Linguini Aglio Olio

Aglio Olio is the most basic of clear pasta sauces, The name says it all, Aglio (garlic) and Olio (oil)

1 LB Linguini
1/2 C Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic sliced
3 Tbsn Salt to cook pasta.
1 Tbsn Parsley
Black Pepper
Parmesan and Crushed Red Pepper are optional or can be placed on the table for anyone to use who wants them.

Cook Linguini in salted water per directions on pkg
About 3 minutes before pasta is done
Heat oil in skillet
Add garlic and cook over med heat until garlic is golden brown about one minute
Remove from heat and serve over pasta in shallow serving bowl.
Toss well
Sprinkle with Parsley and Black Pepper
Serve

Double Chocolate Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together in a bowl & then set aside:

1 C. cake flour

3/4 C. white flour

1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teasp. baking powder

In a mixing bowl, beat together:

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 C. milk

1/4 C. sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teasp. vanilla

Slowly add the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture, folding (NOT beating roughly- that makes muffins tough & leathery) until everything is just incorporated.

Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips and 1/2 cup Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips (or bittersweet chips) and stir together.

Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full - then sprinkle tops liberally with sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes (test with toothpick to make sure centers are done).

Cook on a baking rack.

Mario's Italian Lemonade

If you're from Chicago there's a place three minutes from downtown everyone should know. It's called Mario's Italian Lemonade Stand. Simply stated, Mario's has the best Italian Lemonade I ever tasted in my life. When in the downtown area in the summertime I still go there. My children know it as someplace we'd go for a treat. Even when I lived 35 miles away on a summer evening we would drive into the city just to get some Italian Ice.

When Sammy Sosa hit his 60th Homer in 1999 I was with my kids sitting in the car on Taylor and Aberdeen eating Italian Lemonade out front of Mario's. I have loved it since my first lick. Even back when I drove a Limousine about 20 years ago, when someone visiting Chicago asked me to take them someplace that was truly Chicago. I took them to Mario's and every single person I took there was impressed.

It's in the UIC neighborhood at 1068 W. Taylor St. Close to 12th St. Beach, The United Center and US Cellular Field.

Try it, you'll love it.

Sausage Giambotta

1 1/2 LB Italian Sausage Cut into 2 inch lengths
4 med Potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 Lg Green or Red Bell Pepper
1 med Sweet Onion
1 Clove Garlic
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Parmesan

Anything else, (optional) i.e. mushroom, olives, zucchini, scrambled egg, wine, sun dried tomatoes, etc...

Heat oil in large skillet
Add garlic till it starts to crisp
Add onion, sausage, potatoes, peppers and any other fresh veggies.
Toss well and cook over medium heat till sausage is cooked and potatoes are tender, turning occasionally. (about 20 minutes)
If using wine add it now and continue to cook till alcohol is cooked away. I like a white wine or sherry for this one.
After wine has cooked You can crack an egg into giambotta and slightly scramble it right in.
Toss till egg is not runny. (1 - 2 minutes)
Place in serving platter and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Serve with an nice crusty Italian bread. (see July post for "My favorite dough recipe for pizza crust and bread" if you want to bake your own.)
Feeds 4-6

Highland Fudge Bars

Preheat oven to 350-----see instructions for baking times

1 cup softened butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup powdered sugar (make sure there are no lumps)
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups unsifted flour

Cream butter, powdered sugar and salt. Add flour and mix well.
Pat it out into a 9 x 13 cake pan with your fingers.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes to make it into shortbread crust. Remove from oven but don't turn oven off. While crust is baking in the oven, prepare the fudge topping:

4 beaten eggs (just whip with a fork)
1 cup melted butter, cooled to room temp (2 sticks)
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour(don't bother to sift)
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use 1-1/2 C. Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips and 1 C. Nestle's semisweet chips) - measure them BEFORE you melt them! If you don't want to mess with a chocolatey mess in a bowl, melt half the chips at a time on a paper plate (microwave carefully until JUST melted) before adding to the mixture.

Mix eggs with melted butter and white sugar. Add baking powder, salt and flour and mix thoroughly.

Melt the chocolate chips - when melted add them to the egg, sugar etc. mixture and mix well.

Pour this mixture over the crust you just baked and carefully spread it so all the crust is covered.

Bake it for another 25-30 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Cool for an hour and then sift 1/3 C. powdered sugar over the top of the chocolate.

Let them cool thoroughly and cut them into small brownie bars; these are RICH. You can refrigerate them, but cut them before you do. They get very solid when they're cold.

Shrimp Ala Bina

This is perfect for a dinner party.

