Susie Riggies Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add rigatoni pasta and cook until tender yet firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and cook in the hot oil until lightly browned on all sides, and no longer pink in the center, about 7 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and keep warm.
• Stir onion, Cubanelle peppers, and garlic into the skillet. Cook and stir until onion softens, about 4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and hot cherry peppers. Bring to a simmer. Stir in cooked chicken and heavy cream; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta.
• Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut off the end of the bulb of garlic, exposing all of the cloves, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Wrap the bulb in foil to form a pouch, and roast until soft and sweet, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Drizzle 4 tablespoons of the EVOO on a nonstick baking sheet. Halve the eggplant and score with sharp paring knife to crosshatch the flesh. Season with salt and pepper and set into the oil, with the skin-side up. Roast until tender, 30 minutes, and then cool to handle.
• Char the red pepper over open flame on the stovetop or under the broiler. Cool in a covered bowl to handle, then peel and seed.
• Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, in small Dutch oven over medium heat, add the onions and some salt and pepper and cook, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the basil. Break up the tomatoes and simmer 25 to 30 minutes over low heat.
• Heat a pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta until a little shy of al dente, 5 to 6 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water.
• Scrape the eggplant away from skin into the food processor. Squish the garlic away from the skins and add to processor along with tomatoes and onions, ricotta and roasted peppers. Puree the sauce until smooth and creamy.
• Drain the pasta and pour back into the hot pot. Add the sauce and the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a casserole dish, top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator for a make-ahead meal.
• To serve, bring the casserole to room temp and bake at 375 degrees F until brown and bubbly.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage, mushrooms, onions, salt, and black pepper in hot oil until vegetables are softened and sausage is browned, 6 to 7 minutes.
• Stir chopped chicken to sausage mixture; cook and stir over medium-high heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Pour in wine and cook, stirring to remove any browned bits off the bottom of the pan, until most of the wine is evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, and cream; simmer for 30 minutes. If needed, add water to create a thick sauce.
• Stir peppers, olives, and garlic into sauce. Continue to simmer until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in parsley.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until nearly cooked, about 11 minutes. Drain.
• Combine sauce and cooked pasta, stir in cheese, cover and set aside until pasta has absorbed the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes.

Steps:

• For the hot sauce: In a blender, carefully blenderize the chipotle peppers, serrano chiles and pepper oil. This stuff is hot! Be careful with splatter! Reserve.
• For the chicken: In a large braiser or saucepot, warm 3/4 cup of the olive oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, cayenne and red pepper flakes. Stir well and cook until the onions are translucent.
• Stir the fresh chopped bell peppers into the onion mixture. Stir to coat. Add the reserved hot sauce. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato sauce, heavy cream, Romano and sugar. Whisk well!
• Lower the heat until the sauce slightly bubbles, and stir well. Turn the heat to low or off while sauteing the chicken strips and cooking the rigatoni noodles.
• When the sauce is nearing doneness, cook the rigatoni noodles according to package directions. I like to pre-cook my pasta for sauteed pasta dishes such as this. Pre-cooking rigatoni to near doneness, straining and holding at room temperature, or completely chilling down if holding for several hours or more and then dunking in hot, boiling water prior to sauteing works well.
• For the chicken saute, heat a large saute pan with the remaining olive oil. First, sprinkle the chicken strips with 1 teaspoon salt (more or less), and add to the hot olive oil, one layer at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches if necessary. Add a dash of black pepper if desired. Flip and shake the chicken pieces around in the hot pan to sear all sides. Cook until opaque and lightly brown, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
• Toss the tomato sauce and chicken in a large bowl in half-batches, or altogether. Pour onto a serving platter or individual pasta bowls. Garnish with locatelli cheese and reserved fresh scallions.

Steps:

• Defrost the squash puree in a microwave and place in a strainer to drain.
• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water to al dente, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the skillet, crumble and brown. Add the garlic, onions and thyme and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine.
• Preheat the broiler with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
• Melt the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and thicken to coat a spoon. Stir in the butternut squash and bring the sauce back to a bubble and melt in the Cheddar.
• Toss the pasta, sauce and sausage to combine. Top with the Pecorino Romano and parsley and broil to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the Fennel and Celery Slaw.
• Combine the honey, vinegar and shallot with the lemon juice and whisk in the EVOO. Add the parsley, celery and fennel and toss to coat and combine. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a platter and top with the toasted nuts.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil and melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until soft, then add chicken, season with salt and pepper to taste and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, or until halfway cooked.
• Add peppers and stir in tomato sauce, reduce heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. Add sherry and simmer for another 10 minutes, then stir in cream and simmer for 10 minutes more.
• Toss all with hot cooked pasta and serve.