Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Mushrooms

Troy prepared this as a side dish (!) for our 2009 Christmas Eve dinner.  This, coupled with the Swedish Meatballs, was the principal reason I grossly over-ate (3 helpings).  This dish has a deep, rich and marvelous mushroom flavor that is instantly addictive.  We took some leftovers home and had them for lunch on Saturday . . . wow.  This is a keeper!  Indeed, Carolyn and I made it this evening!

Note:  This recipe is for 25 servings.  Remember to cut in half unless you are making it for a crowd.

4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
4 cups hot water
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 large onions, finely chopped
5 pounds hot Italian sausages, casings removed
4 pounds button mushrooms, sliced
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups dry white wine
4 bay leaves
2 14-ounce cans beef broth
4 cups half and half
4 pounds rigatoni
6 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh rosemary sprigs (for garnish)

Rinse porcini mushrooms. Place in medium bowl. Add 4 cups hot water, cover, and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Chop porcini.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in each of 2 heavy large pots over medium heat. Divide onions between pots; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Divide sausage between pots. Increase heat to high and cook until no longer pink, breaking up into small pieces with back of fork, about 12 minutes.  Divide button mushrooms and chopped rosemary between pots and stir until mushrooms begin to soften, about 8 minutes, covered. Divide porcini, wine, and bay leaves between pots and boil until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Using a ladle, remove 1-1/2 cups of the liquid (not needed).  Divide porcini soaking liquid between pots, leaving sediment behind. Divide beef broth between pots. Boil until sauce is syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Divide half and half between pots; boil until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and chill. Rewarm before continuing.)

Brush four 3 1/2-quart glass or porcelain baking dishes with oil. Cook pasta in 2 large pots of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Divide pasta between sauce in pots; stir to coat. Mix 3 cups cheese into each pot. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Divide among prepared baking dishes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover dishes with foil. Bake pasta just until hot but not bubbling, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cheese. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve with additional cheese.

Note 1: We made 1/2 of the recipe, however, we used 2 tablespoons of oil to sauté the onions. 

Note 2: The wine adds a considerable amount of liquid.  Next time, I plan to use 1/2 of the wine.

Note 3: After baking, we removed the foil, returned the pan to the oven and broiled for 3 minutes.

based on a Bon Appétit  | December 2004 recipe

Swedish Meatballs

Every year, the weekend before Christmas, Carolyn and her daughters get together to make Swedish Meatballs.  I have a standing invitation to finely dice the onions and to get out of the kitchen so production can take place unimpeded. (12025013 update: I have been invited to roll meatballs too!) We’ve never actually counted, but the outcome must be about 200 meatballs.  The recipe is based on a recipe passed down by Carolyn’s mother, Martha.
5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ginger
2-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup dried or fresh parsley
3 lbs. ground beef
1-1/2 lbs. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
3 eggs
½ cup half & half 
2 medium yellow onions, very finely diced (about 3 cups)
Butter
Knorr’s vegetable or beef bullion
Mix the first 10 ingredients together and set aside. Mix the eggs, half+half and onions (the "wet ingredients"); set aside. Add a beef bullion, a half teaspoon of allspice, and a cup of water to a large pot.
Add all the meat to a large bowl and add the 10 dry ingredients, as well as the parsley. Mix, with your hands, until thoroughly blended. Add the wet ingredients to the meat and mix with your hands thoroughly.
Form the meatballs by rolling about one tablespoon of the meat between your palms. The meatballs should be small; no larger than 2.5 cm in diameter.
When you have about 20 meatballs ready, melt 2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and brown the meatballs over a medium heat, turning occasionally. Once well browned, remove to the large pot and add another 20 or so meatballs to the skillet(s). After all the meatballs have been browned, deglaze the skillet(s) with 1 cup of water and add the liquid to the meatballs. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until Christmas. After reheating, drain off most of the liquid and prepare a gravy with cornstarch.
Leftovers freeze nicely.



Yes, smell that butter!  

Strozzapreti

Strozzapreti are simple pasta noodles that are easy and very quick to make.  The word, in Italian, means “"priest strangler.”  Don’t know why, but several reasons come to mind why someone might want to strangle a priest.  :)

It took three tries to get this simple noodle right.  The first time I used two eggs and a cup of flour.  The resulting noodles were tough.  Too tough.  I watched a couple of videos on You Tube and decided to experiment be substituting one egg with water, adding salt and a bit of olive oil.  The dough was dry.  I made one noodle and boiled it as a test.  Tough.

Third try:  I cranked up the liquids and the pasta turned out very nicely.  The recipe follows.  Search this blog for the “Roasted Tomato Sauce” recipe to serve with the noodles. 

1 large egg
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 T tepid water

Start heating a deep pot of water.  Place plates into a warming drawer.

On a suitable work surface (I use the kitchen counter), place the flour in a pile and sprinkle with the salt.  Using the back of a tablespoon measure, form a deep well in the center. Pour the water, olive oil and one egg into the well.  Using an ordinary fork, break the yolk and slowly mix the egg/water/oil with the flour.  Work carefully so the liquid stays within the confines of the flour.  Eventually, as all the flour is incorporated, the dough will attain a dry consistency.  Flour your hand and begin to knead the dough into a round shape.  Knead until the dough is smooth.  Flour the surface and the dough and begin rolling it with a rolling pin.  Turn over frequently and sprinkle with flour to keep it from sticking to the work surface and rolling pin.  Roll it out until it is very thin; perhaps 1/8" thick.

