Spaghetti with Butter and Parmesan ~ adapted from Epicurious

1 pound thin spaghetti
2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water over medium high heat until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot and add 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid, cheese, and butter. Stir well over medium heat until cheese melts and sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes adding more reserved cooking liquid if needed.

Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with additional grated Parmesan, if desired. Serve immediately. Serves 4 as a main dish, serves 6 to 8 as a side.

Chef's Note: I think I've mentioned before that you can't substitute pre-grated Parmesan in a recipe that calls for freshly grated Parmesan. The anti-caking ingredients in pre-grated cheese greatly affects the melting capability and you end up with all the cheese balled up in a lump that doesn't incorporate into the dish. Buy a nice block of Parmesan cheese and using this storage method, it should last you several months.

Banana Bread ~ adapted from Parenting Magazine

I don't know how it is that I've never posted this recipe since I've been making it every couple of months for the past 7 years. I suppose it's just something I've always made and never really thought about publicly posting until my sweet friend Gayla asked me if I had a banana bread recipe. So because she asked, here it is for you all to enjoy.

Banana Bread
3 overripe bananas
1 1/2 c flour
1 c sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 egg
1/4 c butter (half one stick)
1/2 c chopped nuts, optional (I never put nuts in mine)

Preheat oven to 325°. Liberally grease 9 x 5 loaf pan and set aside.

Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, egg and nuts and stir. Melt butter in microwave, add to bowl, and stir just until blended.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 60-70 minutes or just until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm with butter.

Chef's Note: I use my Pampered Chef pastry cutter to mash bananas. Its blades work well at getting the right consistency quickly without overworking my wrist.

Traditional Lasagna

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/4 one white onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ~28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 ~12 oz can tomato paste
1 ~14 oz can tomato sauce
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
2 bay leaves
2 t dried basil, crushed
2 t dried oregano, crushed
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
4 T fresh Italian parsley, chopped
12 lasagna noodles
16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 t fresh grated nutmeg
1 pound whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 c Parmesan cheese, pre-grated is fine

In large stockpot with lid, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce and bring just to boil. Add sugar, salt, garlic powder, bay leaves, basil, oregano, pepper, and half the parsley (2 tablespoons). Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for a minimum of 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles until al dente, 8 minutes maximum.

While pasta is boiling, combine ricotta cheese with egg and nutmeg in medium bowl.

When pasta has reached al dente, spread 1 1/2 c of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Remove 4 to 6 lasagna noodles from water and arrange over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with one third of shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 c meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 c Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing. Garnish each serving with remaining meat sauce and parsley, if desired. Serves 16.

Chef's Note: This will make a little less than double the amount of meat sauce required for a 9x13 baking dish so be prepared to have extra to serve over the top. Or, boil a whole package of lasagna noodles and make the lasagna in a large roasting pan and eat it for a month.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've tasted Chicken Tortilla soup at just about every Mexican restaurant in Southern California and Phoenix and have yet to be as impressed by any of them as I am with this recipe. It tastes exactly as I intended. Salty and mildly spicy with the tang of lime juice. It is wonderful.

I created this recipe by going for a specific taste combo of lime, cumin, cheese, and cilantro. I didn't have any fresh cilantro, so I used twice the amount of dried that any recipe I found called for because I love it. Feel free to decrease the cilantro to your taste, but I wouldn't change it much because the flavor balance with the other spices will be affected.


Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 large chicken breasts, washed and dried
1/4 t ground cumin
salt and pepper
2 T olive oil
1/4 one white onion, chopped
2 ~14 oz cans chicken broth
1 ~14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 ~4 oz can diced mild green chilies, undrained
3 T lime juice
2 T dried cilantro, or 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 T dried oregano
1 t garlic powder
1 c frozen corn
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
corn tortilla chips

Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper and cumin and add chicken to heated oil. Cook over medium heat until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add onion to pan and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, chilies, lime juice, cilantro, oregano, garlic, and corn. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Using fingers, shred chicken into bite sized pieces. Return chicken to pan and heat an additional 5 minutes.

