Giada's Alfredo Sauce

Source: Food Network

Prep time: Very easy

I've never been a huge red-sauce-on-pasta fan, and so it's not really a surprise that when I discovered as a child that people actually ate pasta with something other than spaghetti sauce, it was love at first taste. Alfredo sauces in particular have always been a favorite of mine, and they're on of the few things that I'll occasionally indulge in these days, even when it means a stomach ache later for my dairy-sensitive self. I've shared several cream sauce recipes here in the past, including my previous favorite alfredo sauce. A year or two ago, however, I discovered this unusual-but-totally-amazing alfredo sauce from Giada de Laurentiis, and there is been NO going back for the Baldwin family. If we have alfredo these days it's always this recipe, and it never disappoints. As if that's not recommendation enough in itself, it's very fast and easy to prepare and usually cooks up in much less time than it takes your pasta to boil.

Because the original recipe called for a rather odd amount of pasta, I have adjusted the proportions a little to suit a regular 1lb box of pasta instead. I often halve it for the two of us, depending on how hungry we are; it makes at least 4 generous main-dish servings. It isn't nearly so good the next day, which always breaks my heart, but a tiny drizzle of fresh cream on the reheated noodles goes a long way.

1 one-pound box of your choice of pasta

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan

The zest of your lemons, if you used fresh

Salt and pepper (the original recipe called for freshly-ground white pepper; I usually use freshly-ground whatever-I-have-on-hand)

A sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)

Cook the pasta in salted water until it's done according to your taste; drain and set aside. In a large skillet or in the empty pasta pot, stir all but 1/4 cup of the cream with the lemon juice to combine, then add butter and heat over medium heat just until the butter has melted. Turn heat to low, add the pasta, and toss until it's coated. Add the remaining ingredients (including reserved cream) and stir everything together over low heat until the sauce thickens a little, about one minute. Served immediately, garnished with a little more parmesan if desired. To revitalize leftovers, drizzle just a little bit of fresh cream on noodles after reheating and toss.

Lemon-Lime Risotto

Source: Adapted from the Southern Living cookbook (Lemon-Lime Risotto)

Prep time: About 45 minutes of fairly dedicated cooking (come on, it's risotto!)

I've read so many accounts of people first trying risotto and having an essentially transcendent experience. It changes their lives, they remember that moment with perfect clarity, yaddah yaddah. I've made risotto a few times in the past, using different recipes, and honestly, every time Mahon and I were extremely underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, but it was kind of... blah. Bland. Far from transcendent.

Most risotto recipes call for a cup of white wine early in the cooking process. Well, although cooking with alcohol is not usually regarded as being against the Mormon word of wisdom (health and living code), white wine is obviously not something we typically have on hand—and since I typically have a fairly strict policy of not buying ingredients that are only called for in one or two recipes, I've never bought any. (Plus, I'm pretty sure it would make my husband uncomfortable! ;) ) However, I long suspected that the lack of wine was what made my risotto so underwhelming. I'd tried substitutes, like apple juice and more chicken stock, but neither added the twist of flavor that I felt like risotto needed.

Enter this Southern Living recipe, slightly adapted by me (it didn't call for garlic, which seemed sinful!). I've nicknamed it my "Mormon" risotto, because instead of white wine, it uses a dash of lemon juice and a dash of lime juice to add flavor. And guys? This was our transcendent risotto experience. It was even worth half an hour determinedly stirring at a hot stove while my 11-month-old whined at my feet.

6 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade stock; I would definitely recommend using real stock or broth for this recipe since that's where most of the flavor and richness comes from)

The zest and juice of one lemon OR 1 1/2 T bottled lemon juice

The zest and juice of one lime OR 1 1/2 T bottled lime juice

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t sea salt

2 T EVOO for sautéeing

2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Bring broth, zest, and lemon/lime juices to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a large saucepan or large skillet with tall sides, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and salt and sautée about five minutes, until onions are softening and beginning to be translucent and sweet-smelling. Add garlic and continue to sautée for another two or three minutes, until garlic is just barely beginning to brown and is very aromatic. Add Arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about two minutes, until the rice is turning translucent and looking plumper. Add about 1/2 cup (I used a ladle and just did one ladleful at a time) of the hot stock/juice mixture and stir until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add liquid 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it's absorbed. The first two or three ladlefuls absorb/evaporate very quickly; as the cooking time goes on it will take longer and longer to absorb. I also found that after the first ten or so minutes of near-constant stirring, it was okay for me to leave the risotto without stirring for a minute or two while I did other things around the kitchen as long as I was still stirring very frequently. The frequent stirring is what releases the starches in the Arborio rice to create a delectably creamy sauce—you'll find it hard to believe that there's no milk or cream in it!

