Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

This literally means "spaghetti prostitute style". The story, as I heard it as a child, was that brothels in Italy, long ago, served food to their clients in addition to "dessert", and this spicy sauce came from there. I was looking for this particular recipe months ago and couldn't find it. I ended up with a milder and less tasty recipe than this one; I'm glad I found it again. The traditional recipe includes anchovies, I substitute sundried tomatoes.

You need:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled and chopped (canned is fine)
1-2 tbsp. capers
12-16 black olives (normally the recipe calls for pitted, but honestly, just warn your guests that the pits are still in there, and they'll be fine)
1 hot chili pepper (how hot? your choice. You can use jalapenos, serranos, habaneros, dried red pepper flakes, or whatever you can find locally)
1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped finely
Black pepper
3 oz. sundried tomatoes, packed in olive oil, patted dry, and chopped into small pieces
2-3 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs. spaghetti (you can really serve this on whatever pasta you have around, but this is traditional)
Salt

The instructions:

• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and saute 2 cloves garlic, crushed, until browned.
• Add the remaining garlic clove, finely chopped, the tomatoes, capers, olives, chili, oregano, and a little black pepper (freshly ground, if possible).
• Cook over a brisk heat for 20 minutes.
• Lower the heat and add the chopped sundried tomatoes, then cook gently for 2 minutes.
• If you used a whole chili, remove it, then add salt to taste.
• If you want things extra spicy, chop up the cooked chili you removed and return it to the sauce.
• Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until tender, drain it, and dress it with the sauce while hot.

I would recommend plating this with not just the chopped parsley, but also a sprinkle of parmesan, and some chopped walnuts.  

Black Eyed Peas and Stewed Tomatoes

This is similar to a recipe my uncle used to make back in Virginia, but without the bacon. These bring good luck for the new year.

Ingredients:

1/2 bag cooked dried black eyed peas (or 1 box frozen), cooked
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tbsp. each dried celery leaves and parsley or 1 sm. bunch fresh minced
Salt & pepper to taste
A few dashes Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp. dried onion or 1 onion, minced
1 green pepper, minced, fresh or frozen

Instructions:

• Cook and drain the peas according to package directions.
• Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Simmer for at least 20 minutes, or place in crock pot on Low 3 to 4 hours.
• Add extra stewed tomatoes if you're going to leave it in the crock for longer.
• To substitute for bacon, add some Liquid Smoke