After we sat down, Charismatic Waiter complimented my dress and launched into the specials of the day. I picked the capellini special with pesto, butternut squash, and prosciutto because those flavors are great on their own, but when combined, I imagined they’d create a Voltron of deliciousness. And boy, did they. The chunks of prosciutto were just the right level of salty and fatty, the butternut squash sweet and tender, and the whole thing was covered with a fresh basil pesto with parmesan.

I tried to recreate the dish in my kitchen last night and it was a success overall. The only issue was that I bought prosciutto pre-cut into tiny cubes, while the original dish had larger chunks. If you decide to try this recipe, I recommended buying a small piece of prosciutto and cutting it yourself at home. If you’re a vegetarian or don’t feel like dealing with meat, you can make the dish with just squash and it’ll still be good.

First, peel and dice half of a butternut squash into into 1″ by 1/4″ chunks.

Next, heat a little olive oil in a pan and cook the squash for about eight minutes, or until tender.

Once tender, set the squash aside in a bowl and add the prosciutto to the pan. Cook until browned.

Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil. The capellini only needs about two minutes to cook, so don’t throw it in until your prosciutto has been browned and set aside.

Once the pasta is drained, combine the prosciutto, squash, and your favorite homemade (or store-bought) pesto.

Capellini with Butternut Squash and Prosciutto
Serves 6 with a salad on the side

• 1 lb. capellini
• 1/2 cup prosciutto, cut into 1″ by 1/4″ chunks
• 1/2 a large butternut squash, also cut into 1″ by 1/4″ chunks (about a cup and a half)
• Pesto to taste (I use about 3/4 cup, but you can add more or less to your liking)
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Olive oil

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Add a dash of salt.

2. Heat about 1 tbs. olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the squash and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until tender enough that a fork can easily piece the squash, stirring often. Pour the squash into a bowl and set aside.

3. Reheat the pan to medium-high heat and add the prosciutto. Cook until browned (but not too crispy), about five minutes. Remove the prosciutto with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to drain.

4. Once the water is boiling, add the capellini and cook according to the box directions. (It should be done in about 2-3 minutes.) Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Add the squash, prosciutto, and pesto to the pot and stir until everything is evenly coated with pesto. Serve with a few Parmesan shavings, if desired.

I had an intense smoked meat sandwich today from a new Brooklyn delicatessen called Mile End. The options for the sandwich are not a choice of meat varieties but a choice of fat level: lean, medium, or fatty. It was a delicious, heart-stopping, and slightly overpriced meal that drove me to finally join the gym this evening. And yet, I don’t regret my lunch choice because I’ve been enjoying lighter vegetarian meals the rest of the week.

A prime example is the butternut squash pasta I made on Sunday. It was easy to make and it used almost five ingredients, but a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese put it over the top. I’m placing it under my “Five Ingredients” category anyway because the amount of cheese is minimal enough to count as a seasoning.

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side
-1 medium butternut squash
-1 medium onion, diced
-1 tbs. fresh sage, finely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 lb. pasta
-2 tbs. olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Parmesan cheese to taste

1) Pre-heat the oven to 400°.

2) Peel and cut the butternut squash into 1″ by 1″ cubes. Toss the cubes in a bowl with 1 tbs. olive oil and pour onto a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.

3) While the squash is roasting, add the remaining tablespoon of oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic until fragrant (about thirty seconds) and add the onion. Cook until tender, stirring often. Add the sage and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat.

4) Cook the pasta according to box directions. Reserve 1/3 cup pasta water.

5) When the squash is done roasting, add to the skillet, return to medium heat, and stir often for one to two minutes. Add the cooked pasta, pasta water, and stir.

6) Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to taste.

After a month of limited cooking, it felt good to make my shopping list, grab my reusable canvas bags like a true Park Sloper, and head out to the market for the ingredients for a mushroom ragu. My first recipe of 2010 is not a complicated one, but it is a satisfying, simple dish that reheats well the next day. It can also be doubled (or tripled) to serve as a layer in a vegetarian lasagna.

Before I get to the recipe though, I want to do a quick follow-up on my New Years resolutions. I admit I have not brought my lunch to work this week and I have not written in my journal since Monday. However, I’ve made dinner four nights and I made an appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed. (Can you hear the joy in my prose?) If you have any suggestions for good post-wisdom tooth removal recipes, I’d love to hear them. Now, on to the recipe.

Mushroom Ragu
Makes 2 sizable servings
-8 oz white or cremini mushrooms (or a mix of both), cut into 8ths
-1 small yellow onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 12oz can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
-1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
-2 tbs. olive oil
-Dash of cinnamon
-Dash of sugar
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, stirring often. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.

2) Add the diced tomatoes, thyme, sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and then add the chicken broth. Simmer for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, or until most of the broth has evaporated and the sauce has thickened. Taste and season as desired.

