Pasta caliente

Preparation - Easy
Prep: 10; Cook: 15
Serves 4

Rome and Naples dispute the origin of this dish, which is so simple it can hardly be said to have been invented at all. For all its simplicity, it's remarkably satisfying. The quality of the dish depends on the quality of the olive oil

If you serve spaghetti ajo-ojo-peperoncino as a first course, follow it with a vegetable combination like oven-braised winter vegetables or plain roast or grilled chicken or fish.

* 6 quarts water
* salt to taste
* 1 lb spaghetti, linguine, vermicelli, or other long thin pasta
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 4 plump garlic cloves, minced
* 1 small dried hot red chili, broken into 2 or 3 pieces, or 1/4 t hot red pepper flakes or more to taste
* 3/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
* freshly ground black pepper to taste

IN a large pasta kettle, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add a couple tablespoons of salt and plunge the pasta in. Give the pasta a stir with a long-handled spoon and cover the pan. As soon as the water boils again, remove the lid and cook - linguine will probably take about 10 minutes, thinner pasta a little less.

WHILE the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a pan that will hold all the drained pasta over medium-low heat.

ADD the garlic and cook very gently until the garlic softens and just begins to turn golden-about 10 minutes.

ADD the red pepper and parsley together with a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, turn the heat up a little, and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes. When the pasta is almost done, drain it in a colander and turn it immediately into the pan, mixing the pasta and sauce together well. Let it simmer together for about a minute or so-nothing need be too exact here-and then serve it immediately with salt and pepper.

Penne alla vodka

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Notes: This recipe requires a good quality vodka. The cheap stuff does not do. Take it from me. :-). And You can use any other pasta if you have no penne. Buono appetito.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup (50 g) grated Parmigiano (buy a chunk and grate it fresh)
3 tablespoons tomato paste, diluted with 1/4 cup hot water
1 hot pepper
1/4 cup or so (maybe a third of a cup) good vodka -- you want something that has a taste to it
1 teaspoon brandy
2/3 cup fresh cream
1 pound rigatoni
Preparation:

Bring pasta water to a boil, lightly salt it, add the pasta, and give it a good stir.

In the mean time, melt the butter in a large pot and stir in the tomato paste and the hot pepper. Let the mixture simmer over a low flame for a couple of minutes, then stir in the cream, and when the sauce comes back to a boil, the vodka and brandy. Fish out and discard the pepper, stir in the grated cheese, and continue stirring gently until the sauce is well amalgamated and creamy.

By now the pasta should be about done -- you want it still somewhat al dente. Drain it, transfer the pasta into the sauce (this is why you need a large pot), and cook over a brisk flame, stirring energetically, for about a minute to help the pasta absorb the sauce.

Serve at once, with a light red wine.

Yield: 4 servings penne or pasta alla vodka.

contributed by Standoh A.K Gulavi

Miso Ramen

Ramen noodle in miso based soup is called miso ramen. It's one of popular flavors of ramen noodles in Japan. Lots of vegetables can be added in this miso ramen recipe.

Ingredients:
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 2 oz. ground pork
• 5 oz. bean sprouts, rinsed
• 4 oz. cabbage, chopped
• 2 oz. carrot, cut into thin strips
• 4 cups warm water
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp miso paste
• 2 Chukamen (raw Chinese noodles)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Preparation:

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or a wok. Add minced ginger and garlic in the skillet and saute pork on medium heat until done. Add carrot, bean sprouts, and cabbage in the skillet and saute together for a few minutes. Pour warm water in the skillet. Season with chicken bouillon powder, sugar, and soy sauce and bring the soup to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, and melt miso in the soup. Add sesame oil at last. Stop the heat. In the meantime, boil lots of water in a large pot. Put Chukamen noodles in the boiling water and cook for a few minutes, or boil noodles, following the package instruction. Drain the noodles and serve into two noodle bowls. Pour hot miso soup over the noodles with ingredients on top.
*Makes 2 servings

Quick Shoyu Ramen Recipe

Shoyu Ramen - Soy Sauce Flavored Ramen

Making delicious ramen noodles isn't easy. Ramen chefs in Japan usually train hard to make good ramen. This is a quick recipe to make soy sauce flavored ramen at home.

Ingredients:
• 2 Chukamen (raw Chinese noodles)
• 1 clove finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cup chicken soup stock
• 1 cup kombu dashi soup stock
• 1 Tbsp sake
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• *For toppings:
• Chopped negi
• Nori (dried seaweed)
• Pepper

Preparation:
Heat sesame oil in a deep pan. Saute chopped ginger and garlic in the pan. Lower the heat. Add chicken soup stock and kombu dashi soup stock in the pan and bring to a boil. Add sugar, salt, sake, and soy sauce in the soup. Run the soup through a strainer. Serve hot soup into individual bowls. In the meantime, boil water in a large pan. Add chukamen noodles in the boiling water and cook for a few minutes. Drain the noodles and serve in the hot soup. Place toppings, such as chopped negi and nori seaweed. Sprinkle some pepper if you would like.
*Makes 2 servings

Traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipes

1 pound Spaghetti, Linguine or Thin Spaghetti, uncooked

4 slices white bread
1/2 cup skim milk
2 large egg whites
8 oz. ground turkey
8 oz. extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. minced fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1 recipe Basic Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
1 tsp. vegetable oil, divided

1. Put the bread into a medium mixing bowl and pour the milk over it. Let sit 5 minutes. Add the egg whites, ground turkey, ground beef, Romano cheese, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Knead the mixture with your hands until it is smooth. To prevent sticking, dip your hands into cool water before forming each meatball. Form mixture into 30 1 1/2inch balls.

2.
Pour the tomato sauce into a large, heavy-bottom saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Warm 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add half the meatballs to the skillet and brown them on all sides. Spoon the meatballs into the tomato sauce. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to the skillet and brown the rest of the meatballs, then add them to the sauce. Simmer, stirring, for 20 minutes.

3.
While sauce is simmering, prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Remove bay leaves from sauce; pour sauce over pasta and serve.

Slow Cooked Italian Chicken

Servings: 4 Category: Low Fat Method: Slow Cooker Time: Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: 4 hours 10 minutes.
With its nicely seasoned tomato sauce, this enticing chicken entree is especially good over pasta or rice.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion salt or onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water
Hot cooked pasta

Directions:
Place chicken in a 3-qt. slow cooker.

In a bowl, combine the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, green pepper, onion, garlic and seasonings; pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

Remove chicken and keep warm.

Pour cooking juice into a large saucepan; skim fat.

Combine flour and cold water until smooth; stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Serve over chicken and pasta.

Yield: 4 servings.