Yes, it may seem as though I’ve been missing in action, but in reality I’ve been simply practicing what I preach.  I’ve been ” living in the moment” with my daughter, Theresa, who has just returned from France after 10 months of living the amazing life as an exchange student with the wonderful famille Buzy and attending high school in Toulouse, France.   So, you can only imagine that all I’ve wanted to do is cook with her, stare at her, speak French with her and have fun with her.   Finally, I have a few minutes to share one of the recipes that we’ve cooked together since she’s been home.  I promise more will follow.

Can't forget the sauce

Chicken Balsamic Lasagna
(Featuring  Al Dente Pasta and Monique’s Marvelous Marinara Sauce)
Serves 6-10
This is a recipe adapted from Showcase magazine.  It originally called for lasagna sheets, but I found it easier to make with fettuccine and just as delicious.  I once quadrupled the recipe for a fundraising dinner for 85 people and every person asked for the recipe.  Great for a crowd!  Can make it ahead and everything.

Ingredients:
12 oz. Al Dente Fettuccine (your favorite flavor but I use Basil Fettuccine)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, cut into small dice
1 pounds chicken thighs (or breast) meat, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
15 oz. ricotta cheese
cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. kosher salt
12 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
1 jar Moniques Marvelous Marinara Sauce

Method

1.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta for 3 minutes (slightly undercooked).  Drain and set aside.  In a large skillet, gently sauté onion in 2 tbsp. oil  until translucent, 2 minutes..  Add chicken, stirring until cooked.  Add balsamic vinegar.and ½ tsp salt cooking for 5 more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

2.  In a bowl, combine the ricotta, ¼ cup Parmesan, eggs, pepper and ½ tsp. salt.  Mix well.

3.  Layer the ingredients in an 9×13 pan in the following order:  1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 of pasta,1/2 ricotta,1/2 marinara, chicken/onion mixture, 1/2 mozzarella, 1/2 of pasta, 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 marinara, ½ mozzarella, ¼ cup parmesan

4.  Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown.

I should first preface this by saying that I, Nate Staley, love spicy food.  Actually, I live for spicy food.  While most of my friends look for a good Chinese dish on the nights that they want to eat out, I’m always looking for a good Mexican or Indian establishment.  I want spicy food whenever I can get it.  A lot of this side of me - my mother says anyway - comes from my upbringing in Texas.  While she likes to tell me that during her pregnancy with me all she would eat was the spiciest foods she could find, which in Texas can be found on every street corner, I can still attribute my affinity for spice to the years of spicy cuisine in which I indulged myself afterward.  I’ve still to find a good Mexican restaurant in the midwest like the ones that were available everywhere in Dallas.  What people like to think of as spicy in the midwest pales in comparison to even the mildest of salsas in a good Mexican restaurant in Texas.  But I digress.

As you might have imagined what this is leading up to, the mood for something spicy struck me the other night.  Being a college student, it is not often that I get the chance to indulge myself in a good spicy meal, or a good meal of any kind for that matter.  My diet most often consists of Spaghetti-O’s, Wendy’s or a grilled cheese sandwich.  When I came across Al Dente’s Red Chili Fettuccine several nights back, ideas started rolling through my head about what kind of pasta dish I might be able to make.  After all, a cheap, delicious, spicy pasta is irresistable to a college student such as myself.  Being a fan of grilling, I decided to get myself some type of spicy sausage to grill up, slice up and throw in the pasta, and ended up choosing chorizo to go along with my affinity for mexican spices.  In the end I made up quite a delicious pasta dish that was cheap to make and satisfied my need for putting a bit of sweat on the brow.

Pasta Recipe:

1 Bag of Al Dente Red Chili Fettuccine

3 Johnsonville Chorizo links grilled and sliced

1  jar Monique’s Rustic Roasted Garlic Sauce

1 red bell pepper, sliced

8 oz. mushrooms

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Saute the mushrooms and sweet red pepper in the olive oil. Grill your sausages and slice. (If you are not grilling the sausages, you can slice and cook in a skillet on the stove top.) Add Monique’s Rustic Roasted Garlic Sauce to mushrooms, sweet red pepper and sausages. Cook pasta Al Dente Pasta for 3 minutes in boiling water and serve with sauce.  Garnish with Parmesan Cheese.

There is nothing like the satisfaction of knowing when you’ve come up with the perfect gift idea.   That is how I felt the day I offered my friend, Marra, a cooking class for her 18th birthday.    I could tell by the look on her face that there was nothing better I could have given her.

