Pepper Pasta (Mario Batali's spaghetti cacio e pepe)

Last night was a night I cooked an old favorite for dinner.  I made my own pasta using my pasta maker.  I made spaghetti.

Ingredients:
1 T coarsely ground black pepper (freshly ground)
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c unsalted butter
1 pound of spaghetti
1/4 c freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (plus a little for serving for the dish)
1/4 c freshly grated pecorino romano
kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 T of kosher salt.

In a large wok, over medium heat, add the pepper and toast for 15-20 seconds.  Add oil and butter and stir until melted.  Turn off heat.

Cook pasta (reserve 1/2 c of the pasta water) and drain.

Add 1/4 c of the pasta water to the oil and butter, and turn on heat to medium.  Add pasta and stir until the pasta is well coated.  Toss in the cheese and a splash of the water.  Serve with the Parmigiano cheese.

I serve with a side of asparagus or carrots.  If I can, I also add a side salad.

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2017 is in the books!  Another great meal with family.

This years menu:

Homemade challah
Naomi's muffins (corn and cranberry orange)
Persian pepper dip
Pumpkin hummus with vegetables (supplied by my sister in law)
Beef Knishes and spinach knishes from the Butcherie in Brookline

Turkey
My Auntie's gravy
sweet potato with marshmallow
Brussel sprouts by mom
Stuffing with chestnuts by mom
Kugel by Barbara
Barley with mushrooms by mom
Kasha by mom
Homemade cranberry sauce by mom
canned cranberry sauce
honey glazed carrots

Beer from my brother
Wine (red and white)
Mike's lemonade
Sparkling apple cider for the kids
water
seltzer water

Fruit from my in-laws
Pumpkin pie from the Pie and Pastry Bible
Window Cranberry pie from the Pie and Pastry Bible
Candied Cranberry Chocolate Tart
Apple Crisp
Chocolate Pie
Maple Brownies
Tahini Cookies
Halavah Brownies from Sweet
Chocolate Chip Cookies from Naomi
Mandelbrot by mom
Madelines by mom
Salted Chocolate Brownies

Myers + Chang - Cookbook

On Sunday night I had another successful dinner!

I made Adam Kung Pao Chickpeas from the same cookbook which he loved and it made enough for 6 people.  The kids and I had the salmon dish.  I would double the amount of cucumber salad, since that was also a big hit.

I was surprised to find out that both of these recipes were easy to make.  Sometimes when you purchase a restaurant cookbook, not only is the list of ingredients long, but there are too many steps.  These two dishes were amazing to eat and great to prepare.

Small Kitchen Appliance - This year's craze - The Instant Pot

I love a great kitchen gadget/appliance.  My favorite ones are the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, a powerful food processor and of course my beloved bread machine.  I have had these three tools for 20 years.  They get used often in my kitchen.  The bread machine alone is used twice a week!  Homemade challah is a weekly event.  No bakery challah for the Weitzman family.

Last year, a co-worker told me how wonderful Philips Pasta Maker is and I agree.  The pasta is amazing, and as the water is heating up I can make a fresh batch of pasta, which is better than boxed pasta.  And it is super easy to use (not super easy to clean).  Who knew!

The craze this year is the Instant Pot and friends who are not kitchen lovers began to rave about the Instant Pot.  I read many posts from people and I knew I had to try it.

I purchased the 6 quart pot from Amazon and used it the next week.

The first recipe was for Mac and Cheese and while fast and easy (once I figured out how to use the pot) it wasn't the best recipe.  The kids liked it but I know I can make a better recipe.  It is much faster than the oven version and isn't bright orange like Kraft Mac and Cheese.  The only issue was that using the timer was difficult. . . . instead of ten minutes, I think I originally set it for 10 hours - OOPS.  Luckily my son pointed that out to me.

The next recipe was risotto, and while my family loves risotto, it requires me to stand over the pan and stir constantly.  However in less than 30 minutes I had risotto that I did not have to stir constantly and one could not tell the difference.  The next time I am going to make a squash risotto.

And how do I know that it is a craze?  Today's Boston Globe Food section had an article dedicated to the Instant Pot.  It is a great article.

Tonight I am going to try a chicken recipe in the Instant Pot.

I can't imagine cooking in it every night, but I can add it to the rotation of small kitchen appliances to use.  And while I don't eat meat and milk together, I am hoping that the chicken dish tonight comes out delicious.  And I have joined the Facebook Kosher Instant Pot Group (and another relative sent me an article to kosher recipes using the Instant Pot).

Tomorrow night I will use the pasta maker.  I need to make sure all my gadgets are used often.