Spaghetti Pomodoro

The first time I went to Italy, I was 18 years old. While not particularly well-traveled, I knew that the food in Italy wouldn't taste anything like the spaghetti or lasagna my parents made or the stuff they served at Olive Garden (the closest thing to "authentic" my readily available when I grew up). I didn't know how simple and delicious it would actually be. I also had no idea that pasta is generally a first course. 

On our first night in Italy, we were served a big plate of pasta and it was so delicious that when the waiters came around asking if anyone wanted any more, we all happily took some. Imagine how surprised (and stuffed!) we were when they took our plates away and brought us each a couple of pieces of roasted chicken and potatoes. We learned our lesson the next night, and while we definitely still over-indulged in every dish of pasta the waiters put in front of us, we knew to save room for the equally delicious second plate that was about to come our way.

I've been trying for a while to make a good spaghetti pomodoro, plain and simple, like what you can find in pretty much every restaurant and cafe across Italy. I tried several recipes with no luck. I think I was over-thinking it. So, one day, I decided to just throw things that made sense into a pot and see what came out. I think I hit it with this one. I'm not saying this is going to be better than your Italian grandmother's, but I'll be flattered if you think it is. 

I'm going to submit this to this week's Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Ruth of the great blog Once Upon a Feast. I haven't participated in a while and am looking forward to getting back into it!

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Pomodoro
Serves 4

Cook & Prep Time - 15-20 min

INGREDIENTS
Olive oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock
salt & pepper
6 basil leaves, chiffonade
dash red pepper flakes
1 lb spaghetti noodles
1 TBSP butter

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Heat about 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat. Add the garli and sautee for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the red wine vinegar and cook for about 2 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the tomato sauce and stock and stir to combine. Season with salt & pepper, to taste (you shouldn't need much). Add the basil and red pepper flakes and stir. Cook for about 5-10 minutes.

Add the hot pasta to the pot. Top the pasta with about 1 TBSP of butter and toss to combine. Top with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.

Baked Ziti

I love baked ziti. In my opinion, it's basically the epitome of comfort food. I also love mascarpone cheese. So, as I was sitting at home watching the rain turn into snow and the wind steadily get stronger, I was inspired to make a baked ziti with mascarpone.

I think I struck gold with this one - it was absolutely delicious and I would make it again in a heartbeat - though, I probably would make a smaller batch because I ended up with enough food to feed an army. It's smooth and creamy, and the flavors combine wonderfully. In fact, we liked it so much that I have decided to submit it to this week's Presto Pasta Nights, sponsored by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, and hosted this week by one of my favorite blogs, Ben at What's Cooking.

I hope you enjoy it!


Baked Ziti with Mascarpone Cheese
Serves 8-ish
Prep Time - 5-10 min
Cook Time - 40 min

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ziti pasta
1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb Italian sausage
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 cup sour cream
1-2 cups Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef & Italian sausage with onion & garlic. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add marinara sauce to the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Thin the sauce just a tad with about 1/8 cup water or chicken stock. Season the sauce with garlic & herbs, to taste.

In a large bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, sour cream, and cooked pasta.

Layer the pasta, sauce and cheese in a large greased casserole dish as follows:

• 1/2 pasta
• 1/2 sauce
• 1/2 cheese
• remaining pasta
• remaining sauce
• remaining cheese

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with Parmesan cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

MMM... Manicotti

I know I've blogged about manicotti before, but I finally got a good picture, and I've decided to submit the recipe to Presto Pasta Nights, which is started and organized by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, so I've decided to do it again. This week's round-up is hosted by Ulrike at Kuchenlatien. This recipe makes a lot, and I like to make a full batch and freeze half. Thanks for hosting, Ulrike. Enjoy, everyone!


Manicotti
Recipe from my mother-in-law
*Serves about 8*

1 box manicotti shells
2 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (I use the 5-cheese blend)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
8 oz Ricotta cheese (whole milk variety)
12 oz cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Marinara sauce (no set amount, but a lot)

DIRECTIONS:
Par cook noodles (about 5 min). Drain, but do not rinse.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all cheeses and egg in a bowl. Stuff noodles and place in a 9x13 pan.

