Cajun Pasta Fresca

Cajun Pasta Fresca (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 4)

Ingredients

·         1 spaghetti squash, cut in half with seeds and inner membrane scooped out

·         2 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 tsp. minced garlic

·         1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 tsp. dried parsley

·         1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

·         ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place spaghetti squash on baking sheet, cut side down.  Bake for 45 minutes.

2.      Remove squash from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Using fork, scoop out inside (should look like spaghetti strands).

3.      While squash is cooling, briefly sauté garlic in oil. Stir in tomatoes and remainder of juice. When tomatoes are bubbly, mash slightly with a fork. Stir in parsley, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes more.  Add Cajun seasoning and Parmesan and cook 2 minutes.

4.      Toss squash with tomato sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella if desired.

The biggest change that I made to the original recipe is that I didn’t use pasta, I used spaghetti squash.  I am currently in a love affair with this variety of squash – I love the taste and texture and it serves as a healthy alternative to pasta.  I also used canned diced tomatoes instead of buying 13 plum tomatoes!  Looking back, I should probably have upped to 1.5 or 2 cans of 28 oz. size, but hindsight is 20-20. 

This dish is really easy and quick to make, even the spaghetti squash is pretty easy – just be careful when forking out the innards, no burns allowed!  The sauce was very thick and chunky, which is why I think more tomatoes would have been a good idea (or petite diced).  I liked the soft texture of the tomatoes against the firmer squash.  My sauce was slightly spicy, just a hint of heat, and full of flavor.  I feel that each element stood on its own, the garlic and parsley were not overpowered by the tomatoes or the Cajun.  I also only used the Parmesan and not the additional mozzarella called for in the original recipe – even the Parmesan felt a bit overwhelming with only the 1 large can of tomatoes.  The cheese and Cajun seasoning work nicely together with a bit of a flavor explosion!  If I used more tomatoes, I’d probably keep the other seasonings the same, or increase just a tad, and add the mozzarella.  I hope that you make this dish because my mouth is watering just writing about it!

Cajun Red Beans and Corncakes

Cajun Red Beans and Corncakes (5-6 servings, Total Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes)

(adapted from AllRecipes.com and Runner’s World)

Original Recipe on Allrecipes called for Creole Seasoning, which I didn’t have, so I used Cajun Seasoning.  Awesome decision!  Good spice mix and kick to the beans.  I also used canned kidney beans to make this dish, and the substitution worked out just fine.  Since I used canned beans, I omitted the salt called for in the original recipe.  No need to add sodium when you don’t need it!

Cajun Red Beans

Ingredients

·  2 cans red kidney beans

·  1 green bell pepper, chopped

·  1 onion, chopped

·  4 stalks celery, chopped

·  2 Tbsp. ground black pepper

·  2 Tbsp. Cajon seasoning

·  3 cloves garlic, minced

·  1 package Morningstar Farm sausage links, chopped

Directions

1.     In a crockpot, combine beans, bell pepper, onion, celery, black pepper, Cajun seasoning, and garlic.

2.     Cook on low for 4 hours.

3.     Mix sausage into the beans; cook an additional 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The day I was planning to make this dish, I saw the recipe for Corncakes and decided to use that in lieu of rice.  Another great decision. 

Corncakes (4-6 servings, depending on size of cakes; Total Time: 20-30 min.)

(from RunnersWorld.com)

Ingredients

1 can (14.75 oz.) creamed corn

1 cup yellow cornmeal, divided in half

½ cup water

2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for griddle

1 large egg

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

Directions

·  Heat creamed corn in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cornmeal. Whisk in the water, then oil, then egg. 

·  In a bowl, mix remaining 1/2 cup cornmeal with flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. 

·  Heat a griddle over medium heat; brush lightly with oil. 

·  Working in batches, drop batter in generous ¼ cup portions onto hot griddle. Cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about five minutes. 

For the cakes, I would use less cornmeal in the future – by themselves, you can taste the cornmeal consistency.  However, they do a great job at sopping up the additional sauce from the beans.  This dish was one that I just wanted more and more of.  The meal has great protein, fiber, and carb content, which is an added bonus to its delicious taste.  The vegetables stayed crisp in the crockpot and the varied consistency between them and the beans and corncakes was a nice addition to the meal.  The beans were slightly spicy, but the corncakes dulled the kick a little, making this pleasing to my husband’s palette as well as to mine.  I will definitely be making this in the future.

Public House Wilmington

http://www.publichousewilmington.com/menus.php

My fiancée and I joined two friends for a lunch at Public House.  The weather was nice and the Wilmington Grand Prix was in progress, so we were able to enjoy our meals outside. 

 I love butternut squash, so I ordered that salad (mixed greens, candied pecans, shaved red onion, aged gouda with maple vinaigrette) – there was so much gouda!  Not a bad thing.  I am not a fan of maple, but the vinaigrette was not overpowering and worked with the salad.  The pecans and red onion gave it a nice crunch.  

For my entrée, I ordered the Blackened Shrimp Pasta – sans shrimp.  The gemelli pasta is mixed with asparagus tips and tomatoes, topped with a creole cream sauce.  I checked first to make sure that the sauce was vegetarian (it is!).  The pasta was okay – I actually added more Cajun Seasoning to my leftovers (there were at least two more servings in addition to the one I ate at lunch).  I don’t think I would order it again.  Maybe next time I’ll just stick to the salad and perhaps a side.