Orzo with Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette

I saw this on the Food Network & thought it looked good. It was! (Sorry about the all caps, I can't seem to change it!!)

Ingredients

• 1 pound (2 dry pints) cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound orzo pasta

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon smoked salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Place the tomatoes in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes are tender and the skins are charred in spots, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl.

For the vinaigrette: Place the tomatoes, basil, vinegar, olive oil, honey, smoked salt*, and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the vinaigrette over the pasta and toss until coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Season with smoked salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Modifications: I couldn't find smoked salt, but I did find bacon salt! (My husband just about died when he saw the combo of two of his favorite things.) & it did work as a good substitute. Still interested in smoked salt, though!

Spaghetti cacio e pepe with roasted asparagus

I saw Rachael Ray cook spaghetti cacio e pepe, which is basically spaghetti with cheese & pepper, on her show once & thought it looked good, but I didn't make it until tonight, after seeing it on the Smitten Kitchen website recently. I'm glad I made it! It was super yummy. We ate it with our favorite veggie, oven roasted asparagus. I copied & pasted the recipe from the Smitten Kitchen entry.

Spaghetti with Cheese and Pepper [Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe]
Adapted very loosely from Mario Batali

As I’ve mentioned, for something with such a simple ingredient list this dish manages to fall all over the map. Some versions use just oil, no butter, some use neither oil of butter; some stud the sauce with large, barely cracked peppercorns and half-melted pebbles of romano; some opt for a smoother cheese, cacio de roma, which I located, auditioned and discovered I liked the saltier and more accessible Pecorino Romano better. There are a lot of ways to approach the dish and people who will find something inauthentic with each of them. I say ignore them all and just enjoy your spaghetti.

Serves 4 as a main, 8 as a first course

1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound dried spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
4 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
1 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Salt (optional)

Cook spaghetti in well-salted water to your al dente tastes in a large, wide-bottomed pot. (You’ll have fewer dishes to wash if you use this pot to assemble the dish as well.) Drain spaghetti, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water.

Dry out your pot, then heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add drained spaghetti and 1 cup of reserved pasta water and jump back, this will splatter mightily, also known as “I made this three times, and never once learned my lesson. Do as I say, not as I do.”

Add butter, 3 ounces cheese and ground pepper and toss together with tongs. Taste, adding more pasta water, cheese, pepper or salt (which should not be neccessary, as Romano is very salty) to taste.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with reserved cheese and an extra grind or two of black pepper.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Snap ends off of asparagus & clean thoroughly, then dry. Spread them on a baking sheet & drizzle with olive oil. Rub olive oil on to thoroughly coat. Sprinkle with sea salt (or just table salt) & coarse black pepper. Roast at 400 - depending on the thickness of the asparagus (we prefer them thin) & how done you want them (we like them with very crispy ends), keep an eye on them - probably at least 20 minutes.

Pasta Salad

This recipe is so versatile! It's a solid base, so you could add anything to it... the sky is the limit! To see photos of the finished product you can go to my blog!! This is usually eaten as a cold salad... it pairs well with just about anything... hamburgers, grilled chicken, or fried anything :)

Pasta Salad

1 lb (16 ozs) short cut pasta (I usually use whole wheat rotini... I like the taste)

1 cup Italian salad dressing

1 cup Caesar salad dressing

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 green bell pepper finely diced

1 red onion finely diced

Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Enjoy immediately or cover and stick it in the fridge to eat on all week!

Happy Cooking!

Bails