Ina's Lasagna

 

Ok I guess I am a glutin for punishment, but I made my homemade mozzarella and ricotta yesterday. I made 1/2 recipe of each and worked out perfect for a 9x13. I used Boulder Sausage hot Italian, but recipe calls for turkey sausage, which is equally tasty, just not easy to find. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon EVO (using Italian sausage did not use, as meat had enough fat)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 pound sausage, turkey or pork, hot or sweet
• 1-28 ounce jar Rao marinara
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 4 ounces creamy goat cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 15 ounce whole milk ricotta cheese
• 12 lasagna noodles, cooked to package directions (I use Jovial gluten-free)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375-degrees

Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Combine the ricotta, goat cheese, Parmesan, parsley, egg and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Cook the sausage until no longer pink. Add the chopped onion and cook till softened. Add the Rao sauce and combine.

Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the baking pan. 

Layer 6 of the cooked lasagna noodles.

Next add half of the sliced mozarrella.

Add half of ricotta mixture.

Then 1/3rd of the meat sauce.

Repeat layers, remaining lasagna noodles, remaining mozarrella slices, ricotta mixture, and finally remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake cover for about 50 minutes.

Soft Dinner Rolls

 

I made these for Thanksgiving. natashaskitchen.com I bought powder whole milk off of Amazon, that way I have whole milk at my finger tips. This recipe serves 15 folks.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup whole milk, warmed to 110-degrees
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar (1 tablespoon set aside)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 cups flour (minus 1-3 tablespoon) this is approximate, enough to make a barely sticky dough
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, to brush on the tops of baked rolls

Directions:

In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together warm milk and 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit 1 minute. Whisk together and let sit 5 minutes until foamy.

Add the butter, remaining sugar and salt.

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Once dough is holding together, place with dough hook on speed 2 for 2 minutes.  The dough should feel sticky and tacky but should not stick to dry finger tips.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour or so. To speed up rise. Place a damp kitchen towel in the microwave on high for 1 minute, then place dough to rise in the microwave.

Once the dough has doubled, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 15 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball (pull and fold 1st like King Arthur pan rolls and then roll in hand into smooth ball) and place in an oiled 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and rise 30-60 minutes until puffed. Do not over-proof. (Or grease a piece of saran wrap and place over top of pan. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Place at room temperature for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.) (1 hour because of altitude)

Bake at a 375-inch pan for 23-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Immediately brush with melted butter and set at room temperature to cool.

May heat up in the oven 300-degrees wrapped in foil for 10-12 minutes and is freezer friendly.

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Focaccia

 Yum! Crisp chewy crust, airy soft center and amazing garlic rosemary topping. natashaskitchen.com Uses generous amounts of olive oil, dough rests 4 times; but well worth it! There is a video, so you cannot go wrong!  Keeps 2 days loosely covered at room temperature. May freeze for 2 months, thaw at room temperature and reheat at 350-degrees for 8 minutes uncovered. Serves 12.

Ingredients for Dough:

• 1 1/2 cup warm water, 105-115 degrees
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast
• 3 3/4 flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon EVO, for the dough
• 1/4 cup EVO, for the pan

Ingredients for the Topping:

• 2 tablespoon EVO
• 2 tablespoon water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions:

Proof the yeast:

Pour warm water (105-115 degrees) into a measuring cup and stir in 1 teaspoon honey. Stir in 1 packet of yeast and proof for 5-7 minutes on until surface is foamy. 

Make the Dough:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Pour in the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. Dough will be sticky. I did add a tad more flour, mine was super sticky. 

Add 1 tablespoon EVO and use your hands to work the oil into the dough until fully absorbed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes until visibly puffed.

Make the topping:

In small bowl combine all the ingredients for topping and whisk. Set aside so flavors meld.

Use the stretch and fold method to develop gluten strands. Dip your hands in water to prevent sticking.

Pull up on corner of the dough gently without tearing the dough then fold over onto itself. Rotate the bowl and continue this process 3 more times. Do four stretches and folds.

Cover with plastic wrap and rest 30 minutes at room temperature.

Perform this process 3 more times, letting it rest covered for 30 minutes each time.

Pour 1/4 cup EVO into a 9x13 baking pan. 

Transfer the dough to the oiled pan and turn to coat in oil. Gently stretch the dough to the edges. If having difficulty stretching, cover and let it rest 15 miutes before working the dough to the edges.

Cover and proof 45-60 minutes until well risen and puffy.

dip hands into cold water and use your fingertips to poke into the focaccia, going almost through the dough. Go over the dough a couple of times to get a generous amount of dimples. Release any big air bubbles trapped under the dough by gently lifting the dough at the edge.

Rewhisk the topping and drizzle evenly ove the top.

