Most of the time, I make dinner for Matt and myself. Once in a while, I get lazy and he does it. But sometimes...sometimes we tag-team dinner, and that is almost always the best idea ever.
Tag-team dinners usually involve the grill, because I've never grilled anything in my life, Matt loves grilling and our kitchen is just way too small for two people to cook in it. So yesterday afternoon, when I suggested we pick up some steaks to go with a ravioli recipe I wanted to try, Matt was pretty excited. Ok, I'll be honest, we both were. Steak is awesome.
It was an unconventional pairing, I'll admit, but I really wanted to make that ravioli because I had a TON of fresh sage that a neighbor gave us. And frankly, chicken just sounded boring.
About halfway through making the recipe, I decided photography was in order. I mean, seriously:
For real though. Straight-up mouth-watering, amiright?
The full recipe for the ravioli is over on the Food Network website, but here's a little rundown:
As a sidenote, I used frozen ravioli when the recipe called for refrigerated pasta. Frozen was fine, but I have no doubt that refrigerated would be even better.
So basically you just bring some balsamic vinegar, honey and a bay leaf to a boil in a small saucepot, let it boil for four to five minutes, then reduce the heat to simmer and cover it. It'll thicken and just become this gorgeous glaze that's totally drool-worthy. Protip: Use the back burner, and definitely DON'T lean over the pot while the vinegar is reducing. Trust me. It hurts.
While the balsamic vinegar stuff is happening, melt some butter in a skillet and bring large pot of water to a boil for the ravioli. When the butter's melted, add in lots of fresh sage and some chopped walnuts. The walnuts will toast up in about three minutes, which is likely how long the ravioli will take, too. (Or at least, that's how long my frozen stuff took.)
Add about a cup of the pasta water to the skillet and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a couple minutes, until it's reduced by half. Reserve another half-cup of pasta water, then drain. Add the drained ravioli to the skillet, tossing to coat and adding some of the reserved water if needed to loosen. Then stir in a whole bunch of Parmesan — my favorite part, natch. Stir to combine well.
Then you're ready to go! Just dish out the ravioli and drizzle with the balsamic reduction. To help pair the steak, we brushed it with butter on the grill and topped it with more fresh-grated Parmesan. (My friend Emily got me a Parm grater a while back and let me tell you, it has been amazing. I highly recommend getting one!)
What can I say? Matt and I make a great team :)
Have you made anything delicious lately? Tell me about it in the comments! I've been looking for some new recipes lately...
This is by far one of my favorite quick-dinners, because I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand, and it's easy, and it's delicious. Once again, I've adapted a Rachael Ray recipe to include fewer of her crazy ingredients. And I added chicken and veggies to make this a more filling meal.
Ingredients (makes enough for four):
- 1/3 package of bacon
- 1/2 pound chicken breast, diced
- garlic powder
- 16-oz box of spaghetti or linguine
- about 4-6 stalks of asparagus
- olive oil (I like to use an arbequina oil, but extra virgin works too)
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine, cooking sherry or chicken stock
- 2 large egg yolks (keep the whites for omelets!)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- red pepper flakes (optional)
Start with a large stock pot of water. Set it over high heat and bring it up to a hard boil. While the water's heating, cook the bacon in the biggest skillet you have until it's good and crispy. When it's done, set the bacon on paper towels to drain, and drain out most of the bacon grease. Leave about a tablespoon or so. Add the diced chicken to the pan, season with garlic powder, salt and pepper, and cook through. When it's done, remove the chicken from the pan and onto a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. Return the skillet to the oven and add the garlic and red pepper flakes, if using. Add a little olive oil if the pan needs it.
By now your water should be boiling. Add a small palmful of salt, then add the noodles. While those are cooking, crumble the bacon you set aside and add it and the chicken pieces back to the skillet with the garlic and pepper flakes. Add the wine/sherry/chicken stock and let it reduce by half, which should take about a minute or two over medium-high heat.
Drop the asparagus into the pasta water and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Remove it, chop it into pieces about an inch long, and add to the skillet with everything else. (Note: Frozen peas also work well for this. Just let them thaw a little first, then boil for a few minutes with the pasta then add to the skillet to finish cooking.)
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks. While you're whisking, add a small ladle-full (about 1/4 cup or so) of the boiling pasta water.
Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Remove from heat. Drizzle the egg mixture over everything, then add the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat for about two minutes to let the pasta soak up all the sauce. (I usually like to pour everything into the big stock pot to toss it, but if you can manage in your skillet that works too.) Serve with extra cheese and sprinkle with some chopped parsley, if you like.
