Spaghetti alla Carbonara

From Williams-Sonoma
Makes 4 Main-Course or 6 First-Course servings

2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 C freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and coarsely ground pepper
1 lb dried spaghetti
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
1/4-lb piece pancetta cut into small cubes
2 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
1/2 C dry white wine
Generous handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a warmed large, shallow bowl, add the cheese, and whisk to blend well.

Generously salt the boiling water, add the spaghetti, and cook until al dente, 7-9 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large frying pan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the pancetta and saute until just starting to become crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half.

Drain the pasta, leaving a bit of water clinging to it, and add it to the bowl with the egg cheese mixture. Toss quickly (this will heat the eggs and leave a creamy coating on each strand of pasta). Add the pancetta with all of the pan juices.

Season to taste with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Add the parsley and toss again. Serve at once.

**Notes from Em**
It was impossible to find pancetta, so I substituted bacon, and it was still really good. Next time I make it I will leave out the parsley (my husband I don't like it), and maybe add some halved cherry tomatoes just for fun.

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

From Cooking Light

Serves 2

1 C dry white wine
1/4 C minced shallots
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T whipping cream
1 T butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 C chopped seeded plum tomato
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 1/2 C hot cooked linguine
Cooking spray
3/4 pound large sea scallops
1/8 t salt
Chopped cilantro

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium skillet, bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 C (about 5 minutes). Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids

Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream; cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in tomato, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine; toss well. Cover and keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

**Notes from Em**
To get a good sear on scallops make sure you pat them dry. Once you think they're dry, pat them again. Seriously. They hold a lot of water and if you don't get it out, they will boil/steam rather than sear.

The sauce is really pretty runny. I added an extra 1-2 tablespoons of cream to help thicken it up.

If you don't like scallops, this recipe is fantastic on salmon, shrimp, tilapia etc.

Beef Stroganoff

From Cooking Light
Serves 6

Legend has it that this dish was created for 19th-centry Russian general Count Alexander Stroganov, and it eventually became a dinner-party standby for American home cooks in the 1950's and 1960's. The recipe's longevity is no surprise; its combination of thinly sliced beef, mushrooms, and noodles in a creamy sauce has broad and comforting appeal.

 Beef Stroganoff

From Cooking Light

Serves 6

1 pound boneless sirloin steak, trimmed
3 C slice cremini mushrooms
1/2 C chopped onion
1 T Butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1 C fat free less-sodium beef broth
1/4 C dry sherry
1/2 t salt
1/8 t freshly ground black pepper
3/4 C reduced-fat sour cream
4 C hot cooked egg noodles
3 T minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cut beef diagonally across the grain into 1/4 inch wide strips; cut the strips into 2 inch pieces.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; saute 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove beef from pan; place in a medium bowl and keep warm. Add cremini mushrooms and onion to pan; saute 4 minutes. Add cremini mushroom mixture to beef.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add flour. Cook 1 minute, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.

Add beef mixture, sherry, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 30 seconds. Stir in sour cream.

Combine noodles and minced parsley. Serve beef mixture over noodles.

Asian Beef Stir-Fry

When selecting the cut of beef for stir-frying, look for a naturally lean cut, such as top sirloin, top round, top loin or flank steak, which are bursting with bold beef flavors.

Asian Beef Stir-fry

From Eating for Life

Serves 4

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 pound lean steak
1/8 t crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
1/2 C lite soy sauce

Prepare spaghetti according to its package directions; drain and set aside.

While the spaghetti is cooking, slice steak lengthwise into 2-inch strips. Cut crosswise into 1/8 inch thick slices.

Lightly coat a large skillet or wok with cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, stir fry red pepper flakes and garlic for 1 minutes.

Add the steak strips to the skillet, stir-fry just until no longer pink, approximately 2 minutes. Remove the steak from skillet and set aside.

Lightly re-coat the skillet with cooking spray. Stir-fry onion and celery until tender, approximately 5 minutes. Add cabbage and cook until crisp-tender, approximately 2 more minutes.

Return steak to the skillet. Add cooked spaghetti and lite soy sauce; mix gently and heat thoroughly.

Tortellini Salad with Fresh Herb & Tomato Vinaigrette

Tortellini Salad with Fresh Herb & Tomato Vinaigrette

From Food Network's Michael Chiarello

Serves 15

2 pounds packaged tortellini
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus 1 1/4 C
4 C freshly diced tomato
4 T chopped fresh tarragon
4 T chiffonade basil leaves
2 T minced parsley leaves
2 minced shallots
6 T lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs fresh mozzarella sliced into 1/4 in thick slices
4 C fresh arugula
Gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the tortellini according to the package instructions. When fully cooked, drain and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile in a nonreactive mixing bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, herbs, shallots, lemon juice, and remaining 1 1/4 C olive oil. Mix to combine and season with gray salt and pepper to combine. When the tortellini have cooled to room temperature toss with the vinaigrette.

To serve, line the perimeter of a large serving platter with overlapping slices of the mozzarella. Spoon the tortellini salad in the center and scatter the arugula leaves over the top.

**Notes from Em**
To make this meal a little easier and cheaper, I use canned Italian tomato's instead of fresh, I shred about 1 C of mozzarella and mix it into the tortellini, and I serve the pasta on top of baby mixed greens instead of arugula. I like the flavor of arugula but have had a hard time finding it lately.