Come Original

We've mentioned before that cooking and food are part of our culture. Not just because we're Mexican, but because we're Vazquezes... Vazquezi...Vazquezeseses? You get the point. We grew up on delicious home cooked meals. Our mom makes amazing Mexican classics and our dad loves to invent and is particularly fond of Italian food. This particular dish is a Vazquez original recipe, first thought of by our father and perfected by the entire family. So now we share it with you and we know you'll love it! (And if you don't, please seek help. There's something seriously wrong with you).

Pasta Brie

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Spaghetti
• 3 roma tomatoes, cut into medium cubes
• 1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
• 7.5 oz Brie cheese, cut into cubes about ¾ inch wide
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• A bunch of basil, chopped. Reserve some whole leaves for garnish
• ½ cup dry white wine (Ex: Sauvignon blanc)
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

Put the spaghetti to cook in a pot of boiling salted water. Keep checking on the pasta while your prepare the rest of the recipe. We want the pasta to be al dente when we mix it with the sauce.

While pasta is cooking, heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan. Add in the chopped onion and sautee for about two minutes, then add the garlic. Cover the pan and let cook until the onion becomes transparent, stirring as needed so it does not stick or burn. Add in the white wine and turn the heat up to high to evaporate the alcohol in the wine. Add a dash of salt and pepper, then cover and let it sit over low heat.

Just before the pasta is al dente and ready to be strained, add in the cubes of Brie cheese, diced tomato and chopped basil to the onion and wine. Let ingredients sit until the cheese melts. When the pasta is ready, set aside one cup of the water before straining. You can use this in the sauce if you need to moisten it up a little.

Strain the pasta and add it to large pan with the sauce, mixing gently until all of the ingredients are well mixed and the pasta is evenly coated. It should have a pretty creamy constancy with the melted Brie cheese so add some of the pasta water here if you need to. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese and any more salt or pepper to taste.

Lastly and most deliciously, serve up the pasta, making sure your scoop up some of the sauce that may have settled to the bottom of the pan so that there is equal yumminess on each plate. Sprinkle with some more Parmesan cheese, garnish with a little basil leaf and enjoy! Oh and don't forget to serve yourself glass of that white wine and play a little music.

So what do you think? Since this is the first original recipe we post, you have to let us know if you try it out and how it went!

Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Brie!

Mariana and Paula

Spaghetti Junction

In our household, spaghetti is considered a comfort food. It's warm, it's meaty, it's full of delicious carbs... what's not to like?! Justin and Mariana like to make it regularly, and have perfected their very own recipe. In fact, their wedding favors were little spice jars filled with oregano or chili flakes and accompanied by this recipe. For those of you who joined us that day (and hopefully joined the bride on the dance floor for a little Gaga, MJ, or Shout!), hopefully this is an oldie but goody! For those of you weren't there, we hope you enjoy it now!

 The Vazquez-Maloney Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 package of spaghetti
• 1 pound of lean ground meat or ground turkey
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 2 regular cans tomato sauce
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Chili flakes, to taste

Optional Ingredients:

• Garlic powder, to taste
• Fine herbs, to taste

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, begin sautéing the ground meat with a little salt and pepper. When the meat is about halfway done, add the onion and garlic. Stir frequently. Once cooked, drain excess fat and remove the mixture from the saucepan.

In the same saucepan, pour the red wine. You can use stale wine if you have it, or open a new bottle. Let the wine cook off a little. As it’s doing so, scrape the bottom of the pan to lift the taste of the meat, onion, and garlic.

Next, add the one can of diced tomatoes and two cans of tomato sauce to the wine. Stir, then add the meat, onion, and garlic. Add herbs, salt, and chili flakes (and optional ingredients if you're using them) and stir. Let simmer.

Boil water with a couple pinches of salt. Add spaghetti and cook according to the instructions on the package.

While the spaghetti cooks, taste the sauce. Add more of the herbs, chili flakes, or salt if needed.

Strain spaghetti. In large bowl, mix spaghetti with enough sauce to coat the noodles. Serve, then spoon a little more sauce on top.

Enjoy with bread, red wine, and a little music!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Meaty carbs!

Mariana and Paula