No Fail Lasagna

Last week was Italian night for our regularly scheduled Sunday Bravo Crew Potluck. Always a good time with good food. My goal after that night was to grab the other recipes, including Rick’s wickedly good salad, Jerry’s Cowboy Spaghetti, Mac’s tasty pasta, David’s Strawberry Pineapple dessert and on and on and on….. Off the hook good food for sure! Thinking we should do this every four weeks! erves 10

Serves 10

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1 pound ground Italian sausage

6 ounces tomato paste (1 can)

30 ounces ricotta cheese (2 containers)

4 tablespoons Italian parsley, finely chopped  (divided)

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped (divided)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 cups Basic Marinara

12 oz (Twelve 4”X6” noodles) oven-ready lasagna

1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

Grated Parmesan and mozzarella, for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Pre-heat a pan with olive oil over medium heat, and add onion, garlic, bay leaves, 2 tablespoons parsley and 1 tablespoon oregano. Cook 5 minutes. Add the beef and Italian sausage cook until brown, or about 15 minutes. Drain grease, remove the bay leaves, and return to the pot. Stir in the tomato paste completely. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, add the ricotta, 2 tablespoons parsley and 1 tablespoon oregano. Add the eggs and ½ cup parmesan, and mix well.

To prepare the lasagna: Coat a 13 by 9-inch pan with ¼ cup of marinara. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise (1/3 of the total) side by side (slightly overlapping if necessary) over the sauce. Spread ½ of the meat mixture over the lasagna noodles. Add 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the meat, spread to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle ½ of the shredded mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top ¼ cup of the marinara sauce and spread evenly. Repeat with the next layer of 4 noodles, ½ meat mixture, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and ¼ cup of the marina. To finish add the remaining 4 noodles, ¼ cup of marinara and top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan to taste.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and let the lasagna rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Cut into 10 rectangles and serve topped with marinara and a side of your favorite bread.

Basic Marinara for a Million Uses

Marinara Sauce

Makes ~1 quart

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion (medium), finely chopped

2 medium carrots (diced)

1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup red wine (divided)

1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste

1 teaspoon fresh basil (chopped)

1 teaspoon fresh oregano (chopped)

1 teaspoon Italian parsley (chopped)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, and add the onion and carrots and cook until soft or about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for additional 1 or 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup of red wine and cook until the liquid is almost gone, or about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and add the tomatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper. Simmer over low heat for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend the ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the tomato paste, ¼ cup of red wine , and cook an additional 15 minutes and remove from the heat. Use as desired.

A Pizza Tasting for some Special Friends

My incredibly sweet, beautiful, talented, and awesome niece recently asked if I would cater a dinner for a team of her staff members. I was floored, and then flattered. To imagine that she would trust me with this was off the charts cool. We discussed the menu for a while, and I suggested a pizza tasting. I liked the idea as it would carry the conversation over a couple of hours of sampling different foods and it would pair well with our favorite beverage - wine. As I was working on the menu, I liked the concept even more as it allowed me to be more creative with the evening. I started with some homemade hummus to allow me time to hide behind the prep work.

Below is the menu for the evening. Click on the items to see the recipes. They use this basic pizza crust.

Appetizer – Homemade hummus

Served with sea salt flat bread and pita chips

Pizza 1 – Pizza Margherita

Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil

Pizza 2 – Pizza Blanco

Roasted garlic and cambozola cheese with fresh rosemary

Pizza 3 – Spinach Chicken Alfredo

White sauce with fresh baby spinach and grilled chicken

Pizza 4 – Fancy Pig Pizza

Prosciutto & pancetta with caramelized onion

Pizza 5 – Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Slightly spicy take on a traditional pie

Pizza 6 – Fresh Berry Pizza Tart

 Mascarpone Cheese with mixed berry compote

Pizza 7 – Chocolate Soup Pizza

A slightly sweet crust with a variety of chocolate toppings –

S’Mores, Almond Joy, Peanut Butter Cup, and Peanut-ty M&Ms

(Naked) Pizza Margherita

1 pizza dough ball

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic (minced)

3 Roma tomatoes (sliced to approx. 1/4” thickness)

Kosher salt

1 (8 ounce) ball of fresh mozzarella (drained and slice to ¼” thickness)

Fresh basil leaves (½ to 1 bunch, to taste)

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour at 500 F. Place the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl and let set 5 minutes for flavors to combine. Roll out the pizza dough and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Place the pizza on the pre-heated stone and bake the dough for approximately 5 - 7 minutes, until dough starts to crisp. Remove from the oven and add a second coat of olive oil and top with mozzarella and tomato slices. Add basil leaves to taste and return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Remove from the oven and top with additional basil (chopped or torn to small pieces). Let set for 3 to 4 minutes before slicing.

