Pasta with Smashed Peas, Prosciutto, and Scallions (FM)

• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated, all chopped
• Black pepper
• 3 cups fresh or thawed frozen peas
• 8 ounces any pasta, prefereably whole wheat
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, optional

Boiling pasta.  Apparently I never got around to taking a mise en place photo.

Cook prosciutto in oil over medium heat until crisp.

Add white parts of scallions (Yeah, I know they look green.).  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes.

Add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add some of the pasta cooking water and roughly mash peas.  Toss together with pasta, scallions tops, and pecorino and this dish pretty much amounts to awesomeness.

Chipotle Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans and Shrimp (FM)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 (or more) canned chiles, minced, with some of their adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried [I used Mexican oregano since I have it and this is a Mexican dish]
• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 cup cooked or canned black beans, drained
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen are fine)
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock, beer, [I had an odd bottle of Sam Adams lying around.] or water
• Lime wedges [eh]
• 8 ounces peeled shrimp, chopped

Mise en place.

Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until onion is soft.

Add chipotles and adobo and continue cooking for 1 minute.

I interpreted 2 or more as potentially double.  I found five chiles in the can and added all of them.  Held back on the adobo until the final seasoning, but I'm pretty sure I used most of it.

Add quinoa, salt, and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add beans, corn, beer, and salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Stir, cover, and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.

When quinoa is almost tender, add shrimp and cover covered for an additional 5 minutes.

Quinoa is another grain I've had lying around forever, unused.  There was no clear expiration date on the package, but I had told my friends I'd  be trying to pass it off to that I had had it for years.  I mean, there's nothing wrong with how it looks or smells so it should be fine?

A very nice dish,  I tried to achieve a heat level that was quite nearly too spicy to eat, which is generally how I like spicy food.  Mission accomplished.

Bouillabaise with Fennel over Grits (FM)

• 1 cup grits or coarse cornmeal
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 fennel bulbs, cored and thinly sliced, fronds roughly chopped and reserved
• 2 leeks, trimmed, well rinse, and cut into coins, white and tender green parts only [Frankly, I think that cutting the leeks into coins is counter-intuitive to the traditional means of washing leeks.  Bittman himself in HCE outlines the typical halving of the leeks almost through the root end and fanning out the layers while rinsing.  Oh well.]
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Grated zest from 1 orange
• Big pinch of saffron, optional
• 1 dried hot chile, or pinch of cayenne, or to taste
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; drain their juice)
• About 1 pound almost any seafood (like monkfish, cod, scallops, squid, or shrimp), peeled, skinned, boned, and cut into chunks as needed
• 1 carrots or parsnips, cut into coins
• 2 cups vegetable, shrimp, or fish stock; dry white wine; or water; plus more as needed
• Black pepper

Mise en place.  Full-on except for the carrots.

Slowly whisk the water into the grits with a large pinch of salt.  Set over medium-high heat until almost a boil then simmer until the consistency of oatmeal.

I think this happened way more quickly that the suggested 10 to 15 minutes.  Whisk in 1 tablespoon of oil and season aggressively with black pepper.

Heat oil over medium heat.  Add fennel, leeks, garlic, and orange zest and cook until softened.

Add saffron and chile and cook for another minute.

Add tomatoes, seafood, carrots, and stock to just cover fish and vegetables.  I started pouring more of that boxed pinot to cover but worried about being unable to cook off the taste of alcohol with at least three cups of wine going on.

I was fine!

Bring to a boil, cover, and turn off heat.  Supposedly you're supposed to let this sit for five more minutes to cook through the shrimp, but they were already pink once this finished boiling.

Serve stew over grits.  Drape with those frilly little fennel fronds.

I think I've largely considered bouillabaise, inaccessible since it's rather delicate, but if Bittman doesn't care too much if I use all shrimp I guess I'm fine.
Grits are stupid easy to make.

Altogether the dish was good but not exactly rave-worthy.

Pasta with Seared Tomatoes and Ricotta (FM)

• Salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more as neeeded
• 4 lbs ripe Roma (plum) tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
• Black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 8 ounces any pasta, preferably whole wheat
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Blacken tomatoes over medium-high heat until deeply colored on both sides.  Or well, when they are super-super cooked as I did them.

Combine all the tomatoes and garlic and cook for a minute or so.

I forgot to reserve pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce, but the tomatoes' juices were runny enough.  Basically toss the pasta, basil, and ricotta in with the sauce.

Pretty satisfying dish for such simple ingredients.  I cooked another pasta dish from Food Matters just tonight that was great as well.  Really a roll here with this cookbook again.  The dish has everything it needs.