caramelized onion and mushroom casserole

I can't believe I'm sharing another casserole recipe with you, again. I won't blame you if you're bored of them but I need to be honest here this one is the best. If you like casseroles, or caramelized onions, or anything you just have to make this. The idea for this one germinated when I first made a casserole containing mushrooms and caramelized onions. What if I just used more? Wouldn't that be utterly delicious? Well yes, and this is the result.

I've got to be honest, though. This is not a throw it together in fifteen minutes casserole. I spent an hour just on the onions. You might want a kitchen helper. But oh my god was this worth it. This whole idea was based around the household love of onions, and my belief that they are always better caramelized and always better with mushrooms. I wanted the onions to shine in this casserole, which is why I left out all other vegetables. I also wanted it to be a little more hearty, which is where the ground chicken came in.

If you wanted to make a vegetarian version you could easily leave out the chicken, use margarine and vegetable broth. Honestly though? I wouldn't change a thing

The secret to this recipe might have been the onions, or it might have been the kick of cayenne. I'm not quite sure. What I do know is that we fought over the leftovers.

Caramelized Onion and Cremini Casserole

Ingredients:
For the Sauce:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp dried time
• 1 - 2 tsp cayenne pepper (base this measurement on your family's spice preference, we used 2 teaspoons and it was perfect)

For the filling:

• 1/2 package of dried fusilli or rotini (the curves here pick up the onion bits and sauce perfectly)
• 12 medium yellow onions, sliced
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp for the chicken
• about 2 tbsp for the onions
• 1 pat of butter

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F.
2. In a skillet or pot with a large bottom (I used a dutch oven here) bring 2 tbsp olive oil to medium low heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and stir. You'll want to cook these all the way to caramelized and with so many onions it will take a long time.
• Note: Stir these regularly, but feel free to multi-task here. Especially for the first twenty minutes while the onions go from translucent to browned you can take your eye off them for a few minutes at a time.
3. In a medium skillet, bring 1 tbsp olive oil to medium heat. Add the ground chicken to the skillet and cook, stirring regularly, until browned. Once cooked through, transfer to a medium large bowl and set aside for now.
4. Check in on your onions. Keep cooking. They'll probably be translucent and not quite browned, but keep an eye on them.
5. Begin making your sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat melt your butter and add the flour to make your roux. Wisk to integrate, and allow to cook about five minutes, stirring regularly, to get rid of the floury taste.
6. Add the chicken broth to the roux in about 1/3 cup increments, making sure to wisk until completely integrated between each addition. Once all the broth is added, simmer over low heat until it just begins to bubble. At this point you can add the milk, as well as your seasonings (pepper, garlic, cayenne). Once again bring to a simmer to thicken slightly. At this point you can leave the sauce over low heat on a back burner.
7. Check in on your onions. They'll probably be about browned now, with bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the colour of the onions is about medium brown (not quite at the caramelized point) add the mushrooms to the pan. Stir. The mushrooms and onions will cook through together from this point on. While the mushrooms begin to cook the onions will continue to caramelize and they'll get all lovely.
• Continue cooking while making the pasta, stirring regularly. These should finish up completely soft and caramelized and delicious right about that time.
8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain.
9. In a large casserole dish combine the pasta, caramelized onion mixture and ground chicken. Pour the sauce over top and mix until evenly coated.
10. Pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes.
11. Put this in your mouth. Seriously.

caramelized onion gnocchi in parmesan cream sauce

Gnocchi is one of my most favourite pasta type dishes, in fact the only thing that even comes close is fresh, home made pasta. With the dense yet pillowy texture and that perfect chew it's hard not to love. A perfect combination is created when you douse the gnocchi with a heavy cream sauce - it's hearty, heavy and just delicious. I don't make it often because the whole combination there is bad for my waistline (and my self esteem) but oh do I love it when I have it.

Looking at the gnocchi in the fridge, knowing that I was going to do a standard alfredo sauce on it I couldn't help but wonder what else to throw in. Asparagus is always an option, and it's delicious. Pretty much any green vegetable really, but I also wanted to add some depth of flavour. The richness of the sauce needed something a little bit complex to play against. Luckily my most recent kitchen obsession, caramelized onions, seemed like the perfect match.

Anything as creamy and rich as this does need some sort of green accompaniment to provide at least that illusion of eating healthy. A light salad of spring greens would do the trick, as would a side of broccoli or any other light vegetable. What I happened to have was asparagus, but any old green thing will do as long as it's fresh. I also maybe made stuffed mushrooms that inspired me to give my recipe a new spin there, but that's not so relevant to the gnocchi.

