Starting Simple ..

[UPDATE - 8 Jan '04: some commentary can be found here]
[Recipes from yesterday, 6 Jan '04]

I opted for something which seemed to me simple but tasty, so I've begun with an 'Italian' theme. Judge for yourself: No-Sauce Pasta, a Simple Salad, and a Suggested Bread.

No-Sauce Pasta - Ingredients:

• capellini / angel-hair pasta (2/3's of a package)
  
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced to pinky-sized pieces
  
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
  
• 1/2 package Crimini mushrooms, halved (if large)
  
• a large bunch of cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped
  
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced finely
  
• 1 cup feta cheese
  
• plenty of olive oil and water
  
• salt, red pepper flakes (to taste)

Boil. If you're good at the chop, I suggest starting a pot of water first, and you may chop the vegetables while the water readies and the pasta boils. On the other hand, you can chop everything first and set the pasta to boil: there's no harm in it.

When the pasta is ready, drain and perform a quick rinse with cold water. This will keep the strands from forming a single blob, while you saute.

Saute. On High heat, start a large frying pan with a good measure of olive oil, and when it begins to smoke (it should sizzle a little if a few drops of water are tossed in) then add the garlic and tomatoes first. After a moment, reduce to Medium heat and add the mushrooms; a minute later, add the bell pepper. Let it all sear a little.

When some of the garlic reaches a slight brown color, ~slowly~ add enough water so that the pan has a 1/3"-high level of water (often this causes quite a sizzle!). Give time for the pan's contents to reduce, until the mixture reaches the consistency of maple syrup. Add red pepper and a little salt.

Next, add the cilantro, part by part. It should shrink quickly, so keep folding it into the mixture. After two minutes, remove from heat.

Blend. This is a plate-by-plate process. Drip a fair amount of olive oil on a serving plate, apply a helping of capellini on top, and then a large pinch of feta chesse. Stir the mixture with a fork until most of the pasta is lightly-covered with the olive oil and feta.

Next, dress the blended capellini with the saute. When all is done, the pasta gains the salty flavor of the feta, and the oil will help to blend the strands with the saute mixture. No tomato sauce necessary.

a Simple Salad - Ingredients:

• 1 head of green-leaf lettuce
  
• 1 large Roma tomato, diced
  
• 1/2 package of Crimini mushrooms, halved (if large)
  
• 1 small red onion, cut in slices

Dressing:

• 1 part sesame oil
  
• 1 part olive oil
  
• 2 parts rice vinegar
  
• 1 tsp lime juice
  
• 1 tsp honey

The dressing is straightforward: just blend it all together. It may help to heat up the honey a little, using the microwave at a Medium setting.

Dress to Order. I suggest chopping into 1" rings starting from the stem, then rinsing and draining. Add the mushrooms, then dress the lettuce before adding the last ingredients!

Philosophy. Typically mushrooms have a 'dry' flavor, and they do well with a little liquid flavoring. The lettuce forms the main body of the salad, and it should convey the dressing throughout the salad contents. There's no need to coat tomatoes or red onion with oil and vinegar, because they have enough 'wet' flavor as it is.

Suggested Bread - a ciabatta loaf from the bakery. Warm at 250 ^oF in the oven before serving, which gives it a great, crispy texture!