Ricotta Gnocci with Spring Vegetables

Remember last summer, when my old man of a husband hurt his back and I spent the better part of a month making fun of him for being a baby? Well, turns out that karma is a bitch... a serious one, because this ginger has been stranded on the couch with a hurt back for the past two weeks! I know, I know... what a crazy thing to happen to such a young and able girl. But, it did happen and the absolute worst part has been trying to stay off my feet!

Usually, when I am sick or stuck at home, I take advantage of my free time by trying out new recipes, baking, and doing other fun things that require me to be on my toes. So, you can imagine that being stuck on the couch with doctor's orders to stay off my feet and out of the kitchen, has been nothing less than miserable. And a big, huge pain in the ass. Sometimes literally. Thankfully, rules are meant to be broken (for 30 minutes or less... while medicated). So, with my hubby home for lunch today, I figured I would whip a little something up... God knows he deserves it for putting up with my whining and constant begging for back massages. 

With spring being one of my favorite times for produce, I figured I would throw together something using some fresh, seasonal veggies. I love citrus, asparagus, and green peas... all of which were absolutely perfect tossed with some fresh, homemade ricotta gnocchi! The lemon zest made for a bright, springy pasta perfect with a glass of white wine! Hey, I gotta keep myself in good spirits somehow, right? (Did I mentioned medicated?)

Ricotta Gnocci with Spring Vegetables

Ingredients:

4 cups ricotta cheese

2 large eggs

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup all purpose flour

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 cup green peas (if frozen, thawed)

1/4 cup butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Chopped fresh chives

Finely grated lemon zest

Grated parmesan 

Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method:

FOR THE GNOCCHI-

• Line a baking dish with 3 layers of paper towels; spoon ricotta onto paper towels and let sit 20 minutes (if the ricotta is too wet, the dough won’t hold together).
• Combine ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, and salt in a food processor; season with pepper and process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just to combine (mixture should be smooth and fairly wet). Transfer gnocchi mixture to a pastry bag fitted with ½” round tip or a large resealable plastic bag.
• Gnocchi mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pastry tip and chill.

VEGETABLES AND ASSEMBLY

• Cook asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Using tongs or a mesh strainer, transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool; drain. Slice asparagus on the diagonal into bite-size pieces, leaving tips intact.
• Reduce heat so water is simmering. If using a resealable plastic bag for gnocchi mixture, cut a ½” opening in bottom of bag. Working in 3 batches, pipe dough into pot, cutting off 1” lengths with a paring knife and letting dough drop into water. Cook until doubled in size, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Reserve ¼ cup cooking liquid.
• Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, tossing occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes; set aside.
• Add gnocchi, asparagus, peas, butter, and reserved cooking liquid to skillet. Cook, tossing gently, until vegetables are warm and sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with chives, Parmesan, and lemon zest.
  
  
  Recipe adapted from Bon Apetit.

Short Rib Bolognese

I am less than thrilled to report that I have caught one of the nasty bugs that's floating around town. Yup, I currently have a 102 degree fever (which is not the kind of hot I like to be) and a very cranky attitude (which is not kind of bitchy I like to be.) And, while I am much more lucky than most and have the freedom in my schedule to indulge my immune system with 48 hours of couch ridden movie watching, I am still very mad. Sick and tired and mad... or as Rich would say, "Somebody please help me." 

Right now, there are two very big problems that I am having with being sick. Firstly, at this very moment in my fridge, there is a fresh black truffle from Burgundy, France. I know... I am one lucky ginger... (or "zhan-zhay" as I say when I'm being fancy.) You see, this truffle was bought to be shaved over uova da raviolo tonight at a dinner that I have been really been looking forward to hosting. A dinner that has been scheduled for nearly six weeks. A dinner that due to my germ-ridden-self, now has to be rescheduled. 

Secondly, also calling my refrigerator home is a very large tupperware container filled with homemade pasta tossed with a decadent short rib bolognese. Why is this a problem? Because my sick ass is eating chicken soup instead. Ok, maybe I'm being slightly dramatic, but I had to tie my "poor me, I am sick" pity party to my bolognese recipe somehow, right? But, let's focus on what's important, shall we?

