Homemade Pasta

Two simple ingredients elevate a bowl of pasta from great to gourmet: eggs and flour. It's definitely not as easy as opening a box, but if you have the time (and lots of eggs, like I do), you'll experience pasta in a whole new way.

There are a few things that will make the process easier and the end-result better.

Kitchen scale

Stand mixer with pasta-making attachment OR

Manual pasta roller

9 oz. flour (abut 1 1/2 cups), plus more for kneading

6 oz. eggs (about 3)

Place mixing bowl on a kitchen scale and measure eggs. In a separate bowl, measure flour. 

Using dough hook of an electric mixer, mix eggs on low until yolks break. Gradually add flour, scraping the sides of the bowl to push flour into egg mixture. Add more flour if needed to get the dough to begin to form a ball (some will still stick to the sides of the bowl).

If you don't have a mixer, or prefer to do it old school, measure your flour into the mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack eggs in one at a time, incorporating egg into the flour in between each addition.

Turn out your dough onto a floured dough mat or clean counter top. Knead the dough, adding more flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Knead until dough ball is firm and smooth (about 8 to 10 minutes). Cover completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes up to 12 hours. 

Prepare your mixer with the pasta roller attachment or set up your manual pasta roller. Also prepare a baking sheet with two sheets of wax or parchment paper cut to the same size as the baking sheet.

Alternately, you can roll sheets of pasta out with a rolling pin. 

Divide dough into 8 sections, working with one section at a time and keeping the others covered in the plastic wrap.

With each section, stretch the dough into a small rectangular shape (about 1/4 inch thick) and run it through the pasta roller at the thickest setting two times. Adjust to the next thinnest setting, running it through at least twice. Dust the dough with extra flour. At this point the dough should be long enough for you to overlap the ends and use the roller to connect them into a continuous loop. This will make it quicker to continue rolling the dough out thinner.

Continue running dough through the roller a few rotations each time you go to a thinner setting until you've decreased about 5 settings and your loop hangs at least a foot from the roller.

Cut pasta loop and run remaining dough through the roller. Place back on your dough mat and cut it in half, giving you two sheets of raw pasta that are approximately 12 inches long.

Dust both sides of the pasta with flour and place on your parchment-lined baking sheet, overlapping the noodles. Cover with the other piece of parchment paper while you roll out your next section of dough.

Once you have your pasta sheets, you can use them as lasagna noodles or cut them into other shapes. If you have a stand mixer with multiple pasta attachments, you can run them through a spaghetti or linguine attachment. Or, you can use a biscuit cutter or knife to cut pasta into circles or squares for ravioli.

To cook, heat a large pot of salted water. Boil noodles for 3 minutes. Drain and use in your favorite pasta dish.

Light Strawberry Souffles

This souffle is "light" because it is egg white only, but still melts in your mouth with a burst of fresh flavor. If you need a use for the leftover egg yolks and you have an abundance of fresh strawberries, make strawberry ice cream! The souffles will be ready to eat long before the ice cream freezes!

1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries

2 t. lemon juice

4 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar, plus more for lining the souffle cups

pinch of salt

2 T. butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Puree strawberries and lemon juice. 

Line 6 ramekins or 8 oz. oven-safe baking dishes with butter and sugar.

Whip egg whites, gradually adding 1/4 cup sugar and  pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form. Whip in half of strawberry puree. Fold in remaining strawberry puree.

Pour mixture into ramekins, filling them to the top. Level with a knife to ensure an evenly-browned top, or allow mixture to have a dollop top, but watch that they don't burn.

Bake for 14-17 minutes or until tops are lightly brown. Serve immediately. If you have leftovers, put them in the fridge and have them the next day, topped with slices of fresh strawberry. It will have compacted and be more the consistency of a light strawberry gelato. 

Vegetable Stock from kitchen scraps

The first recipe for homemade vegetable stock I made called for 11 whole vegetables and only yielded four cups of stock. The thought of throwing away all these perfectly good vegetables once I had cooked them weighed on my conscience so much that I tried to cook things like meatloaf or fritters to incorporate them into. I quickly realized that I had already cooked all the flavor and nutrients out of them, and that I was never going to make such a wasteful recipe ever again!

I started thinking about all the vegetable scraps I throw away each time I cook, and decided to try collecting them for vegetable stock instead. I now keep a gallon-sized storage bag in my freezer at all times and once it's full with perfectly good peelings, ends and other leftover vegetable scraps that never made it into a meal, I boil them and have something delicious.

 There are a few guidelines to know before you start your freezer bag collection.

1. Always wash your vegetables well. Since you're saving peelings, you want to be sure there's no dirt on them.
2. Save scraps that are perfectly edible, but may not be either aesthetically or texturally pleasing (such as the top end of a carrot or the exposed side of a half-used onion that has gotten dry in the fridge). Don't save anything that you wouldn't eat, like a bad spot cut out of a potato. Remember, you're looking for flavor!
3. You will want a good variety of vegetables to give your stock a complex flavor. If your freezer bag only has potato and onion scraps, it's probably not going to be the best tasting stock.
4. You don't have to chop the scraps you add to your freezer bag. Big (1-2") chunks will do and be easier to remove at the end.
5. Not every vegetable is good in a soup stock. Any cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, kale) should not be used. You also wouldn't want to use peppers, squash, corn or tomatoes. Root vegetables work best, in addition to some herbs. 

