Skillet Tortellini with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This is the first recipe I've tried from Cooking for Two 2013, the newest book in a newish series from America's Test Kitchen {this is the fifth edition}. I didn't get its pretty colors right at all in my picture -- all soft golds and browns -- so that's the reason for the photo above. :)

This new book has a chapter called 'Express Lane,' where the editors take a semi-ready item -- canned white beans, precooked shrimp, chicken sausage, rotisserie chicken, and dried tortellini -- and put them to work in a couple of different ways.  This recipe is a little hands-on, because it has several steps and some stirring, but everything, including the pasta, cooks in one skillet and the end result is simple, luscious and kind of elegant.  I made this on a rainy night, and spooned my dinner into a pretty pale-pink bowl, and I felt kind of elegant, myself.

Skillet Tortellini with Mushroom Cream Sauce
from Cooking for Two 2013, by the editors of America's Test Kitchen
for two servings

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 ounces cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin {I used an 8-ounce carton}
one shallot, minced
1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn
one garlic clove, minced
1 3/4 cups (one 14 1/2 ounce can) low-sodium chicken broth
6 ounces dried cheese tortellini {the cookbook recommended -- and I used -- Barilla Three-Cheese Tortellini, the one sold in the pasta aisle}
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallot; cover and cook until mushrooms have released their liquid, about 4 minutes. {My 10-inch nonstick skillet doesn't have a cover, so I just left it open.}  Uncover, stir in corn {right from the freezer, if you're using frozen corn} and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the broth and tortellini, and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes,  The pasta might be a little brothy, once it's cooked, but don't drain it off or worry about that.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the cream. Cook, stirring constantly {not constantly; just don't walk away and forget about it, now that you've come this far}, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the tortellini is coated with the sauce, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Take the pan off the heat, stir in the parmesan and parsley, and season to taste {I don't think you'll need a lot of salt}.

Peter Reinhart's Cranberry Nut Rolls

In a year when I've tried (never mind fell in love with) an unusually tiny number of new recipes (still wondering why, still working on it). this one could stand in for a whole year's worth of accomplishment. :)

These are foolproof, at least in my experience, and absolutely delicious.  They have a soft, tender crumb, and a jolt of flavor from the dried cranberries, and I love them toasted for breakfast or as a holder for a roast chicken sandwich.  People could say they're a little out of season, I guess, but this batch is going into the freezer, to re-emerge next Sunday as a present for my mom, who loves them almost as much as I do.

I follow this recipe almost exactly as written.  The only changes I've made are to use just an egg white -- not a whole egg - for the glaze {the tops are prettier, not as dark, that way; thank you to the King Arthur Baker's Hotline for their help with this}, and I don't spray the rolls with cooking spray as they rise.  One other note:  the dough is very sticky, so it's definitely easier to mix and knead it in a heavy-duty stand mixer, except for the two minutes of hand-kneading at the end.

Cranberry-Nut Rolls
adapted from Bon Appetit (November, 2009)
for 12 to 18 rolls {see notes}

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus a little more as needed
1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus more for coating the bowl)
one large whole egg (for the dough)
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
one egg white, beaten to blend, for glazing
demerera or white sanding sugar

Stir the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until they're lightly toasted. about 5 minutes. Set them aside to cool.

Mix the 3 1/2 cups of bread flour, brown sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted the paddle attachment.  Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the milk registers 95 degrees F. {this is not very hot, and does not take very long!}.   Add the vegetable oil, remove from the heat.  Add the milk mixture and the whole egg to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until a wet coarse ball forms, about one minute. {Mine doesn't always form a ball; if it just comes together, that seems to be enough.} Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook.  Mix dough on low speed until it's smooth, elastic and slightly tacky, adding more flour by tablespoons as needed, about 4 minutes. {Again, mine is always very sticky, and does not evenly clear the sides of the bowl; this seems to be fine.}  Transfer the dough to a {well-}floured surface, and knead for two minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl.  Shape dough into a ball, place it in the prepared bowl, tuning to coat the dough with the oil, and cover the dough with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise at room temperature until it has almost doubled, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours.

