Linguine and meatballs with a tomato-cream gorgonzola and marjoram sauce

This came out as a result of an intense craving for a creamy-gorgonzola-y pasta dish a few weeks ago after a run.

I had all meatballs in the freezer I needed to use (click here for a recipe) and pretty much everything else was idly sitting in my pantry and fridge.

Here's what happened in Poupette's kitchen that day.



INGREDIENTS (2 people):
- 1/2 pack of dry linguine
- a large handful of small meatballs (click here for a recipe)
- a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, reserve a few on the side for decoration
- 1 small basket of fresh cremini mushroom
- 1 medium onion
- 1 splash of olive oil
- 1/3 cup of heavy cream
- 1/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola
Note: if you can, use gorgonzola dolce (a creamy, soft and almost sweet gorgonzola). I used the super acidic crumbly kind you can find easily in supermarkets here in the US, but it would have been orders of magnitude better with the dolce.
- 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh marjoram (oregano or thyme would work well as substitutes)
- freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving



RECIPE:
- bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine al dente

- while the pasta is cooking, brown the meatballs in the olive oil over medium-high heat until golden but not yet cooked through, about 2-3 minutes

- in the same pan, saute the diced onion and sliced mushrooms over medium-high heat and deglaze the meatballs drippings with the moisture of the mushrooms, cover if necessary to create a steamy environment

- after 4-5 minutes, add the marjoram and fresh tomatoes and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are soft (about 1-2 minutes). If it gets a little dry and starts to stick to the pan, add a ladleful of pasta cooking water and stir

- add in the cream and crumbled gorgonzola and cook over low heat until the meatballs are cooked through

- drain the pasta and serve hot sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper, a few fresh tomatoes and a healthy dose of parmesan shavings
- bon appetit!

Gorgonzola and caramelized pear scones

I've been on a breakfast kick as of late. After the crepes, waffles and muffins, I decided to try my hand at scones.

I wanted a savory scone.

Since my favorite cheese of all time is gorgonzola (ok maybe not of ALL time, but very close) and I had a lonely pear in my fridge, I decided that this was going to be it. Chunky, ooey-gooey, blue cheesy nuggets contrasting nicely with soft, juicy, sweet bursts of pear flavor. Yes.

Plus, they look awesome on your table!

Here is how I made them.



INGREDIENTS (for 8 scones):
- 1 1/2 cups AP flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup milk, cold
- 1/4 cup sour cream, cold
- 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cold
- 1/2 cup gorgonzola
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 pear


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 400F
- melt 1 tbsp of the butter in a pan, add the peeled and finely diced pear with the sugar and cook until caramelized (about 5 minutes over medium-high heat), then reserve on the side

- in a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, salt, pepper, baking powder) and the diced cold butter and incorporate the butter with a dough cutter or your fingers as quick as possible until it ressembles fresh breadcrumbs

- add the rest of the ingredients (milk, sour cream, gorgonzola, pear and eggs) and mix until just combined

Note: the dough will be very wet. Don't worry, just make sure you work on a well floured surface when you shape the scones later
- transfer the dough on a floured surface, shape into a flat disc, cut into eighths and place in a floured cast iron skillet (or just place on a floured cookie sheet)

- bake at 400F for 18-20 minutes until golden

- the scones will be soft when they come out of the oven, let them cool down before handling or they will crumble
- enjoy!

Mushroom and Gorgonzola veloute

The weather is getting crisp, the temperatures are dropping and the leaves are turning yellow.

Fall is here. And that means I'm in the mood for soup!

I got a really good deal for a chunk of Gorgonzola cheese today at the supermaket, and I was just scanning my fridge to find something (anything) to pair it with when I saw a bucket of button mushrooms. And then there was light! I had my soup of the day. Somehow, I was going to find a way to combine those two ingredients to create a delicious cozy automn soup :)

I immediately took to my favorite cooking tool: google. The first hit I got was this recipe which I tweaked a little. I added potatoes for fibers and creaminess instead of a white sauce base (flour and butter).

Ingredients:

- A small container of mushrooms (sliced)

- 2 small potatoes (floury, not waxy), peeled and diced

- 1 onion and 2 small cloves of garlic, diced

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1/4 cup gorgonzola, crumbled + extra for decoration

- salt, dried rosemary leaves 1/2 tsp each

- small glass of white wine

- 1/4 heavy cream

- 4 cups chicken broth

RECIPE:

Melt the butter and cook the onion and garlic until soft.

Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown.

Deglaze with white wine and reserve 1/4 cup for texture and decoration.

Add potatoes, salt, rosemary and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer covered until potatoes are fork tender.
Turn off heat and add cream and Gorgonzola. Puree with an immersion blender.

Serve with a slice of whole wheat bread. Sprinkle with reserved sliced mushrooms, crumbled cheese and liberal amounts of black pepper :)Enjoy!