Linguine in Herbed Artichoke Sauce

This recipe dates WAY back to the days when the Southern husband and I were young and carefree, spending our Saturdays browsing around antique shops and street fairs and used bookstores.  We would wander here and there with our string shopping bags and not a care in the world, picking up this and that, and me being me, a lot of what we picked up were interesting cookbooks, often ones that were stacked in corners of little bookstores.  This particular recipe comes from one of those books - a terrific cookbook called SIMPLY ELEGANT COUNTRY FOODS.  The price is still there, written in pencil on the inside front cover.

Let's take a closer look at that price, shall we?

Now THAT'S what I call a bargain.  About five minutes ago when I started writing this post, I made a bet with the Southern husband about whether you would even be able to find this cookbook anywhere, lo these 20 years later.  He said no way.  I said absolutely yes.

Simply Elegant Country Foods : Downhome Goes Uptown

All I will say about THIS is that he is a gracious loser, and I am a nyah-nyah-nyah-ha-ha-ha-told-you-so type of winner.  And that I just LOVE being right.

Meanwhile, back at the recipe, it is every bit as easy and simple and elegant and delicious as it was all those years ago, and as an added bonus, it involves one of my very, very favorite vegetables.  (This picture may look familiar to my beloved frequent readers.  I love you guys.)

And before you worry, you can and should use frozen artichoke hearts - you don't have to mess with stripping and prepping fresh artichokes.  I just had this artichoke picture hanging around and I love looking at artichokes whenever possible.  Anyway,  besides the artichokes, the rest of the dish is a fast and simple concoction of onions, garlic, white wine, a teeny bit of tomato paste and heavy cream, and some herbs and spices, all tossed around with linguine.  Perfect, simple, delicious and you get to have artichokes.  Life is good.

Linguine in Herbed Artichoke Sauce, adapted from Simply Elegant Country Foods : Downhome Goes Uptown 

• One pound linguine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, or one teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ten ounce package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat butter and oil in skillet and add onions and garlic.  Saute for 3 minutes.

2. Raise heat and add wine and broth.  Stir until boiling, then stir in herbs and tomato paste.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add artichoke hearts and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.  Return to pot.

5. Stir cream into the sauce, heat to almost boiling and then pour sauce over pasta and toss.

6. Grind fresh pepper over top and serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

Lemon Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

So, I better start this post off by saying that you must love and adore the following things in order to love and adore this recipe.

Lemons.  There are lemon slices, lemon zest and lemon juice in this dish.  A whole lot of lemon juice, freshly squeezed from four, count 'em, four lemons.

Garlic.  There are nine, count 'em, nine cloves of garlic in this recipe, all minced up and cooked with the lemon juice, along with a good amount of butter, a lot of fresh chopped parsley, and some lovely large shrimp.  The whole process takes about 7 minutes (not kidding), which is just about the amount of time you will need to cook up a nice pot of linguine.  Then all that is left to do is drain the linguine and toss it with the shrimpy, buttery, lemony, garlicky sauce.

If you are like me, welcome to heaven, where everything is made with lemon and garlic.  And bacon.  And chocolate.  And bacon.

(Note to self: possible to make this recipe with bacon next time?  Must ponder...)

Linguine with Lemon Shrimp Scampi, adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

• 1 1/2 pounds linguine
• 3/4 stick butter
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 9 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Grated zest of one lemon
• Juice from 4 lemons (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 lemon, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1. Cook linguine in salted water until done, drain and put back in the pot.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium low heat.  Add garlic and saute for one minute.  Add shrimp, one teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, turn up heat to medium and saute until shrimp are pink, about 5 minutes.  Stir often, turning the shrimp over to make sure they are cooked through.

3. Turn heat back down to low and add lemon juice, zest and slices, and red pepper.  Stir for about a minute to combine and heat up the sauce.

4. Pour sauce with shrimp into pot with drained pasta, toss well and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Linguine with Clam Sauce

Here is another one from my current favorite cookbook, THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS by the amazing and tireless Ree Drummond. If you don't yet have a copy of this cookbook, run...do not walk...to your nearest bookstore and get it. I have now worked my way through about half the recipes in this book and they all ROCK.