Ingredients:
Pasta
green peppers...red or yellow or combo of all
mushrooms
broccoli
garlic
white wine
butter
broth
onion 1 small

While cooking 1lb of spaghetti or linguine...

In a big pan or wok style pan..

Put olive oil in pan .about 1/4 of a cup.. Saute some garlic...then onion and gr, red, yellow peppers or whatever you wish..... Then add 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/4 cup of chicken broth or you can use bouillon if you want for more flavor. (2 cubes in half cup of boiled water). in the mean time..Blanch a head of broccoli and put on the side. Add mushrooms to the simmering peppers, onion .etc.. after all of this looks well simmered ..add 1/3 stick of butter...then add the broccoli...1lb of shrimp cooked ( large or med). I season with pepper..a little Italian seasoning. If needed add a little more wine or broth. After you put everything together..I like to thicken just a little with cornstarch and water..about 1/4 cup but only add what is needed for a slight thickening... Pour on top of pasta in a big pasta bowl.. It's a very attractive presentation and very tasty too.. Serve with a nice Chardonnay.. Serves 4

Home Made Cavatelli

Ingredients
1 Lb Ricotta, drain well
1 Egg
1/8 tsp Salt
4 Cup Sifted Flour

Beat ricoota, egg and salt till very fluffy
Add sifted flour gradually till not sticky.
You may need more or less flour to make a firm workable dough you can roll out into a nice smooth rope.
Cover on work surface with upside down bowl to keep moist.

Rolling the dough
Cut a small piece of dough (about the size of an egg)
With the palm of your hands roll dough into a long uniform rope about 1/2 inch diameter.
cut into small pieces about 1 1/2 - 2 inches long
Shaping the cavatelli
On a well floured suface place two to three fingers on dough pieces and drag until it curls up.
Repeat with all till dough is used up.

Cook the same as you would pasta or freeze on floured cookie sheet for later use.

Serve with any sauce you like or in soup.
My favorite is Cavatelli with Vodka Sauce

Vodka Sauce

2 Large Cans Tomatoes
2 Tbsn Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, Chopped
1 Small Onion, Diced
2 - 4 Basil Leaves
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Cup Vodka
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (room temp)
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan

In a large skillet heat oil
Add Garlic Stir a few times for 15 seconds
Add Onion till tender
Add Tomatoes and Basil
Heat to boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes
Simmer for 10 more minutes
Put sauce in blender and blend till smooth

Return Sauce to skillet bring to second boil
Add Vodka
Stir till Sauce boils again and cook for another 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally
Lower heat to simmer
Stir in Cream and simmer over low heat till sauce is heated through
Stir in Parmesan till melted and remove from heat.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve over pasta

Lemon Bars

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees; lightly grease a 9X13" baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix together until a dough forms and pat onto the bottom of the prepared pan:

12 TBLSP. soft butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 C. flour

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and prepare topping. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Topping:

In a mixing bowl, combine:

6 large eggs

3 cups sugar

Beat WELL. Slowly add:

3/4 C. freshly squeezed lemon juice (3-4 lemons) - you could use bottled lemon juice, but fresh is SO much tastier!

1/2 cup SIFTED flour

1 Tblsp. grated lemon zest

Pour the lemon mixture over the partially cooked crust. Sprinkle another 1 Tblsp. lemon zest over the top.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for approx. 25-30 minutes, or until it's 'set'. Gently jiggle the pan- make sure it isn't runny or wet-looking.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. When ready to serve, cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can leave these out at room temperature or keep them chilled in the 'fridge.

Creamy rice pudding

In a large, heavy saucepan or small stockpot, add 7 cups milk (I use 2%), 1/4 tsp. salt and 1-1/2 cups standard long-grained (uncooked) white rice.

Over medium low heat, let milk heat (never to a simmer & especially not a boil!) slowly - stir rice occasionally until milk begins to cook the rice. This is a VERY SLOW procedure and takes around an hour or so. Continue to let the rice cook slowly, stirring often.

In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs plus 1 extra yolk with 1/2 cup white sugar.

When rice is cooked/tender, and milk has nearly evaporated - approximately one hour - (the mixture should be creamy and thick and not runny) - remove from heat and mix in the sugar/egg. Return the pot to a low heat and continue cooking and stirring for several minutes until eggs incorporate and cook thoroughly. Turn off heat and add a teasp. of vanilla extract.

At this point you can add (only if you want to) other ingredients. For this recipe I toasted 1-1/2 cups of broken up walnuts and another cup of dried cranberries - a Tblsp. of grated orange peel finished off this dessert! Any other fruits and/or nuts combination work well. The rice pudding is delicious served warm or chilled with some heavy cream or whipped cream spooned over the top!