The Real Food Rehab Holiday Gift Guide: Louisa Neumann

Welcome to the Real Food Rehab Holiday Gift Guide! For the next three weeks you'll be introduced to a group of artists, authors, chefs, great home cooks, au courant shopkeepers, food artisans, farmers, food writers, bloggers, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs from around the country and around the world. I've asked them to submit, in their own words, their picks for a food-related gift they'd love to give or receive this holiday season. These are people I respect and admire, not only for their excellent taste, but for the brave and beautiful work they do in the world. Taking your creative gifts, passions and beliefs and turning them into successful business ventures takes fortitude and courage and each of these people share that in common. And now, without further ado, I bring you The Gift Guide...

WHO Louisa Neumann is a cooking instructor and recipe developer living in Portland, Oregon. She was taught to cook by a woman in Burgundy, France and a few others in Louisville and Boston. She enjoys blogging on Stumptown's emerging wild and crazy food scene at her blog, The Portland Pickle.

THE GIFT Let's face it: We're all broke this year, right? So do yourself a favor and lay off your battered and bruised Mastercard this holiday season. I'm all about being cheap but not seeming cheap this year. That's why this idea at Twig and Thistle caught my eye. For your kids' favorite teacher, coworker, or the neighbor who collects your mail while you're away consider this DIY gift. For just a few bucks assemble your own S'mores Kits. Put a finer touch on it by using high quality chocolate and make or buy artisan marshmallows. Have fun with the packaging, too. Use colorful ribbon and clear boxes to show off your goods. If you're not into s'mores, try your hand at canning. Consider canning sweet meyer lemons, which are in peak season right about now. Preserved meyer lemons are the secret ingredient to many Moroccan dishes, so why not include a few recipes with your confiture gift.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Portland, Oregon

WHAT INSPIRES YOU? I'm inspired by the fact that I'll never know it all and also by my students, old and young.

GO-TO DISH WHEN COOKING FOR YOURSELF? I love preparing delicious dishes with otherwise humble ingredients. I tend to make something and run it into the ground - I recently did that with Nigella Lawson's zesty pasta with mushroom, garlic, lemon and thyme. It's the easiest and most refreshing pasta. I love it, love it, love it. But I need a break from it.

(Last Call) Roasted Tomato Pasta

It's almost that time. And I must confess it makes me a little sad.

The growing season's almost over and we'll only have local tomatoes for a little while longer. I've been growing some with my neighbors in our yard and another variety on my deck and they're just now ripening! The season got a late start because of the wet spring and relatively cold summer. But, I've finally got some beauties; sweet, ripe and ready to go.

This pasta's as gorgeous and tasty as it is quick and easy. So, serve it to your loved ones on a busy weeknight or to dinner guests on a leisurely Saturday night.

I used homegrown tomatoes that were medium-sized and sliced them in half but it'll be easier if you just use small, sweet cherry or teardrop tomatoes. If you go to the farmers' market you can mix and match varieties in different shapes and colors. I also used green and purple basil from my deck, so if you have basil plants, this is the perfect opportunity to use them up!

(Last Call) Roasted Tomato Pasta

Adapted from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries

Ingredients

1 pound dried pasta - I used spaghetti but short pasta like Orecchiette would be great, too.
3 lbs. local cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced thin
30 basil leaves
3 oz. fresh Chevre
or
4 tbsp. organic heavy whipping cream and grated Pecorino to taste
olive oil
salt & pepper

Instruction

First Thing: Set your broiler on high

Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water.

Rinse and dry tomatoes well. In a roasting pan or baking dish, toss tomatoes and garlic together in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Throw the pan under the broiler, very close to the flame. You want to broil them until the skins split and get nice and charred in some places and the tomatoes give of their juices. This should take about 5 minutes depending on the heat of your oven but check after 3 minutes and don't let them burn. Remove from the oven and crush the tomatoes in the pan with the back of a fork.
Pull the pasta al dente and drain. Toss the crushed tomatoes with the basil into a serving bowl and let the basil wilt from the steam and heat. Season with salt and pepper and either throw in the goat cheese or the cream depending on your preference. If using cream, add some grated Pecorino cheese as well. Fold pasta into the mix and toss together gently with tongs and serve.