looking for spice...in baked parmesan spaghetti

You know those depression commercials - where they ask you questions and you find yourself answering "yes" to everything? And then you're walking around convinced you're depressed and need medication. You're calling your friends and breaking plans because you're too sad to get off the couch. Well, do you enjoy comfort food? Do you like cheese? Do you love garlic and crushed tomatoes? If you've answered yes to any/all of these, you're not depressed - you just like to eat. Allow me to introduce to you my newest food baby; baked parmesan spaghetti.

It's hot, gooey, cheesy, saucey, yummy....and everything else that ends in a 'y'. It's the perfect comfort food to get you through the hump of your week. You'll be sitting at work dreaming about this meal days after. THAT'S how delicious it is.

I've always hated basil..I found it overpowering and unappealing. However, they say with age comes wisdom and I've been wise enough to let my taste buds go on an exploration of the herbs. My roommate, Brandon, decided to start a hydroponic garden. I know, what? For the longest time I really did think he was growing other "herbs" in his room, but no - he really is growing a non-mary-jane herb garden. He is one of the main reasons I've decided to take this journey into the food blogging world, and will also be my herb dealer during this adventure. He even went as far as buying me cooking lessons, but I have yet to go because I kind of suck at making plans lately. Which makes me wonder if I'd answer yes to all of those questions in the "are you depressed?" commercial....

I digress...

Baked Parmesan Spaghetti

3/4 Pound spaghetti (I chose thin spaghetti)
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Pound ground beef
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp pepper
10-12 fresh large basil leaves, chopped
3 Cups of your favorite pasta sauce (i used four cheese and marinara)
2 Cups shredded mozzarella
2 Cups freshly grated parmesan

While you boil water to cook your pasta, set the oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta until it is al dente, and don't worry if it's not thoroughly cooked, as it's going into the oven.

Under medium heat, allow olive oil to warm up in a skillet. Add onions and a pinch of salt and pepper, and allow to saute until soft. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Meanwhile, season beef with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Make sure to use a wooden spoon to break apart the beef and cook until brown on both sides.

Once the beef is browned, stir in one cup of pasta sauce and half of the chopped basil. 

Mix to combine, and then add the (drained) spaghetti to the mixture. Spray an oven safe dish with nonstick spray, and add half of the spaghetti mixture to the dish. Top with a cup of sauce and half of your parmesan/mozzarella cheese mix. Repeat the process, starting with another layer of the spaghetti mixture and then a cup of sauce and the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the basil on top and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is perfectly golden brown. 

The dish, in my opinion (and since it's my blog, I'm going to tell you my opinion) the dish came out really, really well. Like...really, really really well. Like three helpings well. We have enough to last us at least another lunch and dinner. I wouldn't change anything about the dish, except perhaps add maybe one more teaspoon of salt. No one else seemed to think it was lacking salt, so maybe like me - you can just add more salt to taste once you've plated. Mmm...so yummy. 

What kind of an evening would it be without dessert? I decided to buy an ice cream maker and tried to make some toasted marshmallow coconut ice cream. I had to wait for the bowl to freeze, but made the ice cream mix so that I'd be prepared once the bowl finally froze. The bowl froze overnight, and I found myself churning ice cream at 8am this morning. Not only did I feel insanely stupid, but it also came out absolutely disgusting. The ice cream went in the trash, and the evil ice cream maker went right back in the box. Once I realized I'd never be the ice cream maker I've always dreamed of, I opted for cupcakes instead. I made theeee most amazing brown sugar cupcakes with brown sugar peanut butter icing. And you better bet your sweet ass I'll be posting that recipe shortly.

Until my next adventure...

xx,

ronit

looking for spice... in buttermilk-herb marinated salmon & cucumber salad

Like I said in my intro, I grew up in a non-chef family. My mom (the non-chef) absolutely hated cooking. She could travel, entertain, shop like the best of them. Cook? Not so much. With that being said, my food options were limited. And I mean REALLY limited. She had about 6-10 dishes she learned from her grandmother and that was what I grew up with. It wasn't until I started having dinner at friends' houses as a kid that I quickly realized spaghetti with ketchup wasn't considered gourmet. In my new cooking adventure, I've attempted to include herbs and spices that I'm not used to in order to expand my fairly bland palette (thanks, mom).

I've been craving salmon for weeks now, and came upon a recipe that made me drool. I've never cooked with some of these herbs, as well as buttermilk, so I was a bit nervous about some of the ingredients. Turns out the buttermilk-herb marinade doubled as salad dressing, which I thought was amazing; especially if you want to prepare a quick meal using a limited number of ingredients.

For the salmon

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves (chopped)

1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves (chopped)

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 6 scallions)

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 Tbs. honey

1 Tbs. ground ginger 

1 Tsp. salt

1/8 Tsp. pepper

4 sides of salmon, boneless and skin removed

In a food processor, combine the buttermilk, basil, cilantro, scallions, vinegar, honey, ginger, salt and pepper. Process until smooth, and set aside 3/4 cup for the salad.

In a large-rimmed dish, drown the salmon with the remaining marinade. Let the salmon swim in the marinade for about thirty minutes while preheating the oven to 400F. Once you've reached your thirty minute deadline, remove the salmon from the marinade and set in a foil-lined baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until just firm to the touch and opaque in the center. Bet you thought that last line was mine...

For the cucumber salad

3 large English cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and sliced crosswise (9 1/2 cups)

1 large red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1-1/2 Tsp. salt & pepper

I'm not quite sure what English cucumbers are. Are they different from other cucumbers? Do they have a British accent? I used good old fashioned regular (American?) cucumbers and they tasted...like cucumbers. Anyway, mix the cucumber, onion, olives, cheese, salt & pepper with the left over dressing and voila...yummy cucumber salad!

Once the salmon is out of the oven, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes and then you're ready to plate! In my opinion (and the opinion of my fellow diners), the meal came out great! The salmon was baked to perfection (I'm picky about that), and the marinade was awesome. Funny enough, the marinade tasted completely different than the salad dressing, which I really liked. The salad was absolutely awesome, except next time I think I'll use less onions and less salt. The olives and feta made it salty enough. The entire meal took about 45 minutes to prepare, and was pretty easy. 

Julia Child would probably laugh at me with this dish, but my mom...she'd be proud. 

Until my next adventure....

xx,

ronit