Creamy Carrot Pasta

I've never been a huge fan of cooked carrots. Their mushy sweetness compared to the savory crunch of raw carrots always put me off. I tend to like my veggies on the salty side, garnished with some ranch dip or a nice vinaigrette (or, in the case of artichokes, with luscious melted butter.) For most of my life I have picked carrots out of chicken soup and pot roast. I would always try one but I was usually haunted by flashbacks of pre-school lunches at La Petite Academy where I was coerced with threats of no dessert to eat this nastiness:

I just threw up in my mouth a little just thinking about it. It's gross.

So yeah, I don't like cooked carrots. That's why it was weird when I stumbled upon a cooked-carrot pasta sauce recipe on Tastespotting and it sounded good to me. Really good. I couldn't get it out of my head, I felt compelled to make it.  I did. And I loved it. The thyme and parmesan bring out the nuttiness in the carrots and the sweetness is mellowed by the cream. The bacon adds a much needed smokiness and saltiness that make this dish addictive. The leftovers were even good cold!

If you suffer from cooked carrot PTSD, this recipe might be the cure!
(Adapted from this recipe on Cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com)

- 1 lb Carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-1 inch rounds
- 5 cloves of garlic, whole, peeled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea or Kosher salt
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving
- 6 strips of Niman Ranch bacon
- 1 pound of gluten free pasta (If you haven't tried Ancient Harvest Corn/Quinoa blend DO IT.)

This sauce works best on curly shapes. I used a mixture of Garden Pagoda shape and Veggie Curls.
- 1 1/2 cups of pasta water

First, cook the bacon. This is my go-to method for making a lot of bacon at once. it cooks evenly, is absurdly easy to clean up and leaves your kitchen free of grease splatters. Also, you don't have to hover over it the way you do when making bacon in a skillet.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Line a cookie sheet  with foil and place a cooling rack on the sheet. Spread bacon out on cooking rack and bake for 20 minutes or until very crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool then chop into small pieces and reserve for later.

Increase heat in oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl toss the carrot rounds and garlic with the olive oil, thoroughly coating the carrots and garlic with oil.

Season well with salt and thyme (and pepper if you're into that nasty stuff.)

Roast on a foil-lined about 45-50 minutes until carrots are tender. Take the pan out and stir or toss halfway through the cooking time to ensure carrots cook evenly on both sides.

When carrots are soft and tender, remove from oven.

Cook the pasta in a generous amount of salted water to al dente according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, puree the carrots and garlic with the heavy cream and parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor . When the pasta is done cooking reserve a cup and a half of the pasta water.

Quickly drain pasta and toss into a large mixing bowl with carrot cream sauce, adding pasta water a little at a time until you get a nice consistency and the pasta is evenly coated. Toss in the bacon and stir until it's incorporated.

Serve with a generous grating of parmesan cheese.

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Pesto Torte

I came across this awesome appetizer at my sous-chef's family holiday party. His cousin's boyfriend brought this dish and I gained 13 pounds scarfing it down. I forced him at knife point to give me the recipe and reluctantly, he finally did. His looked better than mine but I think he's had more practice and though this recipe is pretty cool to look at, the real payoff is how good it tastes. It's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you.
This recipe is perfect for Christmas, it's all red and green and white and...red and green and white. I know it's Easter now and Christmas was forever ago but again, it tastes good no matter when or where you serve it.

You get two for the price of one with this post: the torte recipe AND my pesto recipe. The spinach in my pesto keeps the pesto fresh and green, adds iron and makes the taste a little milder and less bitter. I make big batches and freeze my leftovers to eat later on gluten free pasta or chicken.

Ingredients:

Cheese Mix:
- 8 oz neufchatel
- 8 oz mascarpone

Soften and combine using an electric mixer.

Pesto:
- 2-3 cups basil
- 2-3 cups spinach
- 1/2 - 1 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup whole garlic cloves
- 1 cup parmigiano reggiano, cut into small chunks
- 2-4 Tbsp olive oil

Blend in food processor, start with small amounts of everything then adjust to your personal taste.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto: (I used packaged for this one but here is a recipe for making your own)
- 1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup  fresh basil leaves
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp lemon zest

(Blend in food processor until completely incorporated)

Line a bowl with plastic wrap and secure with a rubberband and spray lightly with olive oil spray. Using a spatula, carefully spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the bottom of the bowl. I tried to make my layers about 3/4" thick.

