Tortilla Soup (with or without chicken)

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I forgot to garnish with cilantro! Aagh.

Let me just begin by saying that I ♥ tortilla soup.  And I was craving it something fierce the other night.  There’s a restaurant, La Torta, near us that makes the best chicken tortilla soup I’ve ever had. Tony and I go for lunch a couple times a month and usually split soup and a Carnitas Torta (the number 32T – Tio Cayos Carnitas Torta). Carnitas…that’s a whole other story.  But I just didn’t feel like getting in the car and going out for dinner.

Okay, back to the soup. I’ve had tortilla soup in a lot of restaurants and I’ve tried different recipes at home, but nothing comes close to La Torta’s. It’s just a little spicy and not too tomato-y. And I really like that it has pinto beans in it.  So, I figured it was time to do some experimenting in the kitchen. I played around with three different recipes and came up with a version that I think takes a pretty close second to La Torta’s. And it’s pretty easy.

Tony says this recipe is a keeper. We both really liked it and will definitely make it again. Of course, it absolutely won’t stop us from going to La Torta for a cup of soup and a 32T.

Note: after making this soup last night, I realized I hadn’t proofread the recipe very well and have made some changes – directions now use just already cooked chicken; I left out the chilies in adobo (what was I thinking?  Way tooo spicy!).  

Tortilla Soup (with or without chicken)

INGREDIENTS

4  5-to 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon each cumin, oregano, chili powder

1  14-1/2 oz. can chopped fire-roasted tomatoes w/green chilies

1  14-1/2 oz. can pinto beans, drained

4 cups chicken or veggie broth

Bay leaf

juice of one lime

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Cilantro

Monterey Jack, aged white cheddar cheese or Cotija cheese

Diced avocado

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°. Brush 1 side of tortillas with oil; cut in half. Stack halves and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Spread strips on baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic and spices until the onions are translucent and softened, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the lime juice and about a cup of the tortilla strips. Puree broth (w/a hand blender, in a food processor or in batches in a blender) until almost smooth, but with some chunks remaining.

Add beans and shredded chicken (if using) and heat through.

Ladle the soup into bowls.

Garnish with additional tortilla strips, cilantro, cheese and avocado.

My Birthday Wish

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The Viking. From Extraordinary Desserts. Oh my my! What? You think I’m going to bake myself a cake?

It’s almost my birthday and you know what I’d like most?  (Well, of course, besides world peace, no more prejudice or poverty and a big piece of land where Tony & me and both of our kids and their future families can build houses….kind of like a Bruser Compound.  Oh, and a cute leather jacket.  Besides all that?)  I’d like each and every one of you to make just one recipe from this blog!

So, between now and December 11, pick one thing. I don’t care what it is.  What sounds best to you?  Nacho Mac or Potato Chip Cookies or Fiesta Chicken Salad or Broccoli Slaw or  Everyday Granola or Baked Feta with Tomatoes and Olives? Oh, wait.  Those are my favorites…Lol.  Just make something.  Share with your family and friends.  And then tell me about it.  You’ve got ten days.  And then on the 11th, if you want, share a picture of what you made on the EatCookBlog Facebook page.  Or you can just comment here. That would make me very happy.  After all, the main reason I started this blog was to share my love of cooking with you so that it would inspire you to do a little cooking yourself!

It’s kind of like a gift for me and for you!

Thanksgiving (and many more delicious meals, including a Dungeness Crab Feast) in Sonoma

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Vikki’s gorgeous table…for 29!

This was the fourth year we’ve spent Thanksgiving weekend with our son Kyle’s fiancée Calla’s family in Sonoma.  We drive up from San Diego, stopping to pick up our daughter Ally (coming in from New Orleans) at LAX.  Kyle and Calla (and this year their roommate Jesse, and pooch, June) drive down from Portland, OR.  It’s the perfect halfway point.

The Sonoma Valley is beautiful in the Fall…the leaves in the vineyards have turned gold and orange and red.  Calla’s dad Bill and his girlfriend Vikki have a gorgeous home in the hills above Sonoma, with panoramic views of the valley below and all the way to Oakland and the Bay.

