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contest VOTE! Easter Weekend Pasta Throwdown

Who has the best pasta dish?

  • texas blues - TB's Margherita Lasagna

    Votes: 9 27.3%
  • mel - Triple Chilli Frutti di Mare

    Votes: 2 6.1%
  • gasificada - Spaghetti Tetrazzini

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • heartbreakingdawns - Fra-talli Diavolo

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Buddah - Monkey Canyon Chicken Pasta Salad and 27 Chicken Pasta Salad

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • salsalady - Salsalady's Zero-$$ Baked Ziti

    Votes: 3 9.1%
  • WickedMojo - Grilled Shrimp Diablo

    Votes: 4 12.1%
  • Pepper Ridge Farm - Sheephead Final 4 Pepper Medley Sauteé over Linguine

    Votes: 3 9.1%
  • PerkoXxX - Spicy Carbonara and Garlic Prawns

    Votes: 2 6.1%
  • Deathtosnails - Chocolate Lasagna with Cherry and Cayenne Coulis and Sauce Anglaise

    Votes: 3 9.1%
  • JayT - JayT's Strozzapreti with Chile Spiced Shrimp and Scallops, Spring Vegetables and a Taragon Cr

    Votes: 6 18.2%
  • boutros - Boutros Bluefin on Pasta al Nero di Seppia

    Votes: 1 3.0%

  • Total voters
    33
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The Hot Pepper

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Vote for the best pasta dish!
 
TB's Margarita Lasagna

Hey ya'll the Blues Kitchen is bringin' the mojofication and kickin' it old school. I have a trifecta of lasagna with 3 layers...bottom layer...garlic alfredo with porcini mushrooms, middle layer, italian sausage and marinara, top layer, pesto cream. All the layers are topped with a blend of asiago, parmigian, reggiano, provolone, and mozzarella. Might as well plate it with fresh basil, garlic/parm toasted bread and parmigian crisps. Open a bottle of sangiovese and......heaven! Spicy, complex, oozy goozy, and oh so rich! I had to tone it down a bit as mrs. blues was eating this so I went with fresno peppers in the sausage marinara. She ate it up ya'll!!

Prep pics can be seen here...

http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?10816-The-Drunken-Chef&p=333884#post333884

Here are my finals and plate ups...

As I went for the classic 3 Italian colors of green/pesto, red/sausage marinara, and white/alfredo mushroom...I'll call this a Margarita Lasagna!

Out of the oven....

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The parm crisps really set this off!

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Look at the top layer of cheezy pesto goodness!

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Do your 'thang ya'll!
 
Triple chilli frutti di mare..

I had too many drinks tonight so presentation i swaaaay off... here's my entry... dont expect it to score high.. but!!! i idid cook the pasta in a cooked down hab (10) mix with carrots to infuse into the pasta... came out a weird yeallow colour :) it did taste fantastic... and i got into trouble from mrmel for not cooking enough... nd for not having enough crusty bread to dunk :)

seafood cooked in garlic, the wine from the mussels and vongole and chilli...

sauce for pasta a mix of the juices from the mussels etc... plus mini tomatoes and more garlic and olive oil.. then fresh parsley on top...

teaser:
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final:
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the mussels were the best part of the dish!! i love mussels, but these ones came out awesome... cooked in wine and chilli and garlic... mmmmmm... i think i ate nearly a whole kilo!
 
Spaghetti Tetrazzini
pasta bake with chicken and mushroom in a cream sauce

Well, here it is, folks!

Chicken, mushrooms (both fresh and some fancy dried ones), garlic and peppers cooked in mushroom and chicken stock. I usually opt for white wine in place of chicken stock but thought I would try something different - maybe not quite as good (and will hurt my overall score!), but I must say, I was still very happy with the end result. The mushroom stock is simply the soaking water left from the dried mushrooms, usually which I use dried porcinis for, but had to make do with a dried forest mix due to my stinkin' Italian specialist shop being closed for Easter - once again, not quite as good, but still very decent. Once the stock has reduced a little and the chicken has cooked through, it's in with the cream, then pre-cooked spaghetti, plenty of freshly grated parmesan and fresh basil. Transfer to an oven-proof dish, top with more parmesan and bake until golden brown, bubbling and crisp. Serve drizzled with good quality extra virgin olive oil.

A very rich dish for lovers of the richer things in life. :D

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Buon appetito!
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Ingredients: Dried mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, chicken thighs, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, chilli flakes, garlic, orange and choc habs, fresh mushrooms, chicken stock, dried spaghetti, double cream, parmesan, and fresh basil.

