A Little Piece of Italy

I’m big on creating new recipes and making them easy. This menu fits that criteria and is wonderful served with a tossed salad, fresh Italian bread, and a good bottle of red wine.

Curly Pasta Bake

1# Campanelle pasta or other curly pasta
8 cups Tomato and Garlic Pasta Sauce (see below)
¾ cup grated mozzarella cheese
¾ cup grated provolone cheese
¼ heaping cup grated Parmesan

Coat the bottom of an ovenproof dish with 1 cup sauce. Add in dried pasta and 4 cups sauce. Mix well.

Sprinkle a ¼ cup of mozzarella and provolone across the top of the pasta.

Ladle over 3 cups of sauce.

Scatter remaining mozzarella and provolone over the mixture.

Dust on Parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

To Bake:
Remove dish from fridge 2 hours before baking.

Preheat oven to 325°F

Bake 30 minutes or until hot.

Leftovers freeze well. You made need more sauce or a little chicken stock when you reheat.

Serves 4

Italian Sausage

5 Italian sausage links – mild or hot
½ cup chicken stock
Red and/or yellow peppers cleaned and cut into strips
Olive oil
Oregano

Preheat oven to 350°F

Pour the chicken stock into a baking dish. Nestle the sausage in the stock. Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn the sausage, then lay the pepper strips on top. Sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with a little olive oil. Cook for 30 minutes.

Leftover sausage freezes well. Later, use them for sandwiches on crusty rolls and smothered in the tomato sauce. Serve with French fries for an easy meal.

Tomato and Garlic Pasta Sauce

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped fine
1½ tbsp. garlic, pressed
4 cups tomato puree or sauce
1 six-ounce can tomato paste, pesto type
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup dry red wine
2 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and transparent, 6-8 minutes. Do not let them brown. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Pour in the tomato sauce and all remaining ingredients. Stir well after each addition.

Bring sauce to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 1 hour. Be sure to stir often of the bottom will burn.

Remove bay leaf.

This sauce is excellent for all your favorite Italian pasta, poultry, and meat dishes. It also freezes well.

Mangiare Bene!

Sloane Taylor
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It's Wednesday. So, What's Cooking?

Almost Homemade Pizza, with Warm Belgian Endive and Pine Nut Salad.

It’s been a busy week. Honestly, the last thing I want to do is cook, very unusual for me. I have decided to make my life easy, so tonight Studs can dine on one of his favorite meals. I hope you like it, too.

Warm Belgian Endive and Pine Nut Salad
Almost Homemade Pizza
Dry Red Wine – Ruffino Chianti

Almost Homemade Pizza
1 (12 inch) pre-baked Italian bread pizza crust. I prefer Boboli
1 cup pizza sauce
1 ¼ cups shredded mozzarella
½ lb. Italian sausage, pinched into dine sized pieces
Fresh Parmesan or Romano to grate over the top
Mushrooms, peppers or what ever else you enjoy can be added

Preheat the oven to the temperature recommended on the crust package.

Lay the crust onto a baking sheet of appropriate size. Spread the sauce over the crust. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Lay your other sausage etc. on top. Cover the pie with the remaining mozzarella then grate some fresh Parmesan or Romano over that.

Bake according to the crust package directions or until the sausage is no longer pink and the cheese is melted.

The pizza makes a great leftover lunch, but the salad will turn bitter and limp.

Warm Belgian Endive and Pine Nut Salad
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
pepper to taste
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 heads Belgian endive
½ tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk in olive oil slowly until you have an almost creamy consistency. Taste and season with pepper. Set aside.

Cut endive heads crosswise into rings. Remove the hard end of the stems and discard. Rinse in a colander, shaking to separate the slices into rings. Set aside to drain.

In a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts. Stir constantly so that they do not burn. Once the pine nuts are golden, add the endive rings. Warmed slightly, then pour in the dressing and toss to coat. Reduce the heat a bit if the endive is wilting too quickly. You want to maintain some crispness and texture.

If you have guests to impress, sprinkle in the parsley. The sharp green flecks will brighten the dish and enhance the flavor, but the salad is in no way lacking without.

Serve immediately.

It is best served directly from the pan to the plate. If is put in a bowl, the dressing will settle at the bottom and be difficult to toss again without damaging the endive.

I'll be back Friday with a little more for aspiring authors. Until then...