Last week, Marra and her friends joined me at the lake house for their first lesson.  Five minutes before they arrived, I sat down at the computer and jotted down a few quick thoughts.  Little did I know how central these words would be to our cooking class.

Rule #1.    There is nothing to be afraid of.  Granted, I realize that the kitchen doesn’t scare me,  a new recipe doesn’t scare me, cooking along side a famous chef doesn’t scare me.  But, trust me. I know fear.  I understand that fear is not always rational.  (Marra’s mother, Lisa, made certain to reveal to the girls that for the first 50 years of my life, I was afraid to light a match).    Neverthless, when something is holding us back,  we need to figure out how to rise above it.  (I am proud to say that I lit a match on my 50th birthday and have been lighting them ever since.)  That is going to be my goal with Marra and her friends today.   I am hoping they will walk out of my kitchen with the confidence to tackle any recipe, anytime, anywhere.   I plan to show them a bit of technique.    I will show them how to look at a recipe and decide if it sounds good to them. I want them to know how to follow a recipe, but also how to modify it.

Sure enough, the first words out of Marra’s mouth as she walked into kitchen were, “I’m so scared”.  That is why I immediately read them rule #1.  As you can see from the picture, they weren’t scared for long.

Al Dente Pasta with Hot Italian Sausage, Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

I discovered that the commentary when cooking with teenagers was priceless, especially when it came to getting the sausage out of the casing.

“What do we do with the skins”     “Oh, it’s coming out of both ends”         “This is so much fun”

“Monique, aren’t you proud of me?”

My words of wisdom while we made this dish were:

1.  When using a non-stick pan, only use a wooden or plastic stirring spoon.

2.  Don’t be afraid of the meat.  (I was told by Marra’s mother that she repeated this phrase frequently as she made the dish on her own)

Next we made Al Dente Fettuccine with Alfredo Sauce.

They could not believe how easy it was to make one of their all-time favorite pasta dishes.  The comment when sampling this dish was, “it tastes even better than anything I”ve had in a restaurant, and I made it myself.”  Of course I told them that you can add a number of tasty addtions to the basic Alfredo Sauce:  Eg. Shrimp, peas, cubed turkey, ham, sweet red pepper, chicken, etc. etc. etc.  Also, I like to show that you don’t need massive amounts of cream to make a great Alfredo Sauce.

Al Dente Fettuccine Alfredo

1 bag of Al Dente Pasta (we used Egg Fettuccine)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta.  In the meantime, melt butter in skillet over medium heat.   Add cream.  When cream begins to thicken and small bubbles appear, add Parmesan, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. salt.  Cook pasta, testing after 3 minutes.  When pasta is done to tender but firm perfection, drain.  Add to skillet with Alfredo sauce, stirring until pasta is coated.  That’s all there is to it.  Emily’s quote at this point was, ” I really like these noodles.  I like the texture.  They’re not really thick.”  (So glad she noticed!)

Rule #2.  Never eat standing up.

For desert we will make a Blueberry Cobbler that Marra loves and has enjoyed it many times over the years.  She never imagined that anything this good could be so easy to make.  This super simple, healthy and delicious desert is from Jane Brody’s cookbook. I first had it in Colorado while visiting my high school friends, Jill and Jim, more than 20 years ago.  Thank you, Jim, for turning me on to this great recipe.  I usually double or triple this recipe.

Jane Brody’s Blueberry Cobbler

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1.5 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup skim milk

2 Tbsp, butter, melted.  (I melt the butter in my baking dish, in the oven, while oven is heating up.)

2 cups blueberries.  (I used frozen blueberries this time, but result is much better with fresh, so from now on this recipe will be reserved for summertime enjoyment when blueberries are in season.  On the other hand, I will make it with frozen peaches in the winter.

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir in the milk and mix the batter until smooth.

2. While oven is preheating to 350 degrees, melt the butter in your glass or ceramic baking dish in the oven.  When melted, pour in batter and sprinkle blueberries on top.

3.  Bake cobbler in oven for 40 minutes, until top is lightly browned.  Size of baking dish will depend on whether you double or triple recipe like I do.  Single recipe requires a 1 or 1.5 quart baking dish.  Cobbler is great for breakfast or brunch as well as for desert.

