"Baby, you must be from Heaven, cause you got a bunch of Noodles on your Head!"

Capellini (or Angel Hair. Get it?) is by far my favorite pasta (but my worst pick-up line)! I like it mostly because I can eat a ton without getting too full! In my hay day, I would eat until I got cross-eyed and had to lay down on the floor, but lately, I have discovered a joy of eating that doesn't involve unbuttoning my pants shortly thereafter! This recipe is simply perfect for a good lunch and nice stroll!

Capellini Pomodoro - easily serves 4
1/2 lb of Angel Hair Pasta
4 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large Roma Tomatoes, diced
2 1/2 T Parmesan Cheese
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1-1/2 T Butter
2 T Fresh Basil


Boil and drain your pasta (I recommend just a little undercooked, while it will continue cooking for a couple of minutes) and then set aside. Heat a saute pan on medium high, add the oil and then bring back down to medium low. Toss in garlic and lightly brown (be careful not to overcook or burn).


Add in Tomatoes, Parmesan and Butter and stir on medium heat until tomatoes are almost ready. Turn heat to low and add in Basil. Cook for another minute or so.


Turn off heat. Toss pasta and sauce together in the pan until completely coated. Serve.


Ok. I cheated and used the same picture from my Balsamic Chicken post. I'm not really a photographer, I'm a cook!


Enjoy and make sure to leave comments or questions!

Marin-"Aid", not Marin-"Do Everything For You!!!

I love Marinades! I love the flavors that they can bring, but they can also bring out something ugly...A Lazy Cook! It's nice to be able to toss some meat in a sauce and forget about it and that's ok. The problem really arises when the food isn't tasted until it's served! Sure you can get lucky and everything will turn out just fine, but if you either do a test run (especially if you are serving for guests) or at the very least, cut a small section off, cook it, and taste it, you can usually avoid getting burned by too much salt, too little salt, etc.

This is one of my personal favorites, especially for chicken! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Balsamic Chicken
6-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C. Balsamic Vinegar
2 t. Salt
1/2 t. Fresh Black Pepper
3/4 t. Granulated Garlic
1/2 t. Onion Powder
1-1/2 T. Parmesan Cheese
1/2 t. Basil
1/2 t. Parsley
1/2 t. Thyme
1/4 t. Red Pepper Flakes (optional)


Rinse Chicken and set aside to dry. In a large bowl, whisk remaining ingredients together and set aside.


With a very sharp knife, trim off excess fat, any stray bones or tendons from each breast. Pound out chicken until about 1/2 inch in thickness. (I like to place them in a gallon Ziploc bag to do this. It keeps the counter cleaner!)


Place Chicken in Marinade and make sure each piece is well coated. Cover and place in fridge for about 4 hours.


After 4 hours is up, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and heat Grill on High heat until almost smoking. Sear Chicken for about 2 minutes on each side and then place on cookie sheet. Continue cooking in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 - 15 minutes. (The chicken will continue to cook and reach 17o degrees out of the oven.)


All done! I like to slice and serve with Capellini Pomodoro (recipe coming soon) and some Grilled Asparagus!


This is a relatively easy recipe, but if you have any questions please post them and I'll try and answer as quick as possible, and as always feel free to post any and all comments!

Mini-Post: Pizza Sauce

Pizza Sauce
28 oz. Crushed Tomatoes
6 oz. Tomato Paste
1/4 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 T. Salt
3/4 T. Granulated Garlic
3/4 T. Onion Powder
1/2 T. Basil
1/2 T. Oregano
1/2 T. Marjoram
1/2 Green Bell Pepper


Over med-low heat, combine Crushed Tomatoes, Paste, and Oil until paste is completely incorporated.


Lower heat and stir in Herbs and Spices. Add Bell Pepper, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.


Place in bowl and cool on counter for about 15 minutes. Cover and place in fridge until ready to use. Tip: Sauce needs to be at least room temperature or lower before putting on dough or else it may slightly cook dough and cause it to stick to pan.

My name is Randy...and I'm a Pizzaholic!

Please let me know how it goes and leave your vote for next week:
Balsamic Chicken or Steak Pizzaiola
I'll take votes until Wednesday!

My addiction to Pizza began in the womb. I can say this because my mother craved Pepperoni Pizza while pregnant with me, and as long as I can remember I have also craved Pizza! My first job was working at a Waterpark...slinging Pizzas! I have worked at many Pizza shops over the years, both good and bad, and just can't seem to get enough! However, there is a dark side to all this Pizza madness, and that is, I can't afford ordering from restaurants to feed my addiction and I just could never find a Homemade Pizza that was any good. Most of them are too thick, floury and just plain nasty! I had to try and do something or I was going to end up broke from buying Pizza, so at 19, I started working on my own dough. Let me know what you think!

Pizza Dough - Yields 2, 14" Pizza Rounds
5 C. Bread Flour
1 T. Sugar
1 T. Salt
1 T. Granulated Garlic (sometimes called Garlic Powder, but not as fine as true Powder)
3 t. Active Dry Yeast
2 T. Gluten Flour (I use Bob's Vital Gluten Flour that I find in the Health Section of the Supermarket)
1-1/2 C. Warm Water (about 105 degrees. I use a meat thermometer for this.)
5 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Steps:
Combine 4 C. of the Flour and all other dry ingredients in a Stand-up Mixer Bowl and mix well, this includes the yeast! I designed this recipe so that you don't have to activate it first. Make a well in the middle and pour in the water and 2 T. of the Oil. Mix together as good as possible by hand.


Knead on medium-low speed with dough hook for about 10 minutes. (At 5 minutes, you may want to push dough down as it will have climbed up the hook.) After 10 minutes the dough should be smooth and pliable. (You will have a good idea by 5 minutes how it is going and can adjust by adding either flour or water, one Tbsp at a time.)


Remove dough from bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rest for 5 minutes. While dough rests, use the rest of the oil to grease two mixing bowls. Split the dough in half, form into balls and then place them in the bowls making sure they are well covered in the oil.


Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 75 minutes to raise. After dough has a little less than doubled, remove from fridge. If you use a Pizza stone (which I recommend) place it in the oven, middle rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. While the oven is heating the dough will continue to rise a little. Dust counter with remaining flour and either roll out dough or stretch by hand.


Shake off excess flour and place on peel. (If using a pan, I would oil it slightly.) Add Sauce, Cheese and Toppings as desired. (I will give recipes later for various sauces and toppings that I like to use!)


Place in oven and cook for about 10-12 minutes. Slice and Eat!!

For me the best part about Pizza is how you can personalize it and include everyone! It's fun to split the dough into four and let the kids make their own! Fresh Pizza is a little time consuming, but totally rewarding and worth it, not to mention way cheaper!

Please let me know how it goes and leave your vote for next week:
Balsamic Chicken or Steak Pizzaiola
I'll take votes until Wednesday!

Not sure what I'm doing!

So, I've been recently encouraged by some friends to start a blog. This has more to do with my cooking and less about my life, but that's just too bad, you'll have to hear about both! I will warn everyone now that I am a huge fan of exclamation points and put them at the end of most sentences. I'm brand new at this so be patient if I drone on or abruptly stop! Here we go!!