Absolute BEST Summer Pasta Recipe

Here is one reason to love summer: You just can't get tomatoes in the winter that are as good as they are now.

Here is my favorite recipe using them. I make this practically once a week. We NEVER get tired of it.

Thank you Pierre Franey. 

Pasta with fresh, uncooked tomato sauce
(Pierre Franey, The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet. Slightly revised by me.)

3-5 large summer tomatoes, about 2-1/2 pounds
4-6 large cloves garlic, peeled, left whole. Bruise them by smacking them with a mallet, or flatten them slightly with side of knife. (Make sure you don't hit them too hard so they break into a lot of pieces.)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped basil
salt and generous amount of freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

1 pound rigatoni or other tubular pasta such as penne
1/4 pound shredded Fontina (or Muenster cheese or Italian sharp cheese if you can find it)
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. Wash tomatoes. Core and chop into cubes about 3/4-inch square. There should be about 6 cups. Put in bowl.

2. Add garlic, pepper flakes, basil, s&p, olive oil. Cover. Let stand at room temperature several hours (all day). Or chill overnight and bring back to room temperature a few hours before serving.

3. Cook pasta.

4. Shred Fontina in food processor with coarse blade. (Or dice into tiny cubes.)

5. Remove garlic cloves from sauce!

6. Drain pasta. Spoon off 1/4 cup oil from surface of sauce. Add to pasta. Add parmesan cheese, toss. And half tomato sauce, toss. Add half remaining sauce and Fontina cheese, toss. Serve in bowls with remaining sauce spooned on top. 

(Or do what I do, just combine everything together and serve.)

Salad Niçoise with Grilled Tuna

There are many variations of this traditional salad from Nice on the French Riviera. This is from William-Sonoma’s Casual Outdoor Dining by Georgeanne Brennan with a few revisions from me.

This is an ideal recipe for a dinner party as just about everything except for grilling the fish can be prepared in advance. 

The salad can be served at room temperature, which makes it an excellent candidate for serving outdoors if you like. Add some freshly baked bread and some wine and prepare yourself for the compliments.

4 servings 

1 pound tuna fillets, sliced about ½ inch thick

4 medium boiling or red new potatoes,

½ lb thin green beans

2 cups mixed young lettuces

4 tomatoes

1 small hothouse cucumber

4 hard boiled eggs.

½ c Kalamata olives jarred in olive oil, pitted

1 T capers (optional)

8 anchovies in olive oil (optional)

In advance:

1. Cover eggs with cold water, bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, cook 12 minutes. Remove from pan and run under cold water. Cool.
2. Boil potatoes in salted water approx. 20 minutes until tender.  Cool.
3. Trim green beans. Steam until tender 5–7 minutes. Place under cold running water to arrest the cooking. Drain. Cool.
4.  Prepare dressing. 

Preparation:

1. Start fire. 
2. Slice potatoes in ¼ inch rounds
3. Cut tomatoes in wedges.
4. Slice eggs
5. Thinly slice cucumbers.  If using regular cucumber instead of hothouse, peel first.Divide lettuce among 4 large salad bowls or plates.
6. Sprinkle tuna fillets with salt and pepper. Grill tuna. Cook 2–3 minutes on each side for rare. Ideally, the fish should be pink in the middle. Remember….it will continue to cook once you take it off the grill. If you cook until white in the middle it will be overdone and dry.
7. Meanwhile, arrange vegetables and eggs over greens. I like to keep each vegetable grouped together, not tossed. (See photo.) Place grilled tuna fillet on each plate. Add olives, sprinkle with capers, place 2 anchovies on tuna fillet. 
8. Drizzle with dressing.

Dressing… I like to serve this salad with Ina Garten’s Lemon Vinaigrette

1 ½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ c freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place all in mini food processor and process until creamy.  Or whisk by hand.

Tip... make extra of this salad dressing...it's great.

Blackened Catfish with Salsa Fresca

We found this recipe in the fish section of my binders (See post of September 11, 2011.)  It looked so good we decided to make it. Soooo glad we did!! It was SUPER easy. The recipe was originally from Real Simple. We made it even simpler by using pre-made seasoning instead of making it ourselves.


Definitely a four star recipe in my book!  Look for my rating system in a future blog.

Blackened Catfish

4 servings

1 ½  pounds catfish filets

Blackened Seasoning (we used Phillips)

Olive oil

Prepare  Salsa Fresca

Preheat broiler. Place filets on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly coat with  olive oil. Liberally spread spice on both sides. Place under broiler, watching closely until lightly charred—about 5 miutes. Turn and broil until cooked through, about 5  minutes more. Serve with Salsa Fresca on top.

