National Pasta Month - Fun and Simple!

It’s National Pasta Month! One of my favorite things about this job, is photographing the food I’ve created, except for eating it, of course! (Above: shooting my Pumpkin Ravioli for this Blog Post, see the photo in the gallery below)

No wonder October is my favorite month of the year! All of my favorite dishes and flavors come together in one glorious fall month! I had been having such a hard time getting motivated lately and the further we move into COVID living and with no end in site at the moment, the more difficulty I had staying inspired. Then October arrived with my favorite fall flavors and features. It’s not just National Pasta Month, it’s Pumpkin Month, Merlot Month, and National Food Day and Dessert Day in October, so my mojo in the kitchen has been full on with new Fun & Simple recipe creation and updates to some of my old favorites.

Pasta is the best comfort cooking I know, simple to prepare, super versatile and so delicious! I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen this month, my happy place, and since we are basically still in quasi lock down, cooking and baking have been my COVID calm. I thought I would share some of my favorite Fun & Simple pasta dishes and wine pairing tips to help get you inspired. Nothing like comfort food to bring a smile to anyone’s tummy!  Continue to stay safe and well and I hope you enjoy some of my favorite pasta comfort dishes while spending time at home.

So the thing about pasta is that it really is a blank canvas.  Cook some pasta, your favorite shape or whatever you have in the pantry, make a sauce, add some extras, bring it all together, top it with your favorite cheese, nuts, herbs and you have a fun & simple gourmet masterpiece!

One of my very favorite and flavorful pasta dishes is a simple Puttanesca.  Cook Pasta: Start with a pound of linguine, spaghetti or fettuccine cooked to package directions for al dente, keeping one cup of the pasta liquid set aside.  Drain. 

Make Sauce: In a large sauté pan, heat ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and add a medium fennel bulb, halved and sliced into ¼ inch thickness.  Sauté until soft and translucent but not browned. Add one-half cup halved garlic cloves and swirl around until the garlic just begins to become aromatic. Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Add 2 cups of diced San Marzano tomatoes (canned or fresh) and simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced and beginning to thicken. Add Extras: Add ¼ cup dry white wine, ¼ cup capers, ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon tomato paste.  Stir well to combine and continue to cook about 5 minutes more.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. 

Bring it All Together: Add the pasta and ¼ cup of the pasta liquid into the sauce and toss to coat (with tongs).  If the sauce seems too thick, add another ¼ cup of the pasta liquid and continue to toss.  Cook about 2 minutes longer and pour into serving bowl.  Finish with Toppings: I like, freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, chopped fresh basil leaves, fresh flat leaf parsley or both, freshly grated lemon zest, a sprinkling of kosher salt and a fresh grind of black pepper, then a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve!  If you like tuna in your Puttanesca, add 8 oz. of flaked oil-packed tuna during the last two minutes just to heat through tossing to combine into the dish.

That’s it!  A super fun & simple and most delicious and comforting pasta dish. Here are some more of my fun & simple favs…including a creamy cheesy Pumpkin Zita and my favorite Pumpkin Ravioli!

Pumpkin Zita

Pumpkin Ravioli

Spaghetti & Wilted Greens

Pasta Calamari

Orange Scented Capellini

Creamy Orecchiette

Hope you enjoy these Fun & Simple #National Pasta Month dishes. And, not just because it is also Merlot Month, but a nice medium to full-bodied but soft Merlot pairs exceptionally well with any of the pasta dishes I’ve shared here. Like pasta, Merlot is also versatile, known as a chameleon among wines because of its adaptive properties, Merlot also blends very well with a variety of foods and flavors. #MerlotMe

Continue to stay home, stay safe and stay healthy! Remember Fun & Simple Gourmet is available at iTunes for your devices and is filled with more delicious pasta recipes and other fun & simple menu ideas.

Pantry Cooking 101 - Fun and Simple Pasta!

Pantry cooking looks like the norm for a little while and Pasta is the best pantry cooking I know, simple to prepare comfort food, super versatile and so delicious!

Maybe it’s just me, but I have had such a hard time getting motivated this week.  This was not the stay at home vacation any of us planned for and though I have so many home projects that could very much keep me super busy this week, I have had a hard time starting any of them.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen, my happy place, and since we are basically on lock down and won’t be making many trips for groceries, it’s a good time to be creative with the pantry.  My favorite pantry food…of course, you know me…Pasta! 

