Italian Food | Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Tag: Italian Food
- Stracciatella- My Family Recipe
  
  Posted at 10:09 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Nov 2nd
  This recipe for Stracciatella is an old family recipe that my grandmother passed down to my mother and my mother to me. Every Italian family has its own way of making Stracciatella; some families use eggs, cheese, and pasta. Some families use only eggs and cheese. Our family uses spinach, eggs, cheese, and chicken. I love this outstanding soup that is a meal with a salad and a beautiful loaf of bread. I have included my mother’s recipe for Chicken stock, or you can substitute low-fat chicken broth. (chicken stock isn’t that hard to make!) If you use chicken broth, use 4 quarts. And I love chicken in the soup so just add 3 cups of cooked chicken. If you want a vegetarian soup, substitute vegetable stock, and omit the chicken.
  
  Stracciatella
  
  Chicken Stock
  
  1 4 1/2 lb 5 lb whole chicken
  
  2 celery ribs, cut into 2-inch lengths
  
  2 carrots, quartered
  
  2 medium onions, halved
  
  6 fresh parsley stems(without leaves)
  
  1 Turkish bay leaf
  
  8 black peppercorns
  
  3-4 qt cold water, enough to cover the chicken
  
  1 1/2 tsp salt
  
  Wash chicken well. My mother always put a tablespoon of sea salt in the chicken cavity for a few minutes and then rinses the chicken well. Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large 10-qt pot. Skim the frothy fat off until there is no more sudsy fat. Simmer for 3 hours, covered. Remove chicken to a large bowl and set aside. The chicken will be very tender and fall apart. Let cool and then remove meat from the chicken. Set aside The white meat is what I like to use in my soup. Pour stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl and discard the remains in the sieve. If using stock right away, skim off and discard any reminding fat. If you make the stock a day ahead and chill overnight, the fat will form on the top and easy to remove, making the stock lower in fat. The broth will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator or can be frozen for 3 months.
  
  Soup
  
  1 box 10 oz frozen chopped spinach
  
  5 eggs
  
  1 cup Parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving
  
  Cooked chicken about 3 cups cut into bite-size pieces
  
  Cook spinach according to package instructions; I like to microwave. Beat eggs well in a large bowl, adding spinach and 1 cup cheese. Bring stock to boil, add spinach mixture. Don’t touch soup for a minute or two. Then stir and reduce heat immediately to low. Continue stirring for 4 to 5 more minutes. Add cooked chicken—season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, topped with additional grated cheese.
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in light dinner, lunch, Soup | Tagged Italian Food, Soup, Spinach and egg soup, Stracciatella, Stracciatella Italian chicken soup
- Roasted Cauliflower with Italian Tuna and Pasta
  
  Posted at 10:15 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Apr 11th
  When I’m cooking with canned tuna I love to use Italian canned
  
  tuna in olive oil, fabulously flavorful. Adding cauliflower and
  
  tuna to pasta makes a deliciously easy mean that is ready
  
  quickly for a weekday meal. And this is a healthy dinner for the
  
  whole family. Serve with a large fresh salad, and crisp baked
  
  bread.
  
  16 ounces Cavatappi pasta
  
  Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  
  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
  1 small cauliflower head (about 2 1/2 pounds), cored and cut into
  
  1-inch florets
  
  8 medium garlic cloves, minced
  
  2 cans (4.9 oz.) Italian Tuna in olive oil, I use Tonnino Tuna
  
  2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
  
  1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
  2 tablespoons salted butter
  
  1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon
  
  juice
  
  Freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
  
  In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and 1tablespoon salt and cook to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain and set aside. Add two tablespoon olive oil to a 12-inch skillet and heat to simmering. Add cauliflower, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until light golden brown and crisp and tender.
  
  Stir in the garlic, tuna, rosemary, pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoon butter. Cook, stirring until the garlic is softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
  
  Add the pasta cooking water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Toss in the pasta and the remaining 2 tablespoon butter.
  
  Cook, tossing until the sauce has thickened and coats pasta, about 1 minute.
  
  Remove from heat, stir in lean juice. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with the lemon zest and parmesan cheese. Serve with more parmesan cheese
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Healthy, Hearty Meal, Italian, Main Dish, Main Meal, pasta | Tagged Easy recipe, Healthy, Italian Food, pasta, Tonnino Tuna
- Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Sausage
  
  Posted at 10:38 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Mar 15th
  Pasta, a most versatile ingredient, is a perennial favorite in my cooking repertoire. Pasta dishes are easy to make, feed a large group, versatile, and delicious. Now that my husband and I are empty-nesters, I make this Baked Ziti on Sunday for dinner then I package into smaller size portions. I freeze for future dinners when I don’t have time to cook.
  
  If you don’t want to make your own sauce you can substitute a good store-bought prepared sauce, I would use two jars. Add sausage and simmer sauce for about 5 – 10 minutes. Then proceed with the remaining recipe.
  
  You can substitute vegan sausage for chicken and make the baked ziti vegetarian. Release your creativity when you cook and follow your instincts for delicious dinners to share with family and friends. All you need to add to this meal is a salad and freshly baked bread. Oh, and don’t forget the wine!
  
  Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Sausage
  
  1 package ( 5 sausages) Chicken or Vegetable sausages
  
  3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
  4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  
  1 teaspoon dried oregano
  
  ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
  
  Pinch of red pepper flakes
  
  1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices
  
  1 (14-ounce) can crushed or strained tomatoes
  
  2 bay leaves
  
  Kosher salt
  
  1 package (1 pound) ziti pasta
  
  8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-size pieces
  
  8 ounces whole-milk ricotta
  
  ⅓ cup grated Parmesan
  
  ¼ cup basil leaves
  
  Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the sausage from the refrigerator 10 – 15 minutes before cooking to remove the chill from the meat. Layer the baking pan with parchment paper and place sausage evenly on the cooking sheet. Place pan in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sausages for 20-25 minutes. Cool then slice into bite-size pieces.
  