The view from Vikki’s deck

There’s always a LOT of great food and wine and beer and tequila and a lot of laughs shared with LOTS of family (Vikki’s three kids, Calla’s three brothers and significant others) and a whole gaggle of friends.  This year there were 29 of us at the Thanksgiving table!  Bill brined and roasted a 24-pound turkey that was one of the best I’ve ever had.  We feasted on mashed potatoes and yams and roasted green beans and Brussels sprouts and gravy and vegan gravy and quinoa and salad and stuffing and wine and champagne and bread pudding and pumpkin roll and apple pie and apple tart until we could barely move.

Uh huh. My plate.

Bill and Vikki are absolutely the definition of the hostess(es) with the mostess(es).  Not only is there THE Thanksgiving dinner, but hiking and wine tasting and more hiking and visits to breweries and so much more good food.

Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma

Hiking at Sugarloaf National Park

Bill outdid himself this year with a Crab Feast…fresh Dungeness Crab, Roasted Corn-on-the-Cob (a la Tyler Florence) and Broccoli Slaw (I made the Smitten Kitchen recipe).  I’d never had roasted corn-on-the-cob, but I will definitely be doing it…so easy and so good.  Roasting just makes all veggies taste better! And Smitten Kitchen’s Broccoli Slaw is one of my all-time favorites.

Lots o’ Crab!

Crab, Oven-Roasted Corn, Broccoli Slaw

Thank you once again Bill and Vikki, et al.  We are grateful that Kyle and Calla found each other and for the “melding” of our families.  We are so excited and looking forward to the wedding and to many, many years of good times and awesome events with the Bruser-Leff-Mapel clan!

Alright…the recipes.

Bill Mapel’s Dungeness Crab

INGREDIENTS

A whole lot of Dungeness crabs

Butter

DIRECTIONS

1.  Drive to Santa Rosa to Santa Rosa Seafood to get fresh Dungeness crabs for $4 a pound

2.  Bring the crabs back to the house and steam them

3.  Melt the butter and serve in cool little fondue pot/butter warmer things

4.  Make sure to have a big ol’ discard bowl and little crab forks and plenty of napkins!

5.  Serve accompanied by Oven-Roasted Corn-on-the-Cob and Broccoli Slaw

Tyler Florence’s No Shucking Oven-Roasted Corn

INGREDIENTS

Fresh corn on the cob, unhusked
Butter
Salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place corn directly on the roasting rack and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the husks and use them as a handle while eating.   Roll in butter and sprinkle with a little salt.

Broccoli Slaw

Smitten Kitchen’s Broccoli Slaw

(Okay, funny story…on Election Night, Tony and I made burgers and this slaw for dinner.  As we were sitting down to eat, he says, “I love this broccoli slaw” and I say, “what did you say?” and he repeats himself.  And then it hits me!  “It’s not Broccoli Slaw”, I say.  “It’s BARACK-oli Slaw!!!”  And then I laughed myself silly.  Get it?  BARACK-oli!!  And, yes, I told the story again during the Crab Feast and, yes, cracked myself up again.)

INGREDIENTS

2 heads of broccoli
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or, you could just use a little extra red onion to simplify it)

DIRECTIONS

Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, you can either feed it through your food processor’s slicing blade, use a mandoline to cut it into thin slices, or simply hand chop it into smaller pieces. 

Toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

The Perfect BLT (with very little mess)

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Update – I wrote this post a month or so ago.  Today is the day before Thanksgiving.  You’ve been doing a lot of cooking  (Pumpkin Roll and Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding)   and/or still have a lot of cooking to do AND/OR packing and getting on the road…over the river and through the woods…er…on the I-5 to Sonoma, stopping at LAX to pick up your daughter on the busiest travel day of the year…BUT it’s all worth it because we are going to be with BOTH kids for Thanksgiving!

 Anyway, where was I?  Oh, so you’re cooking and baking and don’t even really want to think about dinner tonight.  Well, here is an easy, super easy, and tasty solution.  The Perfect BLT (with very little mess)!  Read on.  And Happy Thanksgiving! 

So ever since I posted the recipe for Grilled Avocado and said that they would be delicious on a BLT, I’ve been craving a BLT.  Problem is I really dislike cooking bacon.  It’s such a mess.  It makes such a disgusting mess of your stovetop.  I’ve tried the already cooked bacons, they are okay to use crumbled in a salad, but just not good starring in a sandwich.  Then I remembered seeing something in Bon Appétit about cooking bacon in the oven. Bingo!

