Creamy White Garlic Pasta

Now that I live at home again, my parents do this thing where they find something they like and they want it every time I cook for them.....

We've had the Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry I posted in January on a weekly basis.

With that in mind--and acknowledging the fact that I have been coaching more and doing my grad school interviews--I haven't had the time to try many new recipes, BUT I found this one.  I tried it last month when I had to whip something up to impress the new boyfriend.  It was really easy, and cooking the noodles in the garlic and broth added a lot of flavor.  A friend from college once told me, after his time in Italy, that over there they season the water before they cook pasta.  After making this, I can totally understand why.

As far as reviews:  the boyfriend said that even though he wasn't USUALLY a huge white sauce fan, he really liked this.  He might have been trying to impress me right back, but I really liked it.  It is super creamy and delicious, and writing this post is making me want to put a pot on the stove right now to make it again.  Actually... I just might!

Creamy Garlic Pasta
Recipe via The Cheese Pusher

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
In a pot, heat the olive oil on medium-high.  Add the garlic, stir, and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the butter until melted.  Add the salt, pepper, and chicken stock.  Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil.

When boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Reduce heat to medium and mix in the parmesan cheese until completely melted.  Remove from heat and stir in cream and parsley.  Serve immediately.

Super Bowl XLVIII Dip-Off Winner

Though my third-annual Super Bowl Dip-Off changed locations this year, I would say that it was pretty successful.  Thank you to all the friends and family who participated!  Especially my parents, who are incapable of taking a challenge lightly (no wonder where I get my competitiveness from), and made three dishes each.

I mean, it is sort of cheating making so many..... but I think everyone agreed my mom's Easy Feta Dip was definitely the winner, so I guess we can overlook the multiple submissions.

Super Easy Feta Dip

Recipe from: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

• About 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3-5 green onions, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 2-3 tsp Cavendar's Greek Seasoning
• Fresh baguette, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, tomatoes, green onions, feta, and Greek seasoning.  Stir to combine.

Serve with thinly sliced baguette.

Optional: Brush baguette slices with olive oil, lay out on a cookie sheet and broil until lightly brown.

Kitchen Tip: Shredding Chicken

When I was a kid, my mom would make huge batches of enchiladas so we would have some in the freezer.  She would boil a huge pot of chicken and then we would all sit around a big bowl shredding it for hours. Well... at least it felt like hours... I wish we had known about this little trick back then.

I made some BBQ Chicken Dip for the Super Bowl Dip-off, and after cooking the chicken, I just threw it into the mixer with the pastry attachment on low and in about a minute had perfectly shredded chicken.

Edible Cookie Dough Icing for Brownies

The annual Super Bowl Dip-Off was a success--though my parents might have taken the challenge a little too literally... They each made three dishes each, and in usual Phillips' style we had WAYY too much food.  But I guess that is the point of the Super Bowl. ;)

Though there were a lot of dip submissions, I am selfishly going to post what I think was the best item of the day (even though it wasn't a dip)...

I've been seeing this on Pinterest, and I guess I should have tried to make the brownies from scratch to really complete the recipe, but I cheated and used a box of brownie mix.  If you want to be adventurous, the entire recipe (including brownies) was posted by Your Cup of Cake, a super cute blog with wayy better pictures than mine.

Anyways, here is the recipe for the cookie dough icing.  It is eggless, so it is edible, and though I am usually not a fan of eggless cookie dough, this recipe tastes pretty close to the real thing.  I even got a call from my friend's fiancé, when she took some home to him, asking for the recipe.  Definitely expect some rave reviews if you make this.

Cookie Dough Icing (for Brownies)
Adapted from: Your Cup of Cake

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, unsalted, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk or cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (about one bag)

Directions:
Cook brownie, and cool completely.

Beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar together until smooth, about two minutes.  Add milk, vanilla, and flour and mix until just combined.  Stir in 1 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

After brownie is cool, spread cookie dough over the top, then spring with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.  Drizzle with chocolate sauce and refrigerate 1-2 hours for easy cutting.

Serve with ice cream or a big cold glass of milk.