Pastitsio

A rich dish of ground lamb and pasta seasoned with Greek flavors and covered in a cheese sauce then baked until golden brown.

Ingredients

1 lb ground lamb
3/4 lb macaroni, cooked a little less than al dente
1 medium onion, chopped
1 14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 t dried basil
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
3 eggs, separated
1/2 pound of cheese shredded, preferably kefalotyri or myzithra, but white cheddar makes a good substitute as those cheeses are hard to find
6+3 T butter
6 T flour
3 C whole milk
dash nutmeg

For the meat:
Saute the onion and garlic in 3 T of butter until translucent, then add in the lamb and brown.  Add in the tomatoes and the cinnamon stick, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Remove the cinnamon stick and add in the basil and remove from the heat.  Allow to cool, then add in the egg whites.

For the cheese sauce:
Make a roux with the flour and 6 T butter.  Add in the milk and simmer until thickened, whisking occasionally.  Whisk in the cheese and nutmeg and remove from the heat.  Allow to cool before adding in the egg yolks.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.  While that is heating mix together the macaroni and meat mixture, and adjust for seasoning if necessary.  Spread this evenly in the bottom of a baking dish.  Spread the hard boiled egg on this layer.  Spread the cheese sauce evenly over the top of the meat.  Cook in the oven for approximately an hour, finishing under the broiler for a couple of minutes if the top hasn't browned.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pad See Ew

Pad See Ew, literally soy sauce stir fry; this is a Thai dish with lots of Chinese influence (gai lan, soy sauce, and oyster sauce).  The Chinese lap chong isn't traditional, but I think it adds to the dish.  Additionally I never serve this without Thai vinegar with chiles.

1 lb Fresh wide rice noodles
3/4 lb Chinese broccoli (gai lan)
6 oz pork loin, trimmed of fat and cut in to thin strips
2 links of Chinese dried sausage (lap chong), thinly sliced - optional
2 T vegetable oil or lard
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
Thai chiles to taste, minced
1 T fermented soybean paste (I use Pantai brand soybean paste in a bottle)
3 T kecap manis, or other dark sweet soy sauce
2 T soy sauce
2 t white vinegar
1.5 T oyster sauce
3/4-1 t sugar

Cut the bottom inch or so off of the gai lan stalks, then separate the leaves from the stalks.  Chop the leaves into roughly 1 inch squares, and the stems into roughly quarter inch pieces on the bias.

Mix together the kecap manis, soy sauce, white vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, and fermented soy bean sauce.

If the fresh wide rice noodles are stuck together in large clumps heat them briefly in the microwave, then separate them.

Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat, then add in the chiles, shallots, and garlic, and stir fry them until fragrant.  Add in the meat and the lap chong, and stir fry until almost cooked through.  Add in the noodles and stir fry for a minute or so before adding in the sauce ingredients.  Stir fry for 4 minutes or so, allowing the mixture to rest without interruption twice for a minute each to brown the noodles.  Add in the stalks of the gai lan and stir fry for about a minute, then add in the leaves, tossing briefly before removing from the heat.

Lasagna

Who doesn't love lasagna?  A nice big brick-like portion of noodles, cheese, and tomato meat sauce, plus the recipe makes enough for even a family to eat to get a couple of meals out of it.  It's also something that you can make largely ahead of time; you can make the sauce the day before (and it's better if you do), and you can assemble the whole thing and stick it in the fridge until 30-45 minutes before you want dinner.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage out of casings and shredded.  (You could also use 80/20 ground beef, but if you're doing that add an extra 1/2 t toasted fennel seeds)
1 lb hot Italian sausage, out of casings and shredded
NOTE: If your sausage is particularly lean sweat a couple of slices of salt pork (diced) before adding the sausage
two small yellow onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can san marzano tomatoes, crushed
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 C water
1 1/2 t dried basil leaves
1/2 t fennel seeds, toasted
1 t Italian seasoning (a mix of marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano works well)
Salt to taste
3/4 t ground black pepper
4 T flat leaf parsley, de-stemmed and chopped
Dash crushed red pepper

The filling:
2 lbs ricotta cheese
1 C flat leaf parsley, de-stemmed and chopped.
1 1/2 C of grated romano
2 eggs
salt to taste
3-4 T heavy cream

The rest:
Roughly 1 lb dried lasagna noodles (though I try to have extra on hand)
Mozzarella or provolone for the top, preferably smoked

In a large pot, lightly brown the sausage, then add the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, and simmer for a couple of hours, covered and stirring occasionally. Adjust taste towards the end if necessary.  If the sauce tastes a little flat add another couple of minces cloves of garlic at the end of cooking.  At the end of cooking fish out the bay leave and use an immersion blender to break up the larger chunks of sausage to get a smoother sauce.

