Jambasta

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Intermediate
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

* Salt
* 1 pound penne rigate, pasta with lines
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 pound andouille sausage, any brand, casing removed and diced
* 4 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped or thinly sliced (1 large
jalapeno my be substituted)
* 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 2 ribs celery from the heart with greens, chopped
* 1 onion, chopped
* Salt and ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup beer, 1/2 bottle
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 1 (14-ounce) can, crushed tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons hot sauce (recommended: Franks Red Hot or Tabasco)
eyeball it
* 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
* 1/2 pound chicken breast, diced into small pieces
* 1/2 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and tails removed
* 1/4 cup heavy cream, eyeball it
* 2 scallions, sliced

Directions

Heat a pot of water to a boil for pasta and add salt to it then pasta.
Cook to al dente and drain.

While pasta works, heat a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add
extra-virgin olive oil, butter and andouille. Brown the sausage 2 to 3
minutes to render the fat. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add garlic,
peppers, celery and onions. Saute the veggies for 5 to 6minutes.
Season the mixture with salt and pepper and add flour to the pan. Cook
flour with veggies 2 minutes more then whisk in beer. Cook beer out, 2
minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, hot sauce and thyme. Bring
liquid to a bubble and add chicken and shrimp. Cook 6 to 7 minutes
until chicken is firm and shrimp are opaque and firm. Stir to mix in
cooking juices then add in cream. Drain the pasta and add it to the
sauce. Ladle up the jambasta and top with chopped scallions and
reserved crispy andouille.

Smoky Beer Burgers with Creamy Mustard Sauce

Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

* 2 pounds lean ground sirloin
* 1/3 pound smoked Gouda cheese, diced into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes
* 1 medium onion or 1/2 large onion
* 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika, 2/3 palm full
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
* Grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning)
* Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
* Generous handful finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/2 (12-ounce) bottle beer
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
* 1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
* 1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream
* 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
* 4 crusty Kaiser rolls, split and lightly toasted
* Green or red leaf lettuce, for topping
* Sliced sweet bread and butter pickles, for topping

Directions

Preheat grill over medium-high heat.

Place the meat in a bowl and add the cheese. Peel the onion and halve
it, if using the medium onion. Grate about 3 to 4 tablespoons of onion
directly over the meat into the bowl. Finely chop the remaining onion
and reserve for topping. Add spices to meat: paprika, cumin and about
1 tablespoon of grill seasoning and/or some salt and pepper. Add
garlic, parsley and Worcestershire and beer then form 4 large patties
making them a little thinner at the center than at edges. Burgers
plump when you cook them so this will prevent burger bulge. Drizzle a
little olive oil over the burgers then grill about 4 minutes on each
side for medium rare, 5 minutes on each side for medium and 6 to 7
minutes on each side for well done.

Mix mustard and sour cream with dill.

Serve patties on bun bottoms and top with lettuce, pickles, chopped
raw onion. Slather bun tops with sauce and serve.

From: foodnetwork.com

Sausage, Peppers and Onions Stoup

Cook Time: 12 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 1/2 pounds hot or sweet bulk Italian sausage
* 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 3 to 4 cubanelle peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
* 2 medium-large onions, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 2 cups chicken stock
* 2 (15-ounce) cans or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed or diced fire
roasted tomatoes
* 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
* 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
* 1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Heat extra-virgin olive oil in deep skillet, add sausage and brown a
few minutes then add garlic, peppers, onions and cook until soft, 6 to
7 minutes more.

Deglaze pan with a little vinegar, stir in stock and tomatoes and
reduce heat to simmer, cook 5 minutes more then stir in parsley and
basil and serve with cheese on top.

