Lobster & Yellow Squash Frittata

So not to spoil the exciting news, but we’re testing recipes for our very first (brace yourslef…) lobster ravioli, and as you can imagine, testing recipes means a whole lot of tasting. For this ravioli, that meant finding the perfect balance of lobster to ricotta so that the lobster taste can shine while maintaining a nice creamy texture for the center of the ravioli. I also added a bit of freshly chopped parsley, a bit of lemon zest, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. So without heading to JP to make the actual ravioli, what were we to do with the filling? Cheesy lobster isn’t something you can transform into too many things, but we sure tried and can safetly say, succeeded. For the first night, we smeared this delicious ricotta and lobster filling on thick slices of toasted sourdough bread rubbed with a bit of garlic staright out of the toaster and topped with a tomato. The second night, we did pretty much the same thing on sweet potato rolls from the Flora bakery. The 3rd night, it took a bit more effort to try to transform the cheesy lobster mixture because quite frankly, eating cheesy lobster filling 3 days in a row borders on overkill. And so I tried my hand on a classic dish that cooks turn to weekly for its versatility, ease and speed yet strangely enough I had never tried making myself– frittata. So there you have it, the perfect way to use up pretty much anything in the fridge, but ricotta and lobster certainly played a starring role. To recreate this meal at home, use a heavy bottomed nonstick pan with a metal handle (plastic will melt). Heat on the stove top, add olive oil and/or butter and sautee any vegetables until almost cooked through. For this dish, I used onions and zucchini. When the veggies were soft and golden brown, I dolloped the cheese & lobster filling on top, poured in 6 beaten eggs and a bit of leftover pesto and let the eggs cook for a minute or two until slightly set. Next just slide the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the egg mixture starts to puff up and turn golden brown and voila, dinner! Slide the frittata onto a platter, allow to cool for a few minutes, slice and enjoy. Frittatas can be made with pretty much anything you have in the fridge and are delicious eaten both hot and cold. Try it out with whatever leftover farmers market goodies you have on hand, use fresh local eggs and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

A Taste of Provence…

If you’ve visited the farmer’s market this past last week, you’ll know we debuted our Herbs de Provence fresh pasta. Lucky for us, we had exactly 2 packages left at the end of Friday’s market. Naturally, Rachel and I each took one home, and boy am I happy we did. Tonight, Neha and I enjoyed a Taste of Provence with our Herbs de Provence pasta, fresh pea shoots, extra virgin olive oil and a dollop of olive tapenade. While I cant even pretend to have been to Provence, Neha has, and she was delighted. I have to admit, Herbs de Provence pasta will absolutely be my vote every week as our specialty linguine. Just try it… you’ll understand…

Family, Friends & Barbecue!

Memorial weekend is the jump start to summer! Pools are open, sunscreen is out in full force and the aroma of the grill lingers in the air. This past weekend my parents hosted a gathering of family & friends to celebrate the opening weekend of summer! The day began with Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade that was prepared at home earlier that day by Jordan and I. The flavor was bright, subtly sweet & refreshing–and kicked up with some vodka it was even more enjoying! The recipe was simple and a must have for this summer:

I began by prepping the strawberries, rhubarb and juicing the lemons & limes. Next, I used a large sauce pan and created a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water on low heat until the sugar was completely dissolved. Next, I added the strawberries, rhubarb & ginger and brought to a boil. Once boiled, I lowered the heat and added the vanilla, mint, lime juice & lemon zest and let simmer for about 20-25 mins. Afterwards, I strained the mixture and added the lemon juice and water to dilute. Lastly, I checked the sweetness and let chill in the fridge until serving. (water can be adjusted to desired taste)

For serving, I sliced some extra strawberries, limes and added some extra mint.

While sipping our lemonades, we enjoyed delicious appetizers prepared by Anthony and his brand new Cuisinart Food Processor…that he is now obsessed with! They were each delicious and perfect for a hot day!

The remainder of the day was spent enjoying the sun and barbecue staples such as spicy buffalo wings, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage & peppers cooked exclusively by my Dad who later enjoyed a nice nap in the sun along side his brother (uncle chris)-Its tough work manning the grill!

