Alfredo with Clams

This used to be the dish I'd make for new boyfriends to either 1) impress or 2) determine we were fatally culinarily incompatible.

Alfredo with Clams:

Ingredients:

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. butter

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

1/2 c. milk (2% is best)

3/4 c. Parmesan or Parmesano-Reggiano, grated

8 oz. cream cheese (1 block)

2 cans chopped clams (with juice)

Direction:

1) Over medium heat, brown garlic in oil and butter. This doesn't take more than 3-4 minute. Do NOT let the garlic burn, or your alfredo will be a disgusting brown color. Ewwww!

2) Add all other ingredients and stir constantly until cheese are thoroughly melted.

3) Reduce by half (reducing means that the liquid will evaporate and the sauce will thicken to about one-half the original volume) over medium-low heat.

4) Remove from heat. Add 1/2-1 tsp. salt and 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley to taste.

5) Serve over fetuccini noodles or other sauce-delivery devices as strikes your fancy.

6) Mop up the lovely sauce with lots of crusty bread.

Oh, baby . . .

Just popped these bad boys out of the oven:

Honey Graham Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
3 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup honey graham crackers/honey grahams cereal, lightly crushed
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract, mixing until smooth.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into butter mixture.

Working with a mixer on low speed or by hand, stir in 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant) and 1 cup honey grahams. Stir in chocolate chips last and mix only enough to evenly distribute.

Divide dough into 1-inch balls on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen.

Notes: I added in a bit more than 1 c. of Honey Grahams. It just didn't look like enough. Also, only put in 1 c. chocolate chips-- that definitely looked like enough!! And oh yeah, I didn't crush the cereal before I put it in, I just let it get crunched as I stirred. I think they'll be better with big chunks-- but I could be wrong.

Mmmmm. Honey grahams + oatmeal chocolate chip cookies = bliss.

Dinner for two

I made a super yummy dinner tonight and I just have to share it. Pork chops with artichokes and capers, and asparagus in a balsamic butter sauce. SO yummy.

Pork with Artichokes and Capers

2 pork chops (the original recipe called for pork loin, cut into 1" slices, but I opted for the chops)

1 T. butter

2 green onions

1/2 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, chopped

1/4 c. chicken broth

1 T. capers, drained

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 T. minced fresh parsley

lemon slices

Cook your pork in butter in a large skillet until juices run clear. In the same skillet, cook onion until tender. Stir in artichokes, broth, capers, and mustard. Heat through. Serve over pork, sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon slices.

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

1 bunch asparagus

PAM

salt and pepper

2 T. butter

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse asparagus and snap ends off. Place on baking sheet. Coat with PAM and then season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 min. (If you like your spears crisp, don't bake a full 12 minutes!) Meanwhile, melt butter and add soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to it. When the asparagus is done, pour your balsamic butter sauce over it, and enjoy!

These two dishes happened to complement each other pretty well. The pork definitely has a unique flavor, with the capers and Dijon mustard and all, so I didn't know how well this particular asparagus recipe would go with it. But it definitely worked. We had some foccacia bread on the side and it was delectable.

Jerk Chicken

This chicken smacks of summertime. I think the recipe was found in a grocery store ad from Oregon and it caught my husband's eye. I thought it looked like a hassle and I (mistakenly) thought I didn't like jerked chicken and took no part in its historic inauguration. Alas, It was downright incredible and ever since then, this has sort-of been my husband's thing. It's ludicrously flavorful, sweet and tangy. I can never believe that it's good for me, but it really is!

Jerk Chicken
6 Green onions
1 onion chopped
A bit of jalapeno or habenaro, seeded (I'm a wimp so I barely use any)
3/4 C soy sauce
1/2 C white vinegar
2 TBS olive oil
3 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp each nutmeg, allspice, and cloves

1. Place all the above ingredients in the blender and puree.

2. Marinate 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breasts in the sauce overnight in the fridge.

3. Grill on breasts on med-high 6 minutes on each side until cooked through. We didn't have a grill when we first made it, so we threw everything in a large pan and cooked it in the marinade (sort-of curry style).

4. Garnish with fresh sliced limes and serve with sweet potatoes, rice, coconut shrimp or grilled veggie kababs.

Creme Brulee French Toast

I got this recipe from a friend in the ward. It is sooo delicious. You can just top it with powdered sugar or the syrup butter.

French toast:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 T. corn syrup
1 loaf texas toast bread (extra thick slices)
5 eggs
1 1/2 c. half and half cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

1. In a small saucepan melt butter brown sugar and corn syrup over med. heat until smooth stirring occassionally. Pour mixture into a large greased jelly roll pan (18x3x1). Spread to cover suface.

2. Place 12 slices of texas toast bread in a single layer to cover bottom of pan. Mix together eggs, cream, salt and vanilla. Spoon mixture over each piece of bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Bake uncovered in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and serve. (if not serving immediately, turn each slice of bread over to prevent from sticking to pan)

Syrup Butter:
1 1/2 c. butter
3 c. maple syrup

1. Warm syrup and warm butter.
2. Mix together and serve.

Penne alla vodka

Talk about a simple, tasty dish of garlicky goodness. Don't skimp on good ingredients. Yum.

Penne alla Vodka

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
1/3 lb. finely chopped pancetta or prosciutto
Crushed hot red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil for finishing the sauce, if you like
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing if you like

1. Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.
2. 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.)
3. 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.
4. 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. Cook pancetta until slightly sizzling. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully — they will splatter — slide the tomatoes into the pan. Bring to a boil, season lightly with salt and generously with crushed red pepper, and boil 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka, lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.
5. Just before the pasta is done, fish the garlic cloves out of the sauce and pour in the cream. Add the 2 tablespoons butter or oil, if using, and swirl the skillet to incorporate into the sauce. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly 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.

6. Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. 7. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese if you like.

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

These are particularly sinful. And yummy. And addictive.

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Brownie mixture:
1 c. butter (2 sticks)
2 c. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 c. Hershey's Special Dark baking cocoa (or Ghirardelli baking cocoa if you are feeling particularly indulgent)
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream cheese mixture:
Beat together till smooth the following
8 oz. cream cheese (one normal brick)
1/3 c. white sugar
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend brownie mixture ingredients until smooth.
3. Spread brownie mixture into 9X13 pan.
4. Beat cream cheese mixture with hand mixer until smooth.
5. Glob dollups of the cream cheese mixture onto the prepared brownie batter and swirl in with a toothpick or wooden skewer
6. Bake 28-30 minutes (I like them to be a little gooey still, but not liquidy in the middle when I poke a fork in)
7. It's better to cool before cutting as they cut more smoothly, but I doubt you'll be able to wait :D