Found this great article.  First line is, ” There’s a reason the “B” comes first…without bacon, you’d just have salad on toast.” OMG.  Then, “Ditch that skillet! To make crunchy, BLT-ready bacon, roast it in the oven instead. This restaurant trick allows you to cook more than a few strips at a time, results in more evenly cooked bacon, and is light on the mess. Here’s how to do it: Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and set a rack in the pan to allow hot air to circulate for even cooking. (For more than 1/2 lb. of bacon, use 2 sheet pans.) Arrange strips on the rack and roast, rotating pan once halfway through cooking, until browned and crispy, 15 minutes.”

Holy Moly!  It works.  Awesome, perfect, evenly-cooked bacon with very little mess.

Now, just assemble the other ingredients for your perfect BLT.

Thick sliced Country White, sourdough or egg bread, toasted

Heirloom tomato, sliced thick

Arugula

Grilled Avocado

Mayo

Pumpkin Roll

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Chocolate and Mixed Nut Tart in a Cookie Crust, Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding w/Bourbon-Caramel Sauce and Pumpkin Roll

Okay, I’ve told you before that I love pumpkin desserts (see Pumpkin Snickerdoodles), but what I REALLY love are pumpkin desserts when a little sweetened cream cheese frosting (or filling) is involved.  I recently made Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting from Smitten Kitchen for a cake decorating contest at work.  Okay, so I didn’t win the decorating contest (there were some very cleverly decorated cakes and cupcakes, much better than mine), but they weren’t judged on taste, so whatever.  They were really delicious.

I’ve been making a Pumpkin Roll for Thanksgiving for a few years now.  There was a woman, when my kids were in elementary school, who would make pumpkin rolls for the Halloween Carnival bake sale and everyone would flip out.  She then started taking orders,  making a bunch, freezing them and selling them to those who pre-ordered.  I think I may have even bought one from her once.

I remember thinking they’d be great for Thanksgiving, so I decided I’d have to try making one myself.  It actually sounds a lot more intimidating than it is.  And, you can make it a few days ahead OR even freeze them for a couple weeks before.

It’s really delicious and so impressive when you cut into it and serve a beautiful little slice swirled with cream cheese inside.  This recipe is from Libby’s (the canned pumpkin people) website.  They suggest adding walnuts as an option.  I like to use Heath Bits (little crushed up bits of Heath bar toffee…in the chocolate chip section of the supermarket).

Pumpkin Roll

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

Filling

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup cup walnuts, chopped OR Heath Bits (optional)

Garnish

Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Chopped walnuts or Heath Bits (optional for decoration)

DIRECTIONS

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper (or parchment paper). Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For Filling:
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Stir in nuts or Heath Bits.  Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and additional chopped walnuts or Heath Bits before serving, if desired.

Cooking tip:
Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding w/Bourbon-Caramel Sauce

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This recipe was in the January 1994 issue of Bon Appétit.  And they had me at Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding w/Bourbon-Caramel Sauce. I remember making it for the first time for a holiday dinner at my mother-in-law’s in Vancouver.  (Oh wait…isn’t there some cooking “law” about not trying a new recipe for an important occasion like that?)   Well, it was a hit then and it has become a favorite in our house and I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve made it since.

It’s our friend Tom’s favorite dessert and I make it every year for his birthday (even though his birthday is at the end of July!  Not exactly a typical summery dessert.  In fact, for his last birthday, we had a little dinner party at our house and it was one of hottest days of the year!  Oh well.  That’s was A/C is for, right?  And Tom is so appreciative and his reaction when he takes that first bite is so worth it!)

I’ve since learned that bread pudding is also our son Kyle’s fiancée Calla’s favorite dessert (Oh…wait!  Kyle’s  fiancée??  Did I neglect to tell you all that Kyle and Calla are getting MARRIED?!?!?  They met in college…have been together six years.  We just adore her and are over-the-moon happy!) and I’ve made it for her a few times as well.  She absolutely loves it.  We will be spending Thanksgiving withher family (we adore them too!) in Sonoma (for the fourth year) and I’ll be making it ahead of time and taking it on the road with us (again).  It’s a hit with her family too and now has become a regular in the Thanksgiving dessert line-up.

