Describing food can be so challenging at times.
Yeah, yeah talk about depth of flavor, ease of preparation.
How the meatiness of something tickles the fancy of something else in the dish and it all comes together in one big explosion…your taste buds are flipping out…
Whatever.
Well, as far as this Baked Ziti goes, it has all of the above but why bother when one word describes it.
Outstanding.
This recipe is from a dear friend who is new to the blogging world and has taken on Beard on Bread by James Beard and is baking her way through it.
Check her out here.
And check out those fabulous bowls the bread is rising in.
Her husband is a potter extraordinaire.
Check him out here.
And then start your ziti.
Claudia’s Baked Ziti
With a bit of adaptation by me
1 lb. ziti (cook as directed on package, drain)
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage , removed from casing
1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, grated
1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 C parmesan reggiano, cheese
2 eggs
6 fat garlic cloves, chopped
I large yellow onion, chopped
½ large fennel bulb, chopped
A couple of dashes crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped for garnish
28 oz. plum tomatoes
½ cup red wine
Preheat oven to 375.
Combine eggs, ricotta and parmesan.
In a large skillet, heat a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil til wavy. Add the Italian sausage and cook until brown. Remove from pan and set aside on paper towel to drain. Add onion, crushed red pepper flakes and fennel to the pan and cook til golden. Add the garlic and cook about five minutes. Add red wine and let cook down to half and then add tomatoes. Cook for about 30 minutes until reduced, thick and yummy. Add the cooked Italian sausage and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Layer into lasagna pan starting with sausage and tomato sauce, then cooked ziti, parmesan mix and mozzarella. Repeat using up all ingredients and ending with sauce and top that with mozzarella.
.
Bake covered for 1 hour, uncover last 10 minutes to brown top a little. Sprinkle chopped Italian parsley on top for garnish and enjoy.
Serves 6 generously.
Click here for a printable recipe.
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Claudia's Baked Ziti
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Shrimp and White Bean Stew with Braised Broccoli Rabe
Cold weather?
Check.
Roaring fire?
Check.
Candles lit?
Spicy shrimp and white bean stew simmering on the stove?
Broccoli rabe braised?
Check.
Check.
Check.
Wine glasses refilled?
Big fat check!
Eat!
Shrimp and White Bean Stew with Braised Broccoli Rabe
Adapted from Joyce Goldstein's Kitchen Conversations
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
8 fat cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
2 small bay leaves
Two good shakes crushed red pepper flakes
8 whole canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped coarsely
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 - ½ cups seafood stock if you have it, if not roasted chicken stock works just fine
½ cup dry white wine
18 large shrimp, peeled, tail on
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil. When oil is wavy, add the onion and saute for 10 minutes until golden, monitoring the heat so the onion doesn’t brown too much. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. Stir and let cook five minutes. Add the drained white beans and tomatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook about 20 minutes. Add the wine and stock and bring up to a good simmer. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, until shrimp are done, about six minutes.
Stir in fresh Italian parsley before serving. Use fresh cilantro if not serving the Broccoli Rabe.
Braised Broccoli Rabe
1 good sized bunch broccoli rabe, washed and chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, smashed
2 large anchovy fillets
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add broccoli rabe and cook for 10 minutes. Drain well and squeeze water out .
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil. While that’s heating, chop the garlic and the anchovies together. Add to pan when oil is wavy and a shake or two of crushed hot red pepper flakes. Cook a couple of minutes and add the broccoli rabe. Saute five more minutes and serve.
Can put in middle of bowl of Shrimp and White bean Stew and ladle stew over top.
Serves 3 generously.
Click here for a printable recipe!
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Saturday, January 9, 2010
Rigatoni with Lamb Sauce, Fresh Tomatoes and Mint
Fresh tomatoes and mint.
In the dead of winter.
Well, why the hell not?
If you’re hungry and you happen to have all the ingredients to a divine dinner, are you going to punish yourself because it might not be the “correct” time to eat something. The Food Police need to lighten up a bit.
The wonderful Campari tomatoes on the vine work great for this. And fresh mint is not hard to come by.
