Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Balsamic Reduction

We lived in Switzerland for about two months.  Not sure if that counts as "living".  But, I think so.  We were working at ETH in Zurich with our advisor.  Scot and I had an amazing time.  We wanted to stay forever.  Except that we missed our dog way too much.  I think we have an unhealthy attachment to him.  Sorry...he is the best dog in the whole world.  

Now, the food in Zurich was basically forgettable.  Mostly because it was so expensive we didn't eat any.  We lived off of bread, nutella, yogurt, and butter.  And this pasta!  

See, the cafeterias at ETH were amazing.  Better than most restaurants in America.  The cafeteria in our building (and, therefore, the one we mostly ate at) was different from most because it only served pasta and rice dishes.  However, they did it so so right.  First, the pasta was homemade and freshly prepared.  Can you believe it?  Homemade pasta at a cafeteria?!?!  And there were several different sauces to choose from.  My favorites were this salmon dish and the bolognese sauce.  And even though I ate one of the two, pretty much every day, I actually never got sick of them.  And I had to try my hardest to eat all of it because I needed to get the calories in, because who knew what our dinner would be.  

I have made my own version of this pasta a few times.  It is a short cut pasta with a light cream sauce (with some finely chopped veggies in the sauce).  It is topped with plenty of grated parmesan, smoked salmon and a balsamic reduction. I chose this time to make a flourless white sauce.  And I really liked it.  It is much thinner than a traditional cream sauce.  Instead of making a roux, you just reduce the liquid to thicken the sauce.  Once the sauce is combined with the pasta and parmesan, I think it is the perfect thickness.  I apologize for the four pans and pots.  But nothing gets that dirty so it isn't too bad to clean up.  

Lastly, if you can't find a bottled balsamic reduction, you can easily make your own.  Just reduce balsamic vinegar over medium high heat until it has reached a syrupy consistency.  I would start with about a cup.  

Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Balsamic Reduction

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

salt and white pepper

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of finely diced carrots

1/4 cup of frozen peas

1 lb short cut pasta like Campanelle

handful of grated parmesan

4 ounces of smoked salmon

drizzle of balsamic reduction

Fill a large pasta pot with water, cover, and bring to a boil.

In a large, deep skillet heat the chicken stock over medium high heat. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and reduce to about 1/2 cup.

In a separate small saucepan, add the heavy cream. Over medium to medium high heat, bring cream to a simmer and let it foam up. Reduce by half, whisking often to prevent burning.

Add cream to the chicken stock and whisk to combine. This will be thinner than a traditional cream sauce, but it will all work out when you add the parmesan when serving. Season with salt and white pepper.

While the sauce is going, add the butter and olive oil to a skillet. Add shallots, cook for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add carrots, cook for 2 minutes. Add frozen peas, leave skillet on burner and turn off heat. Stir occasionally.

Once pasta water is ready, add pasta and cook until done.

Add vegetables to white sauce. Drain pasta well and add to sauce and veggies. To serve, place pasta and sauce in shallow bowl. Sprinkle with a generous amount of grated parmesan. Put 1 ounce of smoked salmon on top. Drizzle with balsamic reduction.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 25 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5

Butternut Squash Pizza with Balsamic Reduction

I have been making a lot of pizza. I just keep finding Pioneer Woman's pizza recipes. And I can't resist trying them. Plus, all these pizza recipes are so easy put together. This is my own pizza creation, but with Pioneer Woman's amazing crust.

The main flavors are butternut squash, goat cheese (whoops, is this the 3rd recipe this week? sorry, i realize i have a problem), and balsamic vinegar. Then, there are also some walnuts sprinkled on top for a nice crunch. Scot loves sweet squashy things like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. I knew he would love this flavor combo. He is one of those guys who will eat like the sweet potato dish with the sugar topping (or marshmallows) at Thanksgiving. I love sweet potatoes. But, I like them savory style. And that is kind of how this pizza is.

I would have taken the balsamic reduction even further, but I had to go, so I decided it was fine. If you can't justify using that much balsamic vinegar, to get such a small amount (it is hard, I know), then you could also just serve this with a green salad tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. Also, I roasted the butternut squash yesterday. I am using the other half tomorrow night.

