Something Soft and Creamy

Abbey had her wisdom pulled on Tuesday. Four extractions total. If you have been there, you know it’s not fun.  Last Monday I made a double batch of a creamy bacon potato soup to prep for it. That turned out pretty darn good. Then yesterday I had major dental work done as well. Just as the dentist finished with one filling, and prepped for a new crown, she noticed a problem with an old crown right next to the other two. She pulled that crown, and as she started to do the prep for a replacement crown, I quickly realized that the Novocain was wearing off. Another shot (or two) later, and she was back it. She felt really bad about all the shots and drilling, and this morning, I just felt pretty bad.

So with my sore mouth, and Abbey ready for something with a little more substance than the potato soup, I had visions of mac and cheese. Not the Kraft from a box kind, but something a little closer to homemade. Lacking the ingredients for my awesome Prosciutto & Bacon version, I decided to raid the pantry and see what I could come up with. I had to get creative, but the end product was surprisingly good.

Slam Dunk Mac & Cheese

Serves 6

1 lb pasta (Rotini, shells, bowtie, or similar)

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cup milk (or sub 1 cup milk and ½ cup heavy cream) divided

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground mustard

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup chicken stock

1 cup grated gruyere cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

1 can (10 ¾ oz) Healthy Request Cheddar Cheese soup

1 can (10 ¾ oz) Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup

½ cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 F

Cook pasta to al dente firmness, drain and set aside.

In large pan over medium heat, melt butter and add 1 cup of milk, nutmeg, ground mustard, and cayenne. Stir until heated through, and add chicken stock and gruyere cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add both cans of soup and ½ cup of milk (or cream). Cook until soups are blended and heated through (or just starts to bubble), stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and combine with pasta, stirring until well combined. Place in coated casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes.

Potato Soup

Two things to consider before you start.

1. Do you want it all creamy and smooth, or with small chunks of potato.
2. Do you have a submersible hand blender, or a counter top version?

The answers to these will determine how you start. Most recently I used 4 small golden potatoes along with 2 medium russet potatoes. I peeled the golden potatoes, and one of the russets (I like the look of a few chunks with the skin on).  I boiled them in chicken stock in separate pans, cooking the leeks with the golden taters. I blended the golden potatoes, and then combined the mixture with the pan of russets. Add the milk and or cream and you are in business.

Lastly, if you are not a fan of cooking with leeks, try shallots. Nice flavor and not as strong as an onion or as much work as the leek.  For a twist, add diced cooked ham or bacon (or both) to the mixture after it’s been blended, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Basic Creamy Potato Soup

Serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

2 large leeks, diced (rinsed well to remove grit, pale green and white parts only)

5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (see notes above)

1 quart chicken stock, divided in half

½ cup milk (or heavy cream)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the leeks, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tender or about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes. Boil the potatoes until tender and they just begin to fall apart, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer ½ the potatoes and stock to large mixing bowl if using handheld blender, or the pitcher of a full-size blender. Blend until the mixture has a smooth, creamy consistency. Pour back in to the pot with the remaining potatoes and stock.  Add milk (or cream) and cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cheese, chives, and/or bacon bits as desired.

Drunken Chicken Penne Rosa

Girlies Gone Holiday. Or something like that. That’s what Abbey and her friends call their annual holiday get together. This year they thought that would save money and eat in. Meaning that T-Dawg fixes dinner, and they don’t have to pay a check at the end of the meal. Even better (for them), no waiter to tip.

No check for them means that I get stuck paying the grocery bill. Normally I would say “no big deal,” but I made pizza for 5 of them before they went to the Jay Z/Kanye concert, and that set me back about $40. I would rather have paid for a ticket and saw the concert.

For the eight of them, I could easily spend $75+. Fortunately Abbey asked for a pasta dinner. That shouldn’t break the bank, right? Knowing that she likes my vodka sauce, and her vegetarian friend Molly will now occasionally eat meat, I opted for a chicken version of Penne Rosa with a vodka sauce. Since they are under 21, I made sure to reduce the vodka before I add the cream and marinara. Lastly, I doubled the recipe and fed 10 people + leftovers for the oily beau hunk (that would be Abbey’s boyfriend for those unfamiliar with the movie “16 Candles”). In the end the cost was minimal, and was more than offset by the clean plates I took off the table. In the end, isn't that really why we do it?

Chefs Note: The hardest part of fixing this for a large group is getting the heat (spice) right. I like mine spicier than normal, and I like to cook the red pepper flakes a while in order to balance the heat throughout the dish. This is all comes down to meal management, and must be handled with care.

Chicken Penne with Vodka Sauce

(Serves 6)

 

1 to 1 ½ lbs cooked chicken breast, diced

1 lb penne rigata (cooked al dente in salt water)

1 teaspoon (or ¼ to ½ teaspoon for sensitive palates) crushed red pepper flakes

Marinara Sauce (makes ~1 quart)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion (medium), finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup red wine

1 large can (25 to 28 oz) crushed tomatoes

( or sub 14 oz can of tomato puree  + 14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Vodka Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1 small (or ~2 tablespoons finely chopped) shallots

1 quart marinara sauce

1 cup vodka

1 cup heavy cream (or lighten with ½ cup cream and ½ cup 2% milk) at room temperature

½ cup grated parmesan

To prepare the marinara – heat the olive oil over medium heat, and add the onion until translucent or about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for additional 1 or 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook on medium-high heat until the liquid is almost gone, or about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat for approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

To prepare the Vodka Sauce – heat the butter until melted over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the vodka and cook until reduced by about ½, or about 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add the cream at ¼ intervals every 3 minutes until heated through, or about 15 minutes.

Add the marinara and red pepper flakes to the vodka sauce until heated through, and it just starts to bubble. Add the parmesan cheese and stir until well combined. Add the diced chicken and pasta, and when heated through, serve with warm Italian bread, Sicilian butter (olive oil and seasonings), California red wine, and Kansas City love. Mangia!