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!