Penne with Vodka Sauce

Vodka sauce is a pinkish sauce made from a red sauce, vodka, cream, cheese and butter. The vodka added to the sauce brings out flavor in the tomato in a basic red sauce was first used in the 80's. At the time it was all the rage.The taste the alcohol evaporates in cooking, but gives the sauce a peppery taste that tickles the tongue. Most recipes pair it with penne pasta. Personally I love it with the addition of either Italian sausage or meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 quart Simple Tomato Sauce, or store-bought marinara sauce, blended until smooth
• 1 cup vodka
• ½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• ½ cup grated Parmesan
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened butter

Preparation

1. Simmer the tomato sauce and vodka in a heavy large skillet over low heat until the mixture reduces by ¼, stirring often, about 20 minutes.
2. Stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce.
3. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is heated through.
4. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and butter until melted and well blended.
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm, stirring occasionally, about 8 to10 minutes.
6. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce.
7. Toss to coat.

Simple Tomato Sauce

A good simple marinara sauce is always a good thing to have at hand for quick dinners. Yes you could buy a jar of pre-made sauce, but why not give your guests or family a sauce with a little love in it? Make this recipe for tonight's dinner, and save some back for use in Vodka sauce, quick pasta dishes, or chicken or eggplant Parmesan.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 4 to 6 basil fresh leaves
• 2 dried bay leaves, whole
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, or less

Preparation

1. In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, approximately for 2 minutes.
3. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper.
4. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, approximately for 5 minutes.
5. Add the red wine to the vegetables.
6. Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil leaves, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low.
7. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until the sauce is thick.
8. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning.
9. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time,until you have rounded out the flavor of the sauce.
10. Pour half of the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor.
11. Process the sauce until it is smooth.
12. Add the remaining tomato sauce to the pureed sauce mixture , stir well.
13. If you are not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely
14. pour 1 to 2 cup portions into plastic freezer bags.
15. Freeze for up to 6 months.

Simple Falafel

Falafel is a favorite food with vegetarians and omnivores alike. Falafel is now very popular worldwide as a fast food. In the Middle East. vendors sell it from street corner stands. When served as an appetizer, it can top a salad, or bes plated with hummus and tahini. You can serve falafel as a main course. Stuff pita bread with falafel, lettuce, tomatoes, tahini, salt and pepper. Falafel can also be formed into patties and served like a burger.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans.
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Kosher Salt to taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
• Cooking Oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Drain chickpeas, and place in pan with fresh water, and bring to a boil.
2. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then let simmer on low for about an hour.
3. Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
4. Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, in a food processor.
5. Add the flour, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Pulse the ingredients together into a thick paste.
7. Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball.
8. Slightly flatten the balls.
9. Fry in 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown (5-7 minutes).
10. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Well Eat My Grits!

Cheese Grits

Grits are a food that you either love or hate. For the record I love them. I think it is much maligned due to ignorance. People who sing the praises of Polenta and look down their noses at grits are showing cultural bias. Let's face it, both are made from corn that has been coarsely ground. In fact grits made from hominy are more nutritious than the variety made from unprocessed corn. I think they are so unloved by people is the belief that you need to cook them in water. I know some people love a bland base to put savory sauces, gravies, or stews, and some people like grits with sugar on it ala farina. But why not add a little flavor to them folks.

Personally I like them cooked in chicken broth and some cream, and made savory with butter, cheese, and salt and pepper. Whether served at breakfast or dinner there are so many ways to raise humble grits to great culinary heights. Grits can be served loose on the plate. or spread on a plastic wrap covered baking sheet, allowed to cook, cut into rounds,breaded and sautéd in butter till the outside is crispy and the inside is creamy.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quick Hominy Grits
• 3 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Half and Half
• 1 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• Kosher Salt and fresh ground Pepper to taste

Preparations

1. Find a heavy bottom Pot that has a tight fitting lid.
2. Bring the chicken broth to a boil.
3. Add the cream and butter to the broth.
4. Heat the mix till it nears boiling point.
5. Whisk in the grits and constantly stirring to avoid lumps.
6. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat to low.
7. Stir until the grits thicken, be careful of getting splattered.
8. When the grits thicken add the grated cheese, stir well.
9. Turn off the heat and cover the pot.
10. Let set 5 to 10 minutes, stir and serve.

