First Night at Home

So happy to be home! My Mom made us Pasta with Mussels!

Pasta Primavera a la Pollo Marsala

Our last few recipes have been pushing eccentricity, so we decided to make an alteration on a recipe we found in Runner's World Magazine: Pasta Primavera. 

I sauteed some garlic in a pan with half a pound of mushrooms. Then I added 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock and turned the stove on high to let some of the liquid evaporate. Then, I added 3 tablespoons of flour and brought it to a boil. After a few minutes, I added 1/2 a cup of Marsala wine. I added cherry tomatoes and sliced chicken pieces, and turned the stove down to let it reduce. 

In a separate pan I sauteed broccoli, artichokes, steamed peas, yellow peppers and red onions. 

It was all tossed in with whole grain Penne and sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese. 

 

 Dessert was fresh fruit salad- Strawberries, Honeydew Melon, and green grapes coated with Chobani Greek Yogurt.

 

An Attempt at Asian Cuisine

On the Menu tonight was Shrimp Lo Mein with Thai Peanut Sauce

Chef Mimi brought snow peas, onions, peppers, and mushrooms, which we sauteed with garlic in a pan. 

Brigitte made a Thai Peanut Sauce of her own creation using coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, and ...

a tsp of curry powder- we had to stop there, because as soon as we opened the container,my roommate came out of her room and asked why the house smelled like Asians.

Paco brought the shrimp. Since he was the only dude, he-of course, left the kitchen to play with Miles (And tried to undo all the good behavior I had taught him) 

I've been trying to teach him not to jump on people and of course, every time Paco comes over, he says "Miles, UP!"

Thanks to him, Miles nipped Mimi's booty because he thought she was playing with him. 

Anyway, it turned out really well. The peanut sauce was of an appealing consistency, and not spicy (Crucial for those of us with weak tolerances to spicy food) 

Chef Paco says "That's because Men can handle the heat and Women can't- and yet, he is the one who cried the last time we made Chili and it was too spicy. I told him, "If you can't stand the heat, then get out da kitchen".

On the Menu tonight was: Homemade Trader Joe's Pasta (Lemon Pepper Infused) with shrimp, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, broccoli, peppers, and feta cheese.

The flavoring of the pasta was pretty intense, but it didn't take away from the taste of the rest. Apparently Trader Joe's sells multiple flavors, so I'll go back and see what else they have. Mushroom would be good...

Chef Paco plans on going back to Mona Lisa to get more fresh pasta- they have a ton of flavors besides the basil we used for the lasagna- spinach, wild mushroom, saffron, whole wheat, egg, squid ink (not sure about that one...) etc.

Sunday Night Lasagna Dinner

While I was at home, I got to try some of my parents' new Trader Joe's favorites. They introduced me to a new bread they carry, called "Rustico Bread". It is supposed to be sandwich bread, but it goes really well with dinner because it has a wholesome nutty flavor.

 We paired it with one of their spreads as an appetizer, and sprinkled Parmesan cheese over top.

Chef Paco went to Mona Lisa Pasta in downtown Charlottesvilleand picked up fresh basil lasagna noodles- I don't think I've ever had lasagna with fresh pasta before. 

 It's hard to see, but the lady at Mona Lisa pasta had cut out strips for us. This was when it was still wrapped in the plastic, but you can see the fresh basil. 

My parents always told me that it's rude to smell your food, but I may have accidentally smelled the pasta, and it smelled really good before it even got cooked.

My mom and I love to make homemade lasagna together, so I used our recipe for the filling.

In a mixing bowl, I mixed 3 eggs, two cups of ricotta cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

Chef Mimi did the layers: 

a layer of roasted garlic tomato sauce mixed with three cheese tomato sauce

a layer of pasta

a layer of the ricotta mixture

a layer of ground beef

A layer of grilled vegetables: mushrooms, spinach, red peppers

Repeat

 To top it off, we sprinkled parmesan cheese- though you can also do mozzarella. 

We baked it on 375 degrees for half an hour. 

Chef Paco was excited...

 

The layers melted together well...

 Chef Mimi had the quote of the night: 

"I never met a lasagna I didn't like. But... I think I love this one."