Buttered Pasta

I have a weakness for uniquely-shaped pasta. I could buy a box or bag of pasta every time I go to the grocery store. I have an entire cabinet devoted to pasta storage, and even though I already have every shape imaginable, I can’t resist picking more up any time I see something that looks interesting.

To feed my pasta-buying addiction, I visit “The Hill” neighborhood here in St. Louis, the old Italian neighborhood with lots of wonderful restaurants and several fun little grocery stores where good-quality tomatoes, olive oil, wine, and balsamic vinegar are the norm. The pasta selection is outstanding, of course, and you can get a lot of neat shapes I’ve never seen anywhere else, all imported directly from Italy.

I made this pasta dish with the last half of a bag of fusilli col buco, which is a long, hollow, corkscrew-shaped pasta. It’s thick and chewy and works great in a dish like this, with simple accompaniments, where the pasta really stars. Bucatini (the straight version of what I used) would work great: it has the same chewy texture but is a little harder to eat gracefully because it is just a little too thick to swirl around your fork. If you cannot find either specialty pasta, you can use fettuccini or linguine – something thick and chewy, not thin.

Although these subtly flavored, buttery noodles are a great side dish to go with any Italian entrée, they are the perfect accompaniment to something delicately-flavored like Chicken Piccata, because the noodles and their sauce will not overpower the Piccata sauce. They’re fast and easy to make, and don’t require a lot of expensive ingredients. There’s just a touch of garlic in them, but it, and the butter, salt, and pepper is all secondary to the pasta.

If you have any leftover noodles, take them to work for lunch – they reheat well in the microwave.

Buttered Pasta
Serves 4 as a side dish (smaller portions)

8 oz pasta
5 oz fresh spinach (least expensive if you buy it from the loose spinach bin, not the prebagged/prewashed kind)
1 loosely-packed cup Italian parsley
4 Tbsp butter
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup snipped green onions

In a large pot (one that has a lid), cook the pasta, uncovered, according to the package directions. Do not overcook the pasta!

Wash and dry the spinach. If the spinach leaves are particularly large, you may wish to roughly chop the spinach. Set it aside.

Chop the parsley – I find the easiest way to do this is to just stick my scissors into the measuring cup and snip away until its all uniformly chopped.

Once the pasta has cooked, drain it and set it aside. In the empty pasta pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt, a generous quantity of freshly-ground black pepper, and some freshly grated nutmeg (I usually do equal quantities of black pepper and nutmeg).

Turn the heat to medium-low. Return the pasta to the pot; add the green onions, spinach, and parsley, and stir to incorporate everything. Taste the pasta and adjust the seasonings…you may need more salt. Cover the pot (still on medium-low heat), and wait several minutes until the spinach has wilted slightly, stirring the pasta once or twice to give it all a chance to cook.

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Butterscotch Pudding with Salted Whipped Cream

I’ve been on a butterscotch kick lately. It all started with the brown butter blondies I made awhile back – their butter-and-brown sugar flavor profile has had me thinking about butterscotch desserts ever since. A few weeks later, I made a butterscotch sauce to top some ice cream sundaes I served when we had family over to visit. Then I experimented with butterscotch pudding on Super Bowl Sunday, but felt the recipe wasn’t quite there yet, so it didn’t get blogged.

After I had a butterscotch sundae at Ted Drewes last night, I felt sufficiently inspired to try out another butterscotch pudding recipe. I found a different recipe from one of my favorite dessert cookbooks (one you’ve seen before), Diner Desserts, by Tish Boyle. Like every other recipe I’ve made out of that cookbook, it didn’t disappoint me.

Despite the inclusion of the word “scotch” in the name “butterscotch,” there actually isn’t supposed to be any scotch in traditionally-made butterscotch. (If you want, you can add a tablespoon of scotch and make less-traditional butterscotch pudding, but for the most authentic pudding, it should be left out.)

“Real” butterscotch flavor is created by butter and brown sugar. Therefore, any butterscotch-flavored dessert is necessarily going to be rather sweet. To counter all that sugar, the pudding tastes great with a little bit of extra salt. I suggest topping the pudding with salted whipped cream.  You could skip the whipped cream and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt directly on top of each of your puddings just before serving them.

When I’m making pudding, I like to set out all of my ingredients in advance. Making pudding isn’t too difficult, but it requires that you whisk the mixture almost constantly, so you can’t take time to set the whisk down and fuss over the next ingredient.

Butterscotch Pudding with Salted Whipped Cream
6 servings

Pudding ingredients:
3 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 Tbsp scotch – optional (see above)

Salted Whipped Cream ingredients:
1/2 cup whipping cream
A generous pinch of kosher salt

First, make the pudding. It needs time to chill in your refrigerator prior to serving it, so start it at least three or four hours in advance.

