PENNE ALLA VODKA - AN AUTHENTIC VODKA SAUCE RECIPE

This authentic vodka sauce recipe is one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes and one of my most frequently asked for. People just love it, especially in the winter when the warmth and spiciness of this dish balance out the weather outside. Jam-packed full of carbs and comfort this dish definitely gives you the energy your body needs to stay warm all year round. All that aside though, it is a classic Italian vodka sauce recipe you can easily tweak to your desired spice level! First time cooking with vodka? Don’t worry, all alcohol in the vodka does evaporate during the cooking process while the vodka helps detach all the juicy pork flavor from the bottom of the skillet to ensure the most flavorful sauce you can possibly get! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

SERVES 4-5
10 Min Prep, 50 min Cooking Time

1 Pack of Penne Pasta (Usually feeds 4-5)
1-1.5 650ml Bottles of Tomato Sauce (basic Pomodoro or tomato & basil)
1 TBSP of Butter (Salted
1 Cup of Vodka
200-300grams Of Pancetta or Black Forest Ham (chopped finely - almost minced)
1 TSP of Chili Flakes (optional)
1 Medium box of 35% Whipping cream
Parmesan Cheese (1 Cup Shaved and 1 Cup for garnish)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Baguette (optional)

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DIRECTIONS:

Melt the butter down in a deep skillet on medium heat. Once the butter is melted and hot add in the chunks of pancetta or minced ham, tossing it in the butter and allowing it to cook until it becomes crispy.

Once the pancetta or ham is crispy add in your cup of vodka. It will create some more heat and steam but don't worry all the alcohol will burn out. This helps all the flavor from the ham that stuck to the bottom of the skillet to be transferred back into the flavors of the sauce later. Scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon to help them along. Let this cook down until there is only a little bit of moisture left. Take your time.

Next, add in the tomato sauce (whether homemade or bought from the store you want the most basic Pomodoro kind). This will add in a lot of liquid to your sauce so make sure you boil this down as well so that a lot of the water evaporates and you are left with a nice thick sauce. About 20-30 minutes.

If you want your sauce to be a little bit spicy add in your chili peppers now and let them cook into your sauce. Sprinkle and stir. You can also add in some Salt and Pepper now to your taste.

Next, add in your cream. First, about a 1/2 cup stirring the whole time than a 1/4 cup until you get the perfect red/orange color. You can taste it as you go to see if you want more cream. To help thicken the sauce up shave about a cup of parmesan down and add it into the sauce, stir it in. Let the water cook out of this while you start cooking the penne pasta in a pot. Some people also like to use a hand blender and blend the sauce at this point so that the small bits of pancetta/ham become undetectable and the sauce is extra smooth in texture.

Boil water for the pasta adding about 1-1.5 TBSP of salt to the water once it boils. Add in pasta and let it cook till it is al dente.

Now you should be ready to serve the sauce with the pasta. You can either mix it together or spoon some sauce on top of a plate of pasta. Garnish with more parmesan cheese and a slice of baguette.

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I hope you enjoy this authentic penne alla vodka sauce recipe as much as I do! Please let me know your thoughts and comments below I’d love to hear from you! Happy cooking :)

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MOM'S OVEN ROASTED ROSEMARY GARLIC RACK OF LAMB

An oven roasted rack of lamb recipe!

One thing I love about coming home is eating my mom’s cooking! This week, my mom taught me some of her specialties including her coveted oven-roasted rosemary garlic rack of lamb! Best served alongside her Aglio e olio pasta, this dish is on repeat weekly in our household. If you are looking for a super easy recipe to make this weekend that you can prepare ahead of time, you have to try this oven roasted rack of lamb! It is soooo good and always a crowd pleaser!

