Category Archives: Main Courses

PASTA: MANICOTTI

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Pasta Sheets

    • 1 cup all purpose flour, ;unsifted

    • 1 cup milk

    • 1/3 cup water

    • 1 large egg

Wisk flour, liquids and egg together until smooth.  Heat a griddle on low heat.  Grease with Crisco and make “pancake” sheets that cook through but do not turn golden.

Filling

  • 16 ounces ricotta cheese

  • 2 T. Parmigiano cheese, grated

  • 1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped

  • 1 t. salt

Mix filling ingredients together until creamy

Sauce

    • 1 28 ounce can Italian tomatoes with basil

    • 1 medium onion, finely chopped

    • ½ cup olive oil

    • 1 t. salt

    • ½ t. ground black pepper

    • 4-5 basil leaves, chopped

Puree tomatoes in blender.  IN large skillet, sauté the onion in olive oil until golden.  Next add tomatoes and salt and pepper.  Add a little sugar.  Reduce heat and simmer about 20-30 minutes.

Fill the center of each pancake with 2 or so tablespoons of ricotta mixture. Place in baking dish.  Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve immediately with a spoonful of tomato sauce and sprinkle of Parmigiano cheese

 

PASTA: RED PEPPERS AND SAUSAGE

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    • 1 pound of cavatappi or openne

    • 1 onion

    • 3 red –peppers

    • 12 oz. Italian sausage

    • 1 28 oz can peeled Italian tomatoes, pureed

    • ¾ cup heavy cream (optional)

    • Olive oil

    • Salt to taste

    • Ground black pepper to taste

    • Pecorino cheese

Wash and cut peppers into bit sized pieces.  Dice onion.  In large skillet, sauté the onions and peppers until they begin to soften.  Remove sausage from its case and add to vegetables, breaking the sausage apart with a fork.  When sausage is cooked through and onions are golden, add the tomatoes and salt and pepper.  Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes until reduced.  Then add cream.  Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until further reduced.  Serve with drained
pasta and cheese.

ROAST BEEF AU JUS

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  •  1 standing rib roast any size.

Let roast stand at room temperature for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rub meat well with salt and sprinkle with pepper.
Place meat fat side up in shallow pan. Do not cover.  Put roast in oven
and roast for just one hour.  Turn off heat, but do not open oven door at any time until ready to serve.  Regardless of the length of time the meat has been in oven, 30-40 minutes before serving, turn on oven again and set to 375 degrees.  Roast meat for 30-4- minutes.  Now open oven door and remove meat to serving platter.

SALMON FROM LIA ARNOLD

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In a large zip lock bag mix the following:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 T. soy sauce
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 1 large clove garlic minced
  • ½ tsp. dried thyme
  • Pinch of black pepper

Shake bag to mix ingredients, then place salmon in bag with marinade and let sit in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.  Remove fish from bag and heat the marinade to boiling.
Oven to 500 degrees.  Cook for 12 minutes basting with heated sauce.

CHICKEN FROM MAMA AGATA

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  • Prepare at least four days before (and after store in refrigerator for several weeks)

  • 1 bottle white wine

  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

  • 8 leaves fresh sage.

  • Place the rosemary and sage in a warm oven for a few minutes until you begin to smell the scent and then place them in the bottle with the white wine.

  • 1 small chicken cut into pieces with skin on

  • 5 cloves garlic chopped in half

  • 2 t. salt

  • 1 T. dried sage

  • 1 T. dried rosemary

  • 1 cup of herb wine

  • 1 T. Italian parsley chopped

  • Juice of 2 large or 4 small lemons

Heat up a non-stick skillet until very hot.  Add garlic andstir with wooden spoon.  Do not let it burn.  Then add chicken skin side down to hot pan.  Chicken should sizzle.  Add half the salt, rosemary and sage.  Do not turn chicken until under side has caramelized.  Then flip and add remaining rosemary, sage and salt.  Caramelize this side.  Then lower flame, cover pan and cook for about 20 minutes.  Uncover and add wine to pan.  Continue to cook until wine
reduces.  At the end, just before serving add chopped parsley and fresh lemon juice.

