Trout with garlic lemon butter herb sauce

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds trout - 2 large fish fillets with skin on the bottom
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning
• salt, to taste
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 more tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Season the top of fish fillets with Italian herb seasoning and salt. Fish fillets will have skins on the bottom - no need to season the skins.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat until heated but not smoking. To the hot skillet with olive oil, add fish fillets skin side up - flesh side down. Cook the flesh side of the fish for about 3-5 minutes on medium heat, making sure the oil does not smoke, until lightly browned. Flip the fillets over to the other side, skin side down. Cook for another 2-4 minutes on medium heat (to prevent oil from burning). Remove the skillet from heat, close with the lid, and let the fish sit for 5-10 minutes, covered, in the skillet, until flaky and cooked through completely.
3. After the fish is cooked through, off heat, using spatula, carefully remove fillets to the plate, separating the fish from the skin. Carefully remove or scrape the fish skin off the bottom of the pan, making sure to leave all the cooking oils in the pan.
4. Add diced garlic, lemon juice, and white wine to the same pan with oil. Cook on medium-low heat for about 1 minute, until garlic softens a bit. Remove from heat. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, and 2 tablespoons of butter, off heat, to the sauce, stirring, until the butter melts and forms a creamy mixture.
5. Add fish to the pan, spoon sauce over the fish, top the fish and sauce with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley, and serve.

Saucy, Italian “drunken” noodles with spicy Italian sausage

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 4 spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed
• 1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
• 8 ounces Pappardelle noodles, uncooked

Instructions

1. Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium-high heat; add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and once the oil is hot, crumble the spicy Italian sausage into the pan in small chunks, allowing it to brown in the oil for a few moments on each side; once the crumbled sausage is browned, remove it from the pan/pot with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl to hold for a moment; next, add the sliced onion into the pan with the sausage drippings, and allow it to caramelize and become golden for roughly 5 minutes or so, stirring to keep it from burning, once the onion starts to become golden, add the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper, and stir to combine, then add in the sliced bell peppers, and allow those to saute with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender and golden; next, add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced; next, add in the diced tomatoes with their juice, and return the browned spicy Italian sausage back into the pan, and gently fold the mixture to combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off; to finish the sauce, drizzle in about 2-3 good tablespoons of the olive oil to create a silky, rich flavor, and add in the chopped parsley and about half of the julienned basil; stir, and keep warm while you prepare the noodles.
2. Prepare the pappardelle noodles according to instructions on package; then, drain the noodles very well, and add them directly into the sauce, using tongs to gently toss and combine the pappardelle noodles with the sauce and all of the ingredients in it; check the seasoning to see if you need to add any additional salt or pepper.
3. Serve, add equal portions of the “Drunken” noodles to bowls, and garnish with a sprinkle of the remaining julienned basil; you can even top with shaved Parmesan, if desired, and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup white wine
• Juice from one lemon
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• ¾ teaspoons sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 or 4 chicken breasts, pounded thin for even cooking
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, approximately
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tomatoes, sliced to ¼" thickness
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Tablespoons fresh basil, more if desired
• More Parmesan cheese, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 250F degrees.
2. In a medium sauce pan, heat chicken broth and white wine over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced by one third, about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, add lemon juice and whipping cream. Heat to a slow simmer and then add butter, one tablespoon at a time. Lower heat a bit and continue on a very low simmer, whisking occasionally while you make the chicken and tomatoes.
4. After chicken has been pounded to an even thickness, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12" skillet on medium-high heat. Lightly dredge chicken in the flour mixture, shaking extra flour off before placing chicken in pan. Heat chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Place chicken on an oven-safe plate, cover with foil and place in oven to keep warm.
5. In the same pan you cooked the chicken, add the last tablespoon of oil and lower heat to medium. Add the tomatoes in a single layer, adding salt and pepper as desired. Let cook until tomatoes start to disintegrate and caramelize, about 4 minutes.
6. Stir tomatoes and add garlic cloves. Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally. The tomato mixture will stick to the pan a little. This is what you want, because it means they're breaking down correctly and the tomatoes natural fructose is working. Turn heat to low while you finish preparing chicken and sauce.
7. Remove chicken from oven and slice on diagonal, about 1" thick slices. Add chicken to the skillet and lightly toss with tomatoes.
8. Add ½ cup Parmesan cheese to your cream sauce now and stir until melted. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and lightly stir all ingredients together.
9. Sprinkle with fresh basil and more Parmesan cheese. The meal is ready to serve now, or it can be covered and returned to the 250 degree oven for up to 40 minutes while you prepare side dishes, etc. When you remove from the oven, the sauce needs a quick stir to incorporate back together.

Sweet Tea Sangria

Ingredients

• 6 cups sweet tea
• 1 bottle white wine
• 2 cups raspberries
• 2 cups sliced peaches
• fresh mint, for garnishing

Instructions

• Mix sweet tea and wine together in a large pitcher. Add fruit and chill for at least 2-3 hours, preferably 8 or more.
• Serve in pretty glasses and garnish with mint.