Category: italian cuisine

Hangry and Sleep Deprived

What a day… I can’t even begin to get into it, or I’ll never stop.  Let’s just say – I’m over it…. over everything … on every possible level you can imagine.

I’m currently listing to Dolly Parton, which is another level of disgusting in itself, considering that I hate country music and recently learned that Dolly doesn’t even call or consider herself a feminist.  I won’t go into that either.  I’m not sure why some women think the label ‘feminist’ is a bad thing, especially in the year 2019.  It simply means a person (man, woman, etc.) who wants equal rights for both men and women (and everyone in between).  I guess the people who consider it a dirty term have never taken a women’s studies class in their life, and therefore associate the label with a “feminazi,” or a man-hating, non-armpit-shaving, bra-burning, lesbian straight out of 1968 (**not that that would be a bad thing to be, even if you were that person I just described…).  I’m just saying – calling yourself a feminist doesn’t mean you hate men or that you shun makeup and heels in favor of cargo shorts and trips to Home Depot.  It means you want equal pay, rights, and equal opportunities for all – regardless of sex, gender, or sexual orientation.  I guess in Dolly’s case, even though she has a large gay fan-base, she also has to cater to her equally-as-large, republican, pro-Trump fan base too… sad.

Dolly – you really disappointed me on top of everything else that disappointed me today…

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I had the shittiest dinner after the shittiest day – it was only fitting.  I was so pissed off by the time I arrived home at 9pm, I had no appetite.  I kind of love when that happens, but naturally I had to go and ruin it by drinking a glass of wine and it spurred my appetite into action.  If I never drank alcohol, I’m pretty sure I would never be hungry. But, given my lifestyle, quitting wine isn’t really an option, unless I can take up MMA fighting or get a prescription for Klonopin…

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If the outside matched the inside – this would be my attitude all day everyday… instead I’m relegated to Hillary Clinton-esque slacks and button ups and playing nice.

When I finally got home, ravaged and miserable, I fed my poor little catty, who should have even three hours prior to my arrival time, and then took a bath with a generous glass of Malbec.  I proceeded to electrocute my face with the NuFace, since I have been so exhausted these past few mornings that I’ve neglected to do so.  When I came out of the bath, I could smell my neighbor’s cooking – and tonight it smelled like fried artichoke hearts and stuffed mushroom poppers.  Suddenly, I was salivating.  Instead of eating pasta at 11pm, I decided to be healthy and make a salad to satiate my unrelenting hunger:

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SAD

I guess everything is sad today – because this is one of the saddest salads I’ve ever tried to make into a meal. No cheese, nuts, olives, avocados, or any sort of protein or healthy fat. The salad is mostly purple cabbage.  At least the dressing is homemade and delicious – that’s the only thing this salad has going for it.  Kind of like the only thing I have going for me is my cute cat.

It doesn’t really help that I also only average about 6 hours of sleep a night or less.  The only time it seems like I get enough sleep is on the weekends (and only sometimes), when I can go to bed at 10pm and sleep until 9am.  This happens maybe once a month now, since even weekends seem to be full of obligations and plans. I feel like I’m so haggard when I don’t sleep – I seriously feel I have aged about 6 years in the past 2.5 years given my lack of sleep.

Anyhow, enough about me and my anger and sleep deprivation.  Yesterday, I made a delightful pasta with a creamy sauce made of pureed zucchini.  I’m too fucking tired to write the recipe, but I’ll update tomorrow if I don’t work another 12 hour day…. JK, I’ll write it now… what’s another 20 minutes off my sleep time?

