CEIMB: Fettuccine with Crab and Asparagus

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was chosen by Jessica of Johnstone's Vin Blanc. We made Fettuccine with Crab and Asparagus, from Ellie's book So Easy. As you may know by now, I am not really the biggest fan of seafood. I eat shrimp, and I love it. Other than that, it's all pretty much outside of my comfort zone. However, I decided to go for it this time and try the crab in this dish.

I did have to cheat a little bit, and buy the package of imitation crab instead of the pure, real thing. Actually, the kind I bought said it was made from crab and other types of fish. I hope I still got the full effect, though, because I did end up liking it. It didn't taste very fishy, which is something that typically bothers me about seafood. It was very nice with the lemony flavors in the dish.

The dish as a whole, however, I felt was a bit lacking. I am not quite sure what it was, exactly. Maybe I wanted it to be saucier; I don't know. As it was, I just found it to be a bit dry. I liked the way it tasted. I adore asparagus, the lemon and the white wine added some good zing, and I thought the tarragon was really interesting in this. I did not buy fresh herbs for this recipe, so I just used my dried tarragon and dried parsley.



I haven't decided if I would make this again. It was good, it just wasn't amazing or memorable. Maybe if the sauce were more of a scampi-type sauce, this would have been better. I guess it wouldn't have been as healthy that way, though, so it would have defeated the purpose of cooking an Ellie meal!

Thanks, Jessica, for this week's pick! She's got the recipe posted on her blog. Check out the other CEIMBers in our blogroll.

Asparagus and Scallion Pasta with Bacon and Walnuts

Since pasta is my ultimate go-to pantry staple, sometimes I realize that I have been preparing it the same old 3 or 4 ways. I need to branch out, try new things with the pasta. Don't get me wrong; I could still eat pasta every night of the week and not get tired of it. It would just be nice to have a very wide range of pasta recipes at my fingertips for quick weeknight meals.

Enter Cooking Light....and Ellie Krieger. I can always count on both to bring me new ideas and satisfy flavor-wise. This time, I found one recipe from each of these sources, mashed them together, added a bit of my own inspiration, and produced this awesome dinner!

It started with lots of fresh scallions, and a bit of fresh asparagus. We had received both from Andy's parents, and had to use them up pretty quickly. I had bookmarked a Cooking Light recipe for a pasta dish with asparagus, pancetta, and pine nuts that sounded good. At the bottom of that recipe, the magazine indicated that walnuts (instead of the pine nuts) would be delicious in this, too. Sounded good to me. I only had bacon on hand, no pancetta. I decided that this would be fine. I also figured I would use up all the asparagus I had, and then I would throw in a generous helping of scallions at the end. Sounds very spring-y, no?

Then I remembered that Ellie Krieger has a recipe in her book, The Food You Crave, for fettuccini with walnuts and parsley. So I decided to combine her technique with the one listed in Cooking Light, and the outcome was, well, fabulous! This stuff was great warm. This stuff was great cold the next day as leftovers. I mean, it was just good. The nuts were the one thing in this recipe that I was unsure of, but I shouldn't have been worried. They provided welcome texture and crunch, and the toastiness of them couldn't be beat. Combined with the bacon and the fresh veggies, they made for a wonderfully unique addition to my pasta. We loved it.

The original Cooking Light recipe can be found here.
The original Ellie Krieger recipe can be found here.

Here is the recipe the way I made it:

Asparagus and Scallion Pasta with Bacon and Walnuts
adapted from Cooking Light and Ellie Krieger
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. pasta, any shape you like
1/2 lb. - 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
6-8 scallions, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
2 oz. (about 4 slices) bacon
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place bacon on a slotted sheet (You can also line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place a cooling rack on top of the foil, and then drape the bacon across the rack. It's the method I use, and the fat drips off the bacon to the sheet underneath, so it's less greasy.) and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until cooked through and crispy. Place on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool. Break up into small pieces.
2. Meanwhile, set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the asparagus. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 1/4-3/4 cup of cooking liquid in case you want to make your pasta wetter at the end of preparation.
3. In the pot the pasta was cooked in, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to burn it. Return the pasta and asparagus to the pot, along with the lemon juice, broth, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Add in the scallions, bacon, and walnuts, and toss again. If you need the extra pasta water, add it in at this time. Serve grated or shaved Parmesan at the table, if desired.