Steakhouse Shepherd's Pie

Cook Time: 30 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

* 2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
* Salt
* 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 4 slices good quality bacon or peppered bacon, chopped
* 2 pounds ground sirloin
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered
* Black pepper
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups beef stock
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1 egg yolk
* 3 tablespoons sour cream
* 1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled (recommended: Maytag)
* 3 to 4 tablespoons chives
* 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Place potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water and bring up to a boil.
Season water with salt and boil potatoes until tender, 12 to15
minutes. Heads up: save a ladle of starchy cooking water just before
draining.

Heat a skillet with high sides over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin
olive oil, half a turn of the pan and the bacon. Crisp bacon and
remove to paper towel lined plate. Add sirloin to the pan and
caramelize the meat, 4 to 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and onions
and cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes more then season with salt and
pepper.

While meat cooks heat a small sauce pot over medium heat and melt
butter, whisk the flour into butter, cook 2 minutes then whisk beef
stock into flour, add Worcestershire and season sauce with salt and
pepper, to taste. Thicken 6 to 7 minutes.

Pour gravy over meat and turn on broiler.

Temper egg yolk by beating it with the starchy potato cooking water.
Place drained potatoes back into the pot you cooked them in to dry
them out a little. Mash potatoes with egg yolk and sour cream then
fold in crumbled blue cheese and chives. Season the potatoes with salt
and pepper and spread across the top of the meat in an even layer.
Garnish the potatoes with paprika and place under broiler to crisp and
brown the potatoes, 2 to 3 minutes. Crumble reserved bacon over top.
Serve immediately right from the hot skillet.

Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter and Creamy Farfalle with Bacon, Tomato and Peas

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Salt
1 pound farfalle, bow ties
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 slices center cut bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 to 3 grated garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
12 white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 can San Marzano tomatoes
4 (6 to 8-ounce) tilapia fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup basil leaves, shredded or torn

Heat a pot of water to a boil, salt the water and cook pasta to al dente.

Heat a deep large skillet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
over medium-high heat. Add bacon and crisp 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions,
garlic, bay leaf and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook
until tender but not browned, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, crush them up
with a wooden spoon and simmer 15 minutes on low heat.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Dust fish with flour and shake off excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over
medium high heat. Cook fish 4 minutes on each side.

While fish cooks, stir peas into sauce, return to bubble and stir in
mascarpone cheese. Adjust seasoning.

Remove fish from skillet to a platter and cover loosely with foil to
keep warm. Reduce heat to medium and add butter to pan. Brown butter,
2 to 3 minutes, stir in balsamic and simmer 1 to 2 minutes to reduce
by half. Pour the brown butter and vinegar over fish.

Drain pasta, toss with sauce and wilt basil into pasta.

Serve fish with pasta alongside.

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Cook Time: --
Level: --
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

* 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms, wiped of grit
* 1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, finely chopped
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
* 2 carrots, finely chopped
* 5 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 sprigs rosemary
* 1 1/2 pound ground pork
* 1 1/2 pound ground beef
* 2 cups milk
* 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 2 cups dry red wine
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 pound dry tagiatelle pasta
* Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
* 1 handful fresh basil leaves
* Fresh ricotta cheese

Directions

Reconstitute the mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes until
tender, drain and coarsely chop.

Puree the mushrooms, pancetta, onion, celery stalks, carrots, garlic,
together in a blender.

In a heavy-bottomed pot add olive oil, bay leaves, herbs and cook
gently until fragrant, then add vegetable puree and continue to cook
for a further 5 to 10 minutes.

Raise the heat a bit and add the ground pork and beef; brown until the
meat is no longer pink, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon.
Add the milk and simmer until the liquid is evaporated, about 10
minutes. Carefully pour in the tomatoes, and wine and season with salt
and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and cover.
Slowly simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring now and then, until the
sauce is very thick. Taste again for salt and pepper.

When you are ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a
boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet
firm (as they say in Italian "al dente"). Drain the pasta well and
toss with the Bolognese sauce.

Serve with a good scoop of fresh ricotta cheese and garnish with some
shredded basil, grated Parmigiano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Rachael Ray makes Tilapia Sammies