Mangiare Bene!

Sloane Taylor

It's Wednesday. So, What's Cooking?

Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage, Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing.

A quick meal guaranteed to satisfy the hungriest person in your crowd and not break the budget.

Pasta
Italian Sausage
Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
Texas Toast Garlic Bread found in your grocers freezer section
Dry White Wine – Pinot Grigio or Chianti Wine

Pasta
Curly pasta
3-4 plum tomatoes diced
¾ cup virgin olive oil
fresh basil leaves
1 clove fresh garlic pressed
fresh mini Mozzarella balls quartered
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta al dente. While its boiling sauté the garlic in the olive oil for 1 – 2 minutes. Don’t let it burn or your dish will be bitter.

Drain the pasta well. Add the oil/garlic mixture, Mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Toss well.

Serve the freshly grated Parmesan on the side.

The Meat
Italian sausage mild or hot – 1 link per person
Oregano
½ cup chicken stock
Olive oil to drizzle
Red and yellow peppers cleaned and cut into strips

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Lay the sausage in a baking dish. Add the chicken stock and bake covered for 25 minutes.

Lay the peppers across the sausage in any pattern you like. Sprinkle oregano across the top. Drizzle on a little olive oil. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.

Salad
Red leaf lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Head lettuce
Tomato chunks

Plan two leaves of each type lettuce and half a tomato per person. Combine in a bowl. Cover with a damp paper and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Creamy Garlic Dressing
1 ½ cups mayonnaise – it must be real mayo, not Miracle Whip
½ cup vegetable oil
Scant ¼ cup white vinegar
3 tbsp. chopped onion
¾ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 big gloves garlic pressed

Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Mix on high until smooth.

Keeps two week in refrigerator. Store on bottom shelf.

To serve either toss with your salad or arrange the salad on individual chilled plates and ladle a dollop on top.

I'll be back Friday with a little more for aspiring authors. Until then...

Mangiar Bene!

Sloane Taylor

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

Chicken & Italian Sausage with Potatoes and Stuffed Tomatoes.

Summer is a busy time with family, picnics, sports, gardening, and so much more. So who has time for major cooking? This week it’s a one pot main course. Use a cooking dish that goes from oven to table for easier cleanup.

Chicken & Italian Sausage with Potatoes
Stuffed Plum Tomatoes
Fresh Italian Bread with Flavored Olive Oil for Dipping
White Wine – Pinto Grigio

Rosemary Flavored Olive Oil
A good quality olive oil
Sprigs of fresh rosemary

Fill a glass bottle or pitcher with olive oil. Add several sprigs of rosemary into the bottle. Be sure the herbs are completely covered. Store out of the sun for three days. Remove the herbs and discard. The flavored oil is good for two months.

This works well with all herbs and/or garlic.

Chicken & Italian Sausage
1 lb. chicken pieces of your favprites, if you use breasts they must be quartered.
1 lb. Italian sausage links cut in half
¾ cup chicken stock fresh or canned
4 gloves garlic pressed 1 – 2 lbs. red potatoes washed and quartered
rosemary flavored olive oil
1 red pepper seeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper seeded and sliced
3 tbsp. oregano
Parsley, preferably fresh, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a large ovenproof dish with flavored olive oil. Lay in the chicken and sausage. Add the chicken stock and garlic. Bake 20 minutes. Stir the mixture once while it roasts.

Add the potatoes. Sir well and bake for 25 minutes. Again, stir the mixture once while it is roasting.

Add the peppers and oregano. Drizzle on the olive oil and bake another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are done. Test with a toothpick. It must easily pierce the potato.

Monitor the chicken stock level in your pan. Be sure to add more if it looks dry.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

Stuffed Plum or Italian Tomatoes
1 plum tomato per person, halved and scooped clean
½ tsp. oregano per tomato
½ tsp. basil per tomato
1 mini mozzarella ball per tomato chopped
1 small garlic glove per tomato pressed
1 tbsp. olive oil per tomato

Drain the tomatoes cut side down on paper towels.

Mix together the remaining ingredients. Scoop the filling into the tomato shells, mounding slightly.

Chill and serve as a salad or as a first course.

The leftovers from this meal also make a great lunch.

I'll be back Friday with a little more for aspiring authors. Until then...

Mangiar Bene!

Sloane Taylor