Pasta, Pinot & Murder
Page 15
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SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL PESTO
This pesto would pair nicely with a Petite Syrah or Chardonnay.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted (I prefer almonds to pine nuts because they are less expensive and easy to find at any grocery store)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup olive oil
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PREPARATION
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Add sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil, slivered almonds and garlic to your food processor. Run your processor and slowly add olive oil until everything is combined into a smooth paste. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks in an airtight container.
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When using the pesto on your pasta, reserve ½ cup of your cooking water and combine ¾ cup of pesto, add to drained pasta and toss over low heat to coat the pasta.
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If you are cooking a single serving of pasta, reserve a of tablespoons of the liquid and combine with a heaping tablespoon of pesto for each serving.
Basic Homemade Pasta Dough
I’d drink Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc with pasta.
INGREDIENTS
4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
4 large Eggs
PREPARATION
Place the flour in a mound in the center of your work surface. I use a marble cutting board, but wood is great too. Make a well in the center of the flour and place crack the eggs into the well.
Using your clean hands, break the egg yolks and begin to incorporate into the flour, starting with only the middle and edges of the well, and working your way outward until you’ve incorporated all of the flour into the eggs. Keep pushing everything toward the center to keep the shape. This step is messy.
Once the dough starts to hold together, start kneading, using the heels of your hands. Once you have a nice mound of dough, continue to knead for about 10 minutes. Dust your board with more flour as needed.
Once your dough is elastic and only a little sticky, portion into 4 separate balls and wrap in plastic wrap and give it a 30 minute nap.
making your noodles
Pasta Roller directions:
Flatten the dough on one end and feed into the pasta machine. Feed it all the way through with the rollers on the largest setting. Once fed through, fold into thirds, and roll again. Repeat this process, narrowing the roller settings as you go, until the dough is the desired thickness. Roll slowly to avoid cracks.
Fettuccine noodles: cut the sheets about every 12 inches. Attach the fettuccine noodle cutter (it has approximately 1/4-inch slats) to the pasta machine and dust it with flour, spinning the roller to coat completely. Feed one end of the pasta sheet into the rollers, and out comes perfect fettuccine. Run the entire sheet through the cutters, then dust the noodles lightly with flour so they don’t stick together. Roll into small nests if you will be storing the pasta. Otherwise, you can drop the noodles right into the water to cook.
Tip: If you’re working with only a portion of the dough at a time, keep the remainder wrapped in plastic to prevent it from drying out.
No pasta machine? No worries. Roll your pasta dough out flat, fold it into thirds, and roll flat again, repeat this about 3-5 times or as long as it takes for the pasta to develop a sheen.
To make noodles, cut the sheets for the length of noodle you prefer (6-12 inches), lightly roll the sheets into a log and using a sharp knife, cut the log at approximately every ¼ inch. Once all of your noodles are cut, unroll them and lightly flour.
cooking
Fresh pasta cooks much faster than store bought noodles! Small shapes can take less than a minute. Fettuccine might take five minutes.
storage of pasta noodles and pasta balls
I roll my fettuccine into small nests, and lightly flour before putting in the refrigerator.
You can store fresh pasta in the fridge for 3-5 days, or froze for up to a month.
Fresh pasta is so much better than dried or frozen. Most important, make sure you keep the stored pasta away from moisture.
Cucumber avocado sandwich with Pomegranate mayo
Pinot Grigio or if you like bubbles Prosecco would be delightful with this sandwich.
Ingredients
4 slices of whole grain bread (toasted if you prefer)
1 large Cucumber
1 large Avocado
2 T Plain Greek Yogurt
¼ C Light Mayo (or regular for more yumminess)
3 T Pomegranate Vinaigrette
preparation
If you have a spiralizer, make spirals out of the entire cucumber. If you don’t, then thinly slice the cucumber into 1/8 inch slices (approximately). Place in a medium sized bowl and toss the cukes (this is what we call it in the food service business) with the plain Greek yogurt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo and pomegranate vinaigrette until smooth and well blended.
Halve avocado and make ¼ inch slices in the meat while still in the skin. Scoop out with a tablespoon.
Spread pom-mayo on one slice of bread, then top with ½ of the yogurt covered cucumbers, layer with ½ of the avocados, then add a generous amount of the pom-mayo on the second slice and top the sandwich.
This is a delicious healthy sandwich and is a nice no-cook treat in the summer.
Makes 2 sandwiches.
Peanut Butter, Jelly & Brie on Flatbread
Totally yummy with a bubbly Moscato or Pinot Grigio
Ingredients
4 piece of flatbread or 4 thick tortillas 8 inches
2 T Peanut Butter (or more if you love peanut butter)
2 T favorite jelly (I prefer grape jam with this, but strawberry is delicious too)
½ Wheel of Baby Brie (3.5 oz.) you can add more cheese to taste.
1 T butter
preparation
Melt butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Pre-toast the flatbread or tortilla by placing them in the oven or toaster.
Remove flatbread and let cool, about a minute. Spread 1 T peanut butter and 1 T jelly on 2 of the pieces of flatbread. Remove outer coating of Brie and cut into ¼ inch slices and divide evenly on the other 2 pieces of bread.
Place the bread with the Brie back in the skillet (cheese side up) until the cheese begins to melt (30 seconds to 1 minute usually) Once the cheese has started to melt, place the other slice of bread with the PB&J side down, over the cheese. Allow to warm for 15 seconds and remove from skillet to a plate.
Makes 2 sandwiches. Serve with lots of napkins because it’s messy.
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If you enjoyed reading Pasta Pinot & Murder, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy the book, too.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thanks to Joe and Mandy for purchasing the restaurant I owned with my husband, therefore freeing me up to write more. Twenty and one-half years in the restaurant business was a blast, a headache, and a blessing. I’m so happy the new owners are jazzed.
Once again, Scot. He may not be working extra hours at the restaurant, so I can write, but he’s doing a lot of things around the house, so I don’t have to. Grocery shopping takes time away from writing!
In Memoriam: Jim, you were the life of a party with your stories. Your pumpkins made everyone smile. My sister had the best husband, a
nd my niece and nephew couldn’t have asked for a better, more hardworking father. You were taken too soon. You are loved and missed by all who were lucky enough to meet you. And you touched the lives of so many, like when you went to Romania to help build an orphanage. You were selfless and kind. I love you forever. Raising a cold can of Coors Light to you.
About the Author
Jamie Lee Scott is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries. When Jamie isn’t writing, she’s riding. She lives on a small farm with her husband, three horses, her dog, Chica, and two cats. In her spare time, she’s a competitive barrel racer and award winning screenwriter.
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