Red Beans & Rice

Growing up in New England I was never exposed to beans and rice. We had rice and we had beans but, in my house, we would never think of mixing them together because they were both side dishes in their own right. Plus, Boston Baked Beans and white rice? Gross. No, the closest I ever came to red beans and rice was in college. Scott and I (and the rest of the general University population) used to frequent a restaurant called the Border Cafe. It's a little Tex-Mex restaurant tucked away in Harvard Square and if you want to eat there on a Saturday night be prepared to wait in a line that stretches down the road. No kidding. Be sure to order a melon margarita. You won't be disappointed.

With every entree at the Border Cafe, your server asks which side dish you'd like as an accompaniment: Red Beans & Rice, Black Beans & Rice or Jambalaya. I never even had to think about it; Always Jambalaya. They may as well take those other two off of the menu. It wasn't until I moved to Texas that I realized that beans and rice is very common in this part of the country. And I had never tried it until just recently when my awesome neighbor Crystal (who is from Louisiana) made a batch and was gracious enough to bring some over for me. It was delicious and I was kicking myself for waiting 29.5 years to eat this dish.

The real reason this dish appeals to me so much right now is because beans are cheap. I'm a stay at home Mom and always looking for ways to cut my grocery bill. In fact, I'm working toward a goal of cutting my weekly grocery bill in half. Dishes like this, and planning meals ahead using sale items and buying bulk items - like rice in a bag rather than a box of instant rice - are really making a difference in what I'm spending at the supermarket. This meal is hearty and satisfying and cost just over $7.00 to make 8 large servings (maybe more...I don't measure). That's less than a dollar per meal. That also means that we all ate this for lunch for 3 days straight.

Is my recipe authentic? Definitely not. If you're looking for an authentic Cajun red beans and rice recipe go here. This recipe is tasty, fairly low in fat, and it worked for my family and our Northern palettes. Even my one year old liked it.

Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients

1 pound red beans - soaked and rinsed
1 pound smoked Turkey Sausage - sliced
3 slices of bacon trimmed and diced
.5 green bell pepper, diced
.5 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chicken stock
4 cups water
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning to taste (I used Tony Cachere's More Spice)
4 cups cooked white rice

In large skillet over medium heat, saute diced bacon for approximately 3 minutes.
Add onions, minced garlic and bell peppers and continue cooking until onions are translucent
Add sliced turkey sausage, onion powder and garlic powder, stir to combine.
Add beans, skillet mixture and remaining ingredients (except rice) to a large dutch oven or stock pot.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 4 hours.
Serve over 1/2 c of cooked white rice.


Notes

• Using bacon will add to the cost of the meal. I used it only because I had an open package at home in my refrigerator. The bacon adds a nice smoky flavor to the dish and is really the only fat used in the recipe. If you don't have bacon on hand, saute the vegetables in 2 TBSP of Olive Oil.
  

• I use a mixture of chicken stock and water - rather than just water - for extra flavor. Traditionally, this dish is made with a ham hock and Andouille sausage so I wanted to make up for some of the flavor I would be losing by omitting the ham and replacing the Andouille with a milder turkey sausage.
  

• I simmered this dish covered for 3 hours before realizing that more of the water should be evaporating. I increased the heat to medium-low and left it uncovered for the last hour until it came to the right consistency.

• Adjust the spices according to your own tastes. I wanted to make a dish my toddler could eat so this recipe is rather mild. If you like it spicy, add more Cajun seasoning.

• I used slow cooking white rice as opposed to instant rice. It's cheaper and I prefer the taste. I substituted low sodium chicken stock for the water when cooking the rice.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

I know I'm not making any new and exciting culinary breakthroughs with this recipe. It's not gourmet, it's not even made from scratch. What it is, is GOOD. I'm sure there are probably 11,000 recipes out there just like this. That's probably because it's simple and it works. The great thing about this dessert is that you can literally throw it together while dinner is on the stove, or when company comes knocking at the door, and it will be ready to eat in under an hour.

