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Have you ever watched an episode of Food Network’s “Chopped” or “Iron Chef”. You see these chefs preparing complex dishes that include a lot of ingredients and a lot of different flavors. This isn’t a bad thing. But sometimes it’s nice to have a simple dish that is delicious, full of flavor, but not so complex. I was inspired a couple weeks ago, when watching another Food Network show “Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off”. This show pits two teams of C-list celebrities together in various cooking competitions. One week they had 3 one on one contests, in which a judge from the show “Chopped” each picked a dish for them to cook. One of the dishes was a simple tomato pasta. The judge wanted the tomato to be the star of the dish. I decided to take on the same challenge in my own kitchen. I had in my fridge a package of Nasoya Chinese Style Noodles. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, until I thought of doing a simple basic tomato & basil pasta dishes. And what came out of my kitchen as a result of my inspiration was a favorite of both my wife and my kids.

Ingredients
1 package Nasoya Chinese Style Noodles (Bucatini pasta would also be a good option)
2 28-Ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes (Italian or San Marzanos if you can get them)
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 whole head of garlic
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, or Dry Jack cheese (whatever your favorite hard cheese is)

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take your head of garlic and cut off enough of the top to expose the cloves. Add a little bit of olive oil. Cover in heavy duty foil. Roast for about a half hour or until the garlic is soft.

In the meantime, empty two cans of tomatoes into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer to soften up the tomatoes. The goal is to get the tomatoes to a point in which you can mash them with a spoon. I then run the smashed up tomatoes and all the liquid through a food mill. The purpose is to really get rid of the seeds. The seeds can add bitterness to the sauce if you leave them in. Yes you could cut the tomatoes and remove them, but since I have a food mill I find this to be much easier.

Now it’s time to transfer your tomatoes to a large nonstick frying pan. Add the chopped basil. Take your roasted garlic and remove all the cloves. Smash them into a paste and then add them to the tomatoes. Bring the tomatoes to a boil and simmer until reduced to your desired thickness, remembering to stir often. Once you get there add kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Turn your burner to low to keep the sauce warm, while you prepare your noodles or pasta.

Boil your noodles or pasta in a large pot with about a gallon of water and salt. The water should taste like ocean water. Cook the pasta or noodles to your desired doneness. Nasoya Chinese Noodles only take a few minutes, since they are not a dried pasta. When the noodles are ready, do not drain them!. Grab a pair of tongs and place the noodles directly into the sauce, making sure to let excess water drip off before you do. You don’t want to lose any of the starch that on the outside of the pasta. Then all that is left is serve up, topped off with your favorite grated hard cheese.

My daughter Autumn enjoying her noodles

Continue reading »]]> After watching Alton Brown rewarding Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor for their mac & cheese, I have been inspired to improve my own recipe. One of the things I had never thought about was cooking it in a cast iron skillet. In the procedure to make the Zingerman’s mac & cheese, the dish was finished in a hot cast iron skillet on the stove top, turned to high heat. The mixing here would give a nice caramelized flavor to the entire dish. I also read online about a restaurant who serves their mac & cheese in mini cast iron skillets. They finish it in a broiler. This is the procedure I tried first in my oven and the problem I had is it cooked too quickly and I had area that were almost black, and some of the cheese had barely cooked. Moving the rack further away from the heating element would help. But next time I followed my normal recipe, except I cooked in cast iron instead of my usual glass baking dish. Doing this provided a nice even browning on the top. Whenever I bake in the glass dish I always have some area that are dark brown and most of it isn’t browned at all. Cast iron provides more even heating than glass, so you get more even browning.

Ingredients
8 oz pasta of your choice (pasta made with bronze dies are best)
8 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 oz or 1/2 stick butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
2 cups whole milk
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add a gallon of water into a large pot. Add two heavy pinches of kosher salt. Pasta likes to be cooked in ocean-like water. Bring to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until it is almost al dente, but still a little bit chewy, so it will be perfect when it comes out of the oven. Drain the pasta in a colander and place into your cast iron skillet. I like the one made by Lodge. It’s inexpensive, American made, and high quality.

To make the cheese sauce
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. When the butter is completely melted whisk in the flour, black pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of kosher salt. When the flour is fully incorporated, pour in the milk. Turn your burner to medium, stir often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Now slowly pour in the shredded cheddar and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix to combine.

Baking
Now place the entire thing into your oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the top of the mac & cheese is beginning to brown. Be careful not to overcook it or the top layer will be too dry. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before enjoying.

Continue reading »]]> Have you bought yourself some Kerrygold Kilaree Cheddar Cheese and wondered what it would be good for? (besides just slicing and eating, which is good in itself) I think a classic baked macaroni & cheese dish would be a great use of this cheese. If you haven’t bough this cheese before maybe this is a good reason to go out and get it. The following recipe is NOT an official Kerrygold recipe. This is a recipe I have been using for years and I thought this cheese would work well with it.