  Lower oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high. Add garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 minutes until garlic is translucent not browned.
  
  Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, using a spoon to break them up. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a simmer. Add sliced sausage and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken slightly. Remove bay leaf.
  
  Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
  
  Place a 1/4 cup of tomato sauce in a large baking dish. This recipe layers the pasta with ricotta, tomato sauce, and mozzarella. First, arrange 1/3 of pasta then add 1/2 ricotta. Next place 1/3 tomato sauce over pasta and ricotta. Top with 1/3 mozzarella. The next layer will again be 1/3 pasta, 1/2 ricotta, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/3 sauce. For the final layer complete by layering the remaining pasta, sauce and finish with mozzarella. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top, then transfer to oven. Bake until pasta is tender when poked with a fork, and cheese is bubbly and lightly golden 30 minutes. (If you’d like a more deeply browned topping, run the pan under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.) Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in Casserole, dinner, Easy recipes, entertaining, family meals, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Hearty Meal, Italian, Vegetarian | Tagged Baked Ziti, Easy entertaining, Easy recipes, Italian Food
- Eggplant Parmesan
  
  Posted at 10:04 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Feb 2nd
  Eggplant Parmesan is labor-intensive but well worth all the time and effort. My mother made a fantastic Eggplant Parmesan. She would bake her eggplant not fry. I follow her method. I think the eggplant taste better not fried in oil. Sometimes I’ll just bake breaded eggplant and serve it as a side dish. Simply outstanding!
  
  I love big Sunday dinners with many carefully prepared dishes just like my mother prepared for our family. And I carried on the tradition for my family.
  
  Marinara
  
  ¼ cup olive oil
  
  1 head of garlic, cloves crushed
  
  1 large red onion, chopped
  
  ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
  1 tablespoon tomato paste
  
  ¼ cup dry white wine
  
  2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
  
  ¼ cup torn basil leaves
  
  ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  
  Kosher salt
  
  Eggplant and Assembly
  
  4 pounds Italian eggplants (about 4 medium), peeled, sliced lengthwise ½–¾ inch thick
  
  Kosher salt
  
  3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  
  1½ teaspoon dried oregano
  
  1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
  1½ cups finely grated Parmesan, divided
  
  1½ cups all-purpose flour
  
  5 large eggs, beaten to blend
  
  ]1⅓ cups olive oil
  
  ½ cup finely chopped basil and parsley, plus basil leaves for serving
  
  6 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, grated (about 1⅓ cups)
  
  8 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
  
  Marinara
  
  Preheat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a large heavy ovenproof pot over medium. Cook garlic, stirring often, until golden, about 4 minutes. Add onion, anchovies (if using), and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until slightly darkened, about 2 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil, and cook until almost completely evaporated about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, breaking up with your hands, and their juices; add basil and oregano and stir to combine. Swirl 1½ cups water into one tomato can, then the other, to rinse, and add to the pot. I don’t want to waist any delicious tomatoes. Season with salt. Transfer pot to oven; roast sauce, stirring halfway through, until thick and tomatoes are browned on top and around edges of the pot, 2–2½ hours.
  Let the sauce cool slightly. Pass through the large holes of a food mill or process in a food processor until mostly smooth. Taste and season with salt.
  
  The sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.
  
  Eggplant Parmesan
  
  Lightly season eggplant slices all over with salt; place in a single layer on several layers of paper towels inside a rimmed baking sheet. Top with another layer of paper towels and more slices; repeat as needed. Top with a final layer of paper towels, then another rimmed baking sheet; weigh down with a heavy pot. Let the eggplant sit until it has released excess liquid, 45–60 minutes. This step gives the eggplant a creamy texture when baked.
  
  Meanwhile, pulse panko, oregano, pepper, and ¾ cup Parmesan in a food processor until very finely ground. Transfer to a shallow bowl.
  
  Preheat oven to 400F.
  
  Place flour in another shallow bowl and eggs in a third shallow bowl. Working one at a time, dredge eggplant slices in flour, then dip in egg, allowing excess to drip off. Coat in breadcrumbs, packing all around, then shaking off excess.
  
  Place on parchment-lined baking pans.
  
  Bake eggplant for 15 minutes, turn and bake for 8 minutes more until eggplant is brown and crispy.
  
  Lower oven to 350F.
  
  Toss chopped herbs, low-moisture mozzarella, and remaining ¾ cup Parmesan in a medium bowl. Spread 1 cup sauce over the bottom of a 13×9″ baking pan; top with a layer of eggplant slices (trim as needed). Drizzle 1 cup sauce over and sprinkle with one-third of cheese mixture. Add another layer of eggplant, followed by 1 cup sauce and half of the remaining cheese mixture. Repeat layers with remaining slices, sauce, and cheese mixture. Cover with foil and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until eggplant is custardy, 45–60 minutes.
  
  Remove from oven and arrange fresh mozzarella over eggplant. Increase oven temperature to 425F and bake, uncovered, until cheese is bubbling and browned in spots, 15–20 minutes longer. Let rest 30 minutes. Top with basil leaves just before slicing.
  
  Eggplant Parmesan can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover with foil and chill. Reheat in a 350° oven, uncovering halfway through, until bubbling gently at edges.
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Hearty Meal, Italian, Main Dish, Main Meal, sunday dinner | Tagged Eggplant Parmesan, Italian Food, sunday dinner