 2 servings



Nutrition info: 200 calories per serving (estimated)

Cheers! Whatever's good with pasta. Try a fresh Chianti or Pinot Grigio.

Source: Nowhere, really. Everywhere?

Notes: Be sure to cut the squash exactly in half, or it will not bake evenly. Aside from that, there's not much way to screw this up, unless it's overcooked. Consider it a large serving of vegetables. Since the squash is a veggie and potentially bland, be sure to coose a tasty sauce with herb-like flavors.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

If you've got a few hours on a Saturday...

Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta Lots of flavor in every lucious bite





Ingredients:

-3 pounds plum tomatoes, cored and halved lenthwise

-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

-2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

-1/4 teaspoon black pepper

-6 whole peeled garlic cloves

-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

-12 ounces uncooked fettuccine or linguine

-3/4 cup (3 ounces) shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

-3 tablespoons torn fresh basil


Directions:

-Preheat oven to 225.


-Place tomatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Bake for 4 hours.


-Heat large skillet over low heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and garlic; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic and chop. Combine garlic, tomatoes and red pepper in pan.


-Cook pasta in boiling water with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt for 8 minutes or unil almost al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Increase heat to medium-high under tomato mixture, and stir in reserved cooking liquid. Cook 3 minutes. Add pasta; cook for 1 minute, tossing to combine. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese and basil. Yields 6 servings.


Nutrition info: Approximately 389 calories per serving.


Cheers! All summer pastas call for white wine. If you can find it, try an Overstone Sauvignon Blanc. It's from New Zealand.


Source: Cooking Light. They have great summer foods.


Notes: Don't let "4 hours" taunt you. It's not like you're actually cooking for 4 hours. You can watch two movies while you make this. Or five episodes of 'Dexter' or 'Glee.' You can use plum or roma tomatoes... just be sure they shrink, blacken and are juicy when they're done.