drew barrymore bucatini: fresh homemade pasta sauce.

drew barrymore taught me how to make fresh tomato sauce.

i have watched this clip of her making her pasta sauce with ellen about 500 times.

i sometimes just put that video on when i can't think of anything to watch on youtube..which is kinda strange i guess haha. even with the vast expanse that is the world wide web, i still insist on watching this very clip over and over. it just makes me happy! if ya know anything about me its that i love ellen. soo much. and i love drew. soo much. put 'em together and i am entertained for life.

i just love drew. she is so enjoyable. and it is a total miracle of the universe that i had the opportunity to meet her and even have dinner with her with some friends after her book tour. my brain still explodes when i think about that night and the fact that my friend lauren casually called me the day before saying "so heyyy, would you wanna meet drew tomorrow?" ......"esssssssCuuuUSE ME?!?!?! whatchu just say??" i died. 

i've loved her since the E.T. days, and being around her in person super solidified all the reasons why i love her. she was so cool and down to earth.  just by coincidence, she had some sort of pasta with tomato sauce at dinner that night. i remember she ate her noodles all fancy by twirling the fork into her spoon. classy broad.

anyhoo, her method of homemade pasta sauce that she made on ellen is my go-to when i have a bunch of fresh cherry tomatoes around. they are always better in the summertime when they're in season locally, but at other times of year i'll use grape tomatoes if cherries aren't available. 

cherry tomatoes are better to use for sauce because they're juicier, more plump, with a thinner skin. grape tomatoes seem to have a thicker skin that doesn't break down as well as the cherries do, but they'll still do the trick.

i've made this many times and i've figured out how i like it the best. i add chopped up zucchini and a serrano pepper. and extra olive oil in the sauce. the combination of everything is perfectly juicy, earthy, and pleasantly spicy with a rich texture.

and "fresh basil every 5 minutes," as drew says. haha. 

i roasted the whole head of garlic in the oven just to have around. you could use fresh garlic cloves in the sauce, but roasted garlic smells amahhhzing and its so rich, sweet and flavorful.

just slice the cherry tomatoes in half and you're on your way to delicious fresh tomato sauce.

for the zucchini, i slice it into rounds and then stack some of them to chop it easily into bits.

with a good amount of olive oil, fresh or roasted garlic, juicy cherry tomatoes, minced serrano, chopped zucchini, fresh basil, and salt, you can have a rich & flavorful pasta sauce ready in about 20 minutes.

drew recommends fresh bucatini, which are plump spaghetti noodles. i got this pack when i was at eataly in new york city, and its great. i really love the texture of bucatini - its just a bit of a better chew than regular spaghetti noodles.

after the pasta is cooked, i toss it with olive oil so it doesn't stick together. then lay on the tomato sauce and some extra basil leaves. 

this version of the sauce is vegan - but it would also be super tasty with some sort of flavorful ground beef or spicy sausage.

i always think its exciting when you can make things from scratch and adjust the ingredients as you like. i'd never actually made my own tomato sauce until drew showed us all how. ya never know where you're going to learn a new life skill!

i shall now refer to this as my drew b. bucatini. even though it doesn't have to be made with bucatini...  drew b. bucatini just sounds right. 

Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce

Makes about 2 cups of tomato sauce

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 24 oz. cherry tomatoes (mostly red - some green & yellow are ok)
• 3-5 TB. olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 6 cloves roasted garlic*, or 4 raw garlic cloves (you can roast the garlic days in advance - store in airtight container in fridge)
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded & minced
• 1/2 a large zucchini, chopped into bits
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh chopped basil
• fresh bucatini pasta (1 inch diameter bunch)

Instructions-

* To roast the head of garlic, heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut 1/4 inch off the top, remove most of the paper covering and discard. Pour a teaspoon of olive oil on the cloves to soak (about 5 minutes). Place in a baking dish or oven safe dish covered in foil. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Wash all the veggies and slice the tomatoes in half. Chop the serrano pepper and zucchini. 

In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium/low heat and add the garlic. If using roasted garlic, mash it up in the olive oil with a wooden spoon. If using fresh garlic, toss it in the olive oil until the garlic begins to brown.

Add all the cherry tomatoes and increase heat to medium. Let all the juices from the tomatoes heat and simmer together for about ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped zucchini, serrano pepper, salt & pepper, and some fresh basil. Stir to combine.