Pizza Blanco

1 pizza dough ball

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 bulbs of garlic, (tops cut and oven roasted)

4 oz wedge of Cambazola cheese (cut to ¼ to ½” pieces)

Kosher salt

1 or 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (stripped from stem)

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour at 500 F. Place the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl and let set 5 minutes for flavors to combine. Roll out the pizza dough and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Place the pizza on the pre-heated stone and bake the dough for approximately 5 - 7 minutes, until dough starts to crisp. Remove from the oven and add a second coat of olive oil. Top with cheese pieces and sprinkle with rosemary. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and serve with the roasted garlic. When eating, remove a clove of the roasted garlic and spread on top of the pizza.

Spinach Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1 pizza dough ball

10 to 12 oz of sliced (¼" thick) grilled chicken breast

2 cups baby spinach (washed and dried)

1 cup grated mozzarella

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Alfredo Sauce -

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup grated parmesan

Salt (to taste)

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour at 500 F.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, and add garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook 2 to 3 minutes to combine flavors. Add the flour and mix well while cooking for 2 minutes. While stirring with a wire whisk, slowly and continuously add the heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt to taste, reduce heat and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll out the pizza dough and brush with olive oil. Spoon about 2/3 of the sauce on the pizza. Top with chicken slices. Spoon remaining sauce over chicken slices, and sprinkle ½ of the spinach leaves over the pizza. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the entire pizza.

Place the pizza on the pre-heated stone and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until crust and/or cheese starts to brown. Remove from the oven and add the remaining spinach leaves. Remove from the oven and let set for 3 to 4 minutes before slicing.

Fancy Pig Pizza

The title only makes sense if you know my daughter, Rachel. She first tried Prosciutto at her Uncle David’s house, and she has since called it fancy ham. Having discovered Pancetta, the obvious name became fancy bacon. Thus the name, Fancy Pig. (Chef's note: Because the pancetta and prosciutto are naturally salty, I would advise that less is more. AND you will not want to add salt at any point in the cooking process.)

1 pizza dough ball

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup marinara

4 oz pancetta (cooked, but not crisp)

3 slices Parma prosciutto

1 cup provel cheese (or substitute provolone and mozzarella)

1 tablespoon butter

2 large or 3 small shallots (sliced thinly)

Marina Sauce -

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon salt

1 onion (diced)

1 large (or 2 small) carrot, diced

1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour at 500 F.

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, and add the onion, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook about 5 minutes until onions begin to wilt. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté until the carrots are soft. Remove from heat add the crushed and diced tomatoes. Reduce heat to low, and return the pan to the burner. Let simmer about 30 to 45 minutes. Using a submersible hand blender, blend the marinara to combine the tomato and carrots. Alternatively, you can use a countertop blender in two batches after the sauce has cooled. Set aside.

In a small pan, melt the butter and add the shallots. Cook until the shallots are soft and golden brown in color, about 8 minutes. Set aside on paper towel to absorb excess butter.

Roll out the pizza dough and brush with olive oil. Spoon about 2/3 cup of the sauce on the pizza. Top with pancetta, prosciutto, and shallots. Spoon remaining sauce over pizza and top with the provel cheese.

Place the pizza on the pre-heated stone and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until crust and/or cheese starts to brown. Remove from the oven and let set for 3 to 4 minutes before slicing.

(Slightly) Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 pizza dough ball

10 to 12 oz of shredded grilled chicken breast

½ cup grated gouda cheese (creamy, not aged)

½ cup grated mild cheddar

1½ cup BBQ sauce

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour at 500 F.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, and add BBQ sauce and crushed red pepper. Cook 10 to 15 minutes to heat through and combine flavors.

Roll out the pizza dough. Spoon about ½ of the sauce on the pizza. Combine the chicken with the remaining sauce and spoon evenly over pizza. Sprinkle the gouda and cheddar cheeses on top of the entire pizza.

Place the pizza on the pre-heated stone and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until crust and/or cheese starts to brown. Remove from the oven and let set for 3 to 4 minutes before slicing and serving.

Basic Pizza Dough

My always amazing and generous wife thought I would enjoy taking a pizza class at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. She was right. The class was taught by Chef Cody Hogan. If you live in KC, you know about Lidia's. Chef Hogan is Lidia's exceutive chef, and one very cool dude. He shared his favorite pizza dough recipe with us. I'll share it with you, but preface this by saying if you don't take the class, it won't be the same!

Pizza Dough

Based on the dough from

The Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

Yield: enough dough for about 6 pizzas

Sponge Ingredients:

2 teaspoons dry yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm water

2/3 cup bread flour

Dry Ingredients:

4 cups unbleached white flour

1/4 cup rye flour, whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour

1teaspoon salt

1/3cup olive oil

To make the sponge:

Dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup lukewarm water and stir in the 2/3 cup bread flour. Allow this mixture to sit until quite bubbly, about 30 minutes.

To make the dough:

Mix together the all-purpose flour, rye flour, and salt in another bowl.