Salsa Fresca with Cilantro

8 ounces cherry tomatoes halved

¼ red inion finely chopped

½ green bell pepper chopped

1 jalapeno pepper (or to taste), seeded and minced

1 ½ T fresh cilantro

Mix all ingredients. Add in dressing.

Dressing

1 T fresh lime juice

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper

Enjoy!

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE organizational tool of all time

Anyone who knows me knows I am a bit compulsive about keeping things organized :). For years I have felt that I am drowning in paper. In addition to the files required by the IRS to be kept for 7 years (and some for eternity) plus all of the household papers you have to hold on to, I have more than 10 years of business files I am required to keep. There are boxes and boxes in my basement...and the piles keep growing. I can't take it anymore!

I have been haunted by those commercials for NeatDesk that show a small scanner that can scan all of your household papers...but reviews say that it is not all that compatible with Macintosh computers. So, I did some research and found this scanner for nearly $100 less and decided to order it. 

I am in love. 

It's call the ScanSnap S1300. It's small: closed it is only 3 x 4 x 11 inches. (The lowest price was on Amazon for $256.

It scans about 10–12 sheets at a time, each taking a matter of seconds. It saves the scans as pdfs, which you can name and file. It will scan b/w and color...high res and low...it will even scan two-sided documents and automatically rotate the pages so they are right-reading. (And it is not just for Mac.)

There is also an S1300i version which is faster and more expensive. I don't think you need the extra speed.

I have already scanned 7 years of business files in my spare time. When I am finished, I will burn several copies on CDs so I can keep one here and another in a remote location. This is certainly more reliable than keeping boxes of paper that could be destroyed in a flood or fire. 

The only drawback to this scanner is that it is addicting. I am obsessed with scanning everything I can. 

(Note: this picture is a little misleading. You can scan all different widths of paper, but you have to adjust the guides...you can't put them all through at the same time.)

MY GO-TO DESSERT

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet, but strawberries are so beautiful and tasty now, that I am feeling the need to make my favorite go-to dessert—Ina Garten's Strawberry Country Cake.  I have made a few changes to the recipe (more zest), but it is basically hers. FANTASTIC! Not very sweet—which I prefer. The strawberries provide all the sweetness you need. The texture is like a dense pound cake.  Your guests will LOVE IT!  I have made it many times and it is ALWAYS a hit.  (You can either bake one cake to use now... or make two—just wrap the second in plastic and freeze for up to six months.) This is especially pretty if you serve it on a pedestal cake plate.

Strawberry Country Cake

(from the Barefoot Countessa Parties! cookbook)

each cake = 6-8 servings

*You can make two cakes and freeze one.

CAKE INGREDIANTS	1 – 8” CAKE	* 2 – 8” CAKES
Unsalted butter at room temperature	¾ stick	1-1/2 stick
Sugar	1 cup	2 cups
Eggs	3 Large	6 large
Sour Cream at room temperature	3/8 cup	¾ cup
Grated lemon zest	1 lemon	2 lemons
Grated orange zest	1 orange	2 oranges
Pure vanilla extract	½ tsp	1 tsp
All purpose flour	1 cup	2 cups
Cornstarch	2 Tbsp.	¼  cup
Kosher salt	¼ tsp	½ tsp
Baking soda	½ tsp	1 tsp

NOTE: make sure you use 8-inch pans. (I bought mine in the Giant.) If you try to get away with 9-inch pans, the cake will be way too thin and dry.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour cake pan.

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.

One medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time.

Then add sour cream, zests, and vanilla.  Mix well- scrap down sides as necessary.

Shift dry ingredients together.

On low speed slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

Pour batter into pan smooth top with spatula.

Bake in center of oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then remove to wire rakes and let cool to room temperature.

FILLING INGREDIANTS
Heavy whipping cream	½ pint
Sugar	3 Tbsp
Pure vanilla extract	½ tsp
Fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced	1 pint or more

Whip cream until firm, add sugar and vanilla.  Slice cake in half with long, sharp knife.  Place he bottom slice of he cake on serving platter, spread with half of the whipped cream and scatter with strawberries.  Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with remaining cream and decorate with strawberries.

How to keep your silver jewelry from tarnishing

How to keep your silver jewelry from tarnishing

This inexpensive school supply can keep your jewelry from tarnishing. Just place a stick in your jewelry box where you keep you silver. It's not foolproof, and things will tarnish slightly over time, but I have had jewelry stay bright for well over a year.