Line one or two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  {One or two, because if the rolls touch as they rise and bake, they'll have crusty tops and soft sides; if they are set further apart, they'll be evenly browned all over.}  Transfer the risen dough to an unfloured work surface, and divide it into equal pieces. {The original recipe makes 12 rolls, which are closer to sandwich size; for breakfast or dinner rolls, I've made 16 or 18 from this dough.  Oddly, they seem to bake in the same amount of time.}

Gently roll each piece of dough under your cupped hand, about 6 times, to form a smooth ball. {I tuck any large cranberries on the surface into the dough to make sure they don't burn, and I sometimes do that pinch-and tuck, surface-tension thing to make them smoother. It's not really necessary...}  Set the shaped rolls on the parchment-lined baking sheet(s), and cover them loosely with plastic wrap.

Let the rolls rise at room temperature until they're about 1 1/2 times their original size, about 1 1/2 hours.  Brush the top of the rolls gently with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle the tops with the demerara or sanding sugar.  Let them rise while the oven preheats, about 15 minutes longer. {If I using two baking sheets, I just let the second batch sit a little longer, then add the egg-and-sugar glaze when the first tray goes into the oven.}

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with a rack in the middle position.

Place rolls in the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake the rolls for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheet(s), and continue baking until they are golden and slightly firm to the touch, about 8 minutes longer.  Cool completely on rack. These rolls freeze beautifully; I cut some of them in half and freeze the two halves together so I can put one in the toaster in the morning. Bliss!}

Cooking without Recipes: Macaroni and Cheese

I clip recipes for macaroni and cheese from time to time, mostly when it's embellished with something I'm fond of, but I'm not usually very tempted to make it.  But a few weeks ago -- I'm not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg -- I was leaving the cafeteria at work with a very uninteresting turkey sandwich when I saw someone walk by with a crusty pile of m & c on their plate. How did I miss that?

And then I remembered the article I had seen in Fine Cooking, another one of their 'Cooking Without Recipes' features, where there's a blueprint, and then dozens of ways to improvise on it. I had leftover Easter ham, and I almost always have pasta, frozen peas, parmesan and cheddar, so all I needed was the companion cheese.

I thought this first baking dishful came out very well.  I'm not sure I'm all that much closer to craving macaroni and cheese very often, but I'm already thinking about how this would taste with mushrooms, or roasted carrots, or baby spinach, or lobster. It was perfect comfort food on a day when you could have all the windows open if you wore a sweater.  And if part of the comfort comes from turning out a perfect, silky, thick, luscious, unlumpy cheese sauce on more or less your first try, that's OK, too. :)

Macaroni and Cheese, this first time
adapted from Fine Cooking, February/March 2012
for six {generous} servings

one pound mezzi rigatoni
salt for the pasta water
. . .
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
about 10 ounces grated cheese {I used about 2/3 sharp cheddar and 1/3 gruyere}
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup diced ham
 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
 . . .
For the topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups coarse, fresh breadcrumbs, preferably lightly toasted {I didn't, but next time I will}
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

 For the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the rigatoni until it is al dente {about one minute less than the time on the box}. Drain well and return to the pot.

For the sauce, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy 3 to 4-quart saucepan. Whisk in the flour and continue to whisk over low heat for about 3 minutes; the butter and flour should gently bubble and froth without browning. Slowly pour in the milk, while whisking constantly. Be sure to whisk around the edges of the pan to get all the lumps. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and has the consistency of heavy cream, about 6 minutes. {The thickening didn't seem dramatic to me at this point; it does come later!} Raise the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking constantly. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, for 10 minutes. {Thickened and gorgeous.} Take the pan off the heat and gently whisk in the gruyere, cheddar, and parmesan.

Combine the drained pasta, cheese sauce. ham and peas, stirring gently to combine. {I was able to mix them together in the pot I used to make the cheese sauce.}

For the topping, melt the butter in a medium-sized sauce pan {or a small saute pan} over medium heat. Take the pan off the heat, and add the breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, and parsley. Toss gently with a fork so that the ingredients are evenly combined.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish and scatter the topping evenly over the top. Bake until the topping is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately. {Leftovers reheat well in the microwave.}