Cooking in Pajamas

I love a recipe that fuses two of my favorite cuisines together in one dish.  These shells are a cross between a traditional Italian stuffed shell that is traditionally stuffed with a ricotta cheese filling and a traditional Greek dish flavored with pepperocini, artichokes, spinach and feta cheese.  The resulting dish is loaded with flavors in every bite.  

The entire recipe can be made ahead of time and either refrigerated for three days or frozen for three months.  Here are a few tips to turn this into a  quick weeknight meal.  Do all the steps ahead or just one or two:
1 - the night before, defrost the artichokes and spinach on your kitchen counter
2 - make the sauce the night before
3 - cook the shells first thing in the morning, drain and toss with a little olive oil so they won't stick
4 - prepare the filling ahead of time

In addition, this is a great dinner to serve vegetarians.

Spinach, Artichoke and Feta Stuffed Shells

1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers
1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes with added puree (such as Progresso) $
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded provolone cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) low-free cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (9-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 garlic cloves, minced
20 cooked jumbo shell pasta (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
Cooking spray

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese melts.

I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa last week. Ina invited the chef from the Hamptons restaurant, Nick and Toni's to mak his version of Penne alla Vodka. "Boring", I thought to myself. I have always thought that Penne alla Vodka was one of the most overrated Italian pasta dish. To me, it always tastes like pasta with plain marinara, but watching Ina and Chef Joe Realmuto make this version, I was intrigued.

The sauce gets started on the the stovetop, but finishes in the oven for an hour and a half.  By baking the sauce over a long period of time, the flavors get concentrated and sweet. When I say this dish is delicious, I am under-rating how complex and scrumptious it is. This dish is silky smooth, rich, creamy, a little spicy, with a slight charred flavor.

The recipe is supposed to be finished with fresh oregano. I didn't have any in the house, so I just left it out. To make up for any potential lack of flavor, during the step where you saute the onions, garlic and vodka, I added in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning (in addition to the crushed red pepper and dried oregano).  Everyone at the dinner table had TWO servings of this dish. I am planning on making it for a dinner party we are having next month. 

Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola
recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

1/4 cup good olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup vodka
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons fresh oregano
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
Grated Parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan.

Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.

This recipe started with an early morning trip to Whole Foods. I was heading to the mall, but it didn't open until 10, and it was only 9:15. I decided to pop in and see what caught my eye to prepare for dinner that night. It was just going to be me and Joey, so I was thinking grilled cheese and soup, but then the Rainbow Swiss Chard caught my eye. The Chard had dark green leaves and the stalks were a rainbow of yellow, purple, pink, white and red.  It looked something like this:

I grabbed two bunches. Then I saw some beautiful, local chicken sausage, and knew right away what to make. This is my adapted version of the classic Italian dish Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage. It is just as good as the original. As a matter of fact, it is hard to tell the difference. Broccoli Rabe has more bite, but the Swiss Chard works wonderfully in this dish.

Orecchiette With Swiss Chard and Sausage

½ # sweet Italian sausage (pork or chicken)
½ # hot Italian sausage (pork or chicken)
¼ c. olive olive oil (I use garlic infused olive oil)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 (28oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 c. red wine
4 oz. tomato paste
coarse salt and fresh pepper
1 # dried orechiette
2 bunches Swiss Chard, leafy part only (discard woody stem), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 c. Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

In a medium saute pan, over medium heat, brown the sausage 5-7 minutes, or until just cooked through. Set aside.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the sausage and garlic, and saute for 3 minutes or until the garlic just begins to turn golden. Add tomatoes and the juice, red wine, tomato paste, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Let mixture simmer over low heat while you prepare the pasta and Swiss Chard.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (leave enough room in the pot for the pasta and Swiss Chard). Cook the pasta for 5 minutes. Add the Swiss Chard and cook 4 more minutes until the pasta is al dente. Drain in a large colander, then add the pasta mixture to the sauce. Stir in 1 c. Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot with extra Parmesan on the side.

This recipe started with an early morning trip to Whole Foods. I was heading to the mall, but it didn't open until 10, and it was only 9:15. I decided to pop in and see what caught my eye to prepare for dinner that night. It was just going to be me and Joey, so I was thinking grilled cheese and soup, but then the Rainbow Swiss Chard caught my eye. The Chard had dark green leaves and the stalks were a rainbow of yellow, purple, pink, white and red.  It looked something like this:

I grabbed two bunches. Then I saw some beautiful, local chicken sausage, and knew right away what to make. This is my adapted version of the classic Italian dish Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage. It is just as good as the original. As a matter of fact, it is hard to tell the difference. Broccoli Rabe has more bite, but the Swiss Chard works wonderfully in this dish.

