Fettuccine with Tomato and Artichoke Cream Sauce

     So being a Daddy is taking up exactly as much time as I expected, which is why updates are few and far between around here! I am trying to make up for it by posting more completely original recipes. We've been trying to use up the last of our garden's tomatoes, so I figured a nice tomato cream sauce would be a good idea. I added a few other veggies and a touch of seasoning and ended up with a real winner. The Wife had the brilliant idea to add the red pepper flakes. This was a stroke of genius as I think the sauce may have been a touch too bland otherwise. The spot of heat really adds depth to this dish. This will definitely end up in our regular rotation. There's a lot of flexibility here. You can probably swap in or out most veggies and the addition of shrimp or chicken wouldn't be amiss, either! As always, notes are in blue.

Fettuccine with Tomato
and Artichoke Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatoes, roughly chopped (or two 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained)
• 2 large scallions, chopped
• 4 ounces mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 12-ounce can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons Bridgeport seasoning from Spice House (follow the link to see what's in there)
• bunch of fresh basil, chopped (or 1 teaspoons dried)
• 1 pound fettuccine

Directions

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sautee 1-2 minutes, being careful to not let garlic get too brown.
2. Add scallions and sautee another minute or two. Add mushrooms and continue to sautee for 2-3 more minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and artichokes. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Lower heat a bit and add cream, cheese, pepper flakes, seasoning and basil. Cook on a very low simmer for 5-6 minutes.
5. Cook pasta aldente and drain.
6. Either toss pasta with sauce or serve a liberal amount of sauce over the pasta, whichever you prefer. 

Good times!

Mapo Tofu

     It's always nice to find simple recipes in cooking magazines. Half the time they require ridiculous ingredients with insane direction. "Lightly lambaste a pre-pubescent hedgehog for 16 hours before braising another 12 hours in a reduction of leprechaun tears and the sweat of an owlbear." I hate that sort of shit. Give me a nice simple recipe involving simple ingredients. If I can bang it out in under 30 minutes, that's even better. This is one of those recipes. This came together in about 20 minutes and was plenty tasty. I like that options for the harder to find ingredients were provided. Naturally, I took liberties with the recipe. The end result was plenty tasty and very filling. We'll call it a winner and add it to the rotation. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Mapo Tofu
via Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon canola oil (omitted)
• 1/2 lb. ground beef chuck (85% lean) (That didn't happen. I went with about a pound and a quarter of 73/27 ground beef)
• 1/2 pound ground pork (omitted. I figure I'd go straight beef for this)
• Kosher salt (I try to limit salt intake, so I omitted it)
• 2 Tbsp. chile bean sauce, preferably tobojan dijan (Nope. I did have black bean garlic sauce, which I used instead)
• 2 Tbsp. homemade sriracha. Use store bought if you prefer.
• 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce or tenmenjan (soybean paste) (We had the hoisin on hand so that's what we used.)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• One 14-ounce package soft tofu, drained and finely diced
• 1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• white rice for serving

Directions

1. Heat a large pan until hot (if you can heat it until it's cold, you've done something wrong). Add the oil, followed by the beef and pork (since the beef was a touch fatty, I just omitted the oil). Season with salt and cook over high heat, stirring and breaking up the meat until crumbly and lightly browned, about 3 minutes (if you used higher fat meat like we did, remember to drain the grease)
2. Stir in the chile-bean sauce, hoisin and soy sauce (and the sriracha, if you're using it) and cook, stirring for 3 minutes; gently fold in the tofu.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the water. Add to the pan and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the scallions and serve.

Good times!