Caramelized Shallot Pasta

 Kate made this one night when no one was in the mood to cook. It came together quickly and was absolutely delicious. I would put this in rotation weekly if I could get away with it. It was supposedly the New York Times most downloaded recipe -- but that sneaky Alison Roman has it on her site too. Yummy.

1/4 c. olive oil

6 large shallots, thinly sliced

5 garlic cloves, 4 thinly sliced, 1 chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 t. red pepper flakes

1 2-oz) can anchovy fillets, drained

1 6oz can tomato paste

10 oz. pasta

1 c. parsley

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until everything is softened and caramelized. 15 to 20 minutes

Add red pepper and anchovies. Stir to melt fish into shallots about 2 minutes

Add tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer 1/2 the mixture in a resealable container. 

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water. When it's done (more al dente than usual) transfer to the Dutch oven with the tomato mixture. Reserve some cooking liquid from the pasta -- stir pasta around for a few minutes (3 to5) until pasta is thick and sauce is reduced. Top with chopped garlic and parsley.

Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

 Weird but delicious! My niece made this for Thanksgiving and I could not get enough of it! When I asked her what it was, she said "heaven" and she isn't wrong. 

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces fresh cranberries

4-5 green onions, chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 cup sugar, more or less to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

¼ teaspoon salt

2 (8-ounces each) packages (454 g) cream cheese, light or regular, softened

Crackers, for serving

Use a food processor to chop the cranberries first.

Then add everything else, process until it's all combined 

Pop into the fridge for a few hours to mascerate

Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of the serving plate (I used a pie plate)

Pour off the extra juice and then spread the cranberry mixture on top

ENJOY!

Spinach Souffle

This one is a recipe from my childhood. I remember my mom making this for special occasions, and I fondly remember loving it. I had the recipe in an old recipe box for years, and pulled it out for Christmas this year -- lo and behold my son loved it. I'm going to make it way more often.

2 T. finely chopped onion

1 small carton cottage cheese

3 eggs beaten

4 T. butter cut into large chunks

1 pkg chopped frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained (I squeeze it with my hands)

3 T. flour

1/2 lb. of grated cheddar cheese

Melt butter and saute onion, let cool while placing cottage cheese, eggs and cheese in a bowl. Add onion and butter, mix well. Add drained spinach and flour, mix. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 qt. casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

Easy Elegant Potatoes

 While wrapping Christmas presents this year, I tuned into America's Test Kitchen, and caught them making these gorgeous potatoes. The words they used to describe them was Spanish, and I have no idea what it actually was -- but I put these potatoes together that night and they really are quite lovely.

2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick

1 medium onion sliced

Salt

3 T. Olive oil

1/2 c. white wine

Combine potatoes, onions, olive oil and salt in a bowl, mix well to cover (don't be afraid of the salt, be liberal in its use)

Transfer to a 8x10 baking dish, cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes in 450 degree oven.

After 45 minutes, remove foil and pour wine onto potatotes. Return the pan with foil on top (but no longer tightly sealed) to oven for another 15 minutes

Voila! Easy Elegant Potatoes.

Delicious Homemade Clam Chowder

 As part of my ongoing pledge to make more soup, I found an absolutely delicious (and really easy) recipe for Clam Chowder the other week. I improvised with a few of the ingredients and think it was a winner. 

Diced Pancetta

2 celery ribs, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 small potatoes peeled and cubed

1 c. chicken stock

1 bottle (8 oz) clam juice

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 t. thyme

1/3 c. flour

2 c. half and half

2 cans undrained chopped clams

Cook pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Saute celery and onion in drippings until tender. Add garlic; cook a minute longer. Stir in potatoes, chicken stock, clam juice, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender (15-20 minutes)

In a small bowl combine flour and 1 c. half and half until smooth. Gradually stir into soup, bring to a boil, cook and stir until thickened. 1-2 minutes

Stir in clams, pancetta and remaining half and half. Heat through and serve.

Rigatoni with Eggplant and Sausage

 My husband made this dish one night when I was absolutely exhausted and didn't want to cook. He'd seen Bobby Flay on the Today show, and thought he'd give it a go. It was absolutely delicious. Will certainly add to the rotation.

Basic Tomato Sauce

EVOO

1/2 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz can peeled wole tomatoes 

2 T. chopped fresh basil

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

pinch of sugar

Pasta

1/2 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" chunks

1/4 c. + EVOO

Rigatoni

3 links Italian sausage (or pancetta would be great too) meat released from casing

1/4 c. red wine

1/4 sour cream

1 t. oregano

1 1/2 T. chopped fresh basil

basic tomato sauce (above)

For the sauce

Heat oil in a saucepan, cook onions until softened (5 minutes). Add garlic for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add tomatoes and their juices and cook on low for about 45 minutes.

Use a potato masher to break tomatoes apart as they cook.

Stir in parsley and basil and use immediately or freeze for up to 1 month.

For the Pasta

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place rack in the middle of the oven

Line a sheet pan with foil, and spray with non-stick spray

Place the eggplant on the sheet pan in a single layer, drizzle olive oil on top, season with salt and pepper, place in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes

Meanwhile, bring a big pot of well salted water to a boil. And cook Rigatoni for 2 minutes less than package instructions (7 to 9 minutes). Reserve one cup of pasta water when the pasta is done.

While the pasta cooks, use a sauté pan to heat oil and cook the sausage. When sausage is done, remove from the pan. 

Add wine to the pan and reduce by half. Then add the tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add sausage and eggplant. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. 

Reduce heat and add pasta and sour cream. Stir to combine. Add pasta water to get the desired consistency. Stir in herbs.

ENJOY!

Rice Salad

 

I have no idea why, but when dreaming up this week's menu I found myself craving rice salad. I had taken a cooking class years and years ago where we made rice salad, and it just seemed like the perfect summer side dish. The 2022 version was absolutely delicious -- I think the most ingenious part was when it called for cooking the pancetta in the oil from the sundried tomato jar.

I used our favorite Gazebo Room Dressing instead of making anything. It was so good.

1 c. uncooked Basmati rice

8 oz. pancetta

1 orange pepper chopped

1/2 cucumber chopped

1/2 red onion chopped

8 sundried tomatoes chopped

3/4 c. grape tomatoes quartered

Kalamata olives

5 T. Gazebo Room dressing

Cook rice according to package directions, when done, transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

Saute pancetta in 1 or 2 T. of oil from the sundried tomatoes, let cool on a paper towel

Chop all the pepper, cucumber, onion, and and tomatoes, combine with olives in a bowl

Combine with rice and add pancetta. Add dressing and herbs. Mix well.

ENJOY