Penne with Roasted Pear & Goat Cheese

I have been trying to eat lighter, so I always ask my local vendors “What’s good today?” At a recent trip to my favorite cheese shop, the young lady helping me mentioned enthusiastically that they had just received a great goat cheese from a local farm ~ Granny’s Homestead Dairy. I must say that this cheese has a very creamy texture and a subtle tangy flavor from the goat’s milk.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy goat cheese is with a good, fresh pear. So I eagerly scouted the markets, hoping to find that perfect piece of complementary fruit. However, while it may be a great time of year for goat cheese, it seems the pears aren’t on quite the same schedule. The pears at my neighborhood supermarkets have been a little on the hard side recently—they may look great in the produce display, but are often just a little too firm to eat right away. At least, not without a little help—roasting them in the oven is an easy way to soften them and bring out additional flavor as well.

For a quick one-dish meal at home, I combined some crumbled goat cheese with roasted pears, walnuts, a couple of handfuls of greens and penne pasta. This is wonderful served warm, or as a cold salad the next day. Enjoy!



Penne with Roasted Pear, Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Ingredients:
8 ounce pasta, such as penne
2 pears, ripe but firm
1 tablespoon plus 3½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
½ cup baby arugula
½ cup baby spinach
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Slice the pear into thin wedges, leaving the skin on and removing the center core. Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil, coating lightly, then place in baking dish and roast in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir again, and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then cut into smaller bite sized pieces.

Mix together the remaining 3½ tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Cook penne according to package directions. Drain pasta and mix in the olive oil-vinegar-lemon juice mixture, then mix in the chopped pears, arugula and baby spinach. If desired, add a little sea salt to taste. Divide among plates and top with crumbled goat cheese and chopped walnut pieces.

Serves 6

Option: Skip the pasta and just serve with extra greens as a salad.

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George’s notes:

• Goat cheese, sometimes called chèvre, is a cheese product made from the milk of goats. Goat cheese comes in a wide variety of forms, although the most common is a soft, easily spread cheese. Goat cheese can also be made in hard aged varieties as well as semi firm cheeses like feta. Goat cheese is especially common in the Middle East, Africa, and some Mediterranean countries, where the hardy goat survives in areas where cows cannot.
• Goat cheese softens when exposed to heat, although it does not melt in the same way that many cow cheeses do. Firmer goat cheeses with rinds are sometimes baked in the oven to form a gooey warm cheese which is ideal for spreading on bread with roasted garlic, or alone.
• Recent studies show that cheese made from goat milk has more protein than cheese made from cow's milk, and is actually very similar to that of human breast milk.

Hot Sausage Spaghetti with Fennel...

If you've never cooked with fennel, you're not alone. For years, I avoided the bulbous green and white vegetable labeled "sweet anise" because I associated it with black licorice. Who in their right mind would want to taste black licorice at the dinner table?

But then I learned anise and "sweet anise" are two very different things. Anise is a pungent pint-sized herb; while "sweet anise" — or fennel — is a hearty vegetable with a thick, bulbous base and celery-like stems that grow upward to 5 feet tall. It has a sweeter, more delicate flavor than anise.

Fennel's subtle flavor works just fine on its own, but does wonders when combined with other foods. Indeed, fennel's strength may be its power to blend and enhance other flavors. Tuna tastes more tuna-like when cooked with fennel. A simple salad of oranges, red onion and lemon vinaigrette has more zing with the addition of crunchy, raw fennel. Grilled sea bass becomes emblematic of Mediterranean cuisine when stuffed with lemon slices and fennel fronds.

The fennel in the produce section of a grocery store is Florence fennel, or finocchio. On top are fragrant emerald fronds that look much like dill. Below are stout stalks that resemble celery and shoot upward like fingers being counted. The edible white "bulb" is actually not a bulb at all, but tightly stacked leaves that unpack like the base of a celery stalk.

Though all parts of the Florence fennel are edible, the stalks tend to be fibrous, like celery, while the fronds can have an anise intensity that might turn off some people. The thick white leaves of the base offer the most versatile use. When cooked, the leaves become supple; the same way onions lose their firmness, and retain only a faint hint of anise.

