Pasta Soup with Pesto

(from Loukie Werle's Italian Country Cooking)

I love re-discovering a favorite thing, and this recipe gave me two: this amazing cookbook, and pesto. It's not that I'd forgotten about those things, it's just that I haven't used the cookbook in awhile, and I don't get that much fresh basil in the winter. Pesto always reminds me of summer. Plus - combining pesto and pancetta? Brilliant! Maybe I could just add pancetta to regular pesto...

Anyway, this puts it in a soup, plus a little tomato - and that's it! Simple and delicious.

3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped pancetta
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 lb pasta (I used broken-up spaghetti rigati, but a more spoon-friendly pasta may be preferable)

For pesto:
1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

First make the pesto. Combine the basil and garlic in a food processor with 1 1/2 tbsp of the olive oil. Pulse, adding the rest of the olive oil intermittently. Spoon into a bowl with the parmesan cheese and combine.

For the soup, add the oil, pancetta, and garlic in a pot and sautee until the pancetta renders its fat. Don't burn the garlic. Stir in the tomato, let flavors combine for a minute, then add six cups of water and bring to a boil.

Stir in the pasta and a little salt, and cook the pasta. Remove from heat and stir in the pesto, then serve!

"Italian" Puppy Treats

That's right, folks. These are the depths to which we have fallen...or the new heights we've reached! The pug is officially spoiled - but was that ever really in question?

Over the weekend I discovered a new obsession: The Daily Puglet. Puglet is, as you may have guessed, a pug who occasionally posts "cookie" recipes. This one caught my eye - maybe because it includes tomato paste and parmesan cheese (hence "Italian" treats). Pancake is thoroughly enjoying them.

I modified the recipe considerably - first, I was too cheap to buy oat flour. Then, it was much to liquidy, so I added more rice flour. A lot more. Still too runny. Added cornmeal. And more. And back to the rice flour...you get the idea. Lucky for me, Pancake's not picky.

They still were pretty sticky, but baked up well. I've posted below a modification to the original recipe based on my experience - I'm not 100% sure how the consistency will turn out, but hey - give it a shot!

1 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 egg
2 1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients together and mix until a dough forms. Roll into little treat-sized rounds (if they're too sticky to roll, that's OK).

Bake 20-25 minutes. Transfer and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

(P.S. Yes, this is a dogs-only recipe!)

Roast Chicken with Dijon Sauce

(from smittenkitchen.com)

Another new favorite! I'm of the opinion that just about anything with shallots is pretty much a winner, and this recipe holds true to that. The flavor is sweet and tangy. It's pretty simple, provides a nice full meal, and is a nice change of pace (at least for us). Here's all it takes:

3 pounds chicken drumsticks (or about 5 drumsticks), with skin and bones
1 tbsp olive oil
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Preheat oven to 450F. Season chicken generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (I actually used a dutch oven) over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown chicken, skin side down first and turning once, about 5 minutes.

Roast chicken in its pan in the oven until just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, then add shallots, wine, and broth to pan juices the skillet/dutch oven and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cream and boil until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Whisk in mustard, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with sauce over rice.

Super Bowl Chicken Wings - GO PACK GO!

As seems to be the trend with my posts this year, I'm once again a few recipes behind. I made these wings for our Super Bowl party last Sunday (SO excited that the Packers won!), because what else are you supposed to eat watching Aaron Rodgers decimate Ben Roesthlisberger? There were three versions, as you'll see - Medium (sweet 'n spicy), Hot (buffalo style), and "Fun" (Joef). Fun, as you can probably guess from Joef's particular sense of taste, is in this case relative - his wings, as you'll see, contain three tablespoons - yes, tablespoons, of Naga Jolokia powder. I have to commend both him and our guests - those babies got eaten up just about as quickly as the other, milder versions.

Plus, two of these recipes don't even require deep-frying - they're oven-baked! Mmm, healthy!

MEDIUM - Sweet 'n Spicy
from saveur.com
4 lbs chicken wings, kept whole or divided
Dry Rub

-2 tbsp Smoked Paprika

-4 tsp onion powder

-4 tsp coriander

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-1 tsp crushed red pepper

-2 tsp brown sugar
-Salt
-Fresh-ground black pepper

Sauce

-1 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

-1 cup good quality barbecue sauce (I used Jack Daniels Hickory Maple or something like that)

Combine the dry rub spices in a large bowl, adding salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste. Toss the wings in the spice mixture (we used gallon ziploc bags), and let wings sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Arrange wings on wire racks set over sheet trays. Place the wings in a cold oven and set for 275. Cook for 30 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 475. Continue to cook wings until golden brown and crispy, about 30-45 minutes more, rotating the trays and flipping the wings halfway through the cooking. If the wings are not crispy after 45 minutes, run them under the broiler until crispiness is achieved. (Ours were crispy by that time.) After the wings are crispy, let them cool slightly.

Mix hot sauce and barbecue sauce together. Add the wings and toss to coat.

