Lunch 2024

Fastest lunch east of the Rockies today! TJ’s Cacio e Pepe ravioli cooked 3 minutes. Remove and pour out cooking water retaining a shy 1/2 c of starchy water. Add 1/3 of a pkg. of Boursin cheese and mix well over low heat. Crack in some black pepper and seasonings of choice, add back ravioli and mix gently. Plate with freshly grated pecorino and a few snippets of basil. A few drops of evoo inadvertently turned into more than intended but didn’t hurt the final dish, I just wish TJ had a little more Cacio in the ravs.

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Lord almighty I had pasta yesterday and would slurp this up in no time! Brilliant idea to add the boursin. We have a local bagel place that makes their own cream cheese blends, and I bet the garlic herb would work really well, too.

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Definitely, any soft creamy cheese. I think if I whipped ricotta in the FP, that would work also but that means dirtying the FP! Cambozola would likely also work , maybe with a squash ravioli.

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I’m worried that the local cream cheese might be a bit too dense. Boursin seems a little more like a mousse, lighter and fluffier. And they have a black pepper version, too, right?

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Boursin is definitely lighter but depending on the amount of cc, it would likely work but the texture certainly is different. And yes, I think Boursin is available with blk pepper but frankly, freshly grated large pepper pieces work really well.
I had used the 2/3 Boursin as a base for two small tomato tarts, other than that, I’m not too conversant with Boursin . It happens to fit the small tarts very well and I’m very pleased with it in that usage.

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The brand name cream cheese I buy (Philadelphia brand) has whipped cream cheese available so maybe that would work if you would prefer to use cream cheese. I don’t think they have a black pepper version though. I agree with Nannybakes the Boursin might work better in this dish. Although I haven’t made the ravioli dish she made, I’ve used a variety of cheeses in my pasta dishes and I find the ones that work best are the softer cheeses.

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If you leave it out to soften, you should be able to whisk it into heated liquids to mount the sauce like you would butter!

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Thx, @Amandarama, @ottawaoperadiva, and @Nannybakes :slight_smile:

I’ll make this happen!

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Lunch today was an omelette with TJ’s truffled Monterey Jack cheese and mega biscuits.

A coffee custard with vanilla bean honey kumquats was dessert.

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A symphony in brown / fridge cleanout lunch:

stir-fried oyster shrooms (peanut oil, butter, and a splash of Sichuan oil for that ma la :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: kick), one small diced onion, the last of the chopped parsley (dry AF by now oops), and the remnants of the jasmine rice from who knows when. A lil soy sauce, a lil chili crisp.

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Roasted a couple of Red Kuri squash yesterday. One miso glazed and the other based on this recipe https://heartbeetkitchen.com/roasted-red-kuri-squash-recipe/ but used the harissa and cumin from the kale on the roasting squash. No kale or almonds. Anyway, today’s lunch was that squash over lettuce and red onions dressed with a tahini/lemon dressing (again, similar to the recipe but made for one salad. I love the red kuri squash. Not as sweet as some winter squashes and the skin really does get soft enough that you don’t need to peel it.

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A Friend’s Family makes a Pasta Sauce with Cream cheese, A little Pasta Water and Pesto.
Seems strange coming from a Family that are of Italian Heritage but they have been doing this since the 40’s at least! They are Genovese and for some reason started using Cream Cheese rather than Cream for their Pesto e Panna.

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I subbed a little white pepper for the sichuan peppercorns. This is tasty and fun to look at!

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That is beautiful and sounds delish. I’m always blown away how intense white pepper can be — of course, so are Sichuan peppercorns. Very distinctive flavors.

This dish is indeed intense on the peppercorn front! Which was perfect for the dreary rain we’re dealing with today.

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Tomato tart with homemade ricotta , finely diced olive salad, aged Asiago. Sautéed spinach from the FM, evoo, garlic, peperoncini.
And some freshly made lemon verbena crème pat, blackberries, raspberries and crumbled Amaretti cookies.

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Yesterday’s aloo gobi with today’s poached egg.

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That is a perfect poached egg! Dare I ask what method you use to achieve said perfection? A pod?

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A pod. 5:00 in 1" of simmering water.

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:yum:

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