I also made a somewhat more perfected cream sauce this time round than in my last go. The trick, obviously enough, is a heavier cream so things thicken a little better. I also played somewhat with my ratios.

Caramelized Onion Gnocchi in Parmesan Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 yellow onions, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 package gnocchi

Directions

1. In a stainless steel or cast iron saute pan bring the olive oil up to medium heat. Add the onions to the pan, lightly salt (use your first teaspoon salt here). Saute, stirring frequently, to caramelize. The process takes about 15-25 minutes and you're looking for the onions to begin to get crispy brown bits and the pan will get lots of little bits stuck on.
2. Once the onions are caramelized, chuck in the 1 tablespoon butter and allow to melt and slightly deglaze the pan. Set aside for later.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a roiling boil. When it's boiling, cook your gnocchi according to package directions which in my case was for two minutes.
4. While the water comes to heat, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the cream to the melted butter and bring to a light simmer. The mixture will thicken fairly quickly as it simmers.
5. When the cream and butter has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, bring the heat down to the lowest setting and add the remaining salt, the pepper and your parmesan. Stir until the cheese melts entirely.
6. Take the caramelized onions and add them to your cream sauce, stir it all up.
7. Add the drained gnocchi to the sauce, stir it all up until the sauce is coating every delicious little bit of your gnocchi.
8. Serve. Garnish with more parmesan if you want, but really? The sauce is enough.

caramelized onion and mushroom casserole with broccoli

Whenever I make a pasta casserole, I always think this one will be different. That this one will be the new and exciting one that's the casserole to stake my life on. Which is almost never true. That would be my mac and cheese, or the broccoli and cauliflower gratin that dinner guests request from me years later. This casserole is right in the middle. It's not something that I'd set out for Sunday dinner or as the main course when I'm having friends over ... but as a side dish or a weekday meal? This is pretty darn lovely.

My basic pasta casserole, filled with whatever's easy and in the fridge, never end up being life changing. It's pretty formulaic: pasta, vegetable, bechemel based sauce, sometimes meat if I have some on hand. Variations of this can be done simply, with frozen vegetables. It can be done somewhat easily, with just some broccoli thrown in. It's all very basic. This one, though, it has a little something special going for it.

There's a bit of a time commitment here, caramelizing the onions and sauteing the mushrooms. It's worth every second though as that's what makes this casserole just oh so good. It adds more body and depth ... so much that you could (if you were so inclined) skip the broccoli altogether and just double (or triple) mushrooms and onions. It would probably be pretty decadent.

I was also a bit crazy and tried to do everything all at once. Give yourself a break and make things in stages. It will really, really help your sanity. Then? Enjoy how deliciously lovely this is.

Oh? This will comfortably serve four for dinner as a main ... but you'll probably wish there were some leftovers.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Casserole with Broccoli

Ingredients:

For the casserole filling

• 4 cups dry, medium pasta
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 3 medium white or yellow onions, chopped
• 3 cups cremini mushrooms, halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

For the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 cup shredded old cheddar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F.
2. Make the caramelized onions and mushroom mixture.
1. In a medium sized skillet over on medium high heat, heat the olive oil until sizzling. Add the onions to the skillet. Lightly salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp if you're me.) 
2. Cook until caramelized, stirring frequently. This is going to take about fifteen to twenty minutes as the onions first go translucent, then brown, then start to get really fragrant and brown. Bits of onion will be starting to stick to the pan at the end. Add butter to the onions and allow to melt.
3. Add mushrooms to the pan, and stir. Cook the mushrooms together with the onions another five minutes, or until the mushrooms have shrunk by about half. Cooking the mushrooms in the onions allows the onions to continue to deepen their flavour without cooking too intensely, and lets the mushrooms pick up some of the caramel-y goodness.
4. Remove from the heat and set aside for later
3. Make your sauce.
1. In a medium saucepan again over medium heat, melt butter. Add the flour, wisk together until evenly incorporated with no lumps. Cook it about 3 minutes, letting the roux bubble a bit and stirring so it doesn't burn. This cooks off the flour so your sauce won't taste floury.
2. Add the milk. Wisk vigourously to get the roux incorporated. Continue to cook, wisking occasionally, until thickened. To thicken entirely, the mixture needs to come to a light, bubbly simmer at the least. Because there's such a high milk to roux ratio (to keep the casserole nice and moist) you want this to thicken as much as it will.
3. Wisk in the salt, pepper and oregano.
4. Turn the heat down to the minimum and add in the cheddar. Wisk until completely melted into the sauce, remove from heat and set the sauce aside.
4. Make your pasta.
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. In the last two to three minutes of cooking throw the broccoli into the pot. This allows the broccoli to begin the cooking process so it will come out of the casserole properly cooked.
3. Drain.
5. Assemble your casserole.
1. Pour your pasta and broccoli into the casserole dish. Pour the onions and mushrooms on top, scraping the pan to make sure you get all the yummy caramelized bits.
2. Pour your sauce overtop of the casserole components.
3. Give it all a good mix, making sure there's a little bit of broccoli and a good distribution of onion and mushrooms in every bit of the pan. You can eyeball this - it's pretty obvious when you've got a good mixture of things.
4. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese overtop for just a little bit crunch.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Eat. Have some seconds, because you probably will.

