Name: braised short rib pasta sauce (short rib ragu)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: makes about 6 servings
Ingredients: 4 pounds bone-in English Style short ribs; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 pound carrots, peeled and diced; 1 large yellow onion, chopped; 1 6-ounce can tomato paste; 1 28-ounce can of peeled whole tomatoes; 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (about a half a bottle, eyeball it); 1/3 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped; Parmesan cheese; 1 pound pasta of your choice (pappardelle or rigatoni are great choices here); Canola Oil or other neutral oil; Salt + Pepper

braised short rib pasta sauce (short rib ragu)

October 3, 2019 by Butter Loves Company

This braised short rib pasta sauce is made with hearty fresh veggies and rich red wine. The ribs are slow-cooked until they fall off the bone. The cooking liquid is strained to create a deeply decadent and silky sauce. Toss it with some pasta (homemade, if you have it) and hunker down on the couch.

By popular demand, I’m sharing one of my favorite meals I’ve made in a while: braised short rib pasta sauce. Save this for heartwarming, soul-satisfying weekend cooking throughout the Fall and Winter months. Meaty and rich short ribs cook down in a flavor-packed combination of veggies and red wine. The veggies and wine (along with some parsley) will be the base of the sauce, and we’ll strain it so there is no need to be meticulous with chopping.

After hours in the oven, the short rib meat is fall-off-the-bone fork tender and the braising liquid has reduced to concentrate the flavors even further. We’ll remove the meat from the pot and then strain the liquid into a separate pot where you’ll finish the dish. The strained liquid is your silky, meaty, tomato-y sauce. Into that goes all of our short rib meat, deboned and shredded.

Finally, toss all of that goodness with some al dente pasta and you have a short rib ragu that will feel like a hug. Do not skip grated Parmesan to finish it off! So luxurious. I can’t wait to make this short rib pasta for the rest of the winter.

Braising Short Ribs for Pasta

You can find short ribs at the grocery store more often during the Winter months. They may have boneless or bone-in. Bone-in is preferred for this as it helps generate a thicker sauce and keeps the meat together-ish while it is cooking in the oven. It is important to brown the short ribs first as it helps to seal in the fat.

If you make this recipe, please let me know by sharing on Instagram and tagging me @butterlovescompany! I would love to see what you think, and drool over it!

Xo,
Jenna

If you’re looking for other good winter meals, might I suggest:

Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel

Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Potato

braised short rib pasta sauce pappardelle

braised short rib pasta sauce (short rib ragu)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes

Servings: makes about 6 servings

braised short rib pasta sauce pappardelle

Ingredients

4 pounds bone-in English Style short ribs
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 28-ounce can of peeled whole tomatoes
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (about a half a bottle, eyeball it)
1/3 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta of your choice (pappardelle or rigatoni are great choices here)
Canola Oil or other neutral oil
Salt + Pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring meat to room temperature and then generously coat with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven, heat a thin layer of canola oil on medium-high heat. Sear the ribs on each side to brown. It may take about 10 minutes to get them browned on all sides and ends—they will cook fully in the oven so won’t be cooked through at this stage. Remove to a plate, keeping the juices and browned bits in the pan.
Into the Dutch oven with the beef fat, add the garlic, carrots, and onions and cook until softened. While those cook, crush the canned tomatoes with your hand and then add to the mixture along with the tomato paste and parsley. Stir together and cook until the tomato paste starts to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to get any browned bits of flavor off. Nestle the reserved short ribs back into the mixture (with the bone side up), and all the pan sauce back into the pot. Add about a 1/2 cup water or beef stock to help with the braising. Cover and transfer to the preheated over for 2½ to 3 hours or until the meat is incredibly tender and fragrant.
Remove from the oven. Remove the ribs with their meat to a plate. Strain the juices from the Dutch oven into a pot, pressing on the solids to get out any of the concentrated juices from the onions, tomatoes, and carrots.
Shred the ribs with a fork and dump them into the pot of braising liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to make the pasta. Cook your pasta to al dente and then remove from the pot directly into the other pot with the braising liquid and ribs. Toss to coat with the sauce and meat. Enjoy with a generous grating of Parmesan!

Notes

Adapted from Bon Appetit.

