Squash Carmelli with Brown Butter and Sage

Hi friends!

I have the most simple and delicious recipe to share with you tonight. It's really wonderful on a blustery, chilly day, and amazing for lunch the day afterwards! I'm talking about beautiful home made pasta, filled with hearty squash, fresh sage and smothered in nutty brown butter and a bit more sage. Yum! The word carmelli describes the cute as a button candly-like shape of the pasta, but really you can shape your pasta however the heck you want to...gigantic rustic ravioli would be tasty!

I don't think people realize how simple making your own pasta can be....especially if you happen to be the proud owner of a pasta roller! However, even if you don't have a roller, it's still extremely simple. All you need are eggs and flour!

Before I get too ahead of myself talking about home made pasta, I better talk about how to create this dish!

 It's easiest to cook the squash you're using before starting on anything else. You can really use any type of winter squash you'd like to, but I used carnival and buttercup squash, simply because that is what we had in the cupboard!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Quarter your squash, and scoop out the seeds.

Place the quarters on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a little bit of water, and salt and pepper.

Now simply throw your squash into the oven and remove them when they are soft throughout. Use a fork to tell if they are or not.

Let the squash cool enough for you to handle on the baking rack!

Next it's time to make your pasta dough! I never really use a recipe, I just pour out as much flour as I think I'll need, and add enough eggs to create a smooth, yet dry dough! I add a few tablespoons of water to bring the dough together if it's a bit too dry. You will want the dough to stick to itself, but not another surface such as a counter, because you'll need to be able to roll it through the pasta roller!

Let the pasta dough sit while you create your filling! Letting it sit allows the gluten to take a break and this will make your dough easier to roll out, and less "springy"!

Using a spoon, I scooped the cooked squash from the skin, then mashed it with a potato masher along with chopped fresh sage, an egg to bind, salt, pepper, and finely grated firm goat cheese! So simple!

Now it's time to roll your pasta!

Whether you're using a roller or rolling the dough by hand with a rolling pin, get it as thin as you can! This will make more tender pasta.

Cut your dough with a knife into little rectangles or squares.

Spoon a little filling into the center of each square, and using your finger, dab a bit of water onto one edge of it, to seal your carmelli.

Roll the dough up, seal it, and twist the ends, like a little tootsie roll!

Next, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and toss in your pasta! Cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Gently drain your little beauties.

While you are either waiting for the water to boil or your pasta to cook, you can make a brown butter and sage sauce to top off your dish. This sauce is as easy as it's name; all that's in it is browned butter and fresh chopped sage!

In a sauce pan, heat as much butter as you'd like, with a little chopped sage, and watch it slowly tuirn golden brown. Watch it carefully and pull it off the stove as soon as it reaches this state! After turning golden it tends to burn quickly. Drizzle this nutty tasting sauce all over your gorgeous home made carmelli, and wait for the compliments to flood in.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Mariel

Pomegranate Glazed Pork Tenderloin and Butternut Squash Ravioli

Hey everyone! I've had a bunch of great recipes and photos tucked away for a little while, just waiting to get posted! So here some finally are. These ones come from Saturday night, when I got together with some old friends, Lauren and Lindsay, and we cooked up a completely home-made and decadent meal while sipping on some red wine and catching up (and laughing harder than I have in a long, long time). It was so fun! I love cooking with friends.

Lauren came up with some great recipes for us to try: Pomegranate Glazed Pork Tenderloin and homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli!

We started off making dinner by throwing together some fresh pasta dough to roll through our old pasta roller which I had lugged over to Lauren's house (it's so legit that everything is even written in Italian)!

Fresh Pasta Dough

2 cups flour

2 large eggs

On a clean table top, or in a bowl, mix together the eggs and flour until a nice bread-consistency dough forms.

You may need to add more of either ingredient to make your dough kneadable.

Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

After we had a nice pasta dough ready to be rolled out, we needed to start cooking our squash for the filling of the ravioli. When we went to the grocery store they unfortunately didn't have any butternut squash so we opted for acorn squash...but I think the recipe would have been much better with the butternut, so definitely use that over acorn if you can! We used 2 acorn squash for the recipe, but one would have done! One butternut squash would be a perfect amount.

Cooking Your Squash

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut your squash in half, and using a spoon, scoop out all the seeds.

Place your squash cut side down onto a cookie sheet, and fill the bottom of the cookie sheet with 1/4 inch of water.

Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until tender.

Once the squash came out of the oven, we started on the pork tenderloin! This recipe was so easy, and really delicious, it was definitely the winning recipe of the night!

Pomegranate Glazed Pork Tenderloin

approx. 1 pound pork tenderloin

3/4 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice

1/4 cup white sugar

pinch of salt

fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a saucepan combine 1/4 cup of the pomegranate juice with half of the sugar and cook until reduced to about half.

Pour over the pork and season with a pinch of salt and a bit of freshly ground pepper.

Pop in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, turning the tenderloin half way through.

While the pork is in the oven, combine the remaining pomegranate juice and sugar, and reduce it in the same sauce pan, making sure to reduce it until thick and sticky (watch it closely as it could burn very quickly)!

When the pork is a nice medium done, pull from the oven and drizzle with the extra pomegranate reduction!

This pork was actually incredible! It turned out so juicy and tender, and really flavorful! I will definitely be making this again.

While Lauren was working away on the pork, I was working on the filling for the ravioli, and Lindsay had stolen the camera for the night...and was working on things like this...

Anyways, the squash had come out of the oven and were cooling off to be mixed into a delectable filling for ravioli, the pork tenderloin was waiting to be cooked up, and it was finally time to run the pasta dough through the roller! This was quite an ordeal, but fun!

We rolled out enough fresh pasta to feed an army... And if you don't have a pasta roller you could always just roll out your dough with a rolling pin! With the gigantic sheets of pasta waiting to be cut into adorable little ravioli, it was time to make the filling and pop the pork into the oven.

Squash Filling for Ravioli

1-2 cooked butternut (or acorn) squash, seeded and skin removed

3-4 tablespoons goat cheese

1/2 a medium sized onion, chopped finely

a handful of fresh sage, chopped finely

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter

salt and pepper

Mash your squash in a bowl and add the goat cheese.

Finely chop your onion and sage, and melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add the onion and cook until tender, then throw in the sage and continue to cook for about a minute.

Add the butter mix to the bowl with the squash and season with salt a pepper.

Viola!

To cut the ravioli I just used a plain old round cookie cutter to create an army of little ravioli ready to be plopped into boiling hot water!

I had a cup of water beside me while making the ravioli and sealed these beauties up with a little water run around the edges of both sides of the pasta, simple as that.

When you're finished making your ravioli, boil and salt a large pot of water and toss them in! Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta, so your babies are done almost as soon as they float to the top of the pot.

To top off our beautiful ravioli, we made a simple hazelnut butter. To do this all we did was chop up some hazelnuts and toss them into golden, melted butter!

I also topped off the pasta with a bit more goat cheese...I am a goat cheese addict.

Here are our plates of pretty pasta!

The pork was done at the perfect time, and came out gorgeous!

Mmm.

Dinner turned out so great and was so fun to make with the girls. Nothing beats home-made pasta. It's so simple, and makes such a difference to your dishes! I hope this inspires you to get together with some old friends and try something new!

xoxo

Mariel

Rustic Mac n' Cheese

Here's a great recipe for something that people opt for the processed version all too often...mac n' cheese! This tastes a heck of alot different than K.D., in a good way. You must try making up a dish of homemade mac n' cheese if you haven't yet, it is the ultimate comfort food! Hmm...I seem to be having a bit of a theme here this week with the whole comfort thing...

Rustic, Simple Mac n' Cheese

1 8oz package of macaroni

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups milk

2/3 cup soft buttered crumbs (combine 2/3 cup bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons of soft butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook macaroni in salted boiling water until al dente, and drain.

