Tour of Italy

So apparently it is as hard as I anticpated to stay put long enough to complete a blog post during the gorgeous fall season. The leaves are finally starting to morph into their beautiful colors and the college football season is alive and well. As the daylight hours begin to get shorter, I find myself wanting to be outside and doing as many fall activities as possible before the darkness of winter sets in. Consequently, this means I recently found myself with several recipes that yet to share. Shameful.

Although this recipe was made most recently, and thus should be featured last, I am still riding a weekend high and am anxious to relive it before settling into the harsh reality that is the work week. So induldge me if you will...

I spent the last couple of days in OKC, which isn't unusual at this point, but this visit included a visit to my alma mater (the University of Oklahoma) on homecoming weekend. As a student there for 7 years, (I feel the need to mention that this was for college and law school...I think my parents may have killed me if I stretched out college that long, although I now miss it desperately and it doesn't seem like the worst idea in the world) I always ensured that I had season tickets to the football games and going to the games basically commandeered my fall Saturdays. It's been 3 years since I've been there during football season, so when I found out I'd be in town at the same time as a home game, I was beyond thrilled. I spent most of last week marking off the days as the excitment continued to build within me like a child waiting Santa's arrival. Finally, Saturday came. The game wasn't until the evening, so I wanted to spend as much of the day down there as possible. Being the kind girlfriend that I am, I obliged TF in his request to dine at his favorite Mexican restaurant beforehand. We're both somewhat connoisseurs of Mexican food, but when we'd taken me to this place years ago I was less than impressed. Well, as it turned out (much to his joy) I kind of loved it. I hate giving TF any reason to say 'told you so,' but it was kind of impossible for me to deny this one. Damn. I'm chalking up my enjoyment to the fact that my eating tastes have evolved substantially since the last time we ate there (I still ate meat for starters). Plus, any presentation of food that is this beautiful and laiden with fresh ingredients scores major points with me:

After the joy that was my meal was over, the fun continued. I often find it difficult to explain to people that didn't come from football schools how big a deal Sooner football is...it basically shuts down the town and there are people adorning crimson and cream for as far as the eye can see. TF and I had been somewhat indifferent about whether we wanted to try and scalp tickets to the game. Since it was homecoming, we were playing Kansas (not a challenging opponent, as proven by our 52-7 victory) so neither of us was into spending much on a ticket. Well, as luck would have it, we ended up finding tickets for $10 each (down from their original $65 value) outside the stadium, thus making my day even better than it already was. TF grew up in Norman attending football games with his family, but I never went until I was a student at OU. Consequently, until Saturday, I had never experienced the wonder that is having an assigned seat, not having to get to the game 4 hours before kickoff, and not having to spend the better part of the game standing. One thing I do not miss about college: life in the student section. Our seats ended up being fairly decent (the stadium holds 85Kish, so being super high up is always a fear of mine) and I was beyond thrilled to be back watching my Sooners play live (and stomping Kansas).

While my day in Norman was clearly the highlight of the weekend, I did find some time to try out my ever-improving cooking skills on TF. Unlike me, he is a huge fan of the Olive Garden. Since he'd already gotten his way with choosing our dining place Saturday, I was not willing to allow a trip to the Olive Garden into the mix as well. Aside from my growing distain for chain restaurants, I also dislike paying for food that I can make healthier and better in my own kitchen. So, as a compromise, I agreed to create a pasta sampler based on TF's favorite Olive Garden dish: the Tour of Italy. We hit up our beloved Whole Foods for fun pasta noodles and then got to work picking out the sauces to include in our feast.

First up, one of TF's ultimate favorites, broccoli alfredo, gets a healthy makeover.

Broccoli Alfredo

[hat tip to Minimalist Baker]

Ingredients

• 1 box pasta noodles of choice
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup low-fat milk [plus more if sauce is too thick]
• 1/2 cup veggie broth [or chicken]
• 5-6 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 each tsp. salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1-2 cups fresh broccoli (cooked for 2-3 minutes with pasta)

Preparation

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil (add pasta when ready) and cook until al dente. Add broccoli 2-3 minutes before pasta is done
2. Heat medium to large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and garlic, stirring quickly to ensure it doesn’t burn
3. Next, add milk and veggie broth and stir
4. Then, begin adding 1 Tablespoon of flour at a time, stirring with a whisk to reduce clumps
5. Add salt, pepper, and cheese and stir
6. Reduce heat slightly and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you notice the sauce is too thin, add a little more flour. If too thick, add a little more milk
7. Once sauce is done, drain pasta/broccoli and mix with pasta in saucepan. Toss until evenly coated. Top with parm and serve

I'm not an alfredo fan (and actually didn't even taste any because I made it with chicken broth at TF's request) but it looks and smelled delicious.

Next up, another sauce of TF's choosing, carnbonara, joins the party courtesy of this Food Network find.

Carbonara Sauce

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces pasta (we chose a fun squiggly noodle....definitely not the correct term, but just go with whatever speaks to you)
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
2. Combine the bacon, olive oil, garlic and 1/4 cup water in a large skillet Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the water evaporates and the bacon crisps, about 12 minutes
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water as the label directs. Mix the eggs, cheeses and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water
4. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the pasta, reserved pasta water, and the egg mixture. Toss until heated through, gently cooking the egg 1 to 2 minutes to make a creamy sauce. Garnish with more parmesan

Similar to the alfredo sauce, since I don't eat bacon I didn't taste test this one, but it too looked divine  If I liked eggs I would possibly try a vegetarian version of this.

Finally, the last chosen sauce was I could get on board with. It's definitley a go to favorite for us that we've been making for years and it never fails. You can make it as chucky as you want to suit your tastes which is one of my favorite things about this recipe. We both perfer a chunckier sauce, but like I said, it's definitely amendable.

Chunky Marinara

Ingredients

• 2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (large) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine dice tomatoes, garlic, and whole tomatoes (drained) into a large pot
2. Simmer on medium until tomatoes are cooked down (about 25 minutes or so)
3. While tomatoes are cooking down, crush tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon and season as desired 
4. Serve over warm pasta of your choosing

As this was the only one I could eat, it was my favorite :)