Penne With Vodka Sauce - Foodie Friday

Vodka Sauce is on My 50. When I saw this recipe at There's Always Thyme to Cook, I couldn't wait to give it a try. Even better this recipe is from Lidia Bastianich, one of my favorite chefs.

I've mentioned before, I sometimes open a jar before I make homemade sauce. No reason to do that when you can make this sauce. It's easy to put together and well worth the time. Next time I want to try adding shrimp and maybe some asparagus?

Penne With Vodka Sauce
Recipe courtesty of Lidia's Italian American Kitchen via There's Always Thyme to Cook

salt
One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid
1 pound penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled
crushed hot red pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil for finishing the sauce (optional)
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Pour the tomatoes and their liquid into the work bowl of a food processor. Using quick on/off pulses, process the tomatoes just until they are finely chopped. (Longer processing will aerate the tomatoes, turning them pink.)

Stir the penne into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and add them to the hot oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully (they'll splatter) slide the tomatoes into the pan. Bring to a boil, season with salt and with crushed red pepper to taste (you can always add more it needed!) and boil about 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka, lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

Just before the pasta is done, take the garlic cloves out of the sauce and pour in the cream. Add the 2 tablespoons butter or oil, if using, and carefully swirl the skillet to incorporate into the sauce. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, take the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer or a small strainer and drop it carefully into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper if necessary. Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and boil until the sauce is reduced enough to cling to the pasta.

Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. Serve immediately, serve with additional cheese if you like.

Roasted Radishes - Foodie Friday

After a long, cold winter everyone seemed ready for the opening weekend of the Omaha Farmer's Market. The market begins at 8:00. We arrived around 8:15 and made several trips around the block before we found a parking spot. The stands were filled with lettuce, asparagus, rhubarb, radishes, bedding plants and herbs. I was happy to see all of my favorite vendors with stands at the market again this year.

Aren't these radishes beautiful? Traditionally I use radishes in salads. What else can I do with these radishes? Of course, I googled and found this recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen for Roasted Radishes. Radishes can be strong and even a little bitter. Wonder if roasting them will make them milder and sweeter like it does with other veggies? Yep, it did!!! Even my husband who's not always a fan of unusual vegetable cooking techniques loved these. He had seconds! If you're looking for something different to do with radishes, give this recipe a try!



Roasted Radishes with Soy Sauce and Toasted Sesame Seed
Makes 3-4 servings
Recipe courtesy of Kalyn's Kitchen
Only slightly adapted from Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop

20 medium radishes, trimmed and cut into fourths (use all red, or a mixture of red and white)
1 1/2 T roasted peanut oil
1-2 T soy sauce (I used about 1 1/2 T)
2 green onions (scallions) sliced thin
1 T sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan

Preheat oven to 425 F. Wash radishes, trim ends, peel if needed, and cut into same size pieces. Cut the white icicle radishes into diagonal pieces, and the red ones into half or fourths, depending on how big they were. Cut green onions into thin slices.

Toss radishes with peanut oil, then roast about 20 minutes, stirring one or two times. When radishes are tender and starting to brown, remove from oven, toss with soy sauce to coat and mix in green onion slices. Put back in oven and roast about 5 minutes more.

During final five minutes roasting time, put the sesame seed in a dry pan and toast over hot stove for about 2 minutes, or until starting to brown. Remove radishes from oven, place in serving bowl and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve hot.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Chocolate Banana Trifle - Foodie Friday

I've wanted a Trifle dish for years! I was thrilled when I found this one at Wal Mart for around $6.50. I couldn't resist. Making a trifle is on My Top 50. Cross one more off the list. 3 down, 47 to go!

The original recipe called from vanilla pudding. I subsituted chocolate pudding because that was what I had on hand. You know, Use It Up!!

Did you know those little bottles of liquor, like the ones you get on the airplane, are exactly 1/4 cup? Perfect!

This dessert was awesome!! The texture of the pudding mixture is just thick enough so the angel food cake doesn't get soggy. The bananas and chocolate are a wonderful combination. The only downside to this type of dessert is the size!! I think now I need individual trifles so I can make smaller portions.





Chocolate-Banana Trifle
Adapted from Cooking Light
16 Servings

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated fat-free milk
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)
1 (16-ounce) angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup toffee chips
3 cups fat-free milk
3 (3.4-ounce) packages chocolate instant pudding mix (not sugar-free)
2 cups sliced banana, divided
1 (12-ounce) container frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick (about 3 minutes), stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in Kahlúa. Cool.

Combine chocolate mixture and cake in a large bowl; stir in toffee chips, reserving 1tablespoon for topping. Set aside.

Beat 3 cups milk and pudding mix at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Stir in cake mixture. Cover; chill 15 minutes.

Spoon half of cake mixture into a trifle dish or bowl. Arrange 1 cup bananas evenly over cake mixture; top with half of whipped topping. Repeat layers; end with whipped topping. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon toffee chips. Chill one hour.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Foodie Friday - Chicken Enchiladas Suiza

Do you sometimes feel like you're in a rut when it comes to dinner? I know I do. I have those old stand by recipes that we have a lot. We love Mexican food but don't make it very often at home. When I saw this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Suiza at Always Eat On The Good China, I decided to give it a try.

An easy way to have chicken ready to use when you get home is to cook the chicken in the crock pot while you are at work. I used chicken thighs and they worked great.

Chicken Enchilda Suiza

•2 pounds boneless chicken breasts (or bone in if your prefer)
•1 teaspoon garlic salt
•1 teaspoon white pepper
•1/2 cup sour cream +
•1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles, drained
•1 bunch green onions, chopped
•1 can Rotel mild original tomatoes with green chiles, drained
•1 14 oz. can mild enchilada sauce, green
•2 cups finely shredded jack and cheddar cheese
•tortillas

Place chicken in stock pot with enough water to cover, salt and pepper. Bring to a low rolling boil until chicken is cooked through. Cool, de-bone if necessary and cut into bite sized pieces, preferably shredded.

In a large bowl mix together the chicken pieces, Rotel tomatoes, green chiles, 1 cup of the cheese and 1/4 cup of the sour cream. Mix well.

I like to slice off the major portion of the arc of the tortilla so I have a large rectangle to work with. Lightly spread a thin layer of sour cream on each tortilla. Divide the chicken mixture amongst all the tortillas and roll them securely. Place each one seam side down, side by side in a lightly sprayed rectangular baking dish. Pour the sauce evenly over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake foil covered for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes until cheese is melted and crisp.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday. If you haven't been to Michael's blog, Designs by Gollum, take time to visit. Her blog is amazing.