Cooker’s Pot

You’ll Need:

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, sliced
1 large zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
3/4 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 14 oz. can evaporated lowfat milk
12 ounces fusilli
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Procedure:

Melt butter over medium-high heat; cook onion, garlic and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Stir in carrots, zucchini, asparagus, 2 tablespoon each of the basil and water, salt and pepper; cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cook, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes or until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Stir in flour; cool, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in milk; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until thickened. Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling water, cook fusilli al dente; drain and toss with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining basil, toss again.

You’ll Need:

1/2 cup Italian dressing (regular or fat-free)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 pound shrimp
1 medium yellow squash, julienned
1 medium zucchini, julienned
1 medium carrot, julienned
3 green onions
1/2 pound linguine, cooked

Procedure:

In medium skillet, heat Italian dressing and spices. Add all other ingredients except linguine and saute. Toss linguine with vegetables, shrimp, and sauce. Serve at once with crusty French or Sheepherder’s Bread.

Serves 4 to 6.

You’ll Need:

1 (16 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2/3 cup sliced ripe olives
1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
8 ounces linguine

Procedure:

Combine artichoke hearts, olives, oil, lemon juice, garlic, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper. Let stand at least 1 hour. Cook linguine according to package directions, omitting salt; drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Combine linguini and artichoke mixture. Cover and chill. Toss before serving.

You’ll Need:

16 ounces linguini pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 slices slightly stale bread, grate into crumbs
13 ounces minced clams in juice
8 ounces bottled clam juice
1 tablespoon dried parsley

Procedure:

Cook pasta according to directions on package. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook garlic until lightly browned. Stir in bread crumbs and cook until lightly toasted. Remove and set aside. Place clams (with liquid), bottled clam juice, and wine in skillet and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 of original. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper. Drain pasta and toss with sauce and bread crumbs. Serve with salad and bread.

You’ll Need:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup B&B Liqueur
2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans chopped clams, drained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 (8 ounce) package linguine, cooked
according to package directions

Procedure:

Heat butter and peanut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes, or until tender. Remove skillet from heat; stir in half-and-half, B&B Liqueur, clams and salt. Return skillet to heat and cook and stir until mixture is heated through. Do not boil. Toss clam sauce and parsley with drained hot linguine and serve.

You’ll Need:

1/4 cup butter
5 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
1 pint small fresh oysters, drained
3 scallions, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1/2 pound linguine, cooked al dente
Salt
Freshly-ground black pepper

Procedure:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute until garlic is golden. Discard garlic. Continue cooking until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add oysters and liquid, scallions and parsley. Reduce heat and simmer until oysters are heated through, but still slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add pasta and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately! Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a first course.

You’ll Need:

1 (11 ounce) package fresh linguine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 (28 ounce) can crushed Italian tomatoes in pur�e
1/2 cup clam juice
1 pound littleneck clams, scrubbed

Procedure:

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and simmer for 3 minutes or just until the garlic begins to color. Take care not to burn the garlic. Add basil, salt, tomatoes and clam juice. Lower heat and simmer for about 8 minutes. Add clams; cover and simmer for about 3 minutes or until clams open. Ladle sauce and clams over drained pasta.

Yields 4 servings.

You’ll Need:

1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10 ounce) can baby clams
2 cups tomato sauce
4 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt
Pepper
Pinch of fresh chopped parsley

Procedure:

Saute garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Add clams with juice. Simmer 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce. Season to taste and add parsley. Toss cooked linguine noodles with 1/2 of the prepared sauce. Place on serving platter and pour balance of sauce on top and serve with Parmesan cheese. Serves 2.

You’ll Need:

2 tbsp olive oil
3 md garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 cup rich fish stock, salt-free
1 cup dry white wine
36 sm fresh Clams
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Cooked linguine

Procedure:

In a large saucepan, heat the oil with the garlic over moderate heat. When the garlic sizzles, add the fish stock and wine. As soon as the liquid comes to a boil, add the clams and cover the pan. Steam the clams until all of them have opened, 3 to 5 minutes; discard any unopened clams. With a slotted spoon, remove them from the pan and place them, shells and all, on top of cooked pasta. Stir the parsley into the liquid and spoon the liquid over the clams and pasta. Season to taste with black pepper.

You’ll Need:

6 tbsp olive oil
1 lb mixed fresh wild mushrooms, (such as oyster mushrooms and shiitake, stems trimmed, caps sliced)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1 cup dry white wine
5 lb Clams, (about 24 littleneck)
1 lb linguine
2 fresh chives or 1 bunch green onions, chopped

Procedure:

Heat 3 tbsp oil in heavy large Dutch oven over high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to plate. Add remaining 3 tbsp oil and garlic to Dutch oven. Saute until garlic is tender, about 3 minutes. Add crushed red pepper, then wine and clams. Cover and cook until clams open, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta well and transfer to large bowl. Spoon mushrooms over, then top with clam mixture, discarding any clams that do not open. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chives.