Gnocchi in Browned Butter and Basil Sauce

I have been intimidated by homemade pasta since I took Culinary 1 my second semester of college. Even with a pasta machine, making fettuccine for class proved to be way more difficult than it looked...I was ready to make a quick run by the corner store and buy some Ronzoni honestly.  That night after class I washed my hands of homemade pasta and just told myself it was easier to buy a box. Fast forward a couple of years to may 2011 and I have decided that my culinary skills have improved enough for me to attempt pasta at home. I don't own a pasta roller as yet so I decided that gnocchi would be a great way to start. I usually buy my gnocchi from Trader Joe's or the various gourmet food stores Downtown Brooklyn, but I thought it would be a good idea to taste how fresh gnocchi would compare to the store bought variety. I found a ricotta gnocchi recipe that had rave reviews at Italian Food Forever which I might add is becoming one of my favorite new blogs to read. Making this recipe was not as difficult as I thought it would have been..in my opinion is was very easy. Finishing this gnocchi with my brown butter sauce is equally as easy and makes for an intensely flavorful pasta entree. This gnocchi was so soft and flavorful, my sister said it was like "little pillows" on her tongue. These were much softer than anything I have bought in store thus far. This made such a delightful part of my mothers day dinner and I am extremely happy that I came upon this recipe, I hope that you will give it a try in your kitchen.

I used a silicone mat to roll my gnocchi on.

Gnocchi in Browned Butter and Basil Sauce

serves 4

1 recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi

3 Tbsp Butter (salted or unsalted)

1/3 cup white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp white truffle oil

1/3 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

- Under medium heat, melt butter in large saute pan. 

- When butter is melted toss in gnocchi, turn up heat to medium-high, and let gnocchi brown on each side.

- When both sides are cooked and butter is browned (not burned) add in wine.

- Cook gnocchi in wine for 30 seconds then add in heavy cream, truffle oil, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

- Turn heat down on low and cook pasta for 3-5 minutes until liquid is reduced in half.

- Turn off the stove, toss in Parmesan cheese and basil.

- Adjust salt and pepper to taste and top pasta with additional basil.

- Serve hot.

Orzo Pasta with Broccoli

When you first look at it you may think the tiny pellets are rice but they are actually little pasta noodles. I cant recall the first time I had orzo but from the first time I ate it, its been a staple in my home. Orzo can be cooked in boiling water like most any pasta or done in a pilaf method which is my favorite. For this orzo recipe the ingredient list is simple just orzo pasta, salt, pepper, vegetable bouillon cubes, stock/broth, broccoli, grapeseed/olive oil, and additional water.

The Dream Team

This recipe is really simple and hearty, especially if you sprinkle on some grated parmesan or romano cheese it can easily become the main course at dinner. If broccoli isn't your thing you can easily replace it with spinach or any vegetable of your choice. Just make sure and adjust cooking times accordingly.

Orzo Pasta with Broccoli

1lb orzo pasta

4tbsp grapeseed oil

1tbsp butter

1 shallot minced

1/2 bulb garlic, peeled and minced

1qt vegetable stock

1 vegetarian bouillon cube

20 oz fresh or frozen chopped broccoli 

salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan (optional)

- Set large saucepan over medium/high fire and add in oil and butter.

- add shallots and garlic to pan, sauté for 2 minutes

- add in orzo pasta and sauté for an additional minute

- add in stock and bouillon cube, lower heat to medium/low

- cover pot and let it cook for 10-15 minutes

- add in broccoli, salt, pepper, and replace cover, add in additional water in necessary

- let cook on low until done.

Fish Pasta

Fish Pasta..Deelish!