I use a boxed vanilla cake mix for this, but if you have a fantastic, go-to, scratch made vanilla cake recipe, use it! I do not. I should get one of those. All I ask is that you please add some pineapple juice to your cake mix somewhere. One can of Pineapple Rings will yield approximately one cup of pineapple juice, so plan accordingly. Use pineapple juice in place of water when following the directions on your cake mix. It makes all the difference.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream recipe to follow.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2 oz butter
.5 c brown sugar
1 can pineapple rings (juice reserved)
1 batch of your favorite vanilla cake mix prepared with pineapple juice in place of water
Optional: shredded coconut, maraschino cherries, pecans

Melt 2 oz of butter in a 9"x13" cake pan. I like to just throw it in the oven while it's preheating.
Sprinkle brown sugar over butter and stir until incorporated.
Arrange pineapple rings on the bottom of the pan over sugar mixture.
If you're using any optional ingredients like nuts or cherries, now would be a good time for them to join the pineapples.
Pour cake batter evenly into the pan.
Bake according to your cake's directions.

Let cake cool for 15 minutes and then turn it upside down onto a platter. I like to store this covered tightly in plastic wrap because it helps the cake retain it's moisture.


Cinnamon Whipped Cream

.5 c whipping cream
.25 c confectioner's sugar
.5 tsp cinnamon

Combine cinnamon and confectioner's sugar in a small bowl.
Pour whipping cream into prepared mixing bowl and begin beating on low with a hand mixer.
Slowly add in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Increase speed to high and beat until cream is desired consistency. This usually takes me about 3 minutes.


This works best if you're working with cold cream and cold tools. I usually put the beaters and mixing bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before making this. It's also ideal if you use whipping cream straight from the fridge. Don't let it sit out for very long before making this topping.
You can make this in advance and store it in the refrigerator covered. If it gets soupy or watery, just beat it with the hand mixer and it will come right back to life.

Or, just use Cool Whip. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies on allrecipes.com a few years ago. It's not my recipe, obviously, because someone else created it. But it is the cookie recipe that I make for my family. That's what this blog is all about; not just recording my original recipes, but those that are staples in our home.

I follow this recipe exactly as it's written and it never fails. The vanilla pudding is a great flavor addition. These cookies don't spread out a lot during baking so I usually give them a little pat before I put them in the oven. This way they bake up like discs rather than biscuits. The only change I do make is that I cut the recipe in half because the original recipe posted on allrecipes.com makes a lot of cookies. I've scaled it down here so that I never have to divide 4.5 cups of flour in half ever again.


Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cups butter, softened
• 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Beef Stew

I made beef stew for dinner the other night and I meant to take a picture of it and I forgot and now it's gone. Leftovers and all. There will be no visual aids in today's post. Just picture a big bowl of hot, chunky, beefy stew. Beef Stew screams fall to me. With the cool weather that we've been having I thought this was the perfect dinner this week.

I like stews because they're one of those all-in-one rounded meals: protein, veg & starch all in one neat little package. My husband, on the other hand, does not like beef stew for exactly that reason. It's not that he doesn't like my beef stew; I have a theory is that he can't eat dinner out of a bowl. Dinner just isn't as satisfying from a bowl. If it's in a bowl it's a snack to him. When I make beef stew I always get the feeling he's looking at it like, "Where's the rest of it?". So, this time I kicked it up a notch and served this with fresh French rolls. I used to serve his beef stew on a plate. No joke!

I also love stews because they're so unfussy. I don't have to stand over it while it cooks. Once I put it together I can forget about it. I like that I don't have to spend time dicing the vegetables just so, or making sure the pieces of meat are all the same size. I like my stew rustic but maybe that's just me being lazy. Onto the recipe.

