Spaghetti with Sausage in Tomato-Thyme Sauce

Dinner: 1.01.2012: Spaghetti with Sausage in Tomato-Thyme Sauce

Sausage and Tomato-Thyme Sauce (olive oil, 'Cracked Pepper and Basil Sausage', sliced onion, mushrooms, kosher salt, pepper, parsley, white wine, stock, fresh thyme, little marinara sauce, sugar, parmesan)

Spaghetti with Sausage in Tomato-Thyme Sauce

Fettuccine with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Dinner 12.22.2011: Fettuccine with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Fettuccine with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Sauce (olive oil, yellow onion, mushrooms, kosher salt, pepper, chicken stock, fresh thyme, garlic, heavy cream, pasta water, pad of butter to finish pasta)

Pan-roasted Chicken (olive oil, kosher salt, pepper) - finished 12 min in 375F oven

Fettuccine with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Sauce

Pasta with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce and Chicken

Dinner 12.20.2011: Pasta with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce and Chicken

Mushroom-Tomato Sauce (olive oil, sliced onion, mushrooms, kosher salt, pepper, parsley, white wine, stock, fresh thyme, little marinara sauce, sugar, parmesan)

Pre-cooked Roast Chicken

Pasta with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce and Chicken

Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

Dinner 12.16.2011: Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

Poached Salmon (court bouillon: water, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, kosher salt, black pepper corns, mirepoix, parsley, bay leaf, fresh thyme)

Hollandaise Sauce (clarified butter, lemon juice, kosher salt, cayenne)

Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

Greek Inspired Pasta with Chicken

Dinner 12.14.2011: Greek Inspired Pasta with Chicken

Greek Inspired Pasta (olive oil, onion, kosher salt, papper, garlic, black olives, tomato, little marinara sauce, stock, feta cheese, fresh parsley)
Pre-cooked Roast Chicken

Greek Inspired Pasta

How to make a Pan Sauce for any Pasta Dish

Seafood Medley Linguine in a Cream Sauce with Peas

I regularly post pictures of the food I cook on my facebook page, especially of my pasta dishes) and my friends frequently ask me for the recipes; the problem is that I just make it up as I cook along.

I have made a lot of pan sauces for pasta over the last 6 months, but even going to culinary school has not taught me how to make a proper pan sauce while the pasta is cooking using just a few ingredients, including the starchy pasta water, until I read an article in a recent issue of Bon Appetite that was all about making the perfect pan sauce for a pasta dish: How to make Perfect Pasta. It is my personal pasta sauce bible and I have not had a failure since.

Sweet Potato Gratin with Marshmallows

Sweet Potato Gratin - unfortunately this is the only picture I have.

About 30 minutes before the turkey was supposed to come out of the oven I realized that I had not yet started the maple glazed sweet potatoes, which, according to the recipe, took 50 minutes @ 375F. I could feel a slight feeling of panic breaking out since I have not even peeled the potatoes yet and I had to come up with a fix - quickly!

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011.

This past Thanksgiving was great! It took me all of 20 minutes to pick the recipes; 1 hour of grocery shopping (not including the 3 additional trips to the market on Thanksgiving day); 2 days or prepping (making stock, porchini butter, cheese cake, and cranberry sauce); and cooking for 6 straight hours in Thanksgiving day. We had a few close calls by a kitchen novice who burned his fingers and cut his thumb (not me :), which luckily did not lead us to the emergency room (this time).

Prosciutto Pizza with Arugula Salad

Prosciutto Pizza with Arugula Salad

I love to eat pizza! Not just any pizza - my own thin-crust prosciutto pizza topped with Arugula salad. If you have not tried a little fresh Arugula salad on your pizza you are in for a treat! I usually make my own pizza dough, but if I don't have time I cheat and use Trader Joe's pizza dough which works just fine.

Potato Hash

Potato Hash with Bacon, Pork Sausage, Spinach, and Red Peppers

Yesterday was a cold November day and we did not feel like leaving the house to go to the market and get lunch supplies. A quick rifle through the vegetable drawer revealed a couple of red potatoes, piece of red pepper, handful of spinach, and a small onion. Combined with 2 slices of smoked bacon and a little sweet Italian pork sausage.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Who doesn't like a grilled cheese sandwich?! It is easy to make, inexpensive and so delicious. I just love biting into that warm, crunchy crust with that melted, gooey cheese center. But to get it just right there are a few little tricks that if followed will get you perfect cheese sandwiches every time.

Paella with Chicken, Pork Sausage, Mussels and Shrimp

Paella with Chicken, Pork Sausage, Mussels and Shrimp

Paella is one of those dishes that is pretty easy to prepare, inexpensive and so delicious. Once you know the technique of how to make paella you can pretty much mix and match any kind of ingredients and proteins. Paella is also great if you have a bunch of leftovers in the fridge like sausage, pre-cooked chicken, frozen seafood medley, ribs, vegetables, etc.

FoodSavers - luxury, essential, or necessity?

FoodSaver - get one at a fraction of the cost from Craigslist.

Just to be clear I am not one to hoard kitchen appliances. Even though a have a few in my name I will only commit after having done extensive research on the item: first, it must be multi purpose and of excellent quality and second, is the price right?

Marinated Chicken Recipe for FoodSaver

Rosemary and lemon marinated chicken.

I have wanted a FoodSaver for the longest time, but shied away from buying one, because they are just a little out of my budget for a kitchen appliance that is not used on a daily base. So, I found one NIB on Craigslist for $35 including 3 new rolls of bags - DEAL!

Pureed Vegetable Soups

Pureed Curried-Cauliflower Soup with Florets.

I recently received a gift from my two best friends: a Breville Juice & Blend. The juicer and blender 'attachments' share one powerful motorized base. I've only had it for a few weeks, but I have made numerous pureed vegetables soups that are not only low in calories, but absolutely delicious, inexpensive and easy to prepare. If you don't have a blender you can also use an immersion blender.

I'm not giving you exact measurements for these recipes, but rather ratios that will work for many kinds of vegetables like carrots, broccoli with stems, frozen peas, corn, cauliflower, potato, asparagus, etc. For every 1 lb of vegetables use 1/2 onion - this amount is usually enough for 2 generous servings.

Asparagus and Pear Salad with Roquefort Cheese

Asparagus and Pear Salad with Roquefort Cheese

This is a great salad - full of flavor and 'bite'. Of course you can replace the mustard greens and dandelion with mixed greens or any other type of lettuce, but I think their distinct flavor really complement the crisp, sweet pears and sharp cheese.