Caribbean Chicken Drumsticks with Asparagus and Radish Salad

I can hardly believe this, but I made this over a month ago and then forgot to write a post about it! This is actually a pretty unforgettable dish, but I got caught up in blogging more recent things I had made and somehow this one just slipped through the cracks. I found this all the way back in January, in Food Network Magazine. I had bought that particular issue of the magazine because they had done a feature on cupcakes, and I'm a sucker for those. However, I ended up using this issue for all sorts of tasty dishes, and this one may have been the very best one.

These chicken drumsticks are the creation of Food Network personality Sunny Anderson. This is the first recipe of hers I've made, and it really makes me want to make more of her meals. This was so simple and unbelievably flavorful. The best part about these drumsticks is that they are baked in the oven, making this cooking method way healthier than other cooking methods listed in the magazine (a bunch of Food Network chefs had contributed to this feature on chicken wings, each providing a unique recipe for chicken).

The drumsticks are marinated in a jamaican jerk-style blend of herbs, spices, and juices. Then they're placed on a baking sheet to bake. After boiling the leftover marinade on the stove, you remove the drummies from the oven, baste them with all of that leftover goodness, and bake them a bit longer at a higher temperature. The glaze becomes caramelized and sticky and just absolutely delicious and messy. The meat is insanely tender, and the flavors are perfectly combined.

I decided to serve these drumsticks with a simple buttered Israeli couscous, and a quickly thrown-together asparagus and radish salad. If I recall correctly, the salad was dressed with a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and olive oil, along with salt, pepper, and dried cilantro. It was great; the crunch of the radish contrasted well with the quick-steamed asparagus, and the flavors in the dressing were present in the chicken drumstick marinade as well. A wonderful meal, and do-able on a weeknight!

The original recipe for Sunny's wings can be found here.

Sunny Anderson's Caribbean Chicken Wings (or, in my case, drumsticks!)

from Food Network Magazine

makes 3 lbs. wings or drumsticks

Ingredients

1/2 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

3 lbs. chicken wings (I used drumsticks)

Directions

1. Combine the first 12 ingredients (through scallions) in a blender. Add the vinegar, lime juice, and orange juice and blend until smooth. Place the wings in a large, resealable bag and pour the marinade over them. Seal and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Remove the wings from the bag, place on the lined sheets, and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced by one-third, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the wings from the oven and brush with the glaze. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to bake until the wings are cooked through, 20 more minutes.

Pizza with Asparagus, Bacon, and Homemade Marinara Sauce

Yum, homemade pizza. We love the stuff around here. If I wasn't always so scared in the past of making the crust, we would probably have it much more often. Well, it's not the crust I am scared of, it's rolling out the crust that frightens me. I know, it seems very silly. I love to bake, and do all those sorts of things which require patience, but I don't know. When it came to pizza crust, I was intimidated. Having to roll it into a circle shape just seemed difficult. It's not like a pie crust, where you get to trim off the ratty edges. This had to actually look like a circle.

Well, I am happy to report that all the fear is now a thing of the past. I have faced the challenge head-on, and I won! I battled the crust, and I was victorious. More on that in a bit, though.

The above photo is a shot of some wild asparagus, brought to us by my mother and father in-law, who pick it out of their very own backyard. It tastes so much better than store-bought asparagus, in my opinion. It's almost sweet, juicier than any other asparagus I've had, and it cooks up so tender despite the thicker spears. It can be purple in color when first picked, but it gradually turns green while it's cooking. It's actually handy; it's got a built-in doneness indicator!

When I found this recipe for a flatbread appetizer topped with asparagus and pancetta in Cooking Light Magazine, I knew I wanted to make a variation of it. Instead of a flatbread, I would do a pizza. I would use bacon in place of the pancetta, and I thought I'd add some homemade marinara sauce (the original recipe doesn't have a sauce).

