Poppers and Pasta

Last night, two new recipes got the THK treatment, and I am happy to report they both came out well.

I first tried my hand at jalapeno poppers.  I only just tried this bar snack about 3 years ago - I was always pulled in the direction of mozzarella sticks or potato skins - but now I realize I had been missing out.  They're usually stuffed with cheese and fried which is why I never tried them at home.  My smoke alarm goes off at the faintest hint of smoke so deep frying isn't really an option.  Don't worry, I make up for the calories elsewhere.  However, last week I saw a version of a popper online that was easier on my temperamental smoke alarm.  Instead of frying, the poppers are wrapped in bacon and roasted.  Not only does this keep the smoke out of the kitchen, it keeps my counters cleaner because I'm not dealing with egg and breading spilling everywhere.  The trick to getting everything the right texture is to halve the jalapenos.  This will keep the bacon from sliding off and get the filling nice and bubbly.  Once you've cut your jalapenos in half and removed most of the ribs and seeds, fill your little pepper canoes with a mixture of cream cheese and shredded cheddar.  Wrap each one with bacon (a 1/2 strip will likely do ya) and put them into the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes to make them crispy and bubbly.  You won't be able to stop yourself from pop pop popping these suckers.  Superbowl Sunday, I got you covered.

Once my appetizer experiment was successful, I got to work on recipe number two.  I received a copy of Mario Batali's latest cookbook ("Simple Family Meals") in a gift bag and noticed several of the pasta recipes used fresh bread crumbs.  I am accustomed to seeing bread crumbs added to baked pasta dishes, but seeing them in regular pasta was new to me but looked like a good way to add texture so I decided to give it a go.  I took inspiration from one of Batali's recipes for a pasta with cauliflower and changed it to include some ingredients I was looking to use/had on hand.  While the pasta cooked, I pan roasted cauliflower and grape tomatoes with rosemary and garlic until the cauliflower was tender and the tomatoes were wrinkly and starting to burst.  I put them off to the side in a serving bowl and started toasting bread crumbs made from country bread that was conveniently going stale.  The crumbs soaked up the little bit of oil and garlic that had clung to the pan from the veggies.  I tossed the pasta with the veggies and reserved pasta water and then added the bread crumbs and fresh pecorino.  There is no need to add any additional sauce because while you're tossing, you can pop the tomatoes to release some their juice.  The cheese and pasta water get cozy with the juice from the tomatoes to create a nice light sauce.  The pasta was good, but the addition of bread crumbs made it better.  They gave the pasta some extra personality.  We all know I've got some personality and I like my food to match.