* Please Note - Some links in this post may be affiliate links *

INGREDIENTS:

COOKING TIME: 25 Minutes

Serves 4

Rack of Lamb (8-9 ribs) - trimmed
1/4 CUP of Olive Oil
2 TBSP of Fresh Rosemary
2 TSP of Fresh Thyme Leaves
8 Garlic Cloves
Zest of 1 Lemon
Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper

Kitchen Tools:
Food Processor
Baking Sheet
Meat Thermometer

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HOW TO COOK RACK OF LAMB:

In a food processor, add in your olive oil, rosemary, thyme and lemons zest, pulse until finely chopped.

Salt and Pepper rack of lamb on both sides before covering in marinade and setting aside for 1 hour at room temperature on a baking sheet.

When ready, set oven to 450 and cook lamb for 15 minutes before rotating the baking sheet and continuing to cook for 10 minutes to ensure it cooks evenly and to medium rare. If you have a meat thermometer, for medium rare lamb the internal temperature should be at 130-140 degrees.

When meat is ready, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before chopping it up into individual portions. This will allow the juice to redistribute.

Plate and serve.

Enjoy!

Oven roasted rack of lamb with rosemary and garlic

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I hope you enjoyed this oven roasted rack of lamb recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!

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CHORIZO TACOS WITH POTATO!!! A SUPER EASY AND DELICIOUS RECIPE!

Is there a better way to celebrate the end of the work week than with margaritas and tacos? I think not! For the last 4 weeks in a row, Adam’s family and I have been partying it up every Friday with this chorizo potato taco recipe. First introduced to us by my sister, this recipe has become a Weiers family favorite and I am not mad about it. If you are looking for an easy Carne taco recipe to whip up for your next taco Tuesday or get together, baby you found it! It’s so easy, juicy, and packed full of flavor your friends will be begging you for the recipe.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

- Serves 4 People -

- Chorizo Filling -

8 Pork Sausage (If you can’t find chorizo sausage you can use mild or Italian with the Chorizo spices)
1 Spanish Onion - diced
1 medium Sweet Potato - peeled and diced

- Chorizo Spice Mix -

1 TBSP of Ancho Chilli Powder
1 TBSP of Paprika
1/2 TSP of Kosher Salt
1/2 TSP of Garlic Powder
I/2 TSP of Onion Powder
1/2 TSP of Cumin
1/2 TSP of Ground Black Pepper
1/4 TSP of Oregano
1/4 TSP of Thyme
1/4 TSP of Coriander
1/4 TSP of Ground Clove
Pinch of Cinnamon
1 Bay Leaf

- Optional Ingredients and Garnishes -

Tortillas
Hot Sauce
Guacamole
Tomatoes - diced
Jalapeno
Cilantro
Cojita
Red Onion - pickled

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, remove raw pork sausage from casing. If the sausage is not already spiced with chorizo, make and add in the chorizo spice mix. Mix thoroughly and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

When ready, in a large skillet add in a handful of sausage, allow to cook on medium heat until the fat starts to render out before adding in your onions. Cook onions until translucent, around 2-3- minutes before adding in the remaining sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks for 5-7 minutes.

When further fat is released from the sausage, add in sweet potato and allow to cook further for 30 or so minutes until the potato is tender and meat is fully cooked. Stir every few minutes to avoid burning and to ensure both the meat and potatoes are being cooked evenly.

Remove from heat and build your taco using tortillas and optional garnishes.

Enjoy!

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BRAISED OXTAIL WITH COCONUT CAULIFLOWER RICE

A personal favorite of mine, Oxtail is a very tender, juicy, gelatin-rich meat. Usually found slow-cooked as a stew or braised, my version is packed full of amazing savory flavors and braised for 7 hours until it falls off the bone. Although, I didn’t cook the oxtail in the typical Jamaican style, I did pair mine with coconut cauliflower rice to give it a hint of sweetness while keeping it low in carbs. The results were amazing and had my family fighting over leftovers. If you like braised juicy meat, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try!