Mix all of the filling ingredients together while the sauce is cooking; it's easier to work with when you go to assemble if the filling is warm.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and put in the noodles, working in batches if necessary; cook to al dente. Ladle out enough sauce to put a thin layer  on the bottom of an oven-proof pan (I use a 9"x13" pyrex), put down the first layer of noodles, then spread a layer of filling, then a layer of sauce. Put a layer of noodles down, and repeat filling and sauce. For most pans you'll be able to put down one more layer of noodles on top of that sauce, then put sauce on top of that and top with mozzarella. You may have enough sauce left to make another pan, depending on pan size. Bake at 375 until the cheese is golden brown, 35-45 minutes.

Notes:

I keep the filling and noodles a little vague intentionally, because a lot depends on just how much you put down, and it's just easier to make the sauce the limiting ingredient as it's the most complicated part. A variation on this is to add in a thin layer of spinach with each layer of cheese, just be sure to use either baby spinach or thawed frozen spinach, stemmed, squeezed dry, and keep the layer thin.

You could also put down a layer of bechamel on the top before adding the layer of cheese to add moisture and richness.

Chipotle and Chorizo Mac and Cheese

Another take on mac and cheese using sodium citrate to make a perfectly smooth cheese sauce.  This one mixes a little spice and smokiness in with the rich and creamy cheese sauce.  This makes and excellent side dish, or you could just fill a bowl and eat it for a meal.  If you left out the chorizo and pasta this would also make an excellent sauce for burritos.

11 g sodium citrate
8 oz hot pepper cheddar (or white cheddar), shredded
3 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 C half and half
2 T butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/4 t mustard powder
1/4 lb Mexican chorizo, browned
2 C dry macaroni, cooked according to package directions

Melt the butter and saute the onions and garlic until just starting to brown.  Add the half and half, sodium citrate, chipotles, paprika, and mustard.  Bring to a simmer and add the cheese a handful at a time; once all the cheese has been incorporated mix with an immersion blender.  Add the chorizo and adjust seasoning as needed.  Mix in the pasta and serve.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

A quick and easy but still fairly impressive pasta dish.  This recipe is written for small individual portions and can be easily scaled up.

For each person:
1-2 oz guanciale, pancetta, or good bacon, chopped into medium cubes
generous 1/4 C freshly grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, separated
3-4 oz dry spaghetti
generous amount of freshly ground pepper
2 t extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil and the guanciale over medium heat to render the fat and crisp the meat (without getting
it too crunchy); don't drain the fat.  Add the garlic right before you finish cooking the guanciale and cook slightly to flavor the fat and slightly cook the garlic.

Cook the spaghetti until al dente in boiling salted water; the goal here is to finish the pasta just as the guanciale is ready, but err on the side of the guanciale being done first.  You can always kill the heat then turn it back on when the pasta is ready. 

Drain the pasta (reserving a generous 1 T of the cooking liquid per person) and add it to guanciale with the pasta water.  Stir it for a minute or so to combine, then kill the heat.  Add the cheese and the egg whites and quickly toss so that the hot pasta cooks the whites without scrambling them into chunks.

Liberally season with pepper, then remove to a serving plate, making a well in the center that you place the egg yolk in.  Top with a little additional grated parmesan.

Ideally you serve this while still quite warm and the diner cuts in to the yolk and stirs to distribute the creamy egg among the pasta right before eating.

Penne alla Vecchia (Penne with Vodka Sauce)

A simple, easy to make pasta sauce.  It's basically this recipe, but I'm posting it here as I played with it a little.

1/4 C olive oil
2 small yellow onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C parmesan, grated
2 28-oz cans of whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
1 C vodka
1 1/2 t dried oregano, plus another 3/4 t
2 t kosher salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 C cream
1/2 t crushed red pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Heat the oil and saute the onions and 3 cloves of the garlic; add in the crushed red pepper and the first 1 1/2 t of oregano and give it another minute.  Add in the vodka and reduce by half.

Hand crush the tomatoes into the pot, add 2 t salt and some pepper.  Cover the pot and put into the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove, allow to cool slightly, then add the rest of the garlic, the cream, and the rest of the oregano.  Blend until smooth.  Add in the parmesan, simmer gently for a few minutes, then adjust the seasoning as necessary.  Serve on top of al dente penne pasta.

Chipotle Chicken

Another guilty pleasure, but not quite as bad for you as the Creamy Chicken Curry.  This one can be pretty hot though; I had one girlfriend who loved it but turned bright red and had to have a big drink every time she ate it.