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The finished product: Penne with pureed zucchini sauce and cherry tomatoes

INGREDIENTS:

  • Box of penne, rigatoni, or fussili
  • 4 Tbs. Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus more to sprinkle on top)
  • 1/2 chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 4 small, green zucchinis, chopped up into small chunks
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely minced
  • 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 1 small carton of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut into halves
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • Fresh basil to garnish

DIRECTIONS:

  • In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil (2 Tbs.) and butter over low heat
  • Add in the minced onion and cook for 5 minutes over low heat, until the onions are translucent and soft
  • Add in the minced garlic (about 4 cloves worth) and cook for another 3 minutes (as usual, be careful not to burn the garlic!)
  • Add in the chopped zucchini and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently
  • Continue to stir and cook until the zucchini is soft and fully cooked (taste test to make sure)
  • Remove the zucchini from the the heat
  • Place a large pot of heavily salted water on high heat and bring to a boil for the pasta
  • While the pasta water comes to a boil, add the contents of the zucchini saucepan into a blender
  • Add in about 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • Blend over high speed until mixture is thick and saucy – there shouldn’t be any large chunks
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After adding the cooked zucchini, onion and garlic mixture to the blender, add 1/2 cup chicken stock blend on high until sauce is thick and blended fully
  • Return the mixture to the saucepan and turn to low heat
  • Add the pasta into the pot of boiling water and cook according to time on box
  • Add in the cream, salt, pepper, cayenne, dried basil and dried oregano as well as the Parmesan cheese and stir until all ingredients have combined into thick sauce
  • Add additional seasoning as necessary, depending on your tastesIMG_6001
  • Once pasta is done cooking, drain the water, and add the pasta into the sauce (or add the sauce into the pasta pot – whichever is more accommodating)
  • In a clean sauce pan, add in 2 Tbs. of olive oil over low heat
  • Add in another 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes
  • Add in the cherry tomatoes, season with a bit more salt and pepper and cook over low-medium heat for about 6 minutes
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After adding the zucchini sauce to the cooked pasta, use a clean plan to saute the remaining cloves of garlic with some cherry or grape tomatoes in olive oil/butter
  • Add the tomatoes to the rest of the pasta/sauce once cooked through
  • Top with additional sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves

I wish I had a shot of adrenaline that would be dispensed into my arm when my alarm went off tomorrow morning.  But sadly the best I could muster was setting up my coffee machine so all I have to do is hit a single button.  Looks like 5 hours of sleep for me tonight…. cheers.

 

 

 

After-Birthday Blues and Garbage Take Out Food

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I need to find a way to wake up like this every morning – waking up in ugly NYC and having to ride the MTA after drinking my cup of coffee in 2 minutes flat just isn’t cutting it

My birthday has once again come and gone, but the celebration isn’t over yet kids.  I plan on going ballz to the wall this weekend come hell or high water. This past weekend was just the calm before the storm.  I spent a relaxing 24 hours (… yeah, you heard me; 24 hours) in a cabin in the woods with my boyfriend and cat.  It was perfect, despite being about 48 hours too short.  The hot tub, the solitude, and the snow that fell Sunday night was perfect – I finally got some snow, on my birthday no less 🙂   I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect night in.

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Finally some fresh snow! There is nothing better than sitting in a hot tub while snow flakes fall all around you 
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Mr. Peeper also enjoyed getting the f*ck out of NYC and getting some fresh, country air

The house came equipped with a grill and some sort of outdoor fire pit decorative thing, which miraculously kept burning even throughout the snowfall.  We did groceries at the local Shop Rite grocery store, and they had a surprisingly good seafood section – the scallops were way better than the ones I get at my local ratchet market here in Brooklyn, and the fish was also excellent on the grill:

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The pasta I made was incredibly simple (recipe to follow), but amazingly delicious.  Don’t mind the ugly-ass plates… not my aesthetic.  The pasta also looks monochromatic as f*ck because I forgot to buy fresh parsley at the grocery store :/
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Grilled haddock kept simple with salt, pepper, lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil 
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Fresh beet and goat cheese salad… my favorite!  The fresh beets make all the difference, although it is time consuming to clean, peel and boil them – they take about 35 minutes to cook through when boiling.

