Lasagna

 

 

1 lb. of lasagna noodles

2 cups of ricotta

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

Six eggs (room temperature)

1 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano

2 lbs. of cooked Italian sausage

20 ounces of thawed chopped spinach

salt, pepper and nutmeg

4 cups of spaghetti sauce

freshly grated mozarella

eight slices of provolone

Cook noodles three minutes less than box advises or if using fresh noodles, blanch three minutes.  Shock in cold water.

Have a large lasagna pan ready.    Put one cup of spaghetti sauce in bottom.  Put one layer of noodles in the bottom of the pan.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta, breadcrumbs, eggs, parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle in a little salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg. 

Put one half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.  Cover with the spinach.  Spoon over a little of the spaghetti sauce.  Add a layer of noodles.  Add remainder of ricotta mixture.  Cover with the cooked Italian sausage.  Sprinkle a little parmigiano reggiano and add the provolone.  Spoon over spaghetti sauce.  Add final noodle layer.  Sprinkle with cheese and add sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350F.



Aunt Alice's Macaroni Salad

Aunt Alice's Macaroni Salad

 

 

My mother’s sister, Alice, made the best macaroni salad.  Her original recipe calls for salad oil and vinegar (I don’t use these in mine).  Try it both ways to see which you prefer.  Honestly, I’ve never had a better macaroni salad….

 

Ingredients

1 lb. of elbow macaroni, cooked

1 small onion, grated or cut fine

2 tomatoes, chopped (I use those miniature plum tomatoes instead)

1 can of shrimp, rinsed

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 clove of garlic, grated or 1 tsp. of garlic powder

2 raw carrots, grated

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 tbl. salad oil

1 tsp. of vinegar

 

Cook macaroni the night before, rinse well and add the oil and vinegar.  The next day, toss the ingredients and refrigerate until serving.



Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad

 



 

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350F

 

4 pieces of chicken or turkey thighs marinated for several hours in buttermilk (you can substitute        ranch style dressing if buttermilk is unavailable)

 

1 deep roasting pan

 

Wipe marinade off protein.  Place in a roasting pan.  Roast for one hour.  Allow the protein to cool thoroughly.

 

Salad:

Romaine lettuce

Specialty lettuces (whatever is at your market)

bacon bits

Imported parmesan cheese

Croutons

 

Break up cleaned lettuce(s) with your fingers and place in a deep salad bowl.   Add croutons, bacon and cheese.  Set aside until serving time.

 

Salad Dressing:

1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 tbl. of lemon juice

2 inches of anchovy paste

1/3 cup of imported parmesan cheese

1 egg

 

Process by putting all ingredients in bowl of food processor and then drizzling in the olive oil slowly.  Taste.  Add extra cheese or lemon and salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

 

When protein is thoroughly cooked, remove skin and shred.  Place the protein on the salad.  Slowly drizzle the salad dressing over the salad.  Toss.  Taste.  If necessary, add more cheese, or salt and pepper.  This salad is served at room temperature, not hot.  If you serve the protein hot, it will wilt the salad.



 

 

King Family Pork Ribs

 

 

The history of this recipe is interesting.   I was planning a large family event and asked my son-in-law, Christopher, what his favorite food was...he replied "King Family Ribs".  Since my son also loves ribs, this was a no brainer.  When I called Christopher's mother, Judy, for the recipe, she said it wasn't written down anywhere.  To try and track down the original recipe, she started emailing members of her family and included me in all responses.  Most family members agreed on two things:  beer and barbecue sauce.  Christopher was able to give me an idea of the flavor of the barbecue sauce.  The flavor of the rub was mine...it's mostly the rub I use for meat.  The first part of the recipe...cooking the ribs in beer...can be done a day or two ahead to save time.  Just wrap well and refrigerate.

 

 

4 lbs. of pork ribs



beer

 

Put the ribs in a deep baking pan.  Pour beer over the ribs to cover.  Bake for 2 hours at 200 degrees.

 

Allow the ribs to cool naturally before the next step.

 

Rub:

garlic powder; a dash of cayenne pepper; salt and pepper

 

Barbecue Sauce:

1 bottle of Jack Daniel's Bourbon flavored barbecue sauce

2 nips of Grand Marnier

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Orange juice

1 tsp. of Dijon mustard

 

You don't need to cook this sauce.

 

Dry the ribs with paper towels and then generously coat with the rub.  Refrigerate the ribs until time to barbecue.  Add sauce as barbecue cooks through the meat.  Cook over flavored wood chips.  There will be none left...

 

Easy Chili

Chili is easy to make if you have a crock pot.  This recipe will make you want to go back for more.  Serve with a hearty, crusty bread.

Ingredients:
2 cans of chili
1 lb. of ground pork
1 lb. of ground beef
1 large red onion, chopped
12 ounces of porcini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 lb. of bacon
Chicken stock
dash of cayenne pepper

In a large skillet, brown the bacon.  Remove the bacon and allow the bacon pieces to dry on a paper towel.  Use the fat in the skillet to cook the pork, beef, onion and mushrooms. 

In a crockpot, put the chili and all remaining ingredients.  Eyeball the chicken stock.  Allow to cook on low setting of the crockpot.

Kick Ass Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350F

Butter and flour a brownie pan

 

 

1 box of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownies mix

¼ cup of strongly brewed Starbucks french roast coffee
¼ cup of Nutella melted with ½ cup of butter flavored Crisco
¼ cup of bittersweet Ghirardelli cocoa (sifted)
¼ cup of Hershey’s cocoa (sifted)
1 nip of Kahlua
1 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs

There are two important keys to making great brownies from a mix...never use butter and elevate the recipe by adding simple ingredients like cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt.

Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl with a fork.  (Do not overmix…fifty strokes or less)…

 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

Frosting:

 

First frosting is a simple buttercream.

 

Simple Buttercream

 

1 box of confectioner's sugar

1 stick of butter at room temp

1 tsp. of vanilla

heavy cream

 

Use a hand mixer and a deep bowl.  Put sugar, butter and vanilla in the bowl and use the hand mixer.  Slowly pour in the cream until you have a proper textured frosting.  Frost the brownies when the brownies are cool.

 

Second frosting is a chocolate ganache.

 

Chocolate Ganache

 

8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli)

1 tsp. of vanilla

1/2 stick of butter

heavy cream

 

Melt chocolate with the vanilla and butter (heat water and melt slowly in a metal bowl over the water).     Remove the melted chocolate from heat and slowly drizzle in the heavy cream.  Mix with a fork until you get a great glaze.  Quickly pour the glaze over the buttercream frosting.