Penne alla' Amatriciana aka Bacon Pasta

This recipe is an old favorite of mine. I think it's one of the first things I learned to cook. Who doesn't love something with pancetta or bacon as one of the flavors?



Penne alla' Amatriciana
Serves 4 for dinner

Ingredients
1/4-1lb of chopped/cut bacon or pancetta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of white wine
1 pound of penne pasta
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese

Quick tip: It's really easy to cut bacon with scissors.



Brown the bacon in a large deep bottomed pan. When the bacon is done, remove it from the pan and set aside. Throw away the bacon fat left in the pan by pouring it out. Do not wash the pan; the bits of bacon left in the bottom of the pan have a lot of flavor.





Next, add the olive oil to the pan and sweat the onion and garlic with the red pepper flakes, and black pepper until the onions are soft.





Add the white wine to the pan, and reduce the mixture until there is almost no liquid left.



Finally, add the bacon, the tomato sauce, and the two cans of diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil.



Turn down and simmer the sauce for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.



Cook the pasta until al dente. Add to the sauce, and stir for about one minute, until the sauce binds to the pasta.

Serve piping hot, with Parmesan cheese to garnish.

ZUCCHINI, CORN, AND BASIL FUSILLI WITH BACON

SERVES6

• ACTIVE TIME:10 MIN
• START TO FINISH:20 MIN

Summer's bounty gets even better when it's combined in a fresh-tasting pasta.

• 6 bacon slices
• 1 lb fusilli
• 3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
• 1 1/2 lb zucchini, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 (5- to 7-ounce) container basil pesto

• ACCOMPANIMENT:

  grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels; discard drippings from skillet.
• Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then add vegetables to pasta in pot and cook, partially covered, 2 minutes (water will stop boiling). Drain.
• Add pasta with vegetables to skillet along with pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water and toss. Season with salt and moisten with additional cooking water if necessary.
• Top with crumbled bacon and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

LINGUINE WITH GRILLED CLAMS AND BACON

SERVES4 (MAIN COURSE)

• ACTIVE TIME:25 MIN
• START TO FINISH:45 MIN

• 1/2 lb sliced bacon, chopped
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons hot red-pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 32 small (less than 2 inches wide) hard-shelled clams, scrubbed
• 3/4 lb linguine
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

• EQUIPMENT:

  a 13- by 9- by 2-inch disposable foil pan

• Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (high heat for gas), leaving about one third of grill free of coals (or, for a gas grill, shutting off one or two burners)
• Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Stir together oil, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and lemon juice in foil pan and put on grill over area with no coals.
• Grill clams on grill rack over coals, turning with tongs, until they open, 3 to 7 minutes, transferring as opened to foil pan and being careful not to spill their juices. (Discard any clams that remain unopened after 7 minutes.)
• Cook linguine in a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente, then drain.
• Toss pasta with bacon, parsley, contents of foil pan, and salt and pepper to taste.

COOKS’ NOTE:

Clams can be cooked on the stove with 2 Tbsp water in same skillet used to cook bacon; bring to a boil, covered, then cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until clams just open wide, 6 to 10 minutes (discard any clams that remain unopened after 10 minutes).

Steak Wrapped in Beer-Bacon with Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients: 6 slices bacon, 1 bottle dark beer, 2 steak, salt, pepper, 150 grams mixed mushrooms, 175 grams button mushrooms, 100 ml beef stock,

Steak wrapped in beer-bacon:
Lay 6 slices ontbijtspek in a bowl and pour 1 this brown beer bottle. I choose this time for a bottle Maredsous beer). Cover the dish and leave to marinate for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Put each on steak to 3 slices bacon and bind it down with kitchen twine. (set the beer aside, you need this for the mushroom sauce). Season the steak with salt and pepper. Cook the steak at both sides to brown in hot butter. Place the steak in an ovenprppf dish and put the ovenproof dish about 8 minutes in the preheated oven.

Mushroom Sauce:
Bake in hot oil 150 grams sliced mixed mushrooms and 175 grams button mushrooms until the mushrooms are tender. Add 100 ml beef stock and the beer (left from the steak). Bring to the boil so it thickens slightly. Place the steak on a plate. Shovel the mushroom sauce over it. Serve with the Suisse potato pancakes and a salad. Enjoy!