You ever overcooked and had leftovers for days on end? Well sometimes that happens in the Pink Room kitchen...we get all hot and bothered with a recipe, make tons of it, then cant finish all before we get sick of it. Sometime after Christmas we fried some king fish but never got to finish it all and I couldn't bear to eat it the same way that I had been for the past few days so I wanted to make a completely new dish out of it. I know some of you are looking at the screen like "did she just say she had that fish for a few days??" I can assure you there wasn't anything wrong with the fish and if you buy fish on the regular you know how expensive it is, so letting it go to waste wasn't an option. I decided that making some kind of sauce and boiling some pasta would be the tastiest option for the fish. I wasn't really to sure how it would taste since I was using king fish which is a fish with a very outstanding flavor but you can use any thick cut fish that you have on hand. Also if you would like to make this recipe healthier just substitute regular pasta for whole grain pasta. This recipe wasn't hard to make and was ready in about half an hour and it was such a delicious meal. I recommend serving with a light salad and your favorite wine. Enjoy!

Fish Pasta

16oz linguine or spaghetti, cooked, with 1/4 cup pasta water reserved

3 large tomatoes, cut medium dice

1 medium onion, small dice

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp Italian herb blend

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

3 tbsp olive or grapeseed oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

 1lb fish, cooked and broken into chunks

- When pasta is finished boiling make sure to toss pasta with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Place large saute pan on top of medium heat, add in oil and proceed to saute garlic and onions until no longer opaque.
- Add in tomato paste and herbs, stir vigorously
- Add in tomatoes, fish, red pepper flakes, and pasta water, stir
- Lower heat and cover your pot and let it simmer for about 7-10 minutes
- When sauce reaches desired thickness, toss in your noodles and turn off the stove
- Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper, top with fresh parsley, and grated Parmesan cheese if desired
- Serve immediately

Lemon Pappardelle and pan seared snapper.

I go to school downtown Brooklyn not far from the only trader joes for the borough. Its not uncommon for me to take a cool walk down court street to visit my favorite markets...Sahadi's, A Cooks Companion, and Trader Joes. When I visited Trader Joes a couple weeks ago I picked up their lemon pepper pappardelle pasta to try out. The day that I thought of cooking it I had no idea how to prepare it but the packaging said its so flavorful that it just needed a little olive oil and salt so I decided to work around that. I chopped up some shallots, garlic and fresh herbs from my garden such as basil, parsley, and oregano and placed them to the side. After I put the pasta to boil I strained it and ran it under some cold water to shock it and placed it to the side as well. I also had some fish defrosting that was seasoned with green seasoning so I planned to let that accompany my pasta. I wasn't entirely sure how this would all come out but I was just hoping for a yummy filling meal.  I heated my saute pan and made all my herbs and aromatics sizzle and tossed in the pasta with some olive oil and Voila!!...the pasta was a palatable success! The fish I decided to keep simple and sear in grapeseed oil and that was another success. Lunch was ready in about a half hour and my tummy was thankful. If your ever in trader joes check out that lemon pappardelle in the pasta aisle and I can promise that you wont be disappointed.

Lemon Pepper Pappardelle with Pan Seared Snapper

Half package of pappardelle, about 4oz, boiled and shocked

1 shallot, small diced

4 cloves garlic, small diced

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh basil, chopped

1tsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp oregano, chopped

2 pieces snapper, steak cut

2 tbsp green seasoning, fresh or store bought

1 1/2 tbsp grapseed oil

salt and pepper to taste

- Place large saute pan under medium/high heat, add 1tbsp of olive oil 

- When oil is hot but not smoking add in garlic and shallots and saute until clear

- Add in pasta to garlic and shallots, toss for 1 minute

- Add in fresh herbs and remaining olive oil and cook until hot.

- Add salt and pepper to taste, cover and set aside

- In a next saute pan under medium/high heat add in grapeseed oil. 

- Rub in green seasoning to fish steaks

- By this time oil should be extremely hot so proceed to add steaks to the pan carefully to avoid getting burned.

- Leave steaks to brown on one side about 2-3 minutes then flip them and let the other side brown for the same time.

- Turn off heat from under fish.

- Serve immediately