What I love most about this cookbook is that it takes dishes you have probably made 100 times before and tweaks them just enough to make them special and delicious, but not so far that you don't recognize them. Take this linguine with clam sauce, for example. All the usual, comfortingly familiar ingredients...the pasta, the chopped clams, the parsley...and then this recipe adds heavy cream and lemon. Not a huge change, but man, does it make a difference. All those other linguine with clam sauce recipes I have got tossed out the window.

So if you, like I, are a die-hard lover of linguine with clam sauce and think you have seen it all, give this one a try. And even if you aren't, give this one a try. Trust me!

LINGUINE WITH CLAM SAUCE, from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

• 1 pound linguine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 ten ounce cans chopped clams, drained and juice reserved
• 3/4 cup white wine
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus lemon slices for garnish
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• Grated parmesan

1. Cook the linguine according to package directions until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and one tablespoon butter over high heat. Add garlic and clams and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Pour in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with spoon. Cook for 3-4 minutes until sauce is reduced. Add remaining butter and stir to melt.

4. Reduce heat and squeeze in the lemon juice. Sprinkle in parsley and add the cream.

5. Add salt and pepper. Thin sauce with clam juice if needed.

6. Pour pasta into heated bowl. Pour the sauce on straight from the skillet. Toss to combine, and garnish with lemon slices and parmesan cheese.

Click here for printable recipe

Linguine with Grilled Tomatoes

I have (I think) some good qualities, but as my friends and family will tell you, flexibility is not one of them. I am very attached to all my lists and schedules. Once I have something on my calendar I am very cranky about changing it. Which leads me to the story behind this recipe. It's a scrumptious and simple one, and the key ingredient, the one that makes it sing, are the grilled tomatoes. The smoky taste that you can only get when you char them a little bit on the grill -- that's what sets this terrific, easy little recipe apart. It's a little bit chancy to plan for this recipe in February in the Northeast, but last weekend it was edging up towards 50 degrees and it felt like maybe spring was around the corner. So I bought me some plum tomatoes and put it on the menu for today.

Then I woke up this morning, looked outside my window and saw this where my back yard used to be.

My trees all looked like they belonged in a Dr. Suess book.

The dog was delirious with happiness. But all I could think of was my grilled tomato linguine dinner.

Because my grill looked like this.

I saw my lovely dinner vanishing right before my eyes. Normal people would have simply figured out something else for dinner. But I have the inflexibility thing going on. What happened next is why I am hopelessly and forever head over heels for the Southern husband.

Those are actual wet, cold snowflakes raining down on him as he grills up those tomatoes for me.

I am one lucky, inflexible girl.

OK, so back to the recipe -- as I mentioned earlier, the key to this whole recipe is the wonderful taste of the grilled tomatoes. You take plum tomatoes, cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and drop them in a bowl with some oil oil, some salt and fresh ground pepper and some thyme -- fresh if you have it, dried if you don't. Fire up that grill and cook them until they are soft and a little bit charred, and then drop them back into that same bowl.

Meantime, cook up some linguine in salted water until it is al dente. Drain it, add some nice olive oil, some fresh grated Parmesan (use the good stuff!) and some fresh ground pepper. Now take those glorious grilled tomatoes, chop them up into pieces and add them with whatever juice and oil has accumulated in the bottom of the bowl and add all of that to the pasta. Toss and divide among warmed dishes...pasta heaven. Any time of year!

LINGUINE WITH GRILLED TOMATOES, adapted from Everyday Foods

• 3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper

• 1 pound linguine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving

1. Heat grill to high. Toss tomatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Starting with cut side down, grill until soft and charred on both sides, 5-10 minutes.

3. Return to bowl and cut into rough pieces with kitchen shears.

4. Cook linguine in salted water until al dente. Drain and return to pot.

5. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, parmesan and grilled tomatoes and toss.

6. Serve at once garnished with additional parmesan as needed.

Click here for printable recipe

Tagliatelle with Turkey Bolognese Sauce and a Double Cookbook Contest!

Before I get to both the contest and the wonderfulness of this recipe, I have to tell you why this particular one has such a fond place in my heart. I'll give you a hint.

