I’ve watched the little Italian ladies on TV make fresh pasta on a board by just putting down the flour, making a well for the egg, adding a little water and maybe some olive oil and gracefully mixing it up into a beautiful dough.  Unfortunately my first few attempts were not nearly so successful.  
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Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup cold butter 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water 4 Roma tomatoes 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Italian four cheese blend (or mozzarella) cheese 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced 4 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced thinly 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper
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After seeing this on the weekly show, I was inspired by a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Thai-Style Chicken with Basil.  I simplified it a bit to use the items I had on hand and for my wimpy taste buds but I’m sure their version would be excellent as well.  It turned out to be
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So far I’ve been dismal in my attempts to be more healthy but today I made progress and it wasn’t even painful.   Don’t worry, I’m not up to tofu yet and my “no carb left behind” lifestyle will surely take time to reform but I’m making baby steps.  These muffins are really good and
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As I have mentioned before, I love my cast iron skillet rediscovered a couple of years ago when husband unexpected brought one home.  Our weather is pretty much grill friendly all year, but I also really love gravies and sauces so I decided to go with the pan for some steaks this time.  I also
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My Valentine has gotten used to being the test dummy, not being able to eat until the pictures are done, having holiday meals on days other than the holiday and best of all, cleaning up my endless messes, all with good humor and little whining so I was quite happy that this meal got the
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Even though I know it isn’t very authentic I really enjoy the Olive Garden’s soup and bread sticks lunch, which led me to make my own version of the soup at home.  Of course it isn’t exactly the same as I tend to make my soups more substantial to the point they are often mistaken
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After making all that great Pesto for holiday gifts, I did sort of keep some for myself and found a great way to use it for a quick weekday meal.  It took about 15 minutes, just long enough to cook the pasta.  Considering all the basil, I’m counting this as healthy (ignoring the cream sauce
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I know I haven’t always been kind to some of Rachael’s recipes, but this is one of my favorites.   I make it quite often and even follow the recipe You Won’t Be Single for Long Vodka Pasta Sauce pretty faithfully, which is quite unusual for me.  The only change I make is to start with
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      Here’s a great, simple recipe for pesto from David Rocco.  Once you’ve made the recipe, place it in festive jars or plastic tubs for gifts (keeping a few for yourself of course).  In case you haven’t noticed, I like David Rocco and if you haven’t had the chance to watch his show
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