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2019/10/03/braised-short-rib-pasta-sauce-short-rib-ragu/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

butternut squash alfredo

September 4, 2019 by Butter Loves Company

This post has been sponsored by Ronzoni SuperGreens® Pasta. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You all know how much I love pasta, which is why I’m super pumped about today’s recipe. We’re taking all the luxurious creaminess of a traditional alfredo sauce and giving it a fall-forward veggie twist by using butternut squash in the sauce, plus a green spaghetti!

This Butternut Squash Alfredo uses Ronzoni SuperGreens® Thin Spaghetti from ACME Markets. The pasta is packed with greens as it is made with spinach, zucchini, broccoli, parsley, and kale. So, not only are we making the sauce a little more nutritious by using squash in place of the heavy cream and cheese you often find in alfredo but we’re also getting an excellent dose of veggies within the pasta itself.

The butternut squash alfredo sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week (or frozen for about a month), making it perfect for weekday meals for the family. I love that the pasta is a good source of fiber, vitamin A, thiamin, folate, iron, and riboflavin. I’m always looking for more ways to get iron into our diets, so finding out I could do that by twirling this pasta was quite the pleasant surprise!

The sauce has a slight sweetness from the squash and warmth from a dash of nutmeg, which is perfect for the autumn season. It’s balanced by the saltiness of some grated Parmesan and the welcome earthiness of the Ronzoni SuperGreens® Thin Spaghetti. I added shrimp for a little protein, but you could also omit or swap with ground turkey or chicken if you prefer. Just be sure to cook your protein fully before combining with the sauce and spaghetti.

The pasta can be found at your local ACME in the pasta aisle (it’s the only major green pasta made with 5 green vegetables on the market today), and be sure to check out the ACME mobile app in case there are any coupons or deals on your other ingredients!

I can’t wait to eat this butternut squash alfredo pasta throughout the fall and winter months. Prime pasta months if you ask me!

Xo,

Jenna

Butternut Squash Alfredo Pasta with Shrimp

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4 Servings (depending on how hungry you are!)

butternut-squash-alfredo

Ingredients

4 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups yellow onion, chopped (about 1 medium)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup water or chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 pound Ronzoni SuperGreens® Thin Spaghetti
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, for serving

Special Equipment: A blender or handheld immersion blender

Instructions

Set a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and 1 tablespoon oil, and allow butter to melt. Add the onion and sauté to soften, about 1–2 minutes.
Add the garlic and butternut squash and stir to combine. Add the water or stock and nutmeg as well as a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine and then cover to cook until the butternut squash is fork tender, about 15 minutes.
Transfer butternut squash mixture to a blender or large bowl if using an immersion blender. Add the milk and then purée until smooth.
In a small bowl, toss the shrimp with a little salt and pepper. Give your skillet a quick wipe or rinse, and then set it back over medium heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, followed by the shrimp—cooking until pink, about 2–3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (6–8 minutes).
Drain pasta and add to the skillet with the shrimp. Pour the butternut squash alfredo over the pasta and gently toss together. Serve with a little grated Parmesan cheese.

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2019/09/04/butternut-squash-alfredo/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

Save now at your local ACME!

rigatoni with sausage and fennel

February 16, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

This Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel is just the hearty meal you need to comfort you after a long day. I recently made this dish as part of Tasting Table’s cookbook club (Thanks to the lovely Evi of Ev’s Eats for inspiring me to join!). The January book—which I got this recipe from—was Ina Garten’s Cooking for Jeffrey: a compilation of great recipes inspired by cooking for the ones you love.

This is an adaptation of what became one of the most popular recipes for the group to make. I ended up making a few ingredient swaps based on what we had in the pantry at the time and loved the results. Whenever I see a recipe using Italian sausage, I pretty much always include hot Italian sausage just because my personal “Jeffrey” loves spice. As do I. Not feeling sausage? This would be great with mushrooms as a ‘meaty’ vegetarian alternative.

The tenderness and light licorice essence of the fennel balances the creamy sauce, acidic tomatoes, and meatiness, heat, saltiness of the sausage. Of course, there’s also the crispy cheesy bits you get on the tops of the baked pasta—swoon!

While you could substitute any pasta for the rigatoni, I’d highly recommend the little tubes as they perfectly capture little chunks of sausage in their centers resulting in extra-delicious bites. Supergreg doesn’t care for fennel and cleaned his bowl(s) so if you’re hesitant about the fennel, I urge you not to let it stop you!

