Spicy Pasta Salad

Posted by: Maggie

Holy cow. This might be my favorite pasta salad ever. The Pioneer Woman posted it a little over a month ago, and I have been thinking about it with an alarming frequency ever since. You see, I love chipotles in adobo - the starring ingredient in this recipe. I would take a bath in that stuff if it wouldn't burn, and if I wouldn't smell kind of odd. There are soooo many recipes that can be improved by adding their smoky goodness, particularly pasta salad.

I made this a few hours ago, and just had a bowl of it for dinner. I wanted to wait until tomorrow to really let the flavors get to know each other, but my desire for instant gratification kicked in and I could no longer wait. Even after only a few hours in the fridge it is fantastic, and I can't wait to have it for breakfast tomorrow. Yeah, you read that right. Breakfast.

I have a really high tolerance for spice, and added about 5 times the amount of adobo sauce that PW called for, and then minced up one of the peppers too and threw it in there. I think it tastes great, but if you aren't a huge fan of spice work your way up to that amount.

Have a great weekend everyone! I have a friend's baby shower tomorrow afternoon, and Jeff and I are going to see Horrible Bosses tomorrow night. Anyone out there watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Jeff and I are huge fans of that show, and I'm excited to see Charlie Day playing a different role in Horrible Bosses. Although, from the trailer it looks like he might just be playing the same lovable idiot we know from Sunny. It you don't watch this show, and are a fan of dark satire and ridiculous humor, I implore you to check out the clip below, laugh, and Netflix the entire series immediately. The clip below isn't too bad, but if you have kids in the room you might want to shoo them away, lest they learn some salty language and questionable behavior.



And with that, on to the recipe!

12 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup whole milk (I'm sure you could use low-fat or skim here - I just had whole leftover from making ice cream, and since it was what PW called for I went ahead and used it.)
4 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
1 minced chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1 container grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
8 ounces smoked gouda cheese, cut into small cubes
24 whole basil leaves, chiffonade

Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Drain, rinse until cool, and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, adobo sauce, salt, and pepper. In a large bowl, stir together the pasta, tomatoes, minced chipotle, and gouda. Toss with the dressing, adjust seasonings as needed, and stir in basil.

Chill before serving if you have enough self control to not dig in right away!

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Source: The Pioneer Woman

Peach Lattice Pie

Posted by: Maggie

The first real pie I ever made was when I was 6.  By real, I mean one with a crust and fruit, not something like this.  I was in Mrs. Barone's 1st grade class at Holy Trinity School in Long Branch, NJ. I'm sure there was an educational reason why Mrs. Barone had 20 six-year olds baking in the rectory on a school day, perhaps as part of a math lesson, or as a reward for good behavior. All I know is that we made apple pie, and it took me 21 years to ever make another pie.

This is me on the first day of first grade. Little did I know at the time, that 21 years later all I'd remember doing in first grade was making pie. Actually, that isn't my only memory. I remember crying when the cafeteria tried to feed me an eggplant parmesan sandwich. Adult Maggie thinks that sounds delicious. So, both of my first grade memories are food related. Shocker.

Until yesterday, I found pie crust kind of intimidating. Now that I've made one, I have no idea why I was so intimidated all this time. While the process was certainly time consuming, it was really simple. Now all I want to do is use my newfound culinary confidence and make an apple pie, a cherry pie, a blueberry pie, a strawberry pie, and umm...what other fruits can I stuff in a pie?

Please make this pie while peaches are still deliciously ripe, juicy, and in season. It's so packed full of peaches it's practically a health food. They cancel out the butter and shortening in the crust, promise. Speaking of shortening, I know a lot of people like to avoid it, but I think it's why this crust is so delicious and flaky. Use it. It won't kill you. Actually, it might, but only if you eat it every day by the truckload.

Here's what you'll need:

For the piecrust:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons vegetable shortening
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and frozen for 30 minutes
10-12 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

6-7 medium peaches, ripe (about 6 cups total)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
3-4 tablespoons potato starch (I found this in the kosher section at my grocery store, and the original recipe states that you can substitute pulverized Minute tapioca)

In a large bowl, stir flour, sugar, and salt together. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle the frozen butter on the flour mixture. Use the pastry cutter to cut the butter in, until there are no pieces larger than a pea remaining, and the mixture is light yellow.

Sprinkle 5 tablespoons of ice water over the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the water. Sprinkle 5 more tablespoons over and repeat. Continue adding water until a small portion of dough holds together when squeezed. You can add up to 2 additional tablespoons of water.

Remove the dough from the bowl, and form into a cohesive ball. Divide the ball into two sections, one slightly larger than the other. Form the large section into a 5-inch rectangle, and the small section into a 4-inch disc. Refrigerate for one hour, or up to two days before rolling.

After dough has chilled (if chilled for longer than an hour let stand at room temperature until malleable) roll the larger piece of dough into an 11x15 inch rectangle. Carefully transfer the rectangle to a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a pizza or pastry wheel, trim edges, and cut out 8 strips of dough, measuring 1 1/4 inches wide by 15 inches long. Freeze strips on the cookie sheet for 30 minutes.

Roll the smaller piece of dough out into a 12-inch circle. Carefully place into the pie pan, and press into corners. Leave the dough that overhangs the lip in place, and place crust in refrigerator.

In a large pot, put 3 quarts of water on to boil. Fill a bowl will cold water, and 3 trays of ice cubes. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position, and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry the peaches, and using a paring knife, score an x into the base of each peach. When water is boiling, add the peaches to the water, cover, and blanch for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes (larger peaches will need 2 1/2.) Using a slotted spoon, remove peaches and immediately place in ice bath for 1 minute. Remove from water, and peel. The skins should slip right off if you start from the x you made at the base.

Pit and slice the peaches into 3/8 inch slices. Toss in a large bowl with 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and potato starch. Transfer to the dough lined pie plate.

Remove the dough strips from the freezer. If they're too frozen to be workable wait 5-10 minutes. Weave a lattice top, trim off the excess lattice, fold the rim of the shell up over the ends of the lattice strips and crimp. Lightly brush the lattice top and crust with 1 tablespoon water, and sprinkle with sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate pie, and continue baking for 25-30 minutes more. If the crust is getting too dark while baking, cover edges with foil.

Cool cooked pie on a wire rack for 2 hours before serving.

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Source: Cooks Illustrated

Thai Peanut Butter Noodles

Posted by: Maggie


If you need a quick lunch or dinner that is made with stuff you probably already have in your cabinets, this is the recipe for you. Except for the time it took to boil a pot of water, this meal came together in 10 minutes flat - far less than the time it would take to order a similar dish via takeout. It is much healthier too, since I was able to control the amount of oil and salt added. I used Jif peanut butter and regular pasta, but you could up the health factor by using whole wheat pasta and natural peanut butter if you prefer!

Here's what you'll need:

Half a box of thin spaghetti
1/2 heaping cup of crunchy peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoons water (to thin the sauce if necessary)
3 chopped scallions, for garnish
red pepper flakes and salt, to taste

Cook spaghetti as directed on package, and drain. While the pasta is cooking, combine peanut butter, ginger, garlic, oil, honey, and chicken broth over medium heat. Whisk thoroughly to combine ingredients, and stir frequently until heated through. If the sauce is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water and/or additional chicken broth to thin it out. Toss sauce with drained pasta, and season to taste with red pepper flakes and salt. Serve immediately, garnished with chopped scallions.

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Adapted from: Ramshackle Glam