3) Serve over pasta with a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan.

Today was my last hurrah for getting takeout for lunch at work, and I went out in style. I had split pea soup and a chunk of baguette from Almondine in DUMBO, followed by two macarons (pistachio and raspberry, respectively). I saved the raspberry macaron for a late afternoon proofreading session and the sugar rush powered me through the rest of the workday.

My new strategy is bringing in leftovers from dinner throughout the week for my lunches, as long as they are conducive to microwave heating. It will motivate me to cook more and save some extra cash to the tune of $50 a week. I’m two weeks away from a nice massage, five weeks from a new winter coat, and thirty-four weeks away from a MacBook Pro.

I started tonight with roasted eggplant and tomato penne that cost me about $5 to make and will last me for three days for lunch and dinner, with a few supplemental items.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Penne
-1 large eggplant, cut into 3″ x 1″ strips
-2 pints cherry tomatoes
-1 yellow onion, cut into wedges 1/2″ thick
-3/4 box of penne pasta
-3 tbs. olive oil
-Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat the oven to 400°.

2) Toss olive oil, onion, eggplant, and tomatoes in a bowl until the vegetables are coated. Pour onto a baking sheet and spread out to form a single layer, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender.

3) While the vegetables are roasting, put the water for the penne on to boil and cook the pasta according to the box directions.

4) Once the vegetables and pasta are done, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, drain the pasta, and add all of the ingredients back to the pasta pot. Mix together, then serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

It’s the end of the week. If you’re like me, you feel like collapsing on the couch, but as you walk through the door of your apartment, you realize you still have to make dinner. The fridge and cupboard are nearly bare, save for a few canned goods and leftover ingredients from meals earlier in the week. Where do you turn? Why, to the culinary namesake of the women employed in the world’s oldest profession of course: pasta puttanesca, or “whore’s pasta.” Legend has it that prostitutes would make this dish because it was fast, easy, and didn’t require fresh produce as they didn’t have time to run out to the market a daily basis.

While the name may not sound appetizing, this simple combination of onion, tomato, capers, and olives really is good, especially with a few slices fresh bread. Recipe after the jump.

Whole Wheat Penne Puttanesca
Makes 2 servings but can be easily doubled. Note: Anchovies are often used in this dish, but since I’m not a big fan, I added a few drops of Asian fish sauce instead.
-1/2 lb. whole wheat penne pasta
-2 tbs. olive oil
-1/2 diced medium yellow onion
-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
-2 cloves minced garlic
-1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with liquid
-2 tbs. capers
-1/4 cup sliced black olives
-1/4 tsp. fish sauce
-2 tbs. roughly chopped parsley
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil for the penne. Cook the pasta according to box directions as you make the sauce, drain, and return to the pot.  (Note: If you prefer to not use whole wheat pasta, that’s also fine. Whole wheat pasta has a slightly toasted nutty flavor and takes a bit longer to cook.)

2) Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until almost tender. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring often.

3) Add the diced tomatoes, capers, olives, and fish sauce and simmer for 8 minutes. The liquid from the tomatoes should be bubbling, however if the sauce becomes too dry, add pasta water from the pot in 1/4 cup increments.

4) Add the chopped parsley and cook for an additional 1.5 minutes. Try the sauce and add salt and black pepper to taste. If you want more of a kick, sprinkle in a few more red pepper flakes.

5) Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir. Cook until heated through and serve. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

I admit it: I have not been spending a lot of time in the kitchen over the past few weeks. Trips up north and many visitors in town have led to nights away from my stove, and when I do cook, it’s using simple, tested recipes from the past. This will be rectified after Independence Day weekend, but in the meantime, I wanted to share my stand-by recipe for basil and chive pesto. Summer is not the best time to simmer tomatoes for a pasta sauce and this pesto is a great alternative, requiring just fresh ingredients and a food processor or other blending device.

Basil and Chive Pesto
-1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
-1/4 cup chopped chives
-2 peeled garlic cloves
-1/3 cup walnuts
-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil, depending on your taste
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Add basil, chives, garlic, and walnuts to the food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Add olive oil and pulse 3-4 more times. Add Parmesan cheese, pulse until blended, and then add more olive oil if necessary.

2) Taste and add a dash of salt and pepper if desired. Serve on pasta or use as a in place of marinara sauce on homemade pizza.

Summer is my least favorite season in terms of weather. It hasn’t always been this way, but now that I live in New York, I dread temperatures over 80° and high humidity more than anything winter could throw at me. I could blame my long walk to the subway (20 minutes) or delicate ancestry (Irish), but either way, I become a wilted, cranky mess if I’m outside for too long in the heat. I know this makes me a total wimp and you’re free to insert any phrases involving heat or kitchens here.