If you have never tried fennel as a vegetable, you've almost certainly tasted it in its other form: a spice. The greenish-brown seeds from the variety called common fennel are used to season Italian sausages, meaty stews and rustic breads. When ground up, the spice is used in rubs for fish, pork and lamb dishes and in other spice mixes. Fennel spice also is a key ingredient in Indian curries and is one of the five essential spices in Chinese five-spice powder.

And if all this isn't enough, this versatile vegetable has been used throughout history to cure stomach ailments, help freshen breath and fight weight gain. It also is high in vitamin C.

So if, like me, you've passed fennel by in the produce section, take a second look. It helped make last nights dinner a real treat.



Hot Sausage Spaghetti with Fennel

Ingredients
1 lb. Spaghetti, or other long pasta shape
6 links or patties hot Italian Sausage
3 fennel bulbs
2 lemons
1 tbsp, minced garlic
1 tbsp. Sweet and hot mustard
4 oz. freshly grated Parmesan
½ cup slivered blanched almonds, lightly toasted

Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain.

While pasta is cooking, in heavy 3 quart sauté pan over medium heat, brown sausage whole according to package directions, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain, cut crosswise into ¼ -inch thick slices. Return sausage to pan to brown on both sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel. Drain all but 1 tbsp. Drippings from pan and remove from heat.

To prepare fennel, trim stalks to within 1 inch of bulb. Finely chop feathery leaves to yield 1 cup, set aside and discard stalks. Cut off and discard bulb base. Cut bulb lengthwise into halves, then crosswise into ¼ -inch thick slices (about 3 cups).

To prepare fennel gramolata, in a small bowl, grate peel from both lemons, stir in chopped fennel leaves and garlic, set aside. Juice lemons in a separate bowl, stir in mustard and set aside.

Return pan to medium heat. Saute sliced fennel bulb until crisp/tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice mixture and sausage.

In a large serving bowl, combine pasta, fennel, sausage, and Parmesan; toss to mix well. Spoon fennel gremolata and almonds atop. Toss to incorporate just before serving.

Serves 8

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George’s notes:

• Fennel is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses. For adults, fennel seeds or tea can relax the intestines and reduce bloating caused by digestive disorders. Also, it is known to improved the milk supply of a breastfeeding mother.
• Gremolata, an Italian garnish of raw, fine chopped garlic, parsley and lemon zest. It's usually sprinkled over slow-cooked braised meats, as in the Italian dish osso bucco, but it makes a good garnish for grilled fish, chicken and pasta too. The variation in this recipe substitutes fennel fronds for the parsley, sliced fennel bulb in place of the garlic, and orange rind in place of lemon.
• To prepare fennel, wash with cold water. Cut off the feathery fronds and tubular stalks; the greenery can be used as a garnish or snipped like dill and added as a last-minute flavor enhancer. Discard the stalks or use the tender, less-fibrous stems for soups, stocks, or in place of diced celery. Reserve the fronds for garnish. Trim the base and remove any discolored layers. Usually the outer layer of the bulb should be discarded, as it can be stringy and tough (save it for stocks). Cut the bulb in half lengthwise. If there’s a large core at the base, remove it with a small paring knife. Cut the fennel into wedges through the core end (this will hold the slices together), or cut crosswise into thin slices. Fennel can also be shaved into paper-thin slices with a vegetable peeler.

Ravioli Lasagna...

Lasagna, when properly made, is a feast for the senses. The sight and smell of a cheesy, bubbly lasagna coming out of the oven has been known to make the knees of strong men go a little wobbly at times, and the diabolically addictive layering of flavors has been responsible for more than a few loosened belts. Unfortunately, while truly wonderful, a proper lasagna is also time-consuming and surprisingly expensive to make. This version uses ravioli, which combines the pasta and ricotta in one step, and uses a jar sauce to save time. I kept it pretty basic, but there’s a lot of room for making this recipe your own, depending on what you like or what you have at hand. You can use ground turkey or chicken in place of the ground beef, and even toss in some smoked sausage or bacon. This lasagna goes together very quickly, feeds a crowd economically and will satisfy your lasagna longings in no time flat!

I have also submitted this recipe to Presto Pasta Nights which was started by Ruth Daniels at Once Upon a Feast - Every Kitchen Tells It's Stories. I understand that this is week #148 of the Presto Pasta Nights series ~ that is amazing work, Ruth! This week's guest host is Chaya at Sweet & Savory, so give her site a look. She always has some creative treats in healthier eating and in new methods of cooking.



Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 - 26 oz jar quality pasta sauce
½ cup water
1½ lb whole milk mozzarella, grated
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 - 25 oz packages frozen cheese ravioli

In a large pot, set 6 quarts of salted water on to boil.

Meanwhile, cook the ground beef with the garlic in a large saucepan until just done, breaking the beef into small pieces as it cooks. Drain off the excess oil and stir in the sauce. Shake ½ cup of water in the sauce jar and pour the water into the saucepan. Cover and bring to a simmer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the cheeses and the minced parsley and set aside.

Cook the ravioli according to package directions; drain and rinse.

To assemble: Coat a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and spoon a little sauce in the bottom. Place a single layer of ravioli in the pan, overlapping slightly; then top with a third of the remaining sauce and a third of the cheese/parsley mix. Repeat the ravioli/sauce/cheese layers, adding some additional grated cheese to the top layer, if you wish.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

Serves 8
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George’s notes:

• The history of ravioli is quite old. The earliest evidence we have of ravioli in the Mediterranean is found in the statutes of the Cathedral of Nice in 1233, which report of crosete sui rafiole' ~ “a ravioli pie.”
• 15th century Italian Ravioli recipe: "Ravioli ~ Get a pound and a half of old cheese and a little new creamy cheese, and a pound of porkbelly or loin of veal that should be boiled until well cooked, then grind it up well; get well ground fragrant herbs, pepper, cloves, ginger and saffron, adding in a well ground breast of capon, and mix in all of this together; make a thin dough and wrap nut-sized amounts of the mixture in it; set these ravioli to cook in the fat broth of a capon or of some other good meat, with a little saffron, and let them boil for half an hour; then dish them out, garnishing them with a mixture of grated chreese and good spices." ---The Neapolitan Recipe Collection, Cuoco Napoletano

Mushroom Lasagna...

Lasagna is comfort food at its best, because of the unique combination of ingredients and flavors that go into the dish. We all have a lasagna recipe that we use as our base and tweak and revise as our taste change.

A month or so ago, I was invited to a birthday bash at a friend's house and asked to bring a dish to contribute to the dinner, so I immediately thought of lasagna. At the party, the table groaned with beautiful entrées, creative salads and appetizing desserts, but my simple platter of pasta emptied the fastest. Just last week one of the other guests who had been at that party asked me if I would bring "that mushroom pasta dish" to their potluck dinner. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be in town, so I thought I would share it here.

I love to participate in the process of sharing recipes, because of the creative differences we all add to the food we eat. I like to think that other cooks all over the world, making their interpretations of the same basic recipe, passing them on and making the food we eat endlessly interesting.

Here is my interruption of lasagna:



Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients:
6 - 8 ounces fresh mushrooms (morels, chanterelles, oyster, etc.)
1 cup heavy cream
1½ cup reduced low-sodium chicken stock, preferably homemade
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon flour
¼ cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup parsley, minced
Parmeggiano-Reggiano, shredded
pinch fresh nutmeg
½ pound flat lasagna
white truffle oil (optional)

Add the cream into the stock mixture and warm in a small saucepan.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter until it foams. Add flour and make a roux, stirring, for about a minute until it just starts to darken in color. Add stock/cream mixture and stir in the nutmeg. Simmer sauce 1 hour in a double boiler until it coats the spoon nicely. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sauté the mushrooms in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter on medium high heat, stirring constantly. When the mushroom color begins to deepen and they dry out a bit, add additional and the wine. Raise heat and briskly reduce the liquid to a syrupy glaze on the mushrooms, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and most of the parsley and stir a few times over heat and then remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Break up the sheets of pasta into irregular pieces and cook the pasta al dente.

Scrape the mushrooms into the cream sauce, give it a stir and correct the seasoning. Drain the pasta well and mix it with the sauce in a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with the cheese, drizzle with truffle oil, and bake 15 - 20 min or more until browned and crusty on top. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve immediately, with additional cheese on the side.

I usually serve this with a salad, crusty bread and a glass of Merlot for a simple supper, but for a more elaborate meal it would make a nice pasta course in front of beef tenderloin or other meat entrées.

