La Di Frickin Lasagne

Not much to say about this one. I will have to post the bread sticks and the salad that goes well with this when I have more time. Uncooked lasagnas freeze very well so the extra work can be done well in advance. You can make several batches at a time and freeze the extras to thaw out and cook later.

1. 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
2. 1/2 lb. minced (ground) beef
3. 1/2 onion, chopped fine
4. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
5. 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
6. 1 tablespoon salt
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
8. 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
9. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10. 1/4 cup chopped parsley (divided)
11. 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, un-drained, halved, seeds removed
12. 12 oz tomato paste
13. 1/2 cup water
14. 1/2 tablespoon salt
15. 2 cups ricotta cheese
16. 1 egg
17. 8 lasagna noodles
    
18. 16 oz. package of mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (a wire cutter is nice for semi-soft cheeses like this)
19. about 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Remove sausage casings, and break sausage into small bits.
2. Sauté sausage and ground beef in 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat with onion and garlic until the meat is browned.
3. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, basil, fennel, pepper, and half the parsley; mix well.
4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and water, mashing the tomatoes a bit. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
6. Cook and drain pasta.
7. In a medium bowl mix ricotta, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining parsley.
8. Assemble your lasagna in a 13" x 9" x 2" roasting pan (listed bottom to top):

• bottom layer of sauce (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
• layer of pasta (overlapping slightly)
• layer of 1/2 the ricotta mixture
• layer of 1/3 of the mozzarella
• sauce layer (again, about 1 1/2 cups)
• layer of grated Parmesan sprinkled over sauce (not so much that the sauce layer is covered entirely)
• layer of pasta
• layer of remaining ricotta
• layer of 1/3 of the mozzarella
• layer of remaining sauce
• layer of sprinkled Parmesan
• layer of remaining mozzarella

1. Cover the lasagna with foil and roast 30 minutes covered, then 25 minutes uncovered (or until bubbly and lightly browned). Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortie McShortshortcakes

Totally awesomeness is about all I can say about this one. Probably the most stuff going on thing I got in my book, but it is totally worth it. It's a nice follow up for any "I'm trying to impress you...hint hint nudge nudge know what I mean" dinners. Also it's a good dessert that you can make ahead of time and assemble as needed.


For the topping:

1. 1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
2. ¼ cup sugar
3. 1 cup heavy cream

For the shortcakes:

1. 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
2. ⅓ cup sugar
3. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4. ¾ teaspoon baking powder
5. ¼ teaspoon salt
6. 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
7. 3 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped
8. 2 large eggs
9. ¼ cup heavy cream
10. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 bean again for you elitists)
11. raw sugar for sprinkling

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make the shortcakes. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into flour mixture until sandy. Add the chocolate. Whisk 1 egg, the cream and vanilla in a glass measuring cup; stir into flour mixture with a fork to make a shaggy dough (there will be some dry bits). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; pat flat until 1 ½-in. thick. Cut into 6 rounds with a knife or a cookie cutter, using the scraps for the last cake.
2. Place the rounds on the baking sheet; freeze for 20 minutes. Beat the remaining egg; brush onto the cakes and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until firm, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
3. Meanwhile, make the topping; toss half of the strawberries with half of the sugar in a bowl, set aside. Place the remaining of each in a saucepan, cook over medium-low heat, mashing with a fork to make a thick puree, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Whip the cream; swirl in the strawberry puree.
4. Split the shortcakes in half. Layer some of the strawberry cream and fruit on the bottoms; cover with tops. Finish layering with cream and berries.
   

Spinach-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Goodness

This is something that I like to make for that special someone or when I am entertaining a large group. It is a really simple delicious dish. I have been trying to perfect this on the grill but am having a hard time with it drying out. But in the oven it's perfect. Make sure that the sliced ham you use is fresh from the deli and not that crap you get in the bag. I have been rolling around the idea of slicing this really thin and then serving it on some egg-wide noodles with a good tomato sauce. I will let you all know how that turns out when I get around to it.

