well-behaved women rarely make... pasta sauce?

Puttanesca is a dish with a history as colorful as a Tommie dePaola book. And that, perhaps, is why I like it so very much. I smile thinking of those Neapolitan ladies of leisure concocting this sauce to woo their men. I can imagine the draw - the scent of a simmered sauce "tarted up" with capers and olives wafting out over moon-lit cobbled streets; the way to the heart found through the stomach. It's as vivid in my imagination as it is in my bowl.

Certainly does warm things up a bit, doesn't it?

Spaghetti Puttanesca

Ingredients:
2 Tb. olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (more or less, to suit your tastes)
1 - 28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes in puree (or any whole, peeled tomatoes in puree)
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and broken into large chunks
1/4 cup jarred roasted red bell pepper, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and broken
1/4 jarred capers, drained (rinsed if you desire)
a handful of torn fresh basil leaves

1 Lb. dried spaghetti

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

While water is coming to boil, prepare the sauce. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the tomatoes in their puree, until broken, but not smooth. Set aside. In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the garlic and hot pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds or just until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the processed tomatoes and their puree, the salt, and the pepper to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, partially covered. Add the artichokes, roasted red pepper, olives, and capers, and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes, while the pasta cooks. Remove the sauce from heat and add the torn basil leaves. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and add the sauce, tossing to coat the pasta.
Serve with a bit of grated Parmesan and wink or two.

seems just right

It's confusing here - near 50 degrees the other day, now hovering near the 20's; bright, sunny, and hinting of spring one moment, then gray, snowy, and definitely still winter the next. I don't know whether to forage for salad, or sink into a bowl of soup. So, I'm doing both...

Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup (from 'Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics')
A steamy bowl of homemade broth, simmering away with tiny pasta stars, little chicken meatballs, and just-wilted spinach - seems just right.

Of course, adding a nice green salad and a loaf of Ina's Garlic Ciabatta Bread is a good idea too.

Black Mango Sticky Rice

Though the recipe needs some adjusting, I had to share this photo. This dish brought a little brightness to my winter kitchen last week - nice to see some color on a cold, snowy day I think.

Salt Baked Chicken

Salt Baked Chicken
Amazing alone.
One might not desire anything more.

Save for a steaming bowl of broth the next day.

It is, in essence, perfection.

dishing up dumplings

Well, I'm not so sure how to begin my first post of our new year. I had a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of good company and came away with a refrigerator full of left-overs. I hope everyone else did too. We cooked, and ate, and drank, and laughed, and then tried to get some sleep - it amazes me every year how the time passes so quickly after so much anticipation. And now with the company gone home and the fridge returning to its normal state for a family of two, I actually have time to go to the store and pick out a few choice ingredients to play with in the kitchen. (Not to mention my new toy which I hope to spend plenty of time with in the near future...)

So, this past weekend I spent a little quality time in the kitchen making these beauties: Let me tell you - they are worth every naughty word I uttered trying to master folding these little guys, and thanks to my very patient assistant who eagerly helped me fill and fold, they didn't even take too long to make.

Spicy Shrimp Dumplings
(inspired by Szechwan Won Tons in Su-Huei Huang and Mu-Tsun Lee's 'Chinese Rice and Noodles')

*Note: this recipe makes an enormous quantity - approximately 12o dumplings, depending on the size of your wrappers. Extra cooked dumplings can be refrigerated for a few days, or frozen by placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freezing, then packing into air-tight freezer containers or baggies. I also imagine the recipe could be halved or even quartered without any problem, but I've written it here in its original form as that is how I made these. In addition, I'll add that if making the entire batch, it is quite nice to have a dumpling helper or two...

Ingredients:

2 packages square won-ton wrappers (approximately 120)
1 Lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined (I used frozen, which I thawed under cold running water and then drained)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. tamari sauce
2 scallions, whites only - chopped
1 Tb. dry white wine
1 Tb. sesame oil
2 eggs, beaten

For the Sauce:

6 Tb, tamari sauce
1 Tb. sugar
1 Tb. rice wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 scallion, sliced
2 Tb. hot pepper sesame oil

To make the dumplings:

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the shrimp and scallions (white parts only) just until coarsely chopped and combined. Transfer to a medium bowl.

To the shrimp mixture add the salt, sugar, pepper, tamari, wine, and sesame oil. Add in beaten eggs and stir gently to incorporate. Set aside.

Have ready a small bowl of water, the won-ton wrappers, and a large baking sheet lined with damp paper towels.

Begin making the dumplings by spooning a small amount (roughly 1 tsp.) of the shrimp filling into the center of a won-ton wrapper. Do not over-fill. Moisten the edges of the wrapper by dipping a finger in the bowl of water and running it along the wrapper's edges. Fold wrapper over mixture to form a triangle and press the edges together to seal, being careful not to push out any filling. Fold the won-ton over itself once more, and bring the left and right corners together, dampening one corner and pressing the other over it to seal (or fold and seal in your preferred method - there are numerous tutorials on the web). Place on the baking sheet lined with damp towels, and continue to fill and fold dumplings until all the filling has been used or you run out of wrappers.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and gently add dumplings in batches, being careful not to over-crowd the pot. Give the dumplings a gentle stir to prevent sticking and cook until they float to the top of the water and the filling is cooked through - about 3 minutes per batch.
Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large plate.

Whisk together the sauce ingredients and serve with the hot dumplings.

I'm already thinking of making more.