HOT - Buffalo (aka omg, I can't believe all this butter)
from saveur.com
Canola oil, for frying
4 lbs. chicken wings, separated into 2 pieces
16 tbsp. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 12-oz. bottle Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
Heat oven to 200. Pour oil into a 6-qt. Dutch oven to a depth of 2" and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 400. Working in two batches, add chicken wings to oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 10–12 minutes. Stand back! It will get crispy - just wait for it. Using a slotted spoon, transfer wings to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to oven.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and stir into the hot sauce. Pour over chicken wings and combine.

"FUN" - Joef
4 lbs chicken wings, kept whole or divided
Dry Rub

-2 tbsp Naga Jolokia pepper

-4 tsp onion powder

-4 tsp coriander

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-1 tsp crushed red pepper

-2 tsp brown sugar
-Salt
-Fresh-ground black pepper

Sauce

-1 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

-1 cup good quality barbecue sauce (I used Jack Daniels Hickory Maple or something like that)

-2 tbsp habanero flakes
-1 tbsp Naga Jolokia

Combine the dry rub spices in a large bowl, adding salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste. Toss the wings in the spice mixture (we used gallon ziploc bags), and let wings sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Arrange wings on wire racks set over sheet trays. Place the wings in a cold oven and set for 275. Cook for 30 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 475. Continue to cook wings until golden brown and crispy, about 30-45 minutes more, rotating the trays and flipping the wings halfway through the cooking. If the wings are not crispy after 45 minutes, run them under the broiler until crispiness is achieved. (Ours were crispy by that time.) After the wings are crispy, let them cool slightly.

Mix hot sauce, barbecue sauce, and spices together. Add the wings and toss to coat.

The Naga Viper Arrives!

You may recall that, back in December, Joef finally got his hands on some Naga Jolokia pepper, the hottest pepper in the world - only to have it trumped three days later by the Naga Viper pepper. Thus began a new obsession - finding this Naga Viper. We were largely unsuccessful, until following the trail of a YouTube video sent to us by my dad of a fellow pepper enthusiast eating the Naga Viper and promptly vomiting everywhere. The video led us to the originator of the Naga Viper, and then - to a hot sauce made with a combination of Naga Jolokia and Naga Viper.

This sauce arrived today, and - as you can see - the customer is very satisfied. Those who attended our Super Bowl party yesterday should count themselves lucky that the Naga Viper Limited Edition sauce didn't get here any early, or the wings we made (next post! three kinds!) would have been even hotter.

I tried a tiny drop of it on my tongue, and yeah, it's hot. Tastebud-searing hot. I think I've had my fill, and I'm sure it will be playing a prominent role in Joef's meals for the next few months. Hooray for the Naga Viper!

Updated Recipe: Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Ceci

I made some changes to a formerly-posted recipe, with good results. Check it out: http://piccinacucina.blogspot.com/2010/09/pasta-with-broccoli-rabe-and-ceci.html

Maple Candied Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Eggs

(from Claire Robinson's 5 Ingredient Fix)

Confession: I made this a long time ago. For New Year's Eve breakfast, actually - so in fact, this was the first thing I cooked in 2011. Whaddya know! Joef got me this cookbook for Christmas, and it's got a lot of good stuff in it, including this. This is actually two recipes - the bacon and the hash. The bacon is fabulous. The hash - she recommended it "deconstructed" - but I thought it tasted better mixed together. Also, if anyone can help me figure out how to make the sweet potatoes crunchy on the outside instead of soft/mushy, please share!

DECONSTRUCTED SWEET POTATO HASH (with Fried Eggs)
1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
12 fresh sage leaves, divided
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup water, plus more as needed
2 sweet onions, chopped (Vidalia work)
(Fried eggs)

Melt 4 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sage leaves and fry until crisp. Transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain.

Add the sweet potatoes to the skilled, toss to coat in the butter, then add the water and the rest of the sage (maybe this is the part where it gets mushy? I wonder if you could just boil the potatoes in water until they just slightly softened, then fry them up and skip this whole water part.) Bring the water to a simmer and cook the potatoes until the water evaporates and the potatoes are fork-tended. Remove any excess water and reserve. Keep cooking the potatoes until crusty brown (that's the part that never happened for me). Add more water or the reserved liquid if the potatoes stick.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, adding water if the pan gets dry, until deep golden brown and caramelized. This will take about 20 minutes. You can fry the eggs in this pan, too.

Put potatoes and onions next to each other on a plate and top with a fried egg. Or, mix the onions and potatoes together.

MAPLE CANDIED BACON
1 lb thick-sliced bacon
1/2 cup Grade B maple syrup
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy foil. Place a baking rack over the sheet and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other.

In a small bowl, whisk the syrup and mustard. Spoon over the bacon and bake about 12-15 minutes. Turn the bacon over and repeat. Bake another 5-10 minutes or until crispy. (Alt: dip each slice of bacon in the mixture, let drip, then bake.)

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle bacon with a little ground pepper, if you want. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then serve with your hash and eggs.