Kathleen
Cupcake
Spaghetti with fresh tomato/basil sauce and meatballs with melon.
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 - What's on the Table for Dinner?
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GinnyPNW
Master Chef
Thief!!! I'm making sketty and meatballs too. Although, I grabbed some frozen chicken/basil meatballs from the freezer...using a --shhhh-- can of Marinara w/cheese (from the restaurant store, that I just want to try)...over some thin spaghetti. I'm trying to whittle down the freezer stuff. There will be garlic bread too...maybe some ice cream for after.
OP
OP
Kathleen
Cupcake
We had caramel corn for dessert.
thymeless
Sous Chef
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2006
- Messages
- 638
Pho with smoked brisket slices
Another slow cooker meal, I'm on a roll!
This time a full roast chicken in the larger s/c. Rice drowned in the sauce with steamed carrots and broccoli.
Lot of leftovers for a gazillion meals.
This time a full roast chicken in the larger s/c. Rice drowned in the sauce with steamed carrots and broccoli.
Lot of leftovers for a gazillion meals.
pepperhead212
Executive Chef
97° here, so I didn't do much outside, and only cooked a little - some BEP in the Instant Pot, which I rinsed, and cooled, and they are in the fridge, in about 3 lbs of diced tomatoes, with garlic, basil, anchovies, olives, and olive paste, and tomorrow I'll add some pasta to that mix. Today, I finished leftovers, and had some guacamole. Another record temperature tomorrow, so all I'm planning to cook is the pasta, for those tomatoes.
cjmmytunes
Head Chef
Garlic-marinated pork chops, cheddar-broccoli rice, stewed apples, and animal crackers.
What is BEP?
DH ordered a hamburger and I ordered a crispy chicken sandwich. We both had tater tots with.
It's still over a hundred here so I am been avoiding cooking all summer. I was working today so I carried out El Fenix for lunch and barbecue brisket and baked potato for dinner. I have something I could fall out to cook a easy hamburger pasta dish that is good but I haven't been in the mood for it. I've got to make a plan tomorrow. It's going to be 105 So the plan will not include anything that takes any time at all!
pepperhead212
Executive Chef
Sorry - that's a short way of saying black eyed peas. I should realize that's not a well known item, even up in my area.
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
A ham and cheese sandwich on Italian bread with chips and a pickle.
Blueberries and banana slices for afters.
Blueberries and banana slices for afters.
Jade Emperor
Sous Chef
@Kathleen was the sgetti home made? Believe me, the taste is amazingly different and absolutely well worth the little bit of extra effort! 
Hit me up if you want a good recipe, it’s not hard
Hit me up if you want a good recipe, it’s not hard
OP
OP
Kathleen
Cupcake
I did not make the pasta from scratch. I've made pasta before though, and it was good, but I am still seeking that perfect combination. Please share your recipe, @Jade Emperor
I had some Hungarian hot peppers from my in-laws garden. I made mixture of finely diced chicken, boursin cheese, parmesan cheese, heavy cream, roasted garlic, and minced shallot with fresh basil, oregano and parsley from the garden and stuffed them. I baked them in a thin layer of tomato sauce and served with garlic bread. Yum!
yummm, melon meatballs! never had but sound great
OP
OP
Kathleen
Cupcake
Okay, smarty-pants: tomato/basil sauce and meatballs, AND melon. 
Punctuation and grammar do matter though. For example, "Let's eat, Grandma!" VS. "Let's eat Grandma!"
In fact, I guess we can say that punctuation saves lives!
Punctuation and grammar do matter though. For example, "Let's eat, Grandma!" VS. "Let's eat Grandma!"
In fact, I guess we can say that punctuation saves lives!
GinnyPNW
Master Chef
A friend used, "Richard said the client is an idiot." vs. "Richard, said the client, is an idiot."Okay, smarty-pants: tomato/basil sauce and meatballs, AND melon.
Punctuation and grammar do matter though. For example, "Let's eat, Grandma!" VS. "Let's eat Grandma!"
In fact, I guess we can say that punctuation saves lives!
Jade Emperor
Sous Chef
My pasta recipe:
250gm 00 flour + more on hand as required
2 eggs, room temperature
Pinch salt
Olive oil, again as required (sometimes I leave this out, with no real effect)
Mix the salt and flour together as you start. It makes a difference.
Add in each egg individually, molding the dough as you go. I’n using my KitchenAid with the dough hook by this step.
I add more flour as it is needed, as the size of the eggs and the ambient temperature changes the texture and overall the dough can be sticky and sometimes gloopy by here.
Keep kneading until you have a soft, beautiful ball of pasta dough - almost like a bread dough before it gets baked. It should be soft and pliable.
Important! Cover and wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but really not longer than 2-3 hours. The older your dough is, the more reactive the eggs become and it will turn greenish if not used reasonably quickly. You can divide up your ball and freeze whatever you don’t need immediately, but of course remember to defrost gently in the fridge before you use it.
On a floured board, take the chilled pasta and begin to knead it into a thin sheet (or use the KitchenAid like I do, lol lazy!)
Once you have your desired thickness, adding dusting flour as you go, cut into the shapes you want. Spaghetti, fettuccine, angel hair, lasagna sheets, whatever.