1. 1 pork tenderloin (around 1 pound)
2. ½ teaspoon celery salt
3. ½ teaspoon garlic powder
4. ½ teaspoon pepper
5. 4 slices provolone cheese
6. 2 cups fresh spinach
7. 2 thin slices deli ham
   

1. Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of he tenderloin to within ½ in. of bottom. Open tenderloin so it lies flat. On each half, make another lengthwise slit down the center to within ½ in. of bottom; cover with plastic wrap.
2. Flatten to ¼-in. thickness. Remove plastic wrap; sprinkle pork with ¼ teaspoon celery salt, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Layer with the cheese, spinach and ham. Press down gently.
3. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Tie the roast at 1 ½-in. to 2-in. intervals with kitchen string. Sprinkle with remaining celery salt, garlic powder and pepper. Place on a rack in a shallow baking pan.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Transfer to a serving platter. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
   

Chicken that parties with mushrooms and peas

Now this is just a good easy recipe to make with chicken. It normally serves 4 but doubling everything is a good way to make sure there are leftovers for lunch the next day. Also I would imagine that this would go great over a bed of rice, either white or long grain.

1. 4 chicken cutlets (about 1 ¼ pounds), patted dry
2. Kosher salt and ground pepper
3. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4. All-purpose flour, for dredging
5. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6. 2 scallions, thinly sliced
7. 8 ounces mushrooms (button, cremini, shiitake, or a combination), quartered
8. 1 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
9. ¾ cup heavy cream
10. 2 cups sugar snap peas, stemmed and halved lengthwise

1. Preheat the oven to 200°. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Dredge 2 chicken cutlets in flour, shake off any excess, and place in skillet. Cook until golden, about 1 ½ minutes per side; transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken. Cover the dish loosely with foil; place in the oven while you prepare the veggies.
2. Add the butter to the hot skillet, then add the scallions and mushrooms; cook, stirring with wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and boil until sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the snap peas and heat through; season with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken topped with the creamy veggies.
   

OMG it's Zucchini Bread

This is perhaps one of my favorite things to make. I think it's because I use about every dish I own making it. This bread has two secrets that are necessary to make it delicious. One is to make sure that the dry goods and wet ones are mixed separate then mixed together. And the second is to make sure you use a damn good apple, I love honey crisp apples here. They add a nice sweet taste and keep the bread good and moist. Another trick I use is when I pull them out of the oven I place them on a cooling rack and press down gently. This way the cooling rack will embed a cutting guide on the bottom for perfect sized slices.

1. 3 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1 cup dark brown sugar
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
6. ¼ teaspoon baking powder
7. ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
8. 3 eggs
9. 1 cup vegetable oil
10. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or 2 vanilla beans for you elitists out there)
11. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12. 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium sized will do)
13. 1 cup shredded peeled apple (about 1 medium sized will do)

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Stir in zucchini and apple.
2. Transfer to two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

NUTRITION FACTS (for you hippies out there): 1 slice equals 229 calories, 11 g fat (1g saturated fat), 26 mg cholesterol, 165 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Jerk...and I'm not talking about me.

I have decided that this is the first recipe that I am going to share. I have had quite a few number of requests for it. Which I guess is a good thing. A good way to keep the heat down(if you can't handle it you wuss) is to seed the Scotch Bonnet. This sauce goes great on shredded pork or on chicken breasts. It is a pretty versatile marinade whether you are making sandwiches or chicken with rice and beans served with a side of plantains. So with out more blabbing here is the Jerk.

1. 1 large bunch scallions, roughly chopped
2. 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, quartered and seeded
3. ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4. ¼ cup lime juice
5. 6 cloves garlic
6. 2 tablespoons thyme
7. 1 tablespoon ground allspice
8. 1 tablespoon ginger
9. 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
10. 1 scotch bonnet chile pepper, stemmed (optional to seed it)
11. 1 tablespoon salt

Combine all in a food processor; pulse to make a thick sauce. Refrigerate until needed.

Howdy

So I have decided to start a site where I can share my thoughts on the greatness that is food. My idea for this place is a site where I can post recipes that I have come across or come up with and good places to eat around town. Feel free to add your favorite recipes and restaurants! Now time for the good stuff.