Pasta Rustica

Nick went on and on about Pasta Rustica for quite some time. I, being the ignorant non-Italian, had no idea what Pasta Rustica was. So, when I put it on the weekly menu, I needed a starting point. I turned to his family cookbook and grabbed his Aunt Denise's recipe.

Making up the weekly grocery list, I realized that almost all of the ingredients were what we consider pantry items, so we actually didn't need anything for this recipe. I already liked it. Any recipe that can be made with easily found on hand pantry staples is one I love. I do like to experiment with odd ingredients and ethnic cuisines, but there is definitely something to be said for pantry recipes. I love to have these types of recipes as fall backs in case I'm stuck late at work or realize that I forgot an ingredient for another recipe I was planning to make.

And especially one this delicious. The creaminess of the cheeses, the spicy flavors of the sausage and  topped with sauce tastes like a crispy version of lasagna, but so much easier to prepare. It also freezes well, so don't let any of those leftovers go to waste!

Pasta Rustica
serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed (we used Nick's homemade pork sausage)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes in puree (tomatoes coarsely chopped and puree reserved)
salt, to taste
1 lb. penne pasta
1 1/4 c. ricotta cheese (we used re-hydrated Ricotta Salata)
2 c. Landana Mild Goat Cheese**
1/2 c. grated Pecorino Romano

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large dutch oven, over medium heat, warm oil. Add onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring for about 1 minute. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up into bite size pieces, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Stir in basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Add tomatoes with puree and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10-12 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Lightly oil a baking dish*.

Cook the pasta until barely al dente and drain well.

In a large bowl, toss pasta with sauce, ricotta and the goat cheese. Spread in a prepared baking and sprinkle with Pecorino Romano. Bake until cheeses are melted and tips of pasta are crusty (about 30 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

*We used one 9" x 9" baking dish and one smaller dish to freeze for a later meal. If you are making all of it at once, I recommend a 9" x 12" dish.

** This was a mild, semi-soft goat's cheese with a rich, buttery flavor.

Cinnamon Rolls

My mom makes these cinnamon rolls and they are to die for. I miss them. So I begged and begged and begged her for the recipe and she finally shared it. So I got right to work. Because they are amazing - the crispy caramelized cinnamon sugar filling on the bottoms, the warm gooey cream cheese icing on the top....I almost didn't finish this post because they were calling me into the kitchen...

Lucky for you, I did, because they are delicious. And one of my favorite things is that they can be made ahead of time. Make them the night before, pop them in the refrigerator and you're all set for an easy and delicious breakfast the following morning. Or freeze in small batches to thaw later overnight in the refrigerator and bake for an easy weekday breakfast.

Mom's Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients:
1 c. warm milk (or cream)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 c. melted butter
4 1/2 c. bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. sugar
3 1/2 tsp yeast
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, softened.

Dissolve the yeast in the milk, add the sugar, salt and butter. Add the eggs and mix well and add the flour until it forms a ball. Place into a prepared (butter or oiled) bowl, cover and let rise until it doubles, about an hour.

While the dough is rising, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter with a fork until it is combined into a "paste" - no pockets of butter or cinnamon.

After the dough has doubled in size, put it on a floured surface and let it rest for ten minutes. Then roll the dough to about 16x21 inch rectangle. Drop the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture in small pieces on to the dough. Make sure to coat the dough evenly with pieces of the mixture. I used an offset spatula to spread it around to the edges evenly. Starting at the long side, roll the dough. Cut the roll into 12 pieces and place rolls into a greased 9 x 12 pan*.

At this point, you can cover and let rise until double to bake (about 30 minutes). Or you can cheat and put them in the refrigerator so that you can bake them in the morning. Just take them out and let them come to room temp before you start to bake. Either way, bake them at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes.


While they are baking, beat:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt


When rolls are warm, but not too hot, frost with the cream cheese icing.

 

 * We used a 9" x 9" pan and then had a couple smaller pans to place in the freezer.

This post is linked to the Sunday's at One Food Club hosted by Cocina Diary.

It's my Birthday and I'll Pie if I want to!

Me and pie have had a love affair for quite some time. I love the variety that can be found in pies. I suppose one could argue cake can be equally interesting, but I usually find cakes (especially with icing) to be too sweet for my taste. So, if I had the choice, I would choose pie every time. Which is why, on my birthday, my mom would make me this amazing French Silk Pie instead of birthday cake.

But sadly, this is the first year in 27 years that I haven't been home for my birthday. Which meant I was not getting a mom made pie or dad made dinner.  So I did what every woman with a birthday induced chocolate craving would do, and I got the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 squares baker's chocolate
2 tsp. vanilla
1 precooked pie shell
4 pasturized eggs

Suprisingly, I had everything on hand. Plus, it's such and easy and foolproof recipe, I promise you can't screw it up.

Start out by making and cooking the pie shell. It will need to be cooled before you can add the batter, so chill in the fridge or let cool on the counter to room temperature before starting your batter. I'm still working out the kinks of pie crust making, so mine was a little misshappen, but I assure you, it did not affect the flavor. I also kept my crust a bit thicker since I like it, especially with this pie.

Once the crust is cooled, cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.

Once it is creamed, add the melted (but cooled!) chocolate and the vanilla extract.

Once they are thoroughly mixed together, add one egg at a time and after each egg is added, beat for 5 minutes on medium.

This allows the egg to smooth and lighten the sugar-butter mixture. Once the eggs are added and beaten, your batter is ready to pour into the cooled pie shell. I used one large pie shell and one smaller one that was just for me. Because it's my birthday and I know Nick will eat half of every slice I get for myself, even though he "doesn't like pie." *eyeroll* :)

 

Cover and refrigerate. My mom recommends letting it set in the fridge overnight, but she told me that 2 hours is the true minimum - she must know how impatient I am when it comes to pie.

Hope you all had a great 2010 and I wish you an even better 2011!

Holiday Spice Layer Cake with Rum Flavored Whipped Cream

This past weekend we attended a Christmas party a friend of ours hosted. We were asked to bring a little sumthin sumthin and this layer cake that my mom would make around the holidays popped into my head. It's a bit too rich for Nick and I alone to finish on our own, so this party gave me a great opportunity to share this treat with friends (and have a slice or two myself!).

The great thing about this cake is the presentation and the flavor can fool everyone into thinking you slaved over this thing, when it's really pretty dang easy. Like I hate baking and can handle this easy.

Ingredients:
6 eggs, whites and yolks separated
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 tbsp Rum flavoring
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I usually run through blender or food processor)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 cup fine crumb graham crackers
1 square grated unsweetened chocolate
rum flavored whipped cream (shown below)

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tbsp at a time. Beat until stiff and glossy. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, oil, and rum flavoring on low in your mixer.

Add 1/2 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves to the yolk mixture. Beat for 1 minute.

Fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Fold in the graham cracker crumbs, chocolate and nuts. Pour into two 8-9" pans. Or in our case, a 8" pan and a springform pan since we don't have two cake pans (holiday gift idea?).

Place in the oven and bake 30-35 minutes. Once they are baked (still a toothpick in there - clean = done), immediately invert the pans onto cooling racks and cool (Don't remove the pans just yet though).
Once cooled, remove the cake from the pans and split each cake in half to make 4 layers.

Starting with a cake layer as the base, top each layer with the whipped cream and continue cake, cream, cake, cream until you've all four layers are complete.

Top the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream and garnish with chocolate curls.

Now for the hard part: Chill (without sneaking) for 7 hours to allow the cream to set and flavors to mingle.

Before serving you can add strawberries, cherries or raspberries for some added color and holiday cheer.

Rum Flavored Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
2 c. chilled whipped cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. rum flavoring

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and beat until stiff. Ta- Da!

Ukrainian Pyrohi (Pieroghi) & Pyrohi with a Twist

There are some foods that hold special memories, that take you back to a certain time or place. Pyrohi are one of those for me. I remember devouring them at my grandparent's house as a child. I learned to ride my bike (sans training wheels) by having my parents tempt me by saying "Olga's Pieroghi!" as they ran ahead of me and I tried to catch up. Engrossed by the thoughts of buttery, cheese and potato filled pockets, I completely forgot about my unbalanced self and raced to two wheels in no time. The smell of onions sauteing in butter on the stove top still reminds me of home and Olga's (my grandmother) kitchen.

Since I grew up, I've tried several varieties: the can't be topped pyrohi made by little old ladies in church basements, the store bought kind from your grocer's freezer, and some bought at specialty markets with unique added flavors. There is also a "poor man's" version that my dad makes, which is basically the same ingredients deconstructed in a mixture of noodles as opposed to pinched into dough rounds. It's equally delicious and I'll have to share it with you sometime.

I wanted to give homemade pyrohi a try, not only because I imagine that they will taste more like the little old lady variety, but also because they are a great weeknight dish since they freeze so well. Once they are individually frozen onto sheet pans (don't forget the parchment paper), I put a few into zip top bags and placed them in the freezer. On busy weeknights, it's so easy to boil a pot of water and throw in some frozen pyrohi, saute some butter/olive oil and onions and sit down to a nice, home cooked meal 15 minutes later.

This leads me to my current undertaking: making homemade pyrohi.  The recipe below is what I received from my Aunt Stephanie (a young church basement pyrohi pincher) at my bridal shower. I had to have some tweaks (for my allergy), but I've mostly followed this exactly (the items I've changed will not be in italics).

Ukrainian Pyrohi
(yield: approx. 3 to 3 1/2 doz)

Dough

1 egg
2 c. flour
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. margarine (for which I subbed plain ol' butter)
1 tsp. salt

Mix together and knead for about 5 minutes. You can also let your mixer and dough hook do the work. Let dough rest on a floured board for about 1/2 hour. 

Filling

Cook 5 or 6 potatoes (pared and cubed). Mash, add salt and pepper to taste (do not add milk); add 3 or 4 slices of cheddar, American or your choice of cheese (I used Manchego* here). Mix well until cheese is melted. I like to saute butter (I used olive oil) and onions (1/2 yellow) and put some into the potato mixture. Scoop potatoes into 1" balls and let cool.

Making and Filling Pyrohi

Roll out dough about 1/8" thick and cut in 3" rounds (use a donut cutter). Put 1 tbsp. potatoes on a round and pinch them shut. Use a little flour on your fingers if the dough is sticky or if it doesn't seal right away. No need to put water on the edges before sealing. I worked in batches so that the dough wouldn't dry out. 

 

 

Put completed pyrohi on a lightly floured surface until ready to cook. If not cooking for a while, cover the pyrohi with a dish towel until ready to cook so that they don't dry out.

 

Cook in a large pot of boiling water, stirring gently until pyrohi come to the top of the water and then let simmer for 3 or 4 minutes; drain, serve with sauteed butter (again, I used olive oil) and onions. ENJOY!

The other option is to fry them. I caramelized some yellow onions in some olive oil and once they were done, added a bit more olive oil and sauteed the pyrohi until they were cooked through.



To kick these up a notch, mix the pyrohi filling (as directed above) and add one roasted, peeled and diced jalapeno pepper.  The spiciness goes well with the caramelized onions and it really is an great twist on the traditional version (although I can't say enough about the original).

*Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese that has goes really well with potatoes and melts well. There are also sheep and goat's milk cheddars available, but our nearest specialty cheese store is an hour away.