On This First Day of Summer, One Last Taste of Spring

Day 345

I'm a magazine-page-ripper-outer. I have stacks of recipes, gift ideas, beauty tips and more filed around the house. Last month I was waiting for my haircut when I stumbled upon this recipe in Rachael Ray Everyday. Pasta Ribbons with Peas, Prosciutto, Cream and Spring Pesto. Even the name sounded like spring. But, shoot! The magazine wasn't mine! Do I dare rip out the page? At the end of the day I decided that wouldn't be fair to others so I jotted down the name of the recipe in my phone and looked it up as soon as I got home.

As you know, I'm a sucker for pasta. My body literally craves it now and then. And pasta with peas and prosciutto? Anytime I've had the three Ps together, it's been a truly delicious dish.

Sure, this is a little decadent and not something you'd probably want to eat on a regular basis - what with the fatty prosciutto and heavy cream. But the salty and sweet flavors combine in a way that equals magic on your tongue. The rich ingredients tossed with an herbalicious spring pesto combine to create a surprisingly delicate sauce with layers of flavor.

I was originally a little worried I wouldn't find the right type of pasta. I've never seen long ribbons like this at my market. So instead of heading to the bulk pasta aisle, I went straight to the imported foods section, where I discovered mafaldine pasta (http://bit.ly/mA84xn) made by Pastene. The curled outer edges were key to holding in the pesto and sauce, guaranteeing a burst of flavor with each bite. If I hadn't found it, I would have probably used orecchiette.

Time to Dish:

My only complaint was that I thought the mint was a little heavy. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of mint, and while I think it's probably very necessary to balance this dish, I might use a little less next time around. I also couldn't find a thick cut prosciutto so I stacked the traditional thin version before I cut it, which allowed me to create the thicker cubes called for.

My Grade: B

Hubby's Grade: A

Recipe: http://bit.ly/mkvYUg

Big Game Food: Homemade Lasagna

Day 124

Sundays in the fall mean cool, crisp and gorgeous weather; a day free of commitments, all to yourself; and husbands everywhere on the couch, first updating their fantasy picks on the laptop, then screaming at the TV all day. You know what I'm talking about. But Sundays don't have to be just for the boys. I find them an excellent excuse to make hearty, comfort food under the premise of "Oh, just a little something I thought you'd enjoy for the big game, honey!"

One of my favorite go-tos? Lasagna. Now, I don't know anyone that follows a recipe when they make lasagna. However, I tend to have a little consistency in mine, because that's what makes it "My Lasagna." And I happen to get a little swelling of pride churn up when Hubby asks for some of "My Famous Lasagna."

For example, I always use ground beef as my base. I mean, if I'm going to go for it with cheese and the rest of the yumminess, I'm going to throw some beef in there. But, you can really choose based on what you're feeling that day - ground beef, turkey, or pork sausage, or even vegetables like eggplant and zucchini. Isn't that what makes preparing it so fun? I find that properly flavoring the base is what makes or breaks the lasagna. You have to slow cook it with fresh vegetables and herbs, like garlic, onions and oregano. Only after the flavor is cooked into the meat can you add the tomato or vegetable sauce of your choice. Otherwise you end up with a sad version of goulash (or as you East Coasters call it, American chop suey) and all you're missing is the elbow macaroni.

When it comes to the cheese, I never leave out cottage cheese. When I was younger, it was because I wasn't a fan of ricotta, but now it's because I like the creaminess it adds to the dish. Two layers of cottage cheese are all you need, but feel free to add more. Sometimes I even use a low fat or fat free version, and the flavor is still spot on. The other cheeses vary each time I make it. Sometimes I use more parmesan than mozzarella; sometimes more mozz than parm. But what never changes is that the Parmigiano Reggiano needs to be fresh grated, and I always top my dish with some fresh grated Pecorino Romano for an extra bite.

Speaking of toppings, I find that a little garnish goes a long way. Slice up some Roma tomatoes, sprinkle on some fresh herbs or chopped garlic, whatever you feel like. It will go a long way in taking your dish from just another casserole to "My Famous Lasagna."