It truly sucks to be back in the city and back to work after such a short respite. I think I need at least a full week off to feel fully refreshed, and even that will be cutting it short (I think I am just not suited to working a 9-5, Monday thru Friday corporate job, if I’m to be completely honest…).  I went to sleep at like 9:30pm last night watching At Eternity’s Gate (the new-ish Willem Dafoe movie wherein he plays van Gogh), but I still woke up absolutely exhausted and in need of at least 3 more hours of sleep this morning.  I hate falling asleep before 11pm because I feel like I am wasting precious non-work hours.  I am also upset that I missed the end of the movie, since it was right up my ally and I was really enjoying it.  Willem Dafoe and van Gogh – two of my favorites… what’s not to love?! I will finish it tonight, if the rental is still available.

Tomorrow is already Wednesday, but the weekend feels so very far away.  I guess you’ll have that when you live for the weekends.  Last night upon returning to NYC, I was just too tired to do groceries and cook, so I ordered an eggplant parm hero and fries.  What a way to start the week and celebrate a birthday. Anyhow, here is the recipe for the scallop pasta pictured above!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb. of wild-caught sea scallops (fresh or frozen is fine)
  • 2 lemons
  • 4 TBS. (1/2 stick) butter
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 cloves fresh, finely minced garlic
  • 2 TBS. finely chopped, fresh parsley (plus more to garnish… which I failed to do as seen above)
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 box of linguine (or fettuccine, or spaghetti…)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Put a large pot of heavily-salted water on high heat (for the pasta) to bring to a boil, while you prepare the scallops.
  • In a large saucepan, melt the butter and about 2 TBS. of the olive oil together, over low heat.
  • Add in the minced garlic and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, being careful not to burn.
  • Add in the scallops and raise the heat to medium.
  • Cook the scallops for about 3 minutes on each side – I suggest flipping each scallop only once.
  • After the scallops are cooked through (I suggest taking one out and cutting in half to try), add in the salt, pepper, dried oregano and dried basil and squeeze in the juice from one lemon.
  • Once the pasta water has come to a rolling boil, add in the box of pasta and cook until al dente.
  • Drain the pasta and add into the saucepan with the scallops.
  • Add in the rest of the olive oil, along with the freshly chopped parsley, more pepper, and the juice of the second lemon and stir/toss together all ingredients.
  • Add a garnish of fresh parsley to serve.

#basicbitch

The Ultimate Sacrilege – My Week in Bastardized Food

It’s been quite a week, and it’s only Tuesday.  Once again, I overindulged in a bit too much vino this weekend and thus have sworn off even a glass of wine with dinner this week (unheard of, I know…) in order to look super-svelte for my birthday next week.  As a testament to just how much I overindulged, I left my purse at my friend’s house on Friday night – like who the f*ck leaves behind their entire purse?  We did however make an amazing fondue though… so I guess it was worth it.

The next day, in an Uber back to my friend’s house to retrieve my purse, the car I was in got into an accident with a motorcycle.  I decided to take an Uber pool, and when the car pulled over in Bushwick to let out the backseat passenger, she opened her door to the right side of the street and into an on-coming motorcyclist who was stupidly passing on the right.  He slammed head-on into the back door of the vehicle with his motorcycle, which than fell over onto two parked cars.  Lovely.  Thankfully no one was hurt, however, the passenger who opened her door peaced-out to wherever she was going, and I had to stay and wait for the cops since I was a witness.  The motorcyclist was also making me nervous as he kept screaming obscenities at the poor driver, even though it wasn’t the driver’s fault – it was his.  He said terrible things like “go back to your country” and “you don’t even speak English – stop talking to me.”  The driver was super apologetic and thankful that I waited around for the police with him and gave them the correct version of the story.  I assured the driver it wasn’t a problem and I was happy I could help him out – it did add another hour and a half onto what should have been a 15 minute trip one way, but whatever.  It’s amazing no one was injured, and I can’t complain because the driver was nice enough to give me a ride the rest of the way to my friend’s after the cops left, off the clock.

