Penne with Spicy Tomato Sauce

So contrary to what I wrote before, there are times when I don't have to persuade Mr. Smith too much to watch Food TV. It's usually when the bobble head chef with the giant knockers is on- yeah, you know the one. Doesn't it figure that this is also his favorite sauce. The man never eats leftovers and ate this for three days straight.... what the ....? This takes about an hour and a half to come together, so it may be tough for a weeknight, and is reminiscent of a puttanesca sauce. I played with the ingredients and added a bit more crushed red pepper and garlic than the recipe below, and it came out perfect for us, but I leave that up to you.

Penne with Spicy Tomato Sauce
From: Everyday Pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1 dried bay leaf
8 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, minced
3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound penne pasta
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a large dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes longer. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf. and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add 1 cup of water if the sauce gets too thick. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Place the minced anchovies and some of their oil in a medium, heavy skillet. Stir over medium heat until the anchovies melt, about 2 minutes. Add the olives, capers, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the olives are heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir the olive mixture into the sauce and simmer over medium heat until the flavors blend, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the penne to the sauce and toss to coat, adding enough of the pasta water to moisten. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Cinnamon Banana Wake-up Cake

Damn, it's been a while! Mr. Smith and I have had a few busy weeks with travels and whatnot, the most recent being to the Big Easy where we chowed down here and here. If you haven't been to NOLA~ GET.THERE.NOW... Anywho- back to the kitchen. With all that traveling, another bunch of bananas hit the skids and turned up in my favorite coffee cake- so here it is. The cookbook is a bit kitchy, but it was the first one I ever bought so it has a special place in my heart.


Cinnamon Banana Wake- Up Cake
From: Keeping Good Company

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
2 bananas, coarsely mashed (not pureed)
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are good)
2 tbsp sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat together first four ingredients until well blended. Stir in bananas and next six ingredients and mix well. Spread batter into a greased bundt pan and sprinkle top with nuts and cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan.

Brownie Cheesecake

So, Easter was a bit of a bust for Mr. Smith and I. It seems that on high traffic days, there is always a chance that the traffic gods will not look on us favorably and we are inevitably stuck in the city. After an hour in the car, and only going 5 miles we made the executive decision to turn back and grab brunch (raw bar and bloody Mary's?- yes please). So this morsel never made it to it's final destination, and will instead be a mid-day treat for the ladies tomorrow. Although there are a few steps, it comes together easy and can be made the day before without a problem. Brownie, cakey, heaven- Enjoy!

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
From: Smitten Kitchen

Part One: One Bowl Brownies
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s chocolate, optional of course)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 3/4cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes, or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not over bake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles.
Cool brownies, then cut* them into 3/4- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake. You will have more than the two cups of cubes, loosely measured, than you will need. Add cubes to cake batter as directed below.
* I find that brownies are easy to cut once they’ve been refrigerated–you end up with nice clean lines, and in this case, a sharp pizza wheel was especially helpful.

Part Two: Crumb Crust
3 cups or 10 ounces finely ground cookies such as Chocolate Teddy Grahams
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 9- inch spring form pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Part Three: Cheesecake
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups brownie cubes (from recipe above)
Make crumb crust as directed above for 9- inch cheesecake. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan. Put spring form pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.
When completely cool, top with following glaze.

Part Four: Ganache Glaze
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
Grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor, scald the butter and cream in a saucepan (or in a Pyrex cup in the microwave). With the machine running, pour the hot cream/butter mixture slowly through the feed tube onto the chocolate. Blend until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides once or twice. Add the extract and sugar and process until smooth. Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm. Chill until ready to serve.