Pasta Yaya Recipes

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH YA-YA PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a rolling boil; stir in the egg noodles and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through but is still firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chopped onion, green pepper, garlic, and parsley. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning; simmer 5 minutes longer.
• Pour in the heavy cream, mushrooms, and 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese; stir until the cheese has melted. Toss the pasta with the crawfish sauce and green onions; sprinkle with the remaining Cheddar cheese.

YIAYIA'S PASTITSIO RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large dutch oven, cooking pasta according to package instructions. Once pasta is cooked and drained. Add back to dutch oven and coat with a splash of olive oil to keep noodles from sticking. Cover and set aside.
• This is the correct amount of salt needed to make delicious tasting pasta!
• In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil and add in ground beef and onions. Saute until ground beef is browned and onions are translucent.
• Stir in salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
• Stir in tomato. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off fire and move pan aside.
• In a dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.
• Make a roux (Flour and butter mixture to thicken bechamel sauce). Stir in flour and continue to stir until its coated in butter. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently.
• Then, In a large microwave bowl, warm 4 cups of milk in microwave for about one minute. Add in two eggs and whisk well.
• Turn heat to medium high and whisk milk mixture into flour/butter. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Whisk constantly to smooth out any lumps and prevent the mixture from sticking.
• Keep your full attention on this step, as the mixture needs to constantly be whisked. It takes about 5 minutes or so for it to thicken. Once it thickens and reaches a pancake batter consistently turn off flame and remove from stove.
• NOTE: You will need either TWO 9 x 12 dishes or one DEEP 10 x 13 dish to properly fit the mixture and prevent the bechamel from overspilling.
• Next, spread about 1/2 cup meat sauce on bottom of pan -- just enough to cover the bottom.
• Layer half of the noodles and top with the meat sauce and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
• Layer the remaining noodles.
• Pour the bechamel sauce on top of the noodles evenly to cover.
• Lastly, sprinkle 1 cup of parmesan evenly on top of the bechamel sauce.
• Bake covered for 20 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 30-45 minutes, or until the top of the bechamel is golden brown.

PASTALAYA

Steps:

• Cooking Instructions 1 Cut the sausage and pork into bite-sized pieces. Dice the onions, bell pepper, and celery. 2 Cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned. Remove the sausage from the pot and set aside. 3 Season and cook the pork over medium-high heat until browned. Remove and set aside. 4 Season and cook the onions, bell pepper, and celery over medium heat until browned. 5 Add the cooked meat and sausage to the pot with the vegetables, and add the water, garlic, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the meat is tender. 6 Season the water and taste with a spoon. The water should taste slightly over-seasoned. 7 Bring to a light boil. Break the noodles in half and add them to the pot. Push the noodles down into the water and cook at a high simmer/low boil for 10-15 minutes, stirring the pot every minute. 8 The noodles are cooked when almost all of the water is gone. There should be a very small amount of water left, making the noodles looks moist. At this point, turn the heat off, cover the pot, and let sit for 10 minutes.

CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes more. Add tomatoes, paprika, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper; bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add broth to the pot and return to a simmer. Add penne and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until pasta is tender but firm to the bite and shrimp are cooked through, about 7 minutes more.
• Stir in cream. Stir in thyme, oregano, and basil. Cook until just heated through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve topped with green onions and Parmesan cheese.

YIA YIA'S SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• What makes this sauce so good is the long, slow cooking time, which allows it to develop a complex flavor. It shouldn't simmer; there should be just a bubble rising to the surface every now and then. Meaty beef bones add more depth and complexity. (If you have beef stock, you can add two cups of it in place of the beef bones.) This sauce is chunky with abundant tomato and sliced garlic. Depending on what you're using this for, it can be served as is (over a very thick hearty pasta or as part of a braising liquid). But if you were to use it for an angel hair or as a sauce for sauteed veal, you would probably want to puree it in a blender until it's uniformly smooth. This sauce freezes well, so you can make big batches, portion it into smaller containers, and freeze it when you need it.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan or large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, 2 minutes. Add the salt and garlic and cook until everything is soft but not browned, about 3 minutes.
• Squeeze the tomatoes one by one into the pan, pulverizing them by hand, and pour in their juice, too. Add the bones, wine, oregano, red pepper flakes, if using, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to its lowest possible setting, and continue to cook for 8 hours. The sauce should reduce by about one-third.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Remove the bones and bay leaf. If not using right away, let the sauce cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

PASTA YA YA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt butter and saute garlic and green onions for 1 minute.
• Add chicken and cook until chicken begins to turn white.
• add sausage, chicken stock and pasta.
• Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add cream and reduce for 1 min.
• Add the spice mix and stir well.
• Serve.

SHRIMP YA-YA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Add Parmesan and garlic, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat; let thicken. Add parsley and red pepper, if desired.
• For the shrimp: In the work bowl of a food processor, add basil, pine nuts and garlic; pulse to combine. With motor running, add 2 tablespoons oil in a steady stream and process until a smooth paste forms. Add 2 tablespoons Parmesan and salt and process 30 seconds more.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; cook until pink and firm; stir in red pepper, basil mixture and Quick Alfredo Sauce. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

PASTA YAYA

Steps:

• 1. Rinse chicken and pat dry slice in small thin pieces.
• 2. melt the butter in large saucepan. Add garlic and green onions. Saute for 1 minute. Add sausage and chicken.
• 3. cook until chicken is done but not browned. Add the cream. (you can also use milk and flour instead).
• 4. simmer over med-low heat until liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in chicken stock and pasta.
• 5. Simmer until the sauce is thickened slightly, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, and Blackening Spice.