CHUCK n (riga)Toni in Vodka Sauce

Vodka Sauce
2 TBS EV Olive Oil
1 Cup chopped onion
1/2 Cup chopped carrot
1/2 Cup chopped celery
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 Cup vodka
1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes (plain or with basil)
1 - 29 ounce can tomato sauce
1 1/2 Cups beef broth
1 TBS chopped fresh basil
1 Cup heavy cream

In a large pot heat the extra virgin olive oil. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until tender, about 8 minutes (do not let burn). Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for one minute more. Carefully pour in the vodka (especially if cooking over an open flame!) and cook so it reduces by about half for 5 minutes. Add the canned crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth and let simmer for 45 to 50 minutes. After it has simmered, add the basil and let cook for a minute before adding the heavy cream. Bring the temp up to a simmering bubble before serving with your favorite pasta.
Makes about 8-9 cups of sauce.

Drunken Chuck n Toni in Vodka Sauce
1/2 recipe of Vodka Sauce
2 TBS EV Olive oil
2 - 3 pound chuck roast, sliced thinly
S & P
1 16 ounce box Rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained
Add the extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet. Heat to medium and brown the sliced chuck until no longer pink, season with the salt and pepper. Add the cooked beef and cooked pasta to the vodka sauce.

Drunken Chuck

Drunken Chuck n Toni

Happy days!

I announced my retirement in our staff meeting at work last week, although it's several months away (28 weeks actually), I am so excited I can't hardly stand it!
I really wanted to get my cookbook ready before then, but it really is a lot of work putting my recipes together, coming up with new ones. I've put too much pressure on myself and I think I need to slow down, my time is coming and I'll be able to focus 100% on just that. I have a few other ideas brewing in this big ole' head of mine as well and again, putting too much pressure on myself to get started. My last actual working day will be August 29th, with my planned official retirement date of September 19th. I will be saving 3 weeks of my vacation to use out in September. I'm still making lots of notes as I cook, I made a Mexican chicken and rice dish last night but I think it needs some tweeking before I post that bad boy. It was good but it could be better.
Since I haven't been faithful to this page I thought I better jot down a few notes about my plans. I've committed to making a grooms cake for a wedding in June, gasp! I'm planning on making some cupcakes today to try out the recipe. I'm using a white cake mix and turning it into red velvet...should be interesting! The bride (not the groom, after all it's his cake...) has requested a whipped frosting so I'll be experimenting with some whipping cream, powdered sugar and also some cream cheese to see what I can come up with.
Hope your day is blessed!