Who needs Halloween to serve up a dish like this? Mike from Rooftop Gourmet puts our serving suggestion for squid ink pasta to shame. Our simple preparation suggestion? “Oh just fry up some hot pepper flakes, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil and you’ll be good to go!” Mike’s serving suggestion: grilled, sausage and bread crumb stuffed calamari with a spicy arriabiata sauce. Um, YUM. Check out the full post here and visit Upper Falls Liquors soon to find Nella Pasta! (We’ll post our actual wholesale launch date as it comes closer).
We started on Thursday to get a head-start on the menu. First, we roasted the butternut squash and sauteed the kale for the fall orzo salad. For the first time, we chopped the butternut squash into small uniform cubes before cooking instead of roasting the squash whole. The result was evenly cooked, beautifully browned squares with a rich, spiced, roasted flavor on all sides. This method will definitely stick in the new Nella Kitchen!
Also on the agenda– we sautéed shallots, mushrooms and thyme for the duxelle, toasted the butternut squash seeds to top the orzo, reduced the mission figs in balsamic and made the vinaigrette, and assembled the pinwheels to slice and bake later.
Last night Rachel, Anthony and I headed to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (Rachel’s alma mater) to hear a panel of 
We were excited to meet Will from Garden at the Cellar, as we have been working with his dad, David, at the Prudential Market for the past 8 weeks. We also got to see our friend Louis from Sel de la Terre that we also met through the Prudential Market. It was interesting listening to the chefs share how they started their careers, whether they attended culinary school or not, their views on how to make a name for yourself in the industry and what their current focus is at their respective restaurants. We loved how so many of these rising chefs are in tune with the local food movement and build their kitchens and menus based on sustainability. It was also interesting to hear a debate on gender in the restaurant industry and the obvious lack of women in the profession. Rachel and I could empathize with the discussion of one obvious reason: the sheer amount of manual labor. It was nice to hear how Boston in particular has a good amount of female chefs, and that 3 of the most promising young female chefs were present at the event. Furthermore, the panel addressed the overall culture of the Boston Chef scene. Each panel member agreed that Boston harbors a unique, friendly atmosphere where chefs support one another, attend each others’ restaurants and spend time with one another socially.
Before heading off to their honorary dinner at Craigie on Main, we were able to sit down with 2 of the rising star chefs for a drink at Green Street in Central Square. Initially skeptical of the dive-bar appearance of this restaurant and bar on a small back alley-sort of street in Central Square, we immediately warmed to Green Street when we entered, read their fantastic cocktail and beer list (we went with a local Cambridge selection) and took a look at the menu. While the chefs slipped out after an aperitif and a cocktail, Rachel, Anthony and I were joined by Jeff and a friend of Rachel’s from Culinary School to sit down for dinner. We were all happy with our choices– the cheese plate, seared scallops, the clam stew, chicken shneitzal and good ‘ol steak. Check out Green Street’s menu 
Thanks to 
… and on this spooky night a simple white pasta simply won’t do. What to do, you say? We have the perfect remedy– turn the pasta BLACK as night and howl at the moon. Well, you can skip the howling if you prefer, but you can’t miss this very special Halloween pasta. Cook up this spooky squid ink black linguine with some hot pepper flakes and garlic sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and try to tell us we haven’t made the perfect Halloween feast.
No, you say? Well how about this– a black and orange ravioli. We stuffed our bright orange roasted red pepper pasta with a southwestern black bean filling that will appeal to all the senses: the perfect Halloween motif-ed colors that will complement any Halloween decor, the fragrant aroma of hot chillies and cilantro and the perfect subltle kick of spice for your taste buds. For those of you that have tried our southwestern ravioli in the past, you know. The question is, will you pass it along to a friend or keep them all to yourself?? Know that Rachel and I toyed with keeping all 20 packages….you lucked out (this time…). Next up on the Halloween menu is a vibrant orange roasted red pepper linguine, a 3 cheese and roasted garlic ravioli, our classic whole wheat and ground flaxseed linguine, our classic white capellini and linguine and for the very first time at the Hingham Farmer’s Market, SAMPLES! We’ll bring a spooky black rigatoni with a red pepper romesco sauce. Try it out at the market then bring a package home to wow your goblin and vampire dinner guests. We hope to see everyone at the market, so come one come all and remember to wear your costumes! Chef Rachel and Farmer Leigh will be waiting…
That’s right, tomorrow is the last market of the season for Prudential Farmer’s Market. We had our doubts initially, but as the weeks went on, Rachel and I grew to love the Prudential Market. It’s hard for any market to establish itself, but the brand new Prudential Market has some strong points on its side. First off- location, nestled right in the heart of Back Bay close to hundreds of offices and one of the best shopping districts in Boston. Next- the selection. The Prudential Market is packed with local farm vendors, baked goods, breads, cheeses, maple syrup and of course, pasta! We have had a wonderful time getting to know our Boston customers and love the friends that visit us weekly (thank you Laura!). So before getting too sappy (I had enough of that during last night’s Biggest Loser… don’t even get me started), we’ll fill you in on tomorrow’s menu…
roasted garlic brown butter and topped with parmesan and toasted pine nuts. We’re not lying when we say we have a new favorite– there’s just something about adding roasted garlic to our brown butter with a hint of apple cider, apple cider vinegar and a number of fall spices the come together to make the perfect autumn meal. Pop it in the microwave and YUM.
