Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is an authentic Italian dish consisting of pasta, eggs, hard cheese and black pepper.

The dish originated in Rome.  The authentic dish uses guanciale, which is cured hog cheeks and Pecorino Romano cheese. Obviously, I have substituted bacon for the  guanciale, but if you can find it use it. Pecorino Romano is sharper than Parmesan, but they are pretty interchangeable. Finally, the original dish does not use garlic. However, I love garlic and it is wonderful with bacon.

So, I guess that I am not giving you an authentic Italian dish, but an Italian dish with American leanings. It’s me, I am the Italian dish with American leanings.

Read through the entire recipe. The final steps must be done while the pasta is still hot enough to cook the eggs.

Pasta Carbonara

Servings: 4-6  
Time: Prep Time 10 mins: Cook Time 20 mins, Dinner in 40 minutes
Hardware:  A large pot, measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and a knife, a large skillet, a small bowl, a very large ceramic or glass bowl, a large metal tablespoon, a whisk, tongs

Ingredients

• 1/2-pound thick cut bacon
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 egg yolks
• ¾ cup grated Pecorino cheese, more for serving
• 16 ounces spaghetti
• Salt
• Fresh  ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped parsley (optional.

1.  Put a large pot of salted water on to boil  
2. Dice the bacon and mince the garlic, set aside. If you are using parsley, chop it now.
3. Put the yolks into the small bowl and whisk vigorously, set aside
4. 
   While the water is coming to a boil, heat the skillet over medium and slowly cook the bacon until it is crispy. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and place the bacon, garlic, and a good deal of the bacon fat (two tablespoons) into the large bowl.
5. The water should be boiling now. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.
   
6. When the pasta has only a minute or two left to boil, begin to rapidly whisk the egg yolks. SLOWLY, add a tablespoon of the boiling pasta water, but never stop moving the whisk. Add another tablespoon of boiling water, whisking the entire time. Do this until you have added 4 tablespoons of boiling water to the yolks. You are tempering the eggs. This way, you won’t get scrambled eggs as you finish the recipe.
7. Working quickly, when the pasta is al dente, use the tongs to add it to the bacon. It is okay if you get a little water in the mix.
8. Add the egg yolks and cheese and toss the pasta using the tongs. The hot pasta will cook the tempered eggs. If you want a little more sauce, add pasta water, a tablespoon at the time, until you are happy. If you are using parsley toss it in now. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve right away

 

 

Rotisserie Chicken Patties

                       

Rotisserie Chicken Patties

My grocery store often has sales on rotisserie chicken. I always buy two whenever they do. I remove as much meat as possible and then use it to make chicken salad, BBQ chicken sandwiches or chicken soup. I also make Chicken Patties. You can serve them as is with chicken gravy and mashed potatoes. I like to make Chicken Patty sandwiches.

You can use any kind of creamy salad dressing with this recipe. I used ranch because that is what was in the fridge. I have used Caesar dressing instead and it is just as yummy. I wouldn’t recommend bleu cheese dressing with this, even though I love bleu cheese.

Bacon is optional. One way to save time is to fry a whole package of bacon when you aren’t busy. Then crumble and freeze it. You will have no fuss bacon crumbles on hand whenever you need them. A tablespoon of bacon crumbles roughly equals one slice of bacon.

When you are shaping the patties, don’t be afraid to really mush them together. They are delicate and will fall apart easily if you don’t. Also, don’t throw away the cleaned chicken. You can save the chicken and the ends of carrots, onions and garlic and the tops of celery in the freezer in a bag until you are ready. Just throw the whole carcass and the veggie pieces into a pot of boiling water. Turn the pot down and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain everything and you have the base for a delicious chicken soup or gravy. (Discard the stuff you strained.)

Servings:  4
Time:  Cook time: 10 minutes, active time: 25 minutes, Dinner in about 30 minutes
Hardware:  Measuring cups and spoons, a mixing bowl, a cutting board and knives, a wooden spoon, a bowl or shallow dish, a skillet, a large spatula for turning, 2 plates, paper towels
Before you start: Read through the entire recipe. Pre-measure all of the ingredients. Have all of the required utensils laid out before you begin.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rotisserie chicken
• 1 green onion
• 2 pieces of bacon (optional)
• ⅓ cup dressing, maybe more (I used Marie’s Creamy Ranch)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, maybe more
• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
• Olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet
• Salt & Pepper

1. Remove the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin, fat and gristle. You only need two cups. Shred any large pieces.
2. Wash and slice the onions as thin as possible, use both the green and white parts. Crack the egg into the mixing bowl and beat it. Mix in the dressing.  Place the crumbs into the shallow bowl. Cover one of the plates in paper towels. Set aside.
3. Cook and crumble the bacon. Do not clean out the skillet.
4. Mix the chicken, onion, bacon and Parmesan in the bowl with the dressing mixture. Shape the mixture into 4 hamburger sized patties. If the mixture isn’t sticking together you may need to add a tiny bit more dressing or Parmesan cheese. Generously salt and pepper the outside of each patty. Then lay the patty into the crumbs. Mash it just a little to make sure the crumbs adhere. Flip the patty and cover the other side. You can lay the patties onto the empty plate while you clean your hands and get the skillet ready. Allowing the patties to rest will also help them hold together.
5. Use the same skillet you used for the bacon. If there isn’t enough bacon fat to cover the bottom of the skillet, add more. Heat the oil on medium. Sauté the patties until they are golden brown (about 5 minutes.) Carefully flip the patties and cook the other side. Drain on the paper towel covered plate. Serve warm.

