Noodlesotto

Yes, that is right... Noodlesotto...what is this wonderful food you ask? It is noodles made to be like risotto rice. If anyone out there has as much issues with making risotto rice as I do then you will love this rendition of it made with the ever sturdy and always handy spaghetti noodle..


1/2 a package of spaghetti noodles, regular or thin. Break them in half, easier to work with
1 box of chicken broth (can be made with beef or veggie) for my veggie friends and fairly weird allergic to chicken friends
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of white wine
2 cups of mushrooms ,sliced
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

First bring 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan to temp, add onions. Saute these till they are tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add noodles and let cook for about 3 minutes.. move them around a bit during this, you don't want the noodles to burn.add the wine and let that cook out for a bit, the noodles should be a little easier to move around so stir them, you don't want them to stick together. (I said this was easier, not less labor intensive). Add your first cup of broth and stir rapidly, this releases the starch which will give it that thick consistency. Let that cook down and repeat this till the noodles are al dente. Add the mushrooms at this time and let cook for a few more minutes then add the cheese..after the cheese melts you can cook until all the liquid is out and you have this nice rich noodle dish to go along any meat or main dish...add green onions for garnish or just dig in,  you can also make this the main dish if you want! If the noodles get to thick, add more broth and cook it to where you want..

Potato Leek Soup and Havarti Prosciutto Grilled cheese

So, I am doing some new recipes this weekend, I bought a new immersion blender, so my first thought was something I have wanted to make for a long time now, potato leek soup. I had this soup in a restaurant before and I thought it was the best thing I have had to that point. It was cold today so soup and cheese sandwich was right up my alley...

6 small-medium leeks, sliced and dark green portion discarded (after slicing, put in a bowl with cold water to rinse)

4 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of white wine

1.5 quarts of vegetable broth (you can use chicken too) Look Maggie, A veggie dish!!

1 teaspoon of red chili flakes (can be omitted if this is not a flavor you like)

2 generous pinches of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper.
1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of fresh oregano, minced

Over medium high heat add butter and oil to a big soup pot, let the butter melt and come up to temp, add the sliced and rinsed leeks. saute these for at least 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. about 10 minutes into it and salt, pepper, chili flakes, and garlic. after the leeks are tender de-glazed the pot with the wine. Let that sit for another 5-8 minutes so the alcohol cooks out. Add stock and potatoes, cook on medium heat for 40 minutes. when potatoes are tender and ready to mash... I have an immersion blender, but any blender will do... spin till smooth, add milk to blender...spin again...add oregano, let simmer on stove for 20 minutes. You can top this with a few diced pieces or Prosciutto, make sure you get them crispy in a pan before you do!

For the grilled cheese.....leave the meat out, for a vegetarian dish

4 slices of your favorite bread (mine is the bread Lisa makes)

2 slices of Havarti cheese

1 package of Prosciutto

In a pan add one tablespoon of olive oil, put slices of Prosciutto in the pan once the tempurature has come up, this will make the Prosciutto crisp, take out of oil and put on top of a paper towel to drain. Butter one end of each slice of bread add cheese and meat to the middle... in a medium pan add 1 tablespoon of butter... once it has melted and come to temperature sammies together and griddle!

Short Ribs

Not for the faint at heart, these little nuggets of deliciousness are well worth the work it takes to cook them. I   am fascinated by all the different ways you can cook them and how hard it is to make these bad. The reason I like them is because that have so much beef flavor and you need to cook the crap out of them. You can braise them, BBQ them, or smoke them. Braising is the fastest way, this weekend I choose to BBQ them.. I started at 12 pm. Shooting for dinner around 5:30-6:00 pm.

4-8 short ribs , about 2 pounds
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of 7-up
1 table spoon of Worestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, or 3 cloves
half of a jalapeno, seeded if you don't like things hot, and diced
1 tablespoon of salt and pepper


Combine all these ingredients in a Ziploc bag, let marinate for at least 3 hours, the longer the better, so if you can do this over night that would be best. This piece of meat can pretty much withhold any marinate you throw at it, get creative, add whatever you like as long as you will eat it. Put ribs on direct flame and sear both sides, 5 minutes each side. Set off to the side of the grill with meat side up (trust me...you will know)
and let cook for at least 5-6 hours with the heat in the grill not going past 300 degrees and not getting any lower then 200 degrees. Serve it with the rice of your choice!!

Smokey, Spicy Southern Collards

I have only had these once in my life and I loved them, I wanted to try this out and add some flavor to them. If you don't know about collards I hope you try this recipe, they are great for your health, loads with Vitamin D and great for digestive issues. I had these on Superbowl day, we went with a southern theme versus tailgating. I had my fried chicken and Lisa made her Mac and Cheese. I will post that tonight as well. Although Superbowl is bittersweet for us in Seattle I will still watch and take the opportunity to eat great food. OK  I have some vegetarian followers... The smoked hock can be substituted... I smoked some onions and garlic while this was cooking... that can replace the flavor as well. I will write a recipe for that too.


1 large bunch of Collard greens
1 smoked ham hock (Substitutes: bacon or smoked onion and garlic)
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of cracked black peeper
1 pinch of chili flake
1 tablespoon of hot sauce
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of butter

3 quarts of water the ham hock, salt, hot sauce, pepper, garlic, and chili flakes add all these in to a pot and bring to a boil for 1 hour. After an hour has passed, you need to add the collards. In order to do this you need to take the stalk off of them... you can do this by bending the leaves back and removing the green. After you have done that stack the leaves, roll them up, then cut them down the center, all while maintaining the roll, then slice the roll of collards. Add them to the pot then add the butter. Let these cook for an hour and 30 minutes. Bring them to a boil to get all the water out of them... if there is some remaining moisture just strain it out.. these were amazing tonight!!

Adding Smoke to your Veggies!!

You can add smoke to any vegetable, I did this with onions and garlic. For you vegetarians out there, this is a great way to impart some BBQ flavor to any meal.

3 large onions, peeled and quartered
3 heads of garlic, cut in half
5 cups of hickory chips, or any flavor you would like
5 cups of water

Soak the chips for 30 minutes, start the charcoal at the same time... put the onions and garlic on a pan. I have a smoker at home so if you do not please Google how to make a stove top smoker, it is very easy and something you should add to your kitchen skill. Smoke your veggies for one hour, they should be soft when they come out, pull them out earlier if you want them to be a bit more crisp to add to a different dish