I love this recipe! It is simple and gets a huge reaction from people.  They devour it by the batches and everyone is shocked to realize that the star of this recipe is….wait for it….SALTINE CRACKERS!  Yes, seriously.  Try it out, people will think you’re a rock star.

Chocolate Toffee Crackers
35-40 saltine crackers (I fit as many as I can onto a jelly roll pan – usually 1 1/2 sleeves)
1  cup butter
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1t pure vanilla extract
1 bag of chocolate chips (12 oz.)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a 15×10x1-inch jelly roll pan with tin foil. (If possible, use Reynold’s Release Tin Foil because it’s non-stick.)

• Lightly spray foil with a non-stick cooking spray. (Omit if using non-stick tin foil)
• Place saltine crackers, salty side up, in prepared pan

• In a saucepan, melt butter and then add sugar.

• Boil butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Use a whisk! Be careful, the mixture is extremely hot!

• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
• Pour mixture over crackers and spread out evenly.

• Bake for 6-7 minutes (or until bubbly like the picture)

• Remove from oven, top with chocolate chips, and spread evenly as chocolate begins to melt.

• Cool slightly and transfer onto waxed paper. (Omit if using non-stick tin foil)
• Allow to cool completely and cut or break into bars.

That’s it!  Really, try it…they are amazing.

I’m going out on a limb here by saying I don’t like vodka, so the idea of vodka sauce never really appealed to me. I couldn’t imagine it tasting good with pasta.  A few days ago, my friend Karen brought some really yummy spinach and cheese stuffed gnocchi with vodka sauce for her lunch. Of course I tried it and thought it was delicious.  I was thinking about trying a new recipe for dinner this week and decided to give the vodka sauce a try.  I searched for a few recipes online and ended up using one from cooks.com. I changed a few things as I went along and kept my fingers crossed.  It was a very simple recipe and tasted really, really good.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vodka
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I skipped this, but may try it next time)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound prosciutto, chopped (I used 4 thin slices of pancetta instead)
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine vodka and red pepper flakes. Set aside for 1 hour.(see note above)
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Saute pancetta, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper until pancetta is evenly browned.
4. Pour in vodka mixture, and simmer 10 minutes.
   
5. Add tomatoes, and stir in with 2 cans of tomato sauce, parsley and basil.
   
6. Simmer 15 minutes.
7. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream, and cook 2 minutes.
   

   

My Notes:
1 cup of vodka seemed like a lot, so I cut it back to 3/4 cup.  After tasting the sauce, I will try it with the recommended 1 cup next time.  Zoe was eating with us tonight, so I did not add the crushed pepper flakes.  Jose and Jason both said they’d like it with a bit of heat, so I may add them to the vodka next time, like the recipe states. I did not have prosciutto so I used thinly sliced pancetta instead. Next time, I’ll use a chunk so I can dice it better, but it worked out ok. I did not add the 1 cup of water because the sauce would have been too runny.  I recommend keeping it handy just in case the sauce needs to be thinned out.  Finally, in my photo you see half and half.  After I took the photo, I realized I had heavy cream in the fridge so I DID use that as the recipe stated.

Ciao!