I thought I would share some fun & simple pasta dishes to help us all get through the isolation period.  Nothing like comfort food to bring a smile to anyone’s tummy!  Continue to stay safe and well and I hope you enjoy some of my favorite pasta comfort dishes while we are spending time at home.

So the thing about pasta is that it really is a blank canvas.  Cook some pasta, your favorite shape or whatever you have in the pantry, make a sauce, add some extras, bring it all together, top it with your favorite cheese, nuts, herbs and you have a fun & simple gourmet masterpiece!

The easiest Pantry Pasta I know is a simple Puttanesca.  Cook Pasta: Start with a pound of linguine, spaghetti or fettuccine cooked to package directions for al dente, keeping one cup of the pasta liquid set aside.  Drain. 

Make Sauce: In a large sauté pan, heat ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and add a medium fennel bulb, halved and sliced into ¼ inch thickness.  Sauté until soft and translucent but not browned. Add one-half cup halved garlic cloves and swirl around until the garlic just begins to become aromatic. Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Add 2 cups of diced San Marzano tomatoes (canned or fresh) and simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced and beginning to thicken. Add Extras: Add ¼ cup dry white wine, ¼ cup capers, ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon tomato paste.  Stir well to combine and continue to cook about 5 minutes more.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. 

Bring it All Together: Add the pasta and ¼ cup of the pasta liquid into the sauce and toss to coat (with tongs).  If the sauce seems too thick, add another ¼ cup of the pasta liquid and continue to toss.  Cook about 2 minutes longer and pour into serving bowl.  Finish with Toppings: I like, freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, chopped fresh basil leaves, fresh flat leaf parsley or both, freshly grated lemon zest, a sprinkling of kosher salt and a fresh grind of black pepper, then a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve!  If you like tuna in your Puttanesca, add 8 oz. of flaked oil-packed tuna during the last two minutes just to heat through tossing to combine into the dish.

That’s it!  A super fun & simple and most delicious pantry pasta dish. Here are some more of my fun & simple favs…

Spaghetti & Wilted Greens

Pasta Calamari

Orange Scented Capellini

Creamy Orecchiette

Hope you enjoy these Fun & Simple #PantryPasta dishes. I will have more #PantryCooking ideas for you next week. In the meantime, continue to stay safe and healthy!

Remember Fun & Simple Gourmet is available at iTunes for your devices and is filled with more delicious pasta recipes and other fun & simple menu ideas.

Fun, Simple and Satisfying Salads to Get Your New Year Off To A Healthy Start!

I dedicated an entire chapter in Fun & Simple Gourmet just to salads. I am a salad girl and could have salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These satisfying salad combos are an entire meal in one and a super healthy way to start off the new year! Straight from the pages of Fun & Simple Gourmet, here are a few of my favorites. One thing you will notice, I never use a bottled salad dressing…ever! Making fresh dressing is so incredibly simple and takes no time at all! It just adds so much fresh, delicious flavor and enhances the ingredients in your salad. Bottled dressings are overpowering, stale and full of additives and preservatives. Once you get in the habit, you will never use a bottled dressing again.

This beautiful deconstructed Chicken Cobb Salad is so simple especially when made with leftover chicken or even using a grocery store rotisserie chicken. The tangy dressing brings all of the wonderful flavors of the chicken, vegetables and cheese together in this delicious combo.

Super healthy fennel, orange, olives on a wonderfully crisp and fresh bed of romaine and spinach will give you a boost of healthy energy on its own, or add chicken or fish for some added protein. Fennel is fantastic for heart health with fiber, potassium, B vitamins, and zero cholesterol. With it’s super crunchy texture and mild licorice flavor, fennel is also a super anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. I try to eat as much of this healthy super power as I can!

Nothing beats the fresh simplicity of a Bufala Caprese Salad. Fresh bufala mozarella, heirloom cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and plenty of parmigiana. Topped with a drizzle of rich, fruity, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, maldon salt and coursely ground pepper. An explosion of flavor, yet so simply prepared.

Craving the flavors of the Provence? This Tuna Nicoise Salad is the perfect Provencal dish. Fresh, healthy, full of flavor and totally satisfying. It makes a super great lunch, but also a terrific dinner dish. I serve it as a dinner party menu often, so simple to prepare in advance, serve and always a crowd pleaser. The tuna can be served warm, cold or room temperature which makes it an incredibly versatile dish. Paired with a nice glass of Rose’ from the Provence and you will feel like you are in the South of France.