Short rib bolognese. I know, I had never thought of it either... and neither had the sweet boy helping me at our butcher shop. His mind was blown when I told him why I had requested 2 pounds of short rib to be ground up for me. You see, Richard are I were at McCalls Meat & Fish Co. last weekend and brought home short rib and gruyere sausages, which was one of the most delicious things that I have ever put in my mouth. And then these sausages got me thinking... why don't people use short ribs for everything!? Ok, maybe not everything, it would probably make a terrible face cream, plus it's pretty fatty and Pilates can only do so much... but, every once in a while, a little indulgence is good for you! And that, my friends, is how this recipe came into play. 

Unless you are much fancier than I am and have a meat grinder at home (hint hint, dear husband,) you will need a butcher to grind the meat for you but, trust me when I say that, this is one of the tastiest, most decadent bolognese sauces that I have ever had... let alone made! 

You can, of course, substitute the ground short rib for a more traditional blend of ground beef, veal, and pork, but then you may as well make split pea soup with turkey bacon. And that, for me, is a fate worse than this immobilizing infection.

Homemade Fettuccine & Short Rib Bolognese

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped 
2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
2 pounds ground short rib
1 cup dry red wine
3 cups (isn) beef stock or chicken stock, divided
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk

Homemade fettuccine... find my recipe HERE!

(if you must use store bought pasta, look for a fresh egg pasta!)
Finely grated Parmesan 

Method:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Sauté until soft, 8-10 minutes.  Add the ground short rib and sauté, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes. Make sure that you brown the meat all the way, that is where a lot of the flavor comes from! Add wine and reduce 2-3 minutes, stirring often and scraping up browned bits. Add tomato paste and then the stock, stirring to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally. As the liquid reduces, continue to add more stock. Cook for about 2-3 hours.
• Bring milk to a simmer in a small saucepan and then gradually add it to the meat sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes. 
  
  
  Serve over pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. 
  Makes about 8 servings. 

Fresh Pasta

Fresh, simple, homemade pasta. 
Quick and to the point...

Ingredients:

3 to 4 cups of flour

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for 6 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Roll or shape as desired.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Cook pasta about two minutes, drain, and serve with your favorite sauce!

La Morra, Ti Amo (I Love You): Part 1.

La Morra is a quaint hilltop town overlooking the Piemonte region of Italy. If you're not familiar with Piemonte, this is where Barolo comes from. So, as you can imagine, it's quite a view. The food is to die for and the wine is so amazing I practically drowned myself in it (Fun fact, you can drown in as little as three inches of water, but you can safely drink liters and liters of wine). And one of the best parts about Piemonte, and Italy in general, minus Venice, is that if you can bring yourself to forgo the Barolo and imbibe some Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, or (Rich's personal favorite) Barbera, you can drink some amazing wine at unbelievably cheap prices. So, with all that in mind, this will be Part I of a II (possibly III) part series, because I don't even know where to start! I didn't even know it was possible to love a town so much. But it is. And I do. And now La Morra and I are married (Sorry Rich, I've taken on a mister.)

For starters, we stayed at the most beautiful hilltop Bed & Breakfast I've ever been to... In point of fact it's not just a bed & breakfast, but an aggroturismo (a working farm) called Bricco dei Cogni (bricco means hilltop in Italian.) And I'm not exaggerating when I say that this place seriously made me weak in the knees from the second we stepped through the front door. Our meals were perfect. The wine was to die for and in every direction you looked you could see rolling, picturesque, grape laden hills for kilometers and kilometers (That's what they call miles here). Upon our arrival we were greeted with wine and cheese (much like I imagine I will be greeted upon my arrival in heaven) and upon our departure we were given a bottle of the owner's private, family reserva, Barbera (more on that in part two).

I'm not being hyperbolic (thanks for that word, hubby) when I say that every restaurant, winery, and town that we visited deserves a song written about it (Rich tried. But I informed him "When the wine hits your lips, that's La Morra" is not so good). And if not a song, each town should have novel dedicated to it at the very least... But since I can't sing and I don't have the attention span to write a novel, I shall, instead, dedicate a whole blog post to each one. But since we just finished running around (and drinking our way through) Venice and now Parma & Modena are calling our names, I just can't bring myself to hole up in my hotel and write the in-depth posts that the restaurants and wineries of La Morra, Alba, Barolo, Barbaresco and Serralunga deserve. But I will. Soon. So, in the meantime, hopefully a few photos of our travels will do it justice!

