Pasta Carbonara

I think everyone has a go to dish. You know that one dish that everyone in the family loves, the one that you just automatically think of when nothing else sounds good, and that you always have the ingredients for in the pantry. Your go to dish would be the one that you have committed to memory, and you can fix it when you are in a hurry. In my house that dish is Pasta Carbonara. I have tried different variations of this dish by using and combining different recipes. But the one I always kept going back to was Linguine alla Carbonara, from Emeril Lagasse (who did you think it was going to be Paula Dean….I don’t think so). I will sauté some chicken tenders in olive oil and either serve them on top of the pasta, or I will chop them up, and toss them up with the pasta. I also just use whatever pasta I happen to have at the time. I have even used elbow macaroni before. This is a very kid friendly dish. All my kids love it, especially my two-year-old. My two oldest are as picky as they come, and they love it, so give this a try and I bet you put it in your regular rotation.

Ingredients


1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, minced
4 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, diced (I use plain old bacon most of the time)
1 pound fresh linguine (or whatever pasta you have)
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, at room temperature (more expensive than plain old parmesan, but worth it)
Freshly ground black pepper


Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and cook until the onions are translucent and the pancetta is beginning to crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine according to package directions until al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander (reserve a small amount of the cooking liquid in a small bowl) and return pasta to the pot. Return the pot to the heat and add the reserved pancetta and onion mixture. Stir over high heat until pasta is coated with the pancetta mixture.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and heavy cream and add to the pasta, along with the Parmesan. Remove the pot from the heat and toss the pasta until it is well-coated. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. If needed, add a bit of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to help toss the pasta if it is dry. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Sabayon

What can I say; this is the classic French dessert. My wife gets a huge smile on her face when she sees me making this. Serve this to your family and friends and they will walk around for a week saying “Did you try the sabayon?” This dessert is so smooth and creamy with a rich chocolate flavor that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. I served this last summer at our monthly dinner party, and everyone raved about it. Next month is our turn to host, and we are having a French theme, so I think I am going to serve this again. I don’t think anyone will mind.




Ingredients

6 tsp sugar
5 TBS dry Sherry
4 large egg yolks
2 TBS water
4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
a couple dollopes of whipped cream
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium metal bowl to blend. Set over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch water) Using handheld electric mixer, beat mixture until thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from water and pour into bowls. Place in refrigerator until it cool add whipped cream and chopped chocolate for garnish.

Spicy Smoked Sausage, Tomato, and Mushroom Soup

Once a month my wife and I take turns hosting a dinner party with two other couples. Its good fellowship and good fun. We all share a common interest, food! Right now my go to cookbook is Emeril 20-40-60 by Chef Emeril Lagasse. Emeril is my favorite chef followed closely by Mario Batali. I was looking through the cookbook looking for something I could take to our dinner party when I came across a spicy smoked sausage, tomato, and mushroom soup. It looked very tasty, so I decided to give it a try. It was a hit. Everyone loved it, and asked that I make sure and blog it, so here you go guys here’s the recipe. It was even better the next day for lunch.


Ingredients

1 TBS olive oil.
1 lbs smoked sausage diced
8 oz button mushrooms (I used baby portabellas)
1 ½ cup diced onion
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced green bell pepper
2 TBS fresh garlic sliced thin
2 28oz cans of whole tomatoes, roughly chopped with juice ( I ALWAYS use San Marzanos)
4 cups chicken stock
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh soft herbs (I used Basil)
1 ½ tsp salt
¾ tsp crushed red pepper

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. When oil is hot add sausage and cook until it’s browned around the edges. Add mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are soft and lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and their juices, chicken stock, herbs, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the flavors have married.

Creamy Tarragon Sauce

I love sauces! Sometimes they can make or break a dish. You can cook the same type of meet, or fish, and just by adding a different sauce with it, you have a totally different dish. It was to my surprise that when I walked into my local dollar store the other day I noticed a pile of books on clearance. In all these volumes of knowledge I came across a book of 84 sauces. At a bargain basement price of $2.00 I was soon the proud owner of this tantalizing text of culinary goodness. After getting it home I found a creamy tarragon cream sauce for vegetables that looked really good. The next night after work I stopped off at the grocery store and picked up all the ingredients I needed. I decided to serve this sauce with one of my favorite veggies, asparagus.


I blanched the asparagus, then rolled three or four of them into a premade croissant roll. They were good by themselves, but after placing them on a pool of this wonderful tarragon sauce, it was a little slice of heaven. This will help your kids eat their veggies.

Ingredients

½ cup real butter
2 TBS flour
1 TBS Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon dried tarragon
½ tsp salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper to melted butter; stir to form a thin paste. Slowly stir in heavy cream. Cook stirring constantly, 5 to 8 minutes or until thickens. Serve immediately.

The New Years Meal

For the first dinner of the year I like to have corn beef and cabbage. I really don't believe in the "eat this and it will make you prosperous crap", its just really tasty. This is also the time of year that the local markets have it on sale. That brings me to my first ever tip. Buy food that is in season. It will taste better and will be less expensive. Also try to buy food that is locally grown. It doesn't have to come from as far away, so it will taste better and you are putting money back in your local economy. Now as for the corn beef, I didn't do anything real fancy with it. I used the packet of spices that came with it and just simmered it in water low and slow all afternoon. The real star of the show IMHO was the sauce. I made a balsamic and dijon sauce that I still dream about. The cabbage was just chopped and fried in a skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper until it just starts to caramelize around the edges. I also served a side of rice and black eyed peas. Again another eat on New Years Day and you will be prosperous food. It seemed to fit.

Balsamic and Dijon Sauce

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp water
2 TBS dijon mustard
1 pinch of sea salt
a few cranks of fresh cracked pepper

combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously until everything is well blended.

Preface

I have wanted to start a food blog for some time, so I picked 2010 to start. I have been a foodie since I was a teenager. Cooking is my passion. Taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into a symphony of flavors that melt in you mouth and stimulate your pallet in ways you have never before experienced is as close to nirvana as it gets for me. It brings me great joy to cook good food for my family and friends. Seeing their expressions after taking a yummy bite of something I have prepared is very satisfying. With this blog I plan to post good recipes both mine and borrowed, as well as some of the knowledge I have acquired over the years. My hope is to help you become a better cook, and bring new and delicious recipes to your repertoire that will make you technically gourmet!