Pecan Caramel Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (look at my comment)
2/3 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and very finely ground*
20 caramel candies
3 tablespoons cream or whole milk
2 to 3 tablespoons large crystal sea salt* (look at my comment)
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate morsels (at least 60% cocoa) (look at my comment)

Combine flour and salt in bowl; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients in batches, mixing between each. Stir in ground pecans. Cover and chill dough until firm. (It will seem like you need to add more flour but you don't. Just put it in the fridge until in firms up.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or butter the sheets.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls with floured hands. Place on baking sheet at least one inch apart, and form a cavity in the center of each with ball of thumb. Bake for 13to 15 minutes or until bottoms are brown and set.
Remove cookies from oven; cool briefly on baking sheet. Transfer with a spatula to a wire cooling rack set over a piece of parchment paper.
Melt caramel candies and cream together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Fill center of each cookie with approximately 1/2 teaspoons of caramel. Sprinkle warm centers evenly with sea salt, and let sit until firm.
Place chocolate in plastic bag in a bowl, cook on medium at 30 second intervals in microwave. Massage between each interval until melted. Cut a small hole in bottom corner of bag and drizzle chocolate across each cookie; add additional salt if desired and allow cookies to sit until chocolate is firm.
Makes about 4 dozen.

* To toast pecans, place nuts in a single layer in an ungreased shallow pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool.

Cannelloni with Besciamella Sauce

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 oz pancetta, finely chopped (bacon)
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef (minced)
4 plum roma tomatoes, chopped
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 lb pasta dough*
besciamella sauce*
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese


Filling
In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the pancetta, onion, carrot, and celery and saute until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ground beef and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until the beef is lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture is thickened, about15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the egg and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper then set aside.

*Pasta dough
3 cups all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon safflower oil

To make dough by hand, place the flour in a mound on a hard surface. Make a well in the center. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and oil. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Then with a fork gradually work the egg mixture into the flour. When the mixture gets too hard to mix with your fork, switch and start working the dough with your hands.
Lightly flour your hands, gather the dough into a ball, and knead, adding additional flour in small amounts as needed to prevent stickiness, until smooth and elastic, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Place the dough in a plastic bag and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to relax the dough before rolling. Cut or break the dough into 4 equal (or as equal as possible) pieces and return 3 to the bag to keep from drying out.
Roll out the pasta
To roll the dough out using a pasta machine, adjust the rollers to the widest setting. Flatten the piece of dough with your hand, lightly dust with flour, and pass the dough through the rollers. Fold the dough in half and pass it through the rollers a second time. Repeat the rolling and folding 6-8 more times or until the dough is smooth. Flour the dough lightly if it tears or starts to stick. Reset the rollers one width narrower and repeat, passing the dough, WITHOUT FOLDING, through the rollers. Continue to put the dough through the rollers, without folding it and using a narrower setting for each pass, until the sheet of dough is the desired thinness, usually the second to last setting for stuffed pasta such as ravioli or cannelloni. Each sheet will be 4-5 inches wide. (Hopefully but it doesn't really matter)

Using a thin bladed knife, cut into eight4 by 6 inch rectangles.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta, a few rectangles at a time, and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Using a sieve, remove the pasta from the pot, drain well, and place on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

*Besciamella Sauce
Heat 2 1/2 cups whole milk in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear at the edge of the pan. In another saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat. Whisk in 3 tablespoons all purpose flour and cook, stirring, until foamy, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, white pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. To assemble the cannelloni, pour one third of the besciamella sauce into a baking dish. Put 1/4 cup filling on each pasta rectangle and spread to cover the pasta, leaving about a 1/4 inch border around the edge. Working from one short side, roll up the pasta and filling. Place seam side down on top of the sauce in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining pasta and filling, placing the rolls touching in a single layer. Pour the remaining besciamella sauce evenly over the top of the cannelloni and sprinkle evenly with the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Bake until the cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve at once. Makes 4 servings.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnuts
2/3 cup mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard
2 teaspoons hot water
1-2 teaspoons garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Make the Special Sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, and sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate the sauce until you're ready to eat. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard in a separate bowl and set aside as well. Eventually add the hot mustard to the Special Sauce to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from pan and cool.
As the chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
Prepare the Stir Fry Sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar together in a small bowl.
Mince the chicken to the same size as the chestnuts and the mushrooms.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and return to high heat. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for at least 5 minutes (or until you are sure the chicken is completely cooked) then serve it in the lettuce "cups". Top with the Special Sauce.

Serves 2-3.

Linguine with Pesto, Green Beans, and Potatoes

1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 3 - inch lengths
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 1/2 inch thick
Salt
1 lb linguine pasta
Pesto

Bring a saucepan 3/4 full of water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to a colander. Return the water to a boil, add the potato slices, and cook until tender but firm, about 4 minutes. Drain and add to beans.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water, add pasta, and cook until al dente (cooked until tender but still firm at the center) 7-8 minutes. Add the green beans and potatoes during the last minute of cooking. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Transfer the pasta, green beans, and potatoes a large bowl. Add the pesto* and enough of the reserved pasta water to make a fluid sauce, gently toss.

* Pesto recipe - the recipe says to make it in a food processor but I have always made it in a blender/magic bullet.
3 cloves garlic
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (to toast simply put in a frying pan on medium heat and stir frequently until the nuts are golden. They will continue to cook after you take them off the heat so it is a good idea to take them off a little early)
1/2 cup pure olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Add all the ingredients except the cheese together and blend until nicely mixed. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and then add the cheese.