Wednesday, June 6, 2007

New Blog Friends...

Since I finally introduced myself on a foodie message board I am going to try to pay tribute to those new blog friends.
I had every intention of making a braised chicken tonight, however, the chicken was not thawed. So I found myself scanning blogs of people I had "met" earlier today. Lo and behold, I found a recipe that I actually had all the ingredients for right in my kitchen.

Cooking Fiend's Pasta e Fagioli

2 Tbsp EVOO
1 medium onion, diced
4 strips bacon (uncooked and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups jarred or homemade spaghetti sauce
1 (15oz) can cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
2 tablespoons grated pecorino-romano cheese, plus more for garnish
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper (pinches to taste)
1 lb ditalini pasta or other small tubular pasta

In deep stockpot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat then saute onions for 3 minutes. Add bacon and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring to keep the bacon from burning. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Turn heat to medium-low, add sauce, beans, 2 tbsp pecorino-romano cheese, garlic powder, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine well and cook for 15 min. While sauce mixture is cooking, cook pasta until tender and drain well. Add pasta to sauce mixture and combine well. Turn heat to low and allow pasta and sauce flavors to "mingle" for 5 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread, if desired.

I halved the recipe and topped it off with some fresh parsley from our garden.



I also made a new favorite salad. I don't have a name for it, but I have eaten something like it at California Pizza Kitchen.



Salad Greens
One apple, cute into bite size pieces
Gorgonzola Cheese
Candied Walnuts
I make the candied walnuts myself. They are pretty easy. Just melt some butter & brown sugar together. I think I did 2 Tbsp Butter, 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Coat walnut pieces in butter/sugar mixture. Toast in oven, on about 200. Just keep checking on them to ensure they don't burn. Then let them cool.
We top this salad off with Raspberry Vinaigrette.

3 comments:

Renea said...

Oh wow! Both of those look great! Thanks for making me hungry. lol

Cara said...

Hi Julie! I just read your question on the WC challenge. This round will go until June 20th (and after that I am hoping others will volunteer to choose ingredients, so keep that in mind, hint hint!). To participate, just make a post in your blog about the dishes you make with the recipes and photos. Include a link to the main Platinum Chef Challenge post. Email me (I made a seperate email address, it's in the post)with your "entry". After everyone has submitted, I will create a post with links to everyone's work :) hth!

oh and your salad and pasta look yummy!

Judy Merrill Larsen said...

Hi Julie-

Just found your blog--I think it's great for two reasons--1.) I love to cook and make up new recipes and you've got some wonderful ideas here and 2.) I love that you're reading my novel, "All the Numbers" and you mentioned it on your blog. That totally rocks. Let me know if I owe you a box of kleenex.

Judy