eat.this.food.

Lincoln Park Bow Tie Pasta October 28, 2006

This is so damn good it should be against the law. Rick had to physically remove it from the table so he would stop eating it. I call it macaroni and cheese for adults. It is great with a fresh green salad with lemony vinaigrette – to cut the richness of the sauce. This would also be good to serve at a dinner party as a pasta appetizer in a small portion as they sometimes do at good Italian restaurants. OR you could eat it standing up, out of the baking pan, in your pajamas, straight out of the fridge and then work out every day for 2 weeks to make up for it. Which ever! (Written by Sheri)

Sorry…no picture for this one as of yet…too hungry to take pictures when we made it the first time. I wanted to post because it is so good…you should just try it, even without a picture to entice you!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ pound shitake mushrooms**
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (28 oz) can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces sliced Prosciutto, diced (optional)
• 1 cup grated fontina cheese (about 4 oz.)
• 1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 4 oz.)
• 1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 7 oz.)
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 1 pound large farfalle (bowtie) pasta

**You can substitute regular white mushroom or baby ‘bellas for all or part of the shitakes.

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, sauté the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, and pepper flakes in the olive oil over low heart for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens.
2. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, discarding them and slicing the mushroom caps. Add them to the onion mixture and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the mushroom caps are tender.
3. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl.
4. In the same pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter, stir in the flour, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.
5. Stir in the mushroom mixture tomatoes, prosciutto, fontina cheese, Gorgonzola cheese, 1 ¼ Parmesan cheese, and the parsley. Set aside.
6. Cook the bowties in a large pot of boiling water for about 8 to 9 minutes - the pasta will be very al dente. This is good.
7. Mix the pasta into the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole. At this point you can refrigerate the casserole overnight. Before baking, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
10. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining Parmesan and dot with the remaining butter, cut into bits.
11. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the casserole is heated through and bubbly.

6 to 8 servings.

Recipe from

Viviani Chicken and Polenta

I first had this years ago when my college roomate (and good friend) Amy made it for us. It was a hit then…and in the Fall, I get a craving for this delcious sauce and creamy polenta. This recipe was handed down to her from her grandma, Ida Viviani.

Chicken and Sauce
Ingredients:

• 12 pieces (4 each) chicken thighs, wings, and legs with skin on (or any combination you choose)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped italian parsley (If you like parsley, use more!)
• 3 cloves coarsely chopped garlic
• 1 package sliced mushrooms or small whole mushrooms (Any variety you like works!)
• 1 can black olives
• 2 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained reserving 2 cups of the juice
• 1 Tbs each of fresh oregano and thyme
• salt/pepper

Directions:

1. In the bottom of a large sauce pot or saute pan, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom and fry the chicken pieces until barely cooked through, a few minutes on each side.
2. Remove and let cool on a plate.
3. To the pot, add the onions and cook until just soft.
4. Add the parsley and garlic and cook a couple more minutes.
5. Add the mushrooms, olives, tomatoes and juice, herbs, and salt/pepper to taste.
6. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the chicken and add the pieces to the sauce.
7. Simmer slowly with the lid off for at least 30 minutes, but the longer it simmers, the better it gets!!

Polenta
Ingredients:

• 10 cups of water (you may also use chicken stock, milk or cream to in place of the water.)
• 2 cup polenta (course ground corn meal)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 tbs. unsalted butter
• parmesan, romano or feta cheese (optional)

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large sauce pot. SLOWLY stream in the polenta a little at a time, stirring constantly in the same direction. I like to start with a wisk, then switch to a big wooden spoon once the polenta starts to thicken. The polenta should be thick, but not clumpy.
2. Once it starts to thicken, you can cover it (allow a vent for the steam) and stir it every couple of minutes.
3. Add more water a little at a time as needed to keep a nice, smooth consistency.
4. If you are going to add cheese, stir as much or as little as you like into the pot. **BE CAREFUL - the polenta will bubble and it can easily burn you! Add salt to taste and stir in the butter right before serving. The polenta can be eaten after 15 minutes, but if you cook it 45 minutes to an hour, it will be so much more creamy and delicious!

Serve the polenta warm with a big helping of sauce and chicken. Sprinkle the top with parsley and grated parmesan. It’s just like eating at gram’s house!

As it cools, the polenta will harden. If you have leftovers, you can pour it onto a cookie sheet or baking pan while its still warm. Once cool, you can keep it covered in the fridge, cut a chunk off, and reheat it! You can also fry the pieces in a saute pan with a little olive oil. Yum!

serves 8 hungry people
Recipe from Amy Flowers & her gram, Ida Viviani