I love Mario (Batali, not the brothers)...

Pollo alla Diavola

Ben and I recently had two weeks sans children, leaving us able to eat what ever we wanted, how ever spicy we wanted it.  One night we had Mario Batali's Devil Chicken made with an incredible amount of crushed red pepper, flavored with sweet smoked paprika, and finished with spicy smoked paprika.  The taste was incredible (we especially liked that final dusting with the spicy paprika), deep and smokey; if you don't like things quite so hot, just cut the amount of crushed red pepper but leave the smoked paprikas, they completely make this dish.  The leftovers made delicious sandwiches, requiring only crusty rolls and a slice of provolone.


Pollo alla Diavola
adapted from Mario batali's Italian Grill

 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 oz. orange juice
6oz. lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 tbs. crushed red pepper flakes (yes, 5)
2 tbs.  pimentón dulce (sweet Spanish smoked paprika)
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper 
Pimentón picante, for serving (hot Spanish smoked paprika)

Several hours before cooking, and up to the day before, mix the juices, olive oil, pepper flakes, sweet paprika, and a generous amount of salt and pepper in a gallon zip-lock bag; add the chicken and refrigerate until needed.  Grill the chicken until just done and let rest.  Serve with a generous sprinkling of the hot smoked paprika.

Pasta alla Diavola

We had this chicken with a nice pasta that was very easy to put together and continued that flavor profiles of the chicken. 

reserved marinade from above
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
6 (or so) cups chopped veggies (I used yellow zucchini, onion, and green bell pepper)
olive oil, as needed
1 lb. cooked pasta of choice (I used whole grain penne)

Drizzle the veggies with a bit of olive oil and roast or grill to your desired doneness, remembering that the longer you cook them, the sweeter they will become...I cooked ours on the grill in that grill basket that has become one of my favorite cooking tools.  In a medium saucepan, boil the marinade with the wine and stock until it becomes syrupy, but at least for 5 minutes (think food safety).  Toss the pasta, veggies, and sauce together and serve.

Another visit south...

 Texas Style Beef Brisket, Southern Style Green Beans, 

Pinto Beans topped cheese and diced onion, and Macaroni Salad from the deli

I had a beef brisket that I wanted to make using a recipe that I have used before with flavorful success, and since I have been into pairing appropriate regional dishes together, I wanted something just right to go with the "Texas style" that I had in mind.  I have never been to Texas so I asked Ben's uncle Dave, who lives in south Texas, for some help.  Dave (a reader since the beginning, WAY back in October) came through for me and gave more suggestions than I could possibly make for one meal.  The interesting thing was the similarity between his suggestions and many of the foods I grew up eating (except we only put onions on our pinto beans, not the cheese); I guess those southern roots are strong :) Ben said he really liked my "hillbilly" green beans, and said that he had never had them that way before. 
I would like to thank Dave for both his input and support, it is much appreciated.

Inspiration from Rachel Ray?!

Ben and I were watching an old holiday episode of Iron Chef a few weeks ago where Mario Batali was paired with Rachael Ray against Bobby Flay paired with Giada DeLauerentis. I'm no fan of Rachel Ray, and Ben makes fun of the size of Giada's head and thinks she has too many teeth, but I love Mario Batali and Bobby Flay is okay too. Mario won Battle Cranberry despite the burden of Rachael's flustering. One dish in particular they made stood out for Ben and I- pasta cooked in red wine with an Italian sausage ragu. I told Ben I wanted to try that and he remarked that I better be planning on using winky owl, referring to Winking Owl wine, an ultra cheap brand from Aldi (the Shiraz doesn't taste too bad for a cheap quaff).

I was at Kroger yesterday and found a package of perciatelli, a hollow spaghetti- like pasta very similar to that used by Mario and Rachael, so I knew what we were having for dinner the next day. I had both the hot and mild Italian sausage links at home in the freezer, but I did pick up a $3.99 bottle of Merlot.
The next afternoon I made the ragu and let it simmer until dinnertime. Just before it was time to eat I poured the bottle of wine into a pot to cook the pasta and found that one bottle was not going to be enough (Ben was saying "I told you so" in the background), but I fortunately had a bottle of the winky owl in the pantry, so into the pot it went as well. The pasta smelled fabulous while it was cooking, and before draining it, I ladled some of the wine into the ragu to thin it, so between what the pasta absorbed during cooking, and what I added to the sauce, very little of the wine was wasted (good thing, because even at $4 a bottle, this is a pricey pasta to make).
With much anticipation we sat to eat. The ragu was good, but not spectacular- the real star was the pasta. It took on a beautiful purple color from the wine and the taste WAS spectacular. We decided that the leftover pasta would be finished later in the week just dressed in butter. The ragu is destined to have peppers and onions added to become calzone filling. You have to try this sometime as a special treat, if you love pasta, and you love wine, you will love this dish!

Before I got this published, I was telling my mother-in-law about this pasta and she wondered about doing it with white wine as well. It wouldn't have the beautiful color, but is one I am definitely going to try in the future as well.

Pasta Cooked in Wine

1 1lb. pkg. perciatelli, or other long pasta
2 bottles of inexpensive red (or white) wine

Cook the pasta in the wine without salting. Before draining, ladle some of the wine into whatever sauce you are making (if applicable). Drain, but do not rinse. Serve and enjoy :)