Cauliflower Parmesan Pasta

This is a recipe that was passed along through my wife's family, specifically her brother Chris (whom we owe many thanks for this and other things). We've brought it/made it for quite a few dinner parties and its always a hit - in fact, any meal that is cheap, delicious, creamy and cheesy and that you can prepare in an hour is a hit as far as i'm concerned.

The first step is to salt and boil about 8 cups of water. Chop up a large head of cauliflower into large portions and boil for 15 minutes. Save the water from the cauliflower and bring back to a boil, preparing 1 1lb box of ziti.

After the pasta goes in the pot, you create a roux. This is something that i've learned over time making bacon gravy, but I digress. I use about 3 tablespoons of butter, the higher quality the better, melted over very low heat. Add flour slowly and stir until the mixture turns very thick but still retains a liquid form. Keep stirring over low heat for about 5 minutes, letting the roux darken a bit, which adds a bit of nuttiness to the flavor.

Heat 2 cups of milk and add slowly into the roux - stop once the sauce reaches the consistency of a nice gravy but remember that the heat will thicken as you mix it. Once you hit this point, add 1/2 cup of nice parmesan or pecorino/romano or similar cheese and the boiled cauliflower. Stir and add about 2 Tbsp of milk until you reach a uniform consistency.

Add the pasta and then salt and pepper to taste.


Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken Soup

One of the things that I have spent quite a bit of time on over the last few months is making stocks at home. Between making shrimp stock a few times for gumbo and other seafood dishes, i've made chicken stock from a raw whole chicken fryer. However, i've discovered that making chicken stock/soup from a store-bought rotisserie chicken is one of the quickest, cheapest and easiest ways to make a really tasty and comforting meal.

You really only need a few ingredients in addition to the chicken - some leafy greens and noodles - and you're set!

Step 1 is to de-skin and debone the entire chicken. It takes much less time that taking apart a raw fryer, for sure. I fill up a large saucepot with about 10 cups of cold filtered water and drop in the skin and bones as I prep the chicken, making sure to cut the chest cavity into at least 5 or 6 pieces. I typically add 2 dried red peppers, some sesame oil and soy sauce, bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

After its done, I add about 1/3 to 1/2 of the chicken pieces, cut and shredded into small pieces. This last time I diced up some fried tofu, which was a tasty extra touch.


In a separate pot, I boiled salted water and added chinese noodles, spinach, chinese lettuce and mung bean sprouts then combined with the broth and chicken in the serving bowls. This was a tasty meal on a cold night, with enough leftovers for another serving for 2 (in addition to the remainder of the 1/2 of the chicken, which we used for chicken biscuits) and cost less than $15.

Chicken and Broccolini in Lemon Sauce over Pasta

This is a dish that has evolved quite a bit over the years. It started as a standby during my college days, when i would cook up a pot of pasta, flavor it with butter, olive oil, salt and pepper and whatever dried green herb that I had from the supermarket.

It served to satisfy a lot of hungry days and at about $2 per box of pasta it was a cheap alternative to ramen. But as my tastes have evolved, so has this dish - and as my cholesterol number has risen, the butter has been replaced by all olive oil.


In addition to the pasta part, i've created a chicken and broccolini dish with lemon sauce to serve on top of it. This evolved from the stir-fry that dad used to always make at home (and when the wife lets me, I replace the chicken with fresh sweet sausage out of the case, but that and the loss of butter is another story for another post). The concept is the same though - saute small pieces of your protein in oil, then mix in the veggies. Of course, I've added dried red pepper for heat, onion for texture and sweetness and lemon for acid and sharpness.


recipe:

Chicken and Broccolini:

Sweat 1 diced small white onion, 1 dried red and 3 coarsely chopped cloves of garlic in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add .75 lb of sliced chicken breast that has been lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. Add the juice of one and a half lemons. Saute until light brown and add lightly boiled very roughly chopped broccolini.

Pasta:

Prepare 1 lb of thin spaghetti. Place in colander to rest. Place 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and dried red pepper in large pot under low heat for 1 minute. Add spaghetti in small batches while also adding salt, pepper, dried basil (fresh parsley or green onion or basil will work as well) and fresh lemon juice.

Serving:

Serve chicken and broccolini on top of pasta.