Mushroom Fagottini with Creamy Tomato Sauce

We picked up a half kilo of fagottini at Market Fresh the other day with no real plans for what to do with it, and then turned some bits and pieces we had lying around into a sauce. The results were delicious and there were no leftovers.

Ingredients

• 30mL olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, diced
• 540mL tin of diced tomatoes
• fresh basil
• hot pepper flakes
• salt and pepper
• 250mL cream
• 1 parmesan rind
• 1 romano rind
• 500g fagottini (or similar stuffed pasta)

Procedure

1. Sautee the onion in the olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes, basil, hot pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Simmer, covered, for ~10 minutes, to soften the tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the cream and cheese rinds and cover for another 5-10 minutes to soften the rinds, then uncover and continue simmering until desired thickness is reached.
6. Fish out the rinds and toss with the pasta. Eat.

Pennette with a Creamy Sundried Tomato and Prosciutto Sauce

Another recipe from Hazan, this one comes together very quickly. I've made some changes from the version given in the cookbook, cranking up the onion and prosciutto and cutting out the salt (the increased prosciutto adds enough on its own). As written it calls for penne, but I find I prefer the smaller penette.

Ingredients for one pound dried, store-bought pasta

• 30mL butter
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped
• 150g prosciutto, thinly sliced into sheets and then sliced or shredded
• 250mL heavy cream
• 50mL coarsely chopped sundried tomatoes in oil
• freshly grated parmesan

Procedure

1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat.
2. Sautee the onion in the butter until it softens and starts to turn golden
3. Add the prosciutto and sautee until it starts to brown
4. Add the cream and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the cream has reduced by about half.
5. Add the pasta (cooked al dente) and the cheese. Toss to coat the pasta and mix with the sauce components. Serve with additional parmesan.

Black Garlic (Cheater's) Stroganoff

I'm tired so I'll keep this short. Got some black garlic. Looked up recipes. Stroganoff was tasty but didn't really showcase the garlic. Next time will take chef's advice and make some sort of savoury sauce to go over meat.

Black Garlic Stroganoff
Adapted from Black Garlic North America recipe page
2 Tbsp. bacon grease (or butter)
1 onion, chopped
6-8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
black pepper
1 lb. ground beef
1 tin condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used wild mushroom)
2 cloves black garlic, chopped
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. milk (next time I'd use beef stock)
1 large dill pickle, chopped (optional)
1 package wide egg noodles

1. Cook onion, mushrooms, and garlic in grease. Add a bit of pepper.
2. Add beef and brown. Sprinkle in a bit more pepper.
3. Add soup and black garlic and simmer for a while. (I would add stock at this point as well next time.)
4. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles.
5. Stir in sour cream and pickle.
6. Serve over egg noodles (or toss with egg noodles).

Tasty, but black garlic doesn't really come through. Next time I'd probably just use 4 cloves of regular garlic and leave out the black garlic entirely, but there will be a next time.

Shortcut Scandi Meatballs

This was superbly easy to throw together and it was pretty tasty to boot! I think it actually has one of the best deliciousness:effort ratios of anything I've made. I mean, I've definitely made more scrumptious meals, but this was just so very easy.

Scandi Meatballs
From bbcgoodfood
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 grinds black pepper
1 (400g) tin cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard (I used wholegrain)
~1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped
24 Swedish meatballs, cooked

1. Sauté onion and garlic in oil.
2. Add pepper and cook an additional minute or two.
3. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat, and cook until meatballs are warmed through and flavours have melded.
4. Serve over mashed potatoes with cabbage or other vegetable of choice.

Rigatoni with Sausage and Chives

Another recipe card to the rescue!

Rigatoni with Sausage and Chives
Slightly adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2015
1 lb. rigatoni (or penne)
1 lb. sausage, casings removed (I used some of my parents' excellent beef sausage, but it would also be good with pork sausage)
1 onion, chopped (onion and garlic combo used in place of the shallots called for in the original recipe)
1 Tbsp. garlic paste
1/2 c. white wine
1 c. half-and-half
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese + extra for serving
1/4 c. minced chives
10-15 grinds pepper

1. Boil pasta in salted water. Reserve 1/2 c. of cooking water for adjusting sauce.
2. Cook sausage over medium heat, breaking it apart as it cooks.
3. Remove sausage with slotted spoon and cook onion and garlic in residual fat.
4. Add wine and cook until almost completely evaporated.
5. Add half-and-half and broth and cook until thickened.
6. Stir in sausage and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, chives, and pepper.
8. Toss sauce with pasta.
9. Serve with extra Parmesan.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

This is another Cook's Country "recipe makeover". This did come out nice and tasty, but it was also fairly time-consuming and labour-intensive. For me, the poor deliciousness:effort ratio means that this isn't one I'm likely to make again. If I ever do make it again though, I'd probably make a few changes. The recipe below reflects the "what I'd do next time" version rather than what I actually did this time.

Chicken Noodle Casserole
Adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2015
8 oz. wide egg noodles
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 Tbsp. oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
227g cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 c. chicken broth
1 (12 oz.) can 2% evaporated milk
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 c. frozen peas
1 tsp. pepper
200g light cheddar, grated
20 reduced-fat Ritz Crackers, crushed

1. Boil pasta in 2L of water and 1 Tbsp. salt until molto al dente. Drain and run under cold water until pasta is cool to the touch. Set aside.
2. Cook bell pepper, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil with 1/4 ts. salt until beginning to brown. Stir in thyme and cook for an additional minute or so. Set aside.
3. Whisk cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. broth.
4. Combine evaporated milk and remaining broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add chicken and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken registers 155F (about 10 minutes). Transfer chicken to plate.
5. Whisk cornstarch mixture into sauce, bring to a boil, and cook until thickened. (This should only take a minute or so.) Remove from heat.
6. Shred chicken and stir back into sauce. Add sautéed veggies and noodles. Add frozen peas, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Stir to combine. (In the original recipe, the grated cheese was added as soon as the sauce came off the heat to create a cheese sauce base for the casserole. TF and I found that the cheese flavour didn't really come through at all that way though. I think a cheese topping/crust would make the flavour a bit more distinct, so I'll try it that way next time.)
7. Toss cheese with crushed crackers. Top the casserole with the cracker mixture.
8. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes.
9. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Fettuccine Alfredo (with bonus extras)

Another ToxicFrog post without pictures. Sorry about that. I'll try to remember next time.

Fettuccine Alfredo is a rich and delicious pasta dish, and very, very easy to make. It's a good choice when you don't mind eating something a bit heavy but do want something quick and easy to put together. It also takes very well to inclusions, such as pesto, chicken, or seafood.

This is the recipe from Hazan's Classic Pasta Cookbook; I think it's the first such recipe this blog has featured, but that book is in the "favourite cookbooks" list for a reason. The book recommends fettuccine for it, of course, but it's also good with other long pastas such as tagliatelle or linguine.

Ingredients
For pasta made with 3 eggs, or 1 pound dry, store-bought pasta

• 3 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy or table cream
• a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

As always, the fresh parmesan is mandatory; don't use the dried pre-grated stuff.

Procedure

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Put the butter and cream into a large skillet over medium-high heat and boil lightly, stirring frequently, until the cream has reduced almost by half. (I find it hard to judge the volume reduction and instead go by thickness; it should be a bit thinner than you want the final sauce to be, since the cheese will thicken it up some).
3. Add the nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and a generous amount of pepper to the sauce. Remove from the heat.
4. Add a spoonful of salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook al dente.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet containing the sauce. Add the cheese and toss until the pasta is well-coated with the sauce and cheese. Serve.

---

I mentioned earlier that this recipe takes well to extras. If you're including some sort of meat -- boneless chicken breast sliced into thin strips or chunks is a good choice, as are shrimp -- it's best to sautee it in the butter before adding the cream and other ingredients; this way its flavour infuses the butter and, later, the whole sauce. If you're including another sauce (any sort of pesto is a good idea; symbol and I will often toss in half a jar of store-bought basil or sundried tomato pesto) you can pretty much do that any time after the butter is melted and cream added.

If you're adding mixed vegetables, this is basically a pasta primavera, pasta in a vegetable cream sauce.

Cheese Tortellini with Beef and Cream Sauce

This particular dinner didn't come so much from a recipe as a quick description of a friend's dinner. It sounded easy and tasty though, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Cheese Tortellini with Beef and Cream Sauce
1 lb. ground beef
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
2 cans of milk
2 packets onion soup mix
sliced cremini mushrooms (I think I had about half a pound)
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 lbs. cheese tortellini
grated Parmesan, to serve

This came out quite tasty, but not perfect. I'd like to try to tweak it a little bit to see if I can really get that flavour I'm looking for. I have a few ideas that I'd like to try out next time to improve it a little bit.

Improved Cheese Tortellini
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can milk
1 can white wine
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 packets onion soup mix
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 c. frozen peas
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 lbs. tortellini (cheese or cheese & asparagus)
grated Parmesan, to serve

1. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan. Add to crock.
2. Heat the olive oil in the pan and add the onion. Sauté until it just begins to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add to crock.
3. Reconstitute the soup with one can of milk and one can of white wine and add it to the crock.
4. Add remaining ingredients (except for Parmesan), stir to combine, and turn on high for 1 hour.
5. Top with grated Parmesan and serve.

For my initial run-through I didn't precook the beef. This worked fine, but I think the flavour would've been better if I'd browned it a little first. I think some sautéed onions would've gone a long way as well. And garlic.

I generally find Worcestershire sauce to be a pretty solid choice to go with beef. Hopefully it'll be a nice addition to this sauce. A full tablespoon might be a bit on the heavy side, but the husband and I are both big fans of the stuff, so I'm not too worried about overdoing it.

I don't think the frozen peas are really necessary, but it makes me feel like the dish is slightly more balanced so, if they don't detract from it, I'd like to try including them next time. I think the thyme and parsley will go well with the white wine and the creaminess of the sauce. I debated about the bay leaf, but I think I'll toss one in next time and see how it comes out.

The cheese tortellini worked nicely in this dish, but I feel like an asparagus-stuff pasta would also complement the sauce well, so I may give that a try if they have anything appropriate on sale the next time I feel like making this. Using a pasta that at least nominally contains additional vegetables would also make me feel slightly more virtuous when making this as a one-pot meal as well.