MOUSSAKA

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  • 3 large eggplants

  • Salt

  • 2 pounds lean ground lamb

  • ¼ to ½ cup olive oil

  • 2 medium onions coarsely chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 ½ T. ground cinnamon

  • ½ T. grated nutmeg

  • 2 t. dried oregano

  • 1 can (14 ounces) whole tomatoes undrained

  • 1 cup dry red wine

  • Freshly ground pepper

BECHAMEL SAUCE:

  • ½ stick unsalted butter

  • 6 T. flour

  • 4 cups hot mill

  • ½ t. grated nutmeg

  • S&P to taste

  • 3 large eggs beaten

  • 5 cups (about ¾ pound) of Italian sharp cheese.  I use aged Provolone, Parmesan Reggiano, or the like

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from each eggllllplant in long strips, leaving a few narrow purple stripes of skin.  Cut eggplant crosswise into ½ inch
thick slices.  Sprinkle slices with salt and lay on paper towels to absorb moisture. Place lamb and 1 T. of oil in skillet.
Cook, crumbling meat with a fork over medium heat until meat begins to
lose its pink color.  Add onions and garlic to lamb and cook for 10
minutes.  Season with cinnamon, nutmeg, and oregano and cook 1 minute.  Stir in canned tomatoes, wine, and S& P to taste. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from heat.

 Meanwhile, cook egg plant.  Pat slices dry with paper towel.  Saute in minimum olive oil until lightly brown on both sides.  DON’T USE TOO MUCH OIL OR THEY WILL BE SOGGY.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Melt butter in saucepan
over medium high heat.  Add flour and whisk until smooth.  Cook, stirring
constantly for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in milk; cook stirring constantly until smooth and thick.  Season with nutmeg and S&P to taste.  Stir ½ cup of the hot sauce into the beaten eggs.  And then stir egg-sauce mixture into the remaining sauce.  Cook several minutes longer stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.  To assemble, arrange half the eggplant in a large casserole (17 x 12)  Spread all of the lamb sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with half the cheese.
Top with remaining  eggplant.  Pour the béchamel over all and sprinkle with
remaining cheese.  Bake for 1 hour.  Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate
overnight.  Let the moussaka warm to room temperature before reheating.  Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes.  Makes  12-14 servings. cook for 10
minutes. 

SALMON: BAKED VAL CHEYNE STYLE

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This makes a great salmon to use in a Salad Nicoise or over a bed of sautéed spinach.

  •  Juice of one lemon
  • Grated rind of one lemon
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 clove of garlic chopped
  • 2 t. Dijon mustard

Mix the above with a wire whisk.  Pour over fresh salmon filets (this mixture is good for up to 1 pound of salmon).  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Bake salmon, covered with marinade, for 12 minutes.   Serve hot, room temp, or cold.  It is perfectly done and great at any temperature.  Can be cooked ahead of time, brought on a picnic, or just kept in the refrigerator and hauled out when you want it.

WILD RICE AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

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  • 1  8 oz package of wild rice cooked

  • 2 large onions chopped

  • 1 stalk of celery chopped

  • 1 medium can mushrooms drained and chopped/sliced

  • 1  ½ # soft cheese (Monterey jack)

  • Coffee cream

Sauté onions and celery in butter until transparent, but not browned.  Add mushrooms, cheese and rice.  Mix well. Pour into Pyrex baking dish.  Add
cream to almost cover.  Bake covered at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes

VEAL ROAST

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  • Veal tenderloin (boned loin), about 5 pounds

  • Olive oil

  • 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

  • 2 cans (6 oz each) tomato sauce

  • 1 cup of Greek black pitted olives

  • 2 T. fresh (or 1 ½ t. dried) basil

  • ½ cup sherry or Marsala

Rub veal well with 4 T. olive oil and a bit of the garlic and basil and salt and pepper. Place in baking dish.  Combine tomato sauce, remaining garlic and basil and olives and pour around veal.  Add 2 T. olive oil.  Roast at 325 degrees for approximately 1 ½ hours.  Baste twice during this time.  Add sherry or Marsala and continue cooking until veal is tender.