I start by preparing my ingredients. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Use a fork to whisk them together and set the bowl aside for later. You’ll need a one-cup scoop later, so set the scoop near the egg yolks so you’ll have it handy.

Measure out your butter. Go ahead and cut it into tablespoons. Set the butter aside. Keep your bottle of vanilla (and the scotch, if you’re going to use it) nearby because you’ll need to add it when you add the butter.

You’ll need six small dishes for your pudding. Locate them and set them nearby.

In a medium saucepan, off of the heat, stir together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. The mixture should look very sandy.

Gradually whisk in the milk and the half-and-half. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. (As you’re whisking, the consistency will change from a liquid to a thick pudding.) Once the mixture begins to bubble, remove it from the heat.

Using the one-cup scoop you set aside earlier, ladle out approximately one cup of the milk/sugar mixture into the whisked egg yolks. Vigorously whisk the egg yolk mixture to combine everything, then transfer the egg yolk mixture back to the remaining milk/sugar mixture in the saucepan. Keep whisking everything until it is combined.

(If you don’t whisk constantly, your eggs can cook improperly and leave chunks in your pudding. If this should happen, don’t get too upset, you can pass the pudding through a sieve later. The pudding won’t have the exact same texture, but it’ll still be very edible. But try to keep whisking constantly to avoid the chunks!)

Return the pudding to medium heat - keep whisking - until the mixture comes back to a boil. Continue to boil, whisking constantly, for one minute. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter pieces until they are completely melted. Whisk in the vanilla and the scotch, if you’re using it.  If you need to strain your pudding, do so now.

Pour the pudding into your serving dishes. Cover the dishes with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding, and refrigerate it for several hours, until it is well-chilled.

Just prior to serving the pudding, make the salted whipped cream:

Place the whipping cream and the salt in a medium bowl. Whip on high speed until soft peaks form. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream onto your pudding.

Tortellini in Cream Sauce

One of St. Louis’ great neighborhoods is called The Hill – it’s kind of a little Italy. Nestled between the cute little homes are lots of Italian restaurants, several great Italian grocery stores, bakeries, and even an Italian deli. One of St. Louis’ favorite restaurants, Cunetto House of Pasta, is on The Hill.  Amongst many other delicious entrees, they have an outstanding tortellini and cream sauce dish: tortellini, mushrooms, peas, and prosciutto enveloped in a velvety cream, butter, and parmesan sauce. It is quite good. If I lived closer, I’d eat supper there all the time.

Since it is at least a 45 minute drive to get to The Hill, I have my own version of tortellini and cream sauce that I can make at home. It is surprisingly quick and easy – so easy it can easily be made on a weeknight. My version isn’t an exact copy of their dish, but it tastes good enough that the difference doesn’t matter to me. It is not exactly health food, but it is One Good Cream Sauce, worth ignoring the calories and eating it every once in awhile.  To help with portion control, the recipe I’ve posted here makes enough for a smallish main dish.

There are several keys to success with this recipe: One – have everything ready to go before you start to make the sauce. (You can prepare everything while your pasta water is coming to a boil.) You don’t want to be scrambling to grate cheese while your butter overheats. Two – don’t omit the nutmeg – its just a pinch – and please use freshly grated nutmeg!  Three – when you select your cheese, please don't use the powdery stuff in the green container.  This is a dish where real Parmigiano Reggiano makes a difference.

Tortellini in Cream Sauce
Serves 4 as a smallish main course

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (I use the medium sized holes on my box grater)
2 ounces prosciutto
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1-1/4 cups heavy cream (unwhipped heavy whipping cream, not coffee creamer)
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
4 cups frozen packaged fully-cooked tortellini
1-1/2 cups frozen peas


Fill a large saucepan or small stockpot with water, bring it to a boil. (This will be your pasta water.) While the water is coming to a boil, prep the rest of your ingredients:

Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, set it aside. Finely chop the prosciutto, set it aside. Locate your butter, measure the cream, and get the nutmeg and pepper out so you’re ready to go.

Once your pasta water is boiling, stir in the frozen tortellini. Watch the pot closely; as soon as the tortellini begin to boil (and it wont take long – just a couple of minutes), add the frozen peas.

Again, watch the pot closely; as soon as the pasta mixture begins to boil, remove it from the heat, drain it, and set it aside.

Add the butter to the empty pot – melt it over medium heat. Add the nutmeg and the black pepper; stir the butter mixture a few times until the spices have heated and are aromatic. Stir in the prosciutto; heat it through. Stir in the cream and heat it through, stirring constantly. Add the grated cheese, then return the cooked pasta to the pot. Gently stir the pasta to melt the cheese and coat the pasta evenly. Serve hot. The longer the sauce sits, the thicker the sauce will get.