Sausage with Bacon and Sage

Ingredients: 2 sausages, sage, 6 slices bacon,

Season 2 sausages with some finely chopped sage (or dried sage). Wrap slices bacon around the sausages. Bake the sausages around brown in hot butter. Lower the heat and add some water. Let the the sausages simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Serve with potatoes and a salad. Bon appetit!

Wrapped Chicken in Bacon

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, salt, pepper, 1 shallot, 100 ml white wine, 100 ml cream, 150 grams bacon, 1 tomato,

Number of persons: 2

Season 2 chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Bake the chicken breasts on both sides in 8 minutes golden brwon. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and let cool slightly. Bake in the remaining butter 1 finely minced shallot to soft. Add 100 ml white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add 100 ml cream and thyme and bring it to the boil and let it thicken a bit. Place on each chicken breast thin slices tomato and fold the chicken breasts with slices bacon. Place the wrapped chicken breasts back in the pan. Leave the chicken breasts on low heat about 15 minutes to be cooked. We ate a simple spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce with the wrapped chicken breasts. Enjoy!

Bacon Balls with Apple Spread Dip

Ingredients: 12 meatballs, 12 slices bacon, 2 tablespoons apple spread, small dash of lemon juice, 1/2 apple, coriander, water,

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Wrap 12 meatballs with a slice bacon. Place the bacon balls in an ovenproof dish. Place the ovenproof dish about 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Meanwhile make the apple spread dip. Put in a bowl 2 tablespoons apple spread dip, a small dash of lemon juice, 1/2 peeled and very finely chopped apple, coriander and some water. Serve the bacon balls with apple spread dip. Enjoy!

Pizza with Onion and Bacon

Ingredients: 200 gram diced bacon, 2 onions, 3 spring onions, 1 green pepper, pizza dough, 250 ml crème fraîche, 1 egg, salt, pepper, grated mature cheese,

Number of persons: 4

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Bake in a hot frying pan 250 gram diced bacon until crisp. Add 2 onions cut in rings, 3 chopped spring onions and 1 chopped green pepper and fry until the onion is soft. Let it cool down. Roll the pizza dough on a baking tray. Beat 250 ml crème fraîche with 1 egg and bring to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the pizza dough with this mixture. Put the bacon and onions on the pizza dough. Sprinkle grated mature cheese over it. Place the baking tray about 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Enjoy!

Pasta with Mushrooms and Bacon

Ingredients: pasta, salt, 100 grams diced bacon, thyme, 1 shallot, 250 grams mushrooms, 100 grams cherry tomatoes, grated cheese,

Number of persons: 2

Boil the pasta in boiling water with alittle salt. Bake in a hot frying pan 100 grams diced bacon crispy. Add 1 chopped shallot and thyme. Bake until the shallot has softened. Add 250 grams sliced mushrooms and stir fry until the mushrooms are tender. At last, add 100 grams cherry tomatoes cut in quarters and heat a few minutes. Serve the mushrooms with pasta and sprinkle some grated cheese over it. Enjoy!

Pizza with Artichoke and Bacon

Ingredients: 1 package fresh dough for savory pie, mustard, mozzarella, 1 red onion, 1 grilled pepper, 1 tin artichoke hearts, 100 grams bacon,

Number of persons: 3

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Spread the fresh dough (for savory pie) with mustard. Sprinkle with chopped mozzarella. Spread one half with 1 chopped red onion, 1 chopped grilled pepper, chopped artichoke hearts (1 can) and 100 grams sliced bacon. Fold the other half of dough over the ingredients and fold the edges properly closed. Put the pizza in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle grated cheese if you like. Enjoy!

Pasta with Carrot, Tomatoes and Bacon

Ingredients: pasta, salt, 200 grams diced bacon, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 tin diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, grated cheese,

Number of persons: 2

Boil the pasta in boiling water with a little salt. Bake in a hot wok 200 gram diced bacon until crisp. Add 1 chopped onion and 1 diced carrot and fry on medium heat about 10 minutes. Add 1 tin diced tomatoes and bring to taste with salt and pepper. Let it simmer another 10 minutes. Serve with pasta and grated cheese. Enjoy!