Beef Stew

1 lb Stew Beef
Kosher Salt
Cracked pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
.5 c flour
3 TBSP Extra Virgin olive Oil
1 small onion chopped into large chunks
6 gloves garlic, minced
5 carrots cleaned and chopped into large chunks
4 celery stalks roughly chopped
4 medium red potatoes cubed
.5 c red wine
1 can beef broth
2 bay leaves

.5 TBSP Cornstarch
2 TBSP cold water

Heat Olive Oil in dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. I like to use the dutch oven because it reduces splatter. I always have my little one hanging out in the kitchen while I'm cooking.

Place carrots, celery, potatoes and bay leaves in large Crock Pot.

Season beef liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss beef with flour to coat.

Add beef to hot pan. Brown on one side, turn beef to start browning the other side, add onions and garlic. Cook until beef is browned, stirring frequently.

Add beef mixture to crock pot. Deglaze pan with .5 cup of red wine. I used Pinot Noir because that's what I had handy. I also didn't measure the wine so I may have used closer to 1 cup.

Once all of the brown bits have been scraped off the pan, add the reduced wine to the Crock Pot along with your can of beef broth.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

To thicken the stew, make a slurry with the cornstarch and cold water in a small dish. Slowly add the mixture to the stew while stirring. You may not need all of it. This will thicken even more as the stew cools. It doesn't take much.

Serve with crusty french bread. Enjoy!

Suck it Starbucks

Alternate title: Pumpkin Bread



I love Pumpkin. I love it all year 'round. I love Pumpkin Spice Latte season at Starbucks and I think their pumpkin bread is delish. But pumpkin is not something I save for when the leaves change color. This quick bread is something I make all year.

Unfortunately, I haven't made a batch of this (or any) bread in months. Mostly, I think, because there's never a really good time in Texas between the months of April and October to turn your oven on for over an hour. And also because I've been so busy making separate meals for everyone in the family since my daughter started eating solid foods in March. Puree's and roasted vegetables have ruled the kitchen for too long. Now that she's eating more and more of the foods we eat, I have a little time left over to get back to making these special treats once in a while.

This recipe makes one very large, or 2 medium sized loaves of pumpkin bread. I use my largest Silicone loaf pan and it actually expands on the sides as it bakes to accommodate the bread's girth. If you're using a regular, non-expanding loaf pan, I recommend that you make 2. I don't know why I've never tried to scale the recipe down. I don't like messing with baking equations so here is the recipe, as I've written it, to make one gargantuan loaf of bread.

Pumpkin Bread

15 oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix! Regular pureed pumpkin)
3 large eggs
.5 c applesauce
.5 c vegetable oil
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp (scant) baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 regular loaf pans (or one flexible silicone loaf pan)

In a large bowl mix pumpkin with nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla until blended.

Add eggs, applesauce, oil & sugars mixing until blended.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly stir dry ingredients into wet mixture.

Pour into prepared cooking vessel and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Baking times: Extra large loaf - 60-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. The cooking time for two smaller loaves may be shorter.

An Anemic Pictorial

I will never forget the first time I ate Risotto. Scott and I were living in Davis Square and found this little hole-in-the-wall Mediterranean restaurant in an old pizza place, across the street from the Salvation Army. The Savannah Grill had no more than 10 tables but the service and food were always fantastic. Each meal started with a complimentary plate of grilled pita, Italian bread, hummus, kalamata olives and tomato spread. The Savannah Grill's stay in Davis Square was short lived, but Scott and I enjoyed some of our best meals together there.

I remember the cold March night we trekked in and I first discovered Risotto. It was served as a side dish with the sauteed chicken. I instantly fell in love with the texture and creaminess. It was like rice but with actual flavor. Finally!

I went home and, without a recipe, I attempted and failed to duplicate the dish. I couldn't understand why my Uncle Ben's just wasn't cutting it. That was seven long years ago and now Risotto is a staple in our house. It is my ultimate comfort food. There's nothing better than a bowl of creamy Risotto and a glass of white wine after a trying day.