BAM!

Yes, it comes from Emeril LaGasse, who I have had the grand good luck to know and work with on his children's cookbooks. Along with being an amazing chef, he is one Very Nice Guy. We had a terrific time with the kids cookbooks, not the least of which came out of one very fun day when the teenager was just a tyke. Emeril thought it would be great if the cover of his kids cookbook featured some kids we all knew and loved, and conveniently I happened to have one of those around. So one day we trucked into New York City for the photo shoot. This being an Emeril book, there was a lot of laughing and jumping around and silliness as we took the pictures. Check out the picture below and see if you can guess which one is the now very sophisticated teenager...

Here's a hint. I really, really miss those pigtails.

Anyway, I can tell you that this particular cookbook is not just for kids...it's for anyone who wants to make a really rocking macaroni and cheese, Emeril-style...along with a load of other fabulous recipes. I have yet to meet an Emeril recipe I didn't love...which is why when I spotted this bolognese recipe in Everyday Food magazine, I tried it out pronto, and have since made it over and over again. It is a departure from the usual beef-based bolognese sauce in that it uses ground turkey breast, along with the usual mix of chopped carrots, celery and onions. Some white wine, some chicken broth, some garlic, a little half and half, some tomato paste -- you get the picture. The turkey makes it a little lighter than a beef sauce, which in my book means you can have MORE.

So in celebration of all things Emeril, I am delighted to say that three lucky people are going to get a copy of both the kid's cookbook, THERE'S A CHEF IN MY SOUP...and a copy of Emeril's equallly fabulous grown-up title, EMERIL'S TV DINNERS. Although I promise you, the kid's book is pretty great for grown-up cooks as well. Just leave me a comment below telling me who your favorite celebrity chef is. In addition to Emeril, of course. I will announce the lucky winners on Saturday, February 6. And as always, my wonderful email subscribers can play by clicking on the title of this post in the email -- it will take you to the actual post where you can comment.

One more thing before we get to the recipe...

BAM!

(I love that.)

TURKEY BOLOGNESE, by Emeril LaGasse for Everyday Food

• 10 slices turkey bacon (6 ounces), finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 pounds ground turkey (97 percent lean)
• 3/4 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Add onion, carrots, and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 8 to 9 minutes. Add wine and garlic; cook until wine has almost evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Add broth and half-and-half; bring to a boil over high. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce is thick and creamy, about 30 minutes more. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Click here for printable recipe

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato Cream Sauce

When it comes to seafood, shrimp is one of my very favorites. I just counted and there are twelve shrimp recipes in my archives of this very blog -- and probably 3 times that number in my recipe binders. Here's a little video tribute to my love of shrimp...mainly because I have just learned how to put videos in my blog and I am ridiculously happy about that.




The Southern husband's favorite seafood is definitely scallops. And right now there are, um, two scallop recipes in the blog archives....and one of them is not even something I cooked myself. Nowhere near enough to make a video.

Whoops. Sorry, honey.

So let's try and build up that scallop recipe list, and here's a great one to start with. For this recipe you need those big sea scallops, not the little teeny bay scallops. You don't need that many because they are being combined with a nice filling bed of pasta. (That noise you hear in the background is the Southern husband saying "Yes you DO need that many! More scallops for everyone!!!) But honestly, about four scallops per serving will do you just fine.

This comes with a lovely light sauce, and you'll see that the directions say to mix up the sauce with the linguine before you add in the scallops. This is Very Important Information, because that means each and every linguine strand will be nicely coated with your delicious sauce before you pop the seared scallops on top. Now, the key to good seared scallops is to get your pan nice and hot, pop them in there and then DO NOT TOUCH THEM for the 2 minutes they are searing on each side. That way they develop that nice dark brown seared bit all over.

So there you have it. I'll let you know when I've worked up enough scallop recipes to fill up another slideshow.

PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS ON LINGUINE WITH TOMATO CREAM SAUCE, adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups hot cooked linguine
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 pound large sea scallops
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
  

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium skillet; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids.

2. Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream; cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in tomato, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine; toss well. Cover and keep warm.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with parsley.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Linguine with Goat Cheese Rounds

Okay, here's the best thing about this recipe. See that circle of cheese right above the shrimp? The one with the brown crunchy edge? That, my friends, is a warm, crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside, little circle of goat cheese that has been dusted in bread crumbs, baked in the oven just until it is soft and wonderful, and then tucked into the middle of this pasta dish. So when you cut into it it falls apart easily and bits of warm goat cheese get all tangled up in the pasta as you twirl it around your fork....

Sorry. I got lost in a pasta dream for a second.

Anyway, this is a lovely, quick dinner that is great for both a weekend night or a special dinner for friends and family. The sauce is a speedy one made with fresh tomatoes, onion, a little garlic and shrimp. All you have left to do then is cook up some linguine, toss it with the sauce and some fresh slivered basil, pop a warm goat cheese round on each one, and there you have it. Elegant, easy, goat-cheesy perfection.

SHRIMP, TOMATO AND BASIL LINGUINE WITH GOAT CHEESE ROUNDS, adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 slice white bread
• 1 4 ounce package log-shaped goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 3 cups chopped plum tomatoes
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper
• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups cooked linguine (12 ounces uncooked)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced basil

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Pulse bread in food processor to fine crumbs. Spread on baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool.
3. Slice goat cheese into 4 rounds. Press each round into crumbs until coated. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato, water, sugar and pepper and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add shrimp and salt, cook 4 more minutes or until shrimp are done.
6. Add cooked pasta and basil to tomato sauce, toss to combine.
7. Divide among 4 plates, top with goat cheese round.

Click here for printable recipe

Sesame Noodles and a Cookbook Contest!

First of all, for those of you eager to get to the contest, you might as well scroll right down to the middle of this post and look at the cover of the gorgeous new cookbook by Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.

But before I get into the contest details, I would like to submit this post as Exhibit A in my ongoing quest to do absolutely everything that the Pioneer Woman tells me to do. For those of you who don't know who she is, the Pioneer Woman writes the blog that all of us cooks/photographers/foodbloggers/dog-lovers aspire to. If you haven't visited her website yet, you are missing OUT. Not that she needs any help from me -- you will probably go from here to there and then never come back again. But if you PROMISE to return, take a look at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. It is a sight to see.

Anyway, a little while back she put up a recipe for sesame noodles, and told us (and I quote), "Make them this weekend!"

And since I am her devoted slave, I did. Amazingly, I had everything in the house except for the hot chili oil, and so I called 1-800-MYMOTHER, who always has everything somewhere in her pantry. Of course she had chili oil, so my lunchtime that same day the Southern husband and I were sitting down to the Pioneer Woman's sesame noodles. Which were outstanding, as usual. We had them plain, but they would be terrific with some shredded chicken, and/or cucumber, carrots, shrimp, etc etc etc.

And if I haven't been enough of a Pioneer Woman groupie for one day, I also need to tell you about this new cookbook she has.

And you can read more about it at the link below...

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

And guess what??? I have not one, not two, but THREE copies to give away! The rules are simple: leave a comment on this post that gives me a suggestion for a recipe you would like me to make and photograph. In one week I will pick 3 incredibly lucky commenters at random to get a copy of THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS. Which I already know will be one of my favorite cookbooks of all time. (For my peeps who subscribe on email -- click on the recipe title up top and it will take you to the web page where you can comment. I love you guys!!)

So back to the sesame noodles for a second...for all of you who have already seen this one on her site, I have road-tested it for you and it's perfect. Of course. And for the rest of you...just don't forget about me once you have seen her site. And last but not least, make sure you check the Pioneer Woman website for her book tour dates to see if she is coming to your town...if she does and you get to meet her, ask her for me how she manages to photograph Every Single Step of Every Single Recipe, and still have it come out perfectly Every Single Time?

Okay then...ready, set...comment!!

SESAME NOODLES, from www.thepioneerwoman.com

12 ounces linguine, cooked and drained
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon hot chile oil
4 to 5 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons hot water
3 to 4 green onions, sliced thin

1. Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.

2. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.

3. Sprinkle with green onions and toss.

Click here for Printable Recipe