Pasta Bianca

My daughter wanted to try cooking with me tonight, so we headed to the kitchen and tried something new. I went to Wholefoods to grab some chicken sausage and we threw this together. We had fun making it except when I burned my finger.

• 4 Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sausages
• 3 Artichoke hearts sliced up into pieces
• 1 Red Pepper diced
• 1 Cup of Green beans
• 2 Shallots chopped
• 2 Cloves of Garlic chopped
• 1 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1/4 Cup White Wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• 1/4 Cup Reggiano Parmigiano
• 1 Pound of Farfalle Pasta
• 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

**I cut most of the ingredients so it can be eaten with a spoon**

Remove the chicken meat from the sausage casings.

In a saute` pan, brown the chicken all over. Keep stirring it to break up the pieces. Once brown, set aside.

In a pot, boil water for the pasta.

In a saute pan, saute the garlic and shallots for about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and mix well. Season with Salt and pepper. Add the white wine and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and the chicken broth and mix well. Once it boils, add the artichokes, and cream and mix well. Add the green beans and simmer.

**You don't want the cream to boil**

Once the pasta is ready, add the pasta and cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Reserve some of the pasta water if you need more juice.

Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese sauce can be made in different ways, so I'm posting a slightly different version here than I had from a previous post. I made this recently and brought a bowl of Pasta with Bolognese sauce to the woman who cuts
my hair. Kelly shot me a text and said, "YUM!! Just eating it now and LOVE it! I want the recipe." Then she decided to question whether or not I actually made it. Well here it is....

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Celery Stalks Chopped

4 Carrots Chopped

1 Onion Chopped

3/4 Pound Ground Beef

1/2 Pound Ground Veal

1/2 Pound Ground Pork

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Can plain tomatoes sauce (I used Pastene Chunky Style)

6 Basil Leaves

2 Bay Leaves

Salt

Black Pepper

Nutmeg

In a large pot, heat the oil and saute the onion, carrots and celery. Season with salt and pepper. When the Veggies are translucent, add the meats. Sprinkle the nutmeg over the meats and season the meats with salt and pepper. Brown the meat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the meat from sticking to the pot. Once the meat is browned, add the cup of heavy cream and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sauce, basil, and bay leaves and mix well. Simmer on low for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Super Bowl Sunday was at my parents and I took a shot at making pulled pork. I've never made one, so I figured I would try it out in a slow cooker. I was taking a chance on bringing something new into my parents house. My mom will always try new things, but my dad is content with having some sort of pasta 3 times a day. When I got to my parents house on Sunday, my father asked what I brought. When I explained that I had made pulled pork, he turned my my uncle and said, "Questo e mangiare per Americane," which translates to this is American food. Well American food or not, my father, uncle and everyone else that was there really enjoyed the flavor in the pulled pork. Not much was leftover!

I wanted to use a Boston Butt, but ended up with a picnic shoulder.

• 6 1/2 Pound Pork Picnic Shoulder
• 2 Onions Quartered
• Denny Mike's Sublime Swine Rub
• 1 Bottle Denny Mike's Sweet and Spicy
• 1/3 Bottle Denny Mike's Hot & Nasty
• 1 Bottle Sam Adams Irish Red Beer (Or a beer of choice)

1. Quarter one of the onions and place it inside the slow cooker.
2. Rub the pork with Denny Mike's Sublime Swine Rub and place it in the cooker
3. Quarter the other onion and place it on top of the pork.
4. Pour the beer over the pork and set it on low for 12 hours.
5. After the 12 hours, take the pork and set it on a cutting board. You should be able to peel the chunks of fat off the pork. With a fork, shred the pork and set aside.
6. Pour the liquid out of the slow cooker and transfer the pulled pork back to the crock pot.
7. In a bowl, mix the BBQ sauces. I added the Hot & Nasty because I love spicy food. I didn't want to add to much, in case we had a bunch of whiners. Once it's mixed, add it to the pulled pork and mix thoroughly.
8. Cook on low for another 4 hours, and enjoy!

Prime Rib Roast

I've been dying to make a rib roast for a few months now. I've been trying to get some friends together, but it's been really difficult with everyone's schedule. Last week I got tired of waiting, so I went to see my Uncle Iano who happens to be a butcher and got a really nice Prime Rib Roast.

• 3 1/2 Pound Rib Roast fat tied on
• Salt
• Pepper (I use McCormick's Peppercorn Melange)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 stick of butter cut into tablespoons
• 4 Thyme Sprigs
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 3 Majoram or Oregano Sprigs
• 3 Garlic Cloves Smashed
• 3 Shallots sliced

Preheat the Over to 325.

1. Grind the peppercorn and rub the roast with Salt and the ground up peppercorn.
2. In an ovenproof skillet, heat the oil. Add the roast fat side down, and cook over medium/high heat until it's browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the roast and brown on each side, about 10-15 minutes longer.
3. Set the roast fat side up in the skillet and add the butter. When the butter melts baste the roast all over
4. Add the thyme, bay leaves and marjoram and roast for 40 minutes. (Place some of the herbs on top of the roast and the rest in the butter.
5. Add the garlic and shallots to the skillet and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 130 degrees for medium-rare. About 20 more minutes or so.