Serves 6

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George’s notes:

• You may assemble this recipe, but not bake ahead of time. Just keep refrigerated. Allow to come to room temperature before baking, or extend the baking time, and give the pasta a good toss with tongs to be sure it's well coated with the sauce before baking.
• Although the lasagna is generally believed to have originated in Italy; but the recipe was featured in the first cookbook ever written in England, leading to an urban legend that the dish originated in the British Isles.

Moroccan Ground Beef Casserole...

Recent I posted a dissertation on revisiting the casserole. And during my short time here blogging; I have had a chance to experience foods, cultures and spices from around the world. One such cuisine I have been introduced to are dishes from North Africa ~ mainly Morocco. So it got me thinking that maybe I should meld the two together, because some of the traditional casseroles that are simple to prepare can be somewhat bland. This is my adaptation of the standard ground beef casserole with a Moroccan twist. People may be shy about putting olives or raisins in the recipe, but they really do add a special tang and sweetness to the dish. You can also, add more red pepper flakes if you like your casseroles spicier.

Bon appétit in Moroccan is شهية طيبة!



Moroccan Ground Beef Casserole

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk, preferably whole milk
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Zest of a lemon
¾ cup green olives, chopped roughly
½ cup golden raisins
1 can (14-ounce) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup mild cheese (Gouda, Swiss, mild cheddar), shredded
8 ounces macaroni, cooked and drained

Crumb Topping:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko or bread crumbs
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
½ cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Cook ground beef over medium-high heat in large deep skillet until fully browned. Remove meat from pan and drain juices. Lower heat to medium and add olive oil, onion and carrots, stirring until tender and translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, stir a minute longer.

Add flour and butter, and stir until fully absorbed. Slowly add stock and milk, stirring until fully incorporated with no lumps.

Add all spices, lemon zest, olives and raisins. Stirring, add tomatoes and tomato paste.

Stir until sauce thickens. Turn off heat. Add cheese and cooked ground beef, macaroni and stir until fully mixed. Pour into baking dish and spread evenly. Top with topping.

Bake for 25 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Serves 4 to 6

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George’s notes:

• The official language of Morocco is Arabic; but with the long protectorate of France, many speak French. But their cuisine is a very diverse, with many influences from around the world.
• For more about Moroccan cuisine, checkout Wikipedia.

Quick & Easy Pasta...

Last evening, as I was busy packing for my holiday with the family; I remebered I should clean out my fridge before I leave. I thought of a classic bolognese — or pasta with meat sauce — but that can take hours to prepare. However, this rendition comes together in no time. Pan sautéed pancetta is cooked with onion & garlic before being tossed with diced tomatoes, red wine, and spices.

The black olives provided a salty kick, while freshly grated parmesan makes this pasta comforting and delicious. Although the recipe I was somewhat following did not call for green beans, but I had a serving and tossed them in at the end. They gave the dish just another dimension and weren't wasted. After all, isn't that what cooking is all about ~ using ingredients we enjoy and have on hand.

Rapido e facile Pasta
translated ~ Quick & Easy Pasta

Ingredients:
8 ounces whole-wheat penne
2 ounces uncooked pancetta
~ may substitute 3 slices bacon
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 can (14-ounce) whole Italian-style tomatoes, un-drained
½ of a 6-ounce can Italian-style tomato paste
¼ cup dry red wine or tomato juice
½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
¼ cup coarsely chopped black olives
½ cup leftover green beans (optional)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered somewhat and the pancetta begins to crisp. Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened and the garlic is aromatic. Add the diced-tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine sugar and oregano; simmer on medium-low for 5 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Add the olives and green beans, stirring gently until heated through.

Transfer to a large serving bowl, add the cooked pasta, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and sprinkle with the cheese. Serve with a tossed salad and crusty garlic bread.

Serves 4

For those of you who are not aware of the weekly series Presto Pasta Night, which was started by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast - Every Kitchen Tells It's Stories some 144 weeks ago, you should check it out. I understand Ruth will be back highlighting great pasta dishes on January 8th, 2010 ~ Happy New Years everyone!

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George’s notes:

• To make this recipe even easier, you can substitute 2½ cups homemade or store-bought marinara sauce in place of the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and red wine.
• This recipe was adapted from an old recipe in Cooking Light.
• I will be traveling the next couple of weeks visiting family & friends during the holidays, but I hope to post a few things while I am away.
• But know wherever I may be, you all are in my thoughts and I look forward to reading about your various celebrations.

