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Lemon Pasta with Broiled Salmon and Charred Lemon

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Lemon Pasta with Broiled Salmon and Charred Lemon|eatentions

Lemon Pasta with Broiled Salmon and Charred Lemon|eatentions

Lemon Pasta with Broiled Salmon and Charred Lemon|eatentions

It’s hot. 100 degrees plus, to be exact, and we are scheduled for an outdoor lunch party. What sounds good in 100-degree weather other than a siesta and a glass of rose? Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, the afternoon was committed to viewing 2 Italian films where siesta’s and rose are what we watch, not what we do.

As I pondered, I began to pull from my travel memory bank and back to Capri, Italy on a hot summer afternoon. While sitting on our terrace made of white stucco and trimmed in bright blue we watched the sailboats dance on the ocean water. As I fell into a semi-hypnotic state, I stared as the ocean became the canvas for the vast array of colors from the individual sails. As the moments slipped by, I sipped on my chilled glass of rose and pondered what beautiful dish would satisfy my quench of hunger.

I don’t know how much time went by before I heard the gentle knock at our crooked wooden door, which was carefully etched into the architecture of the wall and pulled me back into the realization of the moment.

Gabrielle, son of the proprietor, must have read my mind as he stood in the doorway holding 2 antique ceramic pasta bowls that coddled a nest of freshly made pasta tossed in a light white wine sauce and topped with butter braised sea bass caught earlier that morning. He spoke to me with his beautiful Italian accent, “Signora, may I offer you something light to eat while you enjoy your view?” I quickly stepped aside as I responded, “per favore, grazie Gabrielle e grazie alla tua mamma”. He looked down at the wooden floor and smiled.

We positioned ourselves underneath the small, sun-bleached umbrella as a light breeze relieved us from the afternoon sun. We both glanced at the masterpiece in front of us and admired the simple elegance of the dish. We swirled our forks in unison as the aromas of lemon, dill, and garlic filled our senses and tempted our pallets. One bite was all it took as we savored delicious flavors and the perfect texture of the pasta. We breathed a sigh of culinary joy and realized the mastery we had both just experienced. We remained silent as we solely communicated through the pleasure on our faces…..surely there couldn’t be a more perfect culinary culmination…..

Here’s to my best afternoon on Capri and my best effort at recreation…Lemon Pasta with Broiled Salmon and Charred Lemon

Buon Appetito!

 
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Author:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • For Pasta, (Can use store bought lemon pasta or regular pasta):
  • 3 cups pasta flour
  • 5 eggs
  • salt
  • lemon oil, to taste
  • For Salmon:
  • 6 pieces of center cut salmon
  • 2 lemon
  • butter for brushing
  • salt and pepper
  • For Sauce:
  • 1 stick butter
  • ⅛ cup olive oil
  • 8-10 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 cup white wine
  • chicken broth, if needed
  • red pepper flake
  • juice of 1 lemon and zest
  • salt and pepper
  • dill, for garnish
  • ½ cup parmigiano-reggiano plus more for serving
Instructions
  1. For Pasta:
  2. Make a well inside the flour, add a dash of salt, the eggs, and ¼ tsp lemon oil (more if needed). Mix together until combined. Knead dough for 10 minutes and set aside.
  3. With a kitchen aide attachment or hand crank, start with widest setting. Cut pasta into quarters. Cover the other pieces with saran wrap. Run the dough through and fold and run through (do this 3 times). Run through 4 times on widest setting. Change setting and run through 2 times, change setting and run through 2 times, change setting and run through 2 times, change setting (should be #5 or 3rd from last setting) and run through once. Repeat with remaining dough.
  4. With wide cutter, cut each sheet and place on a cookie sheet lined with semolina flour and dry a bit.
  5. For Sauce:
  6. On stove in large sauté pan, add oil and butter and melt. Add all ingredients, garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add lemon, red pepper, salt, and pepper and a little chicken broth. Turn heat down and set it simmer, covered. Adjust seasonings and add a little more butter, if out of balance.
  7. For Salmon:
  8. Turn oven on broil on low. On a broiler sheet, line with foil. Put pieces of salmon and season with butter, salt, and pepper. Place 2 pieces of lemon on each piece.
  9. Broil for 13-14 minutes or until done. Break into large pieces.
  10. When ready to cook, boil a large pot and salt water. Put in pasta and cook 2-3 minutes, or until al dente (or by package instructions). Drain and add to sauce with ½ cup of reserved pasta water, toss with ½ cup parmigiano cheese. Put in a bowl, add dill and arrange salmon and lemon pieces.

Lemon Pasta with Broiled Salmon and Charred Lemon|eatentions

 

 

 

Homemade Fettuccine with Brown Butter and Sage

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Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

It’s November, it is really November; clocks even went back so we know we are full on now….only 20 days till Turkey time and the gorging bliss of the holidays begin!

