Pasta Primavera with Italian Sausage

This is my husband's new favorite dish that I make.  Super easy to make and it is delicious.  It is a spin off of Giada Di Laurentiis's recipe on the food network.

INGREDIENTS


2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
1 large squash, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 Cup of Broccoli Trees
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Cloves of Garlic, sliced in quarters
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs: Basil, Oregano, Thyme
1 pound Pasta
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup grated Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS


Cook Italian (Chicken or Pork) Sausage in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil. Slice and set aside when finished cooking.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Kraft Garlic Cheese Roll Ball Controversy

Aunt Dot explained that she can no longer make her cheese grits because Kraft has discontinued the Garlic Cheese Ball (or tube, or roll - whatever).  I made it my mission today to figure out the mystery behind the beloved ingredient.  Below is an interesting message board of many other enraged cooks who relied on the Kraft Garlic Cheese ball for important family holiday dishes:
http://www.topix.com/forum/com/kft/THF4JIDM066QAJD8N

So, the mystery may be as simple as this...

Option 1


Garlic Cheese Rolls
11/2 pounds sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound processed cheese product such as Velveeta
3 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Garlic powder to taste
Soften cheeses and mix all together well. Shape into four rolls and wrap well in foil or plastic wrap.

OR
Apparenty the Kraft people told a grocery store owner that the "Easy Cheese Roasted Garlic Cheddar flavor is the same thing in a can.  I am not an advocate of spray cheese, in fact, it makes my skin crawl, but I won't be without my cheese grits this year. 

Arugula & Mustard Mayonaise for Holiday Ham

Might make this one too:

3 Cups of mayonasise
3 Cups chopped arugula
1/4 Cup of Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice (fresh)
1 1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper

Cranberry Horseradish Sauce for a Holiday Ham from William Sonoma

This is a very tangy accompaniment to a Holiday Ham.  I got great feedback from everyone who tried.  Make the whole amount even though it seems like a lot because the cranberry sauce tastes great on leftover ham sandwiches with brie on baguette.

2 bags of fresh cranberries (this works out to be about 6 cups)
2 Cups of Sugar
1 1/2 Cups of Fresh Orange Juice
1/3 Cup Prepared Horseradish
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Prepare cranberry sauce as outlined on bag, except heat/boil and dissolve sugar in orange juice.  Add the cloves while the cranberries are popping in the hot orange juice and sugar.  After it has cooled a bit in the fridge, add the horseradish.  Add more or less depending on the taste; I think 1/3 cup works best.

DAD'S BITCHIN' BBQ SAUCE

Like all kids, summertime was my favorite time of year: swimming, watermelon, lemonade, ice cream, more swimming, and my father’s barbeque. As impressive as my father’s barbeque sauce was my father’s actual brick barbeque, which he built himself complete with a cast iron grill on one side, a rotisserie, a smoker, and a burner on the other side. It really was something! Anyway, many a great meal was made on that barbeque. My ultimate favorite were pork ribs marinated and basted with this BITCHIN sauce.





Ingredients:
1 Cup of Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Worchester Sauce
1 Tsp Sugar
1/3 Cup Ketchup
1 Tsp Dry Mustard
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cloves of Garlic
½ Tsp Paprika
2 Tsp Hot Pepper Sauce (of course, if you want it milder, just use 1 Tsp)
Mix all the ingredients and simmer on the stovetop

BLUE CHEESE COLESLAW

“Ahhooh… I love that stuff.” This was my husband’s response when I told him about my next posting. There really isn’t a whole lot to say about this posh twist on slaw except that anyone who says they don’t like coleslaw generally likes this. I have no idea where this recipe came from, but people used to beg my mother to make it for almost every summer cookout … So, I will give her all the credit.
Ingredients:

1 x 2lb Head of Cabbage - 6 Cups of Shredded Cabbage; if you want to add color, you can always get red cabbage to give the slaw a visual pop.
8 oz Blue Cheese Crumbles
1/3 cup cider vinegar
¼ tsp of dry mustard
1 tsp of celery seeds
2 large garlic cloves minced
½ tsp of salt
½ tsp of white pepper
2 Tbsp sugar
¼ cup minced or finely chopped white onion
¾ cup of vegetable oil

Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine cabbage and blue cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The dressing is made separately. For the dressing, combine cider vinegar, dry mustard, celery seeds, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, and onion. As you whisk (or mix with hand blender) these ingredients together, add vegetable oil in a steady stream. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to serve, combine dressing with cabbage & blue cheese and toss until well combined. Serve immediately!

PASTA with BRIE, MUSHROOMS, & ARUGULA

On a trip to Italy, my mother and I had the joy of eating lunch at a home literally “under the Tuscan sun.”  They served the most amazing pasta dish, and the only features I remember (besides how delicious it was) were the mushrooms, a semi-pungent cheese, and penne pasta. That's it... Simple enough, I thought.  My efforts to replicate the recipe would suggest otherwise.  I've destroyed about two pots by melting Gorgonzola cheese, which I later couldn't scrub away.  Finally, after several ill-fated attempts, I found a recipe in Real Simple magazine that seemed like it might match the pasta dish from Italy.

To be totally honest, although I’ve made this recipe, I still cannot say with total certainty that it is as good as the Italian's. Bascially, I blew it!  I added too much water ruining the sauce. When I tried to rebound by adding every other type of cheese I could get my hands on: Gouda, Romano, maybe even a bit of Cheddar (I know – WRONG), it just made it more and more like watered-down bizzaro mac-n-cheese.  Not what I was going for.  My undiscriminating husband said it was delicious, but I know better. I’ve come to understand that his compliments, while greatly appreciated, sometimes are not particularly constructive. Honestly, the dish was awful.  In fact, I literally just dumped all the leftovers in the trash. But, I KNOW the recipe is good… I believe in it! I will make it again, AND I will know where to find the recipe… because now I have a blog! Thank you Blogspot!

Ingredients:
12oz Penne
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
16oz Cremini Mushrooms - quartered
1 Small Red Onion - sliced
1/2 Cup of White Wine or Vermouth
Kosher Salt
8oz Brie (Cut into 1" pieces)
4 Cups of Baby Arugula (or Spinach)

Instructions: 
Cook pasta, drain noodles, and reserve  1/2 cup of the pasta water.  Put the drained pasta back in the pot and set aside.  In a large skillet (I used a wok) heat the oil  over medium high.  Add the mushrooms and onion and cook tossing occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.  Back to the pot with the pasta, toss the pasta with the Brie pieces and reserved pasta water until the pasta is coated.  Stir in the mushroom mixture and arugula.  Voila!