Ripped Off Recipes And Original Chocolate Sauce.

Okay so [a couple] dozens of you wanted that fettuccine recipe that I made for the Friday MIL dinner.  I got it from this book:

So, I don't know if I'll get sued for reprinting it, but I'll just tell you that you should also BUY the book because it has some great recipes that aren't super labor-intensive but are still a little more elegant than [my] everyday fare.

Anyway, this recipe is super-simple and I'll just go over what I do.

Ingredients:

Pound of Fettuccine (I use the Buitoni fresh fettuccine and it has 9oz per package so I just adjust everything else to a smidge more.)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 TBS chopped fresh basil (or parsley but the basil is yummy.)
1/2 cup MASCARPONE cheese
3 TBS butter (I use smart balance 50/50 blend and it's still great.)
Salt/pepper to taste

Like I said, I adjusted for a smidge more of everything.

You toast the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat, until they become, you know, toasty.  I just wiped out that huge non-stick skillet and did the sauce in there.

Boil the water for your pasta.  If you're making dried, cook it while you make the sauce and reserve some of the cooking water.  If you're using fresh, wait to throw the pasta in. 

In the skillet, melt the butter and add in the nuts and the basil and warm through.

When the pasta is done, I used tongs to pull it out of the water and put it, dripping, right into the pan with the butter.  I then scooped out some of the mascarpone and then put more dripping pasta on top and then a few more little scoops of marscapone and then I used the tongs to mix it thoroughly.  You salt/pepper for taste and add a little bit of the pasta water if it is too sticky and/or dry. It is very nice.

Now!

Onto dessert!

For the MIL dinners, I always have something to finish off the meal and to make it a little special.  In the summertime I would whip some cream and put it over berries with a few chocolate shavings, you know, like that.  Nothing CRAZY.  Since I'd already made cookies the day or two before, I decided to make a homemade chocolate sauce for some vanilla ice cream.  I had NO idea how to do it but this is what I did and it turned out GREAT.

Ingredients:

1 bar of 60% cocoa dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli), chopped into little bits.
About 1/4 - 1/3 cup half & half (I didn't have heavy cream)
dab of butter
2 drops vanilla
1 tsp powdered sugar

I put the finely chopped chocolate into a bowl. 

I heated the milk to bubbling in the microwave.

I poured the hot cream onto the chocolate and stirred it with a whisk, until the chocolate melted.  I whisked in the vanilla, the butter, and the powdered sugar.  I let it cool a little and then put it over vanilla ice cream.

So, So good, yo.  It made quite a bit, though.  I gave the rest to The Little Sister (she came and got that shit with the quickness.)  Tasting it right out of the bowl, it wasn't too sweet but it made a great compliment to the sweet ice cream.  It wasn't thick and gooey, like hot fudge but it was thick and tasty enough to be satisfying.

xo

Comments

[J from Ireland]

These sound so simple I am definitly going try them both. Thanks.

[Manic Mommy]

God that pasta sounds fabulous - and easy! Unfortunately, I'm on the nutrisystem and can't even think about it. Thanks for making me drool for nothing!

I think I use far too many exclamation points (!)

[Amy Jo]

Yummy! If there is one thing I learned from Alton Brown, home made chocolate sauce is da bomb.

Now I will go and hide my face for using the phrase 'da bomb' un-ironically.

[Emily]

I am sitting here at my desk drooling. Sooooooooo delish. That pasta just made my menu for next week!

[lora]

i'm totally making this after i lose the weight i put on eating like this all thru December!

[Mr Lady]

Wanna blow your own mind? You're really close already.

Take a bowl, a small one, and fill it 2/3 full with chocolate chips. Pour that mornings leftover coffee into it, until you can just start to see the coffee level from the top of the chocolate, but not enough to cover the chocolate. Add your cream and vanilla, skip the sugar.

Microwave it. Use it as fondue. Find another use for your husband.