On my To Try List: Shrimp Pasta with Creamy Chipotle Sauce (from Modern Comfort Food Blog) Ingredients 8 ounces dried pasta (linguine, fettuccine, etc.) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 small onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1 small bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced 4-5 small fresh plum tomatoes (or 10 cherry tomatoes), stem ends and seeds removed, sliced 1 or more canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1 pound peeled large shrimp 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 cups half-and-half, light cream, or evaporated milk 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Salt and pepper, to taste (Optional) 1/4 cup grated cotija or parmesan cheese Preparation Boil the pasta in a large sauce pan until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large frying pan on medium heat and, stirring occasionally, saut� the onions for 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir in the garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cumin. Saut� for an additional 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the chipotle(s), shrimps, lemon juice, and half-and-half (or cream or evaporated milk). Simmer until the shrimps are just cooked through, approximately 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of shrimps used. Stir in the cilantro. Taste and correct the seasoning by adding salt, pepper, and, if needed, additional chipotles to suit your taste. Return the pasta to the sauce pan in which it was cooked, sprinkle with the grated cheese, if used, and pour the shrimp sauce over it. Toss until well blended and transfer to a serving dish. Serves 4 as a main course.

Special Potato balls Rachael Ray Ingredients 2 cups mashed potatoes, use leftovers or made fresh from 4 medium potatoes 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 1 bunch scallions, sliced 2 eggs Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 cups dried potato flakes Canola oil, for frying For the dip: 6 roasted red peppers from the jar or roasted red pepper puree 1/2 cup yogurt, preferably Greek-style yogurt 1/4 cup buttermilk 1 clove garlic, grated 1 palmful chives, chopped 1 large handful parsley, chopped 1 large handful dill, chopped 1 small palmful cilantro, chopped Juice of one lemon Dash of hot sauce Salt and freshly ground black pepper ________________________________________ Yields: 10 servings ________________________________________ Preparation Pile the potato balls on a platter and serve the red pepper ranch alongside for dipping. In a large bowl, combine cooled mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, scallions, eggs, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. Pour the potato flakes into a shallow dish and place next to your bowl. With a small ice cream scoop or teaspoon, dollop the potato mixture on the potato flakes. Roll them around in the potato flakes so each mashed potato ball gets thoroughly coated (they should each be about an inch in diameter). Set the coated potato balls aside on a plate and repeat with the rest of the potato mixture (you should have about 30 pieces). Once your potatoes are all rolled they can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days. For the dipping sauce, puree up the roasted red peppers in a food processor or blender. Pour the pepper puree into a medium-size bowl then add the yogurt, buttermilk, garlic, herbs, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine. (Since the dip only gets better as it sits, you can make it up to 3 days in advance and store it in the fridge. Just be sure to take it out a few minutes before serving to take the chill off.) In a medium-size pot over medium-high heat, add enough canola oil to go two inches up the side of the pot. Let the oil heat up to 375�F -- when you put a ball in, it should sizzle but not get dark right away. Fry the potato balls a few at a time, making sure not to crowd the pot. Once they are golden brown on all sides, remove with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil. Repeat until all the potato balls are fried. (If you aren't serving them right away or are bringing them somewhere, pack them up gently or place them on a baking sheet. Right before serving, place them in a 400�F oven, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until they are heated through and crisp.)

Let's make this a SUPER BOWL recipe thread, eh? I served this couple times with blue chips I buy from World Market. CrockPot Cream Cheese Sausage and Rotel Dip - 8 oz cream cheese - 1 can tomatoes and green chies (aka Rotel), drained - 1 lb breakfast sausage, browned and drained Brown the sausage on the stove, and drain on paper towels. Unwrap the cream cheese, and put it into your crockpot. Chop up the sausage and add on top. Drain the Rotel and add it. Cover and cook on low for about 90 minutes, or on high for 45 minutes. Stir well and eat with tortilla chips.

Let's keep this thread going. We enjoy Lidia's Family Table/ Italian-American shows. She featured an easy recipe using chicken breasts, capers, red wine vinegar. She said it could be made using pork chops. This appealed to hubby so he made it for dinner one nite this week, using boneless pork chops. It's a delicious sauce. Skillet Chicken Breasts Aglio e Olio source: Lidia's Italy 6 chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless, about 2 pounds (we used boneless pork chops) 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed 1/2 cup flour, for dredging the chicken 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 8 garlic cloves, sliced 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 3 tablespoons capers, drained 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 cup vegetable broth 3 tablespoons Italian parsley, freshly chopped 1 tablespoon bread crumbs Trim the chicken breast halves of all bits fat, skin or connective tissue with a paring knife. Do not cut off the tenders-the small loose flap of muscle on the underside of each half-but flatten them firmly against the larger piece, to form a neat oval. Sprinkle both sides of the breasts with salt, using about 1/2 teaspoon in all. Spread the flour on a piece wax paper and press and toss each breast to coat lightly on all surfaces; shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and all the butter in the pan over medium heat. When the butter is almost completely melted, lay the breasts in the pan, with space between them. Let them cook in place, without moving them, until they're sizzling. After 2 minutes or so, lift the first breast you put in the pan and check the underside. You want it to be lightly tinged with brown (not merely pale, but not brown all over either). Cook longer if needed, and then turn all the breasts over when they've just begun to color. Quickly scatter all the garlic slices into the spaces between the chicken, turn the heat up slightly, shake the pan and stir the slices around in the hot fat so they separate. After a minute or a bit more, when the garlic has begun to sizzle, sprinkle the red pepper flakes in a hot spot; toast for a minute; then spill the capers in several hot spots around the pan. Give the skillet a few good shakes to distribute the seasonings and run the hot juices all around the breasts. Raise the heat another notch: when everything's sizzling hard, pour the red wine vinegar into the open spaces and shake the pan to spread it. Let the vinegar sizzle and reduce for a 1/2 minute or so, then pour in the broth. Cook at full blast now, quickly bringing the liquid to a boil. As it cooks, drizzle the remaining two tablespoons of oil all around the pan and sprinkle on another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Let the sauce bubble and reduce for a couple of minutes, shaking the skillet frequently, then sprinkle the bread crumbs into the sauce (not on the chicken) and stir and shake to mix it in. Within a minute or two, the crumbs will thicken the sauce visibly; cook, shaking the skillet, until it has the consistency you like. Turn off the heat, scatter the parsley over everything-and shake the skillet again. Serve immediately.