Using a knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 1" wide strips.  Wet your left palm with a bit of water, pick up a strip and roll it between the palms of both hands. The strip should stick to itself.  Pull it apart and drop it on the counter.  Continue until all the noodles are formed.  Sprinkle with flour to keep them from sticking.

Once the water is boiling furiously, drop all the noodles into the water.  Be careful that they do not stick together.  They will fall to the bottom of the pot of water and soon rise.  They are finished cooking as soon as they rise.  Remove them to warm plates and serve with Roasted Tomato Sauce and red wine.

The egg, with the water and olive oil, in a well made in a cup of flour.

A video in which I demonstrate the technique for rolling the dough into the correct Stazzopreti shape.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Carolyn and I attempted to make Strozzapreti (a type of pasta noodle) this evening, but failed.  Strozzapreti is a noodle that is made by placing the dough around a bamboo skewer.  I simply could not do it. In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, we decided to make tallerines, which are simply flat, wide noodles.  But the noodles turned out too tough.  Not inedible, but a bit more chewy that we wanted.  But there is a silver lining.  The tomato sauce recipe is a keeper!  It’s easy to make and it has a wonderful flavor.  It would go well with fusilli, although we will try making the Strozzapreti another time.

Update:  We made Strozzapreti (see the separate recipe post) the following evening.  Actually, we made it twice.  On the final try I increased the water and oil, and achieved good results. 

12 ounces (about 22) cherry tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup, firmly packed, fresh basil leaves
salt & black pepper
hot pepper flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil and 4 minced garlic cloves. Toss well, then arrange tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut sides up.  Salt and pepper lightly. Roast until soft and collapsing, about 45 minutes; do not allow to dry or brown.

Combine remaining minced garlic, cheese, and basil in a food processor.  Process until very finely chopped.

When tomatoes are roasted, remove them from the oven, place on serving dishes and immediately sprinkle cheese-herb mixture on top and lightly mash with a spoon so cheese melts. Serve over pasta. Drizzle each serving with a tablespoon of olive oil.  

2 servings.

Before

After . . . right out of the oven.

Albondigas

Carolyn and I first enjoyed albondigas (Mexican meatballs) at a restaurant on Lincoln Avenue.  We went back again and were stunned to find that they removed them from the menu.  Big mistake.  Soon they went out of business.  This recipe is the result of gathering information from a half dozen different recipes, with the hope of recreating the albondigas we enjoyed on Lincoln Avenue.  I first prepared this recipe for a Cinco de Mayo office lunch in 2006. This batch made 39 meatballs and required three baking dishes; enough for 19 servings!  It's a lot of work, but the albondigas freeze nicely and are great to have on hand.  Of course, you can always make 1/3 or 1/2 of the recipe.

Meatballs:

3 lbs. ground beef
3 lbs. ground pork
3-4 medium onion, finely diced
3 medium zucchini, peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoon dried oregano
5 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups plain, dried bread crumbs (I use a coarse variety)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 large eggs
2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 to 8 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (7 oz can), stemmed and seeded (I used 10 the first time: too hot!  I used 5 the second time plus 1 T. of the adobo sauce; too mild.)  note: Add the adobo sauce.
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
3 cups white rice (prepared makes about 6 cups)
1-1/4 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 deg. F. and begin preparation of rice.

In large bowl, mix the first eight ingredients until well blended.   In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the cumin, salt and black pepper.  Add to the meat and mix well. 

With wet hands, shape meat into 2-1/2 inch balls and place into a 9” x 13” baking dish, spaced apart.  Bake until lightly browned; about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove seeds from the chipotle peppers and add to a blender or processor.  Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano and cumin.  Puree until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine the puree, tomato sauce and rice.  Stir well.

When the meatballs are ready, spoon on the tomato-rice mixture, spreading it to fill the spaces between the meatballs.  Bake another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and place meatballs, without the tomato-rice mixture, on warmed plates.  Add one cup of chicken broth to a baking dish and mix well.  Serve with the meatballs.

Dice the zucchini fine

Work in process . . . ready to combine with the sauce.

Forgot to defrost the butter? @&%$!

Okay, so you are a dupa (boludo, in Spanish, in Argentina), like I was, and forgot to remove the butter from the refrigerator (or freezer) to bring it to room temperature.  If you going to mix the butter for cake, there is a simple solution that will immediately bring your butter to room temperature:  Simply grate it.  Instant gratification!

Note: if you don’t have a grater, I imagine that a vegetable peeler would work too.

Crumb Bottom Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea. I have made it with blueberries, raspberries, and no berries at all. It keeps well, lightly covered with waxed paper, for nearly a week.

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 egg
2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1/2 sour cream (or 1/2 cup of buttermilk or milk)
1 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries (optional)

Crumb bottom:
5 tbs. of cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. of salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8×8 square pan or bundt pan with non stick spray (or even better, some butter!).

Use a hand mixer, starting out at low and gradually working up to medium speed. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, until light in color and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder and flour. Add the sour cream and mix an additional 3-5 minutes. Batter will be quite thick. Carefully fold in fresh blueberries (or whatever) and spoon batter into the pan. Set aside.

Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add crumb topping mixture to the cake pan and gently press everything down, slightly pushing the crumb mixture into the batter.

Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.. Invert onto a plate. Garnish with powdered sugar.