Monday, October 25, 2010

Gossip Worthy Monday: Bowtie Pasta, Crostini, and Martinis!

Yay!  Gossip Girl is back!  To celebrate, we decided to be corny and make bowtie pasta (get it?*), crostini, and martinis.  We loved the idea of it being so basic, yet open to interpretation.   And I mean honestly, who doesn't love any excuse to eat carbs?

My version: (Vegan) Sundried Tomato, Olive, and Basil Bowties with Vodka Sauce, Mango Avocado Crostini, and a Vanilla Martini with Lime


 Ingredients:
For the Pasta:
- One box bowtie pasta
- 2 cups tomato sauce 
- 3/4 cup vodka 
- 1/4 cup vegan creamer 
- 1/4 cup coconut milk 
- 1/2 cup vegan parmesean cheese 
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
- One small can sliced black olives
- One package sundried tomatoes 
- 1/2 cup fresh basil 

For the Crostini:
- One loaf baguette bread 
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
- One mango 
- One avocado
- 2 cloves garlic 
- 1/2 one yellow onion 
- One jalapeño pepper
- Juice from 1/2 a lime 
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro 
- Salt and pepper to taste 

For the Martini
(which my boyfriend and I drank out of whiskey glasses because we're classy like that) 
- Absolut Vanilla Vodka 
- Extra Dry Vermouth
- Juice from 1/2 a lime 
- Martini Olives 

Method
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Begin to boil water for your pasta, and cook to your preference.  We love al dente.
- Simmer the vodka and tomato sauce in a saucepan over low heat.  Allow it to reduce for about 20 minutes.
- While your sauce reduces (stir constantly!), make the mango avocado spread.  Toss the mango, avocado, garlic, onion, pepper, and cilantro in a food processor.  When it's almost as smooth as you'd like, add the lime juice, salt, and pepper, and continue to process to finished.
- Slice the baguette into very thin slices, and line on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and toss into the oven.  Bake for about 8 minutes, or until golden. 
- Back to the sauce.  Stir in the creamer, cornstarch, and parmesean cheese, and continue to stir over medium heat. 
- Once your pasta is cooked to your liking, add the olives, sundried tomatoes, and chopped basil.  Toss with the vodka sauce!
- Your crostini should just be finishing up in the oven.  Take it out, allow to sit for a moment, and top with the mango avocado spread.  
- Oh, I didn't forget about the martini.  Add 2 ounces vodka and 1 ounce vermouth with a squeeze of lime juice per martini.  Toss in an olive and you're all done!  

Chelsea's version: (Vegan) Bowtie Pasta Salad with Fresh Peppers, Green Beans, and Capers tossed with Balsamic Vinegar, Kalamata Crostini, and a Lemon Raspberry Martini


  
Ingredients
For the Pasta:  
- One box bowtie pasta 
- One yellow, one red, and one orange pepper 
- One red onion 
- 1/4 cup green beans 
- 1/4 cup fresh basil 
- 1 tablespoon capers 
-  1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste 

For the Crostini
- One loaf olive baguette 
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives (smoked if you're able to do so!)
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste 

For the Martini
- Gin
- Chambord
- Limoncello
- Lemon juice
- Raspberry club soda
- Lemon rind twist 

Method
- I'm not going to bore you through this again.  Just read the directions for my stuff, and do the same things with Chelsea's ingredients with a few changes:
   - Chelsea's dressing is wonderfully simple.  Just wisk the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper together, and viola!
   - For her tapenade, just toss everything in a food processor.  Pretty much the same as mine, but without the second step.
   - Chelsea isn't all about measuring (and honestly, I only do when I'm posting my stuff..).  We're going to suggest using 1 ounce gin, 1 ounce chambord, 1/2 an ounce limoncello, juice from 1/4 a lemon, and about 2-3 ounces raspberry soda.  

That's it!  Hurry up and grab your dinner, your dogs, your best friend on iChat, and get ready for another amazing episode!  Xoxo, Gossip Amandah.

* You know, bows.  They're girly.  Duh. 


 

5 comments:

  1. YUM! What kind of creamer did you use in the sauce? I'm thinking because you used coconut milk, So Delicious coconut milk creamer would be awesome.

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  2. No, I don't get it :-( I've never seen it! But I love the meal anyway! Can I still share? Love that pasta sauce.

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  3. Avegangirl, I actually used Silk creamer, but So Delicious coconut milk would probably also be super delicious!!

    Jamie, it's just a super cornball thing: bowties because the show is girly, one of the character wears bowties, and another character always has a bow on her headbands:) And of course you can share! I don't know of many people that watch that show anyway, haha

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  4. O...M...G...everything sounds so good! Okay, except the peppers. I want to make this! All of this!
    I've never seen smoked kalamata olives but they sound amazing.

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  5. Thanks for the vodka sauce recipe, this is a definite will-try. :) I really like your blog, very cute! I found it during a Google search for vegan penne vodka, glad I did!

    http://very-nearly-vegan.blogspot.com/

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