My family loves Food Network, and one of our favorite chefs is Valerie Bertinelli. We appreciate how down-to-Earth she is, and love when she updates classic traditional recipes we all grew up with, but would like to make for our family today. We’re often really busy nowadays, too, so we often just don’t have time to make things the old-fashioned way. So, we are really loving with Valerie’s Home Cooking!

There’s lots of wholesome meals that are also simple to prepare. The Quick Rotisserie Chicken Gumbo is turning into a family favorite — so quick and easy, but with lots of flavor and a great recipe for using up leftover rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. The Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes are another dish my whole family loves, especially served on crusty, fresh-baked rolls with a fresh salad (fruit or veggie) on the side.

The Four Cheese Crab Mac & Cheese is my husband’s favorite, and my kids LOVE the S’mores Popcorn. I appreciate how easy and quick the recipes are — and how suitable they are for our family, especially for fast weeknight meals. The book is really nicely printed, with beautiful photography throughout, I think this cookbook would make an excellent gift for anyone who cooks and would like to bring some added flavors to their kitchen.

Here’s some of the delicious recipes that are included in Valerie’s Home Cooking:

1. All-in-One Breakfast Smoothie
2. Arugula, Apple, and Fennel Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette and Three-Cheese Crostadas
3. Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Shrimp with Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce
4. BLT Pasta
5. Individual Blueberry-Nectarine Crumbles with Honeyed Lime Yogurt
6. Brown Sugar Sriracha Bacon Bites
7. Hamburger Helpa
8. Lobster BLTs
9. Mom’s Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
10. Roasted Eggplant Pesto Pasta
11. Scalloped Potatoes
12. Slow-Cooker Pasta Bake
13. Slow-Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Chicken
14. Spicy Arrabiata Penne
15. Steamed Clams with Spicy Garlic Bread

BLT Pasta

Print Recipe

Description

If you are looking to whip up a rich pasta awash in flavor, one that gives you the sense of being especially indulgent yet you want to avoid both cream sauce and lots of preparation—you have found the perfect recipe. One day when I found myself considering Tom’s and my dinner plans, I looked in the fridge and found bacon, arugula, and fresh basil. I already had tomatoes in a bowl on the counter. And I thought, “Wait a minute. This is a BLT. What if I put it all together?” I did, and the result was a splendidly tender pasta with a lightly acidic tomato-wine sauce that went perfectly with the smoky bacon. With the peppery kick of the arugula, it really was a BLT. You don’t want to overlook the basil, either. For the nuance of its sweetness, pluck it from your garden or pick it up that day at the grocery store.

Ingredients

12 cups water
1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pounds plum tomatoes (about 10 tomatoes)
6 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
4 cups fresh baby arugula
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1- Bring the water and 1/4 cup of the salt to a boil in a large saucepan over high. Hull the stems from the tomatoes. Cut a shallow ‘x’ through the skin on the bottom of each tomato.

2- Place the tomatoes in the boiling water, and boil about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes, and submerge in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Reserve the salted water in the saucepan.

3- When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel back the skin using a paring knife. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise; squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces.

4- Place the bacon in a cold large skillet; cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 10 to 13 minutes. Drain the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in the skillet.

5- Add the onion to the hot drippings in the skillet; cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Add the wine; cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 5 minutes.

6- Return the reserved salted water in the saucepan to a boil; add the spaghetti, and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water to the tomato mixture in the skillet; toss to coat. Add more cooking water, if necessary, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Transfer to a large bowl; toss with arugula and half of the chopped bacon. Divide evenly among 4 serving bowls; top evenly with the basil, remaining chopped bacon, and Parmesan.

Variation: This is easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand, like spinach and linguine instead of the arugula and spaghetti.