This makes a lot of pasta, which was fine because you’ll want to heat up leftovers throughout the week when you just can’t think about cooking dinner.

rigatoni with sausage and fennel

Servings: Serves about 6

rigatoni with sausage and fennel | butter loves company

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups fennel (1 large bulb), diced
1 1/2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 1/4 pounds Italian Sausage (I use half hot and half mild Italian)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup half and half
2 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 pound dried rigatoni
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a heavy, oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and allow to brown, stirring occasionally and breaking it into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl and set aside. There should be some fat leftover from the sausage in the pot. If not, add a little more olive oil. To the pot, add the diced fennel and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, under tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir the sausage back into the pot. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Add the heavy cream, half and half, and tomatoes. Bring back to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce reduces somewhat and thickens up.
Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil and preheat the oven to 450°F. Add the rigatoni to the boiling salted water and cook according to the package directions, shaving off two or three minutes of cook time so your rigatoni is very al dente. Drain and add the al dente pasta to the sausage fennel sauce and stir to coat. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the top of the pasta with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan and then bake uncovered in the pre-heated oven for 5–10 minutes, or until the cheese on top melts and you start getting some crispy bits. Remove from oven and serve.

Notes

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Cooking for Jeffrey

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2017/02/16/rigatoni-sausage-fennel/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

turkey quinoa poblano chili

January 13, 2016 by Butter Loves Company

Warming Turkey Quinoa Poblano Chili is your answer for cold days, game days and all the days you want to curl up with some ‘healthier’ comfort food. Also, it’s perfect for feeding a group!

I’ve made this easy turkey chili recipe a handful of times within the past year and, each time, Greg and I seem to be surprised by how delicious it is. The more I think about it, though, the more I’m surprised that we’re surprised. With tender turkey, mildly spice from the poblanos, and slight nuttiness of quinoa all simmered with the heat of chili powder and cayenne, plus a touch of sweet from cinnamon and cloves, this dish has so many comforting flavors. When topped with creamy avocado, tangy lime and a dollop of cooling Greek yogurt, you really can’t go wrong with this not-surprisingly delicious turkey chili.

While this chili is a great alternative to the traditional beef chili when celebrating game day, you could also make a batch to have for lunch throughout the week. I bet you could even make this one vegetarian if you wanted to sub out the turkey for a variety of different beans and the chicken broth for a vegetable broth.

Depending on your brand of chili powder and the specific poblano peppers you use, the heat level can vary. If you are wary of spice, I would recommend starting with about half of the chili powder and then adding more to taste.

turkey quinoa poblano chili

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Servings: makes 6 to 8 servings

turkey poblano quinoa chili | butter loves company

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large poblano chilis (or 3 medium), seeded and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 pounds ground turkey meat (not breast only)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 tablespoons chili powder
11/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked quinoa
Avocado, lime and/or Greek yogurt for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, poblanos, and celery. Cook until the vegetables soften and the onions are translucent, about 6 or 7 minutes.
Add the ground turkey and stir to distribute, breaking up the turkey with a spoon as you go. Sauté until no longer pink, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to combine. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, salt, and pepper and stir to blend. Cook 4 to 5 minutes.
Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add in the beans and cook until the chili thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir in the cooked quinoa and simmer 5 minutes more. Turn off heat—it’s ready to serve!

Notes

adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2016/01/13/turkey-quinoa-poblano-chili-recipe/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

homemade sweet corn polenta with tomato onion ragoût

July 17, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

Odds are you’ve had at least one corn dish so far this summer. Grilled on the cobb, boiled on the cob, off the cobb on a salad, in a salsa, in a pasta dish, Mexican-style smothered in cojita cheese, cayenne and lime (one of my favorite ways)—the options are nearly endless through corn’s summer season. But have you had a plate of warm, sweet, fresh corn polenta yet? Did you know you could make fresh corn polenta? Did you know you could make it very easily? I certainly didn’t.

My polenta experiences, like many of yours perhaps, have been that of sometimes gummy, sometimes watery, cornmeal porridge. But seeing as cornmeal is just coarse flour made from dried corn, it does seem logical that you could make a fresher version.

The thought first crossed my mind when I stumbled upon a recipe for sweet corn polenta in Yotam Ottolenghi’s gorgeous vegetarian cookbook, Plenty. As a side note, I’ve spent the past few years flirting with this cookbook from the acclaimed British restaurateur each time I’ve walked into a bookstore. Seeing as I’m dating a former English major who works in publishing, I’ve found myself in bookstores quite often. I rarely read novels or your typical nonfiction books (a pain point for half of those in our relationship 🙂 ), but I do read cookbooks. A lot. And this was one I’ve been wanting to get my hands on.

