THAT'S ITALIAN!

Until the world went crazy, Columbus Day was a national holiday that commemorated the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. It was celebrated every second Monday of October and became a federal holiday in 1937. Okay, so we all know now that he never made it to the Good Old US of A, but he sure had a lot of 1492 type fun in the Caribbean. Since I always got that day off school, I’m good with giving Chris a meal to celebrate his day.

MENU 

Pizza Casserole

Orange Granite

Dry Red Wine – Chianti

Photo by Anna Guerrero from Pexels

Pizza Casserole
1 lb. (500g) bulk Italian sausage
Cooking spray
1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
1 6 oz. (170g) can tomato paste
6 oz. (200ml) water
1 tbsp. (15ml) garlic powder
2 tbsp. (30ml) oregano, divided
1 tbsp. (15ml) basil
1 tsp. (5ml) sugar
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1½ cups (170g) mozzarella cheese, grated
Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

Preheat oven to 425° F (220°C).

Break sausage into chunks. Sauté over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink, about 15 minutes.

Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch (22 x 33cm) pan with cooking spray. Spread pizza dough into pan.

Combine tomato paste, water, garlic powder, oregano, basil, sugar, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir well. Pour onto dough, spread to pan edges.

Lay sausage on sauce. Bake 12 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. Scatter mozzarella cheese over casserole, and then sprinkle with remaining oregano. Cast Parmesan across the top. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cut into squares to serve.

Orange Granite – Flavored Ice
2 cups (450ml) water
¾ cup (90g) sugar
1 cup (225) orange juice
3 tbsp. (45ml) lemon juice

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Stir only until sugar dissolves. Timing from the moment the sugar water begins to boil, cook mixture for exactly 5 minutes. With this method you have created a simple syrup. Remove pan from heat and allow syrup to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, stir orange and lemon juices into syrup. Pour mix-ture into a shallow metal pan.

Freeze granite for 3 to 4 hours. Every 30 minutes, stir and scrape in the ice particles that form on the sides and bottom of pan. The granite should be a fine, snowy texture. For a coarser texture, which I prefer, freeze flavored syrup in ice cube trays until solid, then drop cubes into a plastic bag and smash with a heavy spoon or mallet.