Penne With Beer Stewed Artichoke Hearts

About 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 Cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced

1 Red onion, cut into thin half-moon slices

Generous pinch of red pepper flakes

1(8 ounce) Jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained well and oil reserved

1(12 ounce) Bottle dark beer

10 Ounces uncooked penne

1 Small bunch arugula, rinsed well

Balsamic vinegar

1/2 Ripe tomato, diced (do not peel or seed), for garnish

Place the oil, garlic and onion in a deep skillet over medium heat. When the onion begins to sizzle add the red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt and saute until the onion is quite soft and beginning to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts, a pinch of salt and the beer. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, season lightly with salt and cook for 15 minutes.

While the artichokes cook, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the penne al dente. Drain well, but do not rinse. Toss the penne with a small amount of the reserved artichoke oil.

When the artichokes are ready, finely shred the arugula and add to the skillet. Remove from the heat and stir gently to incorporate the arugula into the artichokes. Fold in the penne and a light sprinkle of balsamic vinegar and transfer to a serving platter. Serve garnished with the tomato.

-This was very rich and yummy. I put extra arugula in this dish because we love it so much!

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Gnocchi

2lbs organic russet potatoes
11/2 cups unbleached white or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 lg egg or 1tbsp of arrowroot flour mixed with 1tbsp cold water

Put potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil , turn heat down and let simmer for 30 min. Drain and set potatoes aside to cool. Once cooled enough to handle , peel skins and mash until smooth.
Mix flour with salt add egg and potato. Mix with your hands until dough starts to clump together. Press the dough against the bottom of the bowl until you have a uniform mass. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead until it is smooth about 1 min.  Tear off a piece of dough that is about the size of an orange. With the palms of your hands roll dough into a long snake about 1 inch in diameter.  With a knife cut the snake into 3/4 inch pieces. Continue the same way for the rest of the dough. Separate finished gnocchi into 4 batches(at this point the gnocchi can be frozen for later use)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil add one batch of the fresh gnocchi and gently stir after about 1-2 min gnocchi will float to the surface, skim off the gnocchi and drain.

Serve with your favorite sauce.

Parsley Sauce For Gnocchi

I lg Bunch flat leafed parsley, washed and minced

1 clove of garlic,minced (optional)

sea salt

1 tbsp olive or light sesame oil

Heat oil in a frying pan add parsley garlic and a pinch of salt. Saute until parley becomes bright green 2-5 min . Stir into Gnocchi.

Grilled Radicchio

3heads of Radicchio

2-tbsp of olive oil

sea salt

Slice radicchio into quarters, lightly brush with oil and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over top. Place on a cookie sheet and place under broiler for 8 min Turning twice. The same goes for a grill.

Marinated Portobello Salad

1/2 cup Organic walnuts (roasted and caramelized)

1/2  Cucumber,cubed

1/2 Small onion, sliced into half moons

2 Tbsp  Tofu cheese , crumbled

6 lg Basil leaves shredded

1/2 red pepper, sliced thin(optional)

3 Portobello mushrooms, grilled

Vinaigrette

1 Lemon

1tbsp olive or light sesame oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp rice syrup

Mix together vinaigrette and set aside . In a medium size bowl stir together onion,cucumber and walnuts. Slice the mushrooms into medium thick slices and add to the bowl along with the basil and tofu cheese. Pour vinaigrette over top and set aside for at least 1/2 hour.

Roasting the walnuts

In a lg  cast iron skillet, pushing slowly back and forth with a wooden spoon roast walnuts for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Pour over 1 tbsp rice or maple syrup stir walnuts till syrup foams about 2 min. Spoon out of the pan and set aside.

Grilling the portobello

De-stem and clean the mushrooms and lightly bush with oil on both sides(olive or light sesame oil) Place on a cookie sheet top side up. Place under a broiler for 10 min turning once.

Stewed Peaches With Brandy

I had Picked Fresh organic peaches this fall and had frozen them, For this recipe I used about 2 cups.

Slice and de-pit peaches cook in a small pan on low heat with a pinch of sea salt. If peaches are not quite ripe add a tsp of rice syrup to sweeten. Stirring a few times. Cook until juices come out and peach is nice and soft 15-20 min. Turn heat off and stir in two capfuls of brandy or serve brandy on the side. This is nice with some chopped roasted almonds on top.