October 3 - Frutti de Mare Over Pasta

Being a seafood lover, Frutti de Mare is one of my favorites. You can pretty much include any kind of seafood, but for me, there should be shrimps, mussels, clams and squid. You can use your favorite marinara sauce or a simple can of chopped tomatoes. Chopped pancetta adds a distinct flavor to the dish.

Frutti de Mare Over Pasta
Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Vidalia sweet onion, minced

4 oz pancetta, chopped

10 oz. sliced fresh button mushroom

1 red bell pepper, minced

28 oz can of chopped tomatoes or bottle of marinara sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1/2 cup red wine

4 jumbo tiger shrimps, peeled and deveined

4 squid, cleaned and sliced

1 dozen clams

1 lb mussels

1 package of fettuccine

4 tbsp butter

Cooking Time (40 minutes)

Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok.

Saute the garlic, then the onions for 5 minutes.

Add the pancetta and brown for 5 minutes.

Add the red bell pepper, mushroom, and chopped tomatoes (or marinara sauce).

Add the basil, parsley and oregano.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the sauce cook for 10 minutes.

Add the clams and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Then add the mussels, shrimps and squid.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta.

Once cooked, mix the pasta with butter.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the pasta in a big serving plate.

Take out the clams, mussels and shrimps from the sauce.

Carefully pour the sauce over the pasta.

Arrange the shrimps and shells on top.

June 15 - Creamy Basil and Tomato Pasta

It's always a choice between marinara sauce and creamy Alfredo sauce. But today, it's a crossover of these two wonderful pasta sauces - creamy basil and tomato.

For a livelier taste, use freshly chopped tomatoes and basil.

Creamy Basil and Tomato Pasta

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 lb jumbo shrimps, peeled and deveined

salt

freshly ground pepper

5 cloves garlic, minced

medium onion, minced

5 ripe vine tomatoes, chopped

1 cup milk

4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

16 oz pasta noodles, preferably angel hair or spaghetti

Cooking Time (30 minutes)

Cook the pasta as instructed (about 8 minutes).

In a wok or big saucepan, heat 4 tbsp olive oil.

Fry the shrimps for 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Set the shrimps aside.

Saute the garlic, then the onions in the same pan.

After 5 minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and saute for another 5 minutes.

Add the pasta.

Add the milk, 2 tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese.

Before serving, add the fresh basil and 2 tbsp olive oil.

Top the pasta with the cooked shrimp.

February 11 - Pizza for Lunch

We have 2 snow days. The school was closed for two days.

As for me and my husband, we have to work from home, since the kids were home.

This is a good time to serve them pizza.

My sourdough starter came in very handy.

I made my first homemade pizza dough. After a lot of practice baking my own bread using my
sourdough starter, the pizza dough came out good.

It came out crusty and chewy.


Pizza


Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Suggested toppings:
6 tbsp of marinara sauce
6 tbsp grated mozzarella
cooked sausage, thinly sliced or
Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced







Preparation:
In a bowl, pour the starter. Add the vegetable oil, salt and sugar.
Mix together.
Add 1 cup of flour.
Knead the dough for 20 minutes, dusting the dough with enough flour.
This dough is enough to make a 12" pizza.
Flatten the dough on a 12" round stone, until the dough does not spring back.
Let it stand for 30 minutes


Cooking time:
Bake the dough for 5 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bring the pizza out of the oven and add toppings.
Bake the pizza for another 10 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

February 6 - Time for Pasta Carbonara

Another pasta recipe that my kids enjoy - Pasta Carbonara.

It's one of my favorite too. I remember a colleague of mine who used to serve this to us and I can't seem to have enough of it.

This recipe gets the zest from the thick-cut black forest bacon and onion.


Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients
1 lb thick-cut black forest bacon, diced in small pieces
1 large sweet onion, minced
3 eggs
1 pint heavy cream
5 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 package of linguine pasta noodles
freshly ground pepper













Cooking Time: (25 minutes)
Whisk the eggs with the cream.
Cook the linguine as directed in the package.
In a large pan, cook the bacon and onion for 20 minutes.
Put back the drained pasta back in a large pot.
Pour over the egg-cream mixture on the pasta. Add the grated Parmesan.
Mix together for 2 minutes or until the sauce is not watery.
Turn off the heat.
Add the bacon and onion to the pasta mixture.
Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

December 11 - Cathelyn's Penne a la Vodka

Pork menudo became an instant favorite of Daniel. As for Cathelyn, she chose Penne a la Vodka.

Besides the vodka, the sundried tomatoes gave the dish its unique twist.

If you are thinking of making this dish vegetarian, feel free to exclude the bacon and add in more butter or use olive oil to saute the garlic and onion.