It’s important now to let the pasta dry for a while before cooking. I usually aim for about 20 minutes on a pasta drying rack, but a lot of mommas use a broomstick handle or such. I don’t let it dry for much longer as it can break if too dry.
To cook, a large pot with boiling water well salted. Don’t believe the hype that it should “taste like the sea”. This is nonsense. It should be well seasoned, but not overly so. Keep in mind that the pasta water in a small way will become part of your whole finished dish, so too much salt at this point will make your sauce overly salty later. I personally don’t salt my sauce very much because I know that it will get some later.
I then cook my fresh pasta for about 6 minutes for aldente spaghetti, maybe a minute or two more for fettuccine and obviously I bake if making lasagna.
This step, along with the kneading of the dough is where you (or at least, I) get the wonderful endorphin rush of watching my beautiful, very very simple ingredients come together and do their work.
Once the pasta is cooked to my desired texture, I drain it with a colander and retain some of the liquid of pasta cooking water, the amount depends on how much pasta you have cooked, but generally about 3 tbsp for this recipe.
Then I return it to the warm saucepan and pour in my sauce, stirring and mixing it together, while keeping some of my sauce aside to pour on my finished dish.
Then I serve up. For a professional look, use a large salad fork to twist it into an attractive shape. Then spoon over some of your remaining sauce, but remember not to overdo it here. The pasta is the hero, and the sauce should be the accompaniment.
Finish with finely grated Grana Pandano and picked basil leaves, or whatever else is going to work for your dish.
I generally agree that the grated cheese doesn’t really work with a delicate fish ragu, it’s a bit strong of a flavour clash.
I really really recommend playing around with this recipe, technique and your sauce. You will find your rhythm and preferences the more often you try this recipe, and it is very fun and satisfying.
Believe me when I say that your homemade fresh pasta is miles better in texture and taste than any dried, bought product - no matter how good the quality of the store bought stuff might be. It’s just different level when you make your own. I almost never use dried pasta nowadays, only when I am needing a particular shape, for which I am not going to buy an extruder.
Sorry about the very long post. If you have any questions or wish to discuss further, hit me up!
250gm 00 flour + more on hand as required
2 eggs, room temperature
Pinch salt
Olive oil, again as required (sometimes I leave this out, with no real effect)
Mix the salt and flour together as you start. It makes a difference.
Add in each egg individually, molding the dough as you go. I’n using my KitchenAid with the dough hook by this step.
I add more flour as it is needed, as the size of the eggs and the ambient temperature changes the texture and overall the dough can be sticky and sometimes gloopy by here.
Keep kneading until you have a soft, beautiful ball of pasta dough - almost like a bread dough before it gets baked. It should be soft and pliable.
Important! Cover and wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but really not longer than 2-3 hours. The older your dough is, the more reactive the eggs become and it will turn greenish if not used reasonably quickly. You can divide up your ball and freeze whatever you don’t need immediately, but of course remember to defrost gently in the fridge before you use it.
On a floured board, take the chilled pasta and begin to knead it into a thin sheet (or use the KitchenAid like I do, lol lazy!)
Once you have your desired thickness, adding dusting flour as you go, cut into the shapes you want. Spaghetti, fettuccine, angel hair, lasagna sheets, whatever.
It’s important now to let the pasta dry for a while before cooking. I usually aim for about 20 minutes on a pasta drying rack, but a lot of mommas use a broomstick handle or such. I don’t let it dry for much longer as it can break if too dry.
To cook, a large pot with boiling water well salted. Don’t believe the hype that it should “taste like the sea”. This is nonsense. It should be well seasoned, but not overly so. Keep in mind that the pasta water in a small way will become part of your whole finished dish, so too much salt at this point will make your sauce overly salty later. I personally don’t salt my sauce very much because I know that it will get some later.
I then cook my fresh pasta for about 6 minutes for aldente spaghetti, maybe a minute or two more for fettuccine and obviously I bake if making lasagna.
This step, along with the kneading of the dough is where you (or at least, I) get the wonderful endorphin rush of watching my beautiful, very very simple ingredients come together and do their work.
Once the pasta is cooked to my desired texture, I drain it with a colander and retain some of the liquid of pasta cooking water, the amount depends on how much pasta you have cooked, but generally about 3 tbsp for this recipe.
Then I return it to the warm saucepan and pour in my sauce, stirring and mixing it together, while keeping some of my sauce aside to pour on my finished dish.
Then I serve up. For a professional look, use a large salad fork to twist it into an attractive shape. Then spoon over some of your remaining sauce, but remember not to overdo it here. The pasta is the hero, and the sauce should be the accompaniment.
Finish with finely grated Grana Pandano and picked basil leaves, or whatever else is going to work for your dish.
I generally agree that the grated cheese doesn’t really work with a delicate fish ragu, it’s a bit strong of a flavour clash.
I really really recommend playing around with this recipe, technique and your sauce. You will find your rhythm and preferences the more often you try this recipe, and it is very fun and satisfying.
Believe me when I say that your homemade fresh pasta is miles better in texture and taste than any dried, bought product - no matter how good the quality of the store bought stuff might be. It’s just different level when you make your own. I almost never use dried pasta nowadays, only when I am needing a particular shape, for which I am not going to buy an extruder.
Sorry about the very long post. If you have any questions or wish to discuss further, hit me up!
OP
OP
Kathleen
Cupcake
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