Orecchiette With Swiss Chard and Sausage

½ # sweet Italian sausage (pork or chicken)
½ # hot Italian sausage (pork or chicken)
¼ c. olive olive oil (I use garlic infused olive oil)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 (28oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 c. red wine
4 oz. tomato paste
coarse salt and fresh pepper
1 # dried orechiette
2 bunches Swiss Chard, leafy part only (discard woody stem), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 c. Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

In a medium saute pan, over medium heat, brown the sausage 5-7 minutes, or until just cooked through. Set aside.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the sausage and garlic, and saute for 3 minutes or until the garlic just begins to turn golden. Add tomatoes and the juice, red wine, tomato paste, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Let mixture simmer over low heat while you prepare the pasta and Swiss Chard.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (leave enough room in the pot for the pasta and Swiss Chard). Cook the pasta for 5 minutes. Add the Swiss Chard and cook 4 more minutes until the pasta is al dente. Drain in a large colander, then add the pasta mixture to the sauce. Stir in 1 c. Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot with extra Parmesan on the side.

This is a great "base" recipe.  As you can see, the recipe is simple, and there are not many ingredients.  That leaves lots of room for creativity.  For example, I love garlic, so I like to add more than the recipe originally called for (1 clove). If I plan ahead, I'll add a whole head of roasted garlic to the sauce.  Of course, you can add any vegetable to the bake.  Sauteed mushrooms, squash, roasted carrots, string beans or asparagus would all be lovely in this dish.  I have also added canned garbanzo beans or canned cannellini beans.   Whatever you have sitting around the house can be added in.

It can be made way ahead of time. Refrigerate is using within 24 hours, otherwise freeze for up to 3 months.

Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake

(recipe adapted from Shape Magazine)

This is a great "base" recipe.  As you can see, the recipe is simple, and there are not many ingredients.  That leaves lots of room for creativity.  For example, I love garlic, so I like to add more than the recipe originally called for (1 clove). If I plan ahead, I'll add a whole head of roasted garlic to the sauce.  Of course, you can add any vegetable to the bake.  Sauteed mushrooms, squash, roasted carrots, string beans or asparagus would all be lovely in this dish.  I have also added canned garbanzo beans or canned cannellini beans.   Whatever you have sitting around the house can be added in.

It can be made way ahead of time. Refrigerate is using within 24 hours, otherwise freeze for up to 3 months.

Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake

(recipe adapted from Shape Magazine)

You could go to a restaurant and pay $15 for a bowl of this decadent pasta, or simply make it at home for a fraction of the price.  That's right. You can make this at home for a surprisingly reasonable price.  The secret is Truffle Oil.

The use of truffle oil has become controversial in culinary circles.  Ask any chef what they think of truffle oil, and they will most likely turn up their noses and declare it to be an unacceptable substitute to the real thing.  One of the biggest reasons for this is that many truffle oils on the market do not contain any actual truffles.  They use a synthetic ingredient to duplicate the aroma of the truffle, but their are a few brands that contain natural truffle to infuse the oil.

Real truffles sell for several hundred dollars per pound!  The bottle of truffle oil that I keep on hand is by Urbani and costs about $9 for a 1.9 oz. bottle on Amazon.  It contains actual white truffles.  That sounds small, but a little goes a long way.  Use it to drizzle over vegetables; on a white pizza;  in a vinaigrette;  on potatoes, polenta or pasta; on eggs, popcorn, potato chips, fries....  I could go on and on.  My only recommendation is to not use it on more than one course in a meal. It's easy to go overboard, and you don't want to lessen the impact by overwhelming the palette with too much of a good thing.

Adding truffle oil to mac and cheese is one of my favorite ways to use truffle oil.  I doubled the recipe, which ended up using one 1.8oz. bottle of truffle oil for a 9 X 13 pan of pasta.  I made it this week for a dinner party with 13 people.  Everyone had some (plus a few seconds) and I still had half of the pan leftover.  I guess I didn't have to double the recipe, but the leftovers were amazing.

Truffle Mac and Cheese

You could go to a restaurant and pay $15 for a bowl of this decadent pasta, or simply make it at home for a fraction of the price.  That's right. You can make this at home for a surprisingly reasonable price.  The secret is Truffle Oil.

The use of truffle oil has become controversial in culinary circles.  Ask any chef what they think of truffle oil, and they will most likely turn up their noses and declare it to be an unacceptable substitute to the real thing.  One of the biggest reasons for this is that many truffle oils on the market do not contain any actual truffles.  They use a synthetic ingredient to duplicate the aroma of the truffle, but their are a few brands that contain natural truffle to infuse the oil.

Real truffles sell for several hundred dollars per pound!  The bottle of truffle oil that I keep on hand is by Urbani and costs about $9 for a 1.9 oz. bottle on Amazon.  It contains actual white truffles.  That sounds small, but a little goes a long way.  Use it to drizzle over vegetables; on a white pizza;  in a vinaigrette;  on potatoes, polenta or pasta; on eggs, popcorn, potato chips, fries....  I could go on and on.  My only recommendation is to not use it on more than one course in a meal. It's easy to go overboard, and you don't want to lessen the impact by overwhelming the palette with too much of a good thing.

