Fettuccine With Sweet Potatoes, Feta, and Olives: Not Very Quick, But Still Tasty

Again, my failure to read the recipe resulted in me roasting in the middle of summer. Luckily, another thunder storm prevented my ability to grill, so it cooled down enough to roast the vegetables for this recipe without overheating the house.
First, I cubed some sweet potatoes and added some crushed garlic and olive oil, tossing to coat the sweet potatoes. I then put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and stuck them in a preheated 400 degree oven. I roasted them on one side for fifteen minutes, turned them over and roasted them another fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, I caramelized some red onion in butter. After that was done, I cooked fettuccine in boiling salted water and drained it, adding the onion to the fettuccine, along with the sweet potato, some basil, some crumbled feta cheese, and kalamata olives. Toss to coat with olive oil.
Will liked it so well that he had three helpings of it. I thought I could have done better, but it still wasn't too bad.

Summer Pasta Salad: It Has Vinegar in It, and Will Liked It

I didn't read the full list of ingredients when I put this on the menu, and was a little apprehensive about serving it to Will, knowing his dislike of all things vinegar. I really shouldn't have worried.
This is pretty simple and requires little to no electricity. First, cook some chicken and spaghetti; I poached my chicken with some dried onion and basil and used whole wheat spaghetti. Once your spaghetti is four minutes from being done, add some fresh green beans to your spaghetti. When the chicken is ready, take it out and leave it to cool; once it's cool, cube it up. Meanwhile, make a vinaigrette using grapeseed oil, white wine vinegar, sugar basil, oregano, garlic, and onion powder. Add sliced fresh zucchini, sliced crookneck squash, halved grape tomatoes, cubed chicken, and sliced red onion. By now, your pasta should be ready. Drain it and add it to the pasta. Toss everything to coat and serve.
Will and I really liked it. The only thing I would have done differently is add more tomatoes and omit the chicken.

Penne With Mushroom-Herb Sauce: Surprisingly Fresh

I have made this once before, and I must say that it tasted better this time.
All you do is saute your mushrooms in some olive oil; mushrooms absorb a lot of oil, so go easy on it. Meanwhile, bring some water to a boil. Add garlic and marjoram and cook for an extra couple minutes. Then add some dry white wine and cook just until it's evaporated. By now your water should be boiling, so add your penne and cook for ten minutes. Add about a third of a cup of cream and cook just until it starts to thicken. Once it's thickened, add a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese and the juice and zest of half a lemon. By now your pasta should be done, so drain the pasta, put it into a bowl, and pour your sauce over it, toss it to coat, and add another one quarter cup of Parmesan to the top. Serve it with some sort of vegetable; I personally used green beans, but any will do.
Last time, I didn't serve this with vegetables and Will was less than pleased. This time, not only did he appreciate the freshness of the sauce, he also liked the way the green beans complemented the pasta with minimum overpowering.

Gyoza: Difficult to Make, Tasty as Hell

I haven't made gyoza in a long time, which explains the lack of a photograph; my gyoza stayed together, but were not very pretty looking. Here is a pretty comprehensive way of making them.
First, make the filling. Take ground pork (if you're vegan/vegetarian, use cabbage, celery, and carrots), cabbage (this time I forgot to add it, but I usually do), green onions, powdered ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, and Vietnamese fish sauce (if you can't find fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce is comparable). Mix all this together until everything is coated evenly.
Take your wonton or gyoza wrappers and cover them with a damp cloth. Keep a small bowl of water nearby. Working quickly, take out one wrapper and place a small amount of meat in the center; fold the wrapper so it resembles a purse, and seal the edges with fingers that were dipped into the cup of water. Set these on a plate and repeat until all your meat is gone.
Heat some oil on medium heat and add your gyoza in a small batch. Brown the outside. Then pour some water into the pan, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Once the water evaporates, take the gyoza out and repeat the process with the raw gyoza until everything is cooked.
While you're doing that, make some ponzu dipping sauce. Pour some soy sauce into small bowls for however many you're feeding and add powdered ginger and yuzu juice; I personally can't find any yuzu in my supermarket, so I used lime juice instead. Mix it well. Serve the gyoza hot with a small bowl of ponzu.
Even though I forgot the cabbage, Will and I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. It may end up becoming one of my March stand-bys, since I tend to buy too much cabbage when I make corned beef and cabbage.

Cream of Potato and Sauerkraut Soup: Simple, Effective, and Tasty Use of Leftovers

I know this sounds pretty gross, but in application it is pretty tasty. As I have mentioned before, I am a real stickler when it comes to using leftovers. I had leftover mashed potatoes, so I knew immediately that I wanted to make cream of potato soup, which is an easy Finnish recipe I had picked up on a couple years ago. I also had some sauerkraut left over from when I made hot dogs and decided, why not combine the two and put my own twist on the traditional recipe?
The traditional recipe is pretty straightforward. First, you take about two cups of leftover mashed potatoes and mix them with about two and a half cups of milk, whisking to eliminate as many lumps as possible. Once you do that, slowly whisk in about a cup of half and half; this time I didn't have any half and half, so I made my own using some whipped cream and milk. Then you put it into a pan, if you haven't already, and heat it on medium heat, whisking constantly, until it's slightly thickened and bubbly. Then you add allspice and salt and pepper to taste. Then you put some soup into mugs and top the soup with a half teaspoon of butter. The variation I made was adding the sauerkraut just before it gets to the point of boiling. I also didn't add any butter when serving because, well, it's fatty enough without adding more.
Will wasn't home to try it, since he had to work late, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sauerkraut added a nice zing to it without overpowering the potato flavor. And for those of you who are vegan, all you have to do to make this work for you is use mashed potatoes that have been made with dairy alternatives and instead of milk and half and half, use a soy milk of any other dairy alternative.
UPDATE: Will tried it yesterday for lunch. He enjoyed it as well and wants me to make it again. Perhaps on nights when I have leftover sauerkraut and not enough carrots to make carrot casserole I shall.

Cold Pork and Cheddar Sandwiches: Easy Use of Leftovers

Remember those pork chops I made earlier in the week? Well, I was afraid it would be too salty to make pulled pork with, so I decided on the next best thing: cold sandwiches served with tri-color radiatori with seasoned salt.
The trick to any good sandwich is the bread; you can have an amazing meat and really good cheese, but without good bread to emphasize the flavors, your sandwich will fall flat. I really like to use a San Fransisco sourdough bread, but any artisanal bread will do fine. Then, thinly slice your pork and cheese; if you want to add any other toppings, go for it. For example, I added sweet onion and mayonnaise, but Will had it plain.
We both really enjoyed it. While sandwiches may seem like a cop-out, they do work for something nice for a hot summer evening, especially if you make them into something more than just cold cuts and Kraft singles.

Hot Dogs With Sauerkraut and Caramelized Onions: Quick Yet Simple

It may sound not nutritionally dense, but we did this without any bread, so it's not as bad as it could be. I also used all beef, uncured hot dogs that are low on sodium and, instead of frying them, grilled them; all excess fat wound up in the depths known as my grill burners.
First, I grilled my hot dogs slowly with a smoker box full of hickory chips. The smoke can make up for the lower salt content by adding extra flavor. Meanwhile, I made my Bavarian style sauerkraut and caramelized my onions. With caramelizing onions, you don't need to use much; a little pepper adds a pleasant zing to them without compromising the flavor.
Will liked it, so well that he ate four hot dogs; he never does that.