Tagliatelle Contadina

Don't be intimidated by the ingredients, it's a really easy and delicious dish!! Of course, my family, being who they are, doesn't like pasta (unless it's spaghetti...). My aunt was stationed in Italy (her husband is now a General in the Air Force, congrats) for 3 years or something and she picked up this recipe...or I got it from Martha Stewart, I have a similar one and can't remember which goes to whom. But I'm pretty sure this is my aunt Yvonne's. Not positive though.

Tagliatelle Contadina

4 fresh sage leaves (I usually put in a few pinches of dried sage)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (again dried)
2- 4 oz. hot Italian sausages
3- 4 oz. sweet Italian sausages
3 Tbs. olive oil (I use only 1-1½ )
¾ cup plus 2 Tbs. heavy cream
3 roma tomatoes, diced
¼ cup frozen peas
2 tsp. butter
Salt
Pepper
¾ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 lb. fresh tagliatelle , linguine or fettuccine
¼ tsp. crushed red-pepper flakes

Boil water and some salt. Remove casings from sausage and brown over medium heat in olive oil. Add sage, rosemary, ¾ cup cream, and tomatoes to the sausage. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add peas, and cook, 1 minute. Add butter, and gently stir until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Add pasta to boiling water. Drain immediately and add to sauce. Toss well and serve with garlic bread or whatever.

Razz-Ma-Tazz Bars

I used to make these ALL the time for a guy at Brian's old work!! He loved them! And I love them too! Somehow, the white chocolate (which I generally don't like, as a rule) is not too prominent a flavor as it is in other baked goods. Anyway, I love these bar cookie things. And I think I got the recipe off the back of a Nestle package, not sure though.

Razz-Ma-Tazz Bars

½ cup butter
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
1 cup flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. almond extract
½ cup raspberry jam
¼ cup toasted, sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and SUGAR a 9” square baking pan. Melt butter and add 1 cup of chips and let stand; do not stir. Beat eggs in bowl until foamy. Add sugar and beat until lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in morsel/butter mixture. Add flour, salt and extract; mix until combined. Spread 2/3rds in pan and bake for 15-17 minutes or until light golden brown around edges. Heat jam and spread over warm crust, stir remaining chips into remaining batter and drop onto jam. Sprinkle with almonds and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

Parmesan-crusted pork chops

This is one of my favorite recipes. It is SOOOOO good. And super fast and super easy. Here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/parmesan-crusted-pork-chops-recipe/index.html
Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:
15 min
Cook Time:
12 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 servings
Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions
Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.
Copyright 2009 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved

Pickled Asparagus Rolls

My sister-in-law introduced me to these - and I ate almost the whole plate. They are seriously delicious and wickedly addictive.

a jar of pickled asparagus - not regular mushy asparagus, but pickled
1 pkg of cream cheese, softened
about 1 lb. ham slices (honey, hickory, whatever)

Spread a thinnish layer of cream cheese on a ham slice and place an asparagus spear at one end. Roll tightly. Repeat. Then cut each roll into thirds. You can make these the night before and they keep nicely.

Texas Caviar

This isn't real caviar, so don't worry!! BUT, it is a fantastic dip for good old tostitos (sometimes, I just eat it with a spoon, it's so good)! I LOVE it!

Texas Caviar-

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed with cold water
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed with cold water
1 can corn niblets (I just use normal corn)
1 jar pimentos, chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup scallion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2-3/4 cup oil (I don't always use that much)

Chop all those thing that need to be chopped and rinse your beans. Boil sugar, vinegar and oil until sugar is dissolved. Pour in onto everything else and refrigerate. You can substitute chickpeas or black beans for the black-eyed ones if you want. And white beans for the pinto.