A year or two ago I did a series of cooking posts featuring some of the recipes I routinely made.  I decided that I'd re-post a few of them just in case you get hit with the cooking bug.  Tonight you will be treated to three courses of Italian cooking.  The one recipe says "gravy".  It's not spaghetti sauce, it's gravy.  Sauce is something you buy in a can.  Gravy is a masterpiece that is slowly cooked, perfectly seasoned, with razor thin garlic slices and fresh grown herbs filling the house with the smell I remember from back in the day family style Sunday dinners.

Bow-tie Pasta Primavera

4 C. vegetables, chopped or sliced (use any that are on hand: olives, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, tomatoes, etc.)

3 C. cooked bow-tie pasta

Vinaigrette

½ c olive oil                  2 T. Lemon juice          ½ C. balsamic vinegar  

¼ C. chopped basil      ½ tsp. salt                     1 tsp. mince garlic         ½ tsp. pepper

1 T. dried oregano        1 C. Romano or Parmesan cheese

Gently toss vegetables and pasta together.  In a separate bowl, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and pour over salad.  Toss again.  Refrigerate overnight before serving.

The gravy comes from 1 when Clemenza teaches Michael how to cook for the family when they have to hit the mattresses.

Godfather Spaghetti Gravy

28 ox canned whole tomatoes (chopped)          1 tsp. basil                    2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. oregano              1 med. onion (chopped)            1 lb cooked Italian sausage pre-cooked and broken into fine pieces                        3 cloves of garlic crushed finely chopped

2 T. dry red table wine  1 large tin tomato paste             ¼ C. sugar

In a large saucepan heat oil over medium heat and cook onion and garlic until translucent.  Add tomatoes and cook until soft.  Stir in tomato paste, basil, and oregano.  Stir in meat until meat is thoroughly coated.  Stir in wine and sugar.  Reduce heat to low to medium low, simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Ladle sauce over large bowls of spaghetti.

How to Cook Pasta

For one pound of pasta:

Bring to a boil a large pot of water (at least 3-4 quarts).  Add 1-2 tablespoons salt and stir till dissolved.  When water is at a full boil, add pasta and stir immediately to keep off bottom.  (As they say, stir, stir, stir, stir!)

Once the pasta is boiling again, stir occasionally until cooked al dente, which depends on the pasta- between 5 and 11 minutes (read the pasta box to know the general time, then subtract 2 minutes for first time to check for doneness).

Cook pasta to al dente (which means "to the teeth", or in Americanese, so you can bite through it with no hard bits-still chewy, not soft).  Remember, pasta will be hot and continue cooking when off the flame.  Drain immediately, reserving one cup or more of pasta water if needed.  (The easiest way to reserve pasta water is to dip out the amount you want to save before draining the pasta.)

I don't like to add oil to the water when cooking pasta.  If you're worried that the pasta will stick together, return it to the pot and toss it well with a little olive oil after draining.  The pasta should still have a little "glue" from the starch it gives off that binds it to the sauce.

Chocolate Dessert Lasagna

1 (8 ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles                2 pounds ricotta cheese

1 cup powdered sugar              ½ cup unsweetened cocoa        2 large eggs

1 ½ cups mini chocolate chips   1 orange, zested           ½ cup roasted pistachios

4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely grated

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the noodles for 1 minute.  Drain them and put them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  Drain again and lay on paper towels to dry.

Whisk together the ricotta, sugar, cocoa powder, and eggs on medium speed with a hand or stand mixer.  Scraping down the sides of the bowl, until it is ell blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips and orange zest.  Spread ¼ of the cheese mixture into the bottom of an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle some of the pistachios over the top and press on a layer of noodles.  Repeat, ending with the ricotta mixture and pistachios.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the lasagna has risen.  Remove the pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle the white chocolate over it.  Let cool, cut, and serve.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.
And now I hope you enjoy these probably NSFW photos.

Some people have asked if I started a club because of my recent absence...NO, THIS IS NOT MY CLUB

Seems about right

This episode is airing as I make this post.

Yeah...these next to photos are probably big Miss Steaks.

Would you eat this cake?

Mmmmm...bacon

Pig candy!

Who knew cats could be so delicious?

Homophones are awesome!

Subway is so...tasty?

Yeah...that's fitting after the last photo.

I didn't know bananas got that big.

Have a great night.