"I can always add my own spice..."

As I have stated in previous posts, Suzy LOVES spicy food. I'm ok with it but sometimes my stomach is just not having it. I have made Penne alla Vodka for her twice. Once using the preferred crushed red pepper, and once using cayenne pepper. Unless you like your mouth(and other orifices) on fire, stick with the crushed red pepper!

This is a very easy dish to make. Most of the ingredients are similar to the Baja Chicken pasta so we usually enjoy these wonderful dishes in the same week. Suzy gets all the leftovers so that keeps her happy for days!

The ingredients for the Penne alla Vodka are as follows:

1/2 lb andouille sausage
1 (16 ounce) package dry penne pasta
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons vodka
2/3 cup heavy cream (you can you half & half for less fat)
crushed red pepper to taste


Directions

1. Saute the garlic and sausage(casing removed) in a large skillet with a tablespoon of evoo.
2. Boil water for the pasta, adding evoo and salt(optional)
3. Pour in the crushed tomato and simmer for 20 mins. Stir in the cream, vodka, and red pepper and cook for another ten minutes.
4. Cook pasta for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Drain and shock with cold water.
5. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss.

Serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

This goes well with one of Suzy's favorite cocktails, Spiked Raspberry Lemonade
1.5 oz Raspberry Vodka
.5 oz Razzmatazz
Fill a 12 oz glass with ice. Add vodka, Razzmatazz, and Minute Maid Lemonade.
Shake, serve, and enjoy.

Quick and Easy!

There are many days that Suzy and I don't see each other for more than 10 minutes. If I know I am not going to have dinner with Suzy, I still want to make sure something is available to eat. Some of the time there are leftovers. When there are no leftovers, I have a few recipes that I can whip up for her, leave in the fridge for her to enjoy later. My favorite is a shrimp pasta salad.

This is sooo super simple that I usually prepare this while I'm playing my XBOX 360.
Any pasta will do although rotini, macaroni, or bow-tie pasta are the easiest to blend. You can use a variety of meats or no meat at all. We always have shrimp in house so I generally go that route. The ingredients I use are as follows...

3/4 lb rotini pasta
3 tbsp EVOO
1/2 green pepper
1/3 cup of red onion
1/2 lb of shrimp peeled and deveined
tsp paprika
1 cup of Italian dressing
diced tomato
grated Parmesan cheese
parsley


First boil water with a tbsp of EVOO for the pasta. Generally I coat shrimp in EVOO and cajun seasoning and put it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so. Chop all vegetables. You can add celery and/or cucumber if you have them on hand. Add pasta to boiling water and cook to al dente. While the pasta is cooking, put the other tbsp in a skillet and prepare the shrimp. Drain the pasta and "shock" it with cold water to stop the cooking process. In a large bowl, combine veggies, pasta, shrimp, paprika, and Italian dressing and toss until well blended. At this point it is ready to serve. Sprinkle the parmesan, parsley, and diced tomato on top. But I just throw it in the refrigerator with a little love note for Suzy to enjoy when she is ready.

Carolina on my mind!

When I moved to Charlotte, I had planned to continue my golf maintenance career. Things did not pan out quickly so I got a job waiting tables at Fatz Cafe. The only thing I miss as much as my co-workers is their Baja Chicken Pasta. It is by far the best thing on the menu. Before I could even tell Suzy about it, she was asking about this yummy looking pasta dish she saw on the online menu.

So it was an easy choice to make Baja Chicken Pasta for dinner our first night back together. I asked my manager for the recipe before I left and he wrote it down for me. I lost the recipe somewhere between the Greyhound stations in Charlotte and Richmond, VA. So thus begin my desire to just "wing it" when I cook.

I remembered the main ingredients so I just figured out the process in my head. And like one of my favorite cooks, Rachel Ray, I don't measure anything. Generally there is enough leftover for Suzy to have either lunch or dinner the next day.

Ingredients
Penne Pasta
EVOO
2 chicken breasts(cut in bite size pieces)
andouille sausage
sliced onions
sliced mushrooms
sliced red pepper
butter
garlic clove (minced)
1 cup of salsa
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
chipotle seasoning
diced tomato
parmesan cheese
cilantro

Very easy process for this dish. Add the chicken and sausage(casing removed) to a large heated skillet coated in EVOO. While meat is browning, combine yogurt, sour cream, and seasoning in a bowl and blend until smooth. When meat is finished, remove and set aside. Boil the water for the pasta(salt optional) In the same skillet used for the meat, add a 2 tbsp of butter, garlic, and the vegetables. Suzy likes her food extra spicy so I add some of the seasoning to the veggies while they sear. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are browned and tender.
Return the meat to the skillet and add the salsa and sauce mixture. Allow the skillet to simmer for about ten minutes on low heat. Drain the pasta when finished and combine in the skillet. Toss until well mixed and coated. Serve with diced tomato, parmesan cheese, cilantro sprinkled over top.

This is by far one of my favorite pasta dishes to make. Not only is it delicious, but it also reminds me of all the good times I had in Charlotte!