Italian Pepper Pasta with homemade sauce

Macaroni Grill used to have a sausage and pepper pasta. I would order it all the time. It came with peppers, onions, chicken, feta cheese in a spicy tomato sauce or Arrabbiata Sauce.

The sauce is very easy to make on your own. It takes very few ingredients and what you are left with is a delicious dish.

Ingredients
Red bell pepper - chopped
Onion - chopped
Spaghetti - cooked

Sauce from Epicurious.com
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 14 1/2-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)
1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Saute onion and garlic with red pepper flakes. Add the bell pepper
Add the tomatoes with juice and the wine bring to a boil
Turn down the heat and simmer about 10 minutes or until it thickens
Season with salt and pepper to taste

Add to pasta and toss with feta cheese.

Hollandaise Sauce

I love eggs benedict. I get it sometimes when we go out for breakfast. I've just never made it at home because of the sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce always sounded very daunting to me. I don't know why. When I came across this recipe online, I thought it didnt sound so hard. So I thought I'd give it a try. It was pretty easy to make. For awhile, I wondered if it was ever going to thicken, but when it did, it thickened fast

Ingredients

5 egg yolks

5 tablespoons of butter - melted

1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of water

pinch of cayenne

• Whisk yolks and lemon juice together until mixed in a big glass bowl
• Place bowl over a pot of boiling water (the bowl should NOT touch the water)
• Whisk the egg mixture - don't let it get too hot or they will scramble
• Slowly add the melted butter
• Whisk until the sauce is thick
• Take off the heat and whisk in the salt and cayenne

I thought this recipe was really lemony. Almost like biting into the lemon itself. If thats what floats your boat keep it- I think if I make this again, I'll add only a little bit of lemon juice and just subsitute water for the rest.