Oven Baked Chicken with Mushrooms and Bacon

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, salt, pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoon mustard, 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 200 grams diced bacon, 1 onion, 250 grams mushrooms, 100 ml stock, 50 ml cream,

Number of persons: 2

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Season 2 chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Make a sauce of 1 1/2 tablespoon mustard and 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup, cover the chicken breasts with this mixture. Place the chicken breasts in an ovenproof dish. Bake 200 gram diced bacon crunchy. Add 1 chopped onion and 250 grams sliced mushrooms and stir fry until the mushrooms have softened. Add 100 ml stock and 50 ml cream. Bring to the boil briefly. Pour the mushroom sauce over the chicken breasts. Place the ovenproof dish about 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve with a salad and potatoes. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Peas, Sundried Tomatoes and Bacon

Ingredients: spaghetti, 50 grams bacon, 1 garlic clove, 1 tin diced tomatoes, 100 ml cream, 1 stock cube, 100 grams peas, 4 sundried tomatoes, 50 grams grated cheese, basil,

Number of persons: 2

Cook the spaghetti al dente in boiling water with a little salt. Bake 50 grams cut in strips of bacon crisp. Add 1 finely chopped garlic clove and fry briefly. Add 1 tin diced tomatoes, 100 ml cream, 1 crumbled stock cube, 100 grams peas and 4 finely chopped sundried tomatoes. Heat about 10 minutes. Finally, add 50g grated cheese and basil and heat a bit more. Enjoy!

Oven Pasta with Peas and Bacon

Ingredients: macaroni, salt, 250 grams diced bacon, 1 onion, 200 grams peas, 1 tablespoon mustard, 200 grams soft cheese, basil, 75 grams grated mature cheese,

Number of persons: 3

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Boil the macaroni in boiling water with a little salt until al dente. Bake in a hot wok 250 gram diced bacon until crisp. Add 1 chopped onion and stir fry until the onion has softened. Add 200 grams of peas and stir briefly. Then add 200 grams soft cheese, basil to taste and 50 grams of grated mature cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted. Add the macaroni. Put everything in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle some grated cheese over it. Turn the ovenproof dish in the preheated oven. The oven pasta is ready when the cheese is melted. Bon appétit!

Spaghetti with Zucchini, Tomato and Bacon

Ingredients: spaghetti, 250 grams diced bacon, 1 large zucchini, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon chilli jam, 1 tin diced tomatoes, sugar, red wine vinegar, 1 cube stock, grated cheese,

Number of persons: 3

Cook the spaghetti al dente in boiling water with a little salt. Bake in a hot wok 250 gram diced bacon crispy. Add 1 diced zucchini, 1 chopped garlic clove and 1 teaspoon chilli jam. Stir fry about 4 minutes. Add 1 tin diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon sugar, a dash of red wine vinegar and 1 crumbled stock cube. Let it all simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve with spaghetti and sprinkle grated cheese over it. Enjoy!

Salad with Mushrooms and Bacon

Ingredients: 250 gram diced bacon, 250 grams mushrooms, dash of white wine, lettuce, 100 grams of cucumber, 2 sundried tomatoes, chives,

Number of persons: 2

Bake 250 gram diced bacon crunchy. Add 250 grams sliced mushrooms and cook until it is soft. Add a dash of white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Leave the bacon and mushrooms to cool down a bit. Add to the lettuce 100 grams sliced cucumber, 2 chooped sundried tomatoes and chives. Serve the salad with warm mushrooms and bacon. If you like add some dressing. Serve with baked potatoes. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Peas and Bacon

Ingredients: spaghetti, salt, 250 grams diced bacon, 1 onion, 200 grams peas, 200 ml stock, grated cheese,

Number of persons: 2

Cook the spaghetti al dente in boiling water with a little salt. Bake in a hot wok 250 gram diced bacon until crisp. Add 1 chopped onion and stir until the onion is soft. Add 200 grams of peas and 200 ml stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve with the spaghetti. Sprinkle grated cheese over. Enjoy!

Pea Shoot and Spinach Salad with Bacon and Shiitake

Forgive me for posting all these at once. From the way I post, it seems like we eat three meals at once, then starve for the rest of the week. hehe. Apologies, I always take pictures of our meals, but sometimes get a bit behind as far as posting them. Maybe if Taylor would learn how to post things every once in a while… *ahem*

This was actually tonights dinner. We had this lovely salad with a side of asparagus and sourdough bread. For a salad, this one was excellent. Taylor said all it was missing was some hard-boiled egg. We’d never had pea shoots before, and just so happened they had them at the farmers’ market. I’ve never seen them anywhere else though. If you can’t find them, this recipe would be just as good with all spinach or even mixed greens.

