Pina's Spinach & Chicken Linguini

4 oz chicken breast, cubed and cooked with salt and pepper in oil

3 oz sun dried tomatoes, sliced

1 teaspoon butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh herbs, chopped finely

8 oz 35% cream

2 oz white wine

2 oz parmesan cheese

2 oz pine nuts (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

16 oz cooked spinach linguine

Add fresh spinach

Melt butter in a pan and add garlic. Cook for 2 minutes without browning. Add chicken and sun dried tomatoes and heat through. Add herbs, toss into the chicken and then add wine. Add cream and let it reduce. Season to taste. While the sauce is reducing, cook the fresh pasta, drain well and add to the hot sauce. Toss in pan and add parmesan cheese. Toss again. Divide the pasta and sauce into 2 bowls and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serves 2.

tomatoes. Cook a bit and at the end, add the cream. Add cheese. Serve with linguini.

Pina's Linguini au Cognac

1 or 2 white onions

½ lb. bacon

salt

pepper

¼ cup Brandy or Cognac

1 can of tomatoes

cream (at the end)

½ cup parmesan cheese

Linguini

Brown bacon. Add onion, salt & pepper. Simmer Cognac until water evaporates. Add the can of tomatoes. Cook a bit and at the end, add the cream. Add cheese. Serve with linguini.

Amy’s Summer Sweet Potatoes Vichyssoise

4 teaspoons butter

1 cup chopped onions

2.2 lbs (2 large) sweet potatoes peeled and chopped

5 cups chicken broth

2 cups evaporated milk

Melt butter in large saucepan at medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until tender. Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree in blender. Add evaporated milk. Mix well. Serve hot!

Zesty Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 limes, juiced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste

1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

5 green onions, finely chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1)    Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2)    Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.

3)    Combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions together in a bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Servings: 6

Creole Smoked Baby Back Ribs

The Rub

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons of celery seed

Pinch of Cajun spice

Pinch of cayenne

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

The Bourbon Sauce

2 tablespoons of bottled chili sauce

¾ cup hickory flavored BBQ sauce

¼ cup bourbon

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

Baby Back Ribs

2 racks of baby back ribs (5lb or 2.5 kg)

4 handfuls of hickory wood chips

The Rub

1)    Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Pat all sides of the beef ribs generously with the rub. Place in a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

The Bourbon Sauce

1)    To make the bourbon sauce, place all of the ingredients with the exception of the hot sauce, in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan. Reduce slightly over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce to taste. This can be refrigerated until ready to use, but reheat before serving.

Baby Back Ribs

1)    Prepare Barbecue to 200ºF/100ºC using indirect heat.

2)    If you are using charcoal, cook the coal until they are ash on the outside, but still holding their shape.

3)    For a gas grill, preheat the grill to high on one side leaving the other side off.

4)    Place the baby back ribs directly on the cool side of the grill and cook slowly for approximately 2 hours until nicely browned and cooked through.

5)    After 1 ½ hours, brush the ribs with the bourbon sauce every 15 minutes until the allotted time has passed.

Makes 4 servings.

Steak à la Jay

Marinate steaks for a couple of hours in Caesar dressing, Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce, mustard, chopped garlic, and onion powder. 

When ready to BBQ, prepare mixture of salt, ground pepper and chilli flakes. Coat the edges of the steak all the way around. 

Butter Chicken

This recipe is from Weekend Cooking by Company's Coming (Jean Paré). It's not exactly authentic, but it's the second most requested dish from my husband. Serves 4 to 6.

⅔ cup of plain yogurt
¼ cup of tomato paste
1 ½ Teaspoon of ground coriander
1 ½ Teaspoon of Garam Masala
1 Teaspoon of ground ginger
1 Teaspoon of paprika
2 Teaspoons of sugar
½ Teaspoon of chilli powder
4 garlic cloves, minced
12 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut in half

 ½ cup of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 cup of tomato sauce (or ground tomatoes)
1 cup of chicken broth
6 whole green cardamom, lightly cracked
1 4inch cinnamon stick
salt, if needed
1 cup of coconut milk

Combine 9 first ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and marinate overnight.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for around 5 minutes. Add chicken with marinade and next 5 ingredients. Stir. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and discard cardamom and cinnamon stick.

Add coconut milk, and stir. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

14 tablespoons butter (1 ¾ sticks), softened but still slightly cool

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins, optional

1) Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. line large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3) In a large bowl (of a stand mixer), beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until just combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Scrape down the sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until well mixed, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour mixture and mix until barely incorporated, 10-20 seconds. It’s ok if there are a few dry spots. Gradually add the oats and chocolate chips or raisins (optional) and mix until well combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. If needed, give the dough a final stir with a wooden spoon to ensure that no flour pockets remain and that the ingredients are evenly distributed.

4) Scoop out about 2 tablespoon-sized mounds of dough and roll them to form balls. Place the cookies about 2 ½-inches apart on the baking sheets – about 8 cookies per sheet. They will spread quite a bit. Lightly press each cookie to about ¾-inch thickness. Mark likes it bigger! I weighed out 80g per plain cookie.

5) Bake 1 sheet of cookies at a time until they are golden brown, edges are crisp, and centers are still very slightly soft, 13-16 minutes. Cooling the cookies completely on the baking sheet will yield crispier, more perfect cookies.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Polpette

Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

1 small onion, grated

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 large egg

3 tablespoons ketchup

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅔ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to taste

¼ cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs

6 oz ground beef

6 oz ground veal

6 oz ground pork

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the onions, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the ⅔ cup of Parmesan cheese and the bread crumbs, then mix in the beef, veal, and pork using your hands to combine everything gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 1 ¼ - to 1 ½ - inch-diameter meatballs, using about 2 tablespoons for each.

Heat the oil in large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, sauté the meatballs until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meatballs to a plate as they are browned.

When all the meatballs are well browned, return them to the pan and add sauce. Cook sauce until thickened. Or, put ingredients to make sauce with meatballs in slow cooker and cook for 8 hours. Comes out delicious!!!

Serve with spaghetti.