cheater meals - club house alfredo with asparagus and fake crab

Some weeks I get shafted at work. By which I mean I get the late shift, and while I get lovely mornings to myself to read and quilt and have a fancy pancake and spiced apple breakfast (yes, I will share that eventually, as it's a favourite) I come home after 9pm tired and cranky and the last thing I want to do at that moment is make dinner. Sometimes I'll luck out and my mom or Bunny will have something ready for me, other times there are leftovers (if I'm smart I made soup earlier in the week), but some days I get home at about 9:30 and am faced with the task of making dinner. Which doesn't make me a happy camper to begin with at that hour, but it's why I have cheater hacks.

Not every meal needs to be fancy. For the most part, all that most meals need is some carbs, some protein and some great vegetables. Nights like this, I'll rely on some prepackaged foods that I usually avoid, like a packet of Club House alfredo sauce and some imitation crab. Spruced up with some asparagus, fresh parmesan and a clove or two of garlic and things get good. Or at least, my mom and Bunny get happy and I stop being grumpy.

Spruced Up Club House Alfredo with Crab and Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1/2 package of rotini or penne
• 1 package imitation crab
• 1 bunch asparagus
• fresh parmesan
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or, if you really feel like cheating you can buy this stuff in jars)
• 1 packet Club House alfredo sauce and related ingredients
• 3/4 cups milk
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to boil.
2. Rinse asparagus. Snap off the ends - wherever they snap naturally is good. Roughly chop the aspargus lengths into thirds and set aside.
3. Cut the "crab" into inch long slices.
4. When water comes to a boil, put pasta and set timer according to package directions. Depending on the dried pasta you're using here this will probably be between 7-11 minutes. Keep an eye on the time and when there are five minutes left throw the asparagus into the pot with the pasta.
5. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
6. Throw the garlic in once butter is melted, stir for about 2 minutes.
7. Add the milk to the butter-garlic mixtures, as well as the Club House packet. Stir around until it's an even mix. Stir occasionally as the sauce comes to a light simmer, which is where things start to thicken.
8. When the timer goes, add the crab pieces to the alfredo sauce. Drain the pasta and asparagus.
9. Add the pasta and vegetables to the sauce, mix until everything is evenly coated. Grate about 1/4 cup fresh parm over the pasta, stir around again.
10. Eat. If you're me, then promptly go to bed.

pasta casserole with carrots and peas

I've had this casserole craving lately, and it's strong enough that it can't be solved simply by mac and cheese. I feel the need to put all sort of different casseroles together, come up with new and exciting things and just keep eating casserole. This casserole isn't anything mindblowing, but it's definitely a great side dish. (If it weren't for Bunny this could even be the main, really.)

It's a simple formula, really. You need a starch, and almost any will do: pasta, rice, quiona, potato. You need a sauce, and any basic mother sauce can really handle this. You might want some other stuff to add more flavour, this is whatever you feel like or have on hand. I've done casseroles in the past with meats and vegetables, just with meat, and I've even got this idea for the future that some toasted nuts might be nice for texture.

This isn't the mind blowing, best casserole ever recipe. This is really just what I had on hand - rotini, frozen peas and carrots. More than anything it was an experiment to see if my sauce would work and I was quite happy with how that turned out. Really it's the breadcrumbs that make this amazing. It also made a great next day lunch, so there's that going for it.

Also a note on the directions. I've set things up to have you cook the pasta before starting the sauce but it's really not necessary. If you want to start your sauce as your pasta is cooking (or even as the water is coming to a boil) simply pay attention to your timer for cooking the pasta and vegetables and forge onwards with the sauce.

