Holt Cuisine

The thing about One Pot Meals is that frequently they aren’t. They have you cook the sauce in a pot then boil the pasta in a pot. Or they cook the meat in a skillet then add it to the sauce in a pan.  My goal was to make truly one pot meals. There will always be a few other tools like a knife and cutting board, bowl for marinade or cut up veggies, a measuring cup if one is needed, etc.  I also want to be able to walk into the kitchen and put a meal together in about 30 minutes. So here is how it starts. I looked into my veggie drawer and found zucchini, half an onion, some chopped garlic and a package of mushrooms. I also had some frozen pesto from last fall and a jar of capers. All those things pretty much defined the sauce.  But say my veggie drawer didn’t have zucchini and mushrooms. I could do pretty much the same things with a bag of frozen peas and carrots. (If your kitchen doesn’t have onions and garlic – it’s past time you made a grocery store run!!) For the prote...

I feel betrayed by my culinary mentors.  I was told and I believed that the only way to make pasta was in a large pot of boiling water.  It’s a lie.  What else have they taught me that I need to rethink?  My new favorite way to make pasta is to take my measured amount (2/3 cup of penne for two people). Add near boiling water to the cup and allow it to soak while you work on the sauce (at least 10 minutes). Give it a little stir once or twice.  When your sauce is about 20 minutes from ready to serve, add the drained penne. Add a little liquid if the sauce is dry. The soaking water would work or some wine.  Cover the pot tightly and turn the heat to simmer. Let it cook and hydrate in the sauce. Stir it occasionally, adding a little liquid if it gets too dry.  It’s ready to serve when the pasta is tender to your liking. We like it al dente, but not crunchy.  An additional advantage to this method is that the pasta takes in the flavors of the sauce. I...