I don’t know why but all this has taken me by surprise. BUT (always gotta jump into the positive aspect) after my post about duck breasts last week and all the comfy food talk, I’m ready to keep embracing the fall flavor profile and post one of my absolute favorite pasta recipes…..fettuccine with butter and sage! If I want it to sound REALLY yummy (and a little sexier) I would say fettuccine con burro e salvia (because everything sounds better in Italian)!

Okay enough with the Italian lesson as we have fettuccine con burro e salvia to talk about! Yep, essentially, flour, egg, butter, sage, parmigiano. Would you ever think that 5 ingredients could create SUCH MAGIC? Well they do and with ALL the pasta I have had over the years with ALL the different sauces, this one reigns at the top. It is perfect (of course it’s perfect, it’s pasta) but seriously, in my little world it’s perfect.

For me, the key to this recipe is to brown the butter and grow your own sage. I know, maybe the growing sage is a stretch but if you have ANY urge to be a little farmer like myself, growing herbs is an awesome starting point.

Why brown the butter? Well, the nutty flavor infuses into the pasta with the sage and the combination is INCREDIBLE, I mean INCREDIBLE! Just be careful not to overbrown because it can get a “burnt” flavor. What I do is to just get it to a “light” brown color and pull it off the burner. Then while the pasta is cooking for a couple minutes in the pot (cuz I like fresh pasta) I put the butter back on to brown up some more and add fresh sage leaves. If you leave them whole, they make a really pretty statement. Remember sage is a strong herb so use on the lighter side. (If you don’t want to make your own pasta, of course fresh pasta from the store works as does dried).

The last KEY step with this (or any pasta dish) is to put the semi-cooked pasta in the saucepan with the butter (or sauce) and let it finish cooking with the sauce (always add a little pasta water to help bind together).

I made this dish for my sister’s birthday dinner last week and served it out of roasted butternut squash bowls. After filling these cute bowls (which when pulled out of the oven are an ingenious way to keep the pasta nice and warm), I just sprinkled the top of the pasta with parmigiano cheese and a hunk of dense, artisanal bread with butter. I presented them to the table and time stopped, it was perfection.

Homemade Fettuccine with Brown Butter and Sage
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • Fresh Egg Pasta:
  • 4 cups all purpose flour or caputo semolina flour (found on amazon)
  • 4 -5 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • water as needed
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • Handful of sage
  • Parmigiano cheese
Instructions
  1. To Make Fresh Pasta:
  2. Make a mound of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board or in a bowl, whichever is more comfortable to you. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and salt. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape. Do not worry that this initial phase looks messy. The dough will come together when ½ of the flour is incorporated. If using a bowl, turn out onto a wooden cutting board now and start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands primarily. Once you have a dough ball, remove its rom the board and scrape up any left over crusty bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. If dry, add 1 T of water at a time and incorporate. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Note: do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for a light pasta.
  3. To cut pasta:
  4. With a hand crank machine or kitchen aide attachment start with setting 1. Cut off ¼ of the ball and flatten out. Dust with flour as to not let it stick while passing through machine (you may have to do this periodically). Pass through once and then fold in thirds, turn and pass again. Do this 2 more times and then pass it straight through an additional 2 times. Put on setting 2 and pass through twice. Repeat with setting 3 and 4. When you get to setting 5, put through once and set sheet aside and repeat with remaining dough.
  5. Put sheets through fettuccine cutter and put onto a floured cookie sheet. Toss to keep strands separate. Do this periodically while drying and add a little flour each time if necessary.
  6. To make brown butter sauce:
  7. In a large sauce pan, place butter. On medium heat cook until a slightly brown color begins. Remove until ready to cook pasta. While pasta is cooking partially (1-2 min), return to heat and add sage. Watch as to not over brown.
  8. To boil:
  9. In a large dutch oven, fill three-quarters of the way full with water and put in salt (salty as the sea). Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook 1-2 minutes and drain (reserving 2 cups of water) and put immediately into browned butter to finish cooking, about 1-2 minutes more. Serve immediately topped with parmigiano cheese and more to pass at table.

Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

Homemade Butter

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Homemade Butter

Homemade Butter 6

 

Homemade Butter 4

Homemade Butter 3

Homemade Butter 2

Okay so all of you have probably realized that I totally dig doing everything from scratch (well as much as possible…if I could milk my own cows or goats and have some chickens, that would be ideal but the HOA might not be too happy!).

Anyway, I got a bug under my skin to start making my own homemade butter. Now, you can do this modern day, modern way in about 1/8 of the time with a kitchen aide or hand mixer BUT that isn’t how I roll….just not as much fun for me….call me crazy or sick or both but I just love the “old ways”.

So I bought a vintage butter churn, well my sister did for me cuz she rocks at picking antiques, and I located some local heavy cream and off my venture began.

