Cozy Couch Pasta with a 100% Chance of Meatballs
And my event calendar is up -- catch me on book tour & for Food Fight trivia!
Consider this the mullet of newsletters: business up top, party down below. (And when I say “party” I mean “a story about me eating bucatini on my couch.”)
First, strap on your shoulderpads, grab your briefcase and let’s get down to business. And hopefully you’ll stick around for the fun stuff at the end!
I NEED YOUR HELP (Capital letters! Wow, this must be serious!)
I’d love for you to contribute to the next episode of Your Last Meal! Please record a voice message answering this question:
If you could have a dish named after you, what would it be & why?
(Think Caesar salad, Eggs Benedict, Fettuccine Alfredo, Reuben sandwich — dishes named after real people!)
I need your recording THIS WEEK! Use this link to easily record a quick message:
My dish would be Calzone Rachel™, based on my obsession with a saucy spaghetti and meatball filled calzone I discovered at an old-school pizzeria in Salt Lake City (a story for another time!), but MY version is topped with a mound of cold, crisp, croutonless Caesar salad (Rachel + Caesar sitting in a tree!). I love piling salad on top of a pizza slice, and I imagine the hot/cold, soft/crisp contrast would be just as good on a calzone. I literally JUST thought of this idea & am going to put in my notice at work tomorrow so I can open my new Calzone Rachel™ restaurant.
BOOK EVENTS!
In 15 days, my debut cookbook Open Sesame will arrive on your doorstep (If you pre-ordered! Have you pre-ordered? It’s not too late!) & stocked on bookstore shelves.
I have a handful of events planned in the PNW — everything from sit-down book talks to farmer’s market cooking demos to a come-and-go-as-you-please open house book party at a sweet little Seattle wine bar/shop that will be serving a recipe from the book!
I would LOVE it if you came!
And if you’re a paying subscriber of this newsletter, you’ll be invited to a free, online cooking class — keep an eye out for that invitation in November!
I nearly fainted when my editor told me that Portland’s iconic bookstore, Powell’s, selected Open Sesame as one of its 40 Under $25 — it will be on display in all of their store windows this holiday season! I’ll be doing a free book talk at their flagship store on December 8th — if you’re in Portland, please come and say hello!
In February I’ll be at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island, WA for an author talk where you’ll get to enjoy some bites from the book (this is a ticketed event)!
And I’m hosting a super fun event that’s not book related on November 20th! Food Fight is a live game show with food trivia, guest chef appearances, silly, interactive food challenges that I cooked up with my very own weird brain, tasty bites and delicious prizes - including my new cookbook & some products from local food businesses. Bring your own trivia team or come solo & join a table!
OKAY! We did it! Are you ready to paaarrrtttyyyy??!!
Friends, I am typing to you FROM HEAVEN. It’s 1:33pm & I’m still in my pajamas, on my couch, cat draped across lap, watching Great British Baking Show. We’re having a proper dreary, drizzly, October Saturday which means I finally have an excuse to stay home ALL DAY and relaxxxxxxxx. A very novel concept that I hardly ever engage in & it feels SO GOOD.
In my heaven, the pearly gates are made from strands of bucatini & the poofy, cumulus clouds indicate a 100% chance of meatballs. I just polished off this entire bowl of pasta. (The cat quickly took the bowl’s place.)
I have officially harvested the final fruits from my garden and this rainy day felt like the perfect time to use up the last of the kale and tromboncino. I love this variety of summer squash — it’s way less watery than zucchini, since all the seeds are isolated to the bulbous end, they’re comically large & have a fun name that I recommend saying out loud in an Italian accent. Trrrrromboncccccinooo!
A fun and satisfying side effect of being a longtime home cook is dipping into the techniques and flavor combinations I’ve absorbed from other recipes over the years, to make up a dish on the fly. This is a no-recipe recipe that I threw together with ingredients I already had in my freezer, fridge and pantry & it turned out VERY GOOD. (Hello from Sunday: I woke up this morning very excited to eat the leftovers!)
I’m a big fan of pureeing vegetables into sauces — they come out so creamy without adding any cream or milk.
Bucatini with Creamy Summer Squash & Italian Chicken Sausage Pesto Meatballs
I cubed up 3 of those squash (skin on) and sauteed them in olive oil, coconut oil and salt until they softened and got nice and caramelized.
Moved the squash to the blender, heated up a little more olive oil and toasted 4 whole cloves of garlic until they took on just a bit of color (cooking them too long will make them bitter).
Added the garlic and its cooking oil to the blender.
Boiled some water — I have taken to cooking long pasta shapes in a large, wide skillet, instead of a pot, so the noodles actually fit. Plus it uses less water and boils faster — and blanched the kale for about a minute.
Added the kale to the blender & brought the water back to a boil for the pasta.
Meanwhile, I mixed up the meatballs: a pound of Italian chicken sausage, one egg, a handful of panko crumbs, a few big spoonfuls of Costco pesto & fresh grated Parmesan. Formed them into balls and sauteed in olive oil. Once they got some color on both sides, turned the flame down to low and put the lid on until they cooked through.
When the pasta is almost done, scoop a little pasta water into the blender & blend until the veg transforms into a smooth, velvety sauce (this happens very quickly in a Vitamix). Taste and season with salt.
Drain the bucatini, but save a cup of pasta water.
Mix the pasta with some of the sauce & if it’s thick add a little pasta water at a time until it’s super creamy and silky. Squeeze in some fresh lemon. Mix mix mix! Taste & add salt and lemon if needed and/or pasta water if it’s too thick. Make it rain Parmesan & plop on those meatballs! A sprinkle of chili flake would also be good here.
The rest of the sauce can be frozen & reheats really nicely!
You could follow the same sauce formula but swap in roasted acorn squash or broccoli. You could add a little stock to the blender and make it into a soup. You could make your meatballs with ground lamb or chicken, fresh dill, lemon zest and feta for Greek-style flavors. You could shove it all into some pizza dough and serve it at Calzone Rachel™!
THE PASTABILITIES ARE ENDLESS!
XORachel Belle
