Everyday, From Day 1: Issue 2

Posted by Alison Sickelka

Cooking the recipes from issue No. 2 (March/April 2003) was a lesson both in cooking and entertaining.

I must have gotten overconfident with the success of the last recipe, because I thought I could get groceries, prep ingredients, and prepare pasta in the hour and a half from when I got off work to when my guests were going to arrive.

Two pastas with a time crunch in a poorly equipped kitchen. Silly rabbit.

It took me a while to decide what to make. There was another pork tenderloin (I am a bit obsessed after the last venture), but I thought I should mix it up.

I decided on pasta because I wanted to feed a crowd buffet-style, and pasta lends itself well to that. The Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs looked tasty, but after an incident of spilled takeout Indian food on our couch, my sister vetoed anything that could lead to stains.

The brown butter looked fascinating, so I decided to try Linguine with Cauliflower and Brown Butter. Following a suggestion, I paired it with Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Pasta.

After work, I swung by my local market to get the fresh veggies and herbs. I ended up getting one head of cauliflower (my first time buying it) for pasta No. 1 and two zucchini and four tomatoes for pasta No. 2. I weighed them to make sure it was the right amount.

Cauliflower tip: Choose a firm cauliflower with crisp green leaves and no dark gray spots on the florets.

I avoided the plum tomatoes and opted for tomatoes on the vine (what with the whole salmonella business). They also didn't have long fusilli so I got plain ol' fusilli.

The prep and total times in the magazine don't account for ingredient prep unless it's in the instructions. So the "parsley, chopped," "shallot, minced" and "zucchini, cut" needed to be taken care of beforehand.

(Getting everything ready beforehand is always helpful when cooking and baking -- I believe it's called mise en place.)

I ended up being very thankful for my sister Emily and her second set of hands. I got my zucchini and tomatoes in the oven and prepped the cauliflower, but she took over cauliflower duty while I chopped parsley and started boiling water. Don't forget to start the water boiling as soon as you can -- it takes a while for a large pot to get to a rolling boil.

We still didn't have the pasta in the water by the time everyone showed up, but we plied them with wine and sent them to the living room to catch up.

We got the pasta going, and Emily, who makes pasta a lot more frequently than me, was in charge of determining when it was done. Everyday Food has some great tips for cooking pasta. The magazine offered this tip:

"To test pasta for doneness, toss a strand against a vertical stainless-steel surface (such as a refrigerator or backsplash). If it sticks, it's done." I didn't try it, as I lacked a vertical stainless steel surface, but let me know if it works for you.

We had to drain the pasta in shifts because I have only a wee colander (a big one is now on the to-buy list).

We missed the tip that browning the butter should take only three minutes, and spent a little bit longer than that watching it cook in the pot and discussing what constitutes brown.

Be sure you have a large pot to mix the pastas with their respective vegetables. And don't forget the Parmesan cheese for serving and the crushed croutons to top the linguine.

When all was said and done, everyone loved both dishes. (Also on my to-buy list: forks. I discovered after the pasta was made that I only had three. So we ate pasta with spoons. It still tasted good!)

We each had our favorite. Some were in love with the roasted veggies; I personally liked the linguine best. I think the croutons on top really made it.

Lisa, one of the my guests, brought a salad: greens, feta cheese, and cranberries to pair with our pasta feast.

The final verdict?  A little more involved than pasta with sauce from a jar, but well worth it for the taste. I'll be making both again, but not at the same time.

Total bill for both recipes: $20.90. (Pretty good for feeding six girls.)

 

Comments

[VeggieGirl]

Definitely looks worth all the preparation!!

[cindylea21]

I love pasta!! The linguine with cauliflower and brown butter sounds especially intriguing!! Guess what I'll be making this week???? ummmmm

[Kristin]

The pasta dishes from issue #5 are also very good. I think the tres leches cake recipe is also in that issue, but a little heavy to have both the pastas and cake in one meal.

[Regan]

This is such a great recipe! Don't skip the toasted breadcrumbs!

[Lauren]

Looks great! I think that will be on the menu for sometime this week.

[Melissa]

I believe that a Pasta Toss should be a part of every dinner party.

[Becky F]

Sounds great! Always nice when you can add another pasta dish to your repertoire.

[Lisa]

awesome post, I need to try making that myself sometimes :)

[Alison]

A pasta toss should be a part of every party, Melissa!

And I agree with Regan that the toasted breadcrumbs are essential with the linguine.

Lauren and Cindy, if you do make this pasta, report back and let us know how it goes!

Kristin, good tip about Issue 5. I am making Chicken Parmigiana tonight from Issue 3, so I still need to pick from Issue 4 and then 5.

Any thoughts on either of those issues, anyone?

[Melinda]

I have such fond memories of issues 2,3, and 4 (and #5 is the most beat up of them all)! I picked up #2 at the store right after I quit my job to stay at home with our new baby. I had NO idea what was going on caring for a baby, acting like a homemaker, etc! I feel so connected to EF, like it was part of my growing up!

Anyway, when we were little, my Mom would let us toss the pasta straight onto a regular wall. It worked just fine. ;)

I'll have to make the cauliflower pasta...never did try that one!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Can't wait to see you do more from the past.

[cindylea21]

Well, we made the linguine with caulifower! When we first started eating it, it was okay but weren't really sure if we'd make it again. Then we realized we didn't mix it really well, all the flavor was on the bottom. So, we took the pasta dish and transferred it into another bowl and really mixed it up. It was really good and it is a dish I'd recommend and make again!!

[Alison]

cindylea21,
I'm glad the pasta ended up working out for you! I really think the breadcrumbs are what makes that dish unique. I might have to experiment with breadcrumbs in all sorts of things, now that I have some on hand after making the chicken parmigiana.

[steamy kitchen]

I'd love to get an induction portable stovetop - that boils water in a fraction of this time that it takes on regular stovetops! That would totally speed up my cooking time!