Bacon, Date & Pistachio Encrusted Mac & Cheese

An accidental success gave birth to this unusual recipe.  My roommates and I threw a party where we served homemade macaroni & cheese and bacon-wrapped dates, alongside many other finger foods.  The next day, I heated up some leftover mac n' cheese and, as happens from time to time, it got mixed into the candied dates.  Naturally, I just ate them all together.  BOOM!  A creamy, luscious, taste-bud popping classic was born.

This twist on your everyday mac n' cheese replaces the quotidien bread crumb topping with a mixture of smoky bacon, sweet dates and salty pistachios.  Elevate your next bowl of mac n' cheese with these decadent ingredients for a TO.DIE.FOR comfort meal.

Bacon, Date & Pistachio Encrusted Macaroni & Cheese

Your Favorite Macaroni/Pasta & Cheese
5 Slices of Bacon, cooked
5-6 Pitted Dates
1/4 C. Pistachios, shelled (almonds would also work well)
Something green for garnish, like thyme

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place your cheesy pasta into a greased baking dish.  Set aside.

Roughly chop your bacon, dates & pistachios into similar sized pieces.  Mix them together in a small bowl.  Evenly cover the pasta with the bacon mixture.  Bake for about 15 minutes until the pasta is heated through and the topping has ever so slightly browned.  Garnish with thyme to finish.

Pasta Rossa

I have a thing about spaghetti noodles.  I don’t like them.  There’s something about the shape and the way it doesn’t hold sauce that distracts me.  Ridiculous, I know.  But I like to pay attention to that kind of thing.  It’s the perfectionist in me that I can’t seem to suppress.  The way I see it, why not make a simple change, like the type of pasta, and arrive at a result that much closer to perfection?  No distractions.  Just pleasant-looking, sauce absorbing, delicious, reassuring pasta. 

With that said, I LOVE ‘spaghetti sauce!’  This recipe really is closer to a Bolognese, so, I’ve renamed it Red Pasta for the sake of simplicity.  But by George, feel free to use whatever your favorite shape and size of pasta is and call it whatever the hell you want!

This red pasta sauce is thick and sumptuous, packed with veggies and meat and deep, rich flavor. 

Good to know:

Marinara Sauce – a simple, tomato-based sauce with basil and garlic.

Spaghetti Sauce – an “Americanism” for a basic red pasta sauce normally served with spaghetti pasta. 

Bolognese – a tomato and meat sauce made with onion, carrots, celery, beef & pork. 

Puttanesca – a tomato sauce with anchovies, chili flakes, olives and capers, named after ‘women of the night.’

4 slices of bacon

1 lb. of ground Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

4 medium-sized carrots, diced

4 ribs of celery, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 C. of your favorite red wine

1 jar of pasta sauce (like garlic & onion OR use several Tablespoons of tomato paste)

1 28 oz. can of tomatoes

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Basil, julienned (thin strips), to garnish

Bacon, crumbled to garnish

Italian sausage, to garnish

Parmesan, to garnish

Your favorite pasta, cooked al dente

In a large pot, cook the bacon over medium-low heat.  By cooking over low heat, you will render all that fat from the bacon, which will help give this sauce even more depth.  Remove the bacon when it’s chewy and cooked through.

Add the Italian sausage to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat, stirring the meat to break it into pieces.  When it has turned brown, remove the sausage and set in a bowl to rest.  Add the diced onion, carrots and celery to the bacon and sausage grease.  Cook this trinity of vegetables (called mire-poix in French, pronounced “meer-pwa”) over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  You want them to turn translucent and start to brown.  Do not let them burn.  Add the garlic and stir to mix it into the veggies.  Cook until it’s fragrant – less than a minute. 

Add the wine to the veggies and bring the mixture to a boil.  Turn down the heat slightly and let the mixture simmer until the wine has reduced and thickened and coats the veggies, about 7 minutes.  *As Ina says, choose a wine that you would actually drink.  If you don’t, then you wont want to eat it either.  If you absolutely HATE red wine, choose a bold white wine like Chardonnay.  It will stand up to the strong meat flavors.  Really, you’re just looking for depth of flavor. 

Once the wine has reduced, add the canned tomatoes and the pasta sauce.  Add the Italian sausage back to the pot as well, reserving just enough to garnish at the end.  Stir to combine and turn the heat to low.  Let this sauce cook for about 30 minutes to all day long.  The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.  If it starts to get too thick, just add a bit of water.  Taste it along the way as well and season with salt and pepper, if needed. 

When you’re ready to eat, cook your pasta to al dente.  This just means that it’s still got a bite to it so it’s not mushy and saturated with water.  You know, like those awful noodles you find in cans of chicken noodle soup! 

I like to drain my noodles thoroughly and then add them right to the sauce.   This way each and every bite of pasta gets coated by sauce.  To garnish, sprinkle with the reserved Italian sausage and bacon, Parmesan cheese and basil.  Serve with garlic bread. 

Squisita!  

*This makes a ton of pasta sauce, so eat some and store the rest in the freezer for later.  