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Saturday night, I had another friend over for shrimp tacos – I was feeling very inspired by an amazing taco dip my cousin made at his super bowl party: sour cream and cream cheese mixed with a packet of taco seasoning, layered with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and chopped avocado. I topped it off with some home made guacamole and about a bottle of wine …. kill me.
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Sunday morning, after a second night of indulgence, I decided to make pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean stew), which I have been meaning to make for the last two weeks… it was pretty tasty and enough to feed an army, as per usual.

I’m still not sure what I am doing for my bday – it’s up in the air between going away for a night or going out and partying here in NYC.  Either way, I hope this cold I’m coming down with doesn’t stick around. I am starting to feel like shit ….

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Tonight’s dinner – tagliatelle with salmon and spinach in a cream sauce (this is the ultimate sacrilege for Italians – combining fish or seafood with heavy cream and Parmesano).  It was delightful and got the seal of approval from the Italian boyfriend

Tonight I made the scrumptious pasta pictured above – I wouldn’t consider it an Italian dish by any means, but it was f*cking delicious.  I am feeling too lazy to write out the recipe… but I’ll do it for you anyhow, because I love you.

TAGLIATELLE CON SALMONE E SPINACI 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 large fillet of fresh Salmon, de-boned, de-skinned, and cut or torn into small pieces
  • 1 ripe lemon (you’ll use both the juice, and the zest (aka the grated skin))
  • 1 package fresh spinach (**do NOT use frozen)
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 4 cloves of garlic (minced finely)
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesano
  • 1 package of tagliatelle egg noodles (if you can’t find tagliatelle, another egg noodle will do – but regular pasta is too heavy for this dish)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground (or freshly grated) nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Skin and de-bone the salmon fillet, tear or cut the salmon into small, bite-size pieces and set aside.

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2. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter together over low heat.

3. Mince the garlic and add into sauce pan, stirring over low heat (as always – do NOT burn the garlic!).

4. Add in the entire bag or package of fresh spinach and stir, coating with melted butter and oil.

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5. Add in the heavy cream and stir over low heat until spinach is completely wilted.

6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (for the pasta).

7. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper, as well as the grated Parmesan cheese to the spinach/cream sauce mixture and stir until mixed.

8. Add in the salmon and reduce to lowest heat (the salmon wont take much to cook through) – remove from heat once salmon has cooked through.

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9. Once the pot of water has come to a boil, follow pasta instructions and cook tagliatelle to al dente texture.

10. Drain pasta and add back to large pot; squeeze the juice from 1/2 of the lemon and grate in about 2 tsp. worth of zest from the lemon’s skin into the pasta and stir.

11. Finally, you will combine the contents of the saucepan (cream sauce containing the salmon and spinach) into the pasta and stir together:

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Serve hot and with a garnish of a bit more lemon zest on top, if desired

This is definitely a meal that will please anyone – despite being made with heavy cream, the fact that it is made with fish and also that the pasta is an egg-noodle helps keep it from being too heavy – in fact it tastes rather light.

Now that it’s back to being freezing cold and snowy/slushy outside, I am really craving some quality soups again (when am I not craving soup – let’s be honest). I wanted to cook homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese tonight – a classic, childhood ‘feel-good’ meal.  Maybe tomorrow night.  I may even go all in and bake my own bread if I don’t have to work late.  I also have some dried split peas I’m itching to make into soup… nothing beats a good split pea soup!

 

Bolognese and Home

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Rigatoni Bolognese 

Currently stress eating Bugles and dreading going back to NYC tomorrow after a lovely three days at home (lovely, minus my work inbox blowing up all day…the beauty of work email on your personal phone 🙂 LOVES IT).

I feel creatively repressed and personally stifled just thinking about going back to the office on Wednesday.  Hence, the Bugle binge.  It was so nice to be out of NYC for a few days, away from the crazies on the subway, the scents of the sewers and trash-strewn sidewalks, dealing with the MTA’s bullshit, the commute into and out of work, and of course, work itself.  It’s so nice to wake up and be able to drink my coffee at a leisurely pace while watching daytime TV as opposed to swigging it down while simultaneously applying mascara.  The pleasure to be had in taking a long walk while the sun is still up in the sky, or to be able cook or bake at 2pm is insurmountable.  It’s so nice to have control over my own daytime schedule and not spend 10 hours a day split between commuting and sitting at a desk.  I guess it’s time to become a stay-at-home cat mom, or a SAHCM.  I must find a way to make this happen… even if means selling my soul to the devil (oh wait, I already did… JK).