Grease a large casserole dish and place a layer of macaroni on the bottom, sprinkle with cheese, butter, flour and seasonings. Continue to layer until all ingredients are used evenly in the layers. 3 layers is perfect.

Pour milk over everything. Top with buttered bread crumbs.

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

I am obsessed with bread crumb topped anything, it just feels so traditional and exotic to me (even though it's really a peasant-food type of thing)! Yum.

xoxo

Mariel

Drake's Corner Cafe

Hello from Toronto (still) everyone! I know, I've been slacking on my posts a bit, but Chloaye, Tatomme and I have just been doing so much every single day...the blog has been the last thing on my mind! I thought I'd update you a bit though with what noms are going down in Ontario (there have been quite a few). 

Here's one place that is definitely worth mentioning from this trip: Drake's Corner Cafe, which is part of the Drake Hotel on Queen Street West.

To start things off, I have to say that the Drake is one of the most unique and beautiful hotels I've ever seen. We browsed around the lobby and lounge a bit, and Tate informed us that each major section of the hotel is designed by a different artist. It was gorgeous. Since it was the middle of the day, we opted for the hotel's cafe instead of their bar (which was stunning).

The cafe portion was a cute little spot with an inspiring and eclectic food menu, impressive fresh juice list and unique and delicious drinks.

The cafe itself was impressive also, you could definitely feel the emphasis the hotel has on arts and culture in this little spot!

The ceiling was covered with a tangle of old bike pieces, it was beautiful!

To start things off and wake myself up a bit, I had a big cup of coffee that kept on gettin' refilled (often). 

After Tatomme's explanation of how she's heard from numerous people that the mac and cheese was incredible at this spot, I had to go for it.

I'm so happy I did! This huge bowl of mac and cheese was made with a perfect homemade 4 cheese sauce, yummy fresh peas, and topped with deliciously flavored bread crumbs (which I love on pasta).

Tatomme and Chloaye both ordered the same thing, Matzo ball soup (I told you it was eclectic), which I tried...and it was incredible. 

Drake's Corner Cafe was such a lovely little spot for a nice coffee and bite to eat before heading back out to peruse the numerous vintage shops in the West Queen West neighborhood. And I'm glad I got to snoop around the Drake hotel that I'd heard all about from many people!

I hope you're all enjoying your reading weeks as much as I'm enjoying mine!

xoxo

Mariel

Mariel's Noms X 1hundo

Hello everyone! So here is that good Noms X 1hundo collaboration post that I promised to make up for the lacking past couple of posts! Friday night Patrick and I whipped up a little dinner, and he of course took the pictures! Here's the results:

We ended up making a beautiful, simple pasta bursting with fresh flavour. It turned out soo yummy.

We started off by making our own meat balls, we kind of just threw the ingredients all together, but I'll give you the approximate amounts of everything we used.

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients together (yes, use your hands)

Form into whatever sized balls you'd like!

Bake until brown and cut with a fork to check the insides!

Super easy.

They turned out pretty tasty, too!

After the meatballs were all formed up and in the oven we started on the sauce and boiling up the water for the pasta. We started with the basics, cuttin' up half an onion and chopping up two cloves of garlic.

Patrick practically deep fried the garlic in olive oil before caramelizing the onions, which was bizarre, but absolutely delish...

Then we tossed a whole can of whole San Marzano tomatoes and their juice into the mix and broke those puppies down with a wooden spoon, and let em' stew for a bit.

Later on, Patrick added a bit of tomato paste to thicken up the sauce, and a hefty dose of salt and pep.

Then towards the end of this sauce's stay in the saucepan, we threw in a good handful chopped fresh basil, frozen peas (we tried to do the whole fresh pea thing, but upon opening up the sugar snap peas we realized there really weren't any peas inside...) and the meatballs.

We used a bizarre little pasta. I'm not quite sure what it was called...but it cooked up super quick and was done in about five minutes!

When the pasta was cooked, we loaded up our bowls and spooned the sauce and meatballs over top, finishing them off with a bit more peppery, delicious basil.

