Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas

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Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas
This time of year, I always feel like I am just gasping for air, struggling to stay caught up, and trying to remember where I’m supposed to be and when.  And if you have kids, whew…I don’t, but I remember being one and this time of year was even crazier back then with all of the end of the school year stuff.

Somewhere in there, between the string of weddings and graduations and band concerts, you’ve got to find time to eat.  Just because we’re all busy doesn’t mean we want to compromise on flavor or trade a satisfying meal for garbage picked up in a drive-through.  Pasta dishes like this one are perfect endings to crazy days.  The orecchiette is dressed with a touch of Mascarpone so it feels a bit indulgent and completely comforting.  Nearly every piece of orecchiette cups a pea and there are plenty of sautéed mushrooms to keep that feeling of indulgence from transforming to guilt.  Best part?  It’s ready in the amount of time it takes to boil the pasta.  Nice.

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Salmon with Morel Mushroom & Brandy Cream + Chicken & Morel Mushroom Fricassée

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The past week has been very mushroomy in my world.  It started with creamy orecchiette pasta with shiitake mushrooms and peas (look for that a little later this week!) and ended with an absurd amount of morel mushrooms served with salmon one night and in a chicken fricassée the next.

I only say absurd because if one were to buy as many morels as I’ve eaten in the past few days, they’d probably have to take out a second mortgage or sell a vital organ.  I priced them at the grocery store and they were $15.99 for 4 shrively mushrooms.  Yikes.  Thankfully, I’m lucky enough to have (future) in-laws that live on several wooded acres that are ripe with morel mushrooms most springs and a fiancé that loves hunting ’em down.  This year, Matt wound up with enough for us to have 2 very mushroom heavy dinners plus a bag to share with my parents.  Here’ s a taste of what we came up with and, perhaps, a little cooking inspiration, should you also come into a heap of morels this spring.

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Strawberry Apricot Cobbler

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Strawberry Apricot Cobbler

We’ve gotten to know each other well enough that I feel I can be completely honest with you.  Want a dose of full-disclosure truthfulness?

I don’t dream in chocolate.  You’re probably never going to find a brownie archive on my site.  Sure, I’ll choke down a chocolate chip cookie from time to time and I’m not above eating nutella by the spoonful, but a really good fresh fruit cobbler or pie is the kind of dessert that actually makes me weak in the knees.

Here’s a good one: warm, just-sweet-enough baked apricots and strawberries, with a rich biscuit topping, dolloped with a spoonful of whipped cream.  Ahhhh…it was my first cobbler of the season and I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it.  Over the winter, you forget just how good ripe stone fruits and berries are.  Then you encounter a display of fruit you haven’t seen in almost a year, throw together a cobbler, and quickly remember.

This whole cobbler was sort of an accident.  I had thought the apricots were destined for Saturday morning scones, but Saturday morning turned into Saturday afternoon, turned into Sunday evening, turned into OMG–I better do something with these apricots before it’s too late.  I snapped into action and turned them into dessert.

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Tuna & Asparagus Salade Niçoise

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Tuna & Asparagus Niçoise Salad

This month marks 15 years for me in the restaurant biz.  I doubt when I donned my apron and punched my time card for the first time my 14-year-old self would have ever imagined what the future would hold: all of the customers that would make me want to scream, all of the co-workers that would make me want to tear my hair out, all of the late nights, all of the dirty fingernails, and all the dang Niçoise salads.

15 years split between working for a Frenchman and some serious Francophiles, I’ve served more Niçoise salads than I dare estimate.  You’d think I’d be sick of the very sight them, but, shockingly, I’m not. There’s something so satisfying about looking at such a beautiful and abundant plate that when I came into a couple of beautiful tuna steaks over the weekend, I immediately knew I would use them to make the Rolls Royce of Niçoise salads.

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Braised Baby Artichokes with Creamy Polenta

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Braised Baby Artichokes with Creamy PolentaWhen the calendar turns to spring, my mind wanders from braising to grilling and I tend to stop day-dreaming about polenta all together.  But after this dinner, I think that’s going to change.

Spring evenings are actually an ideal time for a bowl of not too heavy polenta with saucy, braised artichokes.  The weather’s nice enough to eat outside, but come dusk, the air gets a bit brisk and a warm bowl of polenta is just what you need to remain al fresco.

Or scratch that theory.  How’s this for the perfect spring braising/polenta scenario?  Lunch on an incredibly gloomy, gray, drizzly Saturday afternoon.  It’s the kind of day when you eat lunch at the kitchen table and it ends up lasting for hours.  You light a candle, sip red wine, and let yourself become hypnotized by the pitter-patter of falling rain.  Dessert after a lunch like this?  Only the most decadent thing imaginable–a nice long nap.

Whatever the circumstances, I can find a way to make this meal work and you should too.  It’s simple, delicious, and the flavors and textures are supremely comforting.  The artichokes aren’t fussed with much, just cooked in white wine with leeks and garlic, brightened up with a handful of parsley and a squeeze of lemon.  The polenta is kept soft and loose, with a spoonful of Mascarpone cheese added for a touch of richness.

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