Downtime was spent playing some washer toss (Team Jordan & Rachel Undefeated) ladder golf, getting our hair braided by my lovely cousins and making silly faces for the camera! Everyone was having fun including the dogs, Bentley & Finn who chased one another around the yard all day!

Then before we knew it, it was time to eat again! We feasted on so many great dishes each contributed by family, friends & neighbors. I sadly do not have any pictures of the proteins that included pork loin, steak tips, & chicken. However, the sides were delicious and  always my favorite! The corn was a recipe I created based off a dish I enjoyed at Toro in the South End. My dish was great but I am still craving another order from the restaurant, it was amazing!

I regret that I did not write a recipe for this corn but its so simple and can easily be tweeked to your liking. I began by melting some butter in a pan with 2 cloves chopped garlic and gave it a quick saute. Then I mixed together equal parts mayo and plain yogurt and wisked in the garlic/butter mixture. Lastly, I seasoned with salt & pepper.  When it came time for dinner, I grilled up the corn, brushed on the garlic aioli mixture and topped with cotija cheese. I forgot to sprinkle with cayenne pepper, but will try next time! They were great and a nice retreat from the simple, yet delicious, traditional corn.

If you weren’t already stuffed, there were also some delicious desserts created by Leigh and my neighbor Patty. Yum!!

The day was a blast and by the end of the night, a few of the remaining party dwellers sat around the fire, taking shots of Doctor Mcgillicuddy’s prescribed by my brother Mike again and again and again! It was a great memorial day and much appreciation to my Mom who did such a great job getting the backyard ready. The pond had begun to flourish with the first budded lilly and the fish who swam happily! The flowers were planted, koozies were out and ready for cold beers and just about everything else that a party needs was well planned!

Cheers to a great barbecue and many more to come!

Nella at Home.. at home

Since this weeks starts our official 6-day work-weeks that will continue now through November, last weekend I took full advantage of my last 2 days off in a row and headed to my dad’s house in Salisbury, CT. The weather was beautiful, I picked up some great goodies from my step-mom’s store, Nest, and got to catch up with the whole family, including my step-siblings Wylie & Alexandra. And what does a foodie family do when the kids are home? Eat, of course! Here’s a look at our 2 delicious dinners from the weekend.

Saturday Night:

Sunday Night:

Bean & Veggie Sauté

A quick go-to dinner that’s healthy, tasty and takes about 10-15 minutes from start to finish (not counting soaking or cooking time for beans). The concept is simple: choose your favorite bean (navy, cannellini, black, pinto, black eyed peas), add one or more vegetables, saute the whole thing and serve it in a big bowl. For last night’s dinner I chose chickpeas, leeks and fiddle heads sauteed in a combination of extra virgin olive oil and butter and drizzled with a bit of extra basil-infused olive oil before serving. Try this bean and veggie saute with cannelini beans, tomatoes and eggplant; black beans, bell pepper and fresh corn; black eyed peas, tomatoes and collard greens….you get the picture.

Bread Baking Trials

What to do when you come home from a long day of making (and eating) pasta? Make bread, obviously. I’m beginning to think I could subside thrive on flour and water alone. Ok, so maybe that’s not entirely true, I do have some grass fed steak from River Rock Farm and asparagus from Springbrook Farm that I can’t wait to cook up for dinner tonight, but there’s just something wonderful about flour and water and the endless possibilities of things you can make with these 2 (1?) simple ingredients. So enter my bread kick. It started with a need to test out a focaccia recipe for an upcoming catering event Rachel and I have on Thursday. I first complained about this arduous task “but if I make it then I have to eat the whole thing!”…. and then I did…. and then there was only a small piece left…and then I panicked that freshly baked bread would soon be a distant memory.

So before one baked good was even done I had my KitchenAid out on the counter kneading the dough of another. Today my project of the day was a whole wheat baguette. I’m not sure if I’m more delighted or sad that my project took a mere hour and a half in total, largely unattended.

