Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

I had a subscription to Everyday Food several years ago, and this is the one recipe that I've saved and made over and over again. Whenever spring rolls around and I start seeing asparagus on sale at the grocery store, I immediately think of this recipe. It's a snap to make... you combine the goat cheese and a little butter with hot pasta cooking water to make a creamy, no-cook sauce. Then toss it with your pasta and roasted asparagus. Easy peasy.

I usually leave out the chive garnish, just to make this that much easier. John, however, prefers to add crumbled bacon. Do what you will, but please don't make the same mistake I did the first time I cooked this: the recipe says to reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water, but then instructs you to only put 1/2 cup in the sauce (and add the rest incrementally, if needed). Since I often fail at reading directions, I dumped in the entire cup and half of water. The sauce was a little thin, to say the least. 


Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Roasted Asparagus
from Everyday Food

Ingredients:

2 bunches asparagus (2 pounds total), tough ends removed
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
12 ounces cavatappi or other short pasta
1 small log soft goat cheese (5 ounces), crumbled
2 to 3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, for garnish

Directions:
 
1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Place asparagus on a large rimmed baking sheet; dot with 1 tablespoon butter, and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, tossing occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes; cut into 2-inch lengths.

2.While asparagus is roasting, generously salt boiling water. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Set aside 1 1/2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

3.In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese, remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth. Add goat-cheese mixture and asparagus to pasta; toss to combine, adding more pasta water if necessary for sauce to coat pasta. Serve pasta garnished with chives.

Serves 4

Download a printable recipe.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon and Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

This might sound weird if you've never had a warm salad before, but I promise the spinach really holds up well to the warm dressing (dressing made with bacon fat, by the way). I'm just going to let the bacon convince you. Bacon bacon bacon. Just try it. It's really a very simple recipe without a lot of ingredients (no hard boiled eggs here... why does it seem like every spinach salad has to have those??). The recipe says it serves four as a first course, but John and I took down the whole salad as a side dish to our steak dinner.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon and Balsamic Vinaigrette
from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
5 ounces baby spinach (about 6 cups)
2 slices bacon (about 2 ounces), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Place spinach in large bowl. Fry bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes; transfer with slotted spoon to paper-towel lined plate, leaving fat in skillet. Return skillet to medium heat and add oil, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vinegar; swirl to incorporate. Pour warm dressing over spinach and toss gently to wilt. Sprinkle bacon over spinach; serve immediately.

Download a printable recipe.

Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

My slow cooker is an appliance that I really, really want to like, but it constantly disappoints me. Almost everything I've made in it has been completely underwhelming. So, when the America's Test Kitchen people came out with their new cookbook, Slow Cooker Revolution, I knew they'd be able to improve my relationship with the slow cooker. This recipe for bolognese sauce was definitely a good start. I've never made a traditional bolognese, but this was just as flavorful as anything I've had at a restaurant (and John couldn't get enough of it, so it's Italian-approved).

The folks at America's Test Kitchen always come up with creative ways to solve common cooking dilemmas, and this recipe is no exception. To prevent the meat from drying out during the long cooking time, they mix it with a panade of bread and cream before putting it in the slow cooker. The recipe (which I am posting as written) calls for meatloaf mix, but I ended up using a mix of ground beef and pork. I also ended up adding quite a bit of salt once this was done cooking, so next time I will probably add more than the recommended 1/2 teaspoon to the meat mixture before it goes in the crock pot.

I think the appeal of the slow cooker for many people is the time-saving element. On that end, this recipe does take some prep work (chopping and sauteing vegetables), so it might not be an ideal weeknight recipe. However, this recipe saves you time in that it makes a huge batch of sauce: enough to sauce three pounds of pasta! So, you can make it on the weekend and freeze the rest for a busy night. I know John and I are looking forward to eating these leftovers!

Big-Batch Bolognese Sauce
from Slow Cooker Revolution

Note: You will need a 6 quart slow-cooker for this recipe.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1/4 cut minced celery
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
3 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
1 cup heavy cream
3 pounds meatloaf mix
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste, garlic, and thyme and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker. Stir tomatoes into slow cooker.

2. Mash bread and heavy cream into a paste in large bowl using fork. Mix in meatloaf mix, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper using hands. Stir meatloaf mixture into slow cooker, breaking up any large pieces. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

3. Let sauce settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon. Break up any remaining large pieces of meat with spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 14 cups

Download a printable recipe.

Bathroom dreams....

source: Corvelyn- realisatie Vlassak Verhulst

Na de aankoop van ons herenhuis zo'n 5 jaar geleden wisten we dat er enkele structurele verbouwings- & veranderingswerken op de planning stonden. Ondertussen zijn er al heel wat projecten uitgevoerd, maar een nog (niet onbelangrijk) volgend project dient zich aan, namelijk onze master bedroom/bathroom ! We hebben het geluk één grote ruimte te hebben om zowel slaapkamer als badkamer onder te brengen. We hebben lang getwijfeld om 2 aparte ruimtes te creëren, maar we zijn er nu toch van overtuigd dat het geen zin heeft deze 2 te scheiden omdat we toch wel houden van de grote ruimte en laten die dus liever als één geheel functioneren.

source image: unknown

Omdat we beiden vinden dat dit toch een herbronningsruimte moet worden is dit vanwege de belangrijkheidsgraad als één van de laatste projecten doorgeschoven, juist omdat we dit echt perfect willen doen.Het is heel bizar dat als we voor klanten de keuzes moeten maken voor materialen, stoffen en indeling het vanzelf gaat en als we voor onze privéwoning moeten beslissen er precies nooit vlugge beslissingen kunnen gemaakt worden....Wij zijn dus blijkbaar zelf heel kritische klanten ! We hebben wel in grote lijnen al uitgewerkt hoe ons 'walhalla' eruit moet zien, de volgende stap is (inderdaad...) beginnen ! Omdat we weten dat dit (terug !) heel wat breekwerk en stof met zich meebrengt zien we er een beetje tegenop.We hebben namelijk al een hele reeks afbraakwerken achter de rug en spreken dus uit ervaring...We weten ook heel erg goed wat we willen en voor de 'uitvoerders' moet dit volgens mij een hele opdracht zijn... We weten bijna zeker dat we voor de zeer lichte, witte uitvoering gaan...Al onze andere ruimtes zijn heel stemmig 'gekleurd' en we willen voor onze slaapkamer een totaal een ander sfeer....We zijn dus in grote lijnen op goede weg voor wat betreft de kleur- & materiaalkeuze.

source: Lefèvre Interiors

Ik troost mij met de gedachte dat ik achteraf vanuit mijn 'nieuwe' bad de hele kamer in al haar glorie mag aanschouwen, denkend aan wat 'weeral' achter ons ligt, mijmerend over 'alweer' een volgend project.... want: (zoals velen onder jullie waarschijnlijk al weten...) het interieur van een decorateur is nooit af: het kan altijd weer beter en mooier....

source: Garnier Antiques:  badkamer van Brigitte & Alain Garnier: 

realisatie Corvelyn - renovatie architect Bernard De Clerck