As I read more and more of my favorite bloggers confirming the excellence of Ottolenghi’s unique recipes (see here, here, or here, for example) it became clear it was time for me to take the plunge. We had our first date the other night and it was glorious. Greg declared the result of my rendezvous hands down the best polenta he had eaten in his life. I agreed. After a very simple cook, blend, reduce process, the result was a remarkably creamy, cheesy and sweet polenta unlike any polenta made from dried cornmeal. I completed the meal with a quick, slightly spicy, slightly acidic vegetable ragoût. As a bonus, it reheated well, which is also a quality that dried polenta doesn’t always possess.

The original recipe called for mixing feta into the ground corn and eggplant into the ragoût but I didn’t have either on hand so I substituted with Parmesan and extra tomato and onions. I encourage you to top with any veggie sauce you enjoy since this polenta is a great vehicle for yummy sauce. Or you can top it with meat. Whatever you top it with, please let me know in the comments section how it comes out!

homemade sweet corn polenta with tomato onion ragoût
adapted from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi

prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 40 minutes
makes 4 entrée servings

tomato and onion ragoût

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sweet white onions, diced
4 cups diced tomatoes (fresh or canned, if fresh it will be about 5 small tomatoes)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4–1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on your spice tolerance)
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, if you have it
1/3 cup fresh basil, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook until the onions begin to become tender and translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, bouillion, if using, and basil and cook for a further 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. You can set the sauce aside and warm it up when needed.

homemade sweet corn polenta

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn, shucked
2 1/4 cups water, approximately
3 tablespoons butter, diced
7 ounces Parmesan or Feta cheese, grated or crumbled if using the latter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Black pepper

Instructions:

Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off each ear of corn. I find it easiest to do this with the ear standing up inside of a short wide bowl, which will catch any stray flying kernels. You can also just do it on a cutting board. You should end up with around 1 1/4 pounds kernels.
Place the kernels in a medium saucepan and pour in water until you just barely cover them (you may not need the entire 2 1/4 cups. Cook for 12 minutes on a low simmer. Using a slotted spoon, lift the kernels from the water and transfer into a food processor; reserve the cooking liquid. I like to leave a handful of kernels in the saucepan with the liquid so the polenta will have some SURPRISE full corn kernel pops. You can choose to leave some or put them all in the food processor.
Process the corn kernels in the food process until smooth. It will take a few minutes as you are trying to break up the kernel cases as much as possible. Add some of the cooking liquid if the mixture becomes too dry to process.
Please read full step before beginning: Pour the cooking liquid you reserved in step 2 from the saucepan into a small bowl (you can leave any full kernels you decided not to puree in the saucepan). Scoop the corn paste from the food processor into the saucepan and cook, on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring in the cooking liquid in small increments until it reaches your desired consistency (many like it the consistency of thick mashed potatoes). NOTE: If you add too much of the cooking liquid to the pan, it can take a while to cook down the polenta, and it will splatter about. This is why I recommend beginning with no liquid and subtly adding in more. You may even like the consistency of the corn after processing in step 3, in which case you can skip directly from step 3 to step 5.
Fold in the butter, the cheese, salt and some pepper and optionally cook for a further 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed.

white bean, spinach and mushroom egg bake

July 3, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

This recipe is amazing because it is a one-dish meal and who doesn’t love a one-dish meal? It’s also a breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, a fact that compels me to sing the Bagel Bites “pizza any time” commercial. But seriously, this is a wonderful option under almost any circumstance. You can easily adjust this recipe if you hate mushrooms, want to try it with black beans or just add some spice with a dash or two of red pepper flakes. If you don’t have a cast iron or oven-safe skillet, you can prepare everything in a pan on the stovetop and transfer it all into a regular baking dish, top with eggs and cook. In that case, it’s a two dish meal. Still not bad.

I know all of you lucky ducks with dishwashers are thinking, “Why does this girl care so much about a one-dish meal.” Well, let me take you through what brought this recipe to Casa J + G. I call it a “get home from work cleaning rampage.”

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you come home from work, look around and realize “oh gosh, there is zero clear space and I’m worse than a toddler who leaves out every last one of their toys and I really should have put my laundry away as soon as it was done and did I really think I would finish that project I took everything out of my closet for and when did that Jenga stack of dishes get that high and when did I get so many* shoes and how did that one end up over there? These are the days I go on one of the aforementioned “get home from work cleaning rampages.” I’m a firm believer that physical clutter can have a tremendous effect on mental clutter.