Combine with a simple saute of ground lamb, onions, fat garlic cloves and spicy fresh ginger and you’ve got a quick meal that will knock your socks off.
And offer hopes of warm weather during an Arctic freeze.
Rigatoni with Lamb Sauce, Fresh Tomatoes and Mint
Adapted from Patricia Wells’ The Provence Cookbook
2 onions, peeled and diced
1 large spoonful garlic confit or 6 fat garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A good inch of fresh ginger, peeled and cut in small pieces
A couple of good shakes crushed red pepper flakes
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 pound ground lamb
A good hand of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
A good pinch dried mint
1-1-2 cups dry white wine
6 Campari tomatoes, cut in quarters
A good handful fresh mint, chopped
Cook enough rigatoni for three people
Pecorino Romano cheese , grated, to pass
Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is shimmery, add onions, garlic and season with coarse salt. Stir, cover and cook over low heat until soft, about three minutes.
Throw the carrots, celery, ginger and hot pepper flakes in the food processor. Pulse a couple of times and put in pan with the onions and garlic mix. Cook until soft. Add the lamb and cook until it’s no longer pink. Add parsley, dried mint and white wine and bring to a boil. The reduce the heat and let it rock til the wine has evaporated. Patricia says that should take about five minutes.
Put the Campari tomatoes, fresh mint and a couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
At this point, when the pasta is done, drain and add immediately to the skillet. Toss together and then cover and let it sit for a couple of minutes and then taste for seasoning.
Serve with the Campari tomato and mint salad on top and a good grating of the Pecorino Romano cheese.
Pure bliss.
Click here for a printable recipe!
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Cauliflower Puttanesca
Jamie Oliver is my new best friend.
Of course he doesn’t know it.
But he has gotten me out of the cooking doldrums.
Check out his website. Just reading his recipes makes me smile.
Not to mention eating his food.
Make a puttanesca sauce, bury the whole cauliflower in it and drizzle with olive oil.
“Bake” it on top of the stove.
People, this is face down in your plate good.
“Smashing’ as he would say.
1 medium sweet red onion, peeled, cut in half and sliced thinly
1 medium sweet yellow onion, peeled, cut in half and sliced thinly
1 large spoonful garlic confit, smashed
1 large cauliflower, trimmed, cut off the stalk and chop it (leave the cauliflower whole)
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
A handful of fresh Italian parsley…chop the leaves and finely chop the stalks
½ cup red wine
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes
A good splash balsamic vinegar
You’re going to need a pan that can hold a large head of cauliflower in the middle and the puttanesca sauce around it.
Put the whole cauliflower in the pan.
Add a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil over the top of the cauliflower. Cover and cook for about 45-50 minutes on medium low heat until done.
This is a very cool way to serve cauliflower as a main dish…with a bit of Parmesan -Reggiana and chopped fresh Italian parsley on top. As a side dish it totally rocks with grilled chicken and a crispy Romaine salad topped with a champagne vinaigrette.
Serves 3 generously.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Curried Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
There’s a theory that if you talk about an upsetting experience you have, it helps to get your feelings out in the open and you can move on past the unpleasantness.
Welcome to my Thanksgiving.
Things for the celebratory evening at the Red Brick Ranchero were in place.
Food cooked beautifully, witness the pictures.
HOWSOMUCHEVER….when said food was served, it was not as it had presented itself.
The cranberries did not accept the gelatin that would make them stand up and be accounted for.
They refused same and, well, there you go.
Cranberry Soup.
If only they had let me know ahead of time.
I would have gotten out the bowls.
I found these the day after. Sort of forgot about them in the hystericalness that ensued.
The first turkey.
Looks are deceiving.
The second turkey.
I can’t talk about it.
I guess all I say is that it kind of seemed sacrilegious to stuff two turkeys in a huge pot and BOIL them to get them done.
Thank God my mother had brought a ham.
The turkeys came to a very creative end; involving wild and brown rice, garam masala and cumin, golden raisins and cilantro.
Warming, soothing, comforting.