Chicken and Peas in Herb Sauce

We all need lots of chicken dishes in our bag of tricks. Here is one I have made for 40 years. It a relatively quick, simple tasty comfort food recipe. Pair it with a good white wine, a salad, and some glazed carrots for a hardy meal. Perhaps you might spoil your guests with a spiced baked apple with a scoop of vanilla icecream for dessert.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 pound mushrooms sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion cut into crescents
• 2 cloves garlic microplaned or crushed and chopped
• ½ cup flour for dredging the chicken
• 1 ½ cup frozen peas thawed
• ¼ cup slivered almonds for garnish
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ cup chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 ½ cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
• kosher salt to taste
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Preparations

1. Slice the mushrooms and onion.
2. Microplane or crush and fine chop the garlic.
3. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
4. Dredge the pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
5. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
6. Heat the olive oil in the pan till it is hot.
7. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan.
8. Cook them a few minutes and add the garlic.
9. When the onions turn color remove the vegetables from the pan.
10. Sauté the chicken in the flavored oil.
11. Cook the chicken until golden brown.
12. Pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan.
13. Add the chicken broth and stir well.
14. Mix in the onions and mushrooms and peas.
15. Add the thyme and tarragon to the mix.
16. Pour in the half and half.
17. Stir till it thickens, add the butter to make the sauce shiney.
18. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
19. Remove from the pan to a Serving dish.
20. Garnish with the almonds.
21. Serve with rice or kluski noodle.

Zucchini Soup

I had always thought of zucchini as a cylindrical vegetable until one of my nieces gave me some of her home-grown globe zucchini. You can find them more often at the market these days. They are very good and I wanted to use them in a playful manner. Using them as bowls for a soup seemed to be a good idea to me. It keeps the focus on the ingredients in the soup, and makes cleanup a snap.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 round globe zucchini squash, 1 per person
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 pound zucchini squash, roughly chopped
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• fresh thyme sprigs, garnish

Preparations

1. Cut tops off squash; set them aside for garnish.
2. Scoop out squash , and chop the zucchini.
3. Finely slice the shallots.
4. Heat the butter in a saucepan.
5. Sauté the zucchini and shallots over medium high heat.
6. When they begin to soften, add the chicken broth.
7. Cook the zucchini and shallots until tender.
8. Puree in a blender until smooth.
9. Add cream, dill, nutmeg, sugar, cayenne, salt and pepper.
10. Return soup to saucepan to heat, stir often till well blended.
11. Fill the hollowed out zucchini bowls.
12. Lean squash tops against soup.
13. Garnish with thyme and serve.

Basic Fruit Granita

Granita is a refreshing warm weather treat. You can serve it as a dessert, or between courses. Granita is light, palate cleansing, and easy to make. This recipe is a good place to start on your journey into frozen desserts.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups fruit juice
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparations

1. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan.
2. Heat the mixture until it comes to a boil
3. Stir until the sugar dissolves, and the mixture is clear.
4. Let the simple syrup cool to room temperature.
5. Stir in the fruit juice and lemon juice.
6. Pour the mixture into a 13"x9" metal baking dish.
7. Put the baking dish in the freezer.
8. Stir the mixture every 30 minutes until it is firm.
9. Every 20 minutes take the pan out of the freezer.
10. Scrape the frozen mixture with a fork
11. Scrape until the frozen pieces are broken into small shavings.
12. Mix the shavings into the remaining liquid.
13. Return to the freezer.
14. Scrape every twenty minutes until all the liquid has frozen.
15. Place the granita in a sealable container.
16. Store the granita in the freezer till ready to serve.

Serving your granita in a wine glass garnished with a sprig of mint or a small fruit slice makes for a simple but elegant presentation to brighten up your table.

White Crawfish Pie

This is a tasty and simple recipe that can be made by anyone with basic kitchen skills. You can bust my chops for using canned soup and pre-made pie shells. But I am writing this for people on a limited budget and lack of time. I will post a more ambitious version of the recipe later. If you can't find crawfish tails you can substitute peeled raw shrimp.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dry
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
• 1 cup yellow onions chopped
• ½ cup bell peppers diced
• ½ cup celery chopped
• 6 to 8 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1¼ cup half and half
• 1 pound of crawfish tails
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• enough pie dough for double crust 9" pie or 2 premade pie shells.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Heat a sauté pan on medium heat.
3. Pour the olive oil into the pan, then add the butter.
4. Wait till the butter melts and you hear a sizzle.
5. Sauté onions, bell peppers, celery.
6. Add the garlic to the vegetables last and sauté.
7. Add milk and soup; bring to medium boil, stirring frequently.
8. Add crawfish, bring to medium boil again.
9. Add the corn starch and thyme, stir as needed.
10. Lower heat and simmer until thick.
11. Let the filling mixture cool for 15 minutes.
12. Divide the dough and roll out both pie crusts
13. Use a 9" pie pan as a template to test for proper size.
14. Grease the pie pan liberally with butter.
15. Carefully place bottom pie crust in the pan.
16. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork.
17. Pour the thickened mixture into the bottom pie crust.
18. Put on the top crust and seal the edge.
19. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
20. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
21. Serve while still warm.