Home Sweet Home!

Yes, I’m back home, where it’s blazingly hot, but I’ve seen in the papers that it’s this way across the United States. I had a wonderful conference in Monterey, and then a great evening with my sister and her husband in Concord. Friday morning I left her house at 5, and with only a stop for breakfast and two stops for gas, made it home by 2. Back in my own kitchen. Back in my own bed, where I collapsed for a two-hour nap before supper.

I got a great start on my commitment to cook those dishes I mentioned in a previous post. We started with Rigatoni with Roasted Garlic, Mushrooms and Chili Pepper from Cream Puffs in Venice. My oh my. It was soooo good. It’s a fabulous no-meat main dish, and we had it with some salad. Here is the link to Ivonne’s recipe, which she got from Truly Madly Pasta by Ursula Ferrigno. Ivonne’s picture of the finished product is much better than any photo I could take, so go look at hers to see what it’s supposed to look like. The only changes I made to the recipe were based on ingredients I had on hand - I used regular white mushrooms instead of the portobellos and oyster mushrooms, and half and half instead of cream. This is something I’ll definitely make again!

Rigatoni with Roasted Garlic, Mushrooms, and Chili Pepper
from Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice

2 heads of garlic, with tops trimmed off
3-4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t crushed red pepper flakes
10 oz. mushrooms, roughly chopped
8 oz. penne rigate or rigatoni
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 c heavy cream
1/3 c freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375˚. Place each head of garlic on a square of foil. Drizzle each with a tablespoon of olive oil, then wrap loosely in the foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the garlic is golden and soft. Let cool for 20 minutes. Grasp each head of garlic at the base and squeeze out all of the roasted garlic. Set aside.
Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and continue cooking another couple of minutes. Add the roasted garlic, and cook another couple of minutes. Reduce heat and add cream. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm on low heat while pasta cooks.
When pasta is finished cooking, drain it and add it to the cream-mushroom mixture. Add Parmesan, stir, and serve immediately with additional Paremsan.

My son Kenny got his photo in the Kunsan Air Base (Korea) base newspaper a few weeks ago. Not only is he playing goalie for the base soccer team, he’s playing intramural softball. Go here, then scroll down to the sports page. I think it’s a pretty decent shot–great batting form!

food & drink