Bolognese Sauce

This is a really flavorful thick, meaty sauce.  A friend's mother originally adapted it from a Dear Heloise column; we've made a few additional tweaks.  As with most tomato sauces, you can use whatever tomato products you have on hand.

Bolognese Sauce

2 T olive oil
1 c chopped onions
4 strips bacon, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp dried parsley (or 3 T chopped fresh parsley)
28 oz San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
2 T finely chopped basil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
smoked paprika, to taste

1) Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
2) Add onion; saute for 2-3 minutes.
3) Add bacon; saute until about halfway done.
4) Add ground beef; saute until all meat is browned.
5) Add garlic and parsley.
6) In a separate sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients.
7) Add beef mixture to the sauce; simmer for at least an hour.

Pasta with Cream Sauce

This was extra tasty. We used fresh pasta (which comes in 10 oz packages), so I scaled the rest of the ingredients back a bit. Also, I was out of milk, so I used a little extra cream and made up the difference with water.

Pasta with Cream Sauce

1 lb dried pasta
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c whole milk
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 c (4 oz) grated parmesan
1/2 c sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1/2 c frozen green peas
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1) Cook the pasta according to package directions.
2) In the meantime, warm the cream, milk, salt and pepper in a saucepan over med-low heat.
3) Add the cooked pasta and cheese; stir until the cheese melts.
4) Add sauteed mushrooms, frozen peas and/or bacon crumbles.
5) Cook an additional 3-4 minutes until everything is warmed through and sauce thickens.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is my favorite mac and cheese recipe! You can try substituting part of the cheddar with another cheese to create a slightly different flavor.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

6 T butter
1/4 c plus 2 T flour
4 c milk
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 lb macaroni
3 c (12 oz) extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/3 c parmesan cheese, divided
1 c fresh bread crumbs

1) Melt butter over low heat; add flour and whisk for 3 mins.
2) Add milk, whisking, and bring to a boil.
3) Add dry mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper; simmer until thickened, about 2 mins.
4) In the meantime, boil macaroni for about 7 mins; drain.
5) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6) In a large bowl, stir together cheddar, sauce, macaroni and 1 c parmesan; transfer to buttered 3-4 qt gratin dish or 9x13 pan.
7) In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs and 1/3 c parmesan; sprinkle evenly over macaroni.
8) Bake for 25-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Baked Crab Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce

This was an ambitious dish for us, but I'm happy to say that it turned out really well. Since I'm sick (cough, cough), Jason did all the cooking, so I guess he should get the credit.

We combined two different recipes so we had some trouble figuring out how much pasta and sauce to make for a certain amount of filling. I'm going to post the recipes in their original quantities, but we doubled the crab filling (because we had a whole pound of crab), we increased the pasta recipe by 50% and then ended up having to make another batch at the regular quantity, and we doubled the sauce.

The pasta didn't seem to roll out as big as the recipe indicated, but maybe that's because we didn't use a pasta maker. We were able to roll it really thin though, so I'm not sure how a pasta maker would have made a difference.

Baked Crab Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce

Pasta

1 1/2 c flour
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 T water

1) In a food processor, blend all ingredients until the dough forms a ball.
2) Process for 15 seconds longer, to knead. (My food processor didn't seem capable of ball-forming and kneading.)
3) Transfer to a flour surface and let stand, covered with an inverted bowl, for one hour.

Filling

1/2 lb lump crab meat
2 T red peppers, minced
2 T red onion, minced
1 c parmesan, grated
1 T basil, chopped
2 T bread crumbs
2 T heavy cream

1) Combine all ingredients.
2) Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Sauce

1 T unsalted butter
2 T red pepper, minced
2 T red onion, minced
3/4 c tomatoes, diced
1/4 c water
1/3 c heavy cream
1/2 c parmesan, grated

1) Melt butter in a medium skillet; saute peppers and onion until tender.
2) Add tomatoes and water and simmer for 5 mins.
3) Prepare but the rest of the ingredients, but don't add them yet.