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My name is Aly Croen, I’m an intern for Al Dente Pasta this summer, and this is where my story begins.  It was dark, gloomy, rancid, and full of pizza boxes. No, I’m not talking about a garbage dump (though not far from), I’m referring to a college apartment.  On this fateful Thursday, I gathered three of my friends to participate in a moderately risky experiment.  I have to be honest, these friends were very brave participants. The experiment, embarrassingly enough, was if I could actually make a decent meal.  Our hypothesis was of course that, no, I would not be able to do so.  As a University of Michigan student, Monique’s alma mater (Go Blue!), I often do not have time to prepare anything more than a sandwich, frozen dinner, or if I’m feeling particularly creative, a salad. Therefore, we had various Ann Arbor delivery places on call for the moment they tasted my food.

photo by Lisa Monahan

A Special Pasta Dish for a Special Young Woman

All of my kids have their designated favorite pasta dish named after them. Today, in celebration of my God Daughter’s graduation from Ferris State University, I would like to honor her by officially publishing Jenise’s Favorite on the Aldentecanoodler. Lisa Monahan, a wonderful photographer with a specialty in food photography, was able to capture both the gorgeous peony, grown by Lisa Dengiz, and the lusciousness of the shrimp from Monahan’s Seafood. We are so lucky to have one of the best seafood stores in the whole country, right here in Ann Arbor. Yum.

Tangy Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach

(Jenise’s favorite!)
Serves 4-6

1 bag of Al Dente Pasta-your favorite flavor (lemon chive fettuccine?)

1 lb. peeled and deveined large shrimp
(substitute cubed chicken breast, if desired)

3 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (or red onion)

3/4 cup chicken broth

Juice from 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

10 oz. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

3 Tbsp. Capers

Directions

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.

2. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; saute 30 seconds. Add shrimp; saute 3 minutes, just until cooked. Add chicken broth, lemon juice and salt to pan. Bring just to a boil.

3. Cook pasta and add to pan with spinach and capers, heating until spinach wilts. (optional additions-pinenuts, roasted red pepper strips, chopped tomatoes). Delicious!

Congratulations, Jenise. You’ve made “the village” proud!

P.S. Now, Jenise is seeking an internship in the Printing Industry in the Ann Arbor area.

Please contact us with opportunities.

The aldentecanoodler is serving its purpose, that’s for sure! I’ve heard from friends from all around the world. Taking it one step further, I’m also making new friends. Like Todd White, who is the author of one of my absolute favorite blogs, Culinary Expressions. I love his style of cooking and so will you. Check out his recipe for Short Rib Ragout served over Al Dente Spinach Fettuccine. I’m trying it tonight!

Al Dente Spinach Fettuccine-Made with REAL spinach

It’s not your average really good cook who would suggest I invite 8 girlfriends for a sleepover at our lake house and offer to create a delicious breakfast menu centered completely around Al Dente Pasta. But then it’s not just anyone who could show up late to a pot-luck birthday party where she was in charge of organizing the food, and in a matter of 10 minutes miraculously rearrange and transform each and every dish. That’s Annabel Cohen for you and here’s how I met her. It was at Kim Hippler’s 50th birthday party. I went into the kitchen to offer my assistance. Looking around, I couldn’t help but notice many unique touches that were far from traditional. I had to ask “who is the person who thought to garnish this dish with just picked, wildly deformed green and red tomatoes?” I also needed to identify who could imagine grabbing frozen peas from the freezer and with a flick of the wrist, magically adorn a tray of phyllo triangles. The people in the kitchen, to whom I addressed my questions, looked at each other and began describing a burst of energy that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Her name was Annabel. I knew I had to find this person. Needless to say, I did. We clicked immediately and the rest is becoming culinary history.

Kim, Annabel and Me. Getting Ready for Sleepover Cook-a-Thon

Al Dente Pasta Frittata served with Monique’s Luscious Leek and Sundried Tomato Sauce

Frittata is an Italian version of the omelet. Rather than folding ingredients into an egg pancake, the filling is mixed with the eggs and served as an egg pie, cut into wedges. Unlike omelets, frittata can be served warm or at room temperature.

12 ounces (1 package), uncooked Al Dente Pasta, any flavor
1 pound fresh baby spinach large stems removed
12 large eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 jar (about 3 cups) Monique’s Leek and Sundried Tomato Sauce, heated for garnish

Position oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.

Place spinach in a large microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Allow to cool to the touch before removing the spinach and chopping (there is no need to remove the water). Set aside.

Place eggs, cheese and water in a medium bowl and whisk well. Set aside.