You guys. When I opened my cupboards to start dinner last night, they were bare. Well, not really...there were plenty of pantry staples and miscellaneous cans of soup and baked beans, but nothing I could make a meal of. Or so I thought.
Then I noticed I had some basic ingredients to make a dish my mom used to make a lot. She told me once that she loves casseroles because you just mix them together, throw them in the oven and move on to another task while it cooks. Can you say perfect? I'm swamped right now, so I decided to riff on her recipe to save myself some time.
I wasn't going to blog this, but I took my first bite and decided I probably should (hence the missing chunk of cheesy goodness that I tried so artfully to hide).
Ingredients:
- 1/2 box macaroni noodles (or something similar; macaroni was what I happened to have)
- 1 can tuna
- 1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (mushrooms...ew)
- Parmesan cheese
- shredded Colby-jack or cheddar cheese (I used the former, my fave!)
This is seriously the easiest meal ever. Other than Ramen, I suppose, but I hardly count that as a meal. More of a snack, really. Anyway, this is the first dish I've made in ages--maybe ever--that didn't have any leftovers. None. That's how good this is.
Start by cooking your macaroni according to package directions. Making sure to salt the water liberally after it starts boiling, before you add the noodles. I like to overcook them a bit, because the baking tends to dry them out.
When that's done, drain and return to the pot. Drain the tuna and throw it in, along with the can of cream of chicken soup. Mix it all together. Pour in a liberal amount of Parmesan cheese. I never measure these things, but let's say about a quarter of a cup. Mix well and spread into a nonstick or greased casserole pan. Top with as much shredded cheese as your little cheesy heart desires.
Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, or if you want more time to do whatever miscellaneous tasks, cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes. Voila! Told you it was easy. Serve with more Parm. Because you can never have enough Parm.
I worked in a dining hall in college. You won’t be surprised to hear that most of the food was just not good—mass-produced food rarely is. But there was one dish that I really liked. Loved. So much so that I actually went to the head cook and asked her how she made it. So I scaled down the recipe (hey, no one’s cooking for 150 here) and voila! Springtime spaghetti. (Perfect timing, too; it just started heating up here!)
Ingredients:
- 1 box of spaghetti or linguine
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1-2 whole carrots
- fresh dill
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 zucchini
- 1 pint heavy cream
- Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While you’re waiting for that, julienne the carrot(s), bell pepper and zucchini. (Note: cucumber also works for this, as I discovered when Matt--aka Boyfriend, he said he doesn't mind if I use his name--accidentally bought the wrong produce. I think I like it better with cucumbers, in fact.) I like to use my mandolin to julienne the carrot and zucchini/cucumber to ensure equal cuts, but I usually do the bell pepper by hand.
Also, chop up your dill. How much you use is up to you; I usually use an entire pre-packaged container from Kroger (minus the stems), which is about a quarter of a cup. Or something like that. I could be entirely wrong. I love dill though, so for me, the more the better.
By now, your pot of water should be hot, but not quite boiling. Grab a very large frying pan and melt the butter in it over medium heat. I usually use more than two tablespoons, but I’m a sucker for butter. I can’t get enough. It’s really not healthy.
Mince the garlic while the butter is melting. I use a knock-off SlapChop that my grandma gave me for Christmas one year. It’s so easy! I wish I had the knife skills to mince garlic evenly by hand, but I'm kind of a klutz. Fake-SlapChop seems safer.
When your water comes to a boil, add a big helping of salt to flavor it. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, minus a minute or two so it's al dente. Drain it and return to the pot.
While the pasta is cooking, add the garlic to the pan with the butter and sauté for about a minute. Then add the carrots and dill (set a little extra aside for garnishing), sautéing for about three to four minutes. Then add the red pepper and zucchini/cucumber, sautéing for another two or three minutes. Add the cream and let it come up to a simmer (you may need to increase the heat if your pasta is done cooking at this point).
Once the mix is bubbling gently, add the Parmesan. Again, I don’t measure and I love parm, so I use way more than is probably necessary. I’m guessing that about one-third of a cup should do it. Maybe half a cup. Stir everything together, and turn the heat down or off altogether. Then add the pasta and let it finish cooking in the creamy, dilly deliciousness. Garnish with extra dill and Parmesan as desired. Makes enough for about four people.
Best news? This dish is great as leftovers. Just make sure you reheat it relatively soon after you cook it, within a few days, or that cream will get really, really gross. Trust me.
