Pancetta and Pasta

Okay, so here is a prime example where you just throw ingredients together and you suddenly have dinner. I usually don't use recipes for pasta dishes. A list of ingredients is all you need. The measurements are to taste, and also left to common sense.

Ingredients:

Pasta (I like penne or rigatoni)
Pancetta (slpurge and get the real thing at an import deli - I recommend Caputos)
Parmesan cheese
Heavy Cream
Butter
Dried Oregano
Garlic

Directions:

Cook the pasta until al dente. Nothing spoils a good pasta dish like overcooked pasta. While the pasta is boiling, cut your pancetta (ususally bought in a big inch-thick slice) into cubes. Fry pancetta until crisp. You may want to drain the grease half way through. While it crisps, mince your garlic. Melt butter into a small pot. When melted, add heavy cream and garlic, and let come to a strong simmer. Raise heat and bring to a rolling boil, but be sure to stir or you could burn the bottom. After it starts to boil, add the parmesan cheese and oregano and stir well. Turn heat down and let it come to a light simmer. This will help thicken the sauce.

After pasta is cooked, pancetta is crisp, and sauce has thickened (a little - it won't be THICK, but will thicken even more as it cools and when it mixes with the starch in the pasta.) Dish pasta into bowl, pour sauce over the top and sprinkle generously with pancetta.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Seriously. Bacon, cream cheese, and jalapenos? Have I died and gone to heaven? Well, if I haven't died, these will certainly do me in.

Ingredients:

Bacon
Fresh Jalapenos
Cream Cheese (don't do the low fat)

Directions:

Take cream cheese out of the fridge to let soften at room temperature while you prepare the peppers. Cut the top off of the jalapenos and then in half lengthwise. Cut out all seeds and innards until you have a cute little "boat". Be sure not to touch your eyes until you have washed your hands. Yeah. Be sure. Preheat oven to 425'.

Take softened cream cheese and fill jalapeno boats generously. Do not overfill, because the cheese would leak out in the baking and broiling steps. Wrap 1/2 strip of raw bacon around each pepper. Try to wrap it so the end of the bacon is on the underside of the jalapeno.

Set poppers in a baking dish (casserole works best) and bake for 15-20 minutes uncovered until bacon is just starting to brown. Then turn poppers over to get the underside a little crisp, too. You will notice you have a lot of grease. Try to not think of this grease when eating to your hearts desire later. Cook the undersides for another 15-20, until bacon is starting to crisp. Then turn over again to brown the tops - being careful to keep the cream cheese in the peppers. Some of it wants to leak out. Turning over with two spoons keeps a great tool in-hand to save the precious semi-liquid.

Broil on high for approximately 3 minutes, keeping a CLOSE eye on them. It's best to not leave the room. They will turn nice and crispy, and the peppers may start to blacken. This means they're done. This means you eat.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....bacon...."
- Homer Simpson

Mini Italian Club Sandwiches

These mini clubs are BEGGING you to eat them. It almost looks like they're smiling at you. "Go ahead, bite me." This isn't so much a recipe, but a how-to post. Really, quite simple, but looks impressive, nonetheless.

Ingredients:

Ciabatta Rolls
Basil Pesto
Thick Sliced Bacon
Oven Roaste Deli Cut Chicken (or turkey)
Aged Provolone
Olive Oil

Directions:

Cook all the bacon you will need first. This is the step that takes the longest. After slicing the ciabattas open, I lightly brushed them with olive oil and toasted them slightly under the broiler. Then, spread pesto on both the top and bottom of rolls. Don't be stingy. This gives the sandwich moisture and extra flavor. Then take your bacon, chicken, provolone (I used 14 month aged from Italy - get at Caputo's!). Don't put too much chicken (or turkey) - you want to keep it thin or the tiny sandwich gets too thick and too tricky to bite.

I then put a toothpick in each quadrant of the roll before I sliced it in fourths. (This will make the mini clubs sit up straight in their chair for the entire party.) Then pile them on a plate, tray, or bowl, and eat! Enjoy!

Ode to the Lunch Ladies...

Okay. So you know those ladies behind the big glass window at lunchtime from your childhood ages of 5 through 17? They are such an enigma. Wearing the hairnets just so. The coordination of the polyester pants with the pink pinstripe aprons (that's what color they were at my elementary school). Creating the good and evil of school lunches around the country every day in the trenches of a smoltering kitchen without air conditioning. Those times have changed, my friend.

I briefly worked at an elementary school and encountered what they call school lunch. I was in shock. Nothing is cooked anymore. Everything is pre-packaged and processed beyond recognition. They slap a "salad bar" in the middle of the floor after you pick up your preservatives (which they call food). They leave it up to the 6-11 year olds to dish up their own vegetables. Yeah. Those wilted scraps weren't going anywhere. Most of the meals I saw entering the mouths (and minds) of our beloved future were thawed versions of Smuckers Uncrustables. (Yeah, because we don't want to even offer our kids the inconvenience of crust.) Virtually nothing is cooked anymore. Just taken out of boxes and thrown on a styrofoam plate. Literally. No cooking. No joy. No mystery.