Heat oil in one very large oven proof nonstick skillet (or two smaller skillets), over medium-high heat. Add the onions and pepper and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, spinach, tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes more. Spray the sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the eggs again for about 10 seconds, and pour the mixture over the vegetables and pasta. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the frittata for about 5 minutes, until the bottom is set and lightly colored. Carefully place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake until frittata is set, about 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven, allow to sit for 5 minutes before running a rubber spatula around the edge and as much of the bottom of the frittata as possible. Tilt the skillet and gently slide the frittata from the pan onto the serving dish, cut into wedges and serve with heated sauce on the side. Makes 12 servings.

Caramelized Noodle Kugel
Although there are countless recipes for kugel, this one, baked in a tube or Bundt pan, reminds me of a gooey stick bun.

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter or margarine
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 pound (16 ounces) Al Dente Egg Fettucine
4 large eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt

Melt half the butter in a large tube pan or Bundt pan. Pick up the pan with both hands and swirl the butter around the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Press the brown sugar into the bottom of the pan and press the pecans into the sugar.

Cook the pasta to al dente, according to the package directions and drain. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Mix in the eggs, the remaining butter, cinnamon, sugar, and salt and pour into the pan.

Bake in a preheated 350ºF, oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the top of the kugel is brown. Let sit for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pan and unmolding the kugel onto a serving plate. As the kugel cools, the caramel top will become slightly hardened, like praline. Cut into slices and serve at room temperature. Makes 16 or more servings.

The following article was written by Eden Litt. Monique gave Eden 5 bags of pasta and this was the result:

An Italian, a Portuguese, and an Iranian walk into a room…Sounds like the start of a really bad joke. It’s not, but it was the start of a beautiful fun-filled Al Dente pasta party evening hosted by moi.

The night started off frantically, as this was a spontaneous idea—What should I wear? Do we have enough plates? Where is everyone going to sit? How many people are actually coming?—The party was called for 7:45 pm. I began to cook at 7:30 pm (I couldn’t have been more thankful that Al Dente’s flavorful pasta only takes 3-4 minutes to cook!). By 8:15, all 12 of my guests had shown up for a tantalizing evening. Although it was not required, each guest brought a treat of their own to add to the dinner table: from Sam’s homemade garlic bread and hot buns to Azzurra’s Parmesan cheese imported from Italy to Marina’s delicious veggie dip and vegetables to Farzin’s irresistible upside-down apple pie…just to name a few of the items off of our delectable menu. The night wouldn’t have been complete without all of these additions; however, the spotlight was on our five Fettuccine flavors of Al Dente pasta: Lemon Chive, Wild Mushroom, Red Chili Pepper, Whole Wheat and Garlic Parsley. In just 10 minutes [and two stove tops], we had ALL five bags of pasta cooked. After an introduction to each distinctive pasta variety, sprinkled with my gratefulness to my friends and their contributions, we dug in…and dug in hard.

A taste of our dinner table talk:

“I like the Red Chili Pepper pasta. It has a nice kick.”—Bryan

“Thank heavens for Monique!” –Hugo

“I would totally buy this…it takes no time to cook, yet tastes super fancy. Will you be mad if I steal your idea and have my own pasta party with this stuff?”—Erika

“Wait, this is good for me? Impossible. This tastes way too good.” Marina commenting on the Whole Wheat pasta with added flax

“Whenever I went to the grocery store I always bought ‘pasta’, which consisted solely of macaroni noodles, but this has honestly changed the way I think about pasta, and what I would consider to buy the next time ‘pasta’ is on my grocery list.” –Farzin

“I strongly like the Lemon Chive and Chili flavors the best. Surprisingly I can actually taste a difference.” –Tammy

“I am so full, but I don’t want to stop eating.”—Me

“Please tell me there are going to be leftovers in the house.” –David

The compliments started rolling in before I even needed to ask. However, one of my guests remained silent. I was nervous to call her out and ask her opinion, but I just had to. After all her opinion was sacred…she was Italian. I crossed my fingers, wiped the sweat from my brow, perked open my ears and politely asked for her thoughts. “This tastes the same as a real Italian dish,” she expressed boldly.

And so there it was…the perfect pasta party—15 empty stomachs turned full, two mouth-watering homemade sauces, a showcase of delicious side dishes, the lovely ambience of good music, good laughs, good company, and good food…and lastly, but least forgetfully the tasting of the fastest-cooking, healthiest, and most gourmet pasta ever—Al Dente’s.

Surprisingly I learned a lot that evening, like the fact that I sometimes don’t add enough water when boiling noodles, or the fact that you can add shaved lemon peels to Alfredo sauce. However, the most valuable lesson learned that night was if you can’t afford an Italian cook to slave over the stove for your upcoming dinner party, purchase the next best thing—a bag of Al Dente Pasta!