The directions were simple: dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water (I used honey) and wait about 5 minutes for yeast to activate. Add flour and salt, knead for 10 minutes, let the ball of dough rise and bake for about 20 minutes. Seriously. That’s all. Seeing as it’s so easy and the result tastes like a delicious wheat bagel and looks bakery-esque, I think I’m going to need to buy bigger pants…. totally worth it.

A Meal So Easy Jeff Can Do It

Seriously, and nothing against the guy because he has fair share of strong points, but the boy can’t cook. He won’t even try. But when it comes to this 5 minute breakfast, lunch or dinner (and we’ve had it 2 out of the last 3 meals), all it takes is cracking an egg and that he does exceptionally well. For dinner last night we had a pretty typical version of huevos rancheros– with melted cheddar cheese, black beans, salsa fresca, avocado, green onions and cilantro. For lunch we toned down the “ranchero” part and bulked up on veggies, adorning our huevos with a handful of arugula, a spoonful of salsa fresca, green onions and spicy chirashi sauce.

Here’s the basic idea: heat a small skillet with a bit of olive oil and add a fresh corn tortilla (sold in bulk for about $1.49/ bag). When the tortilla starts to bubble slightly check the bottom to see if it has turned a golden brown. When it has, crack an egg right on top. The egg will probably go all over pan and look like a mess but that’s kind of the fun of it. When the egg has set slightly (the whites have began to harden), flip the whole tortilla so the egg is face down. At this point, you’re done. If you feel like it, add grated cheese and cover the pan until the cheese melts. Otherwise, transfer tortilla to a plate and garnish with whatever you have in the house– baby spinach, arugula, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, marinara, diced red peppers, tomatillos… you get the idea. We can just call it good luck that one of the easiest meals in the world to make also happens to be the tastiest.

Coconut Ginger Carrot Soup

I am happy to report that I actually wrote down a recipe (the best I could remember)! You may know from Nella Pasta blog that I am terrible about recipes. I read them daily in magazines, cookbooks, newspapers and online absorbing information and gaining inspiration, and yet I rarely follow them. Even worse, I can never get myself to write down the meals I actually make which of course leads to “let’s have that eggplant thing again you made last month”…..”yeah that was so good! wait…. what was it?”

Thank god Rachel is so good about writing down recipes. If she wasn’t, we would never be able to re-create our favorite ravioli recipes from last year like our fresh corn and thyme ravioli, roasted red pepper and goat cheese ravioli and the hardest to remember, southwesten black bean ravioli.

Back to the recipe…this is a deliciously spicy soup with hints of ginger, coconut and curry. Look for fresh spring carrots in the farmers market in the next couple of weeks, and at the very least use real, organic carrots that you peel and cut yourself. I threw my garnishes on top and called it a day, but you can really make this soup look spectacular by delicately garnishing with finely sliced jalepeños, cilantro and a drizzle of extra coconut milk or dallop of plain yogurt.

Roasted Chickpeas

Sugar, salt and fat- those evil yet delicious ingredients that make food taste so good. These roasted chickpeas have a tiny drizzle of maple syrup or honey for sweetness, a bit of salt and extra virgin olive oil to create a nice golden brown color and delicious taste and yet they remain a healthy and satisfying snack. Replace these chickpeas with your usual pretzels, popcorn or crackers and benefit from a low glycemic index (won’t spike your blood sugar), protein, fiber and a number of other nutrients including iron, manganese and folate.

To make this delicious snack at home, simply soak dried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) in water overnight, rinse thoroughly and boil for about 30 minutes until beans are cooked through yet still firm. Alternatively, you can always use canned chickpeas if you don’t have time to soak dried beans yourself. Once the beans are cooked through, season according to taste and roast in a 400 degree oven until golden brown and crispy. Here are some ideas for flavor combinations:

• lime juice, soy sauce, cayenne, sesame oil, salt and brown sugar
• maple syrup, extra virgin olive oil salt and rosemary
• cumin, cayenne, extra virgin olive oil, a tiny drizzle of honey, salt and chili pepper

Refrigerate leftover chickpeas in an airtight container and re-warm in the toaster oven before serving.