In homage to those days lost, here is an actual school recipe for cookies. Chocolate chip. Real chocolate. Real eggs. Real sugar. Real yum.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
4.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips (I like to add a little extra, to make them more chocolately.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350'. Cream shortening and sugars together. (This is where I really enjoy my Kitchenaid mixer.) Add vanilla and eggs and mix thoroughly. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Gradually mix in flour mixture until blended. Add chocolate chips.

Make small balls the size of walnuts and place sparaingly on cookie sheet. (I fit one dozen per sheet. I also use my small ice cream scooper to keep them uniform.) Bake at 350' for 14-16 minutes, depending on how dark you like them. Enjoy!

CAUTION: YEILDS 5 DOZ! (proof that this really is a school lunch recipe.)

Shrimp, Asparagus, & Pesto Fettuccine

Okay, okay, as you pasta pros can see, I did not use fettuccine. Merely spaghetti. (But I also saved time and gas from not going to the store.) Any shape pasta would work for this. I think penne would be my choice for any pasta dish. This recipe is a bit mild for my taste. Although it does have a nice subtlety. I did a few things differently than the posted recipe, and you should also adapt as you so desire.


Ingredients:
8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine
1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
and cut into 1-inch pieces (remember to snap
off the bottom 1-2 inches before starting)
1/2 cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers*
1/4 cup prepared pesto
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound raw shrimp (21-25 per pound) *
1/2 cup dry white cooking wine
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add asparagus and continue cooking until the pasta and asparagus are just tender, about 3 minutes more. Reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and the asparagus then return to the pot. Stir in peppers and pesto. Cover to keep warm.

2- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 3 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to high and continue cooking until the shrimp are curled and the wine is reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp to the pasta, toss to coat, and add the reserved cooking water. Season with pepper and serve immediately.


Where I DV8:
* I use frozen cooked shrimp and just simmer it to heat it through.
* I used fresh red peppers and sauteed them for about 6-7 minutes in olive oil.

Serves 8

Mini Cheese Balls

If you ever want to make something that is impressive, easy, and popular, you cannot go wrong with these mini cheese balls. I often make them for social gatherings (especially girls night). My personaly favorite is the blue cheese and green onion rolled in sesame seeds. But they are all delicious. (Try to remember that you're supposed to eat them with crackers, even if they are bite-size.)


Blue Cheese and Green Onion, Pesto Sauce and Pine Nuts, and Garlic and Fresh Basil

Ingredients:

3 bricks (24 ounces) cream cheese
2 ounces blue cheese (try to get a really good brand - imports are best)
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
2 teaspoons bottled pesto sauce
1 tablespoon chopped pine nuts (cheaper to buy small amount in the grocery store bulk section)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (believe me, fresh makes a huge difference)

To Coat:

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (fresh, if possible)
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Divide cream cheese equally between 3 small bowls. Let the cream cheese soften at room temperature for approximately 5-10 minutes. Into one mix the blue cheese and green onions. Mix the pesto and pine nuts into the second bowl. Mix the garlic and fresh basil in the third bowl. After they are mixed thoroughly, place them back in the fridge to harden (roughly 30 minutes). This will make it much easier to handle and ball.

After the blends have hardened slightly, take small scoops, the size of a large walnut and form a ball with each, keeping them separate. I have found that this much cream cheese will make 7-8 balls for each brick you use. Roll the blue cheese balls in the toasted sesame seeds, the pesto balls in the chopped parsley, and the garlic balls in the poppy seeds, covering completely. The coatings will help them form a more uniform ball as you proceed. Serve with crackers and toothpicks.

Yields: 21 cheese balls (7 of each kind)

Sichuan-Style Aparagus (PF Chang's)

For our 12th wedding anniversary, Andrew and I decided to go to PF Chang's and enjoy a really good meal. Because we were currently in a weight-loss competition, we wanted to find some of the relatively healthy dishes and try to "be good". We tried their Sichuan-Style Asparagus for the first time, mainly because we are both big fans of asparagus, and it promised around 100 calories per serving. This modest side dish turned out to be the highlight of the meal. I found a recipe that is really close to the same (if not the same) . Try it if you must, and see if it isn't best to be seated when eating this amazing dish.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus spears, each spear cut into thirds
• 3 ounces oyster sauce
• 1 white onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 ounce gingerroot, freshly grated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 ounce chili paste
• 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

1. In a wok or large skillet, flash fry asparagus and onion in olive oil for about 2 minutes.
2. Add garlic, ginger, and chili paste, and saute for 1 minute.
3. Add oyster sauce and corn starch and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add sesame oil and saute for 30 seconds to one minute.
5. Serve ASAP.

Serves 4 (as a side)