Ingredients

• 350grams dried rotini
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 cups frozen carrots
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Cook your pasta.
2. Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. (Rotini is about 8 minutes to al dente).
3. With three minutes left in your cooking time, add frozen vegetables.
4. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of cooking water.
5. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
6. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter is melted add the flour to the pan, wisking vigorously. Cook the roux for about 2-3 minutes, until it comes to a consistent texture and start to smell like it's cooking.
7. Add the milk to the roux, stirring frequently. At first the roux will likely look like chunks that wont dissolve, but as the milk comes to a boil and with continued stirring I promise that it does. Keep stirring until the mixture starts bubbling and thickening up.
8. Once the milk has thickened, add the salt, poultry seasoning and the reserved pasta water and stir until it comes back to a boil.
9. Remove from heat, add shredded cheese and stir until it melts evenly throughout.
10. Transfer pasta to a baking dish and pour the sauce overtop. Mix everything up a bit until things are evenly coated. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over top.
11. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.

rotini with butternut squash

The first time I heard about pasta with butternut squash I made a "ewwww" face. Because that's gross. Right? Turns out that's not right. It's actually kind of fantastic. Especially if you're me and are the one freak of nature in the world who is convinced that tomatoes, especially tomato sauce, is just the grossest thing ever. I mean the smell of pasta sauce sends me out of the room gagging. So this butternut squash thing? It's a nice change from the usual olive oil and parmesan or cream sauce routine I have with the pasta.

I've seen numerous suggestions for this, and while I'm sure a puree would be delicious, and I'm sure that I'd enjoy it if the squash chunks were a more firm-tender I have a sneaking suspicion that this way is best. Caramelizing the squash chunks mean that I can get an almost sauce-like consistency when mixed with the browned butter at the end while still maintaining some of the bite of the squash. The soft-but-not-liquidy texture is an interesting contrast to the pasta.

There are things I would change, as always, if only to try something different next time. There was a bag of pecans I almost chopped and toasted to mix in with this, but Bunny's impending root canal stopped me. (Thank you dentists for giving me my husband back. The grump monster was getting old.) For the same reason I also cooked the pasta itself just passed al dente so that things would be easier on him. If I'd planned ahead to have fresh sage, or any herb really, on hand I would have added that to the brown butter mixture.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried sage (or other green herbs. I was sorely tempted to use mint, which I just might do next time.)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 medium butternut squash, cut into 2" cubes. You'll want these to be uniform, but uniformity is more important than getting any specific size.
• about 500 grams of rotini, fusili or penne (for us this was about 1/2 a package of rotini)
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil for easy clean up. Lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray or oil. Lay out squash cubes in a single layer across the sheet.
3. Cook for approximately 1 hour, or until the squash starts to caramelize. Look for the edges of the cubes to just be turning brown as you remove the squash from the oven.
4. Start preparing pasta, according to package directions. Don't forget to liberally salt the water, as this is the main opportunity to season the pasta. My pasta took about 10 minutes to cook and the water about 5 minutes to heat. If your pasta requires shorter or longer cooking time, adjust when you start this step accordingly. When the pasta finishes cooking, reserve about 1/2-1 cup of cooking water before draining it off.
5. In a large skillet over low heat, melt the butter. Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter begins to take a slightly browned colour. Let heat for approximately 10 minutes. When the butter is properly browned it will start smelling rather nutty and sweet, and will take on a really luxurious flavour. The low heat is super important here, as it's incredibly easy for the butter to move from browned to burnt and higher heat will speed that process. By keeping the heat low it's easier to monitor your butter.
6. Once that butter browns, remove from the heat and stir in the garlic and herbs. If you're adding something like fresh sage or rosemary this is the time to do that as well.
7. Bring the pan back over the heat and add the squash to the butter. Mix everything around to get an even coating of butter on the squash. Turn the heat up to medium and cook the browned butter and squash together, stirring constantly. The aim here is to get the squash to break up a little bit so it can cling to the pasta, rather than just be chunks of squash in the pasta. Cook for about 3-5 minutes (or until you see a consistency of squash that you like.)
8. By now your pasta should be cooked and drained. Add pasta to the skillet and stir vigourously to thoroughly coat with the butter and squash. Let everything hang out in the skillet for about 2-3 minutes at this point.
9. If desired, add 1/2 - 1 cup of reserved cooking water to the pasta/squash. Let lightly simmer until it comes together with the butter into a more saucy consistency. This helps the butter really adhere to the pasta, and tastes a touch lighter.
10. Eat! Enjoy! If you're a fan, serve with a liberal helping of freshly grated parmesan. Or garlic toast (if you're my mom or Bunny that's a must.)

simple almond pesto

Pasta's a staple around here, as I'm sure it is in many houses. Unfortunately I'm a little particular about pasta sauces (result of my long standing, inexplicable hatred of the tomato. I seriously can't stand those things) and so I end up eating a lot of lazy pasta with just olive oil or butter and cheese, and tons of pasta with alfredo sauce, and lots of mac and cheese and the like.

