one-skillet, self-saucing pasta

I tried a neat recipe from Cooks' Illustrated that included some instructions for cooking chicken, pasta, and broccoli all in the same pot. Rather than using different pans to steam broccoli, sautee chicken, and boil pasta, you use one 12-inch skillet to accomplish all three things.

Essentially, you boil the pasta in just enough water to cook it with a little left over to build a sauce. The leftover water is very starchy, so it is a great binder for the sauce. The chicken is sauteed before and the broccoli is added toward the end so that it is steamed for just the right amount of time.

It got me thinking...could this technique be applied to any type of pasta dish? The answer is "it depends." After a bunch of tests, I've found that it works best with larger tube-shaped pastas (ziti, penne, rigatoni, etc.) and not at all with spaghetti or other thin noodles. The other caveat it that it works with up to half a pound of pasta. More than that and the ratios are a little off. Plus, the shape of the pan needed to hold more than that is more "stockpot" than "skillet" and you don't evaporate enough of the water away.

Here's a recipe I came up with using this technique. 8 ounces of pasta is enough for two as a main or 4 as a side. The recipe can be halved (use a 10-inch skillet), but attempts to double have proven difficult.

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
small pinch of dried italian herbs
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 oz. tube-shaped pasta (ziti, penne, rigatoni)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 oz. grated Italian cheese of your choice (parmesan, romano, or asiago work great)

1. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium flame. Sauté the garlic in the oil for no more than 30 seconds. Toss in the herbs for a few seconds before adding the water and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Add the pasta and stir. Boil for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the macaroni from sticking to each other. You're looking for just a bit of water left -- the pasta should be al dente and have used up most of the cooking liquid.

3. Add the cream and grated cheese and stir until combined. Garnish with chopped parsley right before serving.

Variations: For a pink sauce, add 1 TB tomato paste (I like Amore brand in a tube -- you don't have to open a whole can every time you want to use a bit) to the water and broth. Proceed as directed. There are tons of last-second additions that work: halved grape tomatoes, julienned fresh basil, 1/2 inch chunks of mozzarella, frozen peas -- use your imagination!

european-style cultured butter

Having read about the more complex flavor and health benefits of cultured butter, I decided to look into making some for myself. Researching the subject sent me in two directions. Most authentic: purchase live and active cultures (bacteria) and add it to fresh cream. Allow to "culture" and churn into butter.

Easier option in my town: add a small container of yogurt containing "live and active cultures" to cream and allow to culture. I found Erivan brand to be exceedingly tangy and claiming to have excessive live and active acidophilus bacteria. It seemed to do the trick.

I took a quart of pasteurized organic heavy cream and mixed it with an 8 ounce container of yogurt in a large, sterilized (by boiling water) glass bowl. I left it in my microwave (covered in plastic wrap) for almost 12 hours before refrigerating it. It was noticeably thicker.

After it had chilled for the better part of a work day (about 8 hours) I whipped it in my KitchenAid stand mixer with the paddle attachment. It quickly turned into soft whipped cream. I continued to whip it until it reached the stiff cream stage. At this point, I mistakenly thought I had made butter, as it was so thick. However, I turned away from the mixer for a second, only to be surprised to find chunks of yellow fat floating in milk when I looked back. That was butter!

I clumped it all together and kneaded it over clean paper towels until all of the liquid had been squeezed out. I then fit as much of it as I could into a 2 cup mason jar and sealed it. I ate the remainder with some sourdough bread. 4 cups of cream (plus the cup of yogurt) managed to make almost 3 cups of butter.

If you like salted butter, I don't know what to tell you -- I think that commercial butter has something like 1/4 teaspoon per stick, so this batch would require 1 1/2 teaspoons of table salt. Your guess is as good as mine as to when to introduce it, although I think just before churning would be best. Earlier and you might kill the essential bacteria required to culture the cream.

The result was absolutely fantastic. The butter was mildly tangy and had a great texture. I'll probably make it often. I'm going to try making shortbread with some of it to see how it holds up in baking.

fudge drops

This recipe is for Pam LaRue, the bookkeeper at my school for the first several years I worked there. It was because of her that I even got the job -- my boss thought he had seen enough résumés before Pam caught mine on the top of the fax machine and insisted that he call me in. As fate would have it, he called and I ended up getting the job.

Here I am, five years later (!) and I have to say goodbye to Pam as she and her husband are retiring to North Carolina. Best of luck to you both! Enjoy these treats -- I dedicate them to you :-)

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons espresso powder (Medaglia d'Oro brand is a good choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt the chocolate and butter together (double boiler or microwave). Stir until well melted.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until thoroughly combined. Add the espresso powder, vanilla, baking powder and salt, then stir into melted chocolate, mixing well.

Stir in the flour. Let the batter sit for at least 5 minutes to thicken; it should be the consistency of thick cake batter.

Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are shiny and cracked. You want them to bake all the way through but just barely; additional baking time will make them cakey and not fudgy.

Remove cookies from oven, slide parchment onto counter (with cookies still attached) and wait for cookies to cool (the cookies come off easier once they're cool). Repeat until all batter is used.

Makes approximately 24 cookies.

chocolate-cherry-almond cookies

I have tried lots of recipes for chocolate chip cookies over the years -- first, of course, was straight off the Nestlé bag. I think I was 8 or 9 when I tried it and the taste of home-baked cookies turned me into an addict. Now that I'm all "growed up" I prefer a little more complicated cookie. After toying with combinations of add-ins for a chocolate chip cookie, I settled on almonds and sour cherries as perfect foils to the sweetness provided by the cookie and chocolate. This is a chewy cookie -- no crisp chocolate chip cookies in my house! The secret to their chewiness is pulling them out of the oven while they look underdone -- slightly browned around the edges but not yet done in the middle.

12 TB unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 1/4 cups sugar (10 ounces)
1/4 cup light corn syrup (2.5 ounces)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (9.5 ounces)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp table salt OR 1 tsp kosher salt (less even distribution of salt gives the cookies a neat effect)
1 cup slivered almonds (4 ounces)
1 cup dried sour cherries (5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips/chunks (I use a mixture of milk and semi-sweet) (9 ounces)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cream butter, sugar, and corn syrup until fluffy and noticeable lighter in color. Beat in the egg and the extracts.

In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to ensure even distribution. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter and mix on low until fully incorporated.

Stir in the chunky stuff (nuts, chocolate, cherries) on low speed (or by hand) until evenly distributed.

Use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop (regular size - these are big cookies) to dish out 6 mounds onto a parchment covered half-sheet pan. Flatten mounds slightly with moistened fingers and bake for 12-14 minutes. Remember to err on the side of underdone.

When the cookies are done baking, slide the parchment off the pan (cookies still attached) and let the cookies cool on the counter. Use new parchment for the next batch. Once the cookies have cooled, they peel off easily. This recipe makes 16 big cookies. If you like, you can use a tablespoon-sized disher and get about 3 dozen cookies -- just don't flatten them. They'll take 11-13 minutes to bake. I like the bigger ones because this cookie is so chunky.

maple cornbread

This is for my sister, who wanted a dense, un-crumbly cornbread similar to what you can get at Boston Market. Here's hoping this lives up to it!

PS - A thousand apologies to all of my southern friends who would scoff at the idea of sweetened cornbread :-)

1 cup (4.25 ounces) unbleached AP flour
1 cup (4.75 ounces) yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1/4 cup (2.75 ounces) real maple syrup
4 TB butter, melted
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly grease an 8x8 square or 9" round baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the liquid ingredients. Add the liquid to the dry and fold until just thoroughly combined. Do not overmix!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.