Bake at 450-degrees for 25 minutes. You want a crisp edge. Immediately transfer to a wire rack so base does not softened. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Sloppy Bombay Joes

 

This recipe is Courtesy of Aarti Sequeira on Food Network. The reviews were great and I had some burger buns in freezer. I omitted the sweet red pepper and used jalapeno instead of serrano chili. Aspen Moon jalapeno this year were large and spicy, so used just 1/2 in the sauce. I substituted the garam masala for Baharat blend from The Spice House, which has some of the same ingredients.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Baharat blend
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• salt

Directions for Sauce:

Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until it shimmers. 

Add the ginger, garlic and jalapeno pepper. Saute till the ginger and garlic just barely brown.

Add the Baharat and paprika and saute 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Salt to taste. Set aside.

Ingredients for the Meat:

• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• salt
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup half and half
• fresh cilantro 

Directions for the Meat:

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet. When oil starts to shimmer, add the pistachios and raisins. Cook until raisins swell up and pistachios toast slightly. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to pan and once shimmering, add the cumin seeds and cook till fragrant. 

Stir in the onion and cook till just starts to brown. Season with salt.

Stir in the ground turkey, breaking up the large lumps. Cook until opaque, about 5 minutes.

Add the sauce to the turkey mixture, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

Add the honey, half and half, pistachios and raisins. Adjust salt. 

Toast buns, fill with the Sloppy Joe and garnish with cilantro.

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Homemade Ricotta

 

Barbara and I took another cheese making class! This was a bit easier than the Burrata class we took earlier in the year. And man this is good! In the class we halved the recipe, using only 1/2 gallon whole milk and it made quite a bit. Thinking of doing the same when I attempt the recipe solo. The ingredients below are for the full recipe. Eat this ricotta warm on crackers ( you can allow to sit out once made ); as once placed in refrigerator it firms up some. Add fresh herbs, pesto, pinenuts or use in your favorite recipe. Ricotta maybe frozen, just unthaw in refrigerator. Freezing makes the ricotta drier. 1 gallon milk equals about 4 cups ricotta

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon whole milk ( unlike the burrata, quality of milk not an issue)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• salt, if using unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Rub the bottom of your pan with an ice cube. Makes clean up easier!

Pour milk into pan with, insert your thermometer and heat to 185-degrees. Stirring regularly.

At 185 degrees, stir in the apple cider vinegar. Stir for about 1 minute. Curds should start to separate from the whey. Continue stirring and heat to 190-195 degrees. If needed add another teaspoon of vinegar.

Once curds form, ladle them out into you cheesecloth (butter muslin) lined strainer. Keep ladling the curds as they form into the cheesecloth. Grab edges of cheesecloth and bounce gently to drain, You can pour the rest of the whey into the cheesecloth to get last bits of curds. The whey will start to look yellow and clear when process is done.

Once curds are well drained, place in bowl and add butter and baking soda. Salt to taste.

That is it!

Mini Crustless Quiches

 Courtesy of Jaymee Sire. These little gems maybe made ahead, refrigerated for up to 3 days of frozen. I switched out the chard for fresh baby spinach, 3 scallions for the medium yellow onion and omitted the 6 ounces of mushrooms. As you can tell, totally customizable. These made 24 mini quiches using a mini muffin tin plus some leftover; which I cooked up in a skillet for lunch. 

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray ( I just used a silicon brush & canola oil)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3-4 scallions, both white & green parts, thinly slice
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch fresh baby spinach, stems removed, chopped
• 6 ounces mushroom, cut into bite size pieces ( did not use this round)
• 12 eggs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra to sprinkle on tops
• 2-3 dashes hot sauce
• salt, pepper & I used some Chili Rub spice mix

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Spray or use brush to grease muffin tin cavities with vegetable oil. 

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and once heated add the olive oil. Add the scallion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minutes. At this point I added 1/2 teaspoon chili rub. Add the spinach and mushrooms (if using) and cook until spinach wilts and mushrooms release their moisture. About 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl with a spout, whisk the eggs with the 1/4 cup Parmesan and add few dashes of hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper. 

Evenly divide the spinach mixture between muffin cups. Pour the egg mixture over the top, filling the muffin cavities. Sprinkle more Parm on tops.

Bake about 18 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Perfect Rice in the Oven

 

This rice recipe goes with Curry Chicken courtesy of Kwame Onwuachi from Food Network. I have yet to make the curry chicken, but in future plans. The rice, however, I have made and it is delicious. Made with Jasmine Rice, but would like to try other types of rice.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup Jasmine rice
• 1 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the rice. Stir to coat and toast. About 2 minutes. 

Add the water and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Cover with lid.

Put in oven for about 18 minutes.

Fluff with a fork.

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