When all the liquid has been added and the rice is "al dente" and plump, remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, garnished with more Parmesan and veggies if desired. 

Cindy's Favorite Pizza Sauce

I would have a picture of this... 

But I'm pregnant, so I just ate it all.

Prep Time: Very easy

Source: I had a few different inspirations for this sauce, but a lot of the basis came from Peter Reinhart's Crushed Tomato Pizza Sauce

If you know me at all, you probably know that I have always hated tomatoes and anything containing tomatoes—from ketchup on down. For most of my life, pizza sauce has been no exception, and I'm still not overly fond of most pizza sauces. Around high school, however, I started noticing that I actually enjoyed some kinds of pizza sauce, but not others. Over the last few years, every time I've had pizza I've tried to identify what elements about it I did or didn't like. Eventually, I had a pretty detailed list of things that I did or didn't like in a pizza sauce. (In case you wondered, it was: Savory, not sweet; fresh crushed tomatoes, not simmered-for-hours tomato sauce; simple and Neopolitan-style; and nothing that got its start in a jar of tomato sauce—turns out there's something in those basic tomato sauce cans I hate!) This summer, with fresh tomatoes from my garden, I decided to take what I learned and apply it to my own sauce recipe. This very simple sauce has since become our go-to recipe. Mahon and I can't get enough of it! It's also very easy to customize to your own taste preferences by adding sugar and other spices. We personally love the fresh-tomato taste, but if you prefer a stewed tomato sauce, feel free to simmer the sauce on low heat for an hour or two before using.

This recipe makes enough for a large pizza or two medium pizzas (unless you are like my husband and would like 1" of sauce on your pizza!), but it can easily be doubled as many times as you need. It can also be frozen and used later.

3 medium tomatoes*

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinaigrette

1 t salt

1/2 t oregano

1/8 t garlic powder

1/8 t black pepper

Parmesan or romano cheese, grated (optional)

If you'd like to remove the tomato skins—gently score a cross into the bottom of each tomato and blanch for about 60 seconds in boiling water. Skin and cut off the tomato tops. Toss in blender along with all other ingredients except cheese. Pulse on the lowest setting until tomatoes are crushed but not puréed. Pour sauce into a bowl. If desired, stir in about 1/8-1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese. (I'd never heard of cheese in pizza sauce before, but it turns out it's pretty common and really delicious!) Technically, you're supposed to allow the sauce to marinade for about an hour before using, but we've done it both ways without a hugely noticeable taste difference—the flavors steep together pretty well when cooking.

Although I initially tried this sauce recipe with a fancy, double-raised, all-afternoon pizza crust recipe, since then I've ended up going back to our tried-and-true favorite pizza crust recipe every time, made with 100% whole wheat flour. I always cook the pizzas for 12 minutes. This crust recipe pairs wonderfully with this sauce! (As evidenced by the fact that I just ate. My. Whole. Pizza. Granted, it was small!)

*Thus far, I've only used fresh garden tomatoes for this sauce. Once I run out, however, I plan to do some experimenting with canned tomatoes, which I'm sure will work just fine too.

Lemon Spaghetti

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: SUPER easy

Source: SmittenKitchen.com

This recipe is similar to the Rosemary Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Cream Pasta, but—dare I say—it is both simpler and better. Cream, lemon juice, olive oil, and pasta water combine to create an unbelievably light and delicious meal that takes 15 minutes or less to put together! It's a great alternative to picking up pizza on those nights when you just can't spend a lot of time on dinner. And in all honesty, I could probably eat this every day for a week (maybe more!) and still be in heaven. Divine, I tell you. Divine.

I usually do 1/2 or 3/4 of this recipe and it makes two meals for us. (The leftovers are great drizzled with a little extra olive oil before they're reheated!) Also, it's definitely a flexible, "go by taste" recipe, as I've indicated by my somewhat imprecise measurements!

1 lb spaghetti, linguine or fettucine (it's good on small noodles as well, but the silky sauce really is best on something long and stringy!)

Salt

1/4 cup lemon juice (extra if desired)

1/4 cup heavy cream (I tend to go a little easy on my 1/4 cup of cream)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3-1/2 cup grated parmesan

Black pepper

Fresh or dried basil

Bring salted water to a boil on stove; cook pasta until noodles reach desired tenderness. When noodles are finished cooking, reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water and drain the rest. Leave the noodles in the strainer in a minute and combine lemon juice, olive oil, cream, pepper, and one cup of the pasta water in the pot. Boil for 2 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring a few times to get everything combined. In large bowl, toss together pasta, sauce, and parmesan (reserving a little bit to put on top). Taste a noodle to see if you want any more lemon juice; you can also add more pasta water if you want the dish looser. Garnish with basil and remaining parmesan.