I think how you cook Risotto is even more important than what you put into it. This dish can be made 100 ways, so the ingredients change but the technique does not. Once you have a good Risotto base, the possibilities are endless. That's why I'm doing a pictorial blog for this dish.

I like to start by heating 3 TBSP of oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or small stock pot. I also have a sauce pan with 4 cups of good quality chicken stock over low heat on the stove. You want your stock to be warm for this dish.



Start by sauteing 1 cup of diced onions and 4 cloves of minced garlic over medium heat. You can use a mirepoix if you're so inclined. I didn't have any carrots or celery in the house tonight.



When the onions turn translucent it's time add 1 cup of white wine. Tonight I had some Chardonnay open in the wine fridge so that's what I used. Crank up the heat to medium-high and let the wine simmer and reduce by half. This will probably take 3-4 minutes.



Once your wine has reduced, turn the heat back down to medium and stir in 1 cup of Aborio Rice. It's important that you use Aborio rice and not, say, Uncle Ben's as I did on my first attempt. Just trust me on this. Learn from my youthful indiscretions. You can find Aborio in the rice aisle of any super market. Stir the Aborio rice and the onions and the wine together and let the rice soak up the liquid. Now you're ready to slowly start adding your chicken stock.




This is the most tedious part of making Risotto, but it's also the most important. Add your liquid one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. When the rice soaks up most of the liquid it's time to add in another ladle. I'm using Chicken Stock, but if you're a vegetarian, you can use vegetable stock. If you're making a seafood risotto, you could use a fish stock. The beauty of this dish truly is it's versatility.



You'll know when it's time to add more liquid because the rice will become thick and the liquid will be gone from the bottom of the pan. Just keep adding liquid, stirring and repeating until the four cups of stock are gone. I do this over medium heat, sometimes having to adjust it down a smidge.




It can be so tempting to turn the heat up or add more liquid to speed up the process. I don't recommend that because this will yield hard, sticky rice. We want smooth and creamy not hard and sticky. From start to finish this process takes roughly 30 minutes. Once you've used all of your liquid, you'll want to taste the risotto and add any salt or pepper needed to season the dish. I never do it at the beginning because it's hard to tell just how much salt you'll need with the chicken stock. Also, if the rice is still hard, you may need to break out another can of stock and add more. I've found that 4 cups of liquid is the perfect amount for 1 cup of dry rice.



When all of your liquid has been added and absorbed by the rice, it's time to stir in 2 tablespoons of butter and .25 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.




Once the butter and cheese have been incorporated into the rice, remove the pan from heat, cover it and don't touch it for 5 minutes. Or, at this point you can add whatever add-ins you're adding in. Mushrooms, chicken, seafood, cooked asparagus. Whatever floats your boat. Today I added in a cup of frozen peas, thawed but not cooked. That's what I usually put in my standard Risotto. After you stir in your extras, then cover the pot and let it sit off the heat for 5 minutes. Go pour yourself a (nother) glass of wine.



It doesn't look like much, but when cooked correctly, Risotto does not disappoint.

Risotto

3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup of onions, diced
4 Cloves garlic, diced
1 Cup dry white wine
4 Cups Chicken Stock, heated
1 Cup Aborio Rice
2 TBSP Butter
.25 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat 3 TBSP of Olive Oil over medium heat.

Sautee onions and garlic until translucent

Add 1 cup of white wine. Simmer over medium high until reduced by half.

Add in Aborio and stir to absorb wine.

Begin adding warm stock one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed. Repeat until all stock has been added to the rice. Approximately 30 minutes.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in 2 TBSP of butter and .25 cup of parmesan cheese.

Add in thawed peas. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Makes 4 side servings

Sending it out into the Universe

This recipe has been like a monkey on my back for the past 2 years. I found this on a message board a few years ago and tested a few versions at home before *finally* making it for a gathering with friends. And then I made it for another party with that same group of friends. And yet another.