After searching Recipezaar briefly, I discovered a whole-wheat pizza dough recipe that could be made in the bread machine. We've made pizza dough this way plenty of times, but this was a new recipe and I wanted to give it a try. As it turns out, this may have been the best homemade dough we've ever had! It wasn't as dense or dry as some whole-wheat doughs can be, and a sprinkle of dried herbs made it flavorful and colorful. Best of all, though? It was a dream to work with! By hand, I was able to pull and stretch it into the correct shape, and made it fit the pizza pan just right. It was easy! I wondered then what I had been so worried about; I could totally handle this! I just hoped that the rest of it would be as simple.

Well, it was! I baked some bacon in the oven until it was crisp, and broke it into crumbly pieces. The asparagus was sliced lengthwise thinly, then artfully placed on the pizza. A healthy sprinkle of freshly grated mozzarella topped it off. But wait! I'm forgetting the sauce.

Oh, the sauce. Who knew something so ridiculously simply could be such a showstopper? Seriously, this sauce required absolutely no cooking whatsoever, and contained simple, everyday ingredients. I got this gem from Recipezaar; I chose it mainly because of the ease. I was very pleasantly surprised when I tried it and discovered just how delicious it was. It was thick, tangy, spicy, with a hint of sweetness...just wow. We also used it as a dipping sauce for some ravioli that I served on the side. I could probably just have eaten it straight, with a spoon, but I restrained myself. But next time, who knows?

I'm going to post the pizza recipe, because I took an existing idea and modified it to our liking, as well as the sauce recipe, just because it is so divine.

The recipe for the whole-wheat pizza dough can be found here.

Kittencal's No-Cook Pizza Sauce (or Marinara Dipping Sauce)

adapted from Recipezaar

makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (original recipe says you can use either 1/2 or a whole can)

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. fresh minced garlic (I believe I used 2 cloves)

1 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. sugar

1 pinch salt (can add to taste)

1 pinch cayenne pepper, to taste (I think my "pinch" was more like a healthy dash; next time I may lighten up on it a bit)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl; mix very well. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings as needed.

2. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, more if possible, before serving.

Pizza with Asparagus, Bacon, and Homemade Marinara Sauce

Recipe by Bri

serves 4 (maybe)

Ingredients

1 whole-wheat pizza dough

cornmeal, for dusting

6 slices bacon

8-10 spears asparagus, sliced thinly lengthwise

1/2 - 3/4 cup homemade marinara sauce (see above)

3 oz. freshly grated mozzarella cheese (part-skim works well)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange bacon on a cooling rack, then place the cooling rack on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in oven for at least 20 minutes, until crispy and browned. Set aside to cool.

2. Dust work surface with cornmeal, then place pizza dough on cornmeal. Stretch dough into a 12-inch circle, then place on a 12-inch round pizza pan.

3. Spread marinara sauce on surface of dough. Crumble the reserved bacon over the sauce. Next, lay asparagus across the pizza, and finally cover everything with mozzarella cheese.

4. Crank the oven up to 400. Bake pizza for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted and the dough feels and looks fully baked. Serve immediately (preferably with extra marinara on the side for dipping your crusts!).

Beer Battered Asparagus

So we got it in our heads that it would be a really good idea to make up a batter of flour, salt, pepper, and beer, and toss asparagus in it. From there, we would submerge the battered asparagus in oil and fry it up. With the leftover beer batter, we decided to take a stab at frying chicken thighs and chicken tenders. Well, how did it all turn out? It was beyond our expectations.

As it turns out, frying beer battered asparagus really is a great idea! We were afraid that the batter was a little too simple, that it would have no flavor or just taste really weird. Thankfully, we were wrong. Frying the asparagus actually really brought out the flavor of the vegetable, and they were perfectly cooked inside. They only took about 5 minutes per spear to fry up. Delicious! However, they weren't so good as leftovers, not that I expected them to be. The outside crust turned totally mushy and soggy, not a good combo. We were pleased that we got the chicken to turn out well, too. The first chicken thigh we fried up didn't turn out. We pulled it out of the oil way too early, and it was severely undercooked. A quick internet search taught us that chicken thighs take a much longer time to fry than you would think. I ended up frying each for 15 minutes, and they turned out just perfect. The tenders were good, too.