Pea Shoot and Spinach Salad with Bacon and Shiitake

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
1 (1/4-lb) piece smoked bacon
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps quartered
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon coarse-grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 oz fresh pea shootspea shoots (4 cups)
4 oz baby spinach leaves (4 cups)
1 bunch fresh chives, cut into 1-inch lengths
6 radishes, cut into matchsticks

DIRECTIONS
Cut bacon into 3/4-inch-thick matchsticks and cook in a heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until crisp but still chewy, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Pour off fat from skillet and add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, mushrooms, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large salad bowl until blended.

Add pea shoots and spinach to dressing and toss to coat. Add bacon, mushrooms, chives, and radishes and toss again.

Penne with Radicchio, Spinach, and, Bacon

I’ve personally never had Radicchio. But I found this recipe, and it looked good, so I thought we’d give it a try. We could’ve bought a steak, for the price of the one head (not two like the recipe calls for). Expensive stuff, that radicchio.

It did have an interesting flavor. Almost bitter, or, definitely bitter if you got too much of it in one bite. But with the baby spinach and bacon, it mellowed out. It was definitely a change from some of the things we typically cook.

The bacon is definitely crucial. We somehow managed to lose the bacon between the refrigerated section and the checkout stand. Taylor swears he had it. We searched high and low in the fridge, freezer, and cupboards (maybe? accidentally? would it still even be good 2 days later?) and even in the car. No luck. No bacon. And when we checked our receipt, sure enough, no bacon.

If there’s one thing I hate it’s running to the store at 6pm. We like to shop in the middle of the day when no one’s around. But 6pm at the store is a whole other story. Not sure what it is but I feel like we’re slacking in the plan-ahead department, and have had to make more of these 6pm runs than ever.

But in this case, this recipe wouldn’t have been that good without the bacon. So the store run was absolutely necessary.

Penne with Radicchio, Spinach, and Bacon

INGREDIENTS
1 whole head of garlic (with about 12 to 14 cloves)
6 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 pound penne
8 ounces bacon (about 8 slices), cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
6 cups (packed) coarsely torn Treviso, Chioggia, or Tardivo radicchio leaves (from about 2 medium heads)
3 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves, torn in half (about 10 ounces)
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, torn in half (about 10 ounces)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut off top 1/2 inch of garlic head, exposing cloves. Place garlic head, cut side up, on sheet of foil and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Wrap garlic in foil. Roast until garlic is soft, about 40 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Squeeze garlic into small bowl.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook bacon strips and chopped onion in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Add chicken broth, remaining 5 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and roasted garlic. Bring mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally. Add radicchio, spinach, and basil and stir to combine. Simmer just until radicchio and spinach wilt, about 1 minute.

Drain pasta and return to same pot. Add radicchio-spinach mixture to pasta. Add 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper; toss to coat. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper and serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese alongside.

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Bacon

I swear, once you’ve gotten used to fresh, homemade pasta, it is awfully hard to go back to the dried stuff.

This recipe originally called for thick sliced pancetta, cubed and cooked until crispy, like croutons. Too bad for us the only pancetta in the store is paper thin and way overpriced. So we used some bacon, cooked until crispy. Not bad, though I do wonder how the pancetta croutons would improve it? It’s a little short on flavor – and if it weren’t for the fresh pasta, we might have deemed this one a failure. The potential is there, it just needs some work.

We make a good team in the kitchen, Taylor and I. For this recipe, you have Taylor at the stove dealing with the pasta water and bacon – anything cooked, boiled, or protein-packed. I sometimes call myself his sous-chef—I do all the chopping, dicing, slicing, washing, prepping, dressings, sauces, marinades, pasta-making… and he does all the heavy lifting. It works, and we’re not stepping on each other’s toes trying to man the same stations in the kitchen. Even more perfect is when the food is finished, I plate it and scurry away to photograph the dish by the sliding glass door (hello, natural light!). By the time I’ve got the money shot, he’s got the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned and sparkling. Yes, a man who does the dishes. Isn’t it a wonderful thing? I should get a photo of it to prove it’s not a myth…

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Bacon

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit. Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
4 oz. bacon or thick sliced pancetta
5 1/2 cups 1-inch broccoli florets (from 1 pound broccoli crowns)
9 ounces fresh or dried fettuccine
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Sauté bacon or pancetta in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp and brown. Transfer to paper towels.

Cook broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to medium bowl. Add pasta to same boiling water; cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta; return to same pot. Add next 5 ingredients. Toss over low heat to coat. Add pancetta, broccoli, and cheese; toss to blend. Season pasta with pepper.