Recipe: Spaghetti with Clams

Ingredients
1 pound dried spaghetti
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
5 to 7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 1/2 pounds Manila clams, scrubbed clean
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced into small cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, zested, for garnish

Directions
In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta, stirring constantly in the beginning to prevent it from sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. When almost smoking, add shallots and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the clams and wine. Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until most clams have opened.

Add 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Whisk in butter to thicken sauce slightly.

Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water - this will remove the pasta's natural starches. Place pasta into the clam saute pan and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning.

Pour pasta into large serving bowl. Zest lemon over the dish, being carefull not to zest the white part of the lemon, which is bitter. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

Found HERE.

Recipe: Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 sweet bell peppers (red or yellow)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and break apart using a pair of kitchen shears or your finger tips. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate.

FOUND HERE.

Photo credit: Peppers - Pfeiffer Photos copyright 2008.

Recipe: Ruby Red Grapefruit Margarita

Just finished up my term paper for Art History 206. One of these seems like it'd be pretty darn good right about now. Enjoy!



Ruby Red Grapefruit Margarita

Ingredients
1 wedge Ruby Red grapefruit
Coarse kosher salt
6 ounces tequila
1/3 cup Ruby Red vodka
1/4 cup simple syrup
1 cup Ruby Red grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed or from a carton
1/4 freshly squeezed lime juice
4 cups ice cubes
2 crosswise slices Ruby Red grapefruit, cut into quarters

Directions

Use the wedge of grapefruit to rub the rims of 6 margarita glasses with grapefruit juice. Dip the rims in the kosher salt to coat. Set aside as you prepare the margaritas.

Place the tequila, vodka, simple syrup, grapefruit juice, lime juice and ice in a bar blender and puree until smooth. Divide the margarita between 6 glasses and garnish with the grapefruit quarters.

FOUND HERE.

Recipe: Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

One of our BFF's, Miss Naomi Sohm, is coming to visit this evening. Due to our small space (and lack of dining chairs) we don't often entertain our friends so I decided to make it special. Dinner will be something I know how to cook but this is a new recipe to try. Roasted Garlic...need I say more?

Roasted Garlic:

2 heads garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt

Pork Loin:

1 (3 1/2 to 4 1/2-pound) boneless pork loin
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette:
Roasted garlic, recipe follows
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

For the Roasted Garlic:

Cut the bulbs of garlic in half crosswise into a top and bottom. Place the garlic halves on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Fold the foil up and around the garlic halves, making sure they stay flat. Seal the foil into an airtight package. Roast until golden and soft, about 60 minutes. Keep the garlic in the foil and let cool slightly.

For the Pork:
Place the pork loin in a medium, heavy roasting pan. Season all sides with salt and pepper. Place the pork in the oven 30 minutes after the garlic has started roasting. Roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 to 145 degrees F, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, tent the pork loin with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.

For the Vinaigrette:

Remove the garlic from the foil. Remove the cloves by squeezing the base of the garlic. Place the garlic, parsley, and balsamic vinegar in a blender. Pulse the machine until blended. Drizzle the oil into the blender while the machine is running. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, and water and blend until incorporated.

To serve:

Slice the pork into 3/4-inch thick slices and transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over the pork and pass the remaining vinaigrette alongside the pork in a small dish.

FOUND HERE.

Recipe: Your Choice Pasta Salad

I admit it...my repertoire for cooking is a bit limited. Okay, perhaps it's more accurate to say that while I love to eat (raise your hand if you're a foodie), I do not always enjoy the process of making something to eat.

I am thankful for the Food Network. We all have our favorite hosts, don't we? Mine are Giada De Laurentis, Tyler Florence, Emeril Lagasse and Ina Garten. Chris and I often watch together and we really enjoy Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, Iron Chef America, Tyler's Ultimate and (on Travel Channel), No Reservations with the ever-snarky, always-traveling-to-someplace-exotic, Anthony "Tony" Bourdain.


People's Co-Op

The first time I posted a recipe on the blog it received a number of positive comments, so I thought I would make this a semi-regular feature and share another.



Your Choice Pasta Salad

Ingredients and Prep

1 pound cooked pasta (ratatori, fusilli, penne, or farfalle all work well)

Cubed cheese - your choice of varieties and amount:
Sharp cheddar, Havarti, Swiss, etc...I usually use two.

Cubed meat - your choice of varieties and amount:
Ham, turkey, pepperoni, salami, cooked/crumbled bacon, etc...again, I tend to use two.

Diced or sliced veggies - your choice of varieties and amount:
Carrot, tomato, broccoli, green or yellow beans, olives, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, red onion, etc. Frozen veggies work fine, just throw them in with the pasta during the last few minutes of the boiling.


Peppers

Mayonnaise and Ranch Dressing - your choice of each amount, depending on the size of the salad you are creating and which flavor you like best. I use both as the mayo lends body and the dressing adds another layer of flavor.

Kosher salt, fresh grind black pepper, dried herbs - your choice of amounts for each ingredient.

Cook the pasta (and veggies if you choose to use frozen), drain, rinse with cold water until all are cold. Mix pasta and all other ingredients in a large bowl and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers and the flavors will mix overnight and be even better on the second go-round!

This is a quick and easy meal that works well for cleaning out the fridge. It's even better on a hot summer night when you don't want to heat up the house. Bonus: it's super tasty!


Carts

All photos displayed in this post are by Tina, copyright Pfeiffer Photos 2008, and are available in our Etsy shop as prints or blank note cards or shoot me an email for more information.