Spring Gnocchi

We're trying to take full advantage of the spring weather before this weekend's snow, so this was another bright, light dinner.  It didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped, but might be worth trying again, with some modifications.  We also didn't make our own gnocchi, but the packaged ones are pretty good.  This was largely a bit of a trick of timing, so maybe that will help next time.

I put the proscuitto in the toaster oven to crisp and then started two pots of water boiling.  The larger is for the gnocchi and the smaller is just to blanch the peas.  I chopped and started sauteeing the shallots (in a large pan) while the peas blanched, and then drained the peas.  The peas went into the large pan and I tried to keep them stirring, then cooked the gnocchi.  Once they were floating, I threw into the large pan as well, and let them sautee as well.  This was tricky as I basically made a double-batch, maybe next time sautee in small sections.  I made (with Andrew's help) the lemon ricotta, which needed way more lemon, and sliced the cripsy proscuitto into pieces.

We plated it all with a scoop of gnocchi and peas, topped with a large spoonful of ricotta, and sprinkled some proscuitto, and served it up.  It needed salt and pepper, despite adding some during the cooking.

Shrimp Picatta with Peas

I wanted something like chicken picatta, but without real meat (shrimp and fish don't count, in my version of vegetarianism) and so this super easy and bright dinner with hints of spring.  Which is a bit cruel as winter will probably last another month, or more.

Saute the (peeled) shrimp with a little garlic and oil, then remove while keeping the good juices in the pan.  We like it really piquant so I added just over a half cup of lemon juice and a small bottle of white wine.  Season with a little salt and pepper and parsley if you have it.  Meanwhile, cook small pasta (alphabets if you grocery shopped with a 3 year old) until al dente.  Scrape the bottom of the pan and then reduce the sauce to a thick, saucy consistency.  Add the shrimp back and coat and then mix in some peas.  Serve over the pasta.

The peas turned a bit of a murky canned-pea green, despite being good frozen ones.  I'd like to try either fresh peas (ideally from the pea pick at the farm in the summer) or steaming them first and adding in at the last second.  These needed to thaw in the sauce and maybe got overdone.  They tasted pretty good, despite my not liking cooked peas much.

It all came together nicely and quickly and was quite delicious.  I always forgot how much I like small pasta.

Veggie Calzone

Here's a nice alternative to pizza, that's not really any more work.

Make a simple pizza dough, rolled out into a rough circle.  Some tomato sauce, any toppings/fillings you want (this was leftover mushrooms, red pepper and some black olives) and a nice thick layer of mozzarella.  Fold in half, seal shut, and bake until the crust is cooked (not long, maybe 20 minutes?).  A bit hit all around, although I'm wary of how it'll fare for leftovers.

Stuffed Shells

 I love stuffed shells and hadn't made them in a long long time.  They're so easy, so versatile, and so good.

These were part of my "clean out the freezer" kick.  I had some leftover sausage with chopped peppers that I just mixed with a tub of ricotta cheese.  I cooked some shells and stuffed the mixture inside once they were cool.  Some marinara on top and they baked for half an hour or so, plus Parmesan to pass.  The outer shells were plenty hot but the ones in the middle were still just lukewarm.  Next time I'd do a little more veggie, a little less cheese, and a little longer in the oven.

Andrew ate three of these, and Thomas ate green beans for the first time!

Mushroom Tetrazzini

I tried Giada's recipe, leaving out the chicken to make this vegetarian.  It was a little bland, but some salt and pepper made it okay.

I thought I had a package of sliced button mushrooms as well as the portabellas, but I couldn't find them, so it was a little skimpy.  On the other hand, I wanted to use up some ice cream ingredients (cream and half-and-half) so I made the sauce from them, which made it nice and rich.  I switched out linguine with whole-wheat spaghetti (the protein kind).  Given the nutmeg in the recipe and the sweetness of the noodles, this made some people think it smelled like dessert.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagne

New Year's Day 2010

An old favorite from Cooking Light, using whole wheat, no-bake noodles and jarred sauce and the new All-Clad!  One pan made enough for dinner for 3 and leftovers for a couple days.