Next carefully smooth on a layer of the sun-dried tomato pesto.

Add another layer of cheese mixture then smooth a layer of basil pesto over that.

Continue alternating red, white, green, white, red, white until the bowl is full or you run out of one of your dips. Then wrap the remaining plastic wrap around the top layer and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. To serve, invert the bowl on a platter or plate and remove the plastic wrap. Voila: a colorful and utterly delicious torte! Serve with gluten free crackers or (I know it sounds weird but it's really good) tortilla chips.

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Polenta Caprese Towers

I miss summer already and it barely has one foot out the door. It's not the sweaty, sticky weather I miss, it's the gorgeous, plump, rainbow hued heirloom tomatoes. You can still find the last of them kicking around farmer's markets and shops but it's obvious that fall is here and the best tomatoes are gone until next year. If you do happen to come across some decent tomatoes or if your garden produced a bumper crop, this recipe will put them to good use, making the most of their tart, umami goodness. I put together this recipe to use up the last bit of burrata cheese we had in our fridge. Burrata is a very soft mozzarella stuffed with cream. It is one of my very favorite things in the world. It's mild, creamy and tender. It brings out the very best in anything you put it on. My sous-chef likes his on warm crusty bread with a bit of sea salt, olive oil and balsamic. Since bread is a no-no for me, I decided crispy polenta would be even better.  I couldn't be happier with how these turned out. Try them for yourself and see!

- 5-6 heirloom tomatoes of assorted sizes and colors
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar 
- 1-2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper

- ready-to-use polenta log
- pinch of garlic powder
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 4-6 oz package fresh mozzarella cheese (cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices)
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
- 1 package burrata mozzarella cheese
- 4-6 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Slice tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick slices and place in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar.
Sprinkle minced garlic evenly over the tomatoes.
Mix together sugar, salt and pepper and sprinkle evenly over tomatoes.

Bake for 45 min to 1 hour until tomatoes are softened and beginning to brown at the edges.

Cut polenta into 1/2 inch slices

Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Place polenta slices in the oil and cook each side about 10 minutes or until crisp.

Place the rounds on another foil lined baking sheet.

Top half the slices with grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of garlic powder.
Top the other half with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese (NOT the burrata.)
Broil in the oven until the cheese melts; watch closely. When cheese is bubbly and edges are brown, remove and let cool.

Stack: Start with a polenta round topped with parmesan cheese, next place a roasted tomato, next place a plop of burrata, next place a polenta round topped with mozzarella then top with a tomato. Sprinkle fresh basil on top. Voila!

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Zukesketti

Since becoming a (mostly) gluten-free lady, the thing I miss most, hands down, is pasta. Yes I have tried potato pastas, brown rice pastas, white rice pastas, corn pastas, you name it. As a pasta snob, I just haven't found a noodle that gives me al dente firmness without being gummy, mushy or having a weird aftertaste. This recipe for zucchini "spaghetti" tastes remarkably like the real thing and best of all, it comes out al dente! You have to try it to believe it. Oh yeah, also zucchini is a vegetable, not a bloat-inducing carb monster. It has Vitamin C, Protein, Fiber, Potassium, Folate, Vitamin A and Lutein. Does your average noodle have all that?

Makes 1 serving
- 2 small to medium zucchini
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup toasted, unsalted sliced almonds
- 14 cup shaved parmesan cheese

Using a mandolin slicer set to shred or julienne, slice zucchini. (This is a little tricky. I've included a picture of the mandolin so you can see what it looks like.) Cut off and discard the ends of the zucchini then set it on it's side on the mandolin. Be careful not to cut off your fingertips as you slide the zucchini into the blades. Rotate the zucchini after a few passes over the blade. Discard the soft, seeded center once you've shredded all the way around. It gets too mushy when it cooks and it's also too soft to slice.

If you don't have a mandolin, simply use a knife to cut the zucchini into "matchsticks."

In a small non-stick skillet heat 1 tbsp butter and chopped garlic until garlic begins to brown.

Toss in the zucchini "noodles" and stir until they absorb the butter and begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add the remaining butter and continue to stir until the butter is absorbed and the zucchini is slightly softened but still firm. Taste it to make sure the texture is to your liking (for me it was about two to three minutes.)

Remove from heat and top with almonds and parmesan and enjoy!

You can also try this with your favorite pasta sauce! YUM!

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