Recipe 1: Penne with Basil and Pine Nuts

To my beloved followers, I wanted to take a minute to let you know that Cookbook Crack Down is undergoing a face lift. I have been informed that I can now include the recipes, along with more information from the book. With that said, I am issuing a challenge to those who are serious about justifying the purchase of a cookbook. Give the recipes I am trying a chance yourself and then decide to purchase the book or not. So..... here is the first recipe from this book.

Penne with Basil and Pine Nuts   
Williams-Sonoma,  Simple Suppers Copyright 2007

Penne-1 lb.
Pine Nuts- 1/2 cup
Olive Oil- 6 Tablespoons (Be sure to use olive oil)
Fine Bread Crumbs- 1 cup
Garlic- 3 cloves, minced
Dry White Wine-1 cup
Red Pepper Flakes- 1/4 Teaspoon
Parmesan Cheese- 1/4 lb., freshly grated
Fresh Basil Leaves- 2/3 cup

Mise en place! (Things in order!)

Toasting the nuts is key!

Cook the pasta according to the package. While the pasta is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a dry saute pan, until fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, add the bread crumbs, and toss until toasted and golden, 1-2 minutes. Add to the bowl with the pine nuts and stir to mix. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the wine and red pepper flakes, bring to a boil, and simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes.

Such good wine, such good sauce!

Add the hot pasta along with the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil to the wine sauce in the pan and toss to coat the pasta. Add the bread crumb mixture, the cheese, and the bail and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
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Since I have posted the recipe, I feel like I should share my experience while I cooked. Here it is....

First off, I chose to use penne rigate instead of normal penne. Penne rigate is penne with ridges. This allowed more of the sauce to adhere to the pasta and gave more sauce per bite. I also left the pasta at al dente (with a bite) so that the noodle would not blend too much with the texture of the sauce.

The finished product!

Also, be sure to toast your nuts! Seriously, this is a key step to giving the best flavor profile to the dish. By toasting the nuts, the essential oils are able to be released and you will be able to see them in the pan. The nuts gain a deeper flavor and make the dish feel a bit more rich.

Now onto the best part--the wine! I want you to be sure you use "quality" ingredients for your meals. Before you jump in and say, "Hey Abb, I thought you were a tightwad who doesn't like to spend a lot on food!", I want to make myself clear. When I say quality ingredients, I mean ingredients which are still affordable, yet have a good amount of flavor. For example, when the recipe calls for a dry white wine, you don't have to spend $15 bucks on a bottle of cooking wine. Au contraire, mon ami! I am an advocate of Two Buck Chuck, or for those of you who don't know Chuck, Charles Shaw wines found at Trader Joe's. While the wine is not literally two bucks (in Ohio), it is under four dollars and is ideal for cooking.

With my tips and tricks out of the way, time to "crack down" the recipe. I have to say I was a bit timid at first. I am a pasta traditionalist who loves the red sauce out of the jar. I am, however, a carboholic who can't turn down a new carbtastic treat. The idea of a wine and breadcrumbs sauce was a bit of an eyebrow raiser for me, however I eagerly tackled the challenge.

The overall meal is amazing! I love the rich sauce, full of cheese and basil. Be sure you use fresh basil because dried basil just won't have the same effect. The noodles cooked to al dente are able to deliver the sauce, yet have a flavor all of their own. The sauce has a nice consistency and is not dry or gritty like you might think. I was taken aback when I looked at Andy's plate and his was gone.... but then I looked at mine, and it was gone too! We loved this dish. To round out the meal, I paired it with a salad of baby greens and a light vinaigrette.

I certainly hope the new format of Cookbook Crack Down will allow you to be more engaged and give you the ability to share your own thoughts and ideas.

I'll keep'em coming!

Abbie

Recipe 2: Chicken Ragu with Farfalle

Next up is Chicken Ragu with farfalle. I chose this recipe because I love farfalle (bow tie pasta for those of us who don't want to sound pretentious!) I also chose this recipe because it seemed to be accessible and features one of my favorite ingredients-white wine!

The shopping list was rather easy with this one, since the recipe calls for pretty basic ingredients-- celery, carrots, garlic etc. I found it interesting that it called for a red onion instead of a normal white or yellow. This is simply because the sauce comes out sweet and the onion helps carry the sweet flavor. It is also nice that the recipe features the use of easy to find dried and fresh herbs. Flat leaf parsley can be found in even the most "non-foodie" of grocery stores or "markets" and sage, thyme and rosemary can be found in any spice rack.

My favorite part of the meal, aside from the wine, was the use of chicken legs. To me, chicken can be overpriced and under flavored, but this is not true of chicken legs. You have to be a bit more committed to the time it takes to fully cook them, however the flavor and moisture of the overall product is more than a simple reward. I was able to pick up a package of chicken legs from Kroger for about $2.09 since they were on sale that week (Gotta love Kroger!)

All in all, the meal took about an hour and a half to make. Let's face it, we aren't all Rachel Ray and we don't have a staff to prep our vegetables for our so called "Thirty Minute Meals." With chopping, peeling, dicing and mincing the prep work took a bit of time, although I do have to say it was well worth the time. The chicken was tender and moist juicy, the sauce was thick and chocked full o'vegetables, and all in all the meal was satisfying. If I had to make one critique, I would choose a different noodle. Although I have a certain infatuation with bow tie pasta (being a former Buckeye and the President E. Gordon Gee's love of bow ties.... it brings me back). The sauce remains very full bodied, while the noodle is not. I would pair it with a wider pasta such as fettuccine or pappardelle in the future.

I would certainly recommend this recipe to someone who wants a culinary challenge. The time investment is worth it to test your culinary fortitude and the outcome is nothing short of classic comfort food. To those following this, you might have realized I am not following the order in which I said these recipes would be tried, but one night I realized that chicken just didn't sound good so Andy and I went out! It happens ya know! But I do promise I will get to those recipes just as my schedule allows it!


Much love in the cold weather....

Abbie