Lasagne Cupcakes

I know in the US we often spell lasagne with an 'a', but I prefer the European spelling which ends in an 'e'.

Wrappers with 1st cheese layer

Cooking spray
1/3 - 1/2 lb. ground beef
pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, fennel, salt (just a little of each)
butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. can tomato sauce
oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper (all to taste)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
24 circular wonton wrappers
water
1 3/4 c. Parmesan, grated (I didn't actually measure any of the cheeses when I made this; these amounts are from the original recipe so you have something to go by. I just eyeballed it)
1 3/4 c. mozzarella, shredded
3/4 c. ricotta

1st layer

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray; set aside.

Brown the beef in a skillet. While cooking add in the pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, fennel, and salt. When finished, set aside.

 Saute the onion in a little butter, for about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, and saute for 1 more minute.

Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to a  large bowl. Add the beef, onion, and garlic. Add in oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Add in the sugar. Stir it all together.

Starting the 2nd layer

As you start layering the cupcakes, dip each wonton wrapper into a small bowl of water. Just quickly dip in the water, then press a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each muffin tin.

Sprinkle a little Parmesan in each tin, then mozzarella, then ricotta. Top with a little of the meat sauce. Repeat all the layers again (don't forget to dip the wonton wrappers in water, one at a time).

Top each cupcake with a little more Parmesan and mozzarella. You can never have too much cheese.

Ready to eat!

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until browned around the edges. Let sit 3-4 minutes, then you can pop them out with a spoon fairly easily. Serve hot.

Here's a link to the original recipe I adapted: http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/lasagna-cupcakes-recipe/1/.

Focaccia Cambozola

1 garlic bulb

Garlic before baking

olive oil
Salt
1 uncooked pizza dough (if you want to make your own dough, follow this link to my calzone recipe, and follow the directions for the dough: Pizza dough )
dried basil
1/2 c. Parmesan, shredded
1 wedge Cambozola cheese (or any blue cheese or Gorgonzola will do)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Wedge of Cambozola

Cut off the top of the garlic bulb. De-husk around the outside of the bulb, then put in a pie dish. Drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt. Cover with tin foil and bake 40-45 minutes, until tender and mushy.

When the garlic is almost done baking, roll out the dough like you would for pizza, put on a pizza baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with the basil and Parmesan.

Before baking the dough

Use a fork to poke the dough all over, about 1-2 inches apart.

When the garlic is done, put in the pizza dough and bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Focaccia bread after baking

Meanwhile, remove all the garlic cloves from the bulb, being careful not to burn yourself. Put them all in a bowl and mash them. Add in the blue cheese wedge, and continue to mash until it is somewhat smooth and spreadable.

Garlic cheese spread

Slice the dough into bread slices. I used a pizza cutter still to cut the slices. I served it so that everyone could put their own garlic Cambozola spread on their individual pieces. I suppose you could also spread it on the whole bread before serving it. It's up to you.

Next time I think I will use a stronger cheese like Gorgonzola with the garlic to see how the flavor changes. This was definitely a crowd pleaser, and there were no leftovers.

Recipe courtesy of Carla Pieplow

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage (If you don't have Italian sausage, just add fennel, oregano, and garlic powder to the sausage while it cooks)

potatoes, onion, garlic

5-7 slices of bacon
5-6 red potatoes
1 onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 qt water
6 c. chicken broth
2 c. kale, chopped
1 c. heavy cream or half and half
1 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Cook the sausage (with the seasonings if needed) until cooked through. Set aside. Cook bacon until crispy. Crumble, set aside.

sausage and bacon

Slice the potatoes between 1/8 - 1/4". Make sure they are all similar in size so they cook evenly. Dice the onion. Put potatoes, onion, garlic, water, and chicken broth into a large pot over medium heat. Cook until potatoes are cooked through (about 15 minutes).

Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Soup's on!

Turn to low heat, add the kale and cream. Let the soup heat through. Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese on top.

