Great family dinner highlighting Baked Ziti and Peanut Butter Cake. I’ve been asked by family to spend less time at the stove and more time at the table with them. Some meals it’s almost impossible but not this one. This is an amazing dinner for a crowd and no one feels neglected not even the gourmet.
A tweet shared with me goes something like this, “A Sister asked this Priest (apparently a good cook) for a kale recipe.” His advice … “Chop it up, toss it in the garden and grow something good!” I must say I’ve met more with this attitude about kale than not. As for me, I haven’t met a green I didn’t like! In this dish I simply sautéed the closely chopped kale separately and layered the pasta mixture right over the top. There’s just enough sweetness in the pasta sauce to counter the usual slight bitterness of kale. I love this dish for so many reasons. If you haven’t tried gnocchi shaped dried pasta you must. The pasta cooks up beautifully. And look how it holds the meat sauce perfectly!
Here’s a homemade version of gnocchi I believe you will enjoy too!
Artichoke Dip, Spicy Hot Chicken Dip, Stromboli, Taquitos with Guacamole
Crostini, Game Day Drumsticks, Steak Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Portuguese & Italian Sausage Sliders, Chicken Wings Portuguese Style
Bruschetta, Olive Dip, Tortilla Mini Quiches, Jalapeño Popper Dip
These are just great recipes! We have some new ones in the works too! Take a look here for additional GREAT RECIPES FOR SUPER BOWL PARTIES.
Hearty! Oh so delicious! Yep, this would even please the guys on Super Bowl Sunday! Chicken and Italian sausage are the stars of this dish … It’s all about the meat. You can try it with boneless skinless chicken if you like but you’ll be missing the depth of flavor. This stew is amazingly simple and just the ticket for the game.
Lasagna with a new look. Meat or Meatless, this is perfect! Bake the Lasagna Rolls straight up for an impressive look or seam side down for a sauce drenched variation. There’s just a bit of cooking for the meat filling before baking. This is just one of those dishes I have fun with … often preparing differently each time. Make it your own … fill with your favorites.
How can the same ingredients arranged differently give a different taste! But a delicious taste! I call this a neat and tidy lasagna. Servings are pretty obvious with each roll as one. Stuff with a meat filling for your company and vegetarian for yourself. Or make each roll guest specific. That sounds like a lot of work but it isn’t. Yep, I’ll admit a bit messy when preparing. Bake all together in the same dish. OK some vegetarians may not go for that. Put this recipe together with your own pasta sauce and pesto or select the very best pre-made. The rest is just assembling. Recipe coming soon!
If you haven’t tried my sauce recipes or my pesto here are the links. I’ve cooked every recipe with love.
You must love pasta and wine to enjoy this recipe! And someone who is visiting me does! (Secretly, I do too.) Years ago I was flipping through a magazine and came across a similar recipe by Rachael Ray. My first thought … how could that taste good! I wasn’t into wine and it just had so few ingredients. I gave it a try way back when. It was good … very good! This is totally a knock off with a touch of Rachael Ray. Enjoy!
Be sure and use your best ingredients! No cheap (value) dry red wine or extra virgin olive oil please.
Layer this sautéed combination over rice or pasta or serve it all by itself. Add anchovies to the recipe if family and friends don’t object. Or give depth to the taste with anchovy paste instead like I do. Adding sliced sweet yellow onion to the sauté is great too, but we go for a lot of garlic. Try this 15 minute dish for a quick light tasty lunch or dinner.
Healthy and Happy New Year!
If you’re not into biscotti for the same reason I haven’t been over the years then you haven’t tried these. All biscotti are not equal. This homemade version is so good you’ll want to gift a sampler to your special friends … Or maybe not! I had some expert help from Michael Chiarello or at least was influenced by a once baked biscotti cookie recipe of his. But true to the biscotti my recipe is twice baked. Instead of anise seed I used chai spices, here. I just happened to have some gray salt from Chiarello’s store (now closed?) in Yountville, California. And if you’re looking for crystallized sugar try here.
It was a special someone’s birthday! And he loves Italian Food … and Italian wines! Well, maybe all wine. What’s wrong with that?! He’d say.
Here’s a recipe that not only is Italian but incorporates that precious juice. The alcohol burns off but the deglazing it creates makes this dish irresistible.