Before our magical dinner, we had a cupcake decorating party. The ones above were done by me. I figured I would put my new cake decorating skills, as well as all that leftover frosting, to good use and make some cute Halloween-themed designs. Xander found out what I was doing and wanted to do some of his own, so below you will see the ones he decorated all by himself.

It was a splendid mess, but we had a lot of fun, which makes it all worthwhile. Next time I will be better prepared. I need to make sure I cover the whole kitchen table in newspaper so I can just pick up the whole mess of sprinkles and such and dump it right in the trash. A beautiful thing!

Beer Battered Asparagus

adapted from Recipezaar

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 cup beer

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed

vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy saucepan (we used our wok) until it reaches 375 degrees.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, pepper, and lemon zest until combined. Add beer and whisk ingredients until smooth.

3. Dip each asparagus spear in batter to coat. Shake off excess batter, then drop asparagus in oil, a few spears at a time. Stir gently to prevent spears from sticking together. Fry until golden.

4. Transfer spears to a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until all the asparagus is done.

Just Rollin' Along

Today was one of those proud days as a parent. It's Evan's 5-month birthday, and he decided to mark it by rolling over for the first time! He did it twice! Of course, the second time Andy, Xander, and I were crowded around him on the floor, and when it finally happened the three of us cheered like maniacs and scared the living daylights out of the baby, but that's okay. We were just really excited! He's getting ready to crawl, even though it should be another couple of months before he can. He really tries; he scoots his little butt upward and wiggles, inchworm-style, around so much that he ends up actually moving a couple inches or so. It's so cute.

I got a chance to do some leisurely cooking this afternoon, which was nice. I was kind of upset that I didn't take any pictures of it for you to see, because dinner turned out really great. Andy suggested I take some pictures of our empty plates once we were finished, because that is about the time that I remembered that I had wanted to take some pics. But how silly would that have been? Nobody wants to see that! At least, I don't think...

Anyway, I made some tomato sauce from scratch, and it turned out super. I made it healthier, from a recipe that is a clone of a Healthy Choice recipe. The key is adding a bit of sugar to the sauce. It cuts the acidity and really enhances all the flavors. I dropped some homemade turkey meatballs that had been frozen into the sauce, and let them simmer in it for about 2 hours. They turned out melt-in-your-mouth tender and juicy; so good! Then, on the side, we had pan-fried asparagus, sauteed in garlic, crushed red pepper, and then finished with some fresh cracked white pepper and parmesan cheese. Andy actually told me it was the best asparagus he's ever eaten! That's quite a compliment, considering we eat a ton of asparagus. It was so absolutely simple, too, but sometimes that is the best way to make food. I finished off the plate with rigatoni, to go with the sauce, and some bread. I was in comfort-food heaven. Xander liked everything, too, so right there dinner was a total winner in my book.

Too bad Evan didn't like his meal. It was his fifth or sixth day eating baby cereal, and he isn't liking it too much so far. He gets really cranky in the high chair and gets to a point where he just refuses to open his mouth for the spoon. When he does open his mouth, it's so he can cry, not eat. So you shovel more cereal into his face, and then he gets even more distraught. It's a vicious cycle, really. But I digress. The point is, I wish I could say that dinnertime was joyous for every member of my family, but it just was not to be.

The Wii Fit has been taking up a lot of our time now, which is good. We are turning into addicts, but we figure there are much worse things to be addicted to, and this is something we can actually be addicted to in front of the kids! So what if it makes us feel guilty and lazy if we skip a day? So what if it asks each of us questions about the other's posture behind his/her back? Who cares if it wonders if we trip over our own feet when we flunk the balance test? It's fun! I leave you tonight with some shots of my Mii, or virtual version of me on the Wii. She's even wearing her little workout clothes! Love it.