Brussel Sprouts Crostini

375.  A lovely and unique appetizer to serve is Brussel Sprouts Crostini.  Found originally on Giada's Recipes on Food Network.  Just following the simple steps in this recipe creates a beautiful bite.

 I was thrilled to find Brussels sprouts on the stalk.  They were fresh, green and a delight to work with.  Each sprout was crisp and was easy to work with and no discard.  Most bags of sprouts must be trimmed and have little leaves removed.

The roasting process was so simple and I used parchment paper on my baking sheet.  What did we do before parchment paper?  It makes baking and cooking with ease.

 The crostini I used was bought and had an herb garlic flavor. They were small and crispy and were a perfect size.  It is difficult finding french bread that is skinny enough for a small bite.  But if you can find it...I would use fresh bread any day, sliced, rub with olive oil and toasted till crisp.

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The recipe came together quickly and was a beautiful start to a lovely meal and they are so attractive as an appetizer.

"Brussel Sprouts are misunderstood - probably because most people don't know how to cook them."

~ Todd English

Manicotti

368.  A homespun Italian dish that always brings satisfaction and delight is Manicotti.  Traditional Italian cooks will make homemade crepes from egg and flour but with our modern means, you can pick up a box of pre-made manicotti shells in your grocery store.  I find that using a better brand of pasta you will have less breakage and the shells will stay round.
I made this recipe for my family  and it is always a great meal.  My mother-in-law would make Manicotti and called it "Man-ĭ-got".  It was always a favorite meal!

I used the Barilla brand of pasta and they were beautiful!  My filling was mixed together and I placed it in a large zip-lock bag.  I snipped the end and it worked well filling the pasta tubes.

I over-filled them so the cheese would not pour out during baking, lined them up and then poured sauce over.

Now, the beauty of the lined up shells bursting with cheese is a beautiful sight.  Once the sauce is poured over you loose that beautiful display.  Often, this is where some cooks will cover the shells only with a white sauce to bake.  It helps to maintain the moisture but maintains the beauty of the dish.  Then they serve red sauce on the side.  Stanley Tucci in his great cookbook The Tucci Cookbook makes this recipe but uses the homemade crêpes and white sauce.  Now this is a cookbook worth having in your collection.

Here is my recipe:

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I don't use too much cheese on top due to the over abundance of cheese in the dish itself.

Now...this is a scrumptious dish...or as stated in the movie "Big Night"...PARADISE! 

"You have to be serious about what you do but you mustn't take yourself seriously.  That way you'll be happier and ultimately you'll be more successful.  You'll be better at what you do."  ~ Stanley Tucci

"If you find that thing you love, it doesn't necessarily matter whether you do it well or not - you just need to do it."  ~ Stanley Tucci

Rolattini

333.  Here is a simply easy and great meal for any night, Rollatini.

My process is simple and easy to follow, and you can make a meatless variation with spinach, kale, broccoli rabe or any other veggie you choose.  I made a similar meal a while back with spinach and prosciutto.  You can find that post here

Rollatini

1 16 oz container of Ricotta Cheese

2 cups hand shredded Mozzarella Cheese or 1 16 oz bag shredded

3 cups Marinara tomato sauce homemade or 1 16 oz bottle of prepared Marinara tomato sauce

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

Salt and Pepper

1 box Lasagna Noodles

1 lb ground pork or beef sautéd and drained, set aside to cool

options:   Spinach leaves, onion sautéed, Shredded cooked chicken, Kale leaves, Broccoli steamed

Boil a large pot of water and partially boil the Lasagna Noodles till flexible.  Drain and place in a cold water bath.

In a bowl place ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, egg and salt and pepper.  Mix till incorporated.  Set aside

Assemble:  

In a large greased baking dish spoon about 1/2 cup sauce onto the bottom and spread around.  

Take one lasagna noodle, spread 2 Tablespoons of ricotta cheese mixture across the noodle, then place 2 Tablespoons of meat.  Take one end and roll the noodle up to form a rollatini.  Place flat side down in baking dish.  Repeat till all the noodles and filling has been used.

Spoon remaining sauce over the rollatini then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.  Cover with tin foil.

Bake in a 350∘ oven for approximately 1 hour or till bubbly and cheese is melted.  You may remove the tin foil in the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the top of the cheese.

 

Now...how hard was that?

"When your Italian mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is mere formality.

It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no.

You're going to get advice anyway."

- Anonymous

Stuffed Pasta Shells

268. Italian food is lovely! Always satisfying and delicious. While shopping the other day, I found a pack of specialty pasta shells made with semolina, beet and spinach pastas. My mind went immediately to the delightful meal of stuffed pasta shells.

My recipe is similar to many family recipes, and each is as different as the family it comes from. So I picked up a large 16 oz container of ricotta cheese, a pound of mozzarella, grated parmesan cheese, sauce and ground meat. After a pot of sauce was made with meatballs, I began to prepare my filling for the shells...and slightly boiled the pasta shells and rinsed and set them aside to cool.

I mix the entire container of ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, parsley and a couple shakes of garlic salt.

I covered the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Then I set up an assembly line. One scoop, about 2 Tablespoons, into each pasta shell is adequate.

Continue to fill the entire bottom. Drizzle more sauce over the shells and finish using all the filling in the remaining shells. Then cover with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese and cover with tin foil.

Bake 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Then remove the tin foil and continue to bake till the cheese is beginning to brown.

Serve the shells hot, with meatballs, sausage, bread and salad.

Sooooo gooood!

"Give us this day our daily taste. Restore to us soups that spoons will not sink in and sauces which are never the same twice. Raise up among us stews with more gravy than we have bread to blot it with. Give us pasta with a hundred fillings."

~Robert Farrar Capon