In my mind, for a recipe to be great it has to be both adaptable and idiot proof. And this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was just such a recipe.
It was chosen by my friend Kayte at Grandma's Kitchen Table. Kayte has more energy than any three people I know. It's not unusual for her to decide she wants to make all the breads in, say a whole section of a cookbook, and have it done in three days. She amazes me!
It's been a while since I posted for CEiMB, though I have made some of the recipes, and it being Kayte's week to pick was just the incentive I needed to get back in the swing.
This was supposed to be a pasta salad, and use feta and walnut oil. I decided I wanted a hot pasta dinner, so I adapted this. I don't like feta so I used goat cheese. I thought I had walnut oil in the fridge but didn't, so I used hazelnut oil. I thought I had hazelnuts to complement the hazelnut oil, but I didn't so I went with walnuts. I was too lazy to dice the red onion so I left it out.
And you know, it was really great! The warm pasta is like a sponge for the dressing, so I did add a little more to the pasta. But all of the flavors combined very well and made it a delightful light dinner. I made this after a full day of making pie dough for the freezer (for National Pie Day, aka Thanksgiving) and it was a comforting and easy meal, successful in spite of my relentless tweaking of the recipe.
Thanks, Kayte, for a great pick! If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here.
That looks really good. Now I want it with goat cheese!!!! Yes, yes, I do! I can think of many ways to vary this recipe, so that is always nice to find something that you can go to with whatever you have on hand. Love the little setting you have it all in. LOL on my bread making craze...I had to do that to finish in time...I am the best procrastinator you know...that is why I always say, "Leslie, let's bake the TWD together," so I know that I will get it done. Happy you liked the pasta dish...great pressure, you know, when you are the one to pick the recipe for the whole group!
ReplyDeleteLeslie it looks delicious even with all your substitutions!! I didn't have walnut oil either. I always just use olive oil on everything. this recipe is very versatile though. Loved it and I will make it again for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! Goat cheese is so good with pasta - what a perfect dinner!
ReplyDeleteYou are right...Kayte does have tons of energy and always gets me excited to bake/cook. I liked this recipe too and will try the goat cheese next time.
ReplyDeleteYour post made me laugh. So many substitutions and it still worked. I love it when that happens (I cook like that often myself). It looks really good. I like feta and I like goat cheese, although hubby prefers feta. In this dish, I think creaminess of the goat cheese worked really well.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of pies... which pie crust recipe(s) did you use?
Looks delicious! I imagine this would be just as good hot as it was cold. I may try that sometime.
ReplyDeleteToo funny you talk about Kayte's energy, as Nancy & I were just marveling the other day at how much she's able to accomplish, and how quickly at that. Whenever we bake along, I've barely started and she's already cleaning up :)
ReplyDeleteYour dish sounds delicious! I'm glad it turned out well with the substitutions.
I had a dish very similar to this at a restaurant a few months back. However, the pasta was overcooked, the nuts tasted kind of stale, and there was barely any goat cheese on it! They need to see this entry - it looks delicous! Will try it at home soon :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an amazing dinner Leslie! I much prefer goat cheese to feta, too, but haven't thought to sub them before. I'll have to try that. I'm jealous you're on the ball with the pie crust already- I need to get going!
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