So there you go! A tasty, quick little pasta recipe that is great when you are starving, AND great on the wallet too...

I found myself staring at the cutest little thing (Molly) all dinner! She wanted some pasta too...

Love her!

Such gorgeous pictures of a gorgeous little meal! I am thinking that you should be able to look forward to more collaboration posts in the future! I sure hope that there are more...I love these pictures!

xoxo

Mariel

Qualicum and the Beach and More Seafood

Hello everyone! So here I am, finally catching up on all the posts I've missed out on in the past little while! After Parksville we headed to my Grandma's house on Christmas Eve, and there is no wireless at her house! Then we headed to Seattle where the hotel conveniently had the cord type of internet (i apologize for my lack of tech-y knowledge) which did not work out well with my Macbook Air. Anyways I am home again and have a lot of post catching up to do! I think the way I'm going to do this is just do a post for each day that I missed out on posting about, instead of one giant post...that would be just tooo large (I do have to fit a whole Christmas dinner post in here)! So here is the last full day of Parksville!

This day started out with a nice hearty breakfast...pie and ice cream. Okay, maybe not so hearty. But delicious none the less. Every once and a while I absolutely love to just have a piece of cake or pie for breakfast!

After breakfast a few of us Flanagans headed just a little up island to Qualicum where we perused some antique stores and us girls took a few pictures!

So many pretty and interesting things.

Our little adventure really worked up an appetite though so it was back to the condo after Qualicum to have some delicious split pea soup made by Aunty Daphne. With this I had a rice cracker with some yummy home-made hummus spread on it!

After lunch we lounged around watching the Jamie Oliver marathon that was on the food network that day for quite a while. We had checked the tide chart that day, and low tide was at about 4 PM, which unfortunately was close to dusk! But we trekked down to the beach regardless, and it was so beautiful!

Here is Chloaye looking stunning on the beach!

It felt so surreal walking around the beach with the tide out and the night approaching, it was a little bit foggy too...I felt like I was in a dream!

When it got dark we headed back up to our cozy little place where I cooked up some dinner. Dinner this night was just a simple but tasty pasta with shrimp. As the pasta boiled I cooked the shrimp in a little butter and garlic, and when they were done I set them aside. Then I made a simple garlic, butter and white wine sauce which I poured onto the pasta in the pot when it was done!

Mom made this DELICIOUS "salad" from the Hippie Gourmet which was a big hit!

Here is the recipe copied exactly from the Hippie Gourmet cookbook!

This isn't your usual eggplant salad, made from those big, bitter eggplants that look like some kind of giant purple monster's pod. Instead it uses slim, long, graceful Asian eggplants. If your eggplant is shaped like a cucumber, you've found the right vegetable.

2 Asian eggplants

2 large tomatoes, sliced as thin as you can

2 tablespoons chopped white onion

6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

5 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons vinegar of your choice

salt and pepper, to taste

large leaf of romaine or several endive leaves, for serving

greek olives or sliced radish, for garnish

Preheat the broiler.

Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise and broil until soft, approximately 10 minutes per side. Be sure they're cooked through.

Let them cool, then peel off the skin and discard it.

Chop the eggplant into bite sized chunks.

Mix the chopped eggplant, tomatoes, onion, parsley, oil, and vinegar.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve on either a large romaine lettuce leaf or several endive leaves, garnishing with Greek olives or sliced radishes.

Mom served them on the endive leaves, which was delicious! Also, a change she made to the recipe was that she added the greek olives and radishes right into the mix...which was a good choice!

And of course there was wine going around the table before and at dinner!

It's so much easier to do a "serve yourself" dinner for  more than a couple people...so that is how we ate the whole time in Parksville. Here's Tate plating up her pasta!

Here is my plate! Dinner turned out very yummy.

Pasta with simple white wine and butter to dress it is my favorite sometimes. It is so much lighter than rich, creamy sauces...and always delicious with all types of seafood (with clams is my favorite).

xoxo

Mariel