Assembly

1) Divide dough into 4 pieces.
2) On a floured surface, roll one piece into a 24" x 4" rectangle (we couldn't get anywhere close to this size).
3) Drop 6 (1 1/2 tsp) mounds 1 1/2" apart down the center of one half of the sheet.
4) Brush egg wash (1 egg white mixed with 2 T water) around each mound and then fold the other half of the sheet over the filling.
5) Press down firmly around each mound, forcing out air.
6) Cut pasta (between mounds) into squares; lay on a lightly floured kitchen towel.
7) Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough.
8) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and gently drop in ravioli.
9) Cook until the pasta is tender, about 6 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a colander.
10) Put half of the ravioli in a baking dish; top with half of tomato sauce, half of the cream and half of the cheese.
11) Repeat with the remaining ravioli, sauce, cream and cheese.
12) Bake, uncovered, until the sauce is bubbly, about 15 mins.

White Bean Pasta

This is a good clean out the cabinets and fridge recipe. I think you could use whatever pasta, veggies and beans that you happen to have on hand.

White Bean Pasta

8 oz pasta
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c onion, chopped
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 c bell pepper, sliced
1 15 oz can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 c spinach
1/2 c parmesan, grated

1) Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2) Saute garlic and onion in oil for 2-3 mins; add peppers and saute an additional 2-3 mins.
3) Add mushrooms and saute until soft.
4) Stir in beans, tomatoes, salt and pepper; bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 mins.
5) Add spinach and simmer until wilted.
6) Drain pasta and add to bean mixture.
7) Sprinkle with half of parmesan cheese; reserve the rest for the table.

Steamed Clams

I was amazed at how quick and easy it was to prepare this. The clams turned out great and made a TON of broth. Next time, I will try to incorporate some different spices and maybe try to thicken the broth a bit.

Steamed Clams

50 littleneck clams
2 T olive oil
6 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c green pepper, finely diced
1/4 c red pepper, finely diced
1/4 c shallots, finely diced
1 c white wine (we used Little Penguin Chardonnay)
2 T butter
pasta
fresh bread

1) Thoroughly wash clams to remove sand/dirt. Discard any clams that are already open.
2) In a large pot, saute garlic in oil over medium heat. Add peppers and shallots; saute until soft.
3) Add wine; simmer until it reduces in volume by half.
4) Add clams, cover and steam over medium heat.
5) Once the clams begin to open, add butter.
6) Continue steaming until all (or almost all) of the clams are open (about 12-15 mins total).
7) Serve over pasta.

Jason's (Almost) World Famous Lasagna

Jason made his lasagna today for us to take in our lunches all week. He would normally use ground beef, but because I'm going to be eating it too, he used ground turkey instead. He prepared 2 - 32 oz jars of Mid's sauce, and we had enough left over to freeze for a pasta dinner down the road.

Lasagna

2 jars of high-quality tomato sauce
1 lb ground turkey
2 T garlic, chopped
5 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
salt & pepper
oregano
italian seasoning
garlic powder
2 tsp fresh basil, chopped (opt)
hot sauce (opt)
1 box lasagna noodles
8 oz package of pre-sliced provolone
8 oz package of pre-sliced mozzarella
15 oz ricotta

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Warm sauce over low heat; bring to a simmer.
3) Brown ground turkey with garlic, mushrooms, onion and spices, to taste.
4) Drain excess liquid, if necessary.
5) Mix meat and veggies into the sauce.
6) Add basil and a dash of hot sauce.
7) In the meantime, boil 9 lasagna noodles, per the package directions.
8) In a 9x13 pan, spread a thin layer of sauce.
9) Add a layer of 3 noodles.
10) Spread a thin layer of sauce.
11) Layer in half of the provolone, mozzarella and ricotta.
12) Add a layer of 3 noodles.
13) Spread a thin layer of sauce.
14) Layer in the remaining cheeses.
15) Add a layer of 3 noodles.
16) Spread the remaining sauce.
17) Bake for 45 mins - 1 hour, until bubbly.