About 79 cents at Staples. A steal! Plus, no chemicals.

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Arugula

This is from Giada De Laurentiis' new book, Weeknights with Giada. She has become my number two go-to author for great recipes**. This makes a generous amount of filling for eight tacos. These were soooo good. My son ate six of them. My husband ate three..I had two. Satisfying, but healthy and light...and definitely yummy. We will have them again. And again.

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Arugula

Serves 4

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

6 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2–3 limes)

1 tsp salt

2 , avocados,halved, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 mangos, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

6 scallions, white and pale green parts, finely chopped

4 cups arugula, coarsely chopped

3 T chopped fresh cilantro (I used more)

1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream (I used light sour cream)

2 T wasabi powder* (I used 1 T. and it was plenty spicy)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

8 6-inch corn tortillas  (or more!)

*We found it in the Asian food aisle at Giant.

Directions

For the filling: In a large, nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Drizzle or brush tilapia fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the fish in a single layer in the pan and cook until the flesh is flaky and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool slightly. Cut into ¾-inch pieces

In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the lime juice. Season with salt, to taste. Add the avocados, mangos, scallions, and arugula. Toss until all the ingredients are coated.

In a small bowl, mix together the creme fraiche or sour cream, wasabi powder and salt until smooth.

To warm the tacos, heat in batches in a dry skillet. Or, if you have a gas range, cook directly over the flame, turning occasionally for about 30 seconds with tongs, until each side is warm. Watch out… they burn quickly if you don’t keep an eye on them.

To assemble the tacos: Put the tortillas on plates, divide the mango-avocado mixture among the centers of the tortillas. Top each with fish. Spoon about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the wasabi cream mixture (or more if you like) on top of the fish and serve.


**See my September 2011 post to see who's number one.

My two favorite scallops recipes

We use our gas grill year-round. If you don’t have one, you can sear the scallops in a pan on top of your stove. Make sure you use your kitchen fan…otherwise your house will smell like fish.

Scallops with Tropical Salsa

Feel free to substitute any of your favorite exotic fruits for the pineapple and mango in the salsa. Be sure to use large, plump sea scallops rather than small bay scallops when preparing this dish. Take care not to overcook the scallops, which can toughen if exposed to heat for too long. When properly cooked, the scallops will remain tender and moist.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced pineapple

1/2 cup diced mango (I’ve used nectarines)

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

4 tsp. fresh lime juice

1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

16 sea scallops, about 1 lb. total

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the pineapple, mango, cucumber, bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice and chili. Toss well to form a salsa. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Brush scallops with olive oil. We grill them on a grilling tray to keep the scallops from falling through the grate. They are widely available.

(Original recipe calls for searing on top of stove.: Heat a large nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add half of the scallops to the pan and sear, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and opaque throughout, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the scallops to a warmed plate. Keep warm while cooking the remaining scallops in the same way.)

Divide the scallops among warmed individual plates. Spoon the salsa over the tops, dividing it evenly. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, Fresh & Light, by Lane Crowther (Time-Life Books, 1998).

Grilled Scallops with Avocado Cream and Salsa

The Avocado Cream tastes so rich, you'd never believe it was made with fat-free yogurt!

Prep Time: 20 mins.

Marinating Time: 60 mins.

Cook Time: 20 mins.

Servings: 6 as a main course

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (divided)

3 tsp grated lime zest (divided)

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

32 sea scallops (about 2#)

4 (8-inch) flour tortillas cut into eighths (32 wedges)

2 firm, ripe avocados

½ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup plain low-fat or no-fat yogurt

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

¾ cup salsa

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp of oil, 2 Tbsp of lime juice, ½ tsp of grated zest, ¼ tsp of salt, cumin, and pepper. Add the scallops and marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the tortilla wedges in batches and cook until golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the wedges on paper towels.   (Or, if you have a gas range, you can heat the tortillas directly over the flame with no oil. Remove when they just start to char.)

Peel, pit, and coarsely mash the avocados in another medium bowl. Stir in the onion, yogurt, and remaining lime juice, zest, and salt.

Heat gas grill. When hot cook scallops using grill tray.

(If you don't have a gas grill: When ready to serve, preheat the grill or broiler. In a broiler pan, cook the scallops about 3 inches from the heat until cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes.)

To serve, spread 2 tsp of avocado cream on each tortilla wedge. Top with 1 Tbsp of lettuce and 1 scallop, and finish with about 1 tsp of salsa. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Adapted from Newman’s Own Cookbook by Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner