Moroccan chicken

1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts (cubed)

Spices:
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

3 oz beer
1/2 white Onion
1 zucchini

Cous cous

Brown chicken with spices in large pan for 4mins, remove chicken, and then...
Saute olive oil, beer, garlic, onion, zuchini for 5mins and add chicken back and simmer for 10 mins covered.

Prepare the cous cous and poor gravy over it to serve.

Trottole pasta with special sauce

[Picture coming soon]

1 lb Trottole (corkscrew) pasta

Special Sauce:

10oz can of diced tomatoes (strained)

8oz can of tomato sauce

1 chopped green pepper

1 tsp Chili garlic sauce

1 Cup of Creme

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt, Pepper & Sugar to taste

Boil pasta for 15 mins.

Cook sauce in a saucepan for 15 mins.

Poor sauce over pasta and serve.

New Year's Eve sparkling wine tasting

I stopped at the old PA wine & spirits store (limited selection) and picked up a few sparkling wines to taste for New Year's Eve.

Here's what I got:

- Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee (Champagne "style")

- Cavit Lunetta Prosecco

- Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava Brut

- Elmo Pio Asti Spumante

Here are some terms defined to help understand these wines.

- Brut: Very Dry

- Cuvee: First press or special batch

- Asti Spumante: sparkling wine produced in the town of Asti in Piedmont, Italy. Made from the Moscato Bianco grape, it is sweet and low in alcohol, and often served with dessert.

- Cava: is a Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional method of the French sparkling wine

- Champagne: is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of the wine to effect carbonation. Made exclusively in Champagne region of France.

- Prosecco: a dry sparkling wine, generally made from grape variety Glera, which is grown in the Veneto region of Italy.

Phyllis's Homemade Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
In a saucepan or crock pot, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon.
Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft.
Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Spicy pumpkin soup

Ingredients:

-4 Tbsp unsalted butter
-2 teaspoons minced garlic
-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
-1 teaspoon ground coriander
-Pinch ground cayenne pepper
-3 (15 oz) cans of pure pumpkin (6 cups)
-5 cups of vegetable broth
-2 cups of milk
-1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Blend ingredients and simmer on low for 15min. Garnish with either sour cream, pumpkin seeds, or cilantro.

Gnocchi Gruyere

Ingredients (2 servings):

-1lb. gnocchi

-8oz Gruyere cheese

-4 tablespoons butter

-chopped garlic

-1/4 cup half&hlaf

Instructions for 2 serving:

- Cook gnocchi

- add garlic to saucepan and cook for 1 min

- add cream, grated gruyere cheese and butter to pan and cook on high until fully melted.

- season sauce with salt\pepper

- strain gnocchi and combine with sauce and mix well with sauce.

- serve on plate and top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy.

Baked Gnocchi

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of gnocchi
1/2lb of mozzarella
Sauce: (you can substitute canned tomatoe sauce)
-2 cans of diced petite tomatoes
-1/2lb of ricotta
-2tsp crushed Red pepper
-2tsp minced garlic
-2tsp cup olive oil
-2tsp sugar
-1/4 cup white wine

Directions:
1. Place sauce ingredients in saucepan and cook for 10min.
2. Boil gnocchi
3. Mix sauce and gnocchi in baking dish and cover entirely with mozzarella cheese. Then bake at 350 degrees for 15min.