Mac and Cheese Shepherd's Pie Recipe

We've been experiencing rainy days in the Bay Area and I thought a little comfort food would warm us up. I couldn't decide between a shepherd's pie or mac and cheese, so I went for a combination of the two.

To keep the dish vegetarian, I prepared the bottom layer with a mixture of vegetarian protein crumble, tomatoes and onions; you could opt for regular ground beef if you prefer. Instead of topping the dish with mashed potatoes as you would in a standard shepherd's pie recipe, I added creamy mac and cheese. Needless to say, the richness of the dish was a huge hit even baby Aria asked for more!

Duck Confit and Morel Mushroom Ravioli Filling Recipe

I went through my pantry and freezer and thought it was time to do a little spring cleaning. I decided to make ravioli and filled them with the duck confit I had in the freezer, along with ricotta cheese, Pecorino cheese, cider, apples, morel mushrooms and tarragon. 

I ended up making two large batches of the homemade pasta: one vegetarian and one with the shredded duck inside. My preference leans toward the meat version, but my husband Lulu who's a vegetarian enjoyed the other version as much as I did!

Kale Pesto Pasta Recipe

If you're looking for a vibrantly green dish to serve this St. Patrick’s Day, this kale cashew pesto fits the bill. To the kale I added Greek Myzithra cheese (unpasteurized sheep cheese) and cashew nuts. Pesto is a very versatile sauce that provides as much flexibility as it does flavor. You just have to keep in mind 3 main elements: greens, nuts and hard cheese.

The inspiration for this pesto came from Gary, a PhamFatale.com reader. Gary had sent me an email for guidance about a sauce for ravioli he had purchased at my favorite local market, The Milk Pail in Mountain View (by the way, if you live in the Bay Area, don't hesitate to shop there and show your support!). Gary bought the Milk Pail's specialty Thai Curry ravioli and didn't know what sauce to serve on the pasta. At his house, no one's keen on a milk-based sauce so he was looking for something with less milk or cream. I suggested a pesto made of flat-leaf parsley, Thai Curry cheddar cheese (using the same kind of cheese as in the ravioli filling) and peanuts. I'll post the recipe soon. Gary's family tried the pesto ravioli over the weekend and it got two thumbs up. Yay! 

Mary Garrigan from Rapid City Journal published a couple of St. Patrick’s Day-friendly recipes from my first book, Haute Potato. Check them out if you’re still in search of St. Patrick’s Day recipes!

Mushroom Manicotti Pasta Recipe

I hope your long President's Day weekend was a lovely as ours. We had some company on Saturday and had a relaxing Sunday and Monday. Yesterday, we made a few appetizers and mostly snacked on these bite-size finger foods and a few sweets throughout the day. By the evening, I still felt pretty full and assumed everyone else was too, but I was so wrong. I ran into the kitchen and improvised a meal with one Portobello mushroom, ricotta cheese, manicotti pasta shells, tomato sauce and a jar of peach jalapeno preserves from our friend Martha at San Saba River Pecan Company.

I completed a salad and mushroom manicotti dish in less than 40 minutes. The challenge was to turn a handful of key ingredients into a dish as fast as possible before baby Aria woke up from her afternoon nap. Come to think of it, that sounds like a fun Food Network Challenge! At any rate, I'm proud to report my husband Lulu and family absolutely loved the dishes. I’ll share the salad with you soon.

Homemade Tortellini Pasta Recipe

Nothing beats a nice home-cooked meal. My husband Lulu is coming home tomorrow night and we're going to celebrate the romantic day with tortellini pasta I made from scratch.

To do so, I prepared pasta sheets and made a filling of artichokes, oil cured olives and ricotta cheese. I tested a small batch already and stored the rest in the refrigerator until the day comes. I can't wait to see his reaction!