Merry Christmas and a very Joyous New Year!

Casseroles Revisited...

Love it or leave it, most of us grew up eating some variation of casserole as part of the family dinner rotation. Often it was a recipe that Mom fine-tuned over the years to please every family member's taste buds.

Few dinner dishes evoke childhood memories as powerfully as the casserole. Remember macaroni mixed with ground beef and cheddar cheese? Or wide egg noodles with flakes of canned tuna, dotted with peas and topped with crushed potato chips? Then there was the 1950s-era fixture of many American dinner tables: creamy green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup, served with crunchy fried onions from a paper canister.

My mother made a casserole she called Marguerite’s Delight. Aunt Marguerite is my favorite aunt, who is a terrific cook ~ usually putting everything but the kitchen sink, into her culinary creations. This one consisted of elbow macaroni, ground beef, canned diced tomatoes, canned tomato sauce, fresh corn, fresh lima beans, salt, pepper and a crushed Ritz cracker topping. Whenever I've had a bad day at school or the stables, I wanted Mom to make Marguerite Delight.

During these difficult times, why not give ourselves permission to embrace our inner child by revisiting a dish from the past? Heck, most of us are already in a fetal position anyway from the depressing headlines.

The term casserole means saucepan in French, but a more modern translation should be "kitchen sink," as we Americans have experimented over the years with all varieties of starches, fillers, binders and toppings. From cornflakes cereal to trendy Japanese panko crumbs, the topping gives the casserole the necessary crunch to contrast with what is almost always a creamy interior.

The filler is usually pasta or rice, protein and veggies, all held together by a thickened binder of milk or cream — sometimes it's chicken or vegetable stock — and cheese both inside the filler and sprinkled along with the topping.

A traditional casserole is not for the faint of heart. Your Weight Watchers point system would probably self-destruct, if casseroles became part of your weekly diet.

Casseroles are popular legitimate reasons; despite all their caloric excess ~ They are easy to prepare; they can be frozen or refrigerated for days in advance; they are cheap to and feed a whole family for a few dollars; and they offer convenience from beginning to end. How many complete dinners can you heat and serve in the same dish?

But returning to a casserole classic doesn't necessarily mean reaching for the can of cream of mushroom soup that's been in your pantry since the Ford administration. There's no excuse not to sauté your own mushrooms or celery, stir in flour and fat, and then add milk to make your own creamy sauce. Trust me. It's easy, and it tastes better than anything you can find in a can.

Once you have the binder, you can experiment with the starch and protein. If you don't like egg noodles, try ziti or fusilli. If a recipe is too dry for your taste, add more liquid. If you don't eat tuna, substitute cubed cuts of chicken or the cheaper tail portion of fresh salmon that's been baked and flaked off with a fork. Choose fillings you know your family will eat.

For the topping, I have sampled a number of crusts: panko crumbs, homemade fried onions, canned fried onions, crushed potato chips and crushed cornflakes. All of them were delicious, but I thought there is just something about the old-school options of cornflakes, chips or canned onions that make a casserole more satisfying. I guess if I'm going to time-travel into my culinary past, I want the one ingredient that makes the dish authentically indulgent.

Another way to look at it is that I like my casseroles the way I like Miss Piggy ~ voluptuous and grotesquely attractive, dressed with something created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste; that takes it over the top. The combination of all of this is something immensely enjoyable — almost addictive. Like the famous actor turned boxer turned actor again, a good casserole always leaves me wanting more.

So let's bring comfort back. In these uncertain times, it's one of the few things that will make you loosen your belt, not tighten it.

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Here I give the cream of mushroom soup in the original 1950s version green bean casserole a makeover with sautéed fresh button mushrooms and a traditional white sauce that's easy to make. The sauce should coat the green beans, not drown them. For the topping, you can use crushed oyster crackers, saltines or the traditional fried onions if you prefer. But again, in giving this classic casserole a new look & taste, I developed a topping using Cornflakes.




My Creamy Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut in half
1 tablespoon butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups milk, preferably whole
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Swiss)
~ I used Gruyère

Cornflake Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1½ cups cornflakes cereal (placed in a zip-lock bag and crushed by hand)
½ cup shredded cheese (use same kind as in main recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook green beans until firm but tender to the bite, about 5 minutes. Immerse green beans in a large bowl of ice water or run under cold tap water for 2 minutes to preserve color. Allow to drain in colander.

