Roasted Pepper "Vodka Sauce"

Hooray! 

October is "National Pasta Month" so I figured I'd share one of my favorite pasta sauce recipes. 

It's a nod to everyone's favorite indulgence: Vodka Sauce, but with some red peppers thrown in for good measure and some peas for color. Serve it with your favorite pasta or pour it over chicken cutlets and melted mozzarella on ciabatta rolls for the ultimate chicken parm. It would be great with ravioli or even as your lasagna base. Yum!

Roasted Pepper "Vodka Sauce"

Ingredients:
3 large red peppers, stem and seeds removed
2 TB butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup Half & Half
1/4 cup Vodka
2 TBS Goat cheese
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
S/P


To Do:

Note: If you're serving with pasta, cook a pound of penne according to the directions, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining.

• Broil the peppers until blistered and softened, then let cool. 
• Melt the butter in a large pot then sauté the minced garlic until softened (don't let it get too brown)
• Stir in a pinch of red pepper flakes and the crushed tomatoes along with the pasta water (if using).
• Using a food processor or blender, purée the roasted pepper and tomato mixture until smooth, then return to your pot and bring to a simmer. 
• Add 1/4 cup of vodka (or more to taste) and stir until the booze cooks off, about 10 minutes or so. 
• Stir in the half and half and the goat cheese and cook until thickened. 
• Add in the frozen peas for color and heat through.
• Season with Salt & Pepper to taste, and enjoy.

And that's how you celebrate National Pasta Month!

xoxo,
LPG

Eggplant and Turkey Breast Ragout

I know I sound like a broken record, but eggplants are awesome. Whenever I want to add some color and flavor to a dish, I add an eggplant.

I had some gorgeous medium-sized eggplants waiting to be turned into something tasty, so I decided to make an eggplant ragout that I could use in two delicious dishes.

Eggplant and Turkey Breast Ragout
Ingredients:
Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garam masala

Mediterranean herb mix  

1 lb ground turkey breast (antibiotic-free)

1 medium-sized eggplant, small dice

2-3 green, red, or yellow peppers, small dice

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 cup chicken stock/broth

Salt/pepper

1 cup tomato sauce

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 1

To Do:

• Heat a TBS or two of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the minced garlic.
• When the garlic is fragrant, stir in the spices and cook until you can smell the loveliness, about a minute or so.
• Add the turkey breast and cook until browned and crumbly.
• While the turkey is browning, cut the eggplant and peppers into small dice (approx 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4) and chop the tomatoes.
•  Add the veggies to the pot along with the chicken stock and a hefty pinch or two of salt/pepper and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
•  Cover the pot and let everything bubble gently for about 30 minutes on low heat. If it seems too dry, or starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a bit more chicken stock or water.
• When the stew has cooked down a bit, add the tomato sauce and uncover the pan. Let the flavors meld for a few minutes, then season to taste with a bit more salt/pepper.
• Try not to eat all of the ragout before you use it in one or both of the two recipe ideas below.

Dish 1: Eggplant Casserole

•  Take another eggplant and slice it into 1/2 inch rounds, douse the slices with some olive oil and smoked salt and bake them on a greased cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven until they are tender and browned. 
• Then, coat the bottom of a casserole dish with a bit of tomato sauce and layer the eggplant slices until the bottom of the dish is covered.
•  Use a slotted spoon to layer the turkey/eggplant ragout on top of the eggplant. 
• In a small dish whisk together milk (or soy milk) and 3/4 cup of smoked ricotta until it is the thickness of heavy cream, then drizzle it over the meat mixture. 
• Take your remaining eggplant slices and add another layer of them.
• Add another layer of the ragout.
• Drizzle on more of the ricotta mixture and a sprinkle of herbs, salt/pepper.
• Top with 4 slices of day-old crusty bread (or enough  to fit the dish), then cover the slices in a layer of tomato sauce. (Make sure all of the bread is covered in sauce.)
•  Top with some shredded mozzarella cheese. (I'm partial to smoked mozzarella lately.)
• Add a dash or two of some herbs, salt/pepper then cover the dish in plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, until the bread is soaked through.
• When you're ready to make dinner, preheat the oven to 375 then cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes until bubbly. (Note: Spray the bottom side of your foil with cooking spray before covering to keep the cheese from sticking.)
• Remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is browned and melted.
• The result is a gooey, delicious dish that resembles moussaka and lasagna and bread pudding all in one.

Dish 2: Eggplant and Turkey Ragout with Penne and Smoked Mozzarella

• Boil one pound of whole wheat penne pasta according to the directions, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
• Toss the pasta with the ragout, adding a bit of the reserved pasta water as needed. Season to taste with salt/pepper as needed.
• Top with some Parmesan and smoked mozzarella, ground pepper and fresh herbs if you have them.
•  An easy, delightful lunch or dinner!

Yum and yum!

