Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 firm-ripe roma tomatoes, cored and diced

Directions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook penne according to package directions.
2. Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour; stir for 1 minute. Add half-and-half; stir until thickened, 6 minutes. Remove from heat; add parmesan, salt and pepper. Cover.
3. Pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Rub Cajun seasoning and cayenne evenly over chicken. Warm oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in center, 6-8 minutes. Slice chicken.
4. In a bowl, toss pasta with sauce. Top with chicken and tomatoes and serve.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
• 2/3 cup clam juice (or chicken broth)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 8 ounces linguine, cooked and drained

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; reduce heat to low. Simmer until garlic is tender.
2. Add shrimp and cook over medium-low heat until opaque. Remove, reserve liquid in pan.
3. Add clam juice (or chicken broth) and bring to a boil.
4. Add wine; cook over medium high heat for three (3) minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Reduce heat to low; add cream, stirring constantly.
6. Add cheese, stirring until smooth. Cook until thickened.
7. Add shrimp back in to sauce. Heat thoroughly.
8. Add remaining ingredients except pasta.
9. Put pasta in a large bowl and pour sauce over pasta; toss gently to coat.
10. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

• Fresh mushrooms - 1/2 pound, chopped
• Green onions - 2, chopped
• Butter- 1/4 cup
• Parsley - 1 tablespoon, chopped
• White wine - 1/2 cup
• Marinade - 1/2 cup
• Tomato sauce - 1 tablespoon
• Brandy - 2 tablespoons

Directions

1. In a skillet, sauté mushrooms and onions in butter until slightly tender.
2. Stir in rest of the ingredients; allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c  (1 stick) butter,melted
• 1/4 c  Olive oil
• 1/4 c  Minced fresh herbs (parsley, thyme and cilantro)
• 3 tb Fresh lemon juice
• 3 lg Garlic cloves,crushed
• 1 tb Minced shallot
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 1 1/2 lb medium large shrimp,unpeeled
• Spinach leaves Lemon slices

Directions

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl.  Mix in shrimp.  Marinate at room temperature 1 hour or in the refrigerator 5 hours,stirring occasionally. 
2. Prepare barbecue with medium hot coals.  Thread shrimp on narrow skewers.  Grill until just opaque,about 2 minutes per side.Line platter with spinach.  Arrange skewers on platter.  Garnish with lemon and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has an amazing looking Horseradish Sauce recipe that can go with a lot of things.  Looks fantastic and worth checking out.

Ingredients

• ½ Olive oil, for muffin pan
• ½ All-purpose flour, for rolling
• 1 lb homemade or store-bought pizza dough, in 6 pieces
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• shredded mozzarella (4 ounces)
• large tomato, coarsely chopped
• Desired toppings, such as cooked vegetables, pineapple and ham, or pepperoni

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly brush 6 standard muffin cups with oil. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each dough piece to a 6-inch round. Fill each cup with 1 round, gently pressing dough into bottom and sides of cup. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Sprinkle each dough cup with 1 tablespoon each cheese and tomato. Add desired toppings and another tablespoon each cheese and tomato. Bake until dough is golden brown and crisp, 12 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes before removing from cups.

Ingredients

• 12 To 18 jumbo shrimp
• 1/2 c Pumpkin seeds (pepitas in Mexican markets)
• 1 sm Onion, cut into chunks
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1/2 bn Fresh cilantro, leaves only
• 1 lg Tomato, peeled, cut into chunks
• 3 To 4 dried hot chiles *
• 1 Red bell pepper, cut into -chunks
• 1/2 ts Coriander seeds
• 4 tb Olive oil
• Clam juice, if needed
• Juice of 1 lemon

* such as sequin, coarsely crushed (or 1 or 2 fresh chiles, such as jalapeño or Serrano, coarsely chopped, with the seeds, if you like your food hot)

Directions

1. Clean, peel and devein the shrimp. Set aside.
2. To make the sauce, prepare the pumpkin seeds first. If they are unfrosted, put them in a heavy skillet with out oil or butter and toast them for a few minutes until they are crackly but not browned.
3. Put them in a food processor or blender and reduce to a fine powder. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato, chiles, bell pepper, coriander seeds, and salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet, add the pureed pumpkin seed mixture, and cook gently for a few minutes, stirring from time to time, until it is well blended. If too thick, stir in a little clam juice; if too thin, continue to cook until it is reduced to the desired consistenc
5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, add the shrimp, and sauté over moderate heat until just beginning to turn pink. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan to a heated platter.
6. Add the sauce to the pan. Add the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning. Return the shrimp to the pan, turning to coat them with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 6/15/88.

Directions

• 1 sm Lemon
• 16 oz Can solid-pack pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/2 c Apple juice
• 1/2 c Packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 ts Salt
• 1/4 ts Ground ginger
• 1/8 ts Ground cinnamon
• 1/8 ts Ground allspice

Instructions

1. About 4 hours before serving or a day ahead: 1. Grate lemon to make 1 ts peel; squeeze to make 1 ts juice. In a 2-qt saucepan over md -high heat, heat lemon peel and juice and remaining ingredients to boiling. Reduce heat to md -low, cook 30 minutes, stirring often. 2. Spoon pumpkin mixture into a sm bowl; cover & refrigerate until well- chilled, at least 3 hours. Serve with warm biscuits.  Makes about 2 and 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 4 large granny Smith apples -- peeled & sliced
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind -- grated
• dash ground cloves
• dash ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Combine apples, juice, water & raisins. Bring to a boil. Cover & simmer until apples are softened (about 1 1/2 hours). Process until smooth & return to the pan. Continue to simmer on very low heat. Add remaining ingredients & cook another 30 minutes or until very thick & a dark brown. Yield: 1 cup

To do by microwave:

1. Combine apples, juice, water & raisins in a 2 1/2 qt casserole. Microwave on high (650 watt oven), covered, for 10 minutes. Stir halfway through. Add remaining ingredients & microwave on medium, covered for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Uncover & microwave on medium for 3 minutes. Process until smooth.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk chorizo sausage
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 jalapeño peppers, sliced
• 1 (8 ounce) package tortilla chips
• 1 (8 ounce) package finely shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cook the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat until crumbled and evenly browned, about 5 minutes; drain and set aside. Cook the onion in the same skillet until soft; stir in the eggs and scramble with the onion. Mix in the tomatoes and continue to cook and stir until eggs are nearly set; remove from heat.
3. Spread a layer of tortilla chips into a 9x13 baking dish. Scatter the chorizo and the scrambled egg mixture over the chips. Top with jalapeno slices and cover with the cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted, 7 to 10 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Canola oil
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot (about 1 small)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
• 1 to 2 Bird's Eye chili peppers, thinly sliced. Or 1 Serrano chili pepper, deseeded and minced
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 16 ounces canned crab meat, preferably unpasteurized, or flaked imitation crab meat (see note above)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a small skillet pan over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the shallots, garlic, and chili peppers and cook until the shallots soften and the garlic just begins to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and allow to cool completely.
2. Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Sriracha, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, crab meat, green onions, and half of the cilantro to the bowl and mix well until a homogenous dip is formed. Taste the dip, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
3. To serve, transfer the dip to a clean serving bowl, or into individual ramekins, and garnish with the remaining cilantro. Serve with toast points, your favorite chips or crackers, or vegetable platter.