Orecchiette alle Cipolle {Orecchiette Pasta with Onions}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Vegetarian | 46 comments

You might not be so familiar with this type of Pasta, but you should be! Just because if nothing else it’s incredibly cute & well it goes perfect with sauces! Orecchiette is a type of pasta that is native to the Apulia region of Italy (located in the heel of the boot). The shape of this pasta looks like a small ear. No surprise that in Italian the word for ear is Orecchio. So Orecchiette translated means little ears. Orecchiette (ore-ay-key-et-ay) alle Cipolle (chi-pole-ay) is simply little ears with Onions. Yes, not so appetizing once translated into English, as always, everything sounds so much nicer in Italian! So we’re going with the Italian name. I’ve been telling you this forevah – LOL. Ah, quanto che amo L’Italiano! : )

Gnocchi Rosa {Pink Gnocchi}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Sides, Vegetarian | 31 comments

Gnocchi Rosa (GNYO-KEY ROW-SA) is Italian for {Pink Gnocchi} It’s Gnocchi with a pale pink veil of color glistening in a creamy buttery Sage Sauce! OH MY GOODNESS! I just can’t help it. Yes, it’s good! No, it’s better than good! It’s Semplicamente Delizioso! What’s not to love right? Potatoes, Cheese, Butter, Sage & just for good measure a little Grappa thrown in! Schweet.

Bucatini al Prosciutto {Bucatini with Prosciutto}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Pork | 22 comments

Okay before the pasta police come after me,  I didn’t actually use Bucatini when I made this recipe to photograph it, but that’s what is supposed to be used. I didn’t have any in my pantry & ever since my little specialty store closed, they’re extremely hard to find. So, I used Trenette pasta instead. It’s a fab pasta that has a little texture on the outside which helps this creamy-licious sauce stick to it! So if you can’t find any bucatini you can use any long type pasta you have on hand.

Pasta e Fagioli {Pasta & Beans}

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta, Soups, Vegetarian | 44 comments

With fall on our heels, well okay with the idea of fall on our heels here on the East Coast, I have comfort foods on my mind. I’m excited to be able to get back into the kitchen, cook up a storm, and not suffocate from the heat! I can’t think of a better way to start off the season than with Pasta e Fagioli (fa-gee-o-lee). Simply meaning Pasta & Beans. Hello, you don’t get more budget friendly than pasta & beans, no? And talk about hearty – just add a loaf of bread & you’re set.

Crab Linguine

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood | 29 comments

Have I mentioned how much I love seafood? Well I do & any chance I get to add some to a dish I do – especially a pasta dish! I can’t go a week without having some type of pasta. Okay, more specifically, I really can’t go more than a day or so without some type of pasta. Thank goodness there are endless ways to prepare pasta & I’ll do my best to bring as many of them to your table as possible. Wouldn’t want to leave you out now!

Ciabatta

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Bread, Pasta | 18 comments

Week #7 of the The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge was Ciabatta! I started off the week very excited about this challenge. After all, it is an Italian bread!

Ciabatta (pronounced cha-bat-a) literally translates to “slipper”. The name was said to be given because the shape of the bread resembles a slipper. Ciabatta is an Italian white bread with a crisp crust and a soft, porous crumb. Ciabatta was said to be first made in Liguria. There are many variations of Ciabatta and they vary from region to region. We had several different versions to choose from: Regular Ciabatta, Wild Mushrom Ciabatta, Ciabatta with Cheese or Carmelized Onion and Herb Ciabatta. Since it was my first foray into Ciabatta bread I chose the regular Ciabatta.

Tagliatelle con Porcini Ragu – Mushroom Ragu

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Sauces | 22 comments

Well, you probably know me well enough by know to know that a sauce recipe would be coming right after a homemade pasta recipe didn’t you?

As I’m sure you’ve heard, I recently got an Imperial Pasta Maker & I couldn’t be happier. It’s an amazing machine & I’m going to be whipping up lots of  fresh pastas over the next  few months. If you’d like, here’s the basic recipe for Homemade Pasta.

This sauce goes perfect with any type of pastas you might be using (homemade or boxed – really I won’t tell, I use them too. If you look in my pantry right now you’d see a load of Barilla boxes) If there’s one thing that I always have on hand it’s pasta! Really! But I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you!  We might be out of everything else but we’ll have pasta LOL.

Homemade Pasta ~ Pasta fatto in casa

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Pork, Poultry, Reviews, Seafood, Sides, Vegetables | 40 comments

I recently got a brand new Imperial Pasta Maker! Yes, it’s an old school hand crank version but for me there isn’t any other way to make it. It’s a machine that will be around for you to pass on to the next pasta maker in your family. There is NOTHING like homemade pasta. You should really try it if you have not.

There is nothing wrong with dried boxed pasta (I use them all the time) but there is just something special about fresh homemade pasta. It’s much easier than you would think. It is time consuming but not difficult. If you wanted to speed up the process you could even mix the dough in your mixer or food processor. The recipe posted will make enough for 4 regular portions. I usually make at least two of this recipe to feed my family of 5 but we’re big pasta eaters. If you were making this as a prima, or first course, I think one batch would be fine.

Johnsonville Brat Throwdown!