Here's the link to the recipe I adapted. Hopefully it tastes a little like the Olive Garden's soup. Chris said ours tasted better.  =) http://www.momontimeout.com/2011/11/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-soup.html

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter

Pasta:
Generous 2 3/4 c. type "00" pasta flour or all-purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
semolina, for dusting

Rolled out pasta

Filling:
1 lb. sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. honey
salt and pepper

Sage Butter:
4 Tbsp. butter
1 bunch fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

To make the pasta, sift the flour into a large bowl or food processor. Add the eggs and bring the mixture together or process to make a soft but not sticky dough (I had to add about a tsp. of water just to make the dough stick together). Turn out onto a counter lightly dusted with semolina, and knead for 4-5 minutes, or until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Raviolis before boiling

For the filling, peel the sweet potatoes and cut into chunks. Cook in a saucepan of boiling water for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and mash. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes, or until softened but not colored (at this point, I added the minced garlic and a dash or two of thyme, and cooked for another minute). Stir the onion into the mashed potatoes, and add the garlic and thyme (unless you've already added them!). Drizzle with the honey and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Using a pasta machine or rolling pin, roll the pasta out to a thickness of about 1/32 inch (this takes forever and is really really hard! And I rolled out a little at a time). Cut the pasta in half. Place teaspoonfuls of the filling at evenly spaced intervals across one half of the pasta. Brush around the filling with a little water and cover with the second half of the pasta. Press lightly around the filling to seal the pasta, and cut into squares with a sharp knife or pastry wheel. Lay the ravioli out on a sheet of wax paper that has been lightly dusted with semolina.

Sage butter

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and drop in the ravioli. Cook for 2-3 minutes (I cooked mine longer because my pasta was a little thicker than what it was supposed to be), until the pasta rises to the surface and is tender but still firm to the bite.

Meanwhile, for the sage butter, melt the butter with the sage in a small saucepan over low heat.

Drain the ravioli and toss with the sage butter. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Cooking School Italian

Eggplant Parmigiana

Cooking the eggplant

2 small unpeeled eggplants
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. water
1 1/3 c. dry bread crumbs
2/3 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
olive oil
2 c. tomato sauce
cilantro, chopped
Basil, thyme, garlic powder, coriander, oregano
2-3 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded


Heat oven to 350 F.

Cut eggplants into 1/4 inch slices. Mix egg and water. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip eggplant into egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumb mixture.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook half of the eggplant at a time in oil about 5 minutes, turning once, until light brown. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding more oil if necessary.

Ready to eat!

Place half of the eggplant in ungreased rectangular baking dish, overlapping slices slightly. Mix tomato sauce, cilantro, and spices together in a bowl. Spoon half of the sauce over eggplant. Sprinkle with 1-1 1/2 c. of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining eggplant, sauce, and cheese.

Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is light brown.

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Baked Ziti

Beef, onions, zucchini, and spices

16 oz. ziti noodles
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced (optional)
black pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, basil to taste
16 oz. tomato sauce
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
salt and pepper
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded
mushrooms (optional)

Ready to eat!

Cook beef and onions (and zucchini if you want it) with the spices, then add spaghetti sauce (I'll often add the same spices I used when cooking the beef and onion if I'm just using cans of plain tomato sauce). Cook ziti separately. When ziti is cooked, drain, then return to pot and stir in ricotta, 1/2 of the sauce, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Make sure ziti is coated well. Layer into a baking dish, then spoon the rest of the sauce on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Adapted from the recipe courtesy of Angel Lee

Calzones

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1 c. warm water

Dough with filling

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c. pepperoni, diced
1/2 c. mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
1 egg, beaten
(I also added garlic powder, coriander, and black pepper)

To Make Dough:

Dough

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the oil, sugar, and salt; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour until dough is smooth and workable. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 tsp. olive oil, then flip the dough, cover, and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled.

Before baking

To Make Filling:
While dough is rising, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and basil (and other seasonings if you want them!) in a large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill.


Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 2 equal parts. Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface. Fill each circle with 1/2 of the cheese and meat filling, fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork. Brush the top of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Ready to eat!

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 2 (monster sized) calzones or 4 normal sized calzones.


Recipe courtesy of Angel Lee

Pasta Puttanesca

Also known as "whore's pasta," the name of this robust pasta dish originated in Naples after the local women of easy virtue.
I love this recipe!


3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
dash or two of red pepper flakes
2 tsp. capers, rinsed and drained
12-16 pitted black olives, quartered
14 oz. diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp sea salt
ground pepper (lots!)
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
oregano, basil, dill, coriander, thyme to taste
cooked spaghetti or other pasta
Parmesan for the top (optional)


Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, capers, olives, tomatoes, salt, pepper, cilantro, and other seasonings, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta. Drain the cooked pasta into a colander and put the sauce in the bottom of the pot. Top with the hot pasta and reserved Tbsp of olive oil, and toss together gently to combine.