Ingredients
8 oz pasta of your choice (pasta made with bronze dies are best)
8 oz Kerrygold Kilaree Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 oz or 1/2 stick butter (Kerrygold butter would be an excellent choice)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
2 cups whole milk
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour about a gallon of water into a large pot with a couple heavy pinches of kosher salt. Pasta should always be cooked in a large pot that has been heavily salted. Bring to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, dump in the pasta and cook until it is almost al dente, but still a little bit chewy, so it will be perfect when it comes out of the oven. Drain the pasta in a colander and place into your favorite baking dish.

Here are your direction for making the cheese sauce. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. When the butter is completely melted whisk in the flour, black pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of kosher salt. When the flour is fully incorporated, pour in the milk. Turn your burner to medium, stir often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Now slowly pour in the shredded Kilaree cheddar and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix to combine. Now place the entire thing into your oven and bake for 25 minutes. This will allow the cheese to thicken and brown. Browning the cheese will bring more flavor to the dish. Remove from the oven, let cool for at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

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Lately, I have have experimenting with using different types of cheese to make my classic baked macaroni & cheese. I found some New York Sharp Cheddar cheese on sale for $3.99 a pound at Joe’s Produce in Livonia, Michigan last week, so I grabbed about a half pound chunk (or 8 oz). New York Sharp Cheddar is a really sharp cheese that was one of the first cheeses made in the United States, naturally in New York. It is typically softer than other cheddars.

For this mac & cheese recipe I used shells which was the only pasta I had on hand, but you could easily use the traditional elbows, penne or ziti, or whatever your heart desires.

Ingredients
8 oz pasta of your choice (pasta made with bronze dies are best)
8 oz new york sharp cheddar cheese (buy the cheese whole and shred it yourself for best flavor)
2 oz or 1/2 stick butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
2 cups whole milk
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a gallon of water to boil in a large pot with enough salt to make it taste like ocean water. Pasta should always be cooked in a large pot that has been heavily salted. When the water comes to a boil, dump in the pasta and cook until it is almost al dente, but still a little bit chewy, so it will be perfect when it comes out of the oven. Drain the pasta in a colander and place into your favorite baking dish.

Now to make the cheese sauce. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. When the butter is completely melted whisk in the flour, black pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of kosher salt. When the flour is fully incorporated, pour in the milk. Turn your burner to medium, stir often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Now slowly pour in the shredded new york cheddar cheese and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix to combine. Now place the entire thing into your oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

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One of the first things I learned to cook when I started really learning how to cook, was a baked macaroni & cheese. I have been using the same recipe for years now. Recently I thought that I should try to change it up a bit by changing the cheese I use. For this recipe I used white cheddar cheese and shells for the pasta.

Ingredients
8 oz pasta shells (shells made with bronze dies are best)
8 oz shredded white cheddar cheese (buy the cheese whole and shred it yourself for best flavor)
2 oz or 1/2 stick butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
2 cups whole milk
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a gallon of water to boil in a large pot with enough salt to make it taste like ocean water. Pasta should always be cooked in a large pot that has been heavily salted. When the water comes to a boil, dump in the pasta and cook until it is almost al dente, but still a little bit chewy, so it will be perfect when it comes out of the oven. Drain the pasta in a colander and place into your favorite baking dish.

Now to make the cheese sauce. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. When the butter is completely melted whisk in the flour, white pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of kosher salt. We are using white pepper instead of black because it will look better in the finished dish. When the flour is fully incorporated, pour in the milk. Turn your burner to medium, stir often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Now slowly pour in the shredded white cheddar cheese and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix to combine. Now place the entire thing into your oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

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The other night I was planning to make something for dinner and I didn’t have all of the ingredients I needed , so I had to thinkg of something else fast. I had meat on hand, but it was in the freezer and I didn’t have enough time to defrost it.  I looked at what I had on hand and came up with this recipe for ravioli filled with mozzarella served over tomato sauce.

I began with a dough that I had used in the past to make egg noodles.

Ingredients for the Dough

1/2 cup semolina flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 whole eggs

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions for the Dough

Start by mixing together both flours and the salt. In a separate bowl, beat the 2 eggs. Then add the water and oil. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir to form a workable dough. Then you need to kneed the dough for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be somewhat elastic. Allow the dough about half an hour to rest before proceeding. When I made the dough, I also made a second batch of it. There is enough sauce in my recipe below for a double batch of ravioli.