A note for vegetarians: The sauce is nearly vegetarian – except the prosciutto. If you omit the meat, you might want to add a little bit of salt to the sauce. (The prosciutto is very salty; you’ll need to make up for its absence.)

A note for those who don’t want to use cream: You can cut back on the fat slightly by substituting half-and-half for the heavy cream. The sauce won’t be quite as thick and will not taste quite as good, but you might feel its worth the reduction in calories and fat.

Triple Layer White Cake With Raspberry Filling

My sister recently had a birthday, so we spent last weekend celebrating. I was lucky enough to be invited to join her and her friends at a tapas-style fusion restaurant, Mosaic. One word: yum. Our group tried nearly everything on the hot tapas menu, plus a few items from the cold tapas menu. Just about everything was outstanding. (If you’re in St. Louis and enjoy tapas-style food, give them a try. Go for the quail, potato gnocchi, tuna tartare, scallops, or the mussles…those were my favorites.)

For dessert, her boyfriend surprised her with a plate of beautiful cupcakes from The Cupcakery. Their cupcakes are simply delicious – tender cake with perfectly-sweetened frosting. (“Yum” works here too!) We had a great time celebrating together - thanks for inviting me along, sis!

The next evening we had a birthday celebration with just our family. I knew I wanted to make my sister a white cake since that’s her favorite flavor, but the cupcakes from the previous night were also white cake, and I didn’t want to have Round Two of exactly the same basic flavors. So, to mix things up a bit, I decided I’d layer the cake with raspberry filling and frost the outside with a totally different kind of frosting than what was on the cupcakes – I used a billowy marshmallow-flavored frosting.

Only problem was, I’ve never made a raspberry filling for a cake. (Well, I have used raspberry jam in certain applications before, but I needed something that would hold up to the weight of a three-layer cake.) I found a recipe for blackberry mousse filling on a cooking forum online, and it looked like several people tried it and thought it was decent enough, and people even indicated they had made it with raspberries instead of blackberries, and I was kind of short on time, so I gave it a shot. It was pretty good, but not exactly what I was looking for. Actually, it was almost too dense – at least, it was too dense when paired with the light-textured billowy frosting I used on the rest of the cake. That said, I think it’d be great when paired with a regular American-style buttercream or any other densely-textured frosting. It did make for a pretty presentation, though, and it was not too bad, so I’ll include it here. And more likely than not I’ll make it again, but next time I will probably omit the whipped egg white – that should make the texture less dense.

The cake and frosting I used came from one of my favorite cookbooks – one you’ve seen on this blog before – Diner Desserts, by Tish Boyle. I keep turning to this cookbook for great made-from-scratch desserts. I’m not sure how much I paid for the cookbook, but it was worth every penny. I haven’t changed the recipe much – it is really good exactly as it is. Some of the text I rewrote here to make it easier to understand (I hope!). And I added the raspberry filling.

As I was debating on how to transport the cake (its at least a 40-minute drive, even with decent traffic), I decided I’d bring the cake unassembled to my sister’s house. I finished the last steps of the filling and frosting there. I was afraid the cake would slide apart and be ruined if I tried to bring it already assembled (the frosting is really very light textured, and I was not sure exactly how the raspberry filling would hold up since I had never made it before). So I left the cooled cakes on their wire racks, covered each loosely with freezer paper (it has a coating of some kind of plasticy material that helps keep food from sticking), and stacked it all up in a cardboard tray left over from a case of bottled water. It worked out pretty well. The cakes did not stick to the freezer paper and everything arrived intact.

Triple Layer White Cake
Makes one three-layer cake 8 inches in diameter

2 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
9 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk

To make the white cake, position two baking racks near the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Cut out three rounds of parchment paper slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the bottom of the pans (test then to be sure they fit).

Grease the empty cake pans, then place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Grease the paper. Dust the sides of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. (I’ll admit, I forgot this step…it all still worked out in the end, but it would have been easier to get the cake to come out of the pan if I had remembered…)

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder. Stir them together with a whisk. Set them aside.

In an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, in a large clean bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about one minute. On medium speed, gradually beat in 1 1/4 cups of the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until well combined, about two minutes. Add the lemon zest, vanilla, salt, and three of the egg whites. Scarpe down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat the mixture on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the sifted dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the milk in three additions. (Three? Ok, at least split it into two (there’s hardly enough volume to easily split it into thirds), and I believe the best results are obtained if you work it out so an addition of dry ingredients goes in the bowl last. Not sure if there’s any logical reason as to why that’s better, but that’s how I’ve always done it.) Scrape down the bowl and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

You’ll need to beat egg whites next. If you’re using a stand mixer and have no secondary hand-mixer or extra stand mixer bowl, transfer the batter to another large bowl, set it aside, and thoroughly wash the empty stand mixer bowl. (Any residual butter in the bowl will prevent the egg whites from properly whipping.) Or you can do what I did and just whip the egg whites in a new bowl with my electric hand-mixer.