In a large deep skillet over medium high heat, add butter and mushrooms. Stir occasionally until water cooks out of mushrooms, about 5 minutes.

Add flour, salt, pepper, thyme and garlic and stir in milk until consistency is thick and uniform. Turn off heat.

Add cheese and green beans. Mix thoroughly and then pour contents into the casserole dish.

To make topping, pour melted butter over crushed cornflakes in a bowl. Mix in cheese. Spread evenly over the top of the casserole.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until topping is golden brown.


Makes 6 to 8 servings

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George’s notes:

• Cooking in earthenware containers has always been common in most nations, but the idea of casserole cooking as a one-dish meal became popular in America in the twentieth century, especially in the 1950s when new forms of lightweight metal and glassware appeared on the market.
• Early 18th century casserole recipes consisted of rice that was pounded, pressed, and filled with a savory mixture of meats such as chicken or sweetbreads.

Baked Pasta with four cheeses...

Pasta is as rich in history, as it is with the sauces that accompany it to the dinner table. From the ancient Greeks & Romans, to the Arabs, Chinese and even Thomas Jefferson; pasta has been a comfort food for many around the world. It comes in many different shapes, sizes and colors ~ but it’s never, never plain!

Thus, I give you my recipe for total comfort ~ Baked Penne with four cheeses. I start with the ‘mother of all sauces’ - a french Béchamel sauce, a classic simple white sauce. Next I fix one of the most popular pasta – penne and then I fold in a blend of four of my favorite cheeses; all baked to a rich and decadent casserole. This delicious dish can be served alone with a salad and crusty bread or as a side-dish. No matter how you serve it, you definitely will be asking for more. Enjoy!

Baked Penne with four cheeses

Ingredients:
Béchamel
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly grated nutmeg

Pasta
2½ ounces fontina cheese, cubed (about ½ cup)
2½ ounces asiago cheese, cubed (about ½ cup)
3 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup)
1 pound short pasta, like penne
1⅓ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.


For the béchamel:
In a medium saucepan, heat milk over medium-low heat; bring just to boil then remove from heat. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Do not brown. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons milk to flour mixture, stirring constantly until milk is incorporated. Repeat until ½ cup of the milk has been added. Add remaining milk a ½ cup at a time, incorporating between additions, until all milk has been added. Return to low heat and cook, stirring frequently, especially along corners of pan, until béchamel is the consistency of thick cream. Stir in salt, season with nutmeg and remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

For the pasta:
Combine fontina, asiago and gorgonzola in a large bowl. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain pasta, immediately add to the bowl with cheeses, and then add béchamel; toss together to combine well. Transfer pasta to a baking dish, sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

George's notes:

• The painting is entitled ~ Boy with Spaghetti by Julius Moser, c. 1808
• On Thomas Jefferson's return from Paris in 1789, he brought the first "maccaroni" maker to America.

Chicken Piccata...

Boneless chicken breasts are like a blank canvas awaiting embellishment. You can go in a hundred different directions and get satisfactory results.

Chicken Piccata is one of my favorite Italian dishes. The salty little capers that burst in your mouth are so wonderful paired with the zesty lemon. I have a secret ingredient that gives another layer to traditional piccata, white pepper. The addition of the mild white pepper makes this piccata irresistible. Be sure to include the small brown bites after frying the chicken in the bottom of the pan. They are essential to a delicious piccata. The sauce is wonderful over pasta and simply served with a salad and bread.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
Additional all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup dry white wine
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup canned low-salt chicken broth
¼ cup drained capers
1 teaspoon white ground pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Place chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Using meat pounder or rolling pin, lightly pound chicken to ¼ -inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place additional flour in shallow baking dish. Dip chicken into flour to coat; shake off excess.

Make a rue by mixing 1 tablespoon butter and 1½ tablespoons flour in small bowl until smooth.

In a heavy large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil; add chicken breasts to skillet and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to platter; tent with foil to keep warm.

Bring wine, lemon juice and broth to boil in 1 skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in capers, parsley and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and white pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Serves 4

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What’s for dinner tonight?