Now we just need to figure out how to serve it at the wedding!

(The original recipe was made in individual ramekins and I’ve done that once, but its a lot easier to bake it in a pretty baking dish). 

 Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding w/Bourbon-Caramel Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Sauce

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup golden brown sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons bourbon

Pudding

1/2 pound challah (egg bread), cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

3/4 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup half and half

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces

4 ounces imported white chocolate, broken into 1/2-inch pieces, or white chocolate chips

Vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS

For sauce:

Bring whipping cream and sugar to boil in heavy medium saucepan, whisking constantly. Boil until mixture bubbles and thickens, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add butter and bring to boil, whisking constantly. Whisk in bourbon. Cool to lukewarm. (You will adding 1/2 cup of the sauce to the bread pudding! Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before using.)

For pudding:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a baking dish (approximately 9×13″).

Place bread cubes on heavy large baking sheet. Pour melted butter over; toss bread to coat. Bake until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Cool bread. Maintain oven temperature.

Whisk cream, half and half, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, 1/2 cup caramel sauce, sugar and cinnamon in large bowl to blend. Mix in cranberries and pecans. Add bread; toss to coat. Let stand until bread has partially soaked up custard but is not mushy, pressing down gently on bread, about 3 minutes. Stir in white chocolate pieces or chips. Pour any remaining custard over pudding. Bake until brown on top and just set, about 40 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Top each serving of pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon warm sauce over.

Chocolate and Mixed Nut Tart in a Cookie Crust

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Chocolate and Mixed Nut Tart in a Cookie Crust, Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding w/Bourbon-Caramel Sauce and Pumpkin Roll

This is one of my favorite desserts of all time.  Another from the Bon Appétit “bible”. This will remind you of pecan pie, only with a whole mélange of nuts, melty chocolate chips and in a delicious shortbread crust.  It’s almost candy bar-ish. And with a little dollop of whipped cream?  Heaven.  And a wonderful twist on the Thanksgiving pecan pie tradition.

The recipe calls for almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts, but you can use any combination of your favorite nuts.  (I’m partial to almonds, pecans, walnuts and macadamias.)

And please…whip your own whipped cream.  Don’t use that stuff that squirts out of the can!  Directions follow.  It’s easy.  Really.

Chocolate and Mixed Nut Tart in a Cookie Crust

INGREDIENTS

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon chilled salted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons (or more) chilled whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling
3/4 cup whole almonds, toasted, cooled
3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, cooled
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted, cooled
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream)

For crust:
Combine flour and sugar in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons cream and vanilla extract. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form, adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together. Press dough over bottom and up sides of 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before filling.)

For filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all nuts in processor; chop coarsely, using on/off turns. Whisk corn syrup, brown sugar, and melted butter in large bowl to blend. Whisk in eggs and vanilla and almond extracts. Mix in chocolate chips, then nuts. Transfer filling to prepared crust.

Bake tart until firmly set in center and top is deep golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack 30 minutes. Push up pan bottom to release tart. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Whipped Cream:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Hint:  it works best if beaters, bowl and cream are cold.

In a large bowl, whip cream until it starts to thicken and stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like.

Oatmeal Pomegranate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Remember I told you about the beautiful pomegranates my coworker Melissa has been bringing to work?  I’ve been using the seeds (they are actually called arils) in salads and cocktails, but I wanted to find a delicious way to feature them in a dessert or baked good.  I Googled and came across a few different variations of this oatmeal cookie.  I love oatmeal cookies.  I thought the seeds might be a little tart, but they’re not at all and they soften up a bit with baking.  And the white chocolate adds just a little extra sweetness.

Tony says they are his new favorite cookie.  And I brought a couple to my sister-in-law, who is not usually a fan of sweets (I know, crazy, huh?!), but she is fond of an oatmeal cookie (oh, and my Carrot Cake and my Double Chocolate Brownies).  She said they are her favorite cookie ever.  Good enough reviews?  I have to make another batch tomorrow.