In a large, clean bowl, beat the remaining six egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Continue to beat until the whites are stiff, but not dry. Using a large rubber spatula, fold about 1/3 of the egg whites into the reserved batter. Then gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter.  Avoid overmixing and deflating the batter - Fold only until the whites are incorporated.  It will look sort of foamy like this:

Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 15-20 minutes (mine took more like 25-30, but you might want to check them earlier…). The cakes are done when the tops spring back when they are touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. (Note From First-Hand Experience: do not use a knife point…the toothpick makes a much smaller, less-noticable hole!)

While the cakes are baking, start the raspberry filling. (If you elect to skip the berry filling, the white frosting as written will likely yield enough to frost and fill the cakes, as long as you don’t go overboard in piling on the filling.)

Once the cakes are done baking, cool them in their pans on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, peel off the paper, and cool completely.

Raspberry Filling
Makes enough to frost the tops of two 8” cake layers

2 tsp unflavored gelatin
6 Tbsp cold water
2 cups frozen raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites (probably optional...)
1-1/2 cups heavy cream

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of the water. Let it stand until the gelatin has softened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree the raspberries with the remaining 4 tablespoons of water.

Use the back of a spoon to press the raspberry puree through a fine-mesh sieve. Collect the strained puree in a small saucepan – there should be about 1 1/2 cups. Add the sugar and stir over medium heat until the berry puree is warm and the sugar is dissolved.

Stir in the softened gelatin until it has dissolved. Let the mixture cool.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg white until firm peaks form. (By the way, this is the step I’d probably omit in the future…but I haven’t actually tried it myself, so I’m not quite sure how it’d turn out!  Try it at your own risk...) Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg white into the cooled berry puree until no streaks of white remain.

In another medium bowl, beat the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the berry mixture and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Once the filling has chilled, it is ready to use.

While the berry puree and the cakes are cooling, you can make the fluffy white frosting.

Fluffy White Frosting
Makes enough to frost the exterior of a three-layer 8” cake (and then some)

5 large egg whites
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the fluffy white frosting, you’ll need to fashion a double boiler out of a pan of simmering water and a large mixing bowl. You’ll need to use an electric hand-mixer, so the stand mixer is out. Note that you’ll need to select an electric hand-mixer that is up to the task: you’ll need to use it for nearly 15 minutes straight. I burnt out the motor of my first hand-mixer while making this frosting, but the upside was that I had a great excuse to buy a great heavy-duty one which has successfully whipped the frosting on several occasions since then.

Fill a medium saucepan with several inches of water. Take a large, deep bowl and place it over the saucepan to see if the water touches the bottom of the bowl. It shouldn’t – and if it does, dump out some of the water. Turn the heat onto medium-high. You may need to adjust the heat as you work – you’re looking to maintain a simmer in the water, but not a boil, and again, the water level shouldn't touch the bottom of the bowl.

In the large bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, water, and cream of tartar. With the handheld mixer, beat the mixture until foamy, about one minute.

With the bowl set in the saucepan of simmering water, beat constantly on medium speed until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. This will take approximately seven minutes. Use caution – don’t let the mixer cord melt or catch on fire or cause some other terrible situation!

Once the mixture has reached 160 degrees, remove the bowl from the heat. Add the vanilla and beat the frosting on high speed until it holds stiff peaks. This will take approximately seven more minutes. The frosting is now ready to use.

To prepare to assemble the cake, I start by placing two-inch wide strips of waxed paper on the edges of the serving plate. Place a cake round on the plate. Adjust the strips as necessary: the waxed paper should be placed in such a way that it catches any drips or smears of frosting, protecting the plate and keeping it clean while the cake is being frosted.

Top the bottom layer of the cake with half of the raspberry filling. Stack another layer of cake on top of the cake, then frost it with the remaining raspberry filling.

Finish by stacking the third layer on top. If necessary, insert skewers vertically into the stacked cake to help stabilize the layers (cut the skewers to the height of the cake). Using a large offset metal spatula, spread the fluffy white frosting around the sides and top of the cake, piling it up in dramatic swirls. Pull out the waxed paper strips and serve the cake immediately or refrigerate and bring it to room temperature before serving.

If you decide to add the egg to the raspberry filling, be mindful of its presence: the cake should be eaten shortly after the filling is prepared. I don’t think I’d eat it after the first day, but that’s just me. The fluffy white filling keeps slightly better, but not well enough to make the cake too far in advance. I’d recommend assembling the cake the same day you plan to eat it. (If you must do something in advance, bake the cake in advance and freeze the layers. Thaw them in their wrappers before you use them!)