It's summer though, and alfredo and mac and cheese are pretty heavy. Undressed pasta gets pretty boring after awhile (unless its fancy ravioli, which I do really need to try my hand at) and clearly it was time to change things up. A pesto seemed just the way to do that. Just one problem, and one you've heard before: I'm cheap. And pinenuts are expensive. So I said screw that, I'm using almonds. It worked just fine, I think.

This is for a tiny batch, four servings. It doesn't make a lot, but what it does has some punch. When I first turned the processor on with the basil in there the kitchen filled up with the most wonderful bright, green scent. It even tastes green. (I'm not crazy, I sweat, but that's the most accurate description.)

Ingredients

• 1 large handful of fresh basil
• that translates to about one cup, or 40grams but this is a very rough measurement
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons almonds or other nuts of your choice
• I used blanched and unsalted, but you can use roasted
• pine nuts are much more traditional, but they're not cheap
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• salt to taste

Directions

1. In a food processor (or a blender, or a magic bullet - use what you have), grind up your nuts until they're somewhat mealy.
2. Add the basil to the processor, pulse for a couple of seconds. This is just to break up the basil a bit and mix it with the nuts before the oil goes in. (I find things mix up better this way.) This is where it starts to smell good.
3. Add the olive oil to the processor and give it a few whirls. You're looking for the basil to break down completely and for all three components to start to mix together. Scrape down the bowl once or twice between whirls.
4. When everything is well blended, add the parmesan and give it a final spin or two, just to evenly distribute the cheese throughout the sauce.
5. You have almond pesto! Pour it over some freshly cooked pasta (or mix it up with the pasta) and enjoy. Or do some other crazy things with it - use it as sandwich spread, or to marinate some chicken or whatever makes you happy.

pasta alfredo with crab and broccoli

I know, you must be sick of alfredo recipes from me by now. I've given you plenty. (Heck, even the non-alfredo pasta recipes I've given you involve cheese. There is pesto on my horizons though, and I promise I will come out with a few cheese-less recipes at some point.) But here's the thing: pasta alfredo is dead easy to make, and infinitely variable. You can add any ingredients you like, or none at all. You can make the sauce fancier by caramelizing some onions and garlic first, like I'm doing here, or you can leave things be.

This variation is inspired by my standby in university, which was pasta with Club House alfredo sauce, frozen peas and fake crab. Fastest, easiest go to meal of university. Or at least the most frequent one I made. I've stuck with the fake crab (for the sake of my pocketbook), but upgraded everything else. Frozen peas have been switched for fresh broccoli, and I'm using my same basic alfredo sauce. The onions and garlic are just to add a little more dimension.

I don't get bored of this, really. It's just all about changing things up. I think you've got a few ideas on how to do that, by now.

Ingredients:

• about 500 grams dry pasta, cooked according to package directions (I used a fusilli)
• 3/4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup butter + 2 tsp butter
• 1/2-2/3rds cups cream (again, I'm using a light 5% cream, but go with what makes you happy)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 small heads of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions

1. In a medium skillet over high heat, heat 2 tsp butter. When the butter melts, add the onions and garlic to the skillet, and cook at a high heat, until the onions start to go brown. This takes awhile.
• I used a 9" nonstick skillet, and it took about 10 minutes for the onions to begin to brown around the edges.
2. As you continue to cook down your onions, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When it comes to the boil, add your pasta and cook according to package directions. Throw the broccoli in with the pasta and let them cook together.
• I used fusili, which takes about 9 minutes to cook. So all the time directions here are based on 9 minutes of pasta cooking. If your pasta takes less than 9 minutes, put the broccoli in first. If it takes more than 9 minutes, add your broccoli with about 9 minutes left.
3. While the pasta cooks, continue to caramelize your onions. They'll get really dark and yummy. You've already spent about 10 minutes cooking onions by now, expect at this point to spend another 10.
4. When you have about three minutes of cook time left on your pasta, turn the heat down to medium on your onions and add the rest of the butter to the skillet with the onions and melt it down.
5. Once your butter is melted, add the cream to the pan. You'll want to vigorously stir this to incorporate both elements. After everything's mixed up, let the mixture bubble for a bit - that's the part that allows the cream to thicken the sauce. Stir it now and again to make sure things don't burn on the bottom of your pan.
6. Set aside about a cup of your pasta water.
7. Drain your pasta.
8. Add the cheese to your sauce. Mix it up a bit. Let the cheese dissolve.
9. Add the pasta and broccoli (that you put in with the pasta) to the sauce. Mix it all around.
10. Optional: If you feel like the sauce isn't coating the pasta well, add some of your pasta water, and continue to mix it up. This will thin your sauce a little bit more than it already is, but since alfredo is so heavy that doesn't bother me. You'll also get the bonus of the starch water helping your sauce stick to your pasta.
11. Serve. Eat. Garnish with a little more parmesan.

gnocchi alfredo with chicken and asparagus

When mid-June treated us to a massive heat wave, it was pretty clear that use of the oven for dinner making was completely off limits. Bunny can BBQ up some delicious things, but he's busy and tired and cooking is my job, not his. (He gets to do heavy lifting and moving and all these things that I can't or won't do. I get to own the kitchen. Which works, because I have no intention of ever giving up kitchen control, in all honesty.) So I had to figure out ways to cook, with what was in my mother's fridge, without using the oven.

After sifting through the fridge I came up with a package of gnocchi that she'd picked up when Bunny and I mentioned how much we love it, as well as a bunch of asparagus, some chicken breasts left over from earlier in the week, the parmesan I'd brought from Toronto, and coffee cream. I was pretty sure I could turn that into dinner.

Usually when I do pastas, I make a pasta and then have my accompaniments on the side. That gets a little boring, though, a little uninteresting. Plus, all the amazing pastas that I have at all these great Italian places in Toronto mix everything in, and it works well. So I decided to give it a whirl.

Like most of my pasta dishes, this one is pretty adaptable. Swap out the gnocchi for a more traditional pasta (or get adventurous and make the gnocchi from scratch this is on my to-do list for the future, by the way), asparagus can be switched out for any other vegetable (and a frozen one is even easier), chicken was what I had on hand, but I'm sure other proteins would work.

However, I have to tell you that this dish, just like I made it, turned out pretty awesome. it was just enough to feed three people (normal sized portions for my mom and me, larger for Bunny) and we had nothing left over. It was utterly delicious, and Bunny went so far as to compare it to a dish from my favourite Italian eatery. The creaminess of the alfredo sauce matches well with the density of the gnocchi and gives some punch to the chicken and compliments the fresh crunch of asparagus.

As with all alfredos, though, this is a heavy dish. Don't count on wanting huge portions when the weather outside is hot and humid. This is filling, and rich.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken
• This is a great use for almost any leftover chicken, but if you have raw chicken, just cook it simply. I let my breasts marinade in balsamic and lemon before putting them on the Foreman grill for about 10 minutes, but you could cook them in a pan or the oven as need be. They also sell packs of pre-cooked, pre-sliced chicken at the grocery store, and this is a good use.
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• 1 small package gnocchi
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cups cream
• I used a 5% coffee cream, but if I were using a heavier cream I'd probably use closer to a 1/2 cup
• 1/2 - 3/4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper, to taste (use freshly ground pepper, if possible)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
2. For the asparagus, break off the woody bottom parts. You can cut them, but the easiest way is to snap them between your hands; the stem snaps higher than I might like, but exactly where it naturally should. You'll also want to wash them thoroughly, as sand gets trapped easily around the heads and around those little daggy bits on the spear.
3. Cook your asparagus!
• I did mine on the Foreman grill, for 10 minutes, without adding anything.
• If you have a stovetop grillpan, lightly oil that and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Also feel free to boil or steam them - this bit isn't fussy. You just want some cooked asparagus. Again, about 7-10 minutes.
4. After the asparagus has finished cooking, chop the stems into rough thirds. This makes it way more fork-ready.
5. When your pasta water comes to a boil, cook the gnocchi according to package directions. As a general rule, gnocchi will sink to the bottom of the pot when it is uncooked and floats up top when it's cooked. Depending on whether you are using fresh or a dried variety, this can take between 2 and about 10 minutes.
• If you're using fresh gnocchi, start making your alfredo (next step) before you begin boiling the gnocchi.
• If you're using dry gnocchi, start making your alfredo once you have the gnocchi in the water.
• When done, if your sauce isn't done yet, just let it sit to the side in the strainer. It's not a big deal.
6. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium high heat.
7. Once butter has melted, add the cream to the saute pan. Wisk the cream into the butter. They don't come together too easily, so you'll want to wisk a fair bit.
8. When the cream-and-butter mixture starts to bubble and thicken a bit, add your parmesan cheese. Again you'll want to wisk well to incorporate the cheese.
9. At this point, taste your sauce. Add salt and pepper as needed. (You don't need too much salt, since a good parmesan is salty to begin with, but if you're like me and Bunny you will want to add a good dose of pepper.) Wisk again.
10. Add your drained gnocchi, your sliced chicken and asparagus to the sauce. Stir things around, so everything gets evenly covered in the sauce and well distributed.
11. Spoon out your yumminess and eat and enjoy it.
12. Grate some more parmesan on the top if you feel like being decadent.