Ingredients for the Tomato Sauce

1 28oz can of whole tomatoes (cut and remove the seeds if you wish, but they don’t bother me)

dried oregano

dried basil

2 cloves of garlic

1 stalk of celery (chopped fine)

1 half of an onion (chopped fine)

1 carrot (chopped fine)

sugar, sea or kosher salt (to taste)

canola oil

In a heavy saucepan add a little bit of canola oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Then add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Turn onto low. This is called a sweat.  You just want to soften the veggies, not burn them, so keep it low until they have softened. Then, pour the entire can of tomatoes into a heavy saucepan. Add the two heavy pinches of dried oregano and basil.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then drop down to low and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. After that it’s time to blend the sauce. Using an immersion or stick blender, blend the sauce until it is as smooth as you can get it. If,  at this point, it is still to watery, you can cook it over medium heat until it gets to your desired thickness.

Instructions for Making the Ravioli

Cut the dough in half and place onto a floured surface. Then with a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch. Then using a small biscuit cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Slice up some mozzarella into cubes (use fresh, do not use shredded or it won’t be as good).  In order to seal the ravioli you will need to use an egg wash. Beat one egg with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl. With your finger, brush the egg wash around the outside of each circle. Then place the mozzarella off centered on the circle. Then fold over to form a half circle shape. Push on the edges to form a good seal. Repeat until you finished all of  the ravioli.

Instructions for Boiling the Ravioli

In a large pot heat up at least a gallon of water with a heavy pinch of salt (it should taste like salt water). When the water has comes to a boil carefully place one ravioli at a time in the pot. I usually do about 10 ravioli at a time. You know when they are done when they float. Now you could just eat them as is, but you would be losing out on additional flavor. Browning the ravioli in some butter would be a great way to add some more flavor.

Instructions for Browning the Ravioli

In a heavy fry pan, heat up over medium high heat, about 2 tablespoons of butter. Place the ravioli in the pan until they are brown. Make sure to flip and watch the pan carefully so you don’t burn them.

Now you can finally bring the finished dish together. Ladle some of the sauce onto a plate or into a bowl and toss in the ravioli and enjoy!

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Pasta may be one of the best foods on the planet. Unfortunately a lot of people do not know how to shop for it or cook it properly. One of the biggest lessons I have learned in the last year about pasta is that “good pasta tastes good”. I learned what I know about pasta mainly from two sources, Alton Brown and Ari Weinzweig, the author of “Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating“. I am here to share the knowledge I have gathered with you today.

Like I mentioned above “good pasta tastes good”. Pasta should be more than just a way to deliver sauce to your mouth. It should have some flavor to it. Ari says that all a good pasta needs is a bit of good quality olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste good. You can taste the different between the good stuff and the cheap garbage. Cheap pastas are brittle. They look like they will shatter into a million pieces if you squeeze hard enough. When cooking cheap pastas they tend to go from being al dente to a mushy mess in seconds. So I never reach for the cheapest thing on the shelve. But don’t worry good pasta doesn’t have to break your bank (although pasta that does is probably pretty good!). All you need to do is look for the following on the bag or box.

1. Made with durum semolina
2. Made with bronze dies or plates

Pasta that is just made with regular flour will not have the depth of flavor of that made with durum semolina. It is also important that the pasta is made by using bronze dies or plates. The dies are used to give pasta its shape. Some companies use Teflon-coated dies because they last longer and make the shapes faster. The problem is in that pastas made with Teflon dies tend to produce pasta that is really smooth. Smooth pasta does not hold onto sauce very well.

One of my favorite pastas to buy is made by Delallo. I often find them on sale at different grocery stores for around $1 a bag. When you find a deal like that, stock up. You can also buy their pasta online. They also have a line of whole wheat and organic pasta to choose from.

Now that you know how to shop for pasta, you need to know how to cook it right. Don’t just grab any old pot, throw some water in it, and cook it. Pasta is best cooked in a ton of water, at least a gallon of it in a large pot. That way you don’t have to worry about the pasta sticking. Some people add oil to the water to prevent sticking but there is no evidence that this actually works, and if you use enough water, it won’t be a problem anyway. Speaking of the water, it should taste like the ocean. Heavily salt your water before you add the pasta to the pot. This is your best chance to enhance the flavor of the pasta itself.

Take your pasta seriously and your taste buds will reward you. It’s not just all about the sauce. For pasta recipes, check out my pasta page.

For more of my “How-to” Lessons, visit this page.

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Yesterday, I was looking for something to have for lunch. I wanted to have macaroni & cheese, but I was all out of cheese to shred for it and we don’t buy the boxed stuff. But then I remembered I had some cheese powder on hand that I use to make cheese crackers. So I decided to try out my own “boxed” mac & cheese.

Ingredients

8 oz pasta (elbow is the standard, but use whatever your heart desires)
1/3 cup whole milk
2 1/2 tablespoons cheese powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
4 tablespoons butter

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a heavy pinch of salt to the water, then add in your pasta. Cook until your desire doneness. Drain the pasta. Then add the milk, butter, cheese powder, kosher salt, and mustard powder (and cayenne pepper if desired). Stir to well to combine. Give it a taste and if you think it needs more cheese powder, salt, or milk, then add to your taste.