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Pork, Poultry, Reviews, Vegetables | 20 comments

Are you ready for a Throwdown? Why YES I am! My foodie friend Kristy at The Wicked Noodle invited me to join in a “friendly” Johnsonville Brat Throwdown. There was only one rule…we were challenged to come up with a recipe using Johnsonville Brats! Well, never one to shy away from a challenge (I have been known to be banned from board games because of my competitive nature) I threw on my Johnsonville <3′s bell’alimento apron & I jumped right in!

Paula’s Buitoni Pasta Review

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta, Reviews | 11 comments

Buitoni Riserva Wild Mushroom Agnolotti:
I recently received a sample of Buitoni’s new Riserva pasta line compliments of Buitoni & Foodbuzz for review. If you’ve read my blog you know I LOVE pasta. I was anxious to try the new riserva line but also a little skeptical because of my love for authentic Italian food. I’m not normally a fan of pre-packaged pastas but as a busy Mom sometimes prepackaged is a necessity & much better than the fast food alternatives. I love mushrooms and was quite excited that my sample was the wild mushroom Agnolotti!

With that said, I was ready to make my meal. I opened the package and followed the very simple instructions (add to boiling water-haha, doesn’t get any easier than that!). I let it cook for about 4 minutes and could tell they were ready to roll. I drained the pasta well, returned it to my pot & tossed them with extra virgin olive oil. I wanted to experience the pasta to the fullest without drowning it with other flavors, so I opted for a nice grade of extra virgin olive oil & garnished with fresh parmigiano reggiano (of which I just brought back from my trip to Italy).

Pasta alla Puttanesca

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta | 17 comments

The background of this dish is spicy to say the least. I’m going to give you G-rated version. (Feel free to Google it if you’d like to know more!) The dish originated in Naples, Italy and was named after the local harlots. It was a hearty, quick & easy meal for them to prepare between “meetings”.

The ingredients tended to be very easy to find, and are typically Mediterranean. You’ll find that like most Italian dishes, recipes may differ according to region & preferences. The sauce is slightly salty due to the anchovies & olives & spicy from hot red peppers. So, no additional salt is needed.

It’s basically a toss in what you have kinda sauce. It’s quick & easy and it full of complex flavors. You can serve it with any type of pasta that you have on hand. If you prefer to use an anchovy paste vs. the actual anchovy fillets, feel free.

Spinach & Ricotta Tortellini con Crema

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta | 13 comments

I LOVE pasta. I will always LOVE pasta; so thank goodness there are so many different types of pastas to satisfy my pasta addiction. Thank goodness that I have 3 bambinos to run around after to work it off! LOL.

Tortellini is such a fun pasta. It is its own small, sweet, delicious little package – just waiting for you to open it and discover what’s inside. You can stuff it with a myriad of fillings & the toppings are just as varied. For this recipe I chose a very traditional spinach & ricotta with cream sauce.

I like to saute’ the spinach (with garlic of course) to flavor it. You HAVE to strain the spinach afterwards to remove all the liquid. You don’t want excess liquid. When making your cream sauce, taste as you go, the sour cream will make it very acidic so go lightly on that. Find your balance. If you want your sauce thicker just add more parmigiano reggiano (remember quality ingredients make quality food. So splurge on the real deal). These freeze beautifully as well. Just flash freeze them on a baking sheet first & then put them into a freezer bag for the next time you’ve got a pasta craving. Using the wonton wrappers is a quick & convenient alternative if you don’t have time to make your own dough & yes, you can rest easy there will be many more variations of this recipe to come!

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta | 5 comments

I went to my favorite local Italian restaurant last week for their monthly wine dinner. Capri Restaurant, if you’re in the Raleigh area please check it out. Delizioso!  One of the dishes this month was Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It was so yummy. My only complaint was that there was not enough of it! LOL I could hardly wait to get home and re-create the recipe.

Bucatini is a long, fat, tubular pasta. If you can’t find it in your grocery, try a local specialty food shop. This dish was made famous by the city of Amatrice in Italy, which is near Rome. Typically either pancetta or guanciale (cured pork cheek - which is said to be a delicacy) is used, but you can substitute bacon. It’s an incredibly zesty, hearty meal. There is something just fun about the tubular pasta & the way it cascades off of your fork! I hope you’ll give it a try!

Kielbasa Lasagne

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta, Pork | 3 comments

This is such a comfort food for me. I have had this dish since I was a child. It’s a nice variation on a traditional lasagne. I love the unexpectedness of the kielbasa sausage inside. The flavors work so well together. It’s quick and easy to make.

You can double the recipe if you need more than 8 pieces. Be sure to use wooden toothpicks, you don’t want to use plastic, they’ll melt! This is quite hearty & is actually even better the next day (if there is any left).

Linguine con Gamberetti (Shrimp)

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta, Seafood | 4 comments

Seafood & Pasta. A perfect marriage of flavors. I am always searching and experimenting with pasta dishes. I adore seafood & LOVE pasta, so for me it’s a natural combination.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Pasta | 19 comments

This is one of the first dishes I ever ate – or I should probably say, experienced – when I moved to Italy as a tweenager.  Since then it has been my all time favorite pasta dish. I can’t seem to get enough. Evah! It’s creamy, luxurious and sexy. Yes, it’s sexy!