Piemonte.

our official welcome to La Morra, courtesy of Bricco dei Cogni. 

barbaresco tasting.

truffle season. amen. 

white truffle pasta at BOVIO. To die for. 

breakfast at Bricco dei Cogni.

meat market.

truffle festival on Alba... much more to come about that.

I am in love with our little car.

grapes. grapes. grapes. 

serralunga. 

handwritten menu. absolutely wonderful food. 

a modest lunch.

Cinque Terre: Five Things About the Five Towns

Clever right? (I thought it was when I woke Rich up at 6am to tell him.) As my devoted reader(s) you've come to expect a certain level of adorable punnyness and this ginger would never leave you wanting more. Though, I'm sad to say, that is exactly what Cinque Terre did to us. Ok, ok.... some of you are going to GASP in disbelief that I could ever say anything mildly disparaging about the Cinque Terre, but I am going to be honest and say that the five towns, while beautiful, did leave us wanting a little more. As a disclaimer, Richard and I are not really beach people (unless it's 90 degrees and I have a pool boy bringing me an endless supply of pretty cocktails...) And I am definitely not a hiking enthusiast because, well, where are the cute outfits for that!? So, while the five towns did provide some ridiculously stunning views of the Italian Riviera, if you came to Italy for ridiculously cheap, amazing, food and wine these towns might not be the best fit for your itinerary. However, if you came to Italy to watch translucent German tourists melt in the mild afternoon sun on a mostly cloudy day, this IS the place for you!

That being said, we did manage to have a great time. And if you find yourself drawn to the Cinque Terre, here are the Five Things You Should Know About the Five Towns. 

1. Bring your fanny pack. Yup. Do it. Haven't used one in awhile? Well, one of the million tourists can certainly help you. Cinque Terre is super touristy. And while the French people shoving in front of you on the train might be a pain in the ass, this is the perfect town to make some super cool European friends in. Not all tourists are alike!

friends from france. 

2. EAT PESTO! Holy profanity... the pesto is wonderful. This is the one exception to my "don't go here for the amazing food rule." This is the Mecca of Pesto! So, eat it for every meal. Eat it on everything. Bring some back to your hotel and eat it there, too. And once you're full on pesto and the local "Cinque Terre D.O.C." white wine, you can stop at one of the many strobe light flashing bars blasting club music and start your own dance party.

pesto from Trattoria Dal Billy in Manarolo

3. You can't drive your car into the five towns, but they will happily charge you an arm and a leg for parking. I'm talking 25 euros for 24 hours. Yep, as steep as the hill you have to lug your luggage down to get to the sea. Solution? Find parking up on the coastal roads before you get to the top of town, catch a ride on "The Green Bus" (because it's eco friendly and painted green) for a few euros and you'll save yourself enough money to buy a whole lot of pasta!

4. Take the train. There is a train that runs to each of the five towns all day long. For 12 euros you can get an unlimited pass for 24 hours. Just make sure to validate your train ticket at the station (there are little machines everywhere) before getting on the train or else you can get fined 50 euros per person! Or if you had the forethought to get beautiful eyelash extensions before the trip so you wouldn't have to put on mascara every day, you can bat those bad boys coyly at the curmudgeonly train conductor so he'll only fine you five euros per person (which is still $13.50 for nothing!). Again, that could buy you a while lot of pasta!

5. Did I mention to eat the pesto? Just making sure that I made that clear......
Take in the sights. If you are a hiker, hike one of the stunning paths that leads to each of the towns. If you are not, walk up to the top of the town and just take it in. The view is breathtaking. Don't, however, plan on doing the "Via Dell' Amore" with your lover. It was destroyed in the storm (like my high hopes for the Cinque Terre) and still being repaired.

