Lemon Linguini

Inspiration:
A wonderful dish at this Roman restaurant has had me looking for a lemon spaghetti recipe for almost a year. I finally found one from Food Network chef Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 9 oz. refrigerated whole-wheat linguini
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4-5 minutes (for refrigerated pasta; otherwise check directions on package).
   
   
2. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

3. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
   

4. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper.
   

5. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

Notes: This is a great "fresh"-tasting meal for the middle of winter.

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Inspiration:
A need for a quick dinner after a long weekend of travel

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 pound chuck roast
• Olive oil
  
• Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 2 carrots
• 2 russet potatoes
• 3 stalks celery

Instructions:

1. Heat a skillet on high. Coat with olive oil.
2. Liberally coat the roast with seasoning.
3. Sear the meat, browning on all sides.
4. Cut potatoes, carrots, and celery into large chunks.
5. Layer potatoes, carrots, roast, and celery into slow cooker.
6. Cook 10 hours on low.
7. Serve with a green salad.
   

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Spicy Lemon Shrimp, New Orleans Style

Inspiration:
Cold-Weather Cooking, my mom Jeanne, and "Auntie" Sharon

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsalted margarine
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, or 1 Tbsp dried, coarsely chopped
• 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 3 1/2 Tbsp coarsely cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 lbs large shrimp, in shells (preferably deveined)
• 2 whole lemons, thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 2 loaves French bread, sliced
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt the butter and margarine together in a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic, rosemary, Worcestershire, and enough Tabasco to impart the desired spiciness. Add the pepper and salt.
4. Place the shrimp in a large, shallow baking dish and pour the butter mixture over them. Tuck the lemon slices in and around the shrimp.
5. Back the shrimp, turning them once, halfway through, until tender and just cooked through (pink), 20-25 minutes.
6. Place the shrimp on a trivet in the center of the dining table.
7. Let the guests serve themselves on plates and offer plenty of bread for dunking into the delicious sauce. Be sure to have an empty dish on hand for the discarded shells.
   

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 10/10

Chicken Hotdish

Inspiration: Tim's love for the "hotdish" made me choose this recipe from allrecipes.com, and Tim loved it.

Ingredients:

• 8 boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch paprika
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
  
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed (optional)
  

Instructions:

1. Brown chicken in oil over medium heat and place in a 9 x 13 inch greased baking dish.
2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
3. Combine mushroom soup, onion soup mix, sour cream, lemon juice, and dill weed and pour over chicken.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour, or until chicken is tender and sauce is brown.

Notes: I omitted the lemon juice and dill as I didn't have any on hand. Next time I will add them.

Tim's Rating: 9.5/10
Liz's Rating: 6/10

Carne Guisada

Inspiration: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 pounds beef stew meat
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
  
• 10 ounces beef broth
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• salt to taste
• tortillas or rice
• garnishes: cheese, sour cream, salsa, lettuce
  

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
   
2. Cook beef until evenly brown. Pour off excess fat.
   
3. Stir in tomatoes, beef broth and water.
   
4. Season with garlic, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and salt.
   
5. Place in slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
6. Serve in tortillas or over rice.
   

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Notes: The result has a lot of liquid. If you want it more like traditional taco meat, put in 1/2 the broth and change the canned tomatoes to 1/2 can tomato paste.

Split Pea Soup with Kielbasa

Inspiration: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried split peas
• 10 cups water
• 1 pound kielbasa, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Penzey's chicken soup base
  
• 2 carrots, chopped
  
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions:

1. In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine the peas, water, kielbasa, bouillon, carrot, celery, garlic powder, oregano, bay leaves, and onion.
2. Cover, and cook on High for 4 to 5 hours.
   
3. Remove bay leaves before ladling into bowls.

Tim's rating: 8/10
Liz's rating: 5/10

Notes: Next time I think I will brown the kielbasa slices prior to adding them to the slow cooker.

Tasty Travels: Venice

We had lunch at Trattoria All' Antico Pizzo.
I cannot find a website, but the address is:
Rialto- S. Polo, 814. 30125 Venezia.
Tel. 041.5231575
Mixed salad. Fish risotto.
Spaghetti pomodoro and roast chicken.
Lasagna and calamari.
We returned to Trattoria All' Antico Pizzo for dinner one of the following nights.
To get there, cross the Rialto Bridge so that you are on the Rialto side, with your back to the bridge. Walk straight down the street in front of you, until you see these street signs (and the sign above). Turn left on Calle Bo and follow the arrows.
Risotto with scampi and arugula.
Spaghetti with mussels, clams and prawns.
Lemon curd something.
Tiramisú
Sgroppino, an after dinner drink/dessert: limoncello shaken with vodka, prosecco, and ice cream. Delicious!

We had a wonderful lunch at this unnamed restaurant on Murano.
Mixed salad "pizza diavolo"
Spaghetti ragú.
We also enjoyed a delicious lunch at Acqua Pazza.
I wish it was warm enough to sit on their beautiful patio!
First we started with bruschetta and a Caprese salad.
Tim had the gnocchi di grano saraceno alla sorrentina, which he declared his favorite dish of the trip.
I had a pizza topped with arugula.
We had some limoncello for dessert.

Our last night, we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Vini da Gigio.
I started with penne with gorgonzola and pistachios.
Tim started with arugula ravioli.
My main course was grilled squid, the same course I ordered on our last visit. It is simply fantastic.
Tim had the sole.
For dessert, I had the Sgroppino, and Tim had ice cream layered with almonds and nougat.