 Oatmeal Pomegranate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup white chocolate chunks (or chips)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (you can find seeds/arils at Trader Joe’s and at some supermarkets OR seed a whole pomegranate yourself…scroll down to end of recipe for directions)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

Stir in the oats and white chocolate chunks. Gently stir in the pomegranate seeds. Make dough balls-about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

If using a whole pomegranate – over a bowl (to catch any juices), cut the pomegranate into four pieces.  Then cover the pieces, in the bowl, with cold water and start pulling the seeds out with your hands.  The seeds will fall to the bottom and the “other stuff” will rise to the top.  Now remove the “other stuff” and drain the water.

 

Cranegranatini

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I dreamt about this cocktail last night.  Really.  I’m not kidding. You see, I have all these pomegranate seeds and a couple of whole pomegranates in my kitchen right now.  One of my coworkers has a tree and keeps bringing them to share.  They are so beautiful and so delicious, but now I’m left trying to think of things to make with them.  (You’ll get the Oatmeal/Pomegranate/White Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe soon.)

Of course, I couldn’t stop thinking about this whole cocktail idea at work today.  We’ve already done a Pomerita, but I wanted to do something a little different. I thought about a Cosmo.  And then I remembered seeing Cranberry-Pomegranate juice at the grocery store.  Voilá!  The Cranegranatini is invented.  (Oh yes, and this is all taking place while I’m at work…yikes).

So I text Tony and ask him if he could please pick up some Cranberry-Pomegranate juice.  He doesn’t even ask why.  He just does it.  And then I get home from work and I tell him about the Cranegranatini.  We even have some cranberries in the freezer!  An hour later, he’s shaking one up.  That’s just one of the reasons I love him so much.

It was absolutely delightfully fantastic and it will be the perfect “signature cocktail” for Thanksgiving!  We’re going to make them.  And I think you should too!

Cranegranatini

INGREDIENTS

Makes two cocktails

2 oz. vodka

2 oz. Cranberry-Pomegranate juice

1/2 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

Sugar (for rimming glass…I actually used Maple Sugar from Trader Joe’s)

Lime twist, fresh cranberries and fresh pomegranate seeds (for garnish)

 DIRECTIONS

Pour a couple of tablespoons sugar onto a small plate.  Rub the cut half of a lime around the rim of your glass and dip that into the sugar mixture.

Combine vodka, Cranberry-Pomegranate juice, Cointreau and lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Shake until chilled and strain into a martini glass.

Garnish with lime twist, a couple of fresh cranberries and a few pomegranate seeds.

Penne with Creamy Sausage Sauce

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Okay, so this dish has been made probably more often than any other in the Bruser recipe lineup.  Saucy Pasta…formerly known as Kyle’s Favorite Pasta.  It’s actually called Penne with Creamy Sausage Sauce, but really it should be called Everyone’s Favorite Pasta.  When the kids were in high school, any time any of their friends would come for dinner, they’d ask me to make Saucy Pasta.  And I’m not even sure why we started calling it Saucy Pasta…maybe one of the kids thought I said saucy instead of sausage?  Whatever you call it…its one of our favorites.  A little spicy (or saucy?) from the hot Italian sausage and a lot creamy from the thickened whipped cream and Parmesan.

The recipe is from the Bonnie Stern CKFM Cookbook.   What? You’ve never heard of the Bonnie Stern CKFM Cookbook?  That’s because it’s at least 25 years old and Bonnie Stern is (or was?) quite the celebrity food person in Toronto, Canada. I’m pretty sure my sister-in-law Cheryl (from Vancouver) bought me the book.  In fact, I think probably back when Tony & I were first married and  visiting Vancouver, we were having dinner at Cheryl’s, she made it and I was like, “this is the best thing ever…what is it?” and then she sent me a copy (autographed, no less) of the cookbook.

So there you go.  The history of Saucy Pasta/Kyle’s Favorite Pasta/Penne with Creamy Sausage Sauce.  It’s definitely a keeper.

Penne with Creamy Sausage Sauce

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. hot Italian sausages

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 lb. penne

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the sausage, breaking it into pieces and crumbling it with a wooden spoon while it cooks.  Add the garlic.  Cook sausage until all traces of pink disappear.

Add the whipping cream and nutmeg and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until the cream reduces and the sauce thickens somewhat.

Meanwhile, cook the penne according to package directions.  Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.

Toss the drained pasta back into the sauce.  Stir in the cheese and basil and toss until the cheese is melted and warmed though.