Ingredients:
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast, cubed
10 ½ oz. can cream of mushroom soup
6 oz. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped, or a big can if you want to bring the pain
8 oz. sour cream
4 oz. milk
1 small onion, quartered and julienned
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced thin
1 Tbsp. olive oil
12 oz spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation
Cook the pasta, drain, set aside.
Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil, then add in the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add in the chicken and remove from the heat.
Combine mushroom soup, chipotle peppers, milk, sour cream, garlic powder, and black pepper in mixing bowl.
Combine all ingredients in 9 x 13 pan, and bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until bubbly, removing the cover during the last ten minutes of cooking.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

A slow cooked Italian-American meat and tomato sauce for pasta. It takes some time with all the browning, simmering, and lots of ingredients, but it's the kind of thing that you can do while reading a book or watching the game and not putting a lot of work in to it. This also makes more than enough for you to freeze some for easy future meals. You could make it without the smoked tomatoes, but they really add a richness and depth to the sauce.

1 lb hot Italian sausage
1/4 lb ground beef
2 oz salt pork, in small cubes
1 carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
heavy pinch dried basil
pinch dried oregano
2 bay leaves
scant pinch nutmeg
2 28 oz cans crushed san marzano tomatoes
1/3 C cream
1/4 t ground pepper
~1 t dried rosemary
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1/4 C chopped Italian parsley
handful dried maitake or porcini mushrooms
handful dried smoked tomatoes, or somewhat more oil packed smoked tomatoes
3/4 C beef stock
1 C water
crushed red pepper to taste
salt to taste

Soak the mushrooms in hot water, when soft mince, and save the soaking water.
Render salt pork over medium low in olive oil and butter until crispy. Remove, leaving the fat in the pan.
Thoroughly brown the sausage and beef on medium high, remove, leaving the fat in the pan.
Add the onion and brown thoroughly over medium heat.
Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and mushrooms, and saute thoroughly over medium for 8-10 minutes.
Add everything (including the reserved mushroom liquid) except the cream and the salt and simmer for at least two hours, covering or uncovering as necessary to get the right thickness (it may thicken when you blend in the next step, so it's okay to leave it a little thin, but you don't want to cook much after the blending).
Blend with an immersion blender to get the right consistency, add salt, and allow to cool somewhat.
Add cream, mix in, and adjust salt.
Serve on spaghetti.

Basil and Pepper Chicken Alfredo

The recipe itself is a fettucini alfredo with basil and
cracked pepper chicken. You'll have to forgive the fact that I
don't have exact proportions on this so I'm just kind of
estimating; taste it as you go and decide how much you want to
put in.

For the alfredo sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
pinch nutmeg

For the chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package Fresh basil (usually ends up being several handful
of leaves)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
1-2 tbsp black pepper
olive oil
garlic 2-3 cloves

Start by cleaning the basil and carefully cutting the tops
with the flowers off, you'll need to save two of these as
garnish for the dish (I think it's a little better than the
customary parsley sprig). Slice the rest of the basil into
strips; set aside a small handful of the sliced basil to go
into the alfredo sauce, the rest will be cooked with the
chicken. Mince the garlic cloves. Using a spoon or a mortar
and pestle coarsely crack the black pepper (can use a pepper
mill, but it'll take a long time to grind that much pepper and
most pepper mills will grind it too finely). If you have a
mortar and pestle grind the rosemary, if not just crack it up
by hand.

In a large deep skillet heat the olive oil at a little more
than medium heat, saute the garlic until it is beginning to
turn a light golden; add the chicken. As the chicken is
cooking add the basil and pepper slowly, allowing the the
basil added before to cook down some before adding the next.
Completely cook the chicken and remove from heat.

In a small pot melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium
low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic
and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. The sauce will
look fairly thin at this point but will thicken as it cools.
Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and add the
fresh basil, heat on low.

Cook the fettucini noodles according to instructions, strain
and add a small amount of olive oil to keep them from
sticking. Place fettucini on a plate and top with alfredo and
chicken, garnish with the basil flower.

To really make this impressive a few things should go with it;
make a good loaf of french bread and keep it warm (or buy and warm one), baked brie is an
excellent accompaniment to the french bread. A simple salad
with a light basil and rosemary vinaigrette is a nice starter,
and definitely get a bottle of wine for the meal (and
probably another for after). For the wine I would suggest a
flavorful red, but not one that is too dry (a merlot will
typically work well), and get a good bottle (spend more than
$15 a bottle unless you really know your wine, I would suggest
a merlot from benziger wineries, they tend to be less dry
wines with a good flavor, run about $18 a bottle, though it's
a hard winery to find).