Beloved Bowties Pasta Salad

Father's Day a perfect day for a BBQ and family! I was lucky enough to have over 14 of my favorite family members to celebrate the occasion. I was busy all day cooking up a storm for them, chicken, tri-tips, ribs with my Peach BBQ Sauce, Baba's Chili Beans, green salad and a Beloved Bowties Pasta Salad. Did I mention dessert, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Lemon Squares and a Banana Cake with Caramel Sauce and Fresh Bananas? We know how to do it right in this house.

Beloved Bowties Pasta Salad

1 lb. farfalle pasta - a.k.a. bowties

1 pint baby heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Put a large pot of water on to boil and add 2 or 3 teaspoons of salt. When boiling add bowties and boil for 10 minutes, till tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat a small skillet on medium heat and add a tablespoon or so of olive oil, put tomatoes in and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, you just want to heat them so they burst in your mouth when you bite into them.

Dressing

1 cup fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp. pine nuts

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In food processor or blender combine basil, garlic, pine nuts, vinegar, salt and pepper, stream in olive oil. Pulse till combined.

In a large bowl combine pasta, tomatoes, pine nuts and dressing. Serve at room temperature.

This salad was given its' cute name because bowties were my daughters' favorite as a child. The bowties could only be fixed with butter and Parmesan cheese. Lucky for us she has grown into a more adventurous eater, she came home from college orientation the other day and proclaimed, "I am never eating in the cafeteria again"! I had to laugh; did I do my job too well?

Serves 10.

Enjoy,

Gina

Raviolis with Three Cheeses

The girls love pasta and cheese, oh heck who am I kidding; I do too! I just recently started making my own pasta dough. I never had the chance to learn from my grandparents; they passed when I was young.

One day while perusing the aisles of Ross with my mom, we spotted a pasta-rolling machine for $19, my mom said, "You need that." Good enough reason I figured to start making my own dough. Did I forget to mention sometimes I have more ambition than sense? The day I decided to make these I also decided to make sauce and go back and forth to my daughter's cheer camp an hour away, twice.

Robbyn and I wanted to recreate my Grandpa's ravioli recipe, but the unappetizing gray didn't sit well with either of us; so cheese it is.

Egg Pasta Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or "00" flour if you can find it)

4 large eggs

1 tsp. salt
Semolina flour. for dusting pasta and surfaces

Combine flour, eggs and salt in food processor till a ball is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. You can do this step by hand, but come on; I already had a hard enough day.

When ready to roll, cut dough into 8 pieces, run through machine starting on 1, keep flouring your dough, up the dial 1 at a time and make 4 or 5 passes. Place sheets on floured silpats or floured kitchen towels to dry a little while you make filling.

Cheese Filling

4 ounces ricotta cheese

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Combine cheeses, egg, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg in bowl. Fill pasta sheets by small teaspoonful, barely 1-inch apart and brush pasta dough along bottom and sides of each cheese mound with water to seal.

Fold dough back over and press along sides of each cheese mound with your fingers to seal. Cut with fluted pastry cutter or knife.  Place the finished ravioli on a baking sheet dusted with more flour or semolina and let dry for 30 minutes or so prior to boiling.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous boil and drop raviolis in two batches, cook each batch for 2-3 minutes.

I got about 4 dozen out of this recipe. I have a great Brandywine Marinara recipe you can use for these, click here if you'd like to give it a try.

Enjoy,

Gina

Brandywine Marinara Sauce

A quick stop at my favorite farm stand always provides me with the answer to the age-old question, "What's for Dinner?"  When I spied those beautiful Brandywine heirlooms; I knew what I'd be having!

I've been waiting and waiting for the tomatoes to appear.  It's so funny because every time I go Kathy beats me to the punch and says, "They are not ready yet, and I can't control the weather."  Hey it doesn't hurt to ask again.

I made a larger batch of sauce so I can make two meals out of it, just an easy way to get ahead in the kitchen especially when you know your time will be short.  I used half of the Marinara sauce on top of some three cheese raviolis and the rest on a pork braciole.  I will share both of those recipes with you shortly.

Brandywine Marinara Sauce

5 lbs. Brandywine tomatoes

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped, finely (note the beautiful specimens I found at the market)

2 carrots, grated

2 stalks celery, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 ounces tomato paste

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2-3 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

First you need to get the skin off the tomatoes. I cut mine in half and lay them on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment or a silpat for easy removal and even easier clean up.  Place them in a 400 degree oven for 10 -12 minutes, cool for a few minutes and slip the skins off.  Squeeze them over a strainer and get the seeds out.  Make sure and reserve all the juices.  I crush the tomatoes up with my hands.

Heat a large stockpot on medium-low and add olive oil.  Add chopped onions, carrots and celery to pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, till cooked down and soft, if they are getting brown, turn down heat.  Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.

Add crushed tomatoes and juices, salt and pepper.  Lower heat to simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes.  Add the chopped basil after sauce is finished if you want the freshest flavor.  I added a tablespoon or so of sugar because my sauce was a little acidic.

Enjoy,

Gina