Meatless Monday - That's Shallota Flavor Spaghetti

Day 78

If you had to pick one thing Rachael Ray is known for, it could be her clever little nicknames for things (EVOO, YUM-O, Delish! etc.) around the kitchen. I've long been a fan of her Food Network show, but until recently haven't ever really considered making anything... Until I saw her make "That's Shalotta Flavor Spaghetti," a dish she said tasted like warm focaccia-in-a-bowl.

I'm a fan of pretty much any kind of fresh bread, but there's not much that beats focaccia, with its caramelized onions and bursts of fresh herb flavors combining to create a little slice of heaven. If you want to enjoy those flavors as a meal, might I suggest this dish.

What I like about Rachael's recipes is that, on top of being super easy to make, they typically call for common ingredients easily found in most grocery stores. She also does a great job of recommending different uses for fresh herbs. I haven't used parsley in a meal for a while, and was reminded of just how much flavor it packs into each bite. If I had to make any changes next time, I would spend more time caramelizing the shallots to get a warmer, more hearty flavor from them to better balance the fresh parsley.

In terms of prep, the only difficulty I had was making it through slicing all ten shallots without breaking out into full sobs. Admittedly, I had to stop a few times to let my eyes breathe, and when I was done I had no idea what Hubby meant when he asked what the heck happened to my face. Here's a little tip from me to you: You may want to wear waterproof mascara when prepping this meal.

My Grade: A-

Hubby's Grade: A-

Recipe: http://bit.ly/aYctsg

Meatless Monday - Zucchini Fettuccine

Day 64

Doesn't this look yummy? What if I told you Hubby called this, "the weirdest dinner I've ever had," would you still want to try it? I have to admit that I, too, was pulled in by a delicious-looking pile of pasta on the pages of Food Network magazine.

As you know, I've been in a little bit of a Cooking Light and pasta rut on Meatless Mondays, so I was anxious to try something completely different. I'm a new reader of Food Network magazine so figured it was a natural fit for my next subscription. I am obsessed with the network; I watch all the shows and immediately download and print off recipes I can't wait to try, so why not give its sister publication a go?

I pulled a handful of recipes from the September issue and could not wait to try this zucchini dish, which I thought would be the perfect way to feel like I was eating pasta without all the guilt. I mean, it's zucchini cut into strips and salted to bend and look like pasta. How fun!

I was excited to break out the mandoline for the first time, but after a few attempts and near-miss finger amputations, I decided to go with the vegetable peeler instead. I was already not a fan of this dish. Too much work and too much mess! Although, thankfully, that mess did not include a fingertip since I decided to use the peeler rather than the mandoline. I lost my motivation and commitment to giving this a real college try. I don't even know how I made the sauce, but I know I didn't do much more than stir all the remaining ingredients together. Funny enough, the sauce was the best part of the dish. You can't beat the flavors of fresh basil and garlic, and the jalapeño gave it a nice, subtle kick.

I was probably most disappointed because I have an, admittedly, weird thing where I don't like cold dinners. I need something hot and hearty to feel satisfied at the end of the day. This was just a pile of cold noodles that weren't fooling anyone. Foodles, more like it. Hubby was trying to be positive, bless his heart, while I was completely over the meal before it began. He suggested making this as a side dish or salad, which in hindsight, makes more sense than serving it as a main course. Oh, well. Frankly, this may be the first recipe that doesn't make it back into my binder.

My Grade: C+

Hubby's Grade: B/B-

Recipe: http://bit.ly/bI8X48

Meatless Monday - Penne with Pistachio Pesto and White Beans

Day 43

Dusting off the keyboard after an almost week-long getaway/mini vacation to soak up the last few days of summer sun. Good timing, too, since it's been raining for 24 hours with no end in sight. Days like this are trouble for a stay-at-home-wife like me. I could conceivably stay inside in my PJs all day, catching up on trashy reality shows on the DVR (Rachel Zoe Project and Keeping Up With The Kardashians, anyone?). Instead of getting sucked into hermit mode, I'm speaking to you from Starbucks today. I haven't "worked" from here in ages. Makes me feel like a college student all over again. Sigh...

