2011 Cook Challenge: Rice/Noodles

Week 3's Theme for the Cookbook Challenge is Rice/Noodles.  Since I've had Daisy Martinez's book Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night borrowed (and overdue) from the library I figured I at least needed to make a recipe from the book to compensate for the two buck fine I'm facing.  Actually, I made 3 recipes from this book and would have made 4 but the fresh pineapple I bought went spoiled from sitting in the fridge for so long.  Another hint at how long I've had this book checked out.  Normally, I'm very diligent about getting books back on time but I've been feeling kind of blah since my mom is about to move out much sooner than I anticipated...but, so goes life.

Anyway!

Check out the awesome Mayan Omelet I made...trust me, that was as delicious as it looks.  This penne dish was pretty good too and it wasn't too difficult to make.  I mistakenly put some of the arugula in the cheese sauce instead of in the pot with the noodles, but I pulled out what I could and popped what I could salvage in the correct pot.  As I look at the recipe photo in the cookbook, I see why the arugula is cooked this way, to preserve that bright green color that would end up camouflaged in the sauce. This was my first time cooking with dried mushrooms and I really like how it intensified the woodsy flavor in the sauce.  I did, however, have to tell a little fib to get my 7 and 9 year olds to eat this for dinner. This dish became noodles with chicken and spinach. Yup, they fell for it and told me how deeelicious the sauce was...it's funny how if I told the truth about the mushrooms they all would have been scraped to the side of the plate.  So, without further ado, here is the recipe for Penne a la Sirop.  Oh, and the other recipe I made from this book is the Shrimp Ceviche "Xni Pec"...I'll tell you how that came out here.

Penne a la Sirop (adapted from Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night)
1 cup dried porcini or other dried mushrooms
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets
2 TBS flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 lb penne
8oz mini wheel of Brie, rind removed
5oz arugula
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup of dried cherry flavor raisins
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place the mushrooms in a small heat proof dish. Pour 1 1/2 cups of boiling water over the mushrooms and let them soak until soft for about 30 minutes.
2. Once your mushrooms are softened, put on a large pot of salted water for the penne. Cook until mostly done, but about one minute before the penne is done, add the arugula. (In the meantime...prepare the cheese sauce)
3. Remove the mushrooms from the water, strain the remaining liquid through a coffee filter and set aside 1/4 cup of liquid to start. Save the rest to use to adjust the texture of your sauce.
4. Cut the mushrooms into very thin strips and set aside.
5. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and anchovies, cook until the anchovies fall apart and the garlic is browned. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add the mushroom liquid to the milk and cream in a separate cup, then add to the skillet, continuing to whisk until sauce is smooth.
6. Add the brie in medium size chunks at a time, continuing to whisk, make sure the sauce stays smooth. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes.
7. By now, your pasta should be done and you should have added the arugula to the pot during the last minute. Drain the pasta and arugula. Transfer the past and arugula to a large serving bowl.
8. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle the cherry raisins over the pasta, season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan cheese (optional, but suggested!)

Enjoy!!!