And how does all this relate to today’s recipe? Well, after the “get home from work cleaning rampage,” the absolute last thing I want to do is fill the sink with another full load of dishes after making dinner.

Enter: the glorious one-skillet White Bean, Spinach and Mushroom Egg Bake. The combination of creamy white beans, meaty mushrooms, iron-rich spinach and runny eggs really works here. I imagine a big dollop of this, egg and all, would be great on a piece of crusty bread. But really, what wouldn’t be good on a piece of crusty bread?

Happy Fourth of July, all!

*so many should never be confused with too many. Amen.

white bean, spinach and mushroom egg bake
Adapted from Gourmet magazine

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30–40 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

10 oz. fresh spinach
1/2 medium-sized white or yellow onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups (5–6 oz.) white button mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 15 oz. can of cannellini beans, rinsed thoroughly
1/3 cup milk, whole is best
1 heaping tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450°. Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof, cast iron or other heavy skillet. Add half of the spinach to the water and cook, stirring to flip the spinach, until it wilts and shrinks, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and cook until it wilts, another 30 seconds. Continue to cook the spinach over medium-high heat until tender, about 1 more minute. Drain into a colander and immediately cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
Wipe the skillet dry, then melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are softened and have released some of their juices, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in well-rinsed, canned cannellini beans until well distributed. Stir in milk, flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chopped spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and make four large indentations in spinach mixture (like you’re making room for gravy in your Thanksgiving mashed potatoes). Crack an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Season eggs with salt and pepper if you like, then sprinkle with cheese.

jerk shrimp

May 17, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

There are two kinds of jerks in this world. The first is the kind that, on a rainy day, accelerates their car through a puddle to drench pedestrians walking on an adjacent sidewalk. Bitter? Me? No way. And the second, ladies and gents, is the seasoning. If only it were limited to that, the world would be a happier place!

Anyways, today, we’ll be talking about the latter. The dry or wet—in this case wet—meat, poultry or seafood—in this case seafood—Jamaican marinade with a signature sweet heat. When I showed this recipe for jerk shrimp from Family Table to Greg, he told me it was right up his alley; which is funny because he is neither a jerk nor a shrimp.

What jumped out at him though were the bold flavors of the seasoning’s ingredients: spicy ginger and jalapeno, warm cloves, cinnamon and allspice, salty soy sauce, garlic and scallions. If you’re like me and are wondering why jerk is called jerk, my research says the terms comes from the word charqui, a Spanish term of Quechua (native South American) origin for jerked or dried meat. The term eventually evolved to jerky in English; hence beef jerky.

While this jerk shrimp may not be the most traditional jerk, it is easy and tasty. All you do is throw the ingredients in a food processor or blender until they form a paste. Then, slather over raw shrimp and refrigerate for an hour. Finally, you sauté the shrimp in a saucepan turning once (keep in mind that shrimp cook super fast) and voila! The original recipe calls for fresh Italian parsley, which I omitted because I didn’t have any and am honestly not the herb’s number-one-fan. After just one hour of marinating, the result is shrimp with layers of flavor and a slight, lingering heat. The shrimp are great on top of salads, in a pita or as an appetizer served alongside a simple yogurt dip.

jerk shrimp
Adapted, barely, from Family Table

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5-10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes 1 pound shrimp (about 4 entrée servings or more if used as an app)

Ingredients:

½ cup coarsely chopped scallion (about 2-3)
¼ cup coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (I omitted)
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 coarsely chopped jalapeno, seeds included
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce, low-sodium if you have it
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (20-24 medium, 25-30 small)

Instructions:

Place shrimp in a medium sized bowl.
In the work bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine all ingredients from the scallion down to the sugar. Process until it resembles a paste. Pour over shrimp and stir to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons olive or canola oil (just enough to coat the bottom of the pan). Remove the shrimp from the bowl, skewer if desired, and put them in the pan (you can do this in batches if not all the shrimp fit in a single layer). Cook the shrimp, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 2 ½ minutes per side. Enjoy!

one skillet chicken and saffron rice

April 27, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

This chicken and saffron rice in my new cast iron skillet instantly spirited me back to weeknight dinners my mom used to make when I lived at home. The fall-off-the bone chicken, the yellow sticky rice enhanced by the mysterious flavor of saffron, the pops of green peas and the salty Spanish pimiento stuffed olives. Not to mention, the crispy burnt bits of rice that get stuck to the bottom of the pan during cooking—everything about it reminded me of my mom and full-blooded Portuguese grandmother. I don’t know if the dish is traditionally Portuguese, but it was our Portuguese.

