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We had family over from Ireland for the past two weeks, which is why I’ve been remiss in my posting. I neglected to post about a lot of really great meals, and I hope to revisit some of the recipes and get them up here for you.

In the mean time, we’ve been eating Penne Alla Vodka made with fusilli. It’s really good with fusilli because the sauce gets all stuck in and around the spirals. If you’ve never made Penne (or fusilli) Alla Vodka, you should really try it. It’s not complicated, despite the fancy name, and it’s quick, good for weeknights. The recipe is here.

We had another long day out today. Brunch at La Bottega at the Maritime Hotel followed by a walk on the High Line.

We didn’t want to eat out again, but didn’t have much energy to cook dinner either.

The solution? Pasta with garlic and oil, pasta with leftover red sauce, a simple salad and a roast chicken made by someone else.

I’ve made this exact meal before. Chicken with Wine, Lemon & Butter Sauce, and Warm Red Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Fontina.

The rice dish was not white enough, and had too many vegetables in it to get a nod from Rose and Shane. What I got from them instead was subtle praise over the chicken. I’m 99% sure I heard Rose utter a “yum” upon tasting it, and Shane ate 4 of the 5 breasts. That’s a win in my book.

If your comfort zone extends beyond white rice, the red rice recipe is worth a try. I would be a great dish to serve a gluten-free and/or vegetarian guest. Here’s the chicken recipe. Always a hit, it works with pink wine too, in a pinch.

In other exciting news, there was still a hint of daylight when we sat down to eat at 7:30.

• Warm Red Rice (or Farro*) Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Fontina •
from The Kitchn

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 cup grape tomatoes
6-8 cremini mushrooms, cut into small chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
1 small red onion, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 of a small head of radicchio, cored and sliced into chunks
1 cup red rice or farro
2-3 ounces fontina cheese, cut into small cubes
small handful of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salad greens and olive oil (optional)

*I’ve never made this with farro per the original recipe, though I’m sure it’s delicious that way. Both the red rice and farro variations are below.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper, and roast for 15 minutes, stirring once. Add the radicchio to the pan, toss to get it covered in a bit of oil, and cook everything for another 10 minutes.

For the red rice version: Combine red rice with 1 1/2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until soft but still chewy in the center.

For the farro version: Rinse and drain the farro. Bring 2 cups of water to boil, season with salt, and add the farro. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until al dente. Drain.

Combine the cooked farro and vegetables, then add the fontina and parsley. Whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar, seasoning with salt and pepper, and drizzle over the farro mixture.

Serve warm, on it’s own or over a bed of mixed greens drizzled with olive oil.

For those of you who have not forsaken gluten and dairy, man-oh-man do I have a recipe for you. Creamy One-Pot Spaghetti with Leeks is a creamy, delicious treat. One pot, 30 minutes, wonderful.

It’s another one of those pasta cooked like risotto dishes. Meaning, you add the dry pasta to the sauce so it absorbs all the creamy goodness and flavor while it cooks, making the pasta extra wonderful in taste and texture.

Fans of, wheat pasta, dairy and fat, try this recipe asap. With a simple green salad. Perfect!

• Creamy One-Pot Spaghetti with Leeks •
from Food & Wine

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 anchovy fillet, drained
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 pound spaghetti, noodles broken in half
3 3/4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

In a pot, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, scallions, leeks and shallot and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened, 6 minutes. Add the anchovy, crushed red pepper, spaghetti, stock, cream and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the pasta is tender and a sauce forms, 11 minutes. Stir in the chives and 1/4 cup of cheese; season with salt. Serve the pasta with extra cheese on the side.

You know, for the Irish.

We’ve been having a lot of soup lately because Shane has a wicked bad cold. Such a bad cold that he actually requested soup, more than once!

The first soup (pictured above) was a broth similar to Tortilla Soup, plus rice, chick peas, roasted corn and cilantro. We had it two nights in a row.

The next soup was Beluga Lentil Soup, from the Dinner A Love Story book. We had it with steak and pasta and I don’t think anyone but me actually ate it, but it really is an excellent soup. It also looks really pretty while you’re making it.

Before the soup, there was pork tenderloin which I marinated in bourbon, maple syrup, ginger, garlic, soy and who knows what else. I had poor, sick Shane cook it, because I never could figure out pork. Here it is with pasta and baby kale salad. I know it’s not soup, but I want to document it so we remember the marinade.

Stay well everyone!

My aunt Gail gave us some soup a while back, which I defrosted tonight. “It’s got all kind of things in it” is what she told me.

It sure does! Lentils, coconut, squash. Curry, perhaps? Mustard seeds, maybe? I’ll try to get the recipe for you. It was delicious, complex and unexpected.

I’d made Rose some pasta cooked in broth just in case, but the self-professed loather of soup and coconut, preferred the soup!

For the mister—who isn’t much of a soup-as-a-main-course guy—we had prosciutto & mozzarella to substantialize the meal. Bread and salad rounded things out nicely.

Tune in later for the soup recipe!

Chicken baked in creamy tomato sauce is from the Dinner A Love Story book. I’ve been meaning to try it for a while and finally did tonight. Rose ate a huge helping without comment, and Shane devoured the rest.

Perhaps they were just really hungry? I think not.

Since I don’t eat chicken, I doctored up some leftover pasta e fagioli from a recent takeout meal. It was okay, but not as good as this recipe.

• Chicken Baked in Creamy Tomato Sauce •
original recipe from Dinner A Love Story 

3-4 boneless (we use skinless) chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15oz can chopped tomatoes, we use San Marzano
3-4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
a large handful of basil, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
parmesan or pecorino for sprinkling (optional)

Tonight’s dinner is brought to you by Rachel’s Favourite Food at Home. Chicken Ginger and Cashew Stir Fry with Coconut Noodles is a great one-dish meal. It’s also non-squeamish vegetarian-friendly, as you can easily pick out the chicken pieces.

We all agreed that it was a lovely change of pace, and very tasty, but that the noodles were too short. I will make this again with longer noodles so that we can devour it more efficiently.

The original recipe can be found in the book, or translated into US measurements here. I mixed it up a little and halved the amount of noodles and chicken, but kept the vegetable amounts the same. I also added a red pepper and a head of baby bok choy since I was in too much of a rush to google “mangetout” and find out that that’s how you say “snow peas” in Irish/French. I also didn’t drain the noodles, just added them, yummy coconut broth and all, to the stir fry.