Tag Archives: pasta

Leftover Prime Rib Porcini Ragu

Leftover prime rib porcini ragu

What to do with the leftover prime rib?  Why not make the absolute best ragu?  This was absolutely delicious and a great way to not waste such expensive leftovers!  Enjoy!

Leftover Prime Rib Porcini Ragu
Author: 
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound leftover prime rib, ground in a food processor or chopped fine
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped fine
  • 1 small carrot, peeled, chopped fine
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 28 oz beef broth
  • 28 oz tomato puree or your favorite tomato sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
Instructions
  1. Boil the cup of water in microwave and then add the porcini mushrooms. Let sit for 15 minutes.
  2. Strain the porcinis and chop fine, reserving the porcini liquid.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the carrots and the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
  5. Add the prime rib, stir well and then add the red wine. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  6. Add the beef broth, reserved porcini liquid, tomatoes, bay leaves and fennel seed. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
  7. Simmer for 90 minutes.
  8. This is great served with fresh pappardelle or fettuccuine pasta.
  9. Can be frozen up to 6 months.

 

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini!!!!

spaghetti zucchini

I love this time of year when the Farm stands are brimming with wonderful fresh vegetables.  One of my favorites to grab is zucchini.  It’s cheap, it’s good and there are so many ways to prepare it.  If you are like a lot of people you may have a “go to” recipe for it and that’s about it.  This post has my favorite zucchini recipes all in one place, so you can get a little crazy and try something new!

zucchini spaghetti tomato sauce

The photo above is my current favorite recipe, Zucchini “Spaghetti” with Tomato Sauce.

Zucchini gratin

This is also a very delicious, healthy zucchini dish, Zucchini Gratin.

chicken succotash

My current favorite lunch recipe, Zucchini Succotash with Chicken & Pesto.

pasta with sausage and zucchini

Of course there has to be a pasta dish, Orrechiette with Zucchini & Sausage.

Fusilli with Sun-dried Tomatoes & Chicken

fusilli with sundried tomatoes and chicken

I have a secret……..I have a new love in my life….De Cecco pasta.  Any kind.  OMG.  Yes, it’s that good.  I tried it last week for the first time, spaghetti.  It was life changing.  Serious.  If you had told me before a brand of dried pasta could totally make the difference I would believe you..to a point.  However, this De Cecco cooks absolutely perfect, the texture is amazing.  It is imported from Italy and just amazing.  I used to be a Barilla fan, but no more, De Cecco all the way for me now!!

This is a great recipe, if you like sun dried tomatoes, I highly encourage you to make this! Continue reading Fusilli with Sun-dried Tomatoes & Chicken

Fresh Tomato Pasta with Chicken

fresh tomato pastaThis is one of my top 3 favorite pasta dishes.  Very simple and sooooooo good!!!  I call it fresh tomato pasta because you are cooking the tomatoes very briefly, 10 minutes so they still have that fresh taste.  They cook long enough to break down some of the juices and the fresh tomato juices make the sauce.  Adding a little pasta water at the end holds the sauce together.

You can skip the chicken, or substitute shrimp instead.   This is also really good with grape or cherry tomatoes.  Enjoy! Continue reading Fresh Tomato Pasta with Chicken

Orecchiette with Sausage & Zucchini

pasta with sausage and zucchini First, I have to say, this tastes better than the picture shows. The colors look a little bland here once the zucchini and squash cook, don’t be fooled.  This is a delicious healthy pasta dish!  It is inspired by a dish I had in Rome.  Mama mia it was good!  In Rome I am sure it wasn’t chicken sausage, but I like to use the chicken sausage as I think it has great flavor.  Feel free to use whatever sausage you like.

The key to this dish is to undercook the pasta, so that  you finish it in the pan with the sauce (or “condimento” as Mario Batali always says!).  This allows the orrechiette to soak up all the flavors, oh yeah! Continue reading Orecchiette with Sausage & Zucchini

Pasta Pesto with Chicken & Grape Tomatoes

Pasta Pesto with Chicken & Grape Tomatoes

I love pesto!  We have an herb garden in the summer and I use the basil all summer long for caprese salads but when the summer is over, I pick all the basil and make huge batches of pesto.  It stores great in the freezer.  I like to freeze it in an ice tray and then put the pesto cubes in a zip lock bag in the freezer.  Then you can easily grab as much pesto as you need.  Continue reading Pasta Pesto with Chicken & Grape Tomatoes