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Mousion Tjmtmal The Home Journal’s DINNER TABLE Without beans Texas is the featured state in the “From Sea to Shining Sea” series, and the empha sis is on the Lone Star State's official dish anybody who knows beans about Texas chili knows, this means chili with no beans, but plenty of beef and plenty of sizzling sea sonings. Our recipes start with Shotgun Willie’s Chili, a grand prize winner. Okra Some love it. Some hate it. But most experi a com meal bat ter, or as a thickener and flavor enhancer for gumbos and soups. Try our batter fried okra or a sim ple summer gumbo made with squash, zucchini, okra, canned tomatoes, shrimp and plenty of Old Bay seasoning. White on rice Rice is just rice? No way. There are dozens of kinds of rice, each with their own flavor and tex ture, and one of the top sellers now is Basmati rice, which has a deli cate nutty taste. Gourmet cooks, take a look at the lemon basmati pilaf and other recipes. You may never go back to short grain. Cooking with Jean Jean Rea suggests saving on your power bill with cold salads, and offers a number of outstand ing options, including an easy taco salad, Chilean chick and corn salad and a pasta salad that’s chock full of surprising ingredients. Calling All Cooks Some local Democratic ladies share the recipes they'll be preparing for the International Tasting Party on Aug. 19. Don’t miss Irene Eaves' hot fruit cas serole spiked with sherry. Tennessee wine? Brian Goodell, “The Wine Guy” writes about his trip through Kentucky and Tennessee, try ing frog legs and Tennessee Chardonnay. Heading South Dan MacDonald has a review of Sterling’s Southern Case in St. Mary’s, where he fell in love with the Crab Bisque, and the Chicken Parmesan, Shrimp Scampi, Almond Crusted Grouper and Crab Stuffed Grouper. Magic in the Chicken Take a look at Faye Jones’ recipe for curried chicken salad with mandarin oranges. Wow! Next Week: We haven’t forgotten that some people are on special diets. Some great recipes for diabetics, and for the carb and calorie-conscious cook are on the way. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2006 Entertaining dishes Pasta provides summer meal boost By KRISTY WARREN Journal Staff Writer The summer is inching toward its end. The kids are back in school and there are fewer splashes and squeals of joy coming from the neighbor hood pool. Some of us have spent a lot of time entertaining around the grill this summer and are, perhaps, all barbecued out. But before you retire your favorite barbecue sauce for the off-season, check out this non-traditional reci pe for Barbecued Chicken Pasta and try some other summery pasta dishes. All of these are from the National Pasta Association. Barbecued Chicken Pasta 10 oz. Rigatoni, Mostaccioli or other medium pasta shape, uncooked 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/4 cup thin julienne of green bell pepper 1/4 cup thin julienne of red onion 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic 1/2 cup Marinara or tomato sauce, preferably homemade 1/4 cup hickory-smoked barbecue sauce 1/2 cup grated provo lone cheese 1/2 cup grated smoked gouda cheese 3 scallions, trimmed and sliced thin 1/4 cup (loosely packed) How not to save moneu in the grocery store Some people hate gro cery shopping. Not me. When I cooked for a family I liked grocery stores, and I still do now that I’m mostly shopping for myself. It’s more fun in some ways, because there are things that would be far too expensive to buy for a whole family but are only a little self-indul gent to buy for one. For example, I know it’s silly to pay for somebody else to tear up a head of romaine and throw in a little spinach when I could do it myself, but the stuff just calls out to me. I know the cost of those little pizzas that can be popped into the microwave is exorbitant, considering that they’re just some bread and tomato sauce and cheese. I know the Frappucino chilled in glass bottles is just coffee and milk and sugar, but I seldom leave the store without one. I have the perfect ratio nalization, which is that it’s still cheaper than take-out. There’s that, and there’s the genetic factor. My grandmother on my mother’s side, from a grand Food * | ' ■I a a ", National Paata Association California Stuffed Shells have a remarkable flavor combi nation, with turkey, crystallized ginger and pears. — ; ~7~ Salads round out any course By KRISTY WARREN Journal Staff Writer A fresh salad can round out the meal. Most of us have our favorites that we add to everyday salads, but you can spice things up a little by making your own dressing! Here are some suggestions from rainwa terreptileranch.org: “Not on the First Date” Red Onion/Shaliot Dressing 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup red wine vin egar 1 medium shallot, minced, or 2 T red whole cilantro leaves Prepare pasta accord ing to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and saute, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 3 minutes. mother spent her early years cooking for passengers of a large steamboat, and I’d probably save money never cooking anything from scratch, because I always cook for a small army even if it’s just me. Let’s say I’ve just dropped by the store on the way home to pick up some cat food. Once I get there, I am tempted / v y , Charlotte Perkins Lifestyle Editor qMPUn@Bvaßflnrwn.Cßii by the rotisserie chicken, but I decide I’d rather get some boneless skinless chick en breasts to cook in the George Foreman grill, which also means that I need some fresh lemon, and some fresh pineapple already cut up, and some salad in a bag. Then while I’m in the pro duce department, I see some celery and cabbage and that makes me think of soup. Suddenly, I go into Steamship-cooking-from scratch-mode. I must make •. v _ . . 