Cover with sauce and bake for 1 hour (45 min covered and 15 min covered). Let sit about 5 minutes before serving.

Mascarpone Mac & Cheese

Sometimes, you just feel like mac & cheese, don't you? Yeah... I know you do. I do too. I'm a sucker for the stuff. Considering this week already sucks, mac & cheese was a necessity.

Most of my readers should know by now that coming up with my own recipes really isn't my thing, but I gave it a go tonight, and I must say, I impressed myself. In fact, so much so that I'm going to submit it to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Kate at Thyme for Cooking. I didn't really measure, so the recipe below is an approximation.

Mascarpone Mac & Cheese
Serves 4
Cook Time - 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3/4 lb elbow macaroni
2 TBSP butter
8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened
3/4 cup grated Fontina cheese

Béchamel
3 TBP butter
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
3 TBSP flour

DIRECTIONS
Boil noodles to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the béchamel by melting the butter in a medium saucepan. Add milk & cream. Whisk in remaining ingredients and simmer until slightly thickened.

In another saucepan or medium skillet, melt 2 TBSP butter. Once melted, add mascarpone cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Add the fontina and mix until smooth.

Add the noodles to the cheese mixture and stir until well mixed. Add the béchamel and mix until it reaches your desired level of creaminess. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Chicken Piccata Pasta

Three hearings in four days, including one day working very late meant I didn't cook this week (I'm sorry Husband). I felt like starting off the long weekend with some light, brothy pasta, but didn't feel like putting forth a whole lot of effort. Don't let the fact this is a Rachael Ray recipe deter you - it's actually really good! I even made very few changes to the original recipe. The best part is that it came together in about 20 minutes and only used one pot and one pan. I hope you enjoy it. I think I might submit it to Ruth for the next Presto Pasta Nights, once I figure out who's hosting this week.


Chicken Piccata Pasta
Recipe by Rachael Ray
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
One boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small strips
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 TBSP butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 TBSP flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cup chicken broth or stock
1 TBSP capers, drained
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2/3 - 3/4 lb penne pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat.

Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes.

Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce.

Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce.

Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives and Parmesan cheese.

Notes
* I really wouldn't do much differently. While the chicken was a nice touch, I don't think it was necessary. I don't think you'd be missing much by leaving it out or putting some veggies in its place. I want to try this with boneless skinless thighs in the next time, given that they have slightly more flavor.

Rigatoni with Italian Sausage

If you haven't figured it out yet, we love Italian food. Really love it. I personally think it's one of the best cuisines available. I think I could eat spaghetti with marinara sauce pretty much every day, and my husband thinks the same about pizza. I made up this recipe after looking at a bunch of recipes on CookingLight and FoodNetwork and playing around with them. The end result was great. I loved the combination of spicy Italian sausage with tomatoes and cheese. It worked a lot better than ground beef does. I even think I'm going to submit this over to Ruth for Presto Pasta Nights. I hope you enjoy it, too.

My husband thought the casserole dish looked cool. And because it's just that good, here's another photo of it.

Rigatoni with Italian Sausage

INGREDIENTS
2/3 lb Rigatoni Noodles
1/3 lb bulk hot Italian sausage
½ medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp tomato paste
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 can petite diced tomatoes (I recommend Muir Glen Organic)
2 cubes Trader Joe’s frozen fresh basil (about 1 ½ TBSP fresh chopped)
~1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded Asiago Cheese
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Brown sausage in medium skillet. When about halfway done, add onions and garlic and finish cooking. When sausage is browned, add tomato paste, salt, & pepper. Add tomatoes and basil and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, combine sausage mixture with pasta. Toss to coat. Place half the mixture in a large casserole dish. Top with half the Mozzarella cheese, half the Asiago, and half the Parmesan. Repeat.

Bake for approximately 25 min or until the cheese is bubbly.

*I recommend serving this with garlic bread and a side salad. Have you figured out yet how much I like garlic bread?