Honestly, I thought (silly me) that it would take about 10 minutes of whipping and churning to crank this out so, enthusiastically I began vigorously turning the crank. After about 5 minutes I had to switch hands and then the back and forth happened…left than right then left……30 minutes later (and some good arm muscle development) we had the butter separated from the milk! Whoop Whoop!!!! I swear, doing things in the original way makes me realize that we really don’t need cross fit workouts….just churn some butter, put up some jam, and weed your garden each day and your are fit! Damn! Who knew?

This entire ranting aside, I seriously LOVED churning the butter, time and all; it makes everything better, the taste, the experience, and the appreciation; it’s all about mindful living and taking the time to put some “muscle love” into your food or just plain love and care. This is what I stand for and firmly believe in…it’s healing, it’s real, and it’s just seriously fun…..and it’s butter, homemade style.

Homemade Butter
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Condiments
Ingredients
  • 3 pints of heavy whipping cream, local and organic, if possible
  • 1 tsp salt, if desired
  • bowl of cold ice water
Instructions
  1. In a butter churn, (or kitchen aide bowl or glass bowl) add cream.
  2. Add salt, if desired. I like to do it at this point so it fully mixes in but can be done at end.
  3. Turn or beat for a LONG time (probably about 10 minutes with electric devices and 30-40 with butter churn) until the butter (it will look like curds) is separated from the milk (hence, buttermilk).
  4. Drain out liquid and reserve for pancakes, biscuits, or whatever strikes your fancy to use it for and then submerge the solids into the cold water.
  5. Gently "squeeze" and form a ball. Repeat 2 more times with clean water to get all the buttermilk taste out of the butter.
  6. Store in container or your choice or fold in herbs, roasted garlic, or spices and ENJOY!!!!

Homemade Butter

Homemade Cinnamon Sticks

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Cinnamon Sticks 4

Cinnamon Sticks 6

Cinnamon Sticks 1

I am sure by now you can tell that I love tradition and this very special family recipe takes me down memory lane as far back as I can recall. These homemade cinnamon sticks adorned our memories and palettes for years and years growing up and were a quintessential treat that my great grandmother and grandmother would always make us upon visiting. Now that I know the time and energy that went into them, I wonder how they felt when we gorged down the entire pan in less than 10 mintues……now that I think about it, that was probably the BEST complement they received.

The tradition for these cinnamon sticks continued at our house at Easter time. They were perfect Easter morning as they baked and smelled the house of butter, cinnamon, and sugar while we ran around and hunted our Easter eggs and tore into our Easter baskets. You would think the sugar high from all the candy would have sufficed but we all knew our favorite treat was really the cinnamon sticks waiting on the table.

With the cinnamon sticks, mom served up hard-boiled eggs and homemade sausages sent down from the same grandmother who made the cinnamon sticks. They arrived right before Easter and paired a perfect savory sweet combination.

I look back and think about all the hard work, love, time that went in JUST for that Easter meal and treasure every moment and savor every memory. The joy now is the recreation and the honor of a bygone time and a revamp of old traditions. It really is what we have to pass down…….and it makes for the BEST table side conversation.

Cinnamon Sticks 2

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Homemade Cinnamon Sticks
 
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This is an OLD family recipe from my Austrian great grandmother. It is a tradition of ours on Easter Sunday and they are SO good!!! I honestly don't know why we make them once a year only but with how many we eat, probably ALL we can afford!
Author:
Recipe type: Breads
Serves: lots!
Ingredients
  • Day before baking make dough:
  • 3½ tsp active dry yeast
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 1 cup scalded milk
  • ¾ cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup potatoes, mashed through sieve
  • 2 fresh eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 7 cups unbleached white flour
  • For topping:
  • 2 sticks butter
  • cinnamon and sugar mixed, equal parts
Instructions
  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.
  2. Cool milk to lukewarm and add yeast water.
  3. In a mixer with mixing attachment, cream butter, sugar, mash potatoes, and eggs. Switch to a dough hook.
  4. Add salt and flour together and start with flour and add a little to butter mixture then add a little water. Alternate between flour and water but start and end with flour. As soon as mixture is pulling from side of bowl and wrapping around dough hook.
  5. Grease a large bowl with butter and add dough. Cover with towel and let rise in warm place til double in size. Punch down and cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight. (I leave out but can put in fridge but bring to room temperature)
  6. Morning of baking:
  7. Punch down dough and in a 9x13 pan, start with a little bit of dough and roll into a log shape, about 4 inches long by 1 inch thick. Dip into butter and then roll into sugar/cinnamon mixture and put in pan. Repeat this with all the dough and alternating sides you place them inside pan as you will make 2 rows. As you put them next to each other, just "push" a little against each other to pack in a little bit. Pan won't be totally full which is fine as they will rise again in oven
  8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put a pan underneath 9x13 as it will spill over with sugar mixture. Bake for 25 minutes and check to see if they are done. They will be soft but easily pull apart.
  9. Serve immediately with butter. Best HOT and out of oven!