I will admit summer isn’t all bad though. It means there’s an abundance of fabulous items at the farmer’s market and on days when the heat and humidity are tolerable, it can be…well…pleasant. Another perk is summer squash: zucchini, yellow summer squash, pattypan, etc. They’re wonderful grilled and roasted, but I love to cook them with pasta and top with a bit of grated Parmesan. Here’s the easy (and cheap!) recipe.

Pasta with Summer Squash

-1 large yellow onion, diced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 large zucchini, cubed
-2 large yellow summer squash, cubed
-2 tomatoes, roughly cut into 1″x1″ chunks
-1 tsp. oregano
-1 lb. penne
-3 tbs. olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and add garlic. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the onion. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Do not brown.

2) Add the zucchini, yellow squash, and oregano and cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Do not brown.

3) While the squash is cooking, put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the penne. Cook according to box directions.

4) Add the tomato and 1/2 cup of pasta water to the squash and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until everything is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Drain the pasta when it is done and pour back into the large pot. Add the cooked squash, tomato, onion, and liquid to the pot and stir to coat. Serve in bowls topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

When the mood for gnocchi struck earlier this week, I decided to forgo the traditional gnocchi recipe I made before and picked up two sweet potatoes. I am a big fan of pasta dishes with just a hint of sweetness, which I think goes back to my childhood dinners at Little Venice where they add applesauce and sugar to their tomato sauce and cover the dining room walls with old oil paintings. The sugar and paintings are in no way connected, but imagine eating slightly sweet manicotti in a large wood paneled room with antique shop portraits staring down at you. A true Binghamton dining experience.

Although sweet potatoes are relatives of your standard russet potato, their flesh doesn’t behave quite the same way when cooking. Because of this I went on a hunt for a good sweet potato gnocchi recipe to guide the way.

A few quick searches turned up this easy recipe at Epicurious with a sage and brown butter sauce. I halved the recipe and ended up with enough for 4 main course servings, but the gnocchi and brown butter are so rich that I recommend this as a side dish.

After roasting the potatoes for an hour (rather than putting them in the microwave), I mashed them in a bowl and added all of the ingredients to make the dough.

I rolled the dough into long strips, cut them into 1/2″ pieces, and then lightly pressed them with a fork. This dough was a little stickier than the gnocchi I made with russet potatoes, but extra flour on the cutting board did the trick.

The boiled gnocchi.

After the unsalted butter simmered in a skillet for about 5 minutes, I added the sage, and then added the gnocchi. Be very careful of your hands while doing this because the butter will pop and sizzle.

Once the gnocchi were heated through, I placed them in a bowl and garnished with a few sage leaves.

Ramsey and I have been trying to keep our weekly grocery bills under fifty dollars without sacrificing too much flavor and variety in our weeknight meals. A well stocked pantry of dry goods, new cooking methods, and planning weekly menus are three great techniques to achieve this, but sometimes you just stumble upon a combination of cheap, (mostly) fresh ingredients that create a great dish.

A prime example of this took place this evening when I made a simple dinner of spinach fettuccine with peas. While it sounds boring, the addition of onion, lemon zest, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese resulted in an expensive-tasting meal for four that cost $5.68.

Fettuccine with Peas
-1 lb. spinach fettuccine ($1.79)
-5 oz. frozen peas (.89)
-1/2 cup unsalted butter ($1.25)
-1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (.25)
-1 tsp. lemon zest (.50)
-Parmesan cheese for sprinkling ($1.00)

1. Put the water on to boil in a large pot. As the water is heating, melt the butter in a large skillet and add the diced onion. Stir often until tender and remove from heat.

2. Add the fettuccine to the boiling water and cook according to box directions. Add the frozen peas two minutes before the pasta is done.

3. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the onion, melted butter, and lemon zest. Stir until the pasta is coated.

4. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

There are two basil plants thriving on the mantle in my bedroom. I picked them up at the farmer’s market in February and they have not only been a great help to my recipes, but my wallet as well. Rather than spending two dollars for a small box of fresh basil leaves at the supermarket, I just walk ten feet, cut a few leaves off of the plants, and I’m ready to go.

The plants recently reached a stage of being weighed down by the amount of leaves that have sprouted. For the good of the plants and my dinner plans, I decided to have a basil harvest this week. It started with a simple Tomato and Basil Pasta.

Tomato and Basil Pasta
-1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
-2 cups tomatoes, diced
-3-4 oz. goat cheese, depending on your taste
-1 lb. linguine
-Black pepper to taste

1. Cook the linguine according to box directions in salted water. Before draining, reserve one cup of the pasta water and set aside.

2. Return drained pasta to the pot and add goat cheese. Stir gently until melted, then add the tomato and basil. If the tomatoes don’t provide enough additional liquid for the sauce, add the pasta water 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. You may need to put the pot over very low heat.

3. Add a dash of black pepper and serve.

Coming later this week: Pizza.