A Table for Four

Last week Rohit and I had a couple of our friends over for dinner. Being a weeknight with a dentist appointment that morning (yikes!), we decided to keep it simple. I found this great recipe by Ina Garten for spaghetti and made some garlic bread to go with it, an easy side salad and some wine completed the dinner. We also baked an apple pie which we paired with ice cream for dessert. The recipes below serve approximately four adults.

Spaghetti with Broccoli & Shrimp


Salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 cups broccoli florets
Olive Oil
1 pound shrimp
1 pound Spaghetti
8 large garlic cloves (sliced into thin slivers)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

via House Beautiful (I forgot to take pics of mine)

Preheat your oven to 400F and bring a large pot of water to boil with 2 tbps salt. 
Combine the broccoli, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper on a sheet pan, spread out and roast for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp to the broccoli, toss well and spread out in one layer. Roast the shrimp and broccoli for 8 to 10 minutes or until shrimp is cooked.
Cook the pasta according to directions. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water before draining the pasta.  

Heat 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot (large enough to hold the pasta, shrimp and broccoli). Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently until it just begins to turn golden, add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.
Carefully add the reserved pasta cooking water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and add 1 tsp and simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about a third.
Add the drained pasta to the garlic oil and toss. Off the heat, add the cooked shrimp and broccoli, plus the parsley and Parmesan, and toss well. Allow the pasta to rest off the heat for 5 minutes, for the sauce to be absorbed in the pasta, then taste for seasoning and serve warm with extra Parmesan on the side.

Garlic Bread

1 loaf Italian bread
1/3 cup butter (softened)
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
Fresh minced parsley

Preheat your oven to 350F. Make thick slices in your loaf of bread, but do not cut all the way through. Mix the butter, garlic and parsley in a bowl and then spread it on each slice. 
Wrap the bread in aluminium foil and heat for about 15 minutes. 
Allow it to cool for a minute and serve. 


Apple pie


I have been looking for a good apple pie recipe for a while and this one was great. I followed it almost exactly to the letter and it turned out pretty well. However, next time I think I will employ some of the suggestions by the reviewers, add a little cinnamon and bake at 350F on the lower shelf for longer because the crust did brown a little much in some places and I missed the tinge of spice. I too used only 6 apples.


1 recipe pastry for an 8 inch double crust pie
1.2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

I loved doing the lattice work

Preheat your oven to 425F. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature and let simmer.
Place the bottom crust in your pan, fill with apples mounded slightly.
Cover with a lattice work of crust.
Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust, so that it does not run off.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 F. Continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes, until apples are soft.