Adding truffle oil to mac and cheese is one of my favorite ways to use truffle oil.  I doubled the recipe, which ended up using one 1.8oz. bottle of truffle oil for a 9 X 13 pan of pasta.  I made it this week for a dinner party with 13 people.  Everyone had some (plus a few seconds) and I still had half of the pan leftover.  I guess I didn't have to double the recipe, but the leftovers were amazing.

Truffle Mac and Cheese

I think my family is finally beginning to look forward to our "Meatless Monday" meals.  I have managed to stretch our meatless meals to 3 dinners a week, which a goal of getting it to 5 days a week by the end of summer.  It is always a challenge for me to find dishes that are filling and delicious.   I still have emergency chicken breasts in the freezer, just in case......

Farfalle with Zucchini and White Beans was a wonderful dinner.  It was absolutely delicious, and the combination of pasta, veggies, legumes and cheese is definitely filling.  I even served some roasted broccoli with a sesame-lemon sauce as a simple side dish.  No one left the table hungry, and there was even a small portion of the farfalle leftover for lunch tomorrow.

Farfalle with Zucchini and White Beans

(courtesy of Health.com)

Ingredients:

6 ounces uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small zucchini (about 6 ounces), cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices then stacked and cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup canned small white beans, rinsed and drained

24 small curls Parmesan cheese removed with a vegetable peeler (1 1/2 ounces)

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in zucchini, salt, and pepper; cook until the zucchini begins to soften (2-3 minutes), stirring frequently. Stir in the bell pepper and beans; cook until bell pepper is softened (about 2 minutes), stirring frequently.

3. Add pasta to skillet; cook until heated through (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly. Transfer the pasta to bowls; top with Parmesan curls. Serve immediately.

I never understood why anyone would need a recipe for lasagna.  It is just a layered pasta casserole with sauce, cheese and noodles.  I don't remember when I began making lasagna, but back in college, I could make a delicious cheese lasagna in less than 15 minutes.  The most time consuming part of my preparation was boiling the lasagna noodles ("no-boil" lasagna noodles were not yet invented).  All I needed was a box of Ronzoni lasagna noodles, a jar of Prego marinara sauce, a large container of Polly-O ricotta, a bag of Kraft shredded mozzarella and Kraft grated Parmesan cheese.  I would take the one 9 X 13 Pyrex dish that I owned, and just begin to layer....sauce, noodles, cheese, noodles, cheese, sauce, etc.  Sometimes I would add in some crushed red pepper, sometimes some dried basil or dried oregano.  I would serve it with garlic bread, a tossed salad and some brownies, and I felt like a rock star.  Everyone would rave about my amazing "Italian cooking".  This was my go-to meal for the next decade.

Fast forward a few years, and I had collected an insane amount of cookbooks.  I noticed that many of them contained recipes for lasagna.  Why would anyone need a recipe for such a simple dish?  It's like, do you really need a recipe for scrambled eggs.  I was curious, and decided to look over the recipes.  None of the recipes were like mine.  First of all, most of them contained some kind of meat. Weird. Somtimes the fillings were even better than just meat.... eggplant, spinach, roasted vegetables, mixted cheeses.... They all added egg to the ricotta cheese filling.  It seemed like everyone made their own marinara sauce.   There were ingredients like fresh herbs, nutmeg, onions and garlic.  Hmmmm....am I missing out on something?  Could my lasagna be even better?  I think I better try these recipes out.

So I began to test out recipes.  Mushroom Lasagna, Turkey Lasagna, Veggie Lasagna, White Sauce Lasagna, Matzo Lasagna (for Passover...not recommended), Mexican Lasagna, No-Bake Lasagna, Overnight Lasagna, Pesto Lasagna....I could go on and on.  Some were great successes (Artichoke-Spinach Lasagna) and some went right in the garbage (Skillet Lasagna).

I decided that I really love a good, old fashioned, classic lasagna like the one I could order from La Parma II on Jericho Turnpike on Long Island Italian restaurant.  I needed to have a delicious classic lasagna that I could make when I wanted to prepare an old-fashioned Italian meal.  I have many fabulous Italian cookbooks, and I tried almost every classic lasagna recipe listed, but this is the version that won me and my family over.  It is a meat lasagna but the meat can be interchanged for ground turkey, ground chicken, veggie crumbles, portobello mushrooms, or even just left out.  The lasagna is creamy, flavorful and hearty.  It is a little extra work over my old lasagna, but it is totally worth it.  In addition, it can be made as far in advance as you need it, because it freezes beautifully.  Serve with a green salad, garlic bread and homemade brownies, and you have an inexpensive, quick meal that will serve a dozen guests.

Classic Italian Lasagna (adapted from Giada's Family Dinners)

printable version

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2T. for top of lasagna

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk at room temperature

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

Salt and white pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound Italian sausage or ground chuck beef

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese

3 large eggs

1 box pre-boiled lasagna noodles

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

3 cups shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the sausage or beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread the meat on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the meat. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.