Lickety Split Pasta

This is totally cheaters pasta. Or at least it feels like it. It's definitely not a long-simmered, lovingly-tended sauce made in a huge cauldron. It makes as many servings as you feel like having in your fridge left over, if you, like me, are cooking for one.

It's quick as a bunny, and flexible to what you've got on hand. Since I didn't use a recipe, here's what I did, not in recipe form (ingredient list at bottom).

Onions get sweating in a sauna pan. Now's a good time to add some dried oregano/red pepper flakes, too, if you'd like.

[boil water for pasta, put frozen peas into a bowl]

Italian sausage joins the party--take your pick of hot or mild, and your choice of meat. I went with mild chicken. Once it's browning, add garlic.

[add pasta to water, cook for a minute or two less than the suggested cook time--until al dente]

Deglaze with a bit of wine, if you've got it around. Then, in go the tomatoes and their juice. Absentmindedly crush them with your wooden spoon while you forget your woes.

[Drain pasta (reserve some pasta water, unless it's aggressively salty like mine was! Microwave the peas, too]

Dump pasta into pan with sauce, watering down as needed. Breathe in the steam. Enjoy the aromatherapy of cooking. Serve with grated (or shaved, with a vegetable peeler) parmesan cheese.

Hearty greens, such as kale or spinach, would be great added with the garlic (after the meat has browned a bit).

Ingredients: (amount for aproximately 2 large servings)

• Pasta (5 or so ounces)--I used mini-penne
• Half an onion--I used 3/4 because it's what I had
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Italian sausage--cook's choice
• 1 14-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes
• A splash of wine--I used white
• Frozen peas--but really, do what you want on this one
• [greens, if desired]

Spaghetti Fritatta

Eggs are a supreme comfort food.

Cheese? Pepper? This sounds like a cacio e pepe...just wait. We're gonna add pasta.

Pesto pasta, crisped in a pan which will now not really ever be the same for the power of cooked-on starch. But, your taste buds will thank you for crispy pasta suspended in perfect, soft, comforting egg. It's like the best part of rice-a-roni, you know those cooked pasta bits which have been sauteed in butter...

This fritatta isn't fancy. But it feels beautiful, steaming and messy and crispy and delicious.

The recipe comes from a book called Twelve Recipes, a book which is teaching me how to cook this summer.

Spaghetti Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cream (the original recipe calls for olive oil, but I had cream and thought it a better idea)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• pepper
• leftover pasta (greens are also nice!)

Method:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, put a thin sheen of oil and then all your leftover pasta. Saute, pressing down into a cake to get the bottom crispy.
2. Meanwhile, whisk all other ingredients until smooth. 
3. Once the pasta is crispy, pour the egg mixture in and cook until the edges are cooked and the center is still a bit wet, about 6-8 minutes. Then, flip the frittata out onto a plate (yes, you can do it!), re-oil the skillet, and slide the wet mess of fritatta back into the skillet. If it breaks, just nudge it back together.
4. Cook another couple of minutes, or until you peek in with a knife in the middle and it is cooked to your liking.
5. Slice and serve! (Or serve cold later, or room temp...it's really good however you have it! The leftovers make good breakfast.)

BONUS: I also made Joy's Brown Butter Banana Skillet Cake with Strawberries and Pecans! It is awesome and a great way to make friends with your landlords. Invite them up for cake...don't nobody not like cake.

American dinner chez les Francais

I'm studying abroad in France, and living with a host family has been so rewarding. It really allows me to get better at French by focusing on the language tout le temps (all the time) and being kindly corrected without being graded on my mistakes. This is big! I've made so much progress learning like a child, without that pesky paralyzing fear of failure!

Hey, this looks kind of like an egg!

Well, so this was my first time making homemade macaroni and cheese. We (another girl in the program who's also staying with the same family--my co-locataire--and I) wanted to make an American dinner for my family. So, mac and cheese.

It helps that I have a 9 year old brother and 2 year old sister here.

I am so proud of this that I think it's better than my dad's homemade mac and cheese (sorry, Dad...). In a "lookie mommy what I made" kind of proud. I will still always love my dad's, though.

And guess what! I made something that doesn't have any sugar in it!
But...there is butter and flour and an egg. And it goes in the oven. So basically, it's the baker's gateway dish to savory cooking!

Oh, yeah, we made salad too.

This recipe comes from Ree, who I absolutely love. She definitely makes American food: good, simple, cowboy food. I trust her to have a kick-a** recipe for mac and cheese for a first-timer.

Indeed. It's creamy, luxuriously cheesy, and to top it all off, I added chips. Specifically, cheese-flavored chips, because I'm crazy.

Also, my co-locataire made some amazing brownies from the Ghiradelli recipe. She ended up using coarse sea salt in the brownies, and it was fantastic. Crunchy, salty pockets throughout.

It was a heavy meal for when the high temp is in the 90's, but worth it.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese
note: baked lays are healthier than regular. baked mac and cheese has extra chips on top, so it is less healthy. this is confusing, but it should not discourage you from making this heavenly dish. especially if you choose cheesy chips.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups dried pasta shapes
• 1 whole egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons) butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard, or one teaspoon dijon if that's what you've got
• 1 pound cheese, grated--I used emmental (basically swiss) and parmesan, since cheddar's hard to find here
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• potato chips, ritz crackers, toasted bread crumbs, etc., crushed, to top

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cook pasta until very firm--it should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg.
4. In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.
5. Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
6. Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.
7. Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
8. Add in cheese and stir to melt.
9. Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more as needed!
10. Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
11. Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with chips/crackers/crumbs, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden on top. (You can keep the dish before baking in the fridge, then bake before serving, too!)

Recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman