In a World of My Own: Pasta

Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts

Monday, January 28, 2013

Fettuccine With Salami And Zucchini

This dish is simple and rustic. The recipe comes from one of the first chefs I started watching on PBS - The Jeff Smith 'The Frugal Gourmet'. I was interested in the recipes and stories around the dishes he made. This, of course, is one of them.

This recipe comes from Jeff Smith's Uncle Vic. When his Uncle Vic fed him this dish he thought his Uncle just must be so wealthy. You don't have to be wealthy to eat this dish.

Fettuccine With Salami And Zucchini

2 small zucchini (I actually used organic yellow squash)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 lb. Italian salami, sliced thin, cut matchstick style (I bought a 6-oz Genoa salami stick)
1 tbsp. capers, chopped
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. whipping cream (1/2 a pint)
Salt to taste
1/2 lb. fettuccine, cooked
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Slice the zucchini; put several slices together and slice again into matchsticks. Slice the garlic very thin. Saute the garlic in the oil until barely browned. Add the zucchini and saute for 3 minutes. Add the salami, capers, pepper and cream. Simmer until all is very hot. You will need little or no salt in this dish. Serve over the hot pasta. Top with the cheese.

It was pretty tasty!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

One of My First Jobs: Papa Gino's

Photo: Svadilfari/Flickr

This is the logo I remember from one of my first positions - at Papa Gino's. For me, this was the place I learned to cook al dente pasta and make hamburgers and different types of subs. I worked for them for seven years. I was so good at my job I was promoted to Training Specialist.

The pizzas look the same to me. They had good food, and when my family ordered takeout, they ordered it from Papa Gino's.

The dish of pasta is a picture from our present day Papa Gino's. I believe they still serve the Papa Platter - which is spaghetti or ziti combined with two cheese ravioli, a meatball and a side of toasted garlic bread.

This was the position where I learned to manage and train people. Often on Sundays I would run the lunch shift while the assistant and general manager were finishing up paperwork for the week. I would make sure we were all prepped for dinner. I learned the sandwich method from this company or the proper way to correct people. I also learned management should never yell at employees at the front counter and expect the employees to show up the next day for work. I had one assistant manager who was so desperate for employees at our restaurant he picked up two girls off the highway. They slept at the church and they were trying to pickup the customers when they when out to the dining room to straighten and clean up.

This is not my store, but this is what mine restaurant looked like. Unfortunately, at that time, no credit cards were accepted.

I still remember when Hurricane Gloria hit.When the power came on we had a 5-person crew on feeding the people who still didn't have electricity. I ran the register and helped serve. We had a line of people out the door.

There were no point systems when the employees received marks for tardiness. Everyone always showed up, and if they didn't show or call, they did not have a job. The most reliable people were the people who were getting an education.

When I worked here, I was always cooking, and deep in food. It was a stop along the way of my journey into the world of employment and discovery of food. I also learned a lot about my future career in marketing.

What was one of the first places you were employed where you discovered about food or cooking?

Monday, July 5, 2010

Happy 4th of July

Here is a salad I made recently. It is Greek Pasta Salad with Feta and Chicken and it is a recipe by Robin Miller.
Here is the recipe for which I have also linked it to the Food Network where this recipe is posted. (Although this recipe came from the CD Kitchen).

GREEK PASTA SALAD WITH FETA AND CHICKEN RECIPE Serves/Makes: 8

Submitted by: jlows

Ready in: 30-60 minutes recipe difficulty 3/5 Difficulty: 3 (1=easiest :: hardest=5)

12 ounces ditalini or other pasta	1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth	salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil	1 pound cooked cubed chicken
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar	1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced	¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard	½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a small bowl, whisk together broth, oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Add diced chicken, green pepper, and mint.

Drain pasta and add to bowl with dressing and chicken. Toss to combine. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with feta cheese just before serving.

My boyfriend loved this recipe but he wanted the feta to be in the salad. The fresh mint, although wonderful did not last very long sliced. The pasta I used was hard to eat with the other items in the salad.

I made this salad once again but made a few changes that gave this salad a absolutely wonderful flavor.

1. I used elbow macaroni because it is easy to eat in a macaroni salad with other items (That is what my mother uses) for which I also used 16 oz instead of 12 oz.

2. I added sun dried tomatoes with their liquid which I chopped up a little smaller which about to about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup

3. I added dried parsley to the recipe and I negated the mint

4. I made twice as much dressing to keep the salad moist

5. I added container of herbed crumbled feta to the pasta salad at the very beginning.

Here is what it looked like...

It had more color, flavor and taste. It was a great hit at the 4th of July party too.

Stay cool on these hot days coming this week and Happy Independence Day!

Cassandra