Spicy Jalapeno and Sausage Pasta Sauce

Well, the honeymoon is over. I went back to work on Monday after being on maternity leave for 5 months. And yes, it was hard not being with my baby. This past weekend I tried to do a lot of stuff with my baby like going to the zoo, hanging out at the park and I also cooked for myself because it seems that I barely cook anymore. I still love to cook, but being a single mom (while daddy is out to sea) with a baby that barely naps doesn't really give me the luxury to cook every day like I used to do.

I was perusing the web in search for an easy yet different pasta sauce and I found this recipe from Michael Chiarello--who I don't mind watching on TV once in-a-while. This is a pretty good sauce if you like spicy foods. I left the seed on one jalapeno and took out the seeds and ribs from the second one and it was still fiery, yet delicious. Also, I think any pasta will be great with this, but I sort of like penne rigatte with this sauce.

INGREDIENTS (8 servings)

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage links
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
• 2 jalapeno chiles, thinly sliced with seeds and ribs (remove the seeds and ribs if you don't want it spicy)
• 1 cup lightly packed, torn fresh basil leaves
• 1 (28-ounce) whole tomatoes, pureed with their juices
• kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the sausages and enough water to come about half way up the sausages. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook until done, about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and allow the water to evaporate. The sausages will then fry in their oil when water evaporates. Remove the sausages from the saucepan and drain them on paper towels. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the saucepan.

Add the sliced garlic and chiles and cook until the garlic begins to brown, about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the basil and cook for 15 seconds, then add the tomato puree. Simmer the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cut the sausage links in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces, creating half-moons. Return the sausages to the saucepan and heat through. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Diva's Amazing (and super easy) Aioli Sauce

If there is one sauce I know by heart and can make with my eyes closed, it's aioli. I love this stuff. I love anything with mayo, really, but this aioli is pretty good considering it's not the authentic aioli you find in Spain or in Spanish restaurants (they use raw egg yolks). Nevertheless, this sauce not only goes great with a tortilla Española, but also goes wonderfully with french fries or boiled potatoes, smear it over crostini, or use it as a dip for fried pickles. I usually use 3 cloves of garlic, which makes it super garlicky, so you may want to start with one and eventually figure out how much garlic you prefer.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 to 3 garlic cloves, very finely minced
• The juice of half of a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup Best Foods Mayo
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and place in fridge for a few hours for flavors to marry. Serve at room temperature with the tortilla.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

After I came back from my Minnesota trip, I found my refrigerator extremely clean. Had the kitchen elves snuck into my house and cleaned it for me? Well, that kitchen elf is actually my mom. She has this "thing" where she likes to clean her kids' houses while they're out on vacation. I don't mind it at all; I actually like it, but I don't like it when she questions my experiments she finds in there like my sourdough starter, and the gin-soaked raisins, and the crazy looking preserved lemons.

Nevertheless, after she cleaned my fridge, she asked me what was I going to do with the tomatillos she found in there, and then I though, "oh, crap! I forgot I bought those." I've been meaning to make tomatillo salsa only because I love it so much poured warm over huevos rancheros, or as a cold salsa for tortilla chips. You can also use it as the verde sauce for enchiladas. This is one of those recipes that should be passed down because it's so common, so good and quite easy. Lastly, I don't seed my Serrano, but you can if you don't want too much heat.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• pinch of Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• Water or chicken broth (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeno and poblano for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, oregano, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky. If you want a more loose sauce, thin it out with a little water or chicken broth, one tablespoon at a time.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Our tomato plants are producing so much fruit that I've ran out of ideas what to do with them. I am getting a little tired of tomato salads! But I finally decided to make tomato sauce. These tomatoes are not "ideal" for sauce because they are sweeter than your Roma tomato, and their skins are very thin. I found that I prefer the tomato sauce these tomatoes produced because the sauce came out slightly sweet, slightly tangy and I didn't have to seed any of the tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 6 cups)

• 15 to 20 small to medium ripe and sweet tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion (I used spring onions from our garden)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (I used Italian parsley from our garden)
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped (I used Greek oregano from our garden)
• 3 fresh sage leaves, finely minced (I also used fresh from our garden)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS

First cut a small "x" at the bottom of each tomato. Place them in a large pot of boiling water and boil for 30 to 45 seconds to loosen skin. Immediately remove tomatoes and place them in an ice-bath. When cool enough to handle, peel off skin.

Working in batches, place the peeled tomatoes in a blender and blend for 10 seconds. Set tomato sauce aside.

In a large pot heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, oregano and sage and gently cook for another 5 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high and add the blended tomato sauce, white wine, one teaspoon salt and1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and add the remaining teaspoon of salt, if needed.

Let sauce cool to room temperature. Place in the fridge overnight. You can jar it in plastic containers and freeze or use immediately in your favorite recipe using tomato sauce.