BaconSlut's No Phucks To Give Pasta

This is often my go-to dish when I simply want something that is both super fast and delicious.  And it's purdy, too!

Into a bowl lob the following, to taste, while the pasta water is heating:

sliced grape or cherry tomatoes and/or chopped Kumatos (deliciously sweet brown tomatoes)

extra virgin olive oil

Penzey's Tuscan Sunset salt-free Italian-style seasoning

jarred roasted garlic

sea salt

lots of freshly ground black pepper

pre-shredded Parm or Asiago from the deli

leftover cooked chicken from home or the deli, shredded

Give everything a little swirlinization to blend/briefly marinate.  Dump in al dente cooked spinach linguine and stir.  Done.  :D

Cannelloni with Bechamel Sauce

This recipe is a summer meal for me once the garden comes in.  I use fresh oregano (and basil).  This goes well with sliced tomatoes and cucumber salad with mozzarella with fresh herbs and red wine vinegar.  If you don't want to  go to the trouble of making the bechamel sauce, just use half a jar of plain spaghetti sauce with fresh herbs added.  Yes, another recipe I wing.  I hate measuring.

1/2  package(19 ounce) Hot or Sweet JOHNSONVILLE® Italian Sausage Links (2 or 3 links)
1/2 lb. of ground round
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons butter 
6 tablespoons flour

3 cups milk (not skim)

12 Cannelloni pasta shells
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon dried oregano


1.  Make the filling: In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil, onion and mushroom cook for 5 minutes allowing the onion to soften and the mushrooms to release liquid.

2 .  Once most of the liquid has dissipated, add sausage and beef crumbling it with a wooden spoon into small pieces as it cooks. Stir and cook all ingredients until the onion is softened and the sausage is no longer pink and is starting to brown. Set aside.

3.  To make a béchamel sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Slowly, add milk and whisk together until smooth. Continue whisking until sauce comes to a slow boil and starts to thicken. Stir half this sauce into the sausage mixture. (Reserve the other half to pour on top of the cannelloni.) Add cubed mozzarella to the sausage and sauce mixture and continue stirring while slowly whisking in the egg yolks; mix to combine cover and set aside.

4.  Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse under cold water and reserve being careful to keep the pasta from breaking.

5.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread 3/4 cup of the reserved béchamel sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch oiled baking dish. Spoon filling into each pasta tube. Start from one end and using your finger to push the filling all the way through.

6.  Nestle the cannelloni in the sauce and cover with remaining béchamel sauce.

7.  Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of oregano.

8.  Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until heated through; and cheese starts to turn golden. Remove from oven, let stand for 5 minutes then serve.

QBK’s Chicken Parmesan

2 boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 egg
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (I use Giada’s recipe, it’s easy to make, it’s good and it’s versatile)
2 cups panko crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper
A dash of cornstarch (optional – it helps with the crust, however)
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 – 8 ounces spaghetti rigate (I use Barilla)
Sargento bag of shredded 6 Italian cheeses
Pepperidge Farm garlic Texas toast

Preheat oven to 425 degrees for the Texas toast.

Slice the chicken breasts crosswise and season with salt and pepper.  In a shallow bowl, beat egg till yolk and white are incorporated.  In another bowl, combine panko crumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and cornstarch (if using).  Heat deep pan over medium heat and add olive oil.  Soak sliced chicken breasts in egg wash, then dredge in crumb mixture.  Place chicken in oil, cover, and sauté for 5 minutes; turn chicken and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan, and set aside.

Begin warming marinara to a slow simmer, and fill deep pan with water for the spaghetti.  Cook the spaghetti according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Meanwhile, place sautéed breasts on a shallow rimmed baking pan, drizzle marinara sauce over each breast (to your liking) and sprinkle one to two tablespoons of shredded cheese atop the sauce.  Place in oven with garlic toast and bake for 5 minutes.  Serve chicken over pasta and marinara sauce with bread as an accompaniment.  Mangia!

Polenta With Mascarpone

Polenta con mascarpone
From: "Giuliano Bulgialli's Foods of Italy" (1984)
Serves 8

3 qts. beef broth (preferably homemade)
1 lb. coarse or stone ground Italian yellow cornmeal*
2 tblsp. sweet butter (1 oz.)
8 heaping  tblsp. mascarpone
Coarse grained salt

Optional:  1 med. fresh or canned white truffle

Heat broth in large part over medium heat; when it boils, add salt to taste.  Begin pouring in cornmeal in a very slow stream, stirring continuously with flat wooden spoon [carefully, otherwise polenta will quickly become lumpy].  Stir slowly for 45-50 min,* w/o stopping.  If lumps form, push them against side of pot to crush with spoon.

Use the butter to lightly butter the dinner plates.  Put 1 heaping tblsp. of mascarpone in center of plate.  Refrigerate until needed.

When polenta is cooked, taste it for salt** and then remove pot from heat.  Immediately ladle polenta over the cheese on the prepared plates.  The polenta should cover the cheese completely.

Optional:  If fresh truffle, clean carefully with brush to remove sand.  Use truffle cutter [Foxxy: *eyeroll*] to slice truffle over the polenta on the plates.  "The dish is most beautiful when it is cut through to reveal the different colors of the white and yellow layers and the soft tan of the truffles."

Serve immediately.

______________________________________


Notes not in original recipe:

* You can shortcut by using a "quick" polenta cornmeal -- just as there are quick grits and regular grits.  If you are reducing the recipe the cooking time is accordingly reduced.  Constant stirring still required, though.

** You could also add fresh herbs, garlic, chopped spinach, etc. to the polenta immediately before plating

/goes to Goodwill to look for a "truffle cutter"  -- at my house they are called "knives"

QBK’s Chicken Parmesan

2 boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 egg
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (I use Giada’s recipe, it’s easy to make, it’s good and it’s versatile)
2 cups panko crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper
A dash of cornstarch (optional – it helps with the crust, however)
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 – 8 ounces spaghetti rigate (I use Barilla)
Sargento bag of shredded 6 Italian cheeses
Pepperidge Farm garlic Texas toast
Preheat oven to 425 degrees for the Texas toast.
Slice the chicken breasts crosswise and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, beat egg till yolk and white are incorporated. In another bowl, combine panko crumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and cornstarch (if using). Heat deep pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Soak sliced chicken breasts in egg wash, then dredge in crumb mixture. Place chicken in oil, cover, and sauté for 5 minutes; turn chicken and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan, and set aside.
Begin warming marinara to a slow simmer, and fill deep pan with water for the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to manufacturer’s instructions. Meanwhile, place sautéed breasts on a shallow rimmed baking pan, drizzle marinara sauce over each breast (to your liking) and sprinkle one to two tablespoons of shredded cheese atop the sauce. Place in oven with garlic toast and bake for 5 minutes. Serve chicken over pasta and marinara sauce with bread as an accompaniment. Mangia!

submitted by QueenieBK