Chicken fettucine alfredo

My friend Amy recently asked for alfredo recipes and I sent her mine, so I figured as long as I was typing them up, I’d post them here as well.

I do two versions: one classic and the other based on a bechamel sauce. Either way, make pasta and chicken (grilled or roasted or you could get a non-flavored rotisserie chicken)

Classic sauce:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 pint heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 dash garlic powder (or minced fresh)
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter and add the cream, salt, pepper, and garlic.
Toss the pasta in this mixture, then toss on the cheeses (you don’t want the cheeses in the melted mixture because they’ll clump)
Add the chicken and toss again. Chopped fresh parsley and/or basil makes a nice garnish

Bechamel version:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 pint heavy cream
salt and pepper
garlic powder or minced fresh
2 or 3 slices of white american cheese (sorry, but it melts best)
1 cup (total) grated parmesan and/or romano

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium, then add the flour. stir or whisk to form a paste (choux) for about 2 minutes or until you can smell the flour cooking.
Whisk in the cream. I like to use an egg whisk, but any whisk will do.
Add the seasonings to taste, then melt the American cheese in the sauce.
Toss with the pasta and chicken and then the parmesan/romano. Chopped fresh parsley and/or basil makes a nice garnish.

Notes: Don’t use the “grana” type of parmesan/romano; it gets a very bad review from Cooks Illustrated.
The Bechamel verson reheats well, but the classic version does not.
In either recipe, if the texture is not smooth and silky enough, or too thick, just add some milk and toss again..

Fried creamy corn

This recipe is a delicious attempt to create a creamed corn recipe that is not heavy and gluey, and features the flavor of really fresh corn.

1 ear of corn for every 2 people, plus an ear or 2. Doesn’t matter whether you use white, yellow, or a combination.
For every 4-6 ears of corn, 1/2 large vidalia onion, very small dice
butter/olive oil, flour
Heavy Cream
Milk
Salt
lots of freshly cracked black pepper

You really must use very fresh corn on the cobb. Leave the husks on until the day you are making this. Remove the kernels from the cob however you want. I’ve seen lots of methods, like standing the corn in an overturned bundt pan center. Bottom line: get the kernels off, then scrape the “milk” into a bowl.

Heat the butter in your largest skillet with a little olive oil (to reduce the smoking temperature) to a medium-high heat.
Add the onion, and cook until translucent and carmelized. Remove to a bowl.
Brown the corn. If you’re cooking a lot of corn, you’ll want to do this in a couple of batches. Brown and cook the corn in the fat, stirring frequently. Return the onion to the pan.
Here’s where you have a choice: how light are you trying to make this? If you want to try to keep it very light, add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the pan, stirring constantly for a minute or so until you smell the flour cooking. Add a small amount of milk and cream with the reserved corn “mild”, stirring constantly, until there’s a small creamy coating on the corn. Salt and pepper to taste.
If you are making a richer dish, remove the corn and onions to a bowl and add more butter to the pan. Add 1 TB of flour for every TB of butter, and stir and cook to make a thick roux. Return the vegetables to the pan, then add milk, cream, and the corn “milk” until you achieve the creamy result you are looking for. Salt and pepper to taste.
This is an art, not a science, so be prepared to adjust the amount of liquid. Remember, you can always add more liquid but you can’t take it out. If things get lumpy, use a whisk.
You can make this ahead and reheat it, but you may need to add some milk to thin it out.

Pumpkin Shortage!

So, I was at Publix tonight looking for canned pumpkin to make Pumpkin Crack 2.0 or Pumpkin Pie, and the nice stockperson told me that there’s a national pumpkin shortage.

We went and checked Aisle 1 and sure enough, no pumpkin.

I don’t want to start a pumpkin scare or anything, but there’s no pumpkin, folks.

Lemme know if you find pumpkin out there. We can ebay it for $10 a can.

Triple Chocolate Cake

Now here’s an Azar family classic! Not sure where we got the original recipe from. Maybe Mom can provide that information in the comments.

This is a very versatile cake that I usually make each year for Christmas gifts for neighbors and coworkers. You can make a single bundt cake, two standard loaf cakes, or multiple small loaves. Use rum, bourbon, or any other liquid, depending on whether you’re giving the cake to the boss (bourbon!) or taking it for snack at the AA meeting.

1 devil’s food cake mix

1 4-oz chocolate instant pudding mix

½ cup coffee

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

½ cup dark rum (or bourbon)

½ cup oil

12 oz mini morsels

Blend all ingredients except chips. Fold in chips. Bake in greased and floured pans. If you’re doing a bundt pan, bake for 55-60 minutes on 350. Reduce times for smaller loaf pans.

Shrimp Mousse

This is an Azar’s Party Pantry recipe about which my mother said, “People will stand around it and eat it until it’s gone before they ever move on to anything else.” There have been quite a few versions around town in the past few years, but I think ours is the best. And it was thoroughly tested!

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 envelope plain gelatin

2 cups chopped cooked shrimp

1 small bunch of green onions, finely chopped

½ cup hot water

Dissolve the gelatin in water. Mix together the shrimp and onions, then stir in the gelatin. Heat the soup and cream cheese until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the mayo and the shrimp mixture. Pour into a jello mold and chill several hours or overnight. Serve with crackers.