It’s always a challenge to come up with what to have for dinner night after night. I go through stages of what I like and dislike. Right now, for example, I love grilled steak and light simple fare. But with the cold nights and shorter day, one does not want to be outside grilling. So I need to come up with meals that are simple, fast, nutritious and hearty.

The recipe below is one I have made on several occasions and it can be made in advance. So, when I get home dinner is just minutes away from the table. Whatever I don't eat is another meal for another day.

Enjoy, and remember that the secret to good meatballs is top-quality ingredients, from the meat to the garlic, cheeses and herbs. If you like spicy foods just add more chili flakes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs with meat sauce

Ingredients:
For the meatballs
1 pound lean ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
3 garlic cloves crushed and chopped finely
½ cup chopped Italian parsley
½ cup chopped basil and sage
⅔ cup bread crumbs
½ cup parmesan
½ cup ricotta
Zest of one lemon
One whole egg
1 teaspoon chili flakes
Salt
⅓ cup of olive oil

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and add a touch of salt. Mix together and let rest in the fridge for up to one hour.

When ready to go, preheat oven to 375 degree F. Roll 2 tablespoon of mixture into balls. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and over med high heat. Add balls and brown on both sides. Transfer to the oven and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Hold until ready to serve.
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For the meat sauce
½ cup of olive oil
½ pound lean ground pork
½ pound lean ground veal
¼ teaspoon White pepper
½ teaspoon Salt
1 medium carrot peeled and diced
1 celery stalk diced
½ white onion diced
2 garlic cloves crushed and chopped
¼ cup of white wine
4½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup of tomato paste
One can of peeled plum tomatoes
¼ cup of sage leaves finely chopped
¼ cup of basil leaves finely chopped
1 lb of spaghetti (whole wheat if you prefer) cooked al dente
¼ cup of grated Parmesan
¼ cup of pancetta diced

In a large heavy pot heat half of the olive oil over a med high flame. Add the pork and the veal, season with white pepper and salt. Cook until browned, using a wooden spoon to break up the lumps. Remove from the heat and drain all fat through sieve. Reserve meat and discard the fat. Place the same pot over a medium high flame once again; you do not have to clean it as there is a lot of flavor still in there. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in and place the carrot, celery, onion, pancetta and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked meat, wine, chicken stock, tomato paste, canned tomatoes and herbs and simmer for one hour.

When ready to serve take warm pasta in a large pan add sauce and toss over a low flame with the parmesan. Place on a large plate put the warm meatballs on top, add some more basil, more cheese if you wish and drizzle with a touch of olive oil.

Pasta Primavera, a light healthy dinner...

Last night I was in the mood for something light. So, I thought of Pasta Primavera. The word primavera refers to being served fresh vegetables; it is from the Italian (alla) primavera, or (in the) spring (style). Pasta primavera is almost always a simple-to-prepare dish using the fresh vegetables of the season. In spring you might make it with asparagus and peas, later in the summer with tomatoes and zucchini. Sometimes I use a cream sauce, sometimes a marinara sauce, and sometimes, just with some olive oil and shaved Parmesan. The following recipe is how I like to prepare Pasta Primavera ~ I use whatever vegetables & pasta I have on hand; with just a little olive oil as sauce.

Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:
½ pound Penne pasta
4 cups of mixed vegetables, for example:
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2 x ½ -inch strips
1 medium zucchini, sliced into ¼ -inch slices
½ small bunch broccoli, sliced into ¼ -inch florets
½ red onion, sliced into ¼ -inch slices
½ bell pepper, any color, cut into thin strips
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence
A sprinkling of garlic salt
¼ cup of spaghetti, marinara, or tomato sauce
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
Grated Parmesan for garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for your pasta).

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the vegetables, stir to coat with oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until vegetables are just cooked. Turn off heat, but let pan stay on the burner.

While you are cooking the vegetables, add the dry pasta to the boiling water and follow the cooking instructions for the pasta. You want to time it so that the pasta is done soon after the vegetables.

Add a ¼ cup of the spaghetti, marinara, or tomato sauce to the vegetables, along with ¼ cup of water to thin the sauce. If you are using a prepared spaghetti or marinara sauce, you don't need to add much seasoning, just a ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence, a few sprinkles of garlic salt, and salt and pepper to taste. If you are using a plain tomato sauce, you might want to start out cooking the vegetables by cooking a minced clove of garlic first, and then adding the vegetables, and then add a bit more of the seasoning (to taste). Spaghetti and marinara sauce are already seasoned. Once the pasta is ready - cooked but still a bit firm, or al dente - drain the pasta and put it directly into the skillet with the vegetables. Adjust seasoning. Add more sauce if needed. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes.

Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan, if you like. A little bit of chopped fresh basil would go nicely with this as well.

Serves 4

Goat Cheese & other good things…

On a recent trip to my favorite local cheese shop, the staff mentioned some great goat cheese that had just come in. So with this being one of my favorite cheeses, I bought a couple of different types and used them in several ways, including snacking with crackers with a good glass of wine.
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Midnight Moon™
Aged six months or more, this pale, ivory cheese is firm, dense and smooth with the slight graininess of a long-aged cheese. The flavor is nutty and brown-buttery, with prominent caramel notes.

Bûcheron
An ivory-colored pâte surrounded by a bloomy white rind. Soft, but semi-firm in texture, this cheese when young provides a somewhat mild flavor that becomes sharper as it matures. As it ages, its texture becomes drier: the mouthfeel of the center is dense and claylike, with the crumb dissolving on the tongue, while the section near the rind is almost creamy and can be gooey at room temperature. It is a good cheese for salads or for snacking with hearty grained breads, crackers and grapes.

Rivers Edge St. Olga™
Made from raw milk and aged for two months or more. Saint Olga is washed in brine using Siletz Brewery's Oatmeal Cream Stout, resulting in the distinctive flavor and aroma and beautiful color of its rind. An excellent cheese for eating alone or cooking, Saint Olga has a complex flavor and a character all its own.

Black Pig Jamon iBerio™
A hard cheese from Extremadura, in Western Spain. It is a round cheese that has a semi-hard rind. The traditional presentation of the cheese is to cover it in paprika or oil, giving it a reddish hue and spicy flavor. The cheese itself is semi-hard, with small holes throughout the wheel. Inside it is waxy yellow or dark ochre in color.
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One of my favorite ways to enjoy goat cheese is with a good, fresh pear, so I have been eagerly scouting the markets, hoping to find that perfect piece of complementary fruit. While it may be a great time of year for pears my neighborhood supermarkets pears have been a little on the hard side recently—they may look great in the produce display, but are often just a little too firm to eat right away. But with a little help like roasting them in the oven is an easy way to soften them and bring out additional flavor as well.

For a quick one-dish meal at home, I combined some crumbled goat cheese with roasted pears, walnuts, a couple of handfuls of greens and penne pasta. This is wonderful served warm, or as a cold salad the next day. Enjoy!

Penne with Roasted Pear, Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Ingredients:
8 oz. pasta, such as penne
2 Bosc pears, ripe but firm (firmer varieties of pears work best)
1 tablespoon plus 3½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
½ cup baby arugula
½ cup baby spinach
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425° F. Slice the pear into thin wedges, leaving the skin on and removing the center core. Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil, coating lightly, then place in baking dish and roast in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir again, and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then cut into smaller bite sized pieces.

Mix together the remaining 3½ tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Cook penne according to package directions. Drain pasta and mix in the olive oil-vinegar-lemon juice mixture, then mix in the chopped pears, arugula and baby spinach. If desired, add a little sea salt to taste. Divide among plates and top with crumbled goat cheese and chopped walnut pieces.

Serves 4-6

Option: Skip the pasta and just serve with extra greens as a salad.

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Another favorite way to include goat cheese in a dish is topping a homemade pizza with it. Goat Cheese adds a distinct flavor and gives a unique taste like no other cheese. Here is a pizza I made up, because I had all the ingredients on hand.

Goat Cheese Sweet Leeks Pizza

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon butter
1 medium bunch leeks, course chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 store bought pizza crust
8 ounces of goat cheese
1 cup walnuts, course chopped
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
In a large sauce pan with 2 tablespoons of butter, gently sautéed some sweat leeks with thyme, salt and pepper. Spread the leeks mixture over pizza dough punched out to a round or square. Sprinkled goat cheese and walnuts over the leeks; then drizzle olive oil all over the top.

Bake in pre-heated 500° F oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. The baking time will vary depending on whether you bake on a stone, a screen or in a pan. Be sure that your oven is well pre-heated before putting pizza in.

Serves 4