Penne a la Vodka
Ingredients
1 package of penne pasta
12 pieces of sundried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips, softened in 1 cup of warm water
1/4 lb chunk of Schaller & Weber double smoked bacon, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 sweet onion, minced
100 ml. heavy cream
1 cup of Vodka or Vermouth
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
freshly ground pepper





Cooking Time
Cook the penne pasta as instructed in the package.
When selecting bacon, get a chunk from your butcher shop or gourmet store.
This kind of bacon is not as fatty when cooked.
In a large pan, fry the diced bacon.
Add the garlic and onion and cook until caramelized.
Add the sundried tomatoes together with the water and cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender.
Add the heavy cream, cheese and butter.
Lower the heat.
Adjust the taste (by adding more cheese) to make sure that the sauce is not bland.
Add the vodka (or Vermouth) and quickly mix in the penne pasta.
Add some freshly ground pepper.

November 20 - Excited for Meat Lasagne

Even with lasagne, I would prefer the pasta, al dente. I would rather use the "No Boil Oven Ready" lasagne, to avoid having mushy lasagne.

Serving this to my kids, I decided not to put ricotta cheese. They are not familiar with the taste of the ricotta cheese.

This lasagne is not mushy nor "soupy". But if you prefer more sauce, then increase the amount of pasta sauce.

Meat Lasagne
Ingredients
2 lbs ground sirloin
1 large sweet onion, minced
2 red sweet pepper, minced
1 14 oz. pasta sauce (I used Classico Tomato and Basil)
5 oz shredded mozzarella
2 oz shredded parmesan
2 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup water
"No Boil Oven Ready" Lasagne pasta
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, minced
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, minced

Cooking Time (1.5 hours)

In a large pan, heat the olive oil and saute the ground sirloin, onion and sweet pepper for 15 minutes.

Add the pasta sauce, salt, freshly ground pepper, water and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the basil, oregano and parsley.

In a large baking pan (13" x 19" x 2"), place a layer of the meat sauce.

Repeat layers of lasagne, mozzarella cheese, and meat sauce.

Finish with a third layer of lasagne and meat sauce.

Top with 2 oz. of freshly grated parmesan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

September 27 - Ossobuco - An Excellent Sunday Dish

Sunday afternoons are the best time to prepare slow-cooked dishes.

Ossobuco is one dish that needs a lot of time (at least 2 hours) of cooking hours to make the veal shanks fall off the bone tender.

Another technique that I have been using lately is baking the dish rather than using a slowcooker or stovetop.


Ossobuco (Braised Veal Shanks)
Ingredients:
3 lbs veal shanks (about 6 pieces)
6 tbsp olive oil for cooking
1 red onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup brandy
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar



4 tbsp tomato paste
4 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme
6 bay leaves
1.5 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp ground pepper









Cooking Time (2.5 hours)
Season the veal shanks with salt and pepper.
Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan.
Brown the meat on both sides.
In another large pan, heat 3 tbsp olive oil.
Saute the garlic, then the onions.
Add the green and red pepper, carrots and celery stalks.
Pour the sherry, brandy and tomato paste. Add the chicken broth.
Let the vegetables simmer for about 10 minutes.
In a deep baking dish, lay the veal shanks in a single layer.
Make a "bouquet garni" out of the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves and place in the pan.
Scoop the vegetable mixture on top of the veal shanks.
Pour the sauce. Cover the pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 2 hours.

August 23 - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Who would not want pasta and meatballs. Even my kids will gladly welcome a serving or two.

But there was a time that I could not even serve a simple marinara sauce to my kids. They did not like any colored things on their pasta. They would eat the pasta but pass on the sauce. As for me, I do not like meat on my pasta. I prefer the garlic and olive oil kind. So there were many dinners that I had to serve pasta in different ways and taste.

Recently, my kids have learned to like their pasta with marinara sauce. I serve it with meatballs on the side. That made our pasta dinner a little simpler.

Meatballs
Ingredients
3 lbs ground beef
2 cups 1% milk
2 cups Italian crumbs
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation
Mix all ingredients. Let it stay in the refrigerator overnight.

Cooking Time (1 hour)
Set the oven to 400 degrees. Make 15 big meatballs. Place the meatballs on an oven broiler pan (put water on the bottom pan) and bake for an hour.


Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
6 cups crushed tomatoes (or two 28 oz. cans)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 large onion, minced
1 large red sweet pepper, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp salt
6 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp minced fresh basil
2 tbsp minced fresh oregano
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley



Cooking Time (1 hour)
Put all the ingredients in a large pot. Cook in medium to low heat for an hour. If desired, use a handheld blender to puree the sauce before serving.

Serve with any kind of pasta (my kids like spaghetti and ziti). Serve with freshly ground pepper and parmesan cheese.