I was able to spend some quality time with my brother and his girlfriend on Saturday, as well as with my parents.  I also had a chance to hang out with my cousin at the Super Bowl party he hosted, and took a long walk with my other cousin (his mom) earlier that day.  And then of course, there was the quality time spent with the family pets, which is the reason I came home in the first place – to watch them while my parents were away.   I got in a couple of long walks with and without the dog, and ate a lot of deliciously unhealthy food – some of which I graciously shared with Ceely (the dog), as she came with me to the Super Bowl party with me.

Saturday night, after grocery shopping with my mom, I decided to make rigatoni Bolognese for my parents – they loved it!!! Such a great dish for the winter (even though the last couple of days were unseasonably warm).

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb. of high-quality beef ( you can substitute in cooked brown lentils if you’re a vegetarian, or ground turkey if you prefer a healthier meat)
  • 1/2 cup pancetta (OPTIONAL – I did not add this time, but I have in the past and it elevates to another level)
  • 1 box pasta of your choice (rigatoni, spaghetti, penne, linguini all work great)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a large sauce-pan)
  • 2 large carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 of a white or yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 cup dry, white wine (Pinot Grigio works well!)
  • 1 cup freshly shaved Parmesan (plus more to sprinkle over finished pasta)
  • 1 large can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  •  1 Tbs. dried basil
  • 1 Tbs. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. granulated garlic
  • Salt and pepper (add to desired taste)

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DIRECTIONS:

  • Start by heating the olive oil in a large sauce pan over a low-medium heat
  • Add in onions and cook until a yellow-y translucent color (about 6 minutes), stirring occasionally
  • Add in carrots and celery and continue to cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for another 5 min.
  • Add in garlic and continue to cook and stir, being careful not to burn garlic
  • Add in the meat (or cooked lentils) and cook for a couple of minutes over low-medium heat.  If you’re cooking ground meat, break it up using the spoon or spatula (should not be left in large chunks)

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  • Add in the white wine and simmer for about 3 minutes
  • Add in the can of crushed tomatoes along with the granulated garlic, sugar, salt, pepper, dried basil and oregano, and crushed red pepper; stir together and reduce to low heat
  • Add in the small can of tomato paste and stir in thoroughly; continue to stir and cook over a low heat.
  • After cooking over low heat for another 10 minutes or so, add in the heavy cream and stir
  • Add in the Parmesan cheese and continue to stir and cook, making sure cheese is incorporated into the sauce

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  • Add in the fresh chopped parsley and stir
  • I advise taste-testing as you go along (make sure meat is cooked through before taste testing!), to ensure the sauce has a good balance – feel free to add more salt, pepper, pepper flakes, oregano/basil, or sugar if needed
  • Let the sauce continue to simmer over minimum heat and boil a large pot of heavily salted water for the pasta
  • Cook pasta according to cook time advised on packaging; once pasta is cooked to al dente, drain and either add to sauce pan, if large enough, or back to pot and then add the Bolognese sauce into the pot of pasta – stir well
  • Serve in bowls with freshly grated Parmesan over-top and a garnish of fresh parsley or fresh basil!
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    Voila! A hit every single time

    I cannot wait to be reunited with my cat tomorrow – I am going to take him out in his stroller since it is going to be about 60 degrees. I hope that the rest of this week goes smoothly and work isn’t too insane, like it was last week.  It will be nice to get back to the city tomorrow and be able to organize myself, clean the apartment, and make a nice meal before going back to work on Wednesday… I’m already thinking about what I can cook. That’s how much I love cooking – I dream of what I will make in advance :p