Homemade Portobello Mushroom Ravioli Adventure

March 19, 2023 by Alyssa D in main course

Homesickness is new for me. The South Bay is beautiful. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, fresh produce and delicious food abound, and many people wave back at me. But I miss Colorado.

Some wistfulness is normal: Friends, places, the comfort that comes from being in an area for so long. Not getting to watch Louisville rebuild from the fire. Other small things took me by surprise, like discovering that a super-effective generic laundry stain remover doesn’t exist here — and can’t be shipped.

Local eateries have produced more delights than duds. But the fresh ravioli we picked up at an upscale grocery couldn’t hold a candle to the ones from our favorite Denver-based pasta company. That’s it. Time to stop moping and start making.

Patient Pastitio Adventure

June 25, 2020 by Alyssa D in baking, main course

On a winter hiking trip in high school, I struggled to ascend the steep trail, sweaty and red-faced with an overstuffed pack. An older student saw me falter. She positioned herself directly in front of me and set a slow, methodical pace. Step, breathe, step, breathe.

With everything happening now, that old impatience is resurfacing. I want us, as a people, to get there already — the virus vanquished, systemic racism and bigotry excised, good defeating evil, the environment restored. Our packs are so full.

I realize that this might feel a bit heavy for a fun little food blog. *Takes a deep breath.*

You know what else is heavy? Pastitio.

Creamy Pasta and Shrimp Adventure

December 17, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

Fresh seafood has long been a weakness of mine. For a real treat while I was growing up, my parents would take me to a local seafood restaurant, where the scallops were my favorite dish. So buttery. So perfect. So fortunate that they weren’t from the nearest body of water.

I just can’t resist good seafood, particularly high quality crab cakes. Same with smoked salmon appetizers, toothsome Korean fish cakes, New England lobster rolls, briny raw oysters, spider rolls at sushi restaurants — you get the idea.

So when Martha Stewart Living had a close-up of mafaldine pasta with shrimp and lemon in the magazine, there was no question about making it. What looked incredibly easy, as is often the case with glossy magazine recipes, turned out to be slightly more difficult. Especially a few glasses of wine into the process.

Eggplant Pasta ’ncasciata Adventure

May 01, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

“What will you make for me?” “I mekka l’il pasta ’ncasciata.” He managed to control himself —otherwise he would have hugged her, kissed her, and danced a waltz with her.

Andrea Camilleri’s latest mystery novel “A Nest of Vipers” wasn’t the first time I wondered about pasta ’ncasciata, a dish prepared for my favorite fictitious Sicilian inspector, Salvo Montalbano, by his devoted housekeeper Adelina.

I had to get to the bottom of this hearty baked eggplant pasta dish once and for all.

Grown-Up SpaghettiOs Adventure

March 01, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

Confession time: I love hotdogs. Oh, you mean just the best, right? No, I love all kinds of hotdogs — the ones that win taste tests and the ones few would recognize. The plump franks grilled in the summer, the free hotdogs given out for a customer appreciation day, even tofu dogs.

Hotdogs held a special place in my heart as a kid and they’re still a treat, which is why they’re figuring into this grown-up SpaghettiOs business.

Super Fancy Vegetarian Bolognese Adventure

February 09, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

The first months after moving from NYC to Boulder, I was trying to get my bearings. A friend invited me to an informal local mountaineering group’s potluck. I looked online and stumbled across Giada De Laurentiis’ vegetarian bolognese recipe. So I got to work, hoping my offering would go over well. Maybe they’d let me join.

Homemade Pasta Adventure

February 03, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

Who prepares homemade pasta one weekend because it sounds like fun? Someone who received a stand mixer pasta roller attachment as a lovely gift and needs success in the kitchen after weeks of meh experimental dishes and bread baking disasters.

Watching the questionable pasta dough hunk crawl up the hook and nearly jump out of the bowl started giving me second thoughts. Freaking dough. Again.