Orzo: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

 

The first time I saw orzo, I thought it was rice.  I was confused because the color was that of spaghetti, not white like normal rice.  The packaging talked about ‘al dente perfection in 9-10 minutes.’

I quickly realized that I had discovered a new kind of pasta.  Some people use orzo in soup.  I tried it in a casserole, mixed together with fresh spinach, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.  I cooked the orzo first and then baked it for 30 minutes with the other ingredients mixed in.

I have often wished for a different pasta shape, and now I’ve found it.

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Combining Two Pasta Shapes in One Dish

I thought last night’s dinner for eight would be easy to put together.  I had a one-pound box of rotini, a curly pasta that would cook up nicely and go well with marinara sauce.  The table was set, and the water was boiling.  That’s when I picked up the rotini and noticed that the box was half-empty.

Need an Emergency Meal?

When I used to be away from the kitchen on assignment or working into the dinner hour, I could count on Bart to get food on the table.  It was always the same meal—Spaghetti with Clam Sauce—and it was a choice the whole family liked.

These days I work more from home and thus dinner is not a crisis meal. But it’s still satisfying to serve something guaranteed to be liked.

My emergency meal at the moment

The Many Uses of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

My first encounter with crushed red pepper flakes occurred in conjunction with my first slice of pizza.  It happened one fateful evening, probably after a high school football game. I wondered why this new hole-in-the-wall restaurant in my Pennsylvania hometown had such a strange smell.  Only later did I recognize it as the smell of hot Parmesan cheese.

By then I was a regular customer

Crisis: My Oven Won’t Heat Up

It was a quiet Sunday night, and I was doing what I often do at the end of the week—heating up a store-bought croissant in my oven.  If I can get it hot enough, I’ve found that an American croissant tastes remotely like a croissant straight from a Paris bakery.

On-the-Run Dinners

There are some nights when real life intrudes on dinner.  The no-food event we were attending started at 7 pm, and it was an hour’s drive away.  Normally we eat around 7 pm. Waiting till we got home at 10 pm for dinner was out of the question.  We would have to eat in the car.

Pesto: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Pesto is a combination of fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, salt and Parmesan cheese.  For whatever reason, it was not on my radar until about 10 years ago when a foodie friend started telling me how easy it was to make.  He didn’t have any for me to sample, so I forgot about it for a few years until I stumbled on a jar of pesto in the refrigerated section of Costco.  I decided to try it as a pasta sauce.

It was an immediate hit.  Pesto, which originated in Italy, has a strong, fresh basil taste and is a very good topping for spaghetti, ravioli and other stuffed pasta.  As the cook, I find it incredibly convenient.  It has now become my family’s emergency meal.

Have I ever made pesto from scratch?  No.  Call me lazy, but it’s a lot easier to have pre-made pesto in the refrigerator than having to rush out to the store to buy fresh basil leaves.

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Two Recipes for the Same Dish Equals Confusion

I recently cut out a recipe from a local newspaper for Ricotta Stuffed Shells.  I’d never cooked giant shells before and thought it would be the perfect dish to serve to some vegetarian friends.  I added the ingredients to my grocery list and headed out to the store, where among other items I bought a box of giant shells.

Back home in my kitchen I noticed a Ricotta Stuffed Shells recipe on the box.

When Monday Night Dinners Were Special

Growing up, I always looked forward to Monday night dinner.  My father was off at his Kiwanis Club meeting, and my mother almost always made spaghetti.  “Made” was a flexible word in her vocabulary.  In this case it meant using the can opener to get access to Chef Boyardee’s fully cooked spaghetti in tomato sauce. She plopped it into  a pot, heated it up and served it in bowls.  My brother and I were in heaven.

Question for Mom

I bought too much prosciutto to make your Prosciutto Panini Sandwich and I don’t know what to do with the leftovers.  Do you have any suggestions? –Fred F.

Funny. I had the same problem. I tore a few slices of prosciutto into 1- or 2-inch pieces and added them to a Shrimp Risotto and cooked the mixture for

How to Pick a Cookbook That Works for You

I have a lot of cookbooks.  Partly it’s because I’ve written a few myself, and partly it’s because I’m always trying new dishes.

Along the way I’ve learned a few things.  I don’t want cookbooks that have beautiful pictures or fancily-named foods with dozens of ingredients, many of which I’ve never heard of.  Also, I avoid books that use a lot of canned foods or specialize in recipes from the 1950s.  It’s surprising how often I come across tuna noodle casserole.

