Fresh Tortellini with Mushrooms and Pancetta

in an attempt to make something quick and delicious, i stumbled upon this recipe over at cooking light's website. it was indeed quick and delicious. and even though i didn't purchase all the pre-cut/diced/minced stuff, the entire cooking process still took less than a half-hour.

fresh tortellini with mushrooms and pancetta (via cooking light)

ingredients:

1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini

3 ounces pancetta, diced

1 cup prechopped onion (i used a red one, and chopped it myself)

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (i used 1 clove of fresh garlic)

1 (8-ounce) package presliced cremini mushrooms (again, i cut them myself)

2 cups bagged baby spinach

1 cup organic vegetable broth (a few reviews said the recipe was too liquidy, so i only used about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup sun-dried tomato bits (i used more like a 1/4 cup since i'm not a huge fan of these guys)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese

directions:

cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain and keep warm.

heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add pancetta. cook 5 minutes or until almost crisp, stirring occasionally; drain. add onion, garlic, and mushrooms; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. add spinach, broth, tomato, and pepper. cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. toss with pasta. divide evenly among 4 bowls. sprinkle evenly with cheese.

enjoy! i'm off to deal some drugs...

Sesame, Snow Pea & Noodle Salad

We got back to L.A. from a very filling Midwestern Christmas and have been trying some lighter recipes from Eating Well. We have yet to be disappointed, and this was one of my favorite lunches we've had thus far. It's light, it has fresh vegetables aplenty, and it's easy to make. For those of you who actually have a job (ha), I imagine it would be easy to make portions ahead of time to bring to work. Just mix in the dressing when you're ready to eat.

Things we did different: We used Thai chili paste instead of hot sauce (since that's what we had), and bought already toasted sesame seeds (because that's all we saw).

Sesame, Snow Pea & Noodle Salad {via Eating Well}
Makes 4 servings

4 cups (12 ounces) small snow peas, trimmed of stem ends and strings
1/2 pound (2 cups) daikon radish, cut into julienne
8 ounces soba noodles
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon miso, mixed with 1 tablespoon hot water
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Halve snow peas on the diagonal. Cook the peas in the boiling water until bright green, about 1 minute. Add daikon and immediately remove vegetables with a slotted spoon; refresh in cold water. Blot dry.

Return water to a boil and cook noodles until al dente, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and refresh under cool water.

Whisk vinegar, miso mixture, oil, sugar and ginger in a large bowl until blended. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and hot sauce. Add bell pepper, snow peas, daikon and noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms

Found this on Smitten Kitchen and made it for a Christmas potluck. It's a quick and glorious side dish that requires minimal effort, just a little chopping. The original recipe doesn't indicate how much it makes, but I'd say it's good for about six people. My one regret is not following Smitten Kitchen's directions and having a baguette to soak up the juices. I had to sip from a spoon instead. Not as good.

Smitten Kitchen's Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms (found here)

{hijacked, in turn, from gourmet.com}

1 pound mushrooms, such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large

2 TB capers, rinsed and chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 TB vegetable oil

3 TB unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 TSP fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 450F with rack in middle. Toss mushrooms with capers, garlic, oil, 1/8 tsp salt and several grinds of paper in a 1.5 - 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden and bubbly garlic sauce forms below, 15-20 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley, season to taste. Serve immediately, with crusty bread on the side for swiping up the juices.

Never too many cooks in the kitchen

Hey, everybody. Some months ago, a few of us were joking about creating a church cookbook. Well, the best ideas come out of nonsense (bacon, for example), and many moons later, we are finally starting a Kairos West LA cooking blog. This is a collaborative effort at sharing our recipes (the successes, failures and mediocrities) and tips, so you may post and edit at your leisure. And when we all become so famous and get book deals and have to go on tour, you can say that you always knew the Internet would be a big deal...but not as big as the church.