Cindy's Fresh Pasta

Rating: 5 stars... we make it every week or two!

Prep time: Medium-hard (if you have a pasta machine it would be a lot easier)

I love pasta, and I love cooking, so it was only a matter of time before I tried making my own pasta, right? It is a HUGE hit with us—it's become one of our regular meals and we have it every week or two. I almost always serve it with a simplified version of the cream sauce from this recipe. The homemade pasta with that sauce is hearty enough that I usually just serve it with that and veggies on the side. Fresh pasta definitely takes more time and effort than store-bought, but the taste is so unbeatable!!! We make a huge batch and it never lasts more than 2 meals!

5 regular eggs

3 1/2 cups flour (I do at least half whole-wheat, it's so much yummier!)

Dash of salt

Olive oil

Water

In bowl of stand mixer* with dough hook attachment, combine eggs, flour, and salt. Let mix on low speed until everything is integrated. At this point you will start to have a dough ball forming on your hook, but it will be fairly dry/crumbly and there will be a lot of crumbs left in the bottom of the bowl. Slowly drizzle olive oil in until a lot of the crumbs are moistened and integrated into the dough ball (I usually end up with about 2 tsp olive oil). If you don't want olive oil (which enhances the flavor), just use water. Let mix for another moment to get the olive oil worked into the dough. There will still be a few crumbs in the bottom of your bowl and your dough will still be fairly dry. SLOWLY (you don't want much water) drizzle water into bowl ONLY until the rest of the crumbs are moistened and integrated into the dough bowl (it usually works best to drizzle a little water, wait a few minutes, add a bit more, etc.—if you get too much water, your dough will be very sticky and tough to roll out). If you do end up with too much water and sticky dough, add a tablespoon or two extra flour and let it integrate into your dough ball. You are going for a dough that is not at all sticky—it should be sticking together, but fairly dry to the touch. If you don't get this right the first time, don't worry; it took me a few times to figure out the right consistency for the dough. 

Once everything is added, allow the dough to knead in your mixer for about 5 minutes. Once it is done kneading, remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes (if you skip this step, your pasta won't work). After dough has rested, fill the biggest pot you have with salted water and start bringing it to a boil. On lightly floured surface, roll dough as thin as you can get (if you have a pasta maker, great, use it!). It's tough to get this really thin by hand, especially if you add wheat flour. Ours is usually pretty, um, robust. ;) Using a pizza cutter or pastry wheel, cut pasta into desired shape (because our dough is fairly thick, like I said, I usually try to cut it into very thin strips). Do not let your strands drape over each other, or they will start to stick and mold together. We usually will divide the dough into 2 portions and roll it out on 2 separate surfaces, and just leave the noodles flat until we're ready to put them in the pot. When your water is ready, gently lift your cut noodles (a flat plastic spatula or pastry scraper can be helpful if they are stuck to your rolling surface) and toss into water. They will float to the top fairly quickly, so I find it helpful to stir the pot often to make sure noodles boil evenly. The boiling time will depend on the thickness of your noodles; ours usually take 6-10 minutes. I test the noodles frequently. When they are cooked through to your satisfaction, strain them and add to sauce. We usually put half of the noodles in cream sauce to eat that night and the next day for lunch, and drizzle the rest of the noodles with olive oil (to keep them from sticking to each other) and put in the fridge for a meal in the next few days. Depending on how hungry we are, this recipe usually provides enough pasta for 2 meals (including leftovers). I won't lie, though, when we make this, we eat a ton—it's delicious! It definitely is a more time-intensive meal, but on a day when you can spare a few extra minutes in the kitchen, it is SO worth it. We make this meal as a team—I try to get the pasta dough all put together and resting by the time Mahon gets home from work, then he rolls it out and I cut it.

*If you don't have a mixer: Pour flour out in a mound on a clean countertop. Create a well in the center of flour; add eggs and salt. With your hands, slowly work the flour into the eggs (starting from the inside of the well and working your way outward). Once everything is combined, add a little bit of olive oil and/or water to help dough hold together (without getting sticky). Knead dough for 10 minutes, cover with plastic, and let rest 20 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

Uncooked chicken breasts, cubed

Bread crumbs

Italian seasoning

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in skillet. Mix breadcrumbs (about 1/3 cup) with about 1 T italian seasoning. Toss chicken breasts with breadcrumbs and fry in skillet until lightly browned on each side. Transfer browned chicken into casserole dish; cover with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with parmesan cheese; bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce, or if you discover you have no tomato sauce halfway through cooking your meal (like I did), with lemon dressing (mince one clove garlic and add to 2 T olive oil; heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes; stir in 2 T lemon juice). Serve over pasta; top with parmesan cheese.

