Simple Pasta with Nuts and Cheese

I clipped this recipe from the Columbus Dispatch (aka, the Dogpatch) roughly twenty years ago.  It's one of those recipes that I always forget about, but every time I make it I'm just delighted.  And this last time I made it, the kids loved it.  It's so simple, that it's about to become a staple at our house . . . 

Simple Pasta with Nuts and Cheese 

12 oz. rotini

6 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1-2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil a pot of water and cook your pasta until al dente. 
2. When the pasta is close to done, heat the butter in a small pan at medium. 
3. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
4. Add the nuts and sauté two minutes, until toasted.  Remove from heat. 
5. Combine pasta, cheeses, parsley, and nuts in a serving dish.  Toss to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Family Ratings

Will, who's getting almost easygoing about food:  10

Lucy.  Nuts?!  Cheese?!  You kidding me?!:  10

Jamie, who also likes cheese:  10

Ellen, who can't believe I remembered this recipe after all these years: 10

Paul.  Nuts?!  Cheese?!  You kidding me?!: 10

Lentil Apricot Casserole

A warning:  your kids are going to stare at this and say, "It looks like goat barf."

And another warning:  you're going to agree with them.

So okay:  this recipe doesn't win any awards for presentation.  It looks like hurl.  I can give no stronger recommendation for this dish, though, than the fact that Jamie--Jamie, by far my fussiest eater these days--took seconds of this dish on his own accord.  And then took thirds.

I'm not sure what makes it work.  Obviously, dried apricots are awesome.  And the bulgar wheat gives a nice texture to the dish.  I've never been a friend of lentils--they taste like dirt, if you ask me--but I like them in this dish.  This recipe is actually Ellen's discovery, coming from Michele Urvater's Monday to Friday Cookbook.  This is generally a great book, though a lot of the recipes require a pressure cooker.

Be sure to serve with low-fat yogurt or sour cream.

Lentil Apricot Casserole

1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup bulgar wheat (also known as millet)
1 cup dried lentils
4 cups chicken broth (water will work if you're a vegetarian)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dried apricots, cut in half
Plain low-fat yogurt or sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  
2. Heat the oil in a 4-quart ovenproof pan over medium heat. 
3. Add the curry powder and the bulgar wheat/millet.  Saute about 1 minute.  
4. Add the lentils and the broth.  Bring to a low boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
5. Cover and bake until the grain and lentils are tender, about 25 minutes.  
6. Remove from oven (dur!), stir in the apricots, add a 1/2 cup more broth if the dish is starting to seem dry.   
7. Re-cover and bake for 10 more minutes.  
8. Adjust seasoning and serve with yogurt/sour cream.  

Family Ratings

Will, who's kind of proud of no longer being the fussiest eater in the family:  9.5

Lucy, who would probably eat this even if it included dirt instead of lentils:  10

Jamie, who's kind of proud of now being the fussiest eater in the family: 10

Ellen, who's been trying to get us to eat less meat for year:  10

Paul, who can actually tolerate the lentils when they're with dried fruit:  9

Soft Molasses Cookies

When I was little, I used to refuse to eat store-bought cookies. No Chips A'Hoy, no Nutter Butters, nothing. If it wasn't fresh, I wasn't eating it. This cookie recipe is largely the reason for that: these cookies are so good that when my mother used to package half of them and put them in the freezer downstairs, I used to sneak down and steal two or three at a time. I'm sure she was a little disappointed--but not too confused--when she found the tupperware container two-thirds empty.

Anyhow, if you're thinking, "But I don't like those molasses cookies with the sugar on top," don't worry; these are nothing like that. They are much much much better, largely because they contain sour cream, the secret ingredient to most of the world's best baking. In fact, I can say pretty unequivocally that these are the best cookies in the world.

I would strongly encourage you to double the recipe. And don't bother putting half of them in the freezer . . .

Soft Molasses Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup light molasses

1 tsp vinegar

1 cup cultured sour cream

3 cups flour

1/5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp powdered ginger

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1. Cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar.
2. Beat in the egg and the molasses.
3. Add the vinegar and the sour cream. Blend.
4. Blend in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
5. Chill for at least one hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
8. Cook for about 9 minutes. Press lightly on the top to test. If the cookie bounces back, it's definitely ready--and maybe a bit done. If the cookie doesn't quite bounce back, it's perfect.
9. Cool and remove from pan.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Family Ratings on a scale of 1-10.

Lucy: 10. Duh.

Jamie: 10. More. More. More.

Will: 15. I don't care about the mathematical improbabilities.

Ellen: 10. Damn it, Paul, you have to leave some for us!

Paul: 1,000.