Creamy Ricotta Pasta Sauce – Now 100% Cream-Free!

I enjoy the taste and texture of a classic cream sauce, but what I don’t enjoy is that they tend to be very rich, and filling. I mean, come on, I’m trying to save room for the tiramisu. 

However, by using ricotta cheese, and egg, and some boiling pasta water, we can make a sauce that seems every bit as creamy, and delicious, but will still allow us to walk away from the table under our own power.

I added some pesto to mine this time, but that could have been some sun-dried tomato paste, or roasted chilies, or caramelized mushroom, or diced-up, leftover grilled veggies, or…you get the idea. The technique is really the thing to focus on here, and once perfected, you’ll simply be left trying to figure out what else to add in, or on this lovely sauce.

As I mentioned in the video, I love to top this pasta with ricotta salata. If you’ve never had it before, it’s worth a try, and not just for this dish. Ricotta salata is a great summer cheese, since it’s perfect with things like tomato salads, and grilled peaches, just to name a few. So, keep that in mind, but in the meantime, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:

For the sauce base:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

zest from 1 lemon

cayenne to taste

about 2/3 cup hot pasta water, plus more if needed

For the pasta:

8 ounces dry pasta, cooked 1 minute under

1/4 cup pesto, or to taste

lots of grated ricotta salata to finish

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Miso Honey Chicken – Because Honey Miso Chicken Didn’t Have the Same Ring to It

It’s not hard to make a great marinade with just a few ingredients, as long as one of those ingredients is the magical miso. This super savory paste, made from fermented rice, barley, and soybeans, isn’t that hard to find, but what can be a challenge is understanding the different varieties available.

Miso is sold by “color,” and I’m recommending the white one here, except when you open the container, it’s not white, it’s sort of a golden yellow. They also sell a yellow miso, which is a slightly darker golden yellow, as well as a red miso, which is also a golden yellow. I’m just kidding…it’s actually dark brown.

The point is, the colors don’t refer to the actual color, but rather the processing method, and ratio of ingredients. And that’s basically the extent of my expertise. I choose the white, since it’s the most mild, but I encourage you to do some more research, as well as some experimentation.

After marinating overnight if possible, you’ll definitely want to cook your chicken with indirect heat. Otherwise, it will get too dark – as in black. Roasting in a 375 F. oven would be great, but if you use a charcoal grill, be sure to push your coals all the way over to one side of your grill, and place your chicken on the opposite site. Keep and eye on it, and turn/rotate the pieces as needed.

You can add many other things to this marinade, but maybe try the minimalist version first. I used to tell my students that the older you get, the fewer ingredients you use, so that’s my excuse, but I really want the clean flavors of the miso and honey coming through. Either way, I really hope you find some miso paste, and give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for enough marinade for one whole chicken:

3 tablespoons white miso

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons hot sauce

1 tablespoon kosher salt (about 2 teaspoon fine salt)

lemon wedges and pepper flakes to garnish

- Let marinate overnight before roasting or grilling until the internal temp in the middle of the thigh is 165 F.

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Give Me a Break!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be off this week, taking what the kids are calling a "Spring Break." While my time off won’t include beaches, tropical drinks, and heavily-autotuned pop music, it will more than make up for that with sweet, sweet inactivity.

I’ll spend most of it getting mentally prepared for the NBA playoffs, but time permitting, I may also test out a few new, exciting recipes to feature in the near future. In the meantime, I’m sure there are plenty of old videos you’ve missed, so maybe go check those out, and as always, enjoy!

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Sweet Potato Pan-Dumplings with Bacon Butter – Good Save

What started out as a tragic, waterlogged disaster of a sweet potato dumpling attempt, turned into a triumph we’re calling  “pan-dumplings.” As usual, I did little to no research, so someone may have already invented pan-dumplings, but until I hear from you, I’ll be taking the credit.

I really liked being able to spoon the dough/batter directly into the pan, and cutting out the boiling step made these faster, and we have one less pot to wash. The bacon butter was very nice, but I can think of a dozen sauces that would work with these. If you’re doing it as a main course, anything goes, but as a side dish, I’d keep it simple, as we did here.

Since this was sort of an experiment, I wasn’t paying too close to the exact amounts, but the list below must be pretty close. You can play around with more or less flour, and/or cheese, and cook test dumplings until you lock it in. I wanted something with the taste of roasted sweet potatoes, but with more of a gnocchi-like texture, and I think this was pretty close, which is why I hope you give these pan-dumplings a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 smaller portions:

12 ounces cooked sweet potato

1 large egg

1/4 cup goat cheese or cream cheese, plus more to garnish

1/2 cup *self -rising flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste

sliced green onions to top

* To make your own SRF, for every cup of all-purpose flour combine 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt.