 Like this red pasta?  Try this white one too:

Pasta Bianca

Pasta Bianca

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I just really need some comfort food.  And when I crave comfort food, I throw caution to the wind.  Calories are shoved out the door (as they should be) and then I’m alone and able to curl up next to a big bowl of something yummy.  Today, it’s creamy, cheesy pasta.  Pasta Bianca, that is.  C’mon, it still has to have a fancy name – we’re not animals! 

Pasta Bianca is Campanelle pasta, (which is my new favorite kind of pasta that looks like a flower or cornucopia) tossed in a sinful and rich sauce made from bacon, onion and cream.  Campanelle is perfect for this dish because its shape protects and envelops all that delicious sauce.  This Pasta Bianca is the perfect comfort dish on a cold winter’s night.  Serve it with golden thyme biscuits and your evening just got a whole lot more comfortable.  

Campanelle Pasta - try it!  You'll love it.

This is what you'll need:  pasta, bacon, onion, cream, Parmesan & thyme.

½ lb. Campanelle Pasta

4 Slices bacon, cut into chunks

1 Medium onion

¾ C. cream (if I don’t have cream, I just use whole milk)

½ C. grated Parmesan

15 Sprigs of thyme (or 1 t. dried thyme)

Salt & Pepper

In a large pot, bring salted water to a bowl and throw in the pasta.  Cook until al dente, about 12-15 minutes.  Drain, but do not rinse. 

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat.  You want the bacon to be browned, but not too crunchy.  For this dish, chewy is better.  Remove the bacon from the skillet and set it on a paper towel to drain.  Leave the bacon grease in the skillet and add the onion.  Cook until the onion earns just a bit of color.  You don’t want them caramelized.  When you have reached that perfect stage just after translucence, add the cream and Parmesan.  Stir until its has formed a thick and luscious sauce.  Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper.  If it tastes grainy from the Parmesan, cook it a few minutes more. 

If there is enough room in your skillet, add the pasta right to it.  Toss to combine.  If not, just pour all that scrumptious sauce right into your pasta pot.  Garnish with more thyme and bacon and serve with thyme biscuits. 

*If you want even saucier pasta, splash some milk over the coated pasta and toss until it’s smooth.  

Try this new twist on biscuits.  Open a can of flaky biscuits and sprinkle them with fresh thyme.  Bake until they're golden brown.  The thyme gives them subtle flavor and rustic charm.  

Chicken Marsala Rotini

Now, I know what you must be thinking.  I thought these recipes were supposed to be approachable!  This one has a bunch of ingredients, fancy wine and two different kinds of mushrooms!  How can that be approachable?  Well, I will show you.  Don’t be intimidated – this recipe might take a few steps, but it’s completely do-able even for the novice chef.  It’s perfect for a special occasion or just an evening when you need a lil’ bit o’ comfort.  And it’s RULL good! 

I’m very proud of this recipe because it has such a perfect mix of elements and ingredients.  The onion provides a natural sweetness; the mushrooms give earthiness (and each kind of mushroom tastes different); the pasta adds some hearty love and the sauce brings it all together harmoniously.  Maybe it should be called ‘Sweet Earth Lovely Pasta Marsala!’

You’ll find this meal to be robust and tempting, and soon a forget-me-not in your recipe box.  Call me if you can resist a second bowl!  I’ll be impressed…and then I’ll eat your extra serving.

3 chicken breasts, sliced

1 pint button mushrooms

2 Portobello mushrooms

1 small onion

                                                                                                               

1 1/2 C. Chicken Stock or low sodium chicken broth

3/4 C. Marsala Wine (don’t let this scare you – it’s cheap and easy to find)

2-4 T. heavy cream

Water, to cook pasta

Rotini pasta

Parmesan cheese, for garnish

In a shallow dish, season the chicken with salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Allow the chicken to marinate for 20 minutes or more.  Slice onion and mushrooms and set aside. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook chicken until golden brown.  Remove and set aside.  Allow to rest.  Add the onions to the pan and sauté until caramelized.  Remove and set them aside.  Add the mushrooms and a little extra olive oil and cook until they are browned.  Remove and set them aside. 

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. 

Meanwhile, pour the chicken stock into the pan where you cooked the chicken, onion and mushroom and scrape the bottom of the pan to release all of the brown bits.  Bring the stock to a boil and reduce by half.  Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce by half again.  The sauce may taste salty – don’t worry!  Once you add the ingredients back in, the flavors will level out. 

***’Reduce by half’ can be scary.  But, it’s not.  It just means cook it down until it’s about half of the amount you started with.  By doing this, you are really accentuating the flavors.

Add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time.  Whisk the sauce until it is well combined, light and creamy brown.  The sauce will be thin.  Add the chicken into the sauce and allow the chicken to reheat. Add the onion and mushrooms to the sauce as well.  Toss gently so everything is coated in the Marsala sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed.  If your skillet is big enough, add the pasta as well.  This way, all the ingredients begin to soak up the delicious sauce. 

Spoon the pasta, chicken and vegetables into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.