'Y onion, minced 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon basil 1/4 teaspoon McCormick's Spicy blend, or other general purpose spice blend 1/4 teaspoon bla-k 1/4 tefiibodn Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt Combine in blender at top speed for about a min ute, so that all of the onion or shallot is reduced. The result should be a creamy pink dressing. Chill over night in refrigerator. The result is a mild, oniony dressing with a slightly sweet edge. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic and cook until pepper turns bright green, about 1 minute. Add Marinara sauce and barbecue sauce and heat just to boiling. Remove from heat. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of water and return pasta to the pot. a big pot of my favorite soup which is a variation of the kind they used to have at Shoney’s. I always justify the huge amount of Something-like- Shoney’s soup I make by freezing most of it in sin gle-serving plastic contain ers that can be thawed and heated in the microwave. Even so, it usually winds up costing about $5 per serv ing. This is because the soup making impulse never hits me while I am at home and can check to see what ingre dients I already have. So I push my cart up and down the aisles gathering up soup essentials and I wonder as I wander.. How long has that ground beef been in the freezer? Are there any lentils at home? I think probably so, but I’m not 100 percent sure, and since lentils are the one cheap food left in the world, why not just buy another bag just in case? Are there diced tomatoes at home? Maybe. Best to be on the safe side though. Barley? It would be truly bad to W AWmm ft p 1 Ik JP2 -■ lfet_ National Pasta Association Bow Ties Alle Portofino features shrimp and sundried tomatoes. Mom’s Honey j Balsamic Vinaigrette 1/2 cup balsamic vin egar 2 teaspoons honey 1 teaspoon Dijon mus "‘T* teaspoons cold 6-8 teaspoons olive oil 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper Optional: 1/4 - 1/2 tea spoon herbs such as dill or basil Warm vinegar and honey in microwave for 20 sec onds or more until honey dissolves in vinegar. Add Sea SALAD, page SC Add chicken mixture and cheese to the pot. Stir over low heat until pasta is coat ed with sauce. Add enough of reserved cooking liquid, if necessary, to make the sauce lightly coat the pasta. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl and top with scallions and cilantro. get home and find no barley. Whoever heard of soup with out barley? And what about the plastic containers? Do I have enough? Didn’t I throw away some that had turned orange? Do they have lids? Of course, when I get home with my multiple bags of cat food, pineapple, salad, soup ingredients and plastic con tainers, it always turns out that I already have ground beef in the freezer, four cans of diced tomatoes, one plas tic container of lentils, two • unopened bags of lentils and enough barley to feed half of Scotland. I’ll share the recipe, but don’t kid yourself that it’s going to be thrifty. Something'like' Shoney’s Vegetable Beef Soup (Serves 6-8 for one meal, or one person for eight meals) 2 lbs. lean ground chuck 2 tablespoons oil 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 onion, chopped 3 cups water SECTION c California Stuffed Shells Serves 6-8 40 Jumbo Shells 3 cups cooked turkey breast, diced 3 green onions, minced 1/4 cup crystallized gin ger, finely minced 1/4 cup carrots, finely diced 1/4 cup sliced almonds 2 medium ripe pears, diced 1/3 cup low-fat mayon naise 1/4 cup soft fresh goat cheese 1 tbsp. lemon juice salt and pepper to taste watercress sprigs, mint or mache (a miniature gourmet salad green) for garnish Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well. Combine the turkey and next five ingredients in a bowl. Mix together the may onnaise, cheese, and lemon juice until well blended. Stir into the turkey mix ture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pep per. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tbsp. of the filling. Arrange See PASTA, page 5C 1 cup tomato juice or V-8 2 cans beef broth 1/2 cup barley 1/2 cup lentils 1 bay leaf 2 tablespoons oil 3 stalks celery, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables 1 can diced white pota toes (or one large potato peeled and diced) 1 cup of shredded fresh cabbage 2 cans diced tomatoes Salt and pepper to taste Brown the ground chuck, celery and onion together, using just enough oil to avoid burning. Drain well. Spoon the meat, celery and onions into a big pan. Add beef broth and water, bring to a boil. Add bay leaf, barley and lentils. Put lid on and simmer for 20 minutes. Add frozen vegetables, diced potatoes, cabbage and diced tomatoes. Season to taste. Bring to a boil again and simmer for 10-15 minutes