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Chicken Spaghetti – Because Cows and Pigs Can’t Fly Either

A big bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce is one of my all-time favorite meals, and like most cooks, I make it a little different every time. The veggies change seasonally, and as far as the meat goes, sometimes it’s beef, or pork, or a combination, but for whatever reason, chicken is rarely considered. It’s usually only when I’m using up leftovers that I think to toss it with noodles. So, I almost forget how great this is when you dedicate a whole bird, and a few hours to the effort.

Other than requiring a little time, this recipe is dead simple, with the only major decision being how thick to make your sauce. I like something fairly light, I guess because it’s chicken, but if you do want something thicker, simply change the ratio of sauce to water when you start the recipe. You can also reduce it longer, but you knew that.

Just be sure to undercook your pasta by at least a minute here, since as you saw we’re going to finish it in hot sauce for a couple minutes at the end. This is a critical step, and allows all those flavors to get sucked up by the still hydrating spaghetti. This is also a great make-ahead meal, as you can prep your sauce one day, and then assemble the finished dish at a later date. Either way, I really do hope you give this chicken spaghetti a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for enough Chicken Spaghetti Sauce for between 1 and 1.5 pounds of pasta, depending on how “saucy” you want it:

1 large whole chicken (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), with bag inside cavity removed

1 jar (24-oz) marinara sauce (about 3 cups)

6 cups water or chicken broth

2 anchovy fillets

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

red chili flakes to taste

To finish the dish, for each person:

4 ounces spaghetti, cooked, drained (not rinsed!)

enough chicken spaghetti sauce and to please you

more grated cheese

1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

salt and hot pepper to taste

at least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino cheese

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Green Quinoa Tabbouleh – Going Against the Grain

Like I said in the intro, I’ve never been a huge fan of quinoa, or tabbouleh, but for some reason absolutely love this green quinoa tabbouleh. Maybe it’s the size of the grain, which is actually a seed, or the less wheaty flavor, but for me this vibrant, bracing salad is significantly better with quinoa instead of the traditional bulgur wheat.

Whether you do this with quinoa or bulgur, I recommend keeping the salad relatively simple, and then using it as a base for other composed salads. Of course, you can mix in diced tomato, cucumber, and chopped green onions the same time you add your herbs, but then you’re sort of stuck with that exact salad.

I prefer to make this as shown, and then add my garnishes when I serve it. That way I can have it as described above one day, and then the next day, enjoy a completely different salad, with new accessories like diced grilled chicken, zucchini, and feta, just to give you an idea off the top my head.

Regardless of how you jazz this up, we’re heading straight into the middle of grilling season, and for me, this is one of the all-time great cold side dishes, since it pairs so perfectly with all those highly-seasoned, smoky meats. So, for those reasons and more, I really do hope you give this green quinoa tabbouleh a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

2 large bunches curly parsley

1 large bunch mint

1 bunch tarragon

6 cups of boiling water

2 cups rinsed white quinoa

salt as needed to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

cayenne taste

2 or 3 garlic cloves

2 or 3 whole lemons, plus more to taste

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

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Grilled Pastrami-Spiced Lamb Top Sirloin – New Deli

There are so many things this pastrami inspired rub would work wonderfully with, but these lamb top sirloins have to be right near the top of the list. The subtle gaminess of the meat works perfectly with the aromatic spices, which once activated by the heat and smoke of the grill, really create something fairly pastrami-like; just as long as you “overcook” it. Don’t worry, those quote marks are there for a reason.

By “overcook,” I simply mean longer than we would normally grill a relatively tender cut of lamb. While this would be perfectly fine cooked to a rosy-pink interior, I want to go just past medium for this particular recipe, since not only do I want a pastrami-like flavor profile, I also wanted it to have a firmer texture, and to be able to absorb the maximum amount of smoke.

And yes, I know, we could’ve actually smoked it, but that’s not this video. Anyway, by pulling the meat off at about 140 F. internal temp, with the carryover heat, you’ll still have beautifully moist, tender meat, but won’t have any of that chewiness you sometimes get with rare or medium rare lamb. Of course, suit yourself, but that’s the official recommendation from someone who loves medium-rare meat.

Even if you don’t end up using the same spice rub, I hope at the very least you’ll consider lamb top sirloin the next time you’re looking for something easy, and a little bit different for the grill. It generally comes fully trimmed, and ready to grill, not to mention at a relatively reasonable price compared to lamb chops. So, whether you’re looking for something a little different for your Easter dinner, or upcoming cookout, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

2 lamb top sirloins (about 8 ounces each)

For the wet rub:

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon kosher salt (about 2 teaspoons table salt)

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2-3 tablespoons olive oil, or enough to make a paste

For the sauce:

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 minced garlic clove

2 teaspoon freshly minced mint

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