cooking @ home

I’m noticing as time goes on and, especially with pasta dishes, when you interchange different ingredients, it becomes tougher and tougher to come up with the actual names of the recipes. To me, my short-hand for this dish is “Chicken Z-and-Z” for Zuccini and Ziti. Of course if I actually named it that, you would be going “huh?” and either turn away. Or maybe it would conversely grab your attention. But you surely wouldn’t know what it was until — and if — you started looking closely. And if you were specifically looking for a chicken and squash pasta dish, you might not find it here either.

No wonder Rachel Ray and others come up with crazy names after a while for things. I mean I love pasta simply because you can put sooooo many different ingredients, meats, seafood, proteins and veggies in it. And then the number of sauces as well are staggering. But then with all those mixes and matches, naming does become difficult.

You know, this might make you laugh. Or maybe you think the same way as I do, but, in many ways, pasta seems to me as a very American dish. It’s sometimes difficult to think of them as Italian. And this coming from an Irish-American no less.

Sure, America is the home of hamburgers, hot dogs and apple pie. But growing up, pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and alternately cheese and meat raviolis, strombolis and calzones and lasagna were as much of it. I have this one friend from England who’s lived here forever and she still doesn’t get it, as they never ate that way in the UK. First time I heard this I thought it was weird saying, “Wait, you’re 4,000 miles closer to Italy than we are!” Right there, that shows you it’s more an American thing.

I say, fair is fair. The tomato was grown only in the Americas; Europe never had the tomato before Columbus. And yet for two hundred years the tomato has been the staple of Italian cuisine. If they can do all that with our tomato, then yeah, I don’t see why we can’t therefore say a lot of Italian food is just plain American. It’s just the boomerang effect.

  

Chicken & Squash with Ziti in Roasted Garlic Sauce
©2007 Harry Kenney

two large zucchinis, diced large
1 large yellow squash, diced large
yellow onion, diced
ziti (or penne or rigatoni, etc)
fresh baby carrots (halved)
1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, diced large
salt
pepper
garlic

While garlic is roasting in oven (see sauce below), sweat the vegetables, that is, one a medium heat and olive oil you want to cook them, break them down, but you don’t want them brown nor do you want them mushy, you want the vegetables still to have a good deal of body. Season as required. So sweat the zuccini and the squash, take out of pan. Put in the chicken, and later (so it doesn’t brown) the onion and cook them well also. Meanwhile boil lightly or steam the carrots (you can do this in the microwave if you want.) Cook the pasta per directions. Drain. Into the large vessel containing the pasta now add the chicken and veggies, mix well, add any additional seasonings. Add the sauce below. Mix well, serve. Makes enough for 8-10 servings

Roasted Garlic Sauce

head of garlic
dried oregano
dried basil
salt
pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
some lemon zest
2 tblsps lemon juice
red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated parmagen

First, preheat oven for 350°F. Take an entire head of garlic, cut off the top, place in aluminum foil, and make an open pocket. Pour olive oil on top along with dried basil and oregano. Seal, place in oven for 25-30 minutes until roasted brown.

Squeeze the garlic out of it’s “head” of paper and place in blender. (Note, this works with the normal old bar blender as well as the super new ones.) Put in the ingredients listed above, except the oil, mix. Take off the top, pour the olive oil in as the rest is mixing, this is to emulsify and create the sauce properly. Taste, adjust as needed. Pour onto pasta, mix and serve.