Optionally, you can omit the gelatin and water.  The result will not mold into a shape, of course, but it tastes great and you can even serve it warm, although it’s a little runny on the crackers that way.

Pig Picking Cake

Long ago, when we lived in Greenville, NC, our friend Lori Araj made this fresh, fruity cake.

1 box butter cake mix

2 tbs butter

4 eggs

1 can mandarin oranges with juice

½ cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients and pour into 3 greased and floured layer cake pans (round). Bake for 25 minutes at 350. Cool layers completely before icing.

Icing

1 large can crushed pineapple with juice

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

1 8-oz carton of cool whip

Beat with mixer and then spread over cake.

Cake must be refrigerated.

Party Pantry Punch

This is the basic punch recipe that the family catering business (Party Pantry) used for years and years. It’s simple and delicious. You can doctor it up with different fruit juices or flavored alcohols.

Base mix:

1 pint orange juice concentrate

1 pint simple syrup

1 large can pineapple juice

Punch:

½ base mix (see above)

4 liters gingerale

2 liters club soda

2 liters Collins mixer

 

“No-Knead Bread”

This is adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated version that was so popular this year (2009). I believe that, in turn, was based on a version developed by the New York Times.

Whisk together 3 cups bread flour, ¼ tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast, and 1.5 tsp salt.

In a measuring cup or bowl, combine 7 oz room-temp water, 1 TB white vinegar, and 3 oz beer (“mild flavored lager”)

Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry mixture. This will form a shaggy ball. Some of the dry ingredients may refuse to join the party, lying around the bottom and sides of the bowl. That’s fine. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in a room-temp or warmish spot for 8 to 18 hours.

Dump your doughball out onto a floured surface and knead it about 6 times or more, until it flat out refuses to participate any more. (To knead, basically fold it in half, then turn 90 degrees and fold it in half. Repeat.) While you’re kneading, you can ponder the fact that the name of the bread is actually a lie. 

Shape the dough into a ball, tucking all the edges underneath to get a smooth surface. Place your doughball onto a ~12 inch piece of parchment paper inside a 10” skillet or similar pot or bowl. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and return it to its non-cold location for 2 hours.

During the last 20 minutes or so of your 2-hour rise, put your cast iron, tightly lidded Dutch oven into the oven. Don’t have one? Try a stock pot or regular oven-safe Dutch oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees!

When you’re ready to bake, either lightly flour the dough or coat it with olive oil, then cut a long slit in the top. Transfer the dough, including the parchment paper, into the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking another 20-30 minutes.

Note: this last time I made the bread, I experimented with the times. I did a 6-hour initial rise and a 1.5 hour second rise. The bread tasted good but was very dense.  I think you should stick to at least an 8-hour initial rise.

Cream Cheese Bars

If you hunt for a recipe for Gooey Butter Cake (a St. Louis bakery favorite), you will frequently see this recipe. It is not, in fact, GBC. However, it is a very delicious dessert!

1 box yellow cake mix

1.5 sticks butter

1 egg

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 box confectioner’s sugar

2 eggs

Mix together the first 4 ingredients, and then press down in a 13 x 9 pan. Beat the remaining ingredients, and then pour over the first mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Cut into squares when cool.

Sweet Potato Hash

 

This is a wonderful, mellow, hearty hash that makes a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s great with a beer, although that’s not recommended for weekday breakfasts

1 lb smoked sausage (I like Conecuh brand) halved lengthwise and cut into 1” pieces

2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (fairly small dice)

½ Vidalia onion, diced

½ cup chopped red, yellow, or orange pepper

1 medium tomato, peeled and chopped

¼ cup chopped green onion

1 clove garlic, minced

I do all the chopping the night before, to minimize prep time in the morning (not a morning person!). If you dice the potatoes the night before, you need to store them in the fridge, submerged with water  and (preferably) a little lemon juice to prevent oxidation.

If you store the potatoes in the fridge overnight, drain the cold water and replace it with warm water. Your first step is to par-cook the potatoes in water in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the potatoes are par-cooking, get your biggest skillet hot and brown the sausage. Remove the sausage to a plate, keeping the fat in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium, and  saute the onion, tomatoes, peppers, and garlic in the fat, adding a little olive oil if necessary. Saute until they start becoming translucent, brown, and carmelized.

Drain the potatoes and dry them off on paper towels. Remove the vegetables to the plate with the sausage. Turn the heat up, add a tablespoon of butter to the pan, and then add the potatoes. Don’t stir them too much or (depending on how much you par-cooked them) they will start to mash. Your goal is to get them crispy and brown on the outside and just done on the inside. You may need to add more oil or butter. Salt and pepper to taste. When the potatoes are just about done, return the meat and veggies to the pan and sprinkle with green onion. When everything’s nice and warm, remove from heat and serve.

I like to serve in the skillet…it’s such a rustic-looking dish. Hash is frequently served with a fried egg. I don’t do fried eggs, but feel free.

I have toyed with the idea of using half sweet potatoes and half white. Maybe next time.