Pappardelle with Fresh Tomatoes & Aged Parmesan

Oh, how very yummy this is! 

Link to my YouTube of preparation: https://youtu.be/CSP_yhpd4sE

Pardon my dust, will have the entry written correctly soon!

Original recipe credit: https://www.sargento.com/recipes/meals/dinner/pappardelle-pasta-with-aged-parmesan-cheese/

heavy mods. used the tomatoes I had from garden (around equivalent of 6 full large ones)

part of a normal (large) sweet onion

used barefoot Chardonnay as white wine

used fresh instead of dried rosemary

used around 2 T of butter, did 8 oz cremini, took only around 4-5 min to cook

omitted all meat, subbed 1 oz dried porcini, reconsit, and used a splash of that liquid in the sauce

only 8 oz of pap pasta, was PLENTY

• 6 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut in half
• 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups Sargento® Reserve Series™ Aged Parmesan Cheese
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 8 oz. wild mushrooms (shiitake, crimini, porcini, chantrelle)
• 8 oz. ground sirloin
• 8 oz. ground pork or veal
• 1 lb. pappardelle pasta, cooked and rinsed
• parsley? (it is in the recipe final step, used dried since none was listed)
• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Place tomato halves cut side up in a 13" X 9" casserole dish. Add onion and garlic cloves. Pour in chicken stock and white wine. Drizzle oil over the top. Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper over tomatoes. Place pan in oven and roast uncovered for 1 hour.
• Sprinkle 1 cup of Sargento® Reserve Series™ Aged Parmesan Cheese over the top. Roast an additional 20 minutes.
• While tomatoes are roasting, pre-heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add butter. When butter has melted and stopped foaming, add mushrooms. Saute' for 10-12 miunutes or until lightly browned and softened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Brown ground beef and pork in the same pan until cooked through.
• When tomato mixture is done cooking, transfer to a blender with a large spoon, making sure to add all cheese and liquid to blender. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Pour the sauce into the skillet of browned meat. Stir to combine. Gently stir in pasta. Remove from heat and transfer to shallow pasta bowls or plates. Spoon mushrooms on top and add remaining aged parmesan on top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Two Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, I tried yet another version of chocolate chip cookies lol. And glad I did--these are easy, quick, have a perfect texture...a win all around! 10/10. The only change I will try next time I make these is to use parchment, as they seemed to want to stick just a little to the baking sheet. Makes about 36-40 cookies.

Original recipe is from the label of Butter Flavored Crisco.

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. brown sugar (packed)

3/4 c. butter flavored Crisco

2 T. milk (I used whole, think you could use any type)

1 T. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 3/4 c. (210 g) all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. mini semi-sweet morsels

3/4 c. regular semi-sweet morsels

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. In the bowl of a stand / electric mixer, cream together the brown sugar, Crisco, milk, and vanilla.

3. Mix in the egg.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add this mixture to the stand mixer bowl while running the mixer on low speed. (I took the pic after this step was done but already had put the wooden spoon in bowl for next step.)

5. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the morsels (by hand).

6. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop and place balls of dough 2" apart on baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake for 8-10 min (I went 9.5 min).

7. Let cookies rest on sheet for 1-2 min. before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter Bars

These are seriously delicious and worth the effort, 10/10! I used a 9" x 9" pan and it worked just fine, bake time was 27 minutes.

Link to my YouTube of preparation: https://youtu.be/ULwXGzkpLIY

Original recipe credit: https://butternutbakeryblog.com/cookie-butter-bars/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

for the cookie dough layers--

2 c. (240 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. mini chocolate chips

cookie butter / middle layer--

1/2 c. cookie butter

1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

for the chocolate drizzle--

1 T. dark chocolate chips/chunks

2 T. heavy cream

for the cookie butter drizzle--

2 T. cookie butter

1 tsp. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8" x 8" (or, as I used, 9" x 9") pan with parchment paper.

2. Prepare the cookie dough layer: In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand / electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.

4. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

5. Slowly mix in the reserved dry ingredients.

6. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the mini chocolate chips by hand. Place dough in fridge.

7. Prepare the cookie butter layer-- in a medium bowl, whisk together the cookie butter and melted butter, followed by the vanilla, salt, and milk.

8. Switch to a wooden spoon. Mix in the powdered sugar 1/2 c. at a time. You may need to use your hands to fully combine by the end. It will be a thick dough/paste consistency.

9. Remove the cookie dough from fridge. Divide in half. Press one half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, in an even layer that reaches the edges of the pan.

10. Using your hands, flatten the cookie butter layer as much as you can, then lay it atop the layer of cookie dough in the pan and press it out to reach the edges / make a second layer.

11. Crumble the other half of the cookie dough atop the cookie butter layer.

12. Transfer to oven and bake for 25-30 min, or until edges are light golden brown (I went 27). Remove from oven and let bars cool in pan completely. Once bars have cooled, use the parchment to lift them out of the pan.

13. Make the drizzles: for the chocolate drizzle, microwave the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small bowl, 10-15 sec at a time, stirring between each time (watch carefully or you will scorch them!), until smooth consistency is reached. Drizzle across the bars.

14. For the cookie butter drizzle, microwave the cookie butter for 15-30 sec (watch for it to start looking liquid-y). Mix in the powdered sugar. Drizzle across the bars.

15. Cut up and enjoy!