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Chicken and Rice recipe from the book “How to Cook Everything,” this one-pot recipe a weeknight staple you’ll want make over and over. Saffron can be a bit pricey, but it really only takes a pinch to flavor the whole dish. I always find mine at a discount at TJ Maxx or Homegoods. Your senses will be shocked at how just a little bit of the red threaded spice will transform the flavor, color and aroma of plain white rice. If you can’t find saffron you can still make this dish successfully. Feel free to experiment with different spices or veggies you have hanging around.

One Skillet Chicken and Saffron Rice
Adapted from Mark Bittman

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: About 1 hour
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2–3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken (thighs, breasts and/or drumsticks)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon hot Spanish paprika, optional
2 medium onions, diced (I diced this while the chicken was cooking in step 1 to save time)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I also minced this while the chicken was cooking; one point for efficiency!)
1½ cups short- grain white rice
Pinch saffron threads*
3½ cups water, chicken stock or vegetable stock, or more as needed
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup Spanish Manzanilla Olives

Instructions:

Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken skin with salt, pepper and the paprika—if using. When the oil is hot, add the chicken skin side down. Sprinkle the bottoms with salt and pepper and cook undisturbed—adjusting the heat so it doesn’t burn but is consistently sizzling—until the pieces release easily from the pan, 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn and rotate the chicken every few minutes to brown evenly. Once the chicken pieces brown, let cook for another 5 to 10 minutes then remove them from the pan.
Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and pour or spoon off the oil until only about 2 tablespoons remain. Add the onions to the pan and cook—stirring frequently—until they soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and rice and stir to coat the rice with a nice glossy sheen. Crumble in the saffron threads, if using.
Return the chicken to the pan, add the water and stir gently to combine everything. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat so it bubbles gently but steadily. Cover the skillet and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes—then check the rice and chicken. The goal is to have the liquid absorbed, the rice tender and the chicken cooked through. If the water has been absorbed but the rice is not cooked, add another ¼ cup water and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. The meat is done when a quick-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155–165°F.
Remove the skillet from the heat. Taste the rice and salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the peas and olives then cover the pan again and let it sit for 5 to 15 minutes. Serve.

* If you don’t have saffron you can still make this dish, but I would encourage you to use the 3½ cups of stock versus water to add more flavor to the rice.

cacio e pepe

April 5, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

A simple, cheesy, creamy, peppery Roman pasta dish on your table in 20 minutes.

I would rather clean the bathroom than do a load of laundry. Call me crazy, but it’s true! I hope fellow Laundromat goers can relate.

Luckily for me, my super cool roommate (boyfriend) is a laundry fanatic. At this point, I’ve been banned from doing said roommates laundry because of my “poor technique.” Even just last night, I attempted to help fold some shirts from the mountain of warm, clean clothes, only to catch my fold jobs being refolded at the turn of my head *ahem*.

So, to thank my resident laundry-pro for his hard work—and as an attempted peace offering for leaving chap stick in a pants pocket that went through last week’s wash *gulp*—I wanted to make a tasty weeknight dinner that he could enjoy.

He is a big pepper person, so if you are too, you will love this simple, cheesy, peppery Roman pasta dish.

Even non-pepper people will love this. Hey, even picky kids would probably love this as a take on mac and cheese.

Called Cacio e Pepe, literally meaning cheese and pepper in Italian, this minimalist pasta dish is so great because it is made with just 6 ingredients and its deliciousness is on your table in 15–20 minutes. Like I often do, I read a Shaq-sized handful of recipes for Cacio e Pepe before making it myself. The key to this creamy, cheesy, peppery-spiced pasta is in the technique. You’ll heat the pepper in a small bit of oil first to help develop its flavor. You’ll use the starchy pasta water to make the sauce; coupling it with a little bit of butter and a generous portion of finely grated, sharp Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. I used fresh bucatini because there is a fabulous fresh pasta shop near my apartment, but feel free to use dry. If you can find it, I strongly recommend bucatini (spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center). I served it with some simple sautéed kale to make myself feel better. I mean, we did just have this cake.