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Alright here it is.....FRA-talli DIAVOLO. The sauce is a saute of olive oil, garlic, onion and bell pepper...then I added chopped tomatoes, brown sugar, and fatalli puree (Thanks AJ) and some coarse sea salt and red pepper. While this simmered I sauteed some garlic and olive oil with the scallops and seasoned with a blend of sea salt, bhut powder and white pepper..... the result:
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ENJOY!!!
 
Monkey Canyon Chicken Pasta Salad and 27 Chicken Pasta Salad

[video=youtube;HxM5Oz3G1SE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxM5Oz3G1SE[/video]

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Monkey Canyon Chicken Pasta Salad


1- Chicken
2- rotini whole wheat pasta
3- Apple Canyon Orange Sesame Marinade/Dressing
4- Captain Thom's Thai Monkey
5- mayo
6- yellow onion
7- Bell Peppers- yellow, orange and red
8- sundried tomatoes
9- cilantro
10- salt in pasta water

Prep:
boiled pasta adding sea salt to the boiling water, chicken was pre-cooked, and added all the ingredients cold together and mixed. Best to refrigerate overnight to let the flavors fuse together.

27 Chicken Pasta Salad

1- chicken
2- rotini whole wheat pasta
3- grape tomatoes
4- corn
5- Stonehouse 27 Cashew and Cream sauce
6- yellow onion
7- bell peppers- yellow, orange and red
8- 5 orange habaneros- diced
9- salt in pasta water

Prep:
Boiled pasta, adding sea salt to the boiling water.
Cut chicken into small pieces, diced onion, habs and added corn to pan with sauce added to cook with. Simmered for 20 minutes once the sauce started to bubble. Shocked pasta to make it cold, and then let the chicken sauce mixture cool to room temperature before adding to pasta. Then added the peppers to the pasta and stirred into sauce.
 
Salsalady's Zero-$$ Baked Ziti

Hearing the comments from posters here...and from hubby about spending money on another Throwdown when we can't afford it... I knew I could put together a winner from scratch. A quick scrounge through the pantry and the refer, and I had what I needed.

Knowing I had tomato sauce and flour/eggs for pasta, I could have just done a basic spaghetti, but I decided to step it up and go for a lasagna-type baked ziti with bread and a salad.

Once again, here's the ingredients-
Freezer- chicken breasts, shredded Italian cheese blend
Refer- eggs, cottage cheese (already opened), homemade Italian dressing for the grownups (fat-free, sugar-free), kraft Italian dressing for the kid, opened box of spinach for a salad, parmesan cheese
Pantry- semolina, flour, sourdough bread started packet leftover from a bread machine kit, tomato stuff, spices, habanero powder, fresh onion and garlic, olive oil

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The pasta is made with semolina, flour, water, egg and habanero powder. It's a ridged tube (some say ziti doesn't have ridges, but whatever~~~). I let it dry for about 45 minutes before boiling the pasta.

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And I don't have room for a picture of it, but I used the sourdough/yeast started kit, mixed with an egg, flour and water, salt and dry basil to make a focaccia herb bread loaf.

Here's the ingredients ready to assemble-

Middle- chicken- sauteed/fried chicken breasts with cajun blackened spices, habanero powder and olive oil and then shredded
Back left- I didn't have any ricotta, so I mixed cottage cheese with an egg, hit it with the stick blender, added pepper, parsley and parmesan
Back Middle- red sauce made with sauteed onion and garlic in olive oil, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, S&P, Italian dry spice mix, extra basil, habanero powder
Right- cooked habanero pasta (the pasta looks like regular pasta but it has a pleasantly surprising bite from the habanero powder in the dough)
Parmesan and mozzarella blend cheeses

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I layered it together like a lasagna, baked for about 45 minutes at 350F.

And The Results~~~
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We ALL scarffed this down, this tastes better than my old lasagna recipe! And even though it was spicy, it wasn't too spice for the kid.

And the price made it all the sweeter! ENJOY!
 
Grilled Shrimp Diablo
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs Roma tomatoes cut into small cubes
2 diced caribbean habs
3 chopped serranos
20 medium fresh basil leaves, stems removed and chopped up
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
Salt to taste

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tbsp Defcon 1
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 lb pasta
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

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Sheephead "Final 4" Pepper Medley Sauteé over Linguine​

Yield: 4 people
Heat Scale: My brain hurts!