Southwest Corn Casserole

Southwest Corn Casserole

My mother-in-law gave us the recipe for Corn Casserole. It is so popular that one of my cousins gave us a wedding gift of a glass casserole dish with a lid and a carrying case so that she could get this stuff warm at holidays. I am not a big ‘crushed crackers, cream of anything soup’ sort of cook. However, for potlucks we make exceptions. And really this tastes so good.

This Easter my sisters decided we would have a taco bar rather than the usual ham and mac-n-cheese. Such a good idea. I decided to change up my M-I-L’s recipe to give it more of a Southwestern flair. Such a success. I will do this again.

I used a food processor to cut up the veggies. I also froze the butter and used the food processor to slice it into thin pats before I placed it onto the cracker crumbs. I will definitely do that again, too. But all of this can be done with a knife. I substituted crushed corn chips for of part of the crackers. You can choose to do that or not. Instead of frying and crumbling 8 pieces of bacon, I just bought the precooked pieces you can find in the salad dressing aisle. You could also omit the bacon and use cream of corn soup if meat isn't your thing.

You can make this up to step five, cover it and refrigerate it overnight. Remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to bake it to allow it to come to room temp. Then top it with crackers and bake.

Servings:  8-10 side dishes

Time: Time:  Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 45 minutes, casserole in in a little over an hour

 Hardware:  Measuring cups, knives, cutting board, food processor (optional), can opener, wooden spoon, large mixing bowl, and 8.5” x 13” glass baking dish

Casserole

• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cans of Mexican corn, drained
• 1 can of shoe peg corn, drained
• 1 can of cream of bacon soup
• ½ cup crumbled bacon (about 8 slices)
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• Cooking spray

Topping

• 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
• ½ cup crushed corn chips (optional)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 stick of butter, sliced thin

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Chop the veggies-the smaller the better. Drain the corn. Set everything aside.
3. Spray the dish with cooking spray
4. Mix all the casserole ingredients together.
5. Pour the corn mixture into the cooking dish.
6. Crush the crackers and corn chips. Mix them together with the chili powder. Slice the butter as thin as possible. This is easier if you freeze it first.
7. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole.
8. Place the pieces of butter evenly over the crumbs.
9. Bake for 45 minutes.
10. Allow the casserole to cool slightly before serving warm.

Bone in Chicken Stew

Bone in Chicken Stew

White meat or dark meat? Breast or thigh? Most people choose to use boneless, skinless chicken breast when cooking, citing health reasons. True, they have less fat, but they also have wayyyy less taste. I use skin on, bone in chicken thighs. Thighs have a richer flavor and are much moister. You can always just remove the skin before eating.

Speaking of health, you can just use 2 cups of chicken broth rather than using root beer. Don’t. This sauce will make you weep, it is that good.

Servings: 3-4

Time: Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 45 minutes; Stew in an hour

Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knife, a large heavy bottom skillet that can be used on the stove and in the oven (I prefer a cast iron skillet), a gallon plastic bag, a wooden spoon, tongs, a plate, a thermometer

Ingredients:

Pre-slice the veggies

• 2 pieces of thick cut bacon
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 chicken thighs
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup root beer
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard
• 1 pound gold potatoes
• 2 shallots (2 ounces)
• 2 large carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 teaspoon dried)
• Pinch of hot pepper flakes

1. Take the chicken from the refrigerator while you are preparing the veggies. This will allow the chicken to rise to room temperature, ensuring that it cooks evenly. Pre-heat the oven to 375˚.
2. Scrub the potatoes and cut them into very thin rounds. It is important that they be as thin as possible so that they will cook through. Peel and slice the shallots. Cut the celery and carrots into quarters long ways and then into 3-inch pieces. Roughly chop the bacon. Measure the liquids.  Set everything aside.
3. Heat the oil and bacon over medium high heat in the heavy bottom skillet until the bacon fat melts, about 3 minutes. Place the bacon on the plate.
4. Generously salt and pepper the thighs. Put the flour into the plastic bag. Then add the thighs and shake like crazy.
5. Place the floured thighs, skin side down into the bacon fat and allow them to brown, about 5 minutes per side. Place the chicken onto the plate.
6. Deglaze the skillet with the root beer and broth. Make sure to scrape off any little browned bits of flour as you stir. Stir in the sugar, mustard and pepper flakes. Toss in the thyme and bring to a boil, stirring often.
7. Place the potatoes into the bottom of the pan, trying to make sure that they are submerged as much as possible. Layer on the shallots, carrots and celery. Sprinkle the bacon on top of everything. LIGHTLY salt.
8. Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the veggies and put the skillet into the oven.  Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the thermometer reads 160˚ when inserted into the fattest thigh.
9. Remove the chicken and the herbs. Discard the herbs. Toss the veggies in the liquid in the bottom of the skillet.

   

   Chicken thighs are so flavorful

10. To plate make a bed of veggies, top with a thigh and smother in sauce.