The herbs wintered over on the countertop under a light, some new cilantro, with the parsley,
new dill with the sage and the oregano still going. Now that the weather has changed outside they go.
Herbs are difficult so far to start, i don’t know if the cilantro and dill will survive, they grow a bit spindly, the parsley, sage and oregano are established.
I didn’t have time to write the recipe. Some soy sauce and spices were used and most likely diced sautéed onions and carrots. It has some of the brussell sprout leaves in it from the garden and the first time that I successfully made spaghetti noodles. The trick was to have the pasta dough at the right consistency and the rollers well floured.
Made on or about 12/21/2011
I’ve come to the point where I’ve read way to many recipes and blogs, books, and watched countless cooking shows over the years………so………. My posts are going a more descriptive route rather than a standard measured ingredients and directions format….. and most likely I’ll refer to them in the future for repeats of some of the dishes I love with variations. Reading other peoples blogs and cookbooks have influenced me also to go the more narrative style, better a little story of the actual meal preparation. Thanks to all the bloggers I follow, excellent work!
Blogging right after eating has it’s advantages….
Two sausages from the the freezer along with frozen peeled whole tomatoes, frozen prepared garlic cubes, frozen vegetable stock. On the fridge side, some defrosted tomato juice, carrots and onions, a bit of bacon fat, 1/2 a can of tomato paste, prepared pasta dough. Frozen sausage goes in the fry pan with 2 cubes of frozen stock and brought to a boil covered,and then simmered, till sausage is defrosted and stock evaporates, brown the sausage, I now have a small black and Decker food chopper that was orphaned, now a new addition to the kitchen, I f*** with it, as adding too much carrots at once causes it to jam and the blade lift and stop rotating , so some of the carrot is removed till the little chopper does the job and I add the rest of the carrots incrementally ,no problem with it processing the onions ,add the diced onions and carrots, and garlic with a dab of bacon fat. More of a tomato vegetable sauce, as one of the Frug’s recipes I recalled. If i have veggies like this available ,celery, green pepper etc., they can be sautéed and added to bulk up the sauce, a good way to get veggies into the meal.
Now in the garden a large green plant that is either broccoli or most likely, looks like Brussels sprouts, when I started them from seeds I didn’t keep track exactly what they are and where they were planted, but one of them is forming a small cauliflower, frost is forecasted towards the end of the week ,maybe they will survive . The one I picked from closely resembles Brussels sprouts as the stalk is covered with small leafy projections that tightly formed would be Brussels Sprouts only these are less dense but have the definite taste of sprouts. Crisp, green and earthy.
Out of the frying pan goes the sausage to a pot, add tomato paste to the fry pan with the semi defrosted whole tomatoes and than some more frozen stock and season to taste, some thyme purchased for thanksgiving , dried basil and dried oregano . Now it gets poured in the pot with the sausage, simmered and sweetened with a touch of simple syrup and a splash of apple cider vinegar for balance.
Boil water for the pasta and roll out with the machine to noodles, boil and plate them. With the greens in a small pan pour out the pasta water over the greens to blanch, drain and plate next to the pasta. Spoon tomato sauce over pasta and greens,(take a photo) top with one half of a sausage, grated cheese.
Eat…………………………E X C E L L E N T ……!……. OOPS, no wine for now.
Now I’m thinking of Brussels sprouts pasta or ravioli after I finished my plate, a good meal, but that will be another kitchen encounter. Christmas looms ahead….
peel, slice, salt and let drain the eggplant,
roast on a baking sheet till some what limp
set aside for assembly
season with salt & pepper, add flour and more oil if needed and cook like a roux
add milk, I guess about 1/2 cup
more stock than milk,
several slices of American cheese
cook slightly to reach a boil,
temper in two eggs,
simmer, should be pretty thick and rich to compliment the
vegetables and enough for a 13×9 size lasagna
make wide pasta noodles, I like noodles between each vegetable so I go down to #2 setting.
I don’t fuss, mix about 1 cup flour and 1 egg in the kitchen aid with the beater, add a bit of water till it’s almost together.
no waiting either, right to the pasta machine. I made the pasta on demand, it ended up being 2 batches
boil, drain, trim as necessary, dry on kitchen towel spread sauce on bottom of the pan
start assembly
repeat
use a small amount of sauce with each layer
top with fresh herbs
last, cover with noodles
and sauce
mmmmmmmmmmmmm…. now were talking lasagna ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
off to a 325 oven, bring it up slowly till slightly bubbly
I don’t know about 1/2 hour or more
if you made the sauce at the right consistency, it won’t be really bubbly or bubble over
of course give it time to rest before serving
I hit the mark with this one, I could cut a piece from the pan and pick it up with my hand without it falling apart.
the simplicity and freshness of the flavors are apparent.
adapted from The Providence Journal, January 31 2007
Food section Chef’s Secret
“Comfort Food in Johnston”
By Gail Ciampa
Journal Food Editor
From Chef Ralph Battista
Executive Chef Luigi’s
Soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover, drain
Add the rest of the ingredients except the pasta I use about 2 cups of stock and 2 cups of water to start since the stock is usually on the strong side. 
Gently bring the soup up to a boil to avoid splitting the beans and cut back to a simmer, cover, and keep a jar of water available to add from time to time if necessary.
At least an hour of simmering is necessary and this could be accomplished in an electric crock pot or if the day is cold simmer in a slow oven.
Cook the tubettini to al dente when ready to serve. Add the pasta to each serving separately or better yet, let the soup age a day in the fridge. Adjust the seasoning to taste, salt pepper and Romano cheese, usually you can let each person season to taste in the bowl as served, and have available olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese for toppings. the Chef suggests crusty italian bread and Chianti Classico or Barolo. Can be served as a main or smaller first course.
If you have cooked mac and cheese before you will know the measurements….
pasta (elbows)
diced bacon
diced onion
diced celery
diced garlic
diced green pepper
diced cooked chicken
olive oil
butter
flour
milk
stock
american cheese
Asiago cheese
egg
crushed crackers
cook macaroni in salted water, drain and return to a large pan.
Saute the diced bacon to render some fat add the rest of the diced vegetables and cook till tender adding olive oil as needed. Add the diced cooked chicken, heat through and season to taste. Add it to the large pan of macaroni. In the same pan that was used for saute, melt butter, add flour to make a roux. Whisk in the stock and milk and heat till it starts to thicken. While still heating add the cheese(s). Temper and add the egg to the sauce. When completed mix the sauce and pasta together.
Turn into a rectangular baking dish and top with crushed crackers. Extra mixture can be frozen for later use.
Bake in a moderate oven till bubbly and switch to broil and brown cracker topping. Let cool slightly and serve.
Cut through the mac and cheese flavor with a demitass cup of strong turkish coffee.
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