Special request

For Pam O, and others on the Gourmet Texas Pasta Facebook page, here is Mom's cold pasta salad using Zesty Cajun Linguine. (It was called Spicy Cajun until last week, when I realized half of our products were called Spicy or Roasted something or other. I'm a better editor than that, so Zesty Cajun it is!)

Since this is Mom's recipe, I'll let it speak for itself because even as a simple recipe, I can hear my mother's voice in every line and somedays I still need to hear my Mom's voice. 

Enjoy!

RAGIN’ Cajun Pasta Salad

1 pkg Gourmet Texas Pasta Zesty Cajun Linguine, cooked, drained, cooled, chopped

hard salami, minced 8 oz

ham, minced 8 oz

provolone/mozarella mix cheese, diced or shredded, 8 oz

Set aside.

1 small jar cheap green olives

1 small jar kalamata olives

1 tiny can chopped black olives

4 or 5 cloves garlic

Whirl through the food processor

Pour on olive oil til moistened

Mix pasta, meat, cheese, tapenade.....chill...serve

Voila:  Muffaletta Pasta Salad!

Attack of the KILLER tomatoes

I love tomatoes. LOVE them. I also love my husband, Sean, who grows me tomatoes (I love him for other reasons, but that never hurts when he's standing in line for the doghouse!) Contrast this with my brother, Stoney, who wouldn't eat an unprocessed tomato (marinara, ketchup and salsa were OK) because he refused to "eat food still in the larval state."


This spring and summer, we've been admittedly neglectful of our yard and garden, so imagine my delight when Sean sauntered in one afternoon with a handful of scarlett red gems no bigger than the end of my thumb. We have no garden growing, but amid a patch of overgrown... let's call it grass...was a volunteer tomato plant creeping across the ground and laden with these yummy jewels. My mouth waters now just at the thought.

Then came the HOT HOT HOT and the teenaged son who cleared the lawn. He didn't touch the tomato plant but without their blanket of protection, they seem to have given up the battle for now. So, we bought farmer's market tomatoes. Good, good, good. And more than we could use in a couple of days so said son put them in the fridge. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Once they've been in the chillbox, 'maters lose flavor. (it's not just my opinion, I swear! Ask Alton Brown. He's on Twitter @altonbrown) So then I had a choice: Whine or recover?  I know when life gives you lemons you're supposed to make lemonade (or Lemon Pepper Linguine) but I had tomatoes and tomato-ade just sounded wrong.
I like the idea of sun-dried tomatoes but other than one version I had a decade ago in London, I've never been impressed with the reality of sun-dried tomatoes.
Brain clicking, I remembered something I read eons ago about preserving tomatoes by slow-roasting them. THAT proved to be a path to pursue. So, I roasted them, using the following recipe. To mock a certain teenager who uses the phrase "killer" to mock me, these are "killer."

KILLER TOMATOES


Little tomatoes (cherry, currant or grape work best)
whole unpeeled cloves of garlic (NOT HEADS, cloves)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Sugar

Bake at 225 degrees-- yes, I know it's summer and it's hot. Trust me. It'll be OK.

Halve the tomatoes longway, put them and the garlic in a bowl and drizzle on a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil (I use Texas Olive Ranch oils most of the time. Like the oil and the people. http://texasoliveranch.com/)

---NOTE: at this point, I usually pull most of the tomatoes out and keep them pure. The rest get a dose of balsamic (also from Texas Olive Ranch), a spoonful of sugar and a dash of salt, just because.---

Put the tomatoes FACE UP and the garlic cloves on a wire rack set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A RACK, just put the tomatoes on the paper. Please don't go buy a rack unless you just know you really needed one all this time and this is your excuse to buy one.

Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about three hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left insiden. This could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes and your oven. 

The first thing you're going to want to do it pop one in your mouth. DON'T DO IT. Those suckers are hot. Blow on it first, then pop it in your mouth. Then you can use your tomatoes right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge. Use them with your favorite pasta, topped with just a bit of the olive oil (which is going to pick up incredible flavor), on a pizza, or just as a snack.

Oh, and those cloves of garlic? Squeeze them out, mash them up and spread on toasted French bread. Put one of those tomato halves on top and you've got yourself a fancy little treat.

One great sammich

Max and I went to Dripping Springs for the Dripping Springs Farmers Market yesterday. Taking a teenager to a market is always fun, especially one who has been a foodie FOREVER. Since we were early, we had time to eat. (Teenager, remember?) 

We passed on the usual suspects of fast food and listened to the recommendations of other vendors and the organizers and headed to Cafe 131. WHAT A FIND! The menu was long enough to be interesting but not overwhelming. Max chose a french dip with a Caesar salad instead of a plain green salad (foodie, remember?). I went with the club sandwich because, well, it had bacon on it. 

Max's sandwich was impressive, with real meat and lots of cheese. I guess it was good because I never got a bite of it, or the salad. And I never got a chance to snap a picture of it!

But if this was a competition, I'd be quoting Charlie Sheen: "WINNING!"

