Weeknight Cooking:
Going Homemade

"A well-stocked pantry helps you think creatively about how to feed yourself, and anyone who happens to be with you, a thoughtfully prepared, flavorful, and wholesome meal, without expending very much time or effort. I've come to realize that it's the way I use my pantry, more than any individual ingredient,, recipe or technique, that defines my personal cooking aesthetic."
                        – Alice Waters, from My Pantry



Reading through some of the first pages of the new book by Alice Waters (essentially founder of the West coast farm to table movement) stirred up the revelation that for the somewhat serious home

cook, a good next step in home cooking is to (try to anyway) evolve from the more obvious stage of actually cooking most of your meals with as fresh of store bought items as you can find, to gradually making as many of your own ingredients as possible.  I thought about a recent batch of chicken alfredo pasta, a very simple and well-received meal in its own right, but that no

doubt could have become more personalized, flavorful, creative and expressive with only a slight bit more planning and investment in time.  The recipe called for two jars of alfredo sauce, a pasta of choice (farfalle recommended), some more parmesan to top, slightly seasoned chicken breasts, some peas, a pinch of garlic, all baked to a proper consistency.  The secrets to this simple recipe is not to overcook the pasta in boiling water, but leave el dente; to choose seasoned chicken things over chicken breasts; to choose the brightest peas available.  Yet I wondered, what would happen with this meal if Waters's advice had been followed?  What – the home cook comes to consider more and more over time – happens to the process of meal-making as it becomes more personalized?

I would first begin by making my own pasta next time: I would choose the herb pasta 'penne' attachment for my pasta machine and perhaps add diced dashes of parsley (grown from the herb

garden) or season with a favorite spice of parmesan herb.  I might then pan fry or even roast the chicken thighs seasoned again with the parmesan herb seasoning in a bed of carrots and red onions.  As for the cheese, even though I know a good local Wisconsin cheese is very easy to find, why not make my own?  Other pasta cheese and cream sauces call for a variety, including cheddar,

goat, or parmesan. Maybe a single variety, pre-made and properly stored, would be a perfect way to top the homemade pasta. As the fine chefs at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee suggest about cheese-making, "Thankfully, anyone who wants to experience the alchemy of cheese making needs neither a cheese aging room nor an extended calendar.  With a handful of simple ingredients and a few hours over a weekend, you can create your own miracles of transformation in the form of fresh cheese."  So, what do we have here?  Nothing wrong with the commercial recipe admittedly, yet now the pasta

is a richer, softer and more flavorful version than the boxed farfalle, seasoned by a grown herb which is then mirrored by an addition onto chicken thighs, and submerged by a cheese of choice that is likely far less preserved and more creamy. Pick peas that shine and hold up to a bake. It is at this point that the full transaction of the meal is offered – in this version, there is pride, explanation and offering.  If done well, there is the request to make sure it is a weeknight repeater.