1½ lbs. fresh caught Sheephead fish filet skin removed
Lemon Pepper seasoning on fish
Garlic
Onion Slices
Baby Leaf Spinach
Seasoning Salt
Feta cheese
Hemp seed oil
Linguine tossed w/ Hemp seed oil
4 superhot peppers minced; Chocolate Habańero, 7 Pod Brain Strain, Bhut Jolokia, Fatalii

Layered oil, onion slices, seasoned sheephead, spinach, onion, feta cheese and wrapped in foil pouch. Baked at 375º F for 20 minutes served over linguine al dente garnish with pepper sauteé. Fish was steaming hot and flaky goodness bedded over the linguine with "Final 4" peppers sprinkled over the Sheephead and pasta. Mmm mmm good, Duke vs. Butler in the final!
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OK, time for my first throwdown. hope i'm eligible for it, with my low post count, anyway, i will let you guys look at it.
Spicy Carbonara and Garlic Prawns
Teaser:
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Final:
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Ingredients:
Fettuccine
Green prawns
Eggs
Olive oil
Parsley
Mushroom
Thai hot chilli
Fatalii or Bonda ma Jacques chilli (not sure which one :S)
Thickened cream
St Agnes Brandy (wasn't drinking it, just cooking with it.)
Mozzarella cheese
Bacon
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
$0.25
:) hope you like
 
Chocolate Lasagna with Cherry and Cayenne Coulis and Sauce Anglaise

Layers of fresh made chocolate pasta, Frangelico chocolate mousse, cherry and chilli coulis and finished with sauce Anglaise.

Something different :)

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JayT's Strozzapreti with Chile Spiced Shrimp and Scallops, Spring Vegetables and a Tarragon Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

Stozzapreti
Wild Gulf Shrimp
Dry Sea Scallops
Langostinos
The shrimp and scallops were seasoned with salt, pepper, and ancho and de arbol powders then sauteed.

Vegetables:

Asparagus
Cherry Tomatoes
Red Bell Pepper
These were roasted in the oven with olive oil salt and pepper

Sauce:

Red Onion
Jalapeno
Fatalii
Mushrooms
Garlic
Tarragon
White wine
Lemon Juice
Heavy Cream
Parmesan
Gouda
Salt & Pepper

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Well you guys and girls are blowin the doors off again- love all the seafood up in here! So here's my stuff... please keep in mind I was drunk when I came up with-

Boutros Bluefin on pasta al nero di seppia

ingredients:
lil slab o' bluefin seared
cuttlefish ink pasta
miso yaki sauce
green onions, bottoms and middles
caribbean red habanero
garlic
black sesame seeds
a lil bit of ground black and white pepper and ginger
had some salt in meh pasta boilin' water too

Anyway, I ate the avo and drank the beer I had in my teaser pic for breakfast while I cooked. Figured I might as well give THP his pasta on wall pic-

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Used the same CI skillet for the whole meal, with stuff in and out at various points. Boiled the pasta, seared the fish- took it out and stirred in the rest of the stuff w/some miso, took that out, stirred the noodles in w/ some miso, then threw it all on the plate. Miso burns quick if you let things get too hot for too long. Anyway, here's how it eventually came out- (my quarter was in my teaser pic, hope I got that right cause it's all gone now!)


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I love the pasta. Seared the tuna a bit more than I usually would, would have been better the day I got it. Was pretty much an experiment- but I liked it. My wife was horrified lol! For some reason that made it that much more worthwhile!
 
Every meal here was worthy of a vote, but alas, we can only pick one. Checking over the rules (to see if the dish I voted for was allowed), it says at the very end to be creative so my vote goes to DTS and his chocolate lasagne.
 
Gahhh! I can't decide! Damn tough choice! I'm going to have to starve myself, come back, and then see which one really stands out.......
 
Real tough choice....I really Like TB's Lasagna and would love to bury myself in that, Jay's entry is to die for along with others who used shrimp and scallops, both of which are my favorite. Mel may have a winner too as it looks divine and Deaths Desert pasta dish just makes me speachless....
Boutros's meal also looks awesome. Heck everyone's is great and I want to vote for all of them! Too bad we can't have a first, second and third place. :lol:


Decisions, decisions :think:
 
WickedMojo, you got my vote. To cut a long story short, it looks very similar to something an old mate of mine used to cook before he took off overseas. Every single dish he cooked was fan-f#@king-tastic! I'm positive yours would stand up against his.....

It was a very hard choice!
 
Tough call between the two lasagnas for me... I have to go with the Margherita Lasagna. I'd hit that!

I want the chocolate lasagna for dessert though.

GO TB! :woohoo:
 
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