If you're having pasta, at this point begin boiling a large pot of water. Cook your pasta as desired and strain the water. Return the noodles to the pot and drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil on the cooked pasta. Gently toss the noodles. 

Continue to let the tomatoes simmer on medium/low heat for about ten more minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Add extra handfuls of fresh chopped basil every few minutes and stir into the sauce. 

Serve your desired amount of bucatini with the fresh tomato sauce while its hot. Top with extra basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired. 

enjoy with a glass of red wine and garlic bread for best results :)

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^^^ brain explosion happening in this moment. my face couldn't cheese any cheesier. clearly she's my best friend in my wildest dreams.

you da best, drew b.!

xoxo

qp

rainbow fresh rolls with spicy plum sauce, & peanut sauce.

time to get freshhhhhhhhhh.

freshhhh 2 death. 

i love fresh rolls, man. do ya call them spring rolls if they're fried and fresh rolls if they're not? because i've seen this type called both names. anyway these are so fReSh and beeautiful to look at. and a perdy spicy plum sauce, to boot!

...peanut sauce too because variety rules.

i was slightly bummed that these weren't the plums with the pretty dark red insides. how are you supposed to know whats in there without biting into the plum at the store?? i know there are red plums and black plums and other plums, but google wasn't sure about the contents of plum innards when i needed answers. are they just different levels of ripeness? these are "black plums." but i wanted black plums with red insides. oy vey. 

anyhoo, those plums with the pretty dark red insides are soooo delicious and juicy. these ones are gooood, but firm, ya knowwww? whatever, i need to get over it.

i simply used these particular veggies because i wanted raaainbow rolls. but these are so super customizable and you can use what you like. 

i wouuuld highly recommend the green leaf lettuce, cucumber matchsticks, and sugar snap peas. for the crunch factor.

once you've got all your veggies and things sliced and ready, these are so easy to make! 

i was determined to make my own plum sauce and this one turned out prettyyyy darn well, i'll say. it actually tastes like...plums! haha. though i do thoroughly enjoy that molasses-y plum sauce they give you at restaurants. this one is just super "FRESH" (settle down on the "fresh", i know), flavorful, and spicy. 

and then i was like... well this needs peanut sauce too, just in case.

don't be alarmed by the long ingredients list. you can make the plum and peanut sauce in advance and store them in the fridge. then when all the veggies and things are chopped and ready, this comes together in a jiffer! 

yumyumyum! sooo crunchy, healthy, flavorful, & satisfying. and that other "F" word, too.

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Rainbow Fresh Rolls, Spicy Plum Sauce, & Peanut Sauce

Time: 45 minutes

Makes about 5 large fresh rolls (10 halves)

Makes about 1 cup of fresh plum sauce & 3/4 cup of peanut sauce

Ingredients:

• Plum Sauce-
• 4 black plums
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1 small shallot clove
• 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 TB. soy sauce
• 1/2 TB. rice vinegar
•  
• Peanut Sauce-
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup water, depending what consistency you prefer
• 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger
• 1 small shallot clove
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp. Sriracha
• juice of 1 small lime
• dash of salt
•  
• Fresh Rolls- Use whatever you like: veggies, noodles, tofu, sprouts, prawns...etc! I used:
• 5 spring roll rice papers
• 1 cup thinly sliced red & yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots - like matchsticks
• 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber - like matchsticks
• green leaf lettuce
• handful of sugar snap peas
• sliced red onion (optional)

Instructions-

For the plum sauce, quarter the plums and remove the pits. In a pot over medium/low heat, simmer the plums, water, and brown sugar for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Add simmered plums to food processor or blender and add the remaining plum sauce ingredients, pulsing as you go until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the peanut sauce, add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add only 1/4 cup of water at a time and determine whether you'd like the sauce thicker or thinner.

For the fresh rolls, wash and slice all your veggies. Add warm water to a pie pan or shallow, wide dish. Place a damp towel on the table or cutting board to build your fresh rolls on so they don't stick. Soak one rice paper at a time in the warm water for about 10 seconds, or until transparent and soft, but not slimy. You want them to be just a little firm still. Carefully place the soaked rice paper onto the damp cloth. 

Spread your veggies across the rice paper, closer to the edge instead of the middle. Carefully roll up the rice paper around the veggies. You can leave the side edges open or fold them in before rolling it all up. With a serrated knife, cut the rolls in half. 

Serve with cold spicy plum sauce and peanut sauce on the side. 

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enjoy!

qp