Below you’ll find the recipes to our homemade sauces (Tomato and Alfredo). I tried to get Sam to post his recipe on how to make his hot buns, but he respectfully declined exposing his family’s secrets.

Recipes:

Eden and David’s Infamous Homemade Tomato Sauce
(Serves ~15 people)
Ingredients
1 14.5 oz can of Tomato Paste
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
3-5 cloves of minced garlic
A package of mushrooms
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1.5 packages of Feta Cheese
2 teaspoons Oregano

On low heat, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small saucepan. Add mushrooms, and cook until they brown. In a larger saucepan, add the rest of the olive oil and garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes, and then add the tomato paste and can of diced tomatoes. Slowly mix in the mushrooms (and leftover olive oil), oregano, and Feta cheese. Stir. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes over low heat while stirring frequently.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce
(Serves ~15 people)
Ingredients
2 pints of heavy whipping cream
2 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 sticks of melted butter
Grated lemon peel (optional)

In a large and deep saucepan, heat up at low heat 2 pints of heavy whipping cream and melted butter. Slowly add in the cheese allowing it to melt. Stir often. The grated lemon peel is optional and can be added after the sauce is made—this was an added tip by our Italian guest.

Julie’s Deviled Eggs

Raining and cold outside, there was nothing but warmth in the air as we gathered at Richard and Jenny’s home to celebrate a friend’s birthday and the Equinox. I love deviled eggs, but these were the best! Julie treated us to lox and eggs and pesty devils from the book called Deviled Eggs by Debbie Moose. I can’t wait to try the other 48 recipes in this book.

Here are Julie and Michael looking so happy that everyone loved the eggs.

Spring also means asparagus, so I decided to make a pasta dish using Al Dente Lemon Chive Fettuccine with Shrimp and Asparagus, a perfect accompaniment to Richard’s Grilled Flank Steak.

Al Dente Lemon Chive Fettuccine with Shrimp and Asparagus

serves 6

12 oz. bag of Al Dente Pasta

1/3 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup white wine (or broth)

1 tbsp. butter

1.5 lbs. uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

15 asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 2 inch pieces

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup toasted almonds or pinenuts

salt and pepper to taste

garnish with fresh parsley or basil and lemon wedges

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic; saute just one minute being careful to not burn garlic. Add wine and butter; boil 2 minutes. Add shrimp, asparagus and lemon juice, tossing until asparagus is tender and shrimp are opaque in center, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and salt, testing after 3 minutes. When pasta is tender but firm, drain and add to skillet.

Season with salt and pepper. Garnish and serve.

Here’s how to trim asparagus. The tough stem naturally breaks off where it should, so all you have to do is hold the stalk towards the bottom and………..break, just like the picture.

Next. How to cut asparagus on the diagonal, which looks so much prettier than a straight cut.

I love using my cast iron skillet that my brother, Dorian, got me.

Spring is in the air. Enjoy every moment of this beautiful season!

Knitting, friendship, leftover ham? Seemingly random connections? Not at all. Especially when so much of our lives revolves around the meaningful things that bring us together- friendship, discovery and good food. In this case, at our bi-monthly get together of the Knitwits (we’re ladies who share needles), I took the opportunity to make a pasta dish using Al Dente Egg Fettuccine with my leftover Easter ham. We spent the rest of the evening knitting and enjoying Peanut’s beautiful home. I love the greeting cards that she does and asked her to design a line of Food Inspired Greeting Cards which will eventually be available on Al Dente’s website. She is wonderfully creative so I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

(By my next post, I hopefully will have figured out how to attach captions to photos, so you’ll know who is who and what is what. In the meantime, this is Peanut and examples of her cards. Serving the pasta, is Lisa Marra, who has many claims to fame, including being Al Dente’s very first employee.  She now uses her talents as an interior designer. Another extremely creative woman.

Al Dente Pasta with Ham and Peas

1 bag Al Dente® Pasta

2 tbsp. butter

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cups diced ham

1 cup heavy cream or half and half

16 oz. bag of frozen peas

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

toasted almonds or pinenuts for garnish.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a skillet, melt butter over low heat. Saute onion, stirring until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the ham and cream. In the meantime, add pasta and peas to boiling, salted water. Test pasta after 3 minutes. When “tender, but firm”, drain and toss pasta and peas with cream mixture and Parmesan Cheese. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with toasted nuts, if desired.

serves 6