Since then, it is generally accepted that this is the only dish I know how to make. And it's not, obviously, it's just that this is so good! It's easy to throw together, it travels well, it's great for Sunday Football, or hanging out on a Friday night. It's like Buffalo Wings but without the messy hands and the bones. I craved this towards the end of my pregnancy and would make a batch on Sunday and bring it to work for lunch throughout the week. With celery for my gestating baby, of course.

Now, I send this dish out into the universe and I don't want it back! It's our dish now. Mine, yours, the guy who is reading this in Lithuania; all of ours! Go forth and make this dip for your next party and then report back with the results.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1.5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, 1/3 fat - softened
1 cup hot sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®
1 cup Ranch dressing
2 cups roasted boneless chicken breast - shredded or diced
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (sharp)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese and hot pepper sauce until well blended.

Mix in the Ranch dressing, chicken and Cheddar cheese. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm with Frito's Scoops and celery.


The original recipe also called for 8 ounces of Bleu Cheese crumbles. I didn't like the taste of the bleu cheese in here so I skip it. You can add it in if you're feeling French.

Also, this can be mixed right in the crockpot and cooked on the low setting for a few hours before serving. Make sure you give it a stir every once in a while or it will burn around the edges. I usually make it as directed above and then transfer it to the crockpot.

Apple Dumplings

This is not my recipe, but is from a popular website that I frequent: The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

I first read this recipe when she posted it last winter and thought it was the strangest thing I had ever seen. 'Mountain Dew and Crescent rolls?' I thought, 'Give me a break!'. One day in August while combing through her archives for some inspiration, I noticed that I had all of the ingredients for this dessert on hand (except the Mountain Dew, I needed to make a special trip to the store for that) and decided to give it a try. I'd half the recipe so if it flopped, which I fully expected it to, it wouldn't be much of a loss.

As soon as I took this out of the oven, I knew I was going to be sorry that I only made a half batch. That, and my kitchen smelled as if it were smack in the middle of a giant apple pie.

This apple dumpling recipe is not at all diet friendly, so if you're on one of those, you'll probably want to pass this by. It is a great alternative to baking a full apple pie and it's a snap to throw together. I can have this in the oven in under ten minutes. The most time consuming part of making this is peeling 2 apples. It's so simple. I'll post the recipe in it's original form and make notes of what I now do differently.

Apple Dumplings

2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls (I use reduced fat)
2 sticks butter (I reduce this to 1.5 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar (I reduce this to 1 cup)
1 teaspoons vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

I've found that 30 minutes is plenty of time to bake this dish. At 40 minutes the top of the rolls have started to brown and become hard. 30 minutes allows the rolls to cook through and the apples to soften just enough. I also sometimes dice a third apple and scatter it around the pan in the liquid.

Pot Roast

I never liked pot roast. That's not fair: I didn't think I liked pot roast. I had never really given it a chance. I always grouped it into that gray beef category that contains prime rib. Delicious to some, but too reminiscent of a luke warm dish at a banquet hall for my liking. I would rather take my red meat in the form of a NY Strip thankyouverymuch.

Last winter we made the long trip north to visit family and my Mother in Law said she had made a pot roast for dinner. I was ambivalent about it, but made myself a plate all the same. Good Golly, was I pleasantly surprised! This was not a watery, gray meat dish at all. This dish was, quite simply, delicious. I think I ate 4 pounds of pot roast with gravy over the course of our trip. My Mother in Law graciously told me how she prepared the dish and when I got back home to Texas, I made a version of my own.

This pot roast is now a staple in our home. It's inexpensive and so easy to make in the crockpot. I can put it on in the morning and not give it another thought until it's time to make the gravy; My favorite part!


Pot Roast

3 1/2 lb of beef shoulder or boneless chuck roast
2 large onions thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
.5 c red wine
1.5 c. good quality beef stock (Beef Consomme is perfect)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Heat EVOO in a deep skillet or dutch oven over high heat.

Season meat liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Brown meat over high heat on all sides. Remove meat form skillet and place in crock pot.

Lower heat to medium and add onions and garlic to the skillet. Deglaze pan with red wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in beef consomme.

Pour mixture over beef in crock pot and cook on low heat for approximately 5 hours.


Gravy
Don't skip out on this step...this is the best part!

2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup liquid from crock pot.

Make a roux by melting flour in a skillet or saucier and whisking in the flour.

Over medium-low heat, stir the mixture until the color starts to deepen.

Slowly stir in the reserved liquid from the crock pot and whisk until thickened. This may take up to 5 minutes. Don't worry if some onions sneak in there. This is a party, after all.


I usually serve this dish with mashed potatoes and carrots. I use baby carrots because I can toss them right into the crock pot at the beginning of the cooking process. And there's nothing wrong with vegetables being cooking in beef broth. Nothing at all.

Lemon Herbed Salmon

I love fish! I grew up by the sea and fish was just a staple in our diet. I also grew up Catholic and we didn't eat meat on Friday during lent. But what's not to love about fish and chips? My husband, on the other hand grew up nowhere near the sea and didn't even try his first piece of fish until he was in his twenties. Needless to say, I wasn't cooking much fish early on in our relationship. Now he loves it just as much as I do!

For some reason Salmon was the one fish that I never got into until recently. Now I find it to be the easiest - and one of the most versatile - types of fish to cook. Here's an easy weeknight recipe for salmon that comes together and cleans up in no time. This is one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon because I usually have all of the ingredients in my pantry ready to go.

Lemon Herbed Salmon

.25 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP dried Basil
.5 TBSP dried Oregano
1 small lemon, juiced
Salt and fresh cracked pepper - to taste
1 pound fresh Salmon Fillet

Preheat over to 400.

Whisk together first five ingredients. Place salmon in plastic ziplock bag. Pour mixture over salmon and refrigerate for 30 min to marinade, turning once.

Transfer salmon and marinade to baking dish.

Bake for 20 minutes or until salmon flake with a fork.

Chicken Broccoli Rigatoni with White Wine Sauce

So, there's this chain restaurant that I love. I don't say that about many, or, okay, ANY chains. This one is a (somewhat) local chain found in the Northeast called Bertucci's. I have a fondness for small chains that I can't quite explain. Perhaps because they usually begin as a Mom& Pop and are so fantastic that they merit a second location. And then a third. I think the rolls at Bertucci's have magical properties that keep drawing me back for more. Oh, and the sausage soup. And the pizza. And...I've actually never been disappointed with anything I've had from their menu.

It's funny, Italian food is hands down my favorite, but not ever my first choice when dining out. It's just that so many Italian dishes can be made really well at home, that I don't see the point in paying someone to do what I could easily do myself. I would rather pay someone to make me French or Indian food, because I'm hopeless and inept when it comes to those cuisines.

I love Bertucci's though. Currently, I live in a location that does not have a Bertucci's within at least 1,000 miles and they won't deliver to me. One day when a particularly strong craving for Bertucci's Chicken Broccoli Rigatoni came over me, I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands. That's when this recipe was born. If given the choice, I would choose the Bertucci's version over my own. I'm afraid I'll never cook with enough butter to get it exactly right. This recipe is close enough to cure my cravings when I can't have the original.

Chicken Broccoli Rigatoni with White Wine Sauce

.5 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1" cubes seasoned with salt and pepper
.25 c seasoned breadcrumbs
.25 c grated Parmesan cheese
.25 c shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 c. fresh broccoli florets
2 c rigatoni

White Wine Sauce
4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup white wine
2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp crushed red pepper
4 tablespoons butter, divided
Squeeze fresh lemon juice
.5 tsp Kosher salt


Combine chicken, breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese into large zip-lock bag and shake to coat chicken. In large skillet heat olive oil and add chicken. Brown on all sides and remove from heat.

Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Steam broccoli in .5 cup of water for approximately 8 minutes. Drain.
Combine broccoli, chicken and pasta.

Sauce:
Place garlic, white wine, broth and lemon juice into a pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce to half and whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Add salt and crushed red pepper. Toss in with pasta. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.


Makes 4 servings

Barbecue Pulled Pork

Or, the best darn sandwich you'll ever eat!

I love pulled pork. It's always a toss up when I walk into a BBQ joint: pulled pork or brisket. I usually go for the brisket because pulled pork is something I can, and do, make at home. And you can too because it's just about the easiest darn thing you'll ever make.

I made a big pot of this yesterday. We're smack in the middle of hurricane country and supplies are low due to hurricane Ike. Luckily our power wasn't out for long and none of our food spoiled. But we have been going through our supplies and I didn't have a few things - like onions and garlic - that I would normally put into this dish. I didn't even miss them though. This was the best batch of pulled pork I've ever made, so I'm thinking simple is the way to go.

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb Pork Butt (Bone-In or boneless whatever you can find)
1 cup Barbecue Sauce - your favorite recipe or bottle
1 can Coca Cola
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Season pork liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in crockpot. Spread one cup of barbecue sauce on top of pork just to coat. Pour entire can of Coke into the crockpot. Not directly over the pork, just around the sides.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Remove pork from crockpot - it should be falling apart. Remove fat and bone from pork. Shred remaining meat with a fork.

At this point I drain all of the liquid out of the crockpot and into a bowl. I separate the good stuff from the oil with a turkey baster. Just suck out the liquid in the bottom of the bowl; what's left on top is fat and can be discarded. If you don't mind the grease, then just leave it be.

Return the shredded meat to the crockpot with just enough of the reserved liquid to barely cover the meat. Continue cooking on low for 30 minutes.

I would usually serve this on Kaiser rolls with pickles and a side of cole slaw and maybe some sweet potato fries. Yum! Of course, due to our limited kitchen supplies this week, I only served it with the rolls and pickles and regular roasted potatoes. But it was still delicious. And EASY! You can't go wrong.

Asian Noodles

I should preface this recipe by saying that I am not of Asian descent and I don't pretend to be an expert of their complex cuisines. In fact, Asian cuisine is one that I love, but that tends to elude me once I get in the kitchen. This recipe would probably make any REAL Asian chef scoff. And then double over in laughter. This is my take on an Asian Noodle dish. It's not Lo Mein, unfortunately, and it's not trying to be.

What I love about this dish is that it's so versatile and, other than the noodles and sauce, every ingredient is optional. Don't have peppers? Use carrots. Don't like chicken? Leave it out. This dish is very unfussy and is good warm or cold. I like it best served cold the next day.

Asian Chicken Noodles

1 lb Spaghetti
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 lb cooked chicken breast cut into 1" cubes
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 c broccoli florets, chopped
1 sm onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 c peanuts, chopped


Sauce
.5 c soy sauce
.5 c brown sugar
2 TBSP sesame oil
.25 c vegetable oil
.5 tsp garlic
.5 tsp crushed red pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Saute onions, garlic, peppers and broccoli until tender. Add peanuts, saute and additional 1 minute. Add chicken to skillet mixture, stir.

For Sauce:
In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce and brown sugar. Slowly drizzle in sesame oil and vegetable oil while whisking constantly. Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper.

Add sauce to skillet mixture, toss with pasta and serve warm or cold.

Welcome!

Starting a blog is so daunting. Not the act of blogging itself but that dreaded first post. The post where you introduce yourself. You're not yet sure the tone of your blog because you're hardly familiar with what it looks like, never mind what it's supposed to sound like. Do you introduce yourself? To who? You don't even have any readers yet. Stop talking to yourself, you're making everyone uncomfortable.
I'm going to skip all that awkwardness and just hop right in and talk about what I love...cooking!