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

- Serves 6 People -

- Braised Oxtail -

6LBS of Oxtail
Kosher Salt
3.5 TBSP of Curry
4 TBSP of Vegetable Oil
10 CUPS of Chicken Broth
8 Scallions - diced
2 Garlic Heads - cut in half
Pinch of Chilli Pepper Flakes
Pinch of Thyme
6” Piece of Giner - sliced in 1/8 slivers
4 TBSP of Soy
2 TBSP of Brown Sugar

- Coconut Cauliflower Rice -

1 TBSP of Butter
2 Cloves of Garlic - minced
2’ Piece of Ginger -Chopped
3 Scallions - diced
1/2 CUP of Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1/2 TSP of Brown Sugar
1000 Grams of Cauliflower Rice - I used from frozen

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 250 degrees

In a large bowl, season oxtail generously with salt followed by the curry powder.

In a large deep skillet, or using a dutch oven heat up vegetable oil on the stove on medium-high and sear both sides of oxtail until browned. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet or a large enough dutch oven to fit all the meat and liquid, first sear the oxtail in the skillet and then moved them to a roasting pan.

Once you have seared all the oxtail remove from skillet/dutch oven and add in chicken broth, scallions, garlic, chili pepper flakes, thyme, soy, ginger, and brown sugar. Allow this to come to a simmer and scrape the bits of oxtail that stuck to the bottom of the skillet to become loose before adding the mixture into your roasting pan, or placing the oxtail back in the dutch oven. The oxtail should be submerged in liquid.

Next, place the roasting pan or dutch oven with the oxtail in the oven to slow cook. Position lid partially off and allow to cook for 7 hours flipping pieces around halfway through. If at the halfway point the liquid has gone down a lot you can add in 1/2 cup of water.

30 minutes prior to Oxtail being ready its time to make the coconut cauliflower rice. Grab a large skillet, add in your butter and allow to heat up on medium. When hot add in your garlic, ginger, and scallions - saute for 3-4 minutes.

Next, add in your unsweetened coconut milk and brown sugar. Mix until well incorporated.

Finally, add in your cauliflower rice and allow it to steam and mix with sauce until fully coated.

Serve oxtail on rice when ready and garnish with more scallions.

Enjoy!

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FALL-OFF-THE-BONE SLOW COOKED ASIAN SHORT RIBS

Ever since I have been in self-isolation due to COVID-19 I have been cooking up a storm. Yesterday, Adam and I decided to try to make some Asian style beef short ribs in the Le Creuset his parents got us for Christmas and they turned out even better than imagined! Adam said I can definitely make this again! The best part, everything goes into one pot and you just have to let it sit on low. It’s so easy!

INGREDIENTS:

 Serves 2 People

-Short Ribs-
3 LBS of Beef Short Ribs - bone-in, cut crosswise into 2” pieces
1/2 a CUP of reduced-sodium soya sauce
1/2 a CUP beef broth
1/4 CUP of brown sugar
3 Garlic cloves (minced)
1 TBSP Ginger (freshly grated)
1 TSP of Sesame Oil
1 TSP of Crushed Red Chili Pepper flakes (optional)
2 TBSP of Corn Starch
1/4 CUP of Water
Sesame Seeds for garnish
Fresh parsley (chopped finely) for garnish

-Sides-
Sticky Rice

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine soya sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, minced garlic, freshly grated ginger, sesame oil, and chili flakes (optional) in a large bowl. Wisk until well incorporated.

Place short ribs (bone down) in Le Creuset and add in the soya sauce mixture. With Le Creuset’s you will need to give each piece of meat a little space, in other words, don’t pack them in too tight. Make sure meat is well coated with sauce - there should be a pool but not necessarily completely submerged.

Cover and bring to a boil on medium before lower temperature to low and allowing to cook on low heat for 5-6 hours.

30 minutes before the meat reaches the end of its cooking time, in a separate small bowl mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the cornstarch mixture to the Le Creuset and stir well. Allow meat to cook for the remaining 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

After, start to preparing/cook your sticky rice!

Once meat is finished cooking, garnish with sesame seeds and freshly chopped parsley and serve immediately over sticky rice.

Enjoy!

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