Week 2- Recipes

Unlike last week, this week is not very healthy. It is a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. The recipe calls for something called Truffle butter. If you are not familiar with it, let me tell you a little about it. Truffles are mushrooms and it comes in two kinds: white and black. The black is not as strong as the white & I have found many uses for it. Truffle butter is great melted as a dipping sauce with artichokes, as a spread on sandwiches ( I will post a great filet of beef sandwich that uses Truffle butter at a later date) and even in scrambled eggs! Truffle butter has become one of my favorite ingredients. You can find it at your local grocery, but it can be cheaper at a specialty grocery store. In North Carolina it is almost $2.00 more expensive at our local grocery than at a specialty grocery store. It can be expensive, but there are many uses for this great ingredient. This recipe calls for the use of Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta, but it states you can use other egg fettuccine. I am going to use whole wheat fettuccine for this pasta (an attempt to make it a little healthier.)
I am also going to include a wonderful salad dressing that is super easy to make & is one I use often. My "standard" salad for the week is easy to make, but full of flavor. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Arugula. It is my all time favorite type of lettuce to use for a salad. It has a peppery flavor to it that makes it very tasty. The recipe calls for mesclun mix, but feel free to use whatever lettuce you like. My simple salad is this: arugula, shredded Parmesan cheese & pecans, then top with dressing. I will post the results of the pasta recipe in a few days. Here are the recipes:

Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tagliarelle-with-truffle-butter-recipe/index.html

Vinaigrette for green salad http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/vinaigrette-for-green-salad-recipe/index.html