6. I know I said 5, but this one is the most important, especially for gingers. TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS. Your mother (and mother-in-law) will thank you!

the view from our apartment at La Scogliera. 

nothing fancy, but the best view in town. If you're

going to stay in the Cinque Terre, STAY HERE!!!

riomaggiore

the first of the five towns and where we called home for 36 hours.

the scenery... oh, the scenery.

 Monterosso al Mare. the biggest (and most resort-like) of the five towns.

the view from Trattoria dal Billy, where we had lunch in Manarola. 

It was a small restaurant tucked into the side of the cliff with...you guessed it... amazing pesto.

strolling through Monterosso. be sure to bring walking shoes.

find a cliff, buy a bottle of vino, and call it an afternoon.

(ps the green window behind me was our room!)

homemade canolis from Paolo, the owner of our apartment. 

absolutely to die for. If you don't believe me that you

should stay there, just ask TripAdvisor.com

So as you can see from the photos, while it wasn't my favorite place in Italy, there are definitely at least five good reasons to make a trip to the five towns. If you've got a few extra days in your itinerary and can't bring yourself to go to more free Barolo tastings in Piemonte (which is something that will never, and I mean never, happen to me!) then it might be worth it to pencil in a day or two in Cinque Terre.

Pumpkin Fettuccine with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, & Walnuts.

You know that first day that fall actually feels like fall? Well, today is that day for me and I am really enjoying it. I have to admit that while I've been talking about fall a lot lately, At first my feelings were coming from a place of denial. You see, I really love summer and I thought that I was going to have a hard time transitioning into another season. But now we are about 3 weeks in and I am starting to get the feeling that autumn and I are going to be great pals in no time. Maybe even seasons with benefits! After all, fall already let me see it's gourds. 

Possibly the best thing about fall was the sound I woke up to this morning... rain drops. You see, I had a bright and early wake up call at 4:30 this morning to shoot a commercial for Dr. Pepper (one of the only doctors that I like) and while I could have happily slept for 14 more hours, I actually forgot how grumpy and tired I was because of the pitter patter of those little raindrops saying, "Sarah, get up. I'm going to make your day (but ruin your hair). 

For those of you from a place with normal precipitation cycles rainy days in LA are absolutely everything. It goes so long without raining here in the summer that sometimes I forget about it. Rain is like that super hot guy you are crushing on (before you were married of course.) It make's you feel warm and fuzzy inside, it smells really nice, it makes you want to cuddle in front of the fire place (amongst other things...) but at the drop of a hat (or rain boot), the magic is gone. Out of nowhere that "something" that you once had together just dries right up. That is, until you run into each other 6 months later. Yes, sometimes I do compare the weather to handsome men. You should try it and see where your mind wanders... Anyways... Here we are. Me and the rain. 6 months later... and I am crushing hard. I've got my sweats on (that's the rain's favorite outfit I have) and I am planted on the couch falling in love... (Rich looks bored). I've got a pile of sleeping dogs on me and a bowl full of pasta in me. Could anything really be better? The answer is no. 

Fall is feeling pretty great right about now. And while this rain is making me giddy... I'm going to have to blame this pumpkin pasta for my school girl butterflies. Yes, pumpkin pasta. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that pumpkin sweets are not really my jam (speaking of which, I've never tried pumpkin jam, but while it would be jam I doubt it would be my jam). I feel like pumpkin desserts are starting to feel a bit overdone. Pumpkin is a squash, a vegetable, and while I love my pumpkin sweets as much as the next girl instagramming her pumpkin spice latte... I've been branching out a bit and am learning that some of my very favorite pumpkin recipes are not sweet at all.

Whole wheat pasta in a pumpkin alfredo sauce and tossed with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts. It's savory, flavorful, and full of toasty fall flavors that are enough to make you forget that summer ever existed and cook a perfect rainy day lunch.

Pumpkin Fettuccine with Caramelized Onions, 

Goat Cheese, & Walnuts.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (8 ounces) whole wheat fettuccine

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

2 cups low-fat milk

5 ounces goat cheese cheese, cut into big chunks

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon sea salt... or to taste. This sauce needs A LOT of salt or else it will be very bland. 

freshly ground black pepper

a pinch of red pepper flakes

shaved Parmesan cheese for topping

Method:

Heat olive oil in a skillet and sauté sliced onions over medium- low heat until caramelized. Set aside.

Cook pasta to al dente. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, heat butter. Once melted, add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes to make a roux. Add garlic and cook the roux another minute until garlic is fragrant and roux is golden and bubbly. Next, whisk in the milk and bring to a slow boil while stirring constantly. Once the milk has thickened, add the pumpkin and the goat cheese and whisk until smooth. Add salt and pepper taste. Do not be shy with the salt. Remove the sauce from the heat, toss with pasta and caramelized onions. Divide pasta into bowls and top with shaved parmesan and toasted walnuts. Serve immediately.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish. 

gangster puppy. loves rain, pasta, 

and wearing her hoodie to keep dry.

Post Labor Day Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken

I am blogging today from a very different place than usual. You see... we went to Palm Springs for  a pretty epic Labor Day weekend, and my brain has decided that it still needs a day or two of vacation before getting it together. Four days in a gorgeous house with a huge pool and 7 of your absolute favorite friends really takes it's toll on a girl. I am tired, extra freckly, and feel a little bit like a fish must feel when you deprive it of water... dead. So, we're just gonna roll with this and see how it goes....

Upon our return last night, the Mr. and I walked through our front door, explained to our dogs that the only kind of attention we were capable of was the cuddling kind (mostly of each other, while they watched, confused and sad), then planted our lazy (but nice) asses immediately on the couch with absolutely no intention of moving for at least 12 hours. We succeeded with flying colors because, well, let's be honest, we are very dedicated when we put our minds to something. We ordered not only one meal, but two. Yup, we had two meals delivered to our couch yesterday. It was more of a pre-dinner  and late dinner.

It really worked for us, but it got me thinking.... maybe since I am a chef (surprise!) and I put my body through a little more abuse than usual over the past four days, I could pull it together, lose the Chinese delivery guy's number, save a few bucks, and make my own crave-worthy Asian peanut noodles while keeping my waistline in mind (it is possible, both for me to think and for me to do). I finished that thought (and my second round of delivery food) and decided that, once again....this was a plan worth succeeding at. So, here we go....

Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken

Ingredients:
Peanut Sauce-
1/2 cup chicken broth (or no-chicken, chicken broth for vegetarians)
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp organic honey
1 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
3/4 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp siracha sauce (or more to taste if you like spicy)

Chicken-
10oz (2 small) chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 tbsp siracha sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh garlic, grated
1 tsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
1/2 tbsp sesame oil

8oz rice noodles (you can find them in the Asian section of your super market)
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1 1/4 cups ribboned carrots (the original recipe called for shredded carrots, but I used a vegetable peeler and shaved mine into pasta like ribbons, which added a great texture when mixed with the noodles... and helps to cut carbs!)
1 cup grated broccoli stems (again, the original recipe called for shredded broccoli slaw, I used the stems of a head of broccoli and grated it. This worked great and I saved the crown for another use.)
1 cup bean sprouts
2 tbsp chopped peanuts
Sliced lime and cilantro for garnish (optional)

I know, this seems like a TON of ingredients, but the dish comes together super quickly!
And obviously, if you want to make these vegetarian... leave out the chicken.

Method:
Marinate chicken with siracha, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and tamari sauce. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the dish.

To make the sauce, combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir every few minutes and simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce is smooth and well blended. Set aside.

Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions. Most likely, you will place the noodles in a large bowl, pour boiling water over them, and let them sit for 8-10 minutes until tender.

Heat sesame oil in a skillet and sauté chicken on high heat until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Add shredded broccoli and carrot ribbons to the skillet and sauté for just two minutes. You still want them to be crisp!

Toss rice noodles, broccoli, carrots, and chicken together with the peanut sauce. Place on a bed of bean sprouts and top with sliced green onions, chopped peanuts. Garnish with lime wedge and cilantro.

Makes about 2 servings.
Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste.com


P.S. (as in Palm Springs....)
I though about it and due to my braggy first paragraph, I feel it is only right to share a few photos from our Palm Springs getaway. I love photos and I love sharing, so here you go!

 

 

My friends are better than your friends. Well okay, I don't know that

for a fact. I just know that mine are pretty fantastic.