Vegetables I use:

• Carrots (clean peelings, ends and green tops)
• Parsnips (clean peelings and ends)
• Turnips (clean peelings and ends)
• Thin-skinned potatoes, such as Yukon Gold (clean peelings)
• Celery (ends and leafy tops)
• Onion and garlic (ends, no paper)
• Leeks (ends)
• Swiss Chard (the hearty stalks)
• Tender fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, chives, savory

In addition to a 1 gallon freezer bag full of a mix of the above vegetables and herbs, you will also need:

10 cups cool water

3 bay leaves

10 black peppercorns

Add frozen vegetable scraps to a large stock pot. Cover with water and add bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the lid and let cool. 

Scoop out cooked vegetables with a mesh strainer and gently press any excess liquid back into the pot. Once you have removed nearly all the large vegetables, pour your remaining stock through the strainer. If the stock still has small pieces of vegetable matter, line your strainer with a coffee filter and pour through again.

Either use your stock within three days or freeze it.

Zucchini and Swiss Frittata

I love omelettes, but can never seem to make them successfully at home. Instead, I've started making frittatas! Same ingredients but no flipping required. Just cook your meat and/or veggies in a oven-safe skillet, add your eggs and cheese and pop it in the oven to cook. This recipe serves 2, but you can adjust the ingredients and cooking time to feed a bigger crowd. As always, use whatever veggies, herbs and cheese you have on hand. This is a guideline!

1 T. olive oil

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1/2 medium zucchini, sliced

1/2 medium yellow squash, sliced

1/2 t. thyme, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

4 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat oil in a large oven-safe non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, zucchini, squash and thyme. Sauté until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. 

Whisk eggs and milk and add salt. Once veggies are cooked, be sure they are spread evenly in the bottom of the skillet and pour egg mixture on top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Don't stir! Cook for a few minutes in the skillet to help the frittata solidify on the bottom. 

Pop the skillet in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown and the eggs feel firm. Remove from oven and let frittata set for about 5 minutes.

Cut frittata in half. Flip each half in half and serve.

Crusty White Bread

When the artisan baker in my town went out of business, I realized I would need to learn to make my own bread. After months of testing recipes, experimenting with different flours and yeasts, and trying to narrow down the best method for getting just the right texture, here's where I've landed. This recipe is based on one I found from Michael Ruhlman that gives you a hard crust without having a professional baker's oven that uses steam. I also love his recipe because he weighs his ingredients, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of how to perfect your dough.

There are a few essential kitchen items that you will need to make this bread.

• Large enamel-coated cast-iron Dutch oven
• Kitchen scale
• Liquid thermometer
• Stand mixer (well, not required but it will make your life a lot easier!)

20 oz. King Arthur bread flour

2 t. Diamond Crystal Fine Sea salt

1 t. Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Highly-Active dry yeast

12 oz. water (120-130 degrees)

1 T. honey

3 T. olive oil (divided)

In stand mixer bowl, combine flour, salt and yeast. Add water, honey and 1 T. olive oil. With dough hook attachment, mix ingredients on low until they form a ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour if too sticky or more warm water if too dry to form a ball within the first minute. (Alternately, you can mix the ingredients in a bowl with a sturdy spoon or spatula and just knead with floured hands.)

Once the dough is no longer sticking to the bowl and forms a ball that is smooth on the outside, you can either remove and knead by hand for 10 minutes or let the mixer finish doing the kneading for you with the dough hook and the mixer speed set to the lowest setting.

You know the bread has been kneaded thoroughly when it feels dense and elastic. Place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place and allow to rise until it's about double its size and you can press your finger into it and it doesn't immediately spring back (1-2 hours depending on how warm the temperature of the room is). 

Once dough has risen, remove from the bowl and knead a few more times to expel any excess gas from the dough. Shape the dough into a round disk, our boule. Pour 1 T. olive oil into a large enamel-coated cast-iron Dutch oven and wipe it to coat the bottom. Place dough in greased Dutch oven and allow to proof for another hour, covering the Dutch oven with a clean towel.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees 30 minutes in advance of baking to be sure it gets good and hot. After bread has proofed, cut an X or # in the top of the boule and brush it with the remaining 1 T. olive oil. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and place it in the oven.

Cook the bread for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Then reduce the heat to 375 degrees. Bake 20 minutes longer and then remove the lid from the Dutch oven. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

Remove from oven and transfer bread to a cooling wrack. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting into the bread. Allow to cool completely before storing. To store, wrap bread in a clean kitchen towel and place in a bread box or large plastic container with a lid that is slightly cracked. This will keep it fresh for approximately 5 days. Do not store fresh bread in the refrigerator.

Salmon with Couscous Pilaf

I love salmon any way it comes. This recipe has a Mediterranean flare with raisins, almonds and mint, making it suitable for any dinner party. But it's so simple that there's no excuse for making dinner from scratch even on the busiest night.

3 large carrots, peeled and cut julienne

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup uncooked couscous

1/4 cup fresh mint or 1 tsp. dried mint

1 t. salt

1/4 t. ground black pepper

1 T. olive oil

1 1/4 c. water

4 (4 oz.) salmon filets (boneless and skinless)

salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium-sized baking dish (big enough to fit your salmon filets), combine carrots, almonds, raisins, couscous, mint, salt, pepper, oil and water. Mix to combine. Season salmon filets with salt and pepper and place them on top of the couscous mixture.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake it for 25 minutes or until couscous is tender and salmon flakes with a fork, or desired doneness. Transfer fish to plates and serve on top of or along side with the couscous pilaf and a lemon wedge.