The cookbooks I wrote with my son are basic beginner books. They got a little more complicated as he became a better cook.  Bottom line, though, is this: I don’t write about foods that I would never make.

My Favorite Freezer Food: Shrimp

I could have said croissants, bagels or leftovers, but I picked shrimp because it is so versatile. 

I used to think that shrimp cocktail was the only way to eat shrimp, but I was young and stupid then.  Because I grew up in a small town with limited grocery store options and restaurants, I didn’t think about food too much.  I just ate what was put in front of me. 

When I started cooking for myself, I never considered making shrimp cocktail.  It was a restaurant appetizer and too fancy to serve at home.

I Can Make That Too: Panini with Prosciutto in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Eatalian Café's Version of Panini with Prosciutto 

What could taste better on a summer day than a panini stuffed with prosciutto, mozzarella and tomatoes?  It barely needs cooking.  In fact, you can skip the panini press altogether and just use a loaf of French bread or ciabatta cut into 5-inch sections.

Tired of Chocolate Chip Cookies? Try Chocolate Biscotti!

A huge box of biscotti somehow found its way into my shopping cart at Costco, and soon after I got home every adult in the house was standing next to it.  Maybe the see-through packaging was too inviting to ignore.  Within a few days the box of 20 individually wrapped 8-inch-long biscotti was empty.

Just About Any Topping Goes with Spaghetti—Even Mussels

I love spaghetti so much that I could eat it every night of the week.  When I was younger, Spaghetti with Garlic Sauce was my dish of choice.  Hot pasta mixed with fresh chopped garlic, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley kept me and my food budget happy.

Bart introduced me to Spaghetti with Clam Sauce (aka Spaghetti Vongole).  I immediately liked it, possibly because it bears a great resemblance to Spaghetti with Garlic Sauce, minus clams and tomatoes.

The Rolling Pin: a Kitchen Accessory Useful for Making Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

I take my rolling pin for granted.  It used to belong to my grandmother, and I have carried it with me to New York, London and now Los Angeles.  I use it for making pie crusts on occasion, but there’s nothing more satisfying than using it to bash chicken breasts. 

Several of my recipes require flattened boneless chicken breasts.  You can’t buy them flattened, so you have to flatten them yourself.  Although I’m not a baseball player, I’ve noticed that the bat striking the ball sounds rather like the rolling pin striking the chicken.

Something Easy Everyone Likes

My most stressful times in the kitchen are when I’m trying to make a dinner that everyone at the table will eat.  Toasted bagels might make them all happy, but they're more brunch-y to me.

Pasta is the closest I’ve come to pleasing everybody, although I often need to provide several sauce choices.  I’m perfectly happy with Pesto Sauce, Garlic Sauce or Marinara Sauce.  I’m not too crazy about Alfredo Sauce—too rich for my taste.  But basically I’ll eat anything else.

Question for Mom

How many people will a 1-pound (16 oz.) package of spaghetti noodles feed?  -- Brad B.

The package says 8, but that is unrealistic if you’re making spaghetti as a main dish.  I would say 5-6 at the most, unless you’re feeding young children.   Cooked spaghetti keeps for a few days, so I’d rather have too many noodles than too few, especially because I like spaghetti leftovers. 

                                                  See all Questions for Mom

When I Learned to Love Spaghetti and Meatballs

Growing up in a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania meant different foods served at dinner, depending on where your parents came from.  My little town, about 15 miles Northeast of Pittsburgh, included many nationalities, drawn to the coal mining and steel working opportunities.

Thus was I introduced to Syrian sandwiches, made on bread much thicker and fresher than today’s packaged and often tasteless pita bread.  Or I might have been served that Polish classic, sauerkraut and kielbasa (sausage), or sticks of Greek souvlakia (aka shish kebab).  Or if I were eating at my grandmother’s house, I could count on boiled chicken.

I loved them all, but my favorite food from that time was Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Eggplant: Love It or Hate It

Eggplant Parmesan

Nobody is neutral about eggplant.  Some people actually tense up when they hear the word.  Others apparently start to salivate.

For most of my life I’ve been in the tense-up category.  When I was a beginning cook, I tried to keep an open mind.  When a recipe directed me to salt slices of eggplant and let them sit for an hour in a colander to take away the bitterness, I did as told.  When the recipe then said to fry the eggplant on both sides in 1/2 cup oil, I did that too.  The end result was unpleasant and oily.