Garlic-Herb Focaccia Bread

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Super easy

I love focaccia bread, and actually used to make it pretty frequently before I got married. The recipe I used then was an authentic Italian focaccia recipe, and it was yummy, but it took about 4 hours to make and dried out after about a day. A few months ago, I realized there was no reason I couldn't use my all-purpose dough to make a light and fluffy—and much faster to make—focaccia. The other night I put the idea to the test, and it was delicious—including the leftovers! I will definitely be repeating this. It's also a pretty healthy snack, since it's loaded with healthy oils and spices.

1 batch pizza/breadstick dough

1 clove garlic, finely minced

Olive oil

Rosemary, oregano, and basil

Grated parmesan

Coarse sea salt

Heat oven to 425. Grease cookie sheet. Make up one batch of pizza/breadstick dough according to recipe—you are aiming for a pretty soft dough here, so go easy on the flour. Knead minced garlic into bread dough. Coat dough with oil and let rise, covered, for about 15 minutes. Gently work dough onto greased cookie sheet, spreading evenly but not too thinly. Cover and let rise for another 20-30 minutes. Brush top of bread with olive oil; with fingers, press dimples into bread every 3-4 inches. Top with sea salt, rosemary, oregano, basil, and grated parmesan. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. (Note: the second time I made this, I cooked it on the second oven rack instead of the highest rack out of necessity. It actually ended up making a FABULOUS crunchy artisan bottom crust... I think I will do it on that rack from now on!) Let cool for a few minutes; cut into squares and enjoy!

Lemon Cream Pasta with Rosemary Grilled Chicken

Rating: 5 stars

Prep Time: Easy (and fast!)

Source: YourHomebasedMom.com

Man, this pasta dish is good! The original name is actually—I kid you not—"Really Good Noodles & Chicken," but I wanted to call it something that actually describes what's in it. This cooks in about the amount of time that it takes to boil your spaghetti! The original recipe also has tomatoes and bacon in it, but we didn't have any. I also adapted this to be cooked entirely by stovetop, since we have NOT been having grilling weather!

8 oz spaghetti

1/2 cup cream

2 T butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 T lemon juice (or the juice of one lemon)

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

3 chicken breasts, thawed and patted dry

Olive oil

Rosemary

A little more lemon juice

Boil salted water for pasta. On another burner, heat (empty) skillet over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with olive oil. On one side, sprinkle black pepper, salt, and dried rosemary. When skillet is hot (really hot—it will start smoking slightly), place chicken breasts in pan. (I recommend covering them with a lid as well unless you want to set off your fire alarm.) Cook about 5-7 minutes or until very brown; flip breasts over with tongs and cook 5-7 minutes on other side. Once chicken is thoroughly grilled, remove from pan onto cutting board. Lightly pour lemon juice over hot chicken breast; slice into long strips and tent with foil until ready to use. 

Once pasta is almost done, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook for a few minutes until lightly browned and softened. Add cream, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two until bubbly. Add in pasta and parmesan cheese. Serve, topped with chicken and more parmesan cheese (and bacon and tomatoes if you so desire).

Alfredo Pasta

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

8 oz. Fettucine or Penne pasta

3 T butter

1 T flour

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. black pepper

1 c. whole milk

2 oz cream cheese

1/3 c. fresh grated Parmesan

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring continually. Cook until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and stir constantly, until the cheeses melt. (An additional 1/4 c. milk may be added if needed.) Add sauce to prepared noodles and serve garnished with parmesan cheese. Makes 2 generous servings.

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Rating: 5 stars
Prep time: Very, very easy!

Recipe adapted from this blog.

6 Tbs. olive oil
1 clove garlic (or 1/8 tsp garlic powder)

2-4 chicken breasts (depending on size - the ones I get are big so I usually only use 1-2)
Salt and pepper
1 lb. penne pasta
Baby spinach (I usually use about half of a big bag)
1-2 T lemon juice (or juice from 1-2 lemons)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to boil in large pot. Meanwhile, combine garlic and oil in bowl and microwave 1 minute.

Transfer 1 Tbs. oil from bowl with garlic mixture to large skillet. Add chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper. Cover (unless you want to get spattered with oil!) and cook on medium-high heat until each side is browned; reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 more minutes. (I use frozen chicken - if you use fresh chicken, you won't have to cook as long.)

Add salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and transfer to large bowl. Cube chicken and add to pasta, along with spinach, remaining oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy

I also like to add things to this meal - it is DELICIOUS with peas fresh from the garden! I think sometime I'd like to try garbanzo beans as well.