Bucatini Carbonara with Zucchini

I had copied this recipe from Bon Appetit a long time ago. It's rich and delicious, and not heavy at all. And very easy to make.

You can add cooked chicken breast pieces or shrimp to make it a more complete meal.

If you like your pasta with a lot of sauce you need to to use twice the cream and cheese. For me the recipe is enough, which barely coats the pasta.

You can also add a bit of white wine to the cream sauce which gives it a nice bite.

BUCATINI CARBONARA WITH ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:
6 ounces sliced pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, thinly sliced

1 pound bucatini or spaghetti

3 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook pancetta in medium skillet over medium heat until brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels; drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add cream, garlic, and crushed pepper to drippings in skillet; bring to boil. Set aside.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; sauté until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large plate. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Pancetta, cream mixture, and zucchini can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, place eggs in their shell in small bowl. Add enough hot water to cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Crack eggs into large bowl and whisk to blend. Bring cream mixture to boil in skillet. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into eggs. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Add sauce to pasta and toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta (do not boil). Add pancetta and zucchini and toss to heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing remaining cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Grand Chocolate Brownie Wedges with Chocolate Sauce

I copied this easy and fast recipe from Nestle's recipe site and have been using it for my brownie recipe.

It is very rich, so you should cut the pieces smaller than usual:) You could say that one of the reasons that this one is my favorite is because of how rich it is. It hits the spot:)

I actually skip the chocolate sauce and just go for the brownie. But, I do use some whipped cream on top, especially if I have some strawberries to go with them.

There is really no changes that can be made to this recipe, it is just perfection. Enjoy:)

THE "RATED R" FOR RICHNESS GRAND CHOCOLATE BROWNIE WEDGES WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ CHOCOLATIER™ 62% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325º F. Line 8-inch-square baking pan with foil; grease. Set aside 3 tablespoons morsels for chocolate sauce.

Heat 1 cup morsels, sugar, butter and water in small, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until morsels and butter are melted. Pour into medium bowl. Stir in eggs, one at a time, until mixed in. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour and salt; stir well. Stir in remaining morsels (except sauce morsels) and nuts, if desired. Pour into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 33 to 35 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift brownie from pan with foil to cutting board. Carefully remove foil. Cut brownie square into half. Cut each half into thirds, for a total of 6 pieces. Cut each piece in half diagonally to form triangles for a total of 12.

Place cream in small, uncovered, microwave-safe dish. . Microwave on high (100%) power for 25 to 30 seconds. Add reserved 3 tablespoons of morsels; stir until smooth. (Sauce will thicken as it cools.) Place wedge on serving plate; top or drizzle with a teaspoon of sauce. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Antep Kebab

This is a kebab recipe that is authentic to the Antep city in Turkey. It isn't grilled kebabs as we are used to, but it's cooked in the oven. I love all the ingredients in this recipe, so it's one of my favorites:)

Basically you are preparing Turkish meatballs and cooking it with eggplants.

I use less olive oil in the meatballs, and I don't miss it. And it comes out much better if you can rest the mixture in the fridge overnight. If you don't have the time, let it rest in the fridge while you are preparing the vegetables, and form them just before you start preparing the eggplant. So eggplant should be the last ingredient you prepare because once you cut it, it can start going dark which doesn't look nice.

Enjoy:)

ANTEP KEBAB

Ingredients:
For meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
2 slices of stale bread, discard outer ring or 1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1 bunch parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

For vegetables:
4 Japanese eggplants
8-10 green peppers, (if you want, you can choose hot ones, I use ones that have no heat)
5-6 tomatoes
20-25 small onions or shallots
1 garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend with your hands until just combined well (do not overmix). Form mixture into walnut-size balls

Prepare the green peppers by discarding the seeds. Slice the tomatoes into rounds. Peel the onions and the garlic.

Peel 1/2 inch wide strips of skin from opposite sides of eggplant and discard. Cut eggplant into 1/3 inch thick rounds.

In a large baking dish arrange the meatball and eggplant rounds in rows. Add the green peppers, onions and garlic on top. Arrange tomatoes on top and add the olive oil all over the dish.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Move the rack to the lowest possible level. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake about 60 minutes, until the meatballs and the eggplant is cooked. Remove the aluminum foil the last 5 minutes to get a nice golden color.

Mushroom Pesto Crostini

A very easy to make and delicious appetizer recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. And I love trying different pesto recipes, so I had to give this one a try. You can actually make a dip out of it by adding extra olive oil.

Although the recipe uses 2 kinds of mushrooms, you can use just as many or as little kinds of mushrooms as you want. And sauteing them beforehand intensifies the taste wonderfully. You can also saute the walnuts a bit.

I like adding a little bit more garlic to this recipe. To me, it wasn't enough.

You can also add some chives or green onions that are chopped finely on top of the crostinis, because although the taste is great, the color is not all that appetizing. And it can turn darker as it waits around. I will try to add a couple of drops of lemon next time, that should help with the browning.

You can use the leftovers as a part of a sauce for a pasta dish. Just add some to cream and Parmesan, and then add to pasta.

MUSHROOM PESTO CROSTINI

Ingredients:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups fresh Italian parsley leaves
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
36 slices (1/2-inch-thick) baguette bread

Directions:
Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl of hot water; press to submerge. Let stand until the mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Scoop out mushrooms, being carefully not to stir any dirt that may have sunk to the bottom of the water. Discard mushroom water.

Combine the porcini mushrooms, button mushrooms, walnuts, garlic, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup of the oil, blending just until the mushrooms are finely chopped.

Transfer the mushroom mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste. If not using mushroom pesto right away, cover tightly with plastic wrap to prevent possible discoloration of mushrooms.

Preheat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Arrange the bread slices on pan, cut-side down. Brush the remaining 1/4 cup of oil over the bread slices. Cook until pale golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.

Alternatively, you can toast the bread in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on 2 heavy large baking sheet. Brush the remaining 1/4 cup of oil over the bread slices. Bake until pale golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.

Spread the mushroom pesto over the crostini. Arrange the crostini on a platter and serve.