Chicken and Vegetable Penne with Goat Cheese Sauce

Chris and I first moved to the NYC area over 17 years ago. Early on, we had dinner one night at a little Italian restaurant just off of the hustle and bustle of Times Square. I still remember the dish I had that night, because I've spent the last 17 years trying to replicate it: Homemade farfalle pasta, plump tomatoes, fresh basil, a dollop of goat cheese and grind or two of cracked black pepper. It was smoky and bright, simple yet elegant -- and one of those dishes you think about for weeks. I tried to make it at home soon after, but it never tasted quite the same.

But, about 12 years ago, I came close. Chris and I were prepping for our soon-to-be wedding, working late into the night gluing strawflowers onto the ceremony programs and painting the hair of the girl in our mini bride and groom cake toppers yellow, so she'd be a blonde and not a brunette. All 75 of them. We drank a couple bottles of wine as we worked, and by the time we were done, we were starving. All we had in the house was pasta so I grabbed some tomato sauce, goat cheese, and a few other ingredients and threw together a quick dinner in happy, exhausted, wine-induced daze. As we sat at our little table in our tiny kitchen, I remember stopping after the first bite. The handsome, amazing guy I was going to marry in a few weeks also stopped mid-bite: It tasted like the pasta from that little Italian restaurant.

Jump head five more years, and I've stopped trying to replicate both the restaurant dish and the drunken pasta night dish -- I have no memory of the other ingredients I used that night. Still, every now and again I do make a tasty pasta dish with tomatoes and goat cheese, adding in new ingredients as the cookery spirit moves me.

This time, I made a delicious pasta dish with penne, goat cheese, tomatoes, zucchini, bacon, garlic and herbs. Towards the end, I also stirred in some leftover chicken breast. It wasn't the same as either dish from years ago, but it was satisfying and comforting and good.

And, I got to eat it across the table from the same handsome, amazing guy. Which is delicious in its own right.

Chicken and Vegetable Penne with Goat Cheese Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb. penne 

4-6 strips of bacon, diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 tsp tomato paste

1 pint cherry tomatoes, each poked with the end of a knife

1 large zucchini, diced

1 medium eggplant, diced

1 cup pasta water

4 oz goat cheese (garlic and herb)

2 cups diced cooked chicken breast

Fresh herbs (basil, parsley), minced

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 1

To Do: 

• Boil penne in heavily salted water, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water, and set both pasta and reserved liquid aside.
• In a large pot or dutch oven, brown the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy, then add the minced garlic. Continue to cook, stirring often, until garlic is fragrant, then reduce heat to medium. Stir in the tomato paste until it coats the bacon and garlic.
• Add the diced zucchini, eggplant, the tomatoes, and the pasta water. Cover and cook until the veggies are tender and the tomatoes have started to burst, then stir in the goat cheese.

• Reduce the heat to low and simmer for a few minutes until the cheese has melted and liquid has thickened.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the herbs and chicken, then cook a few minutes more, until heated through.

• Scoop into bowls, top with more herbs and enjoy.

xoxo

Penne with Bacon, Swiss Chard, and Tomatoes

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

My bi-monthly box of organic food has started to transition toward spring vegetables. Asparagus, early tomatoes, lettuce, etc., were prominent in my latest one, but we're also finishing up with winter's chard and kale.  

I had been reading some magazine articles lately that featured Italy and was craving pasta.  I also wanted to try out the suggestion/technique of boiling the pasta until it is just about done, and then transferring it to a large pan/skillet to finish cooking it (with the sauce), adding a bit of the starchy water for the ultimate in pasta preparation.  I've seen this technique referred to a few times lately, in recipes and articles, so thought I'd give it a shot.

I thought a creamy tomato sauce with spinach and bacon would be nice, but I didn't have spinach, so I used some beautiful chard instead.  The dish turned out lovely -- the creamy sauce, the slightly bitter taste of the chard with the salty bacon and the sweetness of the tomatoes made for a really nice dish.

1, 1lb. box penne pasta 

4 strips bacon, cut into small pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 cups chard (stems removed), chopped

4 tomatoes, peeled and diced (or, 1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained and chopped)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 TBS goat cheese

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 TBS butter or olive oil (optional)

Bring water to a boil in large stock pot with 2 handfuls of salt.  Add pasta to boiling water and remove when test piece is white only in the very center.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water then drain penne and set aside.  

In large skillet/pan over medium heat, brown the bacon, adding the garlic when bacon starts to crisp.  Once garlic is soft and fragrant, add in the chard, tomatoes and cream and reduce heat to a simmer. After the tomatoes start to break up, stir in the goat cheese and salt and pepper, and then add in a bit of the pasta water to thicken the sauce.  Simmer a few more minutes then gently toss in the pasta, coating it with the sauce.  Let this simmer for a minute or two more, adding in more pasta water if needed, adjust your seasonings add the butter/olive oil, and enjoy!

xoxoxo