This protein packed salad is a wonderful side or main course salad. You could add a nice piece of salmon or chicken for extra protein, but with the quinoa, kale and marcona almonds, you are getting a pretty big portion of plant based protein already.

Since January is also National Soup Month, I thought I would include my super simple homemade Tomato Soup Recipe to go with these delicious salads. Winter comfort at its best!

You don’t have to sacrifice flavor to get this year off to a healthy start. I know you will enjoy these additions to your January menu planning. Check out ALL of the wonderful soups and salads offered in Fun & Simple Gourmet. You can order a copy right here on the website, at Amazon or load it on your iPad from iTunes. They are all colorful, flavorful and as always, Fun & Simple Gourmet!

Wishing you a super great and healthy start to this new decade! Happy 2020! And remember…

Simple Tips to Organize Your Kitchen from Soup to Nuts

January is always a great month to reset and get a little organized with a fresh new start to a fresh new year.  One of the best things you can do to enjoy cooking and being in your kitchen more is being organized. I am an organizational freak by nature, which comes in pretty handy, especially in the kitchen. People ask me all the time how I make entertaining look so easy and the answer is simply, by being organized. It doesn’t take that much extra time to plan in advance, in fact, in the end, planning and organizing saves time. January is also National Soup Month!  What’s better than soothing, healthy soups to warm your soul.  After the holidays, I’m always ready to hunker down at home, especially when the weather isn’t quite stellar. My Healthy Kale Minestrone is a hearty meal on its own. Packed full of fresh healthy veges, and finished with avocado and extra virgin olive oil, you will live on this one all winter long. I like to make a big pot on a Sunday, and then we have it to enjoy whenever we want, all week long. Just click on the photo for the recipe! Keep scrolling for more healthy and delicious soups to keep you warm this month! Now back to organizing!

Recently I did a little kitchen re-organization. My kitchen was in pretty good shape, but there’s always room for improvement. A few little changes can save a ton of time.One thing in particular was adding drawers to the inside of my base cabinets. Now rather than sitting on the floor to try to dig in the back of a cabinet to find something, I simply pull out the drawer and I can see everything that’s there and easily retrieve what I am looking for. This is especially helpful with heavy items, like my kitchen aide stand mixer.  I also added drawers to my pantry shelves, making it super easy to find things, especially on the lower shelves.

Which brings me to my next kitchen organizational peeve…expired foods.  How many canned items are in your pantry that expired 2 years ago, 5…even more? It’s crazy to think about, but the time goes faster than you think. Take a few minutes even once a month before doing your grocery shopping to go through your pantry and refrigerator to remove expired items. It’s also a great way to make a good grocery list.  If you stay on top of it, it only takes a minute or two. 

A few other helpful hints to keeping your kitchen organized and functional: 

1.    Buy dried spices and herbs in small quantities and discard after 3 months.

2.    Store garlic, shallots and onions in a bamboo steamer basket. It’s the perfect environment to optimum freshness and it helps keep the veggie bin in the refrigerator a little less cluttered.

3.    Use drawer inserts for flatware, cooking tools and knife drawers to keep everything organized, easy to find and uncluttered.

4.    Hanging pots and pans on a ceiling rack not only saves room in your cabinets, it makes them super easy to retrieve and put away.

5.    Using an over the sink cutting board saves counter space and makes clean up so easy, just push the waste right into the sink.

6.    I recently purchased an over the sink, roll up drying rack. So cool! Dishes, glasses and pots and pans drip dry right in the sink and when you are finished, it just rolls up and stores easily and without taking up much room under the sink.

7.     Finally, labeling is a fun and simple way to keep everything organized.

Some of my favorite organizational tools to help you get started!

A few more of my fun and simple soup recipes! They are warm, soothing, healthy and delicious! Simply click on the photos for the recipes!

Conch or Clam Chowder

Healthy Corn Chowder

Easy Tomato Soup

Now, get in the kitchen, get organized, and make these wonderful healthy soups!  I hope you enjoy these healthy recipes as much as I enjoy sharing with you! You’ll find these and many more of my favorites in my latest lifestyle cookbook, “Fun & Simple Gourmet” at Amazon or iTunes for your devices!

In the meantime…