Gretchen said:
Get one of Racheal Ray's cookbooks. She cooks real food with real ingredients that are quite good. No soup or gravy mixes.
agreed gretchen. my wife is really just learning how to cook, and she has made some really good dishes from rr "30 minute meals", I and II.
it was funny, the other night she wanted to make something, and was asking me a few questions. i guess i was tired, and i was busy doing some stuff around the house, so i just snapped back that i'd be done shortly and would take care of the cooking just as soon as i could.
she replied "well how else am i going to learn? let me do it, just help me out a little. i need to learn for you and our son."
i don't know if she's ever said such nice words to me in our entire lives together.
chrizzle, here's a really simple and inexpensive but really tasty pasta dish to make for your ball-and-chain to be.
i've posted it a half dozen times before, but here it is again for you. excuse the oversimplified instructions. i copied it from a post for college kids and extreme novice cooks.
linguini alla vongole (pasta with white clam sauce)
ingredients:
1 box linguini
3 cloves garlic, smashed, skins discarded, minced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 stick butter
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 can chopped clams, drained
1 can whole baby clams, including the liquid
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, washed, stems discarded, chopped, divided into 2
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
optional, to serve on the side: extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, italian bread
fill a large (like a 6 quart or so) pot 3/4 of the way with water, put over high heat, bring to a rolling boil, salt the water, and add the box of linguini. stir a few times to keep the pasta from sticking together.
while the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat, let butter melt, and add the diced red onion. toss a few times to coat, then once a minute or so, until the onion begins to soften and carmelize (turn brown on the egdes). turn heat down to medium, and add the garlic. cook the garlic gently with the onion, stirring frequently, until it just begins to turn golden.
the pasta should be ready about now, so test it so that it is just little firm, not gushy. this is called al dente. drain the pasta when it is ready, set aside, uncovered.
dump the can of chopped clams into the onion and garlic, cook for a minute, then add the whole baby clams, including the liquid. add 2 more tablespoons of butter and 1 of the divided portions of parsley, cook until the butter is melted, stirring into the clams.
turn off the heat, dump the drained pasta over the clams and toss with a couple of spoons.
pour the clam tossed pasta into a large bowl, and sprinkle the remaining parsley over top.
serve with italian bread, olive oil for dipping (with a little salt and pepper added), and offer the grated cheese as you plate the pasta. not everyone likes cheese on their clams.
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