Before we took off last week, we squeezed in another Meatless Monday, again featuring a recipe from Cooking Light: Penne with Pistachio Pesto and White Beans. It's similar to the orecchiette dish we fell in love with, but different enough with the white beans for added protein. It also called for Pecorino Romano, one of my favorite cheeses!

We both really liked the meal, Hubby more so than I. I didn't dislike it, but there are a few tweaks I'd make next time around. While I enjoyed switching out the traditional pine nut pesto for one made with pistachios (one of my favorite nuts), it was a little too garlicky and lacked moisture, which made the meal feel a little dry. In my opinion, the excessive garlic made it a little hard to find other flavors in the dish, and I was left wanting a little more depth.

That said, the recipe escaped the recycling bin and made in back into my binder so I'll give it another go with some minor adjustments.

My Grade: B+

Hubby's Grade: A-

Recipe: http://bit.ly/aUktOt

Meatless Monday - Orecchiette with Roasted Peppers, Arugula and Tomatoes

Day 29

Our second Meatless Monday dish might be one of my favorites that I've cooked any day thus far! (Before I forget - a big shout out to Cooking Light magazine, who makes it so easy for me to find vegetarian options with its front-of-book recipe index. Thank you!!)

Last week I made Cooking Light's Orecchiette with Roasted Peppers, Arugula and Tomatoes. Now, I think I've told you all that I prefer long ribbon-shaped pastas, but this small ear-shaped pasta really did a great job of holding in the light, refreshing sauce for the dish - just as the recipe promised! And what a tasty sauce it was. It was a very full, layered flavor with the Herbes de Provence and arugula, but a little white wine vinegar for balance kept it seasonally light and refreshing. Truly delicious!

This was the first time I've roasted my own peppers and I was shocked at how simple it was to achieve that flavor in the broiler. My only mistake was that I purchased one red and one orange bell pepper and the recipe called for one orange and one yellow pepper. The yellow would have added a nice pop of color to the already pretty dish, but the flavor was still spot on. Next time!

Yes - I will be making this again and again and again...

My Grade: A

Hubby's Grade: A

Recipe: http://bit.ly/byDSm5

Meatless Monday - Fusilli with Eggplant and Basil Pesto

Day 22

I don't know about you, but I feel like all I do every weekend is eat my way through Friday, Saturday and Sunday - especially in the summer. Because of this weekend gorging, Hubby and I have adopted the Meatless Monday diet here at home. A little meat detox, if you will, for at least one day of the week.

Since I've been home I've become even more obsessed with the Food Network. Most of the shows really do make me feel empowered to cook wonderfully tasty food here at home. And I've been exposed to plenty of great recipes that are nutritious and filling enough to stand on their own, sans meat. For example, I'm totally obsessed with eggplant these days. And when am I not obsessed with pasta? Last week's Meatless Monday recipe combines both of these and another personal favorite - pesto.

Giada De Laurentiis's recipe for Trenette with Eggplant and Pesto seemed like a great way to kick off Meatless Mondays. I wasn't able to find trenette pasta at the store, but I was happy to settle with fusilli, a favorite of ours. The spiral shape would be perfect to hold in all the pesto flavor, and it was a great medium length, making it easy to eat with little fuss.

Overall, the recipe was very simple to execute. The pesto recipe was super easy to make - I will definitely use it in other applications and recipes. The eggplant came out perfectly, although I will maybe peel it next time. Personally, I prefer it without the skin. And the Parmesan added just the right amount of salt to the dish. This is the first time I've ever said "Buon appetito!" and not felt like a total sham.

My Grade: A- (only because I have chosen a way to improve the eggplant next time)

Hubby's Grade: A

Recipe: http://bit.ly/dwRZtD