fettucine alfredo

Some dishes are inherently decadent. There's no real way to make things lighter through substitutes, nor would you really want to. To make things healthier would be to ruin things. For me, fettucine alfredo is one of those dishes. Mounds of delicious, carb-tastic pasts (bonus points if it's fresh), swimming in that delicious, rich sauce. Copious doses of heavy cream, real butter and loads of fresh parmesan melted into each other. It's heaven on a fork.

I made this for the first time in a grade ten cooking class, and was delighted by my new found skills. I may have eaten this for about four weeks straight after I learned how to make it. I ate heaps of fettucine in alfredo sauce. Since then, I've come to realize that heavy pastas are not necessarily the best choice for everyday eating. Every once in awhile, though, the idea plants itself in my mind and there is no escaping it.

There are more traditional recipes than mine out there. The most traditional exclude the cream entirely. And add the parmesan at the end. That's not my recipe, though. I use the amounts as guidelines. If I want a thicker sauce, I reduce the cream. I just have fun with this, because it's pure indulgence.

I craved this for weeks before giving in and making this. Why? I'm not sure.


Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pasta, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Once melted, add the cream.
3. Mix that all together, until it's fairly even. You'll still have whiter and yellower spots, but that's ok.
4. Place your pasta in a large mixing or serving bowl, sprinkle the cheese over it.
5. Pour the cream and butter mixture on top of that.
6. Using tongs, serving forks or whatever utensil you like, toss everything around.
7. Serve. Eat.
8. It's really that simple, I promise.

cheesy broccoli & pasta casserole

I did not grow up on casseroles. I grew up with casserole dishes used as serving dishes, but that's really as close as things get. Those green bean casseroles everyone sees around Thanksgiving? Alien to me. Tuna casserole I know of, and I even know the way my nanny made them; I've never been served it. I don't think I've even eaten it, to be honest. Past roommates have made casseroles, so I've seen them. In theory I get the can of mushroom soup + chicken + rice or pasta = dinner equation.

But I've never really done casseroles. I've had this growing affair, though, with gratins. The broccoli/cauliflower gratin I made when Bunny's sister was here, the parsnip/carrot one I've made a few times; they just make me want to make more. In theory, I think a casserole would not be that different from a gratin. So, towards the casserole we go.

All afternoon I've been thinking about a baked pasta. But I don't want to go the mac-and-cheese route, that would be too heavy. I want some greenery in my dinner, some heft to the nutritional value. Something with a bit of a crunch, to give a bit of a textural contrast.

In my head there was broccoli. A heavier sauce: a bechamel, maybe even with cheese. Not cheddar, or gouda: something a little bit different. Mozzarella, for gooiness; parmesan for flavour.