Ladle into bowls, top each bowl with 1/4 c shredded cheese and a handful of crushed tortilla chips. Serves 4.

Note: In summer, I frequently broil a whole pan of chicken breast with olive oil and salt and pepper and store it in the fridge for use in recipes such as this. Feel free to use any leftover chicken you have from a previous meal to make this a super quick dinner. However, I wouldn't recommend using bbq flavored chicken. But then again... that just might end up a Tex Mex Chicken soup. I might just have to try that.

Italian Sausage Stew ~ adapted from Cooking Light

12 oz Italian sausage, sweet or mild
2 medium green bell peppers, chopped
1/2 one medium white onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ~15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 ~15 oz can stewed tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1/4 t dried parsley
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat large saucepan over medium heat and add enough olive oil to coat pan. Add green peppers and onion, saute 5 minutes. Cover saucepan, reduce heat and cook until soft. Add minced garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant.

Remove sausage casing and add to saucepan. Crumble and cook until no longer pink. Add beans, tomatoes and spices and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and crostini. Serves 4.

Chef's Note: Technically, this isn't a proper "stew" because there's no long cooking or stewing time. But the addition of stewed tomatoes gives the taste of a long cooked dish which gives the recipe a nod to being a stew.

How to "Handle" Cheese

Often times, I purchase large quantities of cheese at warehouse prices because I have one picky child whose physical existence is largely due to her love of dairy products. Occasionally, I will open one of these enormous blocks of cheese for a snack and then not come back to it several days later.

Hard and semi-hard cheeses, like Cheddar and Romano, left unopened in their original packaging can be kept under refrigeration for many months without concern. However once the seal is broken and the cheese is exposed to air, the process for spoilage can be rapid. One way to stave off bacteria is to avoid directly touching the cheese with your hands. Ever. This presents a dilemma... how to use something without touching it.

When I open a package of cheese, I completely remove it from the original wrapping. I take care not to touch the cheese with my hands or place it directly on the counter as no matter how much washing I have done, there will always be some bacteria on the counter or on my hands which will transfer to the cheese causing spoilage. It hurts to admit that, but it's the truth. Once the package is opened, I transfer the cheese directly onto a large piece of wax paper that completely covers the cheese twice. I loosely wrap the cheese in the wax paper and then place the wrapped cheese in a zip-top bag, which is sealed and placed in the refrigerator along with the original packaging for identification.

To use cheese in smaller quantities and for recipes not requiring the whole block, I use the wax paper to hold the large block of cheese (to avoid direct contact with my hands) and taking a sharp knife, I slice off a piece of cheese roughly the size required. Then I rewrap and refrigerate the unused cheese and shred or slice the smaller piece as needed. This keeps the lesser used (and expensive) hard cheeses such as Romano or Parmesan from spoiling for several months until I can use it all.

Soft and semi-soft cheeses such as Brie, Bleu, and Feta spoil much more quickly and are purchased on an "as needed" basis.

Sugar and Spice Pound Cake

1 box Spice Cake mix, recommended: Duncan Hines
1 ~6 oz vanilla instant pudding mix, recommended: Jell-o
1 c milk
3 eggs
1/2 c oil
3/4 c sour cream
1 recipe cream cheese frosting, recipe to follow
sugar sprinkles, for decorating

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour Bundt pan and set aside.

Place cake mix, pudding mix, milk, eggs, oil and sour cream in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk on low 30 seconds to combine, then mix on medium high 3 to 4 minutes until thick and creamy. Pour into prepared Bundt pan and bake in center of preheated oven 45 to 55 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pan then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Wrap cooled cake in foil or plastic wrap and refrigertate 1 to 12 hours. Place cold cake on platter and pour icing over. Decorate with sugar sprinkles. Serves 18.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick butter, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c milk

Place all ingredients in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk on low 30 seconds to combine, then mix on medium high 5 minutes until smooth and no lumps remain. Yield 3 cups frosting.

Chef's Note: If desired, the frosting can be omitted and a light dusting of powdered sugar can be used to achieve the "sugar" portion of the recipe.