Stir 1cup cold water and 1 cup of these dry ingredients into the sponge. Mix thoroughly and let sit for another 30 minutes.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and the olive oil and knead, by hand or in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. It may be necessary to add more flour if the dough is too wet, but add only enough flour to form soft, slightly sticky dough. Very soft, moist dough makes the best crust.

Allow to rise until doubled; about 2 hours. If you have the time, this dough has more character if it is allowed to rise in the refrigerator overnight or at least for eight hours.

After the dough has doubled, fold it down and divide it into six pieces (or less for larger pizzas).Shape in to balls and allow to rest for about 1hour, covered, at room temperature. (This is a good place to freeze individually wrapped pieces of dough for future use. Allow to thaw thoroughly before using.) The dough can be rolled or stretched into the desired shape and thickness.

Drunken Chicken Penne Rosa

Girlies Gone Holiday. Or something like that. That’s what Abbey and her friends call their annual holiday get together. This year they thought that would save money and eat in. Meaning that T-Dawg fixes dinner, and they don’t have to pay a check at the end of the meal. Even better (for them), no waiter to tip.

No check for them means that I get stuck paying the grocery bill. Normally I would say “no big deal,” but I made pizza for 5 of them before they went to the Jay Z/Kanye concert, and that set me back about $40. I would rather have paid for a ticket and saw the concert.

For the eight of them, I could easily spend $75+. Fortunately Abbey asked for a pasta dinner. That shouldn’t break the bank, right? Knowing that she likes my vodka sauce, and her vegetarian friend Molly will now occasionally eat meat, I opted for a chicken version of Penne Rosa with a vodka sauce. Since they are under 21, I made sure to reduce the vodka before I add the cream and marinara. Lastly, I doubled the recipe and fed 10 people + leftovers for the oily beau hunk (that would be Abbey’s boyfriend for those unfamiliar with the movie “16 Candles”). In the end the cost was minimal, and was more than offset by the clean plates I took off the table. In the end, isn't that really why we do it?

Chefs Note: The hardest part of fixing this for a large group is getting the heat (spice) right. I like mine spicier than normal, and I like to cook the red pepper flakes a while in order to balance the heat throughout the dish. This is all comes down to meal management, and must be handled with care.

Chicken Penne with Vodka Sauce

(Serves 6)

 

1 to 1 ½ lbs cooked chicken breast, diced

1 lb penne rigata (cooked al dente in salt water)

1 teaspoon (or ¼ to ½ teaspoon for sensitive palates) crushed red pepper flakes

Marinara Sauce (makes ~1 quart)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion (medium), finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup red wine

1 large can (25 to 28 oz) crushed tomatoes

( or sub 14 oz can of tomato puree  + 14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Vodka Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1 small (or ~2 tablespoons finely chopped) shallots

1 quart marinara sauce

1 cup vodka

1 cup heavy cream (or lighten with ½ cup cream and ½ cup 2% milk) at room temperature

½ cup grated parmesan

To prepare the marinara – heat the olive oil over medium heat, and add the onion until translucent or about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for additional 1 or 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook on medium-high heat until the liquid is almost gone, or about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat for approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

To prepare the Vodka Sauce – heat the butter until melted over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the vodka and cook until reduced by about ½, or about 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add the cream at ¼ intervals every 3 minutes until heated through, or about 15 minutes.

Add the marinara and red pepper flakes to the vodka sauce until heated through, and it just starts to bubble. Add the parmesan cheese and stir until well combined. Add the diced chicken and pasta, and when heated through, serve with warm Italian bread, Sicilian butter (olive oil and seasonings), California red wine, and Kansas City love. Mangia!

Easy Italian Fare

This is one of those items that is on the menu at dozens of Italian Restaurants, but I don’t recall ever actually ordering it. For some reason I thought I’d try to make it for the family. That was a couple of years ago, and now it’s on table every couple of weeks. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, and it’s easy to make it into a healthy option as well. Here’s the standard fare version:

Simple Chicken Picatta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or use four chicken cutlets if desired)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup flour

¼ cup bread crumbs (I use Panko)

Salt and pepper

1 egg white

¼ cup milk

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup chicken stock

½ cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Capers (as desired, approx. ¼ cup drained for full recipe)

Chopped fresh parsley

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Take the chicken breasts and cut them in half on the plane to get 4 cutlets. If they are more than ¼” thick, place them between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them flat to achieve desired thickness. Rinse the breasts in water and set aside.

Whisk the egg white and add milk.

Combine and stir the flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Coat the chicken in the egg wash, and then place in the flour mixture until well coated on each side.

Place 2 of chicken breasts in the pan, without crowding them, and cooking on each side until golden brown. Remove to a platter and cook the other two. Wrap the four cutlets and platter in foil and place in the oven to keep warm.

Add the chicken stock, white wine, and capers (if desired). Cook sauce until reduced to about ½. Add the butter and scrape up the browned chicken bits to complete the sauce.

Serve the chicken plated with pasta of choice. Top with sauce, shredded Parmesan, and chopped fresh parsley. For added flair, garnish with lemon slice.

Enjoy!