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Casserole

Ingredients

• 1/2 package of dry pasta - I used rotini
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets & disks
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp butter/margarine
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• salt - 1/2 tsp for the sauce, plus more for salting your water
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. In large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions. In the last 2 or 3 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli. This gets the broccoli started just enough that it will finish in the oven.
2. Put pasta and broccoli in a large casserole dish. Set aside.
3. In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil. When hot, add garlic and red onion, saute 3 - 5 minutes, until translucent. When these are beautiful and smell lovely, add them into the casserole dish with the broccoli and pasta. Mix everything together well until it is evenly mixed.
4. Preheat oven to 350*. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter or margarine. Add flour and wisk to make a roux. Cook about 3-4 minutes to allow the rawness of the flour to cook off. Add the milk, as well as salt, garlic powder and thyme. Wisk to combine. Cook over medium heat until the milk thickens and begins to bubble, wisking occasionally. (In my experience, the bubbles are the key that your bechamel is ready for the next step. The bubbles will be about the size of a quarter.)
5. When the bechamel has thickened, turn heat to low. Slowly add mozzarella cheese into the sauce, stirring to incorporate. Once all mozzarella is combined, add half of the parmesan. Stir until melted into the sauce.
6. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and pasta. Using spoons or tongs, toss until all the casserole contents are evenly coated with sauce.
7. Combine remaining parmesan with breadcrumbs, sprinkle on top of the casserole.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
9. Eat. Enjoy. Share. Freeze some for lunch next week, even.

Notes

• Cheeses: I went with mozzarella and parmesan largely because a) I had them on hand and b) I wanted more subtle flavours. If you want a stronger cheesy flavour, go with something stronger.
• I find that at least 2 cups of milk is necessary for keeping everything well coated and moist through the cooking process. Any less and you end up with kind of crusty, dry pasta. Don't do that.
• This is a very mild flavoured dish. Bunny doused his in hot sauce (he's on a kick) but I found it was a nice as a calmer dish. Very kid-friendly.
• Of course you can change out the broccoli for other vegetables if you'd prefer. Broccoli is just one of our favourites.

mac & cheese

The easiest of all recipes. In fact, I do not even truly use a recipe anymore, more work with what I have available to me and what feels right. I started off, as do most, with a basic bechamel sauce, and slowly developed my own.

This recipe is the single biggest hit I've ever had with Bunny. He's in love.

Of course, there are infinite variations. Change the cheese, change the seasonings, change the pasta. Add breadcrumbs, crumbled chips (oooh salty!) or more cheese to make a crust. Mix in bits of vegetable, or bacon or seafood. Delicious. More or less milk to create a thicker or thinner sauce (same with the cheese).

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 cups (approximately) grated cheese
• Note: I usually use cheddar, but seriously go wild. This is your own mac and cheese
• 1 package pasta
• Note 1 - I use shells. I find they hold the cheese better than macaroni, and I love how they reheat.
• Note 2 - my favourite way to measure the pasta? Take the casserole I plan on baking and dump pasta in it until you are 2/3rds to 3/4s full. This tends to cook up properly.
• Seasonings - my preference is:
• 1-2 tsps each garlic powder, mustard & cumin. But this is constantly changing plus of course salt to taste.

Directions.

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Bring pot of (heavily salted) water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and set aside.
2. In a separate saucepot, melt butter. When liquid, add flour. Wisk together and cook a few minutes until flour is cooked through. Add milk. Continue to wisk and incorporate the milk into  the roux. When the milk thickens (it will all come together, the roux will incorporate and the mixture will start bubbling), add your spices.
3. Turn heat down to low, and slowly stir in the cheese in small batches, until it is all equally mixed in.
4. In casserole dish, mix together cooked pasta and your sauce. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbly. Enjoy!

easy pasta with spinach

Last night, I was not really in touch with my hunger. I needed to eat, but didn't entirely feel like it. Unfortunately, when I don't feel like eating I don't feel like cooking. So, what's a girl to make when she has herself and a fiance to feed and not a lot of energy to do it with?

Easy Spinach & Parmesan Pasta. It's practically cheating.

Ingredients (approximate amounts based on a Bunny-and-Sheryl sized serving, no leftovers)

• Pasta - two handfuls or so of penne or rotini
• Big pot of salted (oceany) water
• Three handfuls baby spinach
• About a half cup of parmesan cheese

Steps:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add more salt than you think you should.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions (usually about 7 - 9 minutes for penne or rotini)
3. Put a big heaping handful of spinach in a mixing bowl - you should probably think you have too much spinach. Then forget about it for now.
4. When the pasta's done, drain it and pour the pasta over the spinach. Cover with some sort of lid (a plate, the lid from your stockpot) and let rest for two or three minutes. This allows time for the heat of the pasta and the steam trapped by the lid to wilt the spinach.
5. Remove the lid, stir the pasta until spinach is evenly distributed throughout
6. Plate your pasta
7. Grate parmesan overtop to taste

I spent maybe 5 minutes total in the kitchen, and it was some seriously good eats. I was satisfied, and I loved that it was simple.

Now I'm off to a lunch out and my first bridal apparel appointment, and home to a big cooking project.