Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Lasagna-Style Baked Pennette with Meat Sauce

a gratuitous self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 12 out of 467 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

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Last week (I think it was last week, my lord how the time flies when you are being a complete slug) I was flipping through the December edition of Food and Wine magazine looking for something warm and hearty to make. This recipe seemed to fit the bill.

It was easy to prepare and packed a pleasing flavour. This dish is typical of the subtlety of Italian cooking - not the in-your-face Olive Garden style of over-spiced over-cheesed crap. Hmm, Jerry, tell us how you really feel! *smile*

The article that accompanied the recipe assured us that it was even better the second day - and it was!

1 pound pennette or ditali

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 pound ground lamb

1 pound ground veal

One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 teaspoons chopped marjoram

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 quart whole milk

2 large egg yolks

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain well.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the ground lamb and veal and cook, stirring to break up the lumps, until the meat is beginning to brown, 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, marjoram and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat, whisking, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is very thick and boiling, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir all but 1 1/2 cups of the sauce into the meat mixture along with the pasta and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pasta into a 3-quart baking dish. Spread the reserved 1 1/2 cups of sauce on top.

Bake the pasta in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until bubbling. Preheat the broiler. Broil the pasta 8 inches from the heat for about 2 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbling. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving

Braised Lamb Shanks with White Beans

a shameless self-promotion . . . One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest. Our photo is currently number 15 out of 463 photos. You can vote by clicking hereRemember a 10 is good!Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!*smile*

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This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging round up. The host will be Truffle from What's on My Plate. The blogging event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen.

This dish is a modern rendition of osso buco, the classic Italian specialty of braised veal shanks. Here the shanks are served with white beans, instead of the more traditional risotto. The lemon-and-parsley is called gremolata (although a traditional gremolata would would also contain some anchovies).

Because the beans need time to soak it is best to start this dish the day before you plan on serving it.

This recipe was originally from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook - Italian Favorites.

1 1/2 cups dried white beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 lamb shanks (about 1/2 lb each)
2 red onions cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 large carrots, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch dice
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
sea salt freshly
ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh Italian parsley

Pick through the beans, discarding any bad ones. Rinse the beans. Pl;ace in a bowl, add cold water to cover, soak for 12 hours or over night.

Drain the beans and place in a saucepan. Fill with water so that there is at least 2 inches of water about the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, simmer uncovered until tender (45 - 60 minutes). Drain and set aside.

In a dutch oven over medium heat, warn the olive oil. Add the lamb shanks and brown on all sides - 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the opinions and carrots to the pot and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute, stirring, for 1 minutes. Add the wine, stock, tomato paste, tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Stir well. Return the shanks to the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the shanks are very tender - about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Add the beans, stir well, cover, and simmer gently over low heat until the lamb begins to fall off of the bones, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, stir together the lemon zest and parsley. Transfer the lamb and beans to individual plates and garnish with the lemon/parsley gremolata. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Lamb Burgers with Oregano, Mint, and Cucumber-Garlic Sauce

Paul whipped these up last night. He actually first made this recipe last year and we loved the results. For some reason (likely the fact that I get far too many food magazines and cookbooks) we never made it again until last night. These really are the best burgers I have ever had (and I have eaten my share over the years folks!)

Easy to put together and quick to cook, these burgers would be a welcome choice on a week night. We used fresh herbs and tomatoes form our garden. That is one of the nicest things about this time of the year; the ability to open the patio, door walk outside, and gather whatever I need to add to a recipe. I know that the herb is the freshest it can be!

Some folk might be put off by the use of ground lamb. I think that we were at first. We quickly got over it - there is not a strong lamb taste just the wonderful combination of garlic, feta, herbs, and onion all held together with the lamb. In a pinch you could use prepared tzatziki but it won't taste as good!

This recipe originally appeared in the Weber's Real Grilling cookbook.

Sauce:

4 oz English Cucumber
2 tsp minced garlic
8 tablespoons finely chopped mint, divided
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1/2 tsp kosher salt
few drops Tabasco sauce

Directions:

Peel, grate, and seed the cucumber. Drain in a sieve while preparing the rest of the ingredients. In a small bowel, stir together the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the mint, the drained cucumber, and the remaining sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Burgers

2 pounds ground lamb
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

6 onion or Kaiser rolls
6 slices of ripe tomato

Directions

In a large bowl, gently mix the burger ingredients, including the remaining 6 tablespoons of mint. The shape the meat into six patties of equal size, about 2 cm thick. Refrigerate about 15 minutes before grilling.

Grill the burgers over direct heat until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.

During the last 30 seconds, toast the buns, cut side down.

Serve the burgers on the toasted buns with the tomato slices and cucumber sauce.

Serves 6