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omorkaFirst, the good stuff:
Baked Shells with Pesto
12 oz. shell pasta (preferably the medium size, about an inch long)
1 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pesto (jarred will work, but preferably fresh; the stuff on the olive bar at Central Market works fine)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (the kind in the zip bag works fine)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (as fresh as possible)
1 Tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the shell pasta in lightly salted boiling water for one minute less than the package instructs you to do. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, pesto, and half of the mozzarella in a large bowl. Grease the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish with the butter. When the pasta is done, drain thoroughly and toss with the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the contents of the bowl out into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top, and repeat with the other cup of mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.
---
Everyone, even those people who don't know how to cook on a regular basis, should have one or two specialties they can whip together on those occasions when calling for pizza is not an option and they're out of ramen (or canned soup, or whatever their prepackaged staple is). It doesn't have to be complicated - spaghetti with garlic and olive oil is sufficient, or quesadillas - so long as it's something you're 90% certain to have the ingredients for at any given time (spaghetti, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, maybe Parmesan; flour tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa) and it makes a reasonable meal alone, or a good one with salad from a bag and bottled dressing. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to have a couple of specialties, especially if you have a well stocked pantry (chop an onion and fry in two tablespoons of olive oil, dump in two cans of black beans, a can of chicken broth, and a drained can of corn, season with half a teaspoon of garlic powder, a little chili powder, and oregano, simmer for twenty minutes, and you've got a decent if not spectacular black bean soup) and don't mind minimal-meat or meat-free meals. A couple of kitchen gadgets make this sort of thing even easier; in particular, the indoor griller and the crockery cooker make good specialty gadgets, although the blender is actually surprisingly useful.
I understand people who have a limited repertory of recipes. I just don't understand people who don't cook at all.
---
Doctor Martin's Mix
1 lb. ground chuck, ground round, or breakfast sausage
3 ribs celery, cleaned and chopped (I leave the leaves on, but cut 'em off if you don't like them)
3 green onions, roots and ends trimmed, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper (optional; I hate bell pepper, so I omit this), cubed
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (invest in the decent kind; bouillon cubes are mostly salt)
1 cup long-grain rice
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups water
Brown the ground beef or sausage over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet with a lid. Add the celery, green onions, and bell pepper (if using) and stir until the celery is crisp-tender (4-6 minutes). Add the bouillon granules and the rice, and stir until the rice is slightly translucent. Add pepper to taste; depending on the amount of salt in the granules, you may or may not also want to add salt. Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce over the top, stir briefly, and add two cups water. Stir and make sure the rice is all under water. Add as much of the third cup of water as is necessary to cover everything in the skillet. Turn the heat to high and bring the whole mess to a rolling boil. Cover the pan with the lid, drop the heat to low, and let it simmer for 30 minutes undisturbed. Uncover and give everything a stir; if the rice isn't completely cooked, stir well, add a little more water, re-cover, and give it another 10 minutes. It's done when the rice is cooked.
---
A non-trivial portion of being a "good" cook is just not overcooking everything. Most people don't like the cruciferous vegetables because they've only ever encountered them cooked almost to mush. Broccoli should still have some crispness to it when it hits the table. Cabbage should not be boiled to an inch of its life. Pork should be cooked until the center is white instead of pink and not a minute more. Fire is the center of the kitchen's magic, but, as ever with fire, moderation is everything.
Baked Shells with Pesto
12 oz. shell pasta (preferably the medium size, about an inch long)
1 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pesto (jarred will work, but preferably fresh; the stuff on the olive bar at Central Market works fine)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (the kind in the zip bag works fine)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (as fresh as possible)
1 Tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the shell pasta in lightly salted boiling water for one minute less than the package instructs you to do. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, pesto, and half of the mozzarella in a large bowl. Grease the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish with the butter. When the pasta is done, drain thoroughly and toss with the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the contents of the bowl out into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top, and repeat with the other cup of mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.
---
Everyone, even those people who don't know how to cook on a regular basis, should have one or two specialties they can whip together on those occasions when calling for pizza is not an option and they're out of ramen (or canned soup, or whatever their prepackaged staple is). It doesn't have to be complicated - spaghetti with garlic and olive oil is sufficient, or quesadillas - so long as it's something you're 90% certain to have the ingredients for at any given time (spaghetti, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, maybe Parmesan; flour tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa) and it makes a reasonable meal alone, or a good one with salad from a bag and bottled dressing. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to have a couple of specialties, especially if you have a well stocked pantry (chop an onion and fry in two tablespoons of olive oil, dump in two cans of black beans, a can of chicken broth, and a drained can of corn, season with half a teaspoon of garlic powder, a little chili powder, and oregano, simmer for twenty minutes, and you've got a decent if not spectacular black bean soup) and don't mind minimal-meat or meat-free meals. A couple of kitchen gadgets make this sort of thing even easier; in particular, the indoor griller and the crockery cooker make good specialty gadgets, although the blender is actually surprisingly useful.
I understand people who have a limited repertory of recipes. I just don't understand people who don't cook at all.
---
Doctor Martin's Mix
1 lb. ground chuck, ground round, or breakfast sausage
3 ribs celery, cleaned and chopped (I leave the leaves on, but cut 'em off if you don't like them)
3 green onions, roots and ends trimmed, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper (optional; I hate bell pepper, so I omit this), cubed
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (invest in the decent kind; bouillon cubes are mostly salt)
1 cup long-grain rice
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups water
Brown the ground beef or sausage over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet with a lid. Add the celery, green onions, and bell pepper (if using) and stir until the celery is crisp-tender (4-6 minutes). Add the bouillon granules and the rice, and stir until the rice is slightly translucent. Add pepper to taste; depending on the amount of salt in the granules, you may or may not also want to add salt. Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce over the top, stir briefly, and add two cups water. Stir and make sure the rice is all under water. Add as much of the third cup of water as is necessary to cover everything in the skillet. Turn the heat to high and bring the whole mess to a rolling boil. Cover the pan with the lid, drop the heat to low, and let it simmer for 30 minutes undisturbed. Uncover and give everything a stir; if the rice isn't completely cooked, stir well, add a little more water, re-cover, and give it another 10 minutes. It's done when the rice is cooked.
---
A non-trivial portion of being a "good" cook is just not overcooking everything. Most people don't like the cruciferous vegetables because they've only ever encountered them cooked almost to mush. Broccoli should still have some crispness to it when it hits the table. Cabbage should not be boiled to an inch of its life. Pork should be cooked until the center is white instead of pink and not a minute more. Fire is the center of the kitchen's magic, but, as ever with fire, moderation is everything.