Butternut Squash Pizza with Balsamic Reduction

1 pizza crust (1/2 this recipe)

1/2 butternut squash, roasted

handful of baby spinach

8 oz. of fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

2-3 oz. of goat cheese, crumbled

1 tbsp of parmesan cheese, grated

1/3 cup of walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 475°F.

Put balsamic vinegar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium high heat until balsamic vinegar reduces to about 1/3rd its originally volume. This should take about 20 minutes. It will by thick and syrupy.

Stretch out dough on oiled baking sheet. Rub oil on top of dough and sprinkle with salt. Cover with a single layer of baby spinach.

Thinly slice the butternut squash and put a layer all over pizza. The thinner you slice it, the better (you may not need an entire half of the squash). Sprinkle the top with salt.

Now, layer on the mozzarella. Crumble goat cheese over top. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake in the oven for about 12-16 minutes until golden. Once it is out of the oven, sprinkle with chopped walnuts and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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Green Salad with Craisins, Almonds and Goat Cheese with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

This was a request by the bride-to-be. A greeny salad with fruit, nuts, cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. One of my favorite combos. I usually do a blue cheese/walnut combo. I love the goat cheese/almond combo. Maybe more. I just am so obsessed with goat cheese.

Green Salad with Craisins, Almonds and Goat Cheese with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Green leaf lettuce or spinach, 8 handfuls

Craisins, a handful

Shaved or slivered almonds, a handful

Goat cheese, broken into pieces, a handful

Balsamic vinaigrette, recipes follows

Combine lettuce, craisons, almonds and goat cheese. Toss with dressing just before serving

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 tsp Dijon mustard

a splash of soy sauce

2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

In the bottom of a big bowl, whisk together mustard, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk, and as slowly as possible, stream in olive oil. By doing so slowly, this will emulsify the oil and vinegar (and then it won’t separate).

(Servings: 4-6, Prep time: 10 min., Cook time: 0 , Difficulty: Easy)

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Here you can see it still separates a little, but not bad. I could have gone slower. Whisked harder.

Potato-Bacon Torte with Green Salad

Pie and salad? Yes, that is basically what this is. I guess Melissa D'Arabian is taking over my blog for the time being. She does do a really nice job of creating recipes that are actually affordable. This torte is just a basic pie crust, filled with potatoes, swiss cheese, bacon and heavy cream. Believe it or not, the salad is key. The torte is rich and creamy and it tastes best when each bite has a little salad in it. The acid from the balsamic dressing cuts into the heaviness of the torte perfectly. This version of a balsamic vinaigrette is one of my favorites. I might make it my staple balsamic vinaigrette recipe.

If you have made pie crust before, this is a piece of cake to make. If you haven't, the most important thing when making pie crust is to keep the dough (mostly the butter in the dough) really cold. That is why the recipe says to use ice water and to keep putting the dough in the refrigerator. This is a great recipe for first-time pie crust makers, so give it a shot. I also recommend that you use a mandolin (1/16 inch setting) or food processor to slice the potatoes (for consistency), if you have one. I didn't because I was too lazy to get anything out.

Lastly, this would be a great brunch meal but worked for dinner too. It looks kind of dainty, but the photo is what I ate and I was completely satisfied after eating it for dinner. I was worried about Scot, but he had twice as much torte and probably 4 times as much salad and was also satisfied. I always avoid making meals like this for Scot because he needs a lot of carbs to fill him up, but this worked.

Recipe courtesy Melissa D'Arabian

Ingredients

• 4 strips bacon
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
• 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

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Salad and Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

Mustard Vinaigrette:

• 1 garlic clove, sliced in 1/2
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Small splash soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

3 cups mixed greens, the darker the better (not iceberg)

Rub the inside of a large wooden bowl with the garlic clove and then either discard it or save it for another use. Put the mustard in the bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (a French secret!) vigorously for about 10 seconds to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as possible with 1 hand while whisking as quickly as possible with the other hand to emulsify. Lay the salad greens on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.

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PS: Here is a pic of the entire torte. I didn't measure the cream and put a little too much in. It exploded over the sides, but that's fine. UPDATE: Actually, my genius friend pointed out the real reason it exploded...I forgot the steam holes!!!