My sandwich was, I kid you not, five inches high! The ingredients were spilling out and, even as big as my mouth is, I could barely wedge this beauty in to take a bite. When I did, I knew why Max hadn't shared his sandwich. I knew I wasn't sharing mine, either. (But I did... I'm the Mom.)  I kept sneaking out of our booth to grab bites during the afternoon. I never did manage to finish it off. Max got HALF for dinner and was satisfied, so I guess we all won.

One more thing to note before I encourage you to go see the folks at Cafe 131: Max liked that sandwich so much he went back across the street and asked if they would make him one for dinner (it was still lunchtime, but we wanted to get one to go when we were done rather than let it sit all afternoon.) I'm not sure who "the girl chef" is that Max talked to but whoever you are, Girl Chef, you deserve a cape and kudos. Max's disappointment at not being able to get a late sandwich--thanks for trying--was more than tempered by his dealings with you. If there was ever a super-hero-worthy skill, being able to charm a sometimes-surly teenage boy while telling him you would NOT be feeding him is certainly at the top of my list. THANK YOU.

OK, now the pitch: If you are anywhere near Dripping Springs, or can make up an excuse to be near there, make the stop at Cafe 131. It's seriously worth the effort.

 http://www.cafe131.com/

One more toss: Since Max got a salad with his lunch, I got fries. Thanks to our friend Bill from Drippin' Sauce for ketchup with brilliant attitude to go with those fries. 

http://www.drippinsauce.com/ 

That's it for now. Going to Williams-Sonoma at Barton Creek Mall in Austin tomorrow (Saturday, June 16) for the Artisans Market. Going to make Lemon Pepper Chicken featuring our Lemon Pepper Linguine and using a bit of Texas Olive Ranch's Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. Come see us.

'Til next time: Enjoy!

Holy SMOKES! This is HOT!!!

I love it when other people love Gourmet Texas Pasta as much as we do. If you've got a minute, go check out this amazing blog from Dave DeWitt's burn blog that features fiery foods of all  kinds.

http://www.burn-blog.com/3496/habanero-pasta-from-texas-hell-yeah/
See us on Dave DeWitt's fiery food Burn Blog

Spring Salad, take II

I'm getting lazier. I admit it. The Kalamata Olive salad just got easier as a result. Instead of making a balsamic vinaigrette, just use bottled Greek dressing. Seriously. 

Orange ya glad?

Orange ya glad I didn’t say…

You know how an idea can sound good at one time and then seem really DUMB later on? You know. Things like teaching a knock-knock joke to a 4-year-old, or asking a 14-year-old what he wants for dinner. Dumb, right?

Yeah, I’m there. Especially with this whole idea of the festivals I set up for Gourmet Texas Pasta to attend in May and June. Big celebrations. Lots of people. Opportunity knocking. What’s not to love, right?

Well… see.. the thing is I made these plans in February, when I was wearing three shirts and two pairs of socks to keep warm.  NOT when I was scrambling for my diminishing supply of sleeveless shirts.

Over the Memorial Day holiday, we went to Rockport to the Texas Maritime Museum’s annual Wine Festival. It’s a well-run event and since that was Sean’s first-ever event selling pasta, it’s got a sentimental value to it. Had to go.

This weekend, we’ll be in Houston for the annual Houston Beer Fest, right downtown. Never been but we’ve heard great things about it and Sean thinks very highly of one of the vendor organizers, so off we go.

At the end of the month, we’re heading to Granbury for their July 4^th parade festivities. Never mind that it will still be June: That’s when the party is, so that’s when we go.

Yep… when it was 35 degrees outside, these all sounded WONDERFUL. Now, when the temperature is nearing 100 every day, I’m remembering what happens to pixies when they get exposed to heat and humidity: Pixies wilt.

To make myself seem even crazier, I point out the fact that we serve HOT samples, cooked on site at our events. That means 100 degrees,  99% humidity and a kettle of boiling water giving off even more steam.. DUMB.

So, say, the pasta mom and the pasta man, make COLD samples. Make pasta salad. I might not be smart enough to have had the good idea, but I’m smart enough to listen.

Even smarter? Letting Mom create the recipes. Seriously. I yelped for help and within an hour, I had five cold pasta salad recipes in my email inbox. So, far this one is my favorite. It’s had a lot of names, but I’m thinking truth in advertising is important. So, I’m going to call it Simple Orange Salad. Except for the pasta, everything in this can be found on the shelves of HEB (probably whatever grocery store you use) prepped and ready to use. How simple can it get? In fact, this salad probably can be made in less time than you just devoted to reading about it. 

Be prepared, though: We offered samples of this at recent events and sold out of SOS each time. This salad disappears almost as fast as it goes together. Enjoy!

SIMPLE ORANGE SALAD

*1/2 package Gourmet Texas Pasta

              Szechuan Orange Spice linguine, 

cooked, cooled and cut

*1/2 c. sliced almonds

*1/2 c. chopped dried cranberries

*1/2 c. cooked, chopped bacon

*1 small can mandarin orange sections, drained

*Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing, enough to moisten to your taste.

Toss everything together, let it sit a bit and you’ve got a great COOL way to bring something different to the dinner table. Or to your next pot-luck. Enjoy.

And remember: Keep pasta weird!