The result is a restaurant quality dish that even the busiest novice home cook can master and impress with.

I loved this so much I made it two days in a row because I was so excited to share it with you.

cacio e pepe

Author: Adapted from Maialino via The Family Table Cookbook

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: Makes 2 main servings or 4 starter courses. Recipe can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon table salt
½ pound pasta (any shape you like, though long spaghetti-like pasta works great.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ tablespoon medium-course fresh ground black pepper (if you don’t really like pepper, reduce to 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus ¼ cup extra for garnishing

Instructions

Bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the pasta, stir, and cook until just al dente; the pasta will be reheated for a minute or two later on (keep in mind, when using fresh pasta cook time will be a few minutes shorter than dry).
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper and warm for 1 to 2 minutes to release its flavor. Ladle ⅔ cup of the pasta cooking water into the skillet with the pepper and remove the pan from heat.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the pepper/pasta water skillet. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the butter, and cook, stirring constantly until the butter has melted completely. Remove from heat and gradually sprinkle the cheese over the pasta, stirring the pan until the cheese is fully incorporated and forms a creamy sauce. Taste the sauce and add more pepper if you’d like.
Serve immediately topped with the remaining grated cheese.

cold soba noodle salad with tahini dressing

March 26, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

Soba (buckwheat) noodles served chilled with crunchy cabbage, mushrooms, and scallions. Stir up with a creamy, nutty, tahini sesame ginger dressing and you have lunch ready for the week!

If you’re anything like me, you’ll know sometimes even the greatest intentions to wake up early and make lunch before work succumb to the blessed snooze button; not unlike the early alarm I set to go running before work each morning. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve completed a run only to realize I had run in my dream and I did not, in fact, actually get out of bed to hit the pavement.

Anyways, until I started separating leftovers after dinner to bring for lunch the next day and bulk making things like this noodle salad or this Asian Quinoa Salad, I would inevitably end up lunch-less and forced into the money eating cafeteria abyss.

If you’ve ever boiled pasta, you can easily make this dish and step away from the café!

Soba noodles are thin Japanese buckwheat-flour noodles and they are super approachable. Tahini is a sesame paste, recognizable for its roles in Hummus and The Condiment on Top of Falafel. It is a bit bitter on its own, so to counter that I added a bit of honey and some citrus juices. This dressing is not a spicy tahini, but more a creamy, nutty, gingery sauce. You can certainly add spice to the recipe or mix some in when serving. If cabbage or mushrooms aren’t your thing, I think shredded carrot, shelled edamame, or snap peas would also be great alternatives on the veggie side.

Bonus: This dish is stress free, in that you don’t need to worry about working on too many things simultaneously or really over/undercooking anything. Make the pasta, let cool. Slice veggies. Cook mushrooms, let cool. Mix dressing. Mix everything.

gather your ingredients

soba noodle salad tahini dressing ingredients

gather your ingredients for the tahini dressing

combine!

enjoy! (Some like it hot. Like me. I added Sriracha.)

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Tahini Dressing
butter loves company

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25–30 minutes
Serves: 4–6

Ingredients:

Soba Salad:
6 oz dry soba noodles
4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about ½ a small head)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Portobello mushroom caps sliced into ¼ inch slivers (or 3 cups shitake mushrooms sliced thin)
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 thinly sliced green onion, white and light green parts, for garnishing
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnishing

Tahini Dressing:
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
4 tablespoons orange juice (freshly squeezed)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey, raw if you have it
1 teaspoon fresh ginger zest
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions, white and light green parts
½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Instructions:

Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the dry soba noodles. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until tender. Strain and transfer noodles to a bowl. Refrigerate until cooled.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the sliced mushrooms and soy sauce and cook until the mushrooms have released their juice and the slices have shrunk in size, about 4 minutes. Remove mushrooms, discarding excess juice, and transfer to a small bowl to cool.
While the noodles and mushrooms are cooling, prepare the dressing by mixing all ingredients from the tahini to the ½ teaspoon salt together in a bowl. Season with additional salt—if necessary—to taste.
In a large bowl, mix together the cooled noodles, cooled mushrooms, and sliced cabbage. Using tongs or a large wooden spoon, stir in half the tahini dressing. Slowly add additional dressing until the noodles are covered, but not dripping with sauce. Add the green onions and sesame seeds to the entire mixture now or atop each serving.