Chicken Carbonara

Mary made this a few weeks ago and I've craved it ever since.  I'll admit I've been afraid of this dish because of the possible end result of "scrambled eggs and pasta" that I know people have had to eat (if you're reading this, you know who you are).  But that wasn't a problem at all, and if you want some good comfort food pasta, this is definitely for you.  The recipe is based off of Giada's, but I changed a few things and that is what you see before you... (I will warn you it's a bit labor intensive.  Giada's recipe says the total cook time is 22 minutes, but that would be in the lovely world of having a sous chef.  The prep work probably takes that amount of time, and then you have to cook it.  And if you're like me, just add another 15 minutes to that because I'm just slow.)  Serves 6.

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 slices bacon (I think I'll add more next time) or 4 oz pancetta chopped
4 cloves minced garlic (Or more-- you know you want to)
2 1/2 cups whipping cream (admittedly, this much cream kind of freaked me out, so I just did 2 cups cream and 1/2 c milk)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (didn't have this so I did 2 tbsp of dried)
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 pound spaghetti
3 chicken breasts, browned and cooked through, and coarsely chopped  or 1 roasted chicken coarsely shredded
1 cup cooked peas
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (I used pecans, and this was such a nice touch)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan (the pan needs to be large enough to fit all of your pasta, so make sure it's BIG) over medium heat. Add the bacon and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, and herbs.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add the chicken and peas to the pan with the bacon and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly.  Giada says this takes 4 minutes, but it took me about 10, though I was very afraid of cooking it too quickly.  Just watch it and make sure you do not boil the sauce because that will scramble the eggs-- yuck. Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the bacon will likely add all the salt you need).

Sprinkle with the nuts and lemon, and serve.

Sausage and Pepper Rigatoni

*This recipe is from Jenny M--many thanks!

I have to admit, this was a little scary at first.  My husband saw it in passing on the local tv show called the 'Valley Dish'.  He said "MMMM, I wish we were having that for supper!"  So I decided to be adventurous and look up the recipe a few days later.  To my ultimate delight, he loved it and it wasn't that hard!  A few side notes:  I didn't know what fennel was, looked for it at Fry's and couldn't find it, so I never used it.  We didn't know the difference :).  Second, I used all dried herbs (cut amounts in half).  I just didn't have the fresh ones on hand and it was still delicious!

Ingredients...

12 oz ground Italian sausage (not spicy)

1 red bell pepper

1 small onion

3rd of a bulb of fennel

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 cup olive oil

6 cloves fresh garlic

3/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

3/4 cup your favorite tomato sauce

1 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley

1 Tbsp fresh basil

1/2 grated Romano cheese

21 oz cooked rigatoni pasta

1.  Slice onions, fennel, and peppers.  Mince the garlic and chop all the herbs.

2.  In a large saute pan, heat the oil until it's at the smoking point (between 365-400 degrees Fahrenheit), add sausage meat.  Make sure it's spread out so meat covers the full surface of the pan.

3.  Add oregano, thyme, garlic, and vegetables.  Brown all slightly.  Add wine and chicken stock and reduce by half.

4.  Add tomato sauce and bring to a quick boil.

5.  Heat pasta and toss with the sauce mix.  Then mix in basil, parsley and Romano cheese. 

Enjoy!

Lemon Orzo

Eliese made this several times in college and I was so smitten with the recipe that it was ingrained in my memory.  I don't know if it's completely accurate since I've been eyeballing it for years, but this is the closest I've come to the amazingness that this recipe is.  It's probably from Gourmet because it was one of those fabulous recipes her mom would always send her, so you know of course it's good.  And it's so easy.  And it's made with everything you can regularly keep on hand in your cupboard.  Honestly, as I eat this orzo my mouth waters for more, it has such a great citrus bite.  Hope you can enjoy it as an easy go to recipe. It makes a great side with poultry and fish, or just eat it on it's own like I am today with the leftovers.  Also, Eliese, feel free to note any differences you have in your original recipe.

Serves 4

2 tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
3-5 garlic cloves, diced
1 cup orzo
1 1/4- 1 1/2 cup of water (depending on how dry your climate is and how quickly your orzo cooks)
juice of 2 lemons (or 1/4 c lemon juice from the bottle, I've made it both ways and it's been great)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tbsp dried parsley


1. Melt butter in a large warmed skillet on medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, 3-5 min.

2.  Add orzo and cook, stirring occasionaly, until starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add water, bouillon, and lemon and let simmer until most of the liquid is cooked off, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.  You will need to taste the pasta to see if it is cooked and add more water if it needs a little longer.

4.  Add parsley and cook, stirring, until orzo is moist but not goopy (see picture).

Basil Pesto

For my first foray into this amazing blog, I decided to post one of our staples. I don't have pictures, but since we have this often, I will take some next time. I know that y'all have probably made pesto before, and it seems very simple compared to some of these recipes, but Trevor and I love it so much I had to post!


4 cups basil, slightly packed--we use fresh from our garden
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese (shredded or shaved works)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts--toasting the pine nuts is optional, but it makes the flavor much richer
1 small clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

In food processor, combine 2 cups basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add olive oil until you reach the consistency you're looking for. Add the rest of the ingredients, and again, olive oil until the pesto reaches the right consistency. I never measure the olive oil; to me it depends on the ingredients how much olive oil we use.

If you are going to mix the pesto on top of pasta, I recommend saving about 3 tablespoons of your pasta water to mix in with the pesto. It gives the whole dish a creamier taste.

Pesto will stay in freezer or refrigerator. If you are going to store the pesto, consider putting olive oil on top to keep the flavor. Then, when you go to use the pesto, remove the extra olive oil from the top.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Contrary to the evidence in my posts, I do actually make savory dishes, I just haven't taken any photos of them.  This was a recent success without photos but I decided to post it anyway.  I've been struggling with seafood lately, especially because I don't prefer to cook fish unless it's fresh.   Obviously not happening in AZ, so I was really happy with the outcome of this dish.  I think the secret was the lemon zest.  Also, love this because most of the ingredients I always have in my pantry.
Serves 6 (I halved this and we had about 4 servings, so the serving size is very generous)

Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
1 1/2 lb linguine (I actually used mushroom tortellini and it worked really well with the shrimp)
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
5 tbsp good olive oil
9 cloves minced garlic (3 tbsp)
2 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c chopped fresh parsley
 grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes

Drizzle some oil in large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (I found this to be too salty, so pare it back a bit if you don't prefer salt) and the linguine and cook until al dente (about 7-10 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a large pan (12 in), bring to medium-low heat and melt butter and olive oil.  Add the garlic and saute for 1 min.  Add the shrimp, 1 tbsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and saute until shrimp just turn pink, 5 min, stirring often.  Remove from heat, add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices and red pepper flakes.  Toss with drained pasta and serve.

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

One of Ina Garten's amazing recipes.  For those of you in colder states that don't mind keeping your oven on for 3 hours, Smitten Kitchen says you can substitute slow roasted tomatoes with sun dried tomatoes.  Yum.  I might cut back the mozzarella when I make this next time, but that's just my preference.  Everything else was golden.  So good, in fact, there are no pictures.  And I plan to make that vinaigrette again and again and again. Yields 6-8 servings, though I doubled it for 10 people and barely had much left, it's just that delicious.

1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced (bite size)
3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, medium-diced (bite size)
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

Dressing
5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed basil leaves, julienned

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.