There…I feel much better.
I can think about Christmas Eve dinner now.
Curried Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
4 cups cooked turkey breast and thigh meat, chopped coarsely
3 cups cook wild and brown rice mix (I used RiceSelect Royal Blend..it’s divine.)
Couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil
2 large leeks, trimmed, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
8 fat cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
Freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt to taste
6 cups chicken or turkey stock, heated
2 tbsp hot curry powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne
Heat a large pot over medium high heat and add a couple swirls of extra virgin olive oil. When oil is wavy, add the leeks, green bell pepper and celery, stir to combine, reduce heat to medium and cover to sweat the veggies for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add the garlic and seasonings and cook for five minutes. Add the turkey and cook five minutes. Add the hot chicken/turkey stock and stir.
Let this cook for about 25 minutes. Add the cooked rice mixture and let heat for about ten minutes.
Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, golden raisins, and sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
Serves 4 generously.
Click here for a printable recipe.
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Feeding Groom Daube a` la Vin Rouge
Never met a beef stew I didn’t like.
Seriously.
But the French version, called daube takes beef stew to a whole new level.
Marinate it overnight or 45 minutes.
After that, plan for a couple of hours on top of the stove.
Serve over noodles, smashed potatoes and turnips or by itself with crusty French bread and butter.
Use your imagination.
What’s not to like?
By the way, this is a celebratory post.
Feeding Groom’s Daube a` la vin Rouge
1.5 boneless beef short ribs, cut into bite sized pieces
½ sweet red onion, cut into slivers
½ sweet yellow onion, cut into slivers
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced on the diagonal
6 fat cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock or chicken in a pinch
½ orange, zested
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh Italian parsley, about a handful, chopped for garnish
Put the beef, onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, red wine, orange zest and rosemary in large bowl.
Let marinate overnight or at least 45 minutes.
Add the reserved wine and a cup of beef or chicken stock. Let cook 1-½ to 2 hours, til the beef is tender. Remove the veggies and beef, and raise the heat to reduce the sauce down a bit to your taste.
Serve over what you like…pasta, smashed potatoes and turnips or alone with crusty French bread. Garnish with freshly chopped Italian parsley.
Serves 3 generously.
Click here for a printable recipe!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Pan Sauteed Pork Chops with Roasted Butternut Squash and Crisped Pancetta
The pig and the butternut squash.
A match made in heaven, that’s what it is.
Butternut squash roasting with garlic, rosemary, coriander in the oven.
Pancetta crisping , pork chops sautéing.
So easy to do.
A great weeknight supper.
A grand candlelight dinner at home for two.
Pan Sauteed Pork Chops with Roasted Butternut Squash and Crisped Pancetta
With kudos to Jamie Oliver and Blue Kitchen
Preheat oven to 400.
Spray baking sheet with Pam.
1 large butternut squash, sliced in half lengthwise, peeled, seeds removed, sliced in half, then lengthwise again to make half moons
1 large tbsp coriander seed, crushed in mortar and pestle
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 long red dried chiles
8 garlic cloves, smushed
Several sprigs rosemary, stripped
Extra virgin olive oil
Spread butternut squash over baking pan sprinkle with the crushed coriander. Add the rosemary sprigs, add the peppers, add the garlic drizzle with olive oil season well bake 30 minutes.
3 ounces pancetta, chopped
2 large boneless pork chops
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped
In a large cast iron skillet, heat a couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil. When oil is wavy add the chopped pancetta and cook about five minutes or so over medium high heat until crispy. Turn heat down a bit, so the oil doesn’t smoke and add the pork chops. Cover and let cook 5 minutes. Don’t disturb them.
Turn them over and cover and cook 5 more minutes. They’ll get a nice crust on them this way.
Remove from heat, let sit for a couple of minutes.
Plate the squash first, add the porkers on top of the squash and sprinkle with the cooked pancetta and chopped Italian parsley.
Serves 2 very happy peoples with leftovers for the lunch.
Click here for a printable recipe!
One Year Ago on Feeding Groom
