Pasta al Pomodoro

The gold standard for pasta with a tomato sauce is the Spaghetti al Pomodoro at Pizza Art Café in Chicago. The sauce is thick and chunky and has a rich, complex flavor. They serve it without any meat, but I made this pasta with Italian sausages.

1 lb. Fusilli or Rotini pasta
3 Italian sausages (optional)
1 jar of Trader Joe's Bruschetta (or a 14 oz. can of any chunky red sauce)
1 can tomato paste
1T Vegeta (seasoning)(or 2 pieces of Knorr's vegetable bullion)
3T Garlic puree (or 3/4 cup of roasted garlic)
24 grape tomatoes, sliced in half (optional)
Hot pepper flakes, to taste (~1/4 teaspoon is a good start)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 large red onion, diced
1T olive oil (I used an olive oil that was flavored with balsamic and garlic)
Parmesan cheese, grated

The first step is to caramelize the red onion: Peel and dice the onion; cook in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water, covered, over a low heat. Stir every 5-8 minutes and add some water, if needed, to keep it from burning. This process will take about 20-25 minutes.

Open the containers of bruschetta and pasta. Locate the other ingredients.

Next, fill a large pot of water for the pasta; add 1 or 2 tablespoons of salt, and heat to boiling, covered. Add 1 lb. of pasta and cook as indicated on package. Probably 10-12 minutes.

As soon as the water is heating, put the sausages on the grill (or cook them in a skillet on the stove) over a medium flame. (Turn on the exhaust fan).

Combine the bruschetta (or diced tomatoes), tomato paste, Vegeta, garlic, hot pepper flakes and sliced tomatoes and cook over medium heat, covered. Stir occasionally. Be careful not to burn.

Remove the sausages and cut them into 1/4" thick slices.  Place plates into the microwave and heat for 2 minutes.

Stir the onions into the tomato sauce--> Drain the pasta --> Add the tomato sauce to the pasta --> Stir in the sausage slices -->Serve the pasta on the plates --> Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Optional: Serve with garlic bread and wine.

4 generous servings.

Roasted Carrot Soup

Carolyn found this on the internet and doctored it up a bit. It’s a keeper . . . easy for daughters to whip up with their eyes closed!  10-22-12 Update: Natalie added a couple of dollops warm goat cheese and served it with garlic bread (image above).

This recipe serves 4

• 8 or 9 large carrots (about 1 3/4 pounds)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt
• 1 Knorr’s vegetable bullions or 1 T Vegeta
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 piece fresh ginger, about an inch long, peeled
• 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 ½ T if dried), plus more for garnish
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Peel and cut the carrots into 1/2-inch rounds. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Set an oven rack 6 to 8 inches from the heat source and turn on the broiler. Broil the carrots until they brown and soften, turning them over with a spatula every 5 minutes or so; this should take 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil.  Add one vegetable bouillon, the ginger and the thyme. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. Put the onion in a medium stock pot with the remaining olive oil. Brown the onion over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, and then add the carrots.
4. Remove the ginger (and thyme if using fresh) from the stock. Add the stock to the pot with the onions and carrots. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft enough to puree.
5. Use an immersion or a standard blender (cool before blending if using a standard blender) to puree the mixture until smooth. If the soup seems too thick, add more stock or water and reheat gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, garnish with chopped fresh thyme.