There was a time that Monday meant one thing…. dreading the week ahead. We would arrive at our desks, give a perfunctory “good morning,” change our voicemail, check e-mail…. you know the rest. Not this Monday, nor any other for that matter. Yesterday, Rachel and I went on a field-trip to a place that we previously knew solely as a vendor at the Prudential and Hingham Markets. Where did we go? Springbrook Farm! For months we have been using Springbrook’s produce to flavor our pasta and fill our ravioli, but we had yet to actually see where the produce was grown. Yesterday we jumped in the cleaned out “Nella Mobile” (thank you Jordan) and headed to Littleton, MA. When we first arrived, we were reminded by a mantra we recited to cheer each other up at our previous job: “think sun on your face, smell of tomatoes….” It was a brilliantly sunny day and our nostrils filled with the aroma of…. ok, cow poop. Frankly, it didn’t bother us in the least. We entered the country store, introduced ourselves to the owner, brought out our crates and got to work. Twenty bushels of sugar pumpkins, acorn, carnival, butternut and delicata squashes, cortland and macoun apples later, its safe to say we’re ready for winter! Over the next several weeks, we’ll be slicing hundreds of squashes, cleaning out the seeds (to keep of course!), roasting, pureeing and freezing the pulp to keep local produce in our pasta for months to come. Now’s the time to take advantage of the last of this year’s fresh produce, so get motivated! Visit your local farmer’s market, stock up on apples, squashes, pumpkins, make a pumpkin or squash puree or apple sauce and enjoy wonderful local produce all winter long. Farms are stocked with these yummy fall treats, so act now! Check out all Springbrook Farm has to offer in the photo album below…
So we said we would announce our big news on Wednesday, but since we’re both downright giddy about it and got the hard part out-of-the-way, we figured it’s time…. We moved! Nella Pasta is officially out of Pembroke and into our new space in Jamaica Plain. You may remember back to the early days of planning when we mentioned the Nuestra Culinary Ventures kitchen incubator right across from the Sam Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain. Previous to the start of the markets, NCV was extremely helpful to us in planning our business by teaching us valuable lessons in choosing a legal entity, signing up for the ServeSafe program, and logistics of selecting and selling our product in farmer’s markets. Unfortunately, 2 weeks prior to Hingham’s opening day, we learned that NCV was closing. In a mad rush we scoured the internet and newspaper listings for a new kitchen and thankfully found our former spot in Pembroke. 6 months later, we learned that NCV is back up and running under a new non-profit, CropCircle Kitchen, Inc. The 
A few reminders– 1) We have some amazing specials planned for next weekend’s Halloween market, so don’t miss it!, 2) We want your pictures! Send in your photos to the Nella Photo Contest and you may win a package of ravioli, 3) We’re working on putting together some beautiful gift baskets for the holiday season. We’ll have photos and details in the next week, but keep these gifts in mind for your host or hostess on Thanksgiving, a thank you gift to a favorite teacher or neighbor, or hey, be greedy, get one for yourself!
That’s our promise for tomorrow– rain or shine, we’ll be set up at the Hingham Market tomorrow from 10-2. For descriptions of our menu, see the post below. The Cliffs Notes version: fresh roasted red pepper linguine, classic white linguine, three cheese ravioli and classic white capellini. We’ll also be debuting our dried rigatoni. Remember, the Nella Photo contest is on and we want to see your photos! Make sure to pick up a package tomorrow and send us a photo of your pasta once you get home. For details on the contest, click on the “
ps. If you need inspiration for a great meal, check out 