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As the bulbs and trees start to bloom up here in New England, we’re all starting to get excited about summer fruits and vegetables. One of my favorites, which also happen to have a bad rap, are Brussel sprouts. I am taking a stab at growing these this year, so look for lots of recipes later this summer as I try to find creative and tasty ways to eat them.

In general, I find that these little cabbages pair well with lemony or vinegary sauces. But they’re great with just a little butter, garlic, and salt. In this recipe I’ve tried to move them from being relegated to a side dish and make them the star of a pasta dish for lunch. If I wasn’t eating it for lunch at work, I might pair it with a dry white wine.

Ingredients

• 25-30 Brussel sprouts with small, compact heads
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1/4 C raw pine nuts
• 1/4 C fresh tarragon, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T butter
• 1 t paprika
• 3 lemons, juiced
• Salt, to taste
• 4 servings of cooked pasta, I used shells here, but any short pasta would do well

Directions

The trick with Brussel sprouts is to cook them enough to take away their bitter edge, but not so much that they turn into a mushy mess. Microwaving them before you cook them helps. Start by rinsing them, cutting off the ends, and slicing lengthwise. Put in a microwave safe bowl with a little water, covered slightly. Microwave for about 4-5 minutes, stirring them every minute or so.

Strain the water from the sprouts. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan to medium high heat. Put the sprouts in the pan and distribute evenly. Salt the sprouts with a pinch or two of salt, to your taste.

Let the sprouts cook uncovered for a few minutes. Do not stir. Allow them to start to get a little brown on one side and then stir. Use tongs to get as many of them flipped to the other side as possible. Salt again and let the other side start to brown.

When both sides are getting brown and the sprouts are starting to get softer (but again, not mushy) add the garlic and pine nuts on top of them, letting the ambient heat start to cook them. After a minute or two, mix the garlic and pine nuts so that they touch the pan.

Add the tarragon and mix thoroughly.

When the garlic is cooked and the pine nuts are starting to brown, add the artichoke hearts, butter, paprika, and lemon juice. Add more salt to taste if necessary.

Mix in the cooked pasta and serve. Add a little fresh parmesan cheese on top with a little cracked pepper.

Puttanesca is my number one, quick weeknight meal. Why? Usually I have all the ingredients in the pantry, it only takes 30 minutes, and it is delicious. Add a salad and bread to make it a complete meal. Or don’t and stuff yourself with pasta! You’ll notice that when I took the pictures I deviated from the recipe somewhat… I forgot to chop my olives and then added the tomatoes before the rest of the ingredients because my garlic was about to turn brown. Luckily, this recipe is very forgiving.

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 oz) peeled Italian plum tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 anchovy filets, minced
• 1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons capers
• 1 lb pasta

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir just until the garlic is pale blonde, about 30 seconds. Stir in olives and anchovies. Cook for about 30 sec, then stir in tomatoes, crushing them between your fingers as you add them. Simmer uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the capers and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serves 4

This is a family favorite. It is basically a heart attack in a bowl. Serve it with some dripping garlic bread, a Cesar salad, and some nice wine. Mixing all the ingredients together can be rough on the biceps, but all the effort is well worth it when your guests leave with full and happy stomachs. Make sure to use good bacon and sausage because it adds most of the flavor. Also try substituting pancetta, ham, or other cured meats.

Ingredients

• One package of pasta
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 C half and half
• 1 lb bacon
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 C grated Parmesan cheese (you could also use any combination of Romano and Asiago)
• 1/4 C chopped parsley (garnish)

Directions

Start by cooking all the meat. I typically chop up the bacon before cooking it and drain the fat off midway through cooking. Don’t drain off all the fat, because you’re going to want to use it later.

While the meat is cooking, beat the eggs and half and half and let sit. You want this to get close to room temperature for mixing everything together.

When the meat is a quarter of the way done, start boiling the water for the pasta. While you’re waiting, share some wine with your guests (this makes it all taste better). You’ll need your strength for the rest of the procedure.

The meat is done when it is on the verge of charring. Cook the pasta al dente and drain. Add some of the bacon and sausage fat to the pot and crush the garlic into the fat over high heat. Cook the garlic till it starts to get translucent, then take off the heat. Add the pasta and more of the fat (you’ll want to add about 1/4 C total). Mix well.

Then add all of the egg mixture and the cheese. Mix well and continuously. Turn on the heat to low and keep mixing. The traditional recipe you don’t need to turn the heat back on because the pasta cooks the eggs. If you want to cook it a little (like I do) you need to keep mixing the pasta so that the eggs don’t cook too much. You want to pull it off the heat when the sauce starts to thicken.

After it’s off the heat, add all the meat and stir in. Plate the pasta and garnish with parsley and cracked black pepper.

A coworker gave me a grapefruit from the Farmer’s Market the other day that she made me promise I would try. Living in Florida you start to get very picky about your citrus. Luckily, this coworker can be counted on to suggest the good stuff. Anyhow, the grapefruit was a Duncan grapefruit and she described it as pleasantly sour though stuffed with seeds. What she didn’t tell me was that this grapefruit has an extremely thick rind, is wonderfully juicy (I ended up saving the juice that developed to drink later), and has a nice floral flavor that you don’t find in most grapefruits (similar to a really good tomato). It turns out the Duncan grapefruit is the oldest cultivated grapefruit variety first planted in 1830 in Safety Harbor, Floirda.

I love grapefruits, really all citrus, but hate to eat them. Cutting them in half and then into tiny sections is just way too much work and I always end up hungrier at the end than when I started. This grapefruit was a gift so I had to use it and I had to use it in a timely manner. Thus, I decided to make something with it where I could cut off the rind and easily slice it into sections. This salad met those criteria and had the added bonus of being Thai-inspired. It turned out better than I expected with just the right amount of spice the twang that I associate with green papaya salad.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 7 ounces rice vermicelli
• 1 large grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews or peanuts
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Mix the hot red pepper flakes, garlic, brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Let sit (and feel free to make a few days ahead as the flavor will improve). Set a large pot of water to boil. Mix the grapefruit, cashews, mint and cilantro together in a large bowl. When the water boils add the rice noodles and cook 1-5 minutes (depends on their thickness). Drain and rinse under cold water until cool or plunge into a bowl of ice water. Drain noodles again then toss with the grapefruit mixture and the dressing.

Yields: 2-4 servings

Pesto is great to make ahead of time and freeze. Then you can whip up a dish like this in minutes. Cooking garlic and white wine instantly make your house smell like a gourmet restaurant.

Toasted pine nuts can be a bit costly, so you can do it yourself with raw nuts. That way you get the lovely smell of roasted pine nuts, which smells surprisingly like popcorn.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1/4 C toasted pine nuts
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed or minced (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 C EVOO
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese (pre-grated is fine, but doing it yourself it better)
• 1/2 C white white
• 2 C cooked short pasta
• 1/2 C grape tomatoes, quartered

Directions

To make the pesto, put the basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste in a blender. Whip it up. Seriously, it’s that easy. To make the pine nuts, you can either toast them in a toaster oven or in a pan on the stove. Either way, keep your eye on them turning them frequently. You’ll likely burn your first batch, but you’ll quickly get the hang of it. Once made, you can throw the pesto in the freezer and take it out whenever you need a quick pasta dish.

For the pasta, saute a few cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add the white wine and some more salt to taste. Allow the white wine to reduce by half. Then add the cooked pasta and pesto and allow to warm. Right before serving mix in the grape tomatoes. Serve with a little more Parmesan cheese and some freshly grated pepper.