Archives For Italian

Baked Ravioli

March 8, 2011 — Leave a comment

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt & fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme or oregano
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 lbs. ravioloi
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Method:
1. Prehead the oven to 425. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5.5 cups — 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (the pasta will continue to cook in the oven). Drain the pasta; return to the pot.
3. Toss the sauce with the pasta. Pour the pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with chesses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

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Egg Noodles with Roasted Squash

September 22, 2008 — Leave a comment

INGREDIENTS:

1lb (500g), peeled, seeded. & cut into small cubes

Salt & freshly ground pepper

7 TBSP Unsalted Butter 

1TBSP Olive Oil

8 large leaves Fresh Sage

1/3 c. Pine Nuts – lightly toasted & coarsely chopped

1/2 c. Heavy (double) cream

1lb. Wide egg noodles or pappardelle

METHOD:

1- Roast the squash. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Arrange the squash cubes on the sheet in a single layer & season lightly with salt & pepper. Roast until golden brown & tender, 15-25 minutes. Set aside.

2- Make the sauce. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. In a large frying pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the oil. Add the sage & sauté until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the pine nuts & cream, stir to combine, and remove from the heat. Remove the sage and discard. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3-Cook the pasta. Add 2 TBSP salt & the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 c. of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce. Add thee roasted squash and stir to combine. Add as much of the cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce & serve.

Serves 4

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Shrimp Scampi

May 6, 2008 — Leave a comment

Mark gave me this recipe & I thought it was pretty unique what what was written in the e-mail describing how his friend got ahold of this one:
“Guys, I received this recipe from an ex FBI agent who is recently dying who worked with my Father-in-Law. I’ve been using this recipe for many years now at xMas time (and in an Italian family, that is major!). It is that good. Use good quality, fresh ingredients and you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy. ”

Ingredients:

¾ LB. Shrimp
6 TBLS Butter
1 TBLS Minced Green Onions
1 TBLS Olive Oil
4 – 5 cloves of garlic pressed
2 tsp Lemon Juice
¼ tsp salt
2 TBLS Minced Parsley
¼ tsp Grated Lemon Peel

Method:

Combine Butter, Green Onions, Olive Oil, Garlic, Lemon Juice, salt and cook over medium heat until bubbly. Add Shrimp and cook until desired doneness (don’t overcook). Add Parsley and toss lemon Peel, immediately remove from heat.
Makes 4 servings.

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Mama Bianco’s Spaghetti Sauce

May 6, 2008 — Leave a comment

Ingredients:

1lb   Ground Beef
½ lb Ground Veal
(6) Italian Sausages (hot or sweet)
½ lb Mushrooms of your choice
(1) Large Can Tomato Sauce
(1) Can Tomato Paste
(8) Cloves Garlic
(1) Onion, diced
(1) Bulb Fennel
(2) Bay Leaves
1 TBSP Oregano (fresh if you have it)
1 TBSP Basil   (fresh if you have it)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Brown beef, veal and sausages in sauce pan. Drain, set aside. Cut sausages into ½ in. pieces.  Sauté’ onions and mushrooms in a good olive oil until tender.  Add can of tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic and meats to pot with enough water to make good sauce. Trim fennel bulb top and bottom and add whole to sauce. Add bay leaves and herbs to sauce. Simmer for up to 3 hours. Remove bay leaves and fennel before serving. Serve with any good pasta especially heavy ones like farfalla, linguine, and rotini.  Pass the parmesan and Romano cheeses

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Mom’s Lasagna

May 6, 2008 — Leave a comment

1lb ground beef
40 oz. can crushed tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce – seasoned
2 – envelopes spaghetti sauce mix (yes, spaghetti!)
2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
8 oz. lasagna noodles
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
16 oz. Cottage Cheese – Cream style (large curd)
8 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

Brown meat.
Add next 4 ingredients, cover and simmer 40 minutes.
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Cook noodles
rinse in cold water.
place 1/2 of noodles in lasagna pan.
cover with 1/3 sauce and 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 cottage cheese.
end with the sauce on top.

Finish with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tip: Let set for an hour before serving, it will still be hot; if you do not let it set it will be rather runny as it is cut.

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