People have
visited my site!

3 pounds butternut squash, quartered, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 9 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups milk
2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crumbled
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9 (7 by 3 1/2-inch sheets dry no-boil lasagne pasta
1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs

Preheat over to 450 degrees F and oil 2 large shallow baking pans.

In a large bowl, toss squash with oil until coated well and spread in one layer in pans. Roast squash in over 10 minutes and season with salt. Stir squash and roast 10 to 15 minutes more, or until tender and beginning to turn golden.

While squash is roasting, in a saucepan bring milk to a simmer with rosemary. Heat milk mixture over low heat 10 minutes and pour through a sieve into a large pitcher or measuring cup.

In a large heavy saucepan, cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in four and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whish in milk mixture in a stream until smooth. Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until thick. Stir in squash and salt and pepper, to taste. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.

Reduce temperature to 375 degrees F and butter a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2-inches.

Pour 1 cup sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 3 lasagne sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread half of remaining sauce over past and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Make 1 more layer in same manner, beginning and ending with pasta.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream with salt until it holds soft peaks and spread evenly over top pasta layer, making sure pasta is completely covered. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan over cream. Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of over 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagne 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagne stand 5 minutes.

Garnish each serving with rosemary.

12 manicotti pasta crepes, homemade or store bought
3 1/2 cups ricotta
1 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 quart marinara sauce or tomato meat sauce, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the grated cheese, eggs, and pepper.

Fill each crepe with approximately 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture centering it in a straight line down the middle. Top with the shredded mozzarella. Take one end of the crepe and fold over the cheese filling. Then take the other end and pulling slightly, fold over in a wrapping motion overlapping the stuffed portion of the crepe. Repeat until all 12 crepes are filled.

Spread one cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Place the filled manicotti in the pan, seam down, side-by-side. Do not overlap, and do not layer them. Spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti. Be sure to cover all the pasta. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes or until the sauce is hot and bubbling.

Remove from the oven and let stand for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before serving. This will give the manicotti time to settle which will make for easy serving. The manicotti will fall apart if served immediately.

Grandma Nancy's Marinara Sauce:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (1 crushed, 1 puree) tomatoes
4 medium fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

In a pan heat the olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Do not let garlic burn. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, and pepper. Let tomato mixture cook for approximately 30 minutes.

Serve over pasta.

This is a basic marinara sauce full of flavor. It can be used in most recipes, which call for tomato sauce.

To turn this basic marinara sauce into a bolognese, add 1 pound of ground sirloin to sauce. Make sure to brown the meat before the marinara sauce is added.

2 ounces butter
1/4 cup flour
2 3/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
10 ounces extra-sharp raw goat-milk cheddar, grated
4 ounces fontina, grated
4 ounces Gruyere, grated
1/2 pound pasta shells
1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs or panko (Japanese brand of coarse dry bread crumbs)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. When it starts to bubble, stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute. In a separate pot, heat the milk to just below boiling. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture whisking constantly. Cook until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Remove the pot from the heat and add the spices, cheddar, fontina, and Gruyere.

Cook the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes less than al dente in boiling, salted water (the outside of the shell should be cooked but the inside is not).

Preheat the broiler.

Stir the pasta into the cheese sauce and portion evenly among 6 ramekins. Divide bread crumbs evenly among the ramekins and sprinkle on top. Brown the ramekins in the broiler or oven until golden brown and the sauce is bubbly, about 4 minutes.

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

1 (12 ounce) package egg fettuccine
1/3 pound prosciutto di Parma
2 tablespoons butter
1 to 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1 cup (3 healthy handfuls) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 pinches ground nutmeg or about 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse ground black pepper
A pinch coarse salt

Bring salted water to a rolling boil for the pasta and cook to package directions for al dente pasta.

Slice prosciutto ham into thin strips across. Separate ham ribbons and loosely pile them up and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet over moderate heat. Drain the pasta. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Add half-and-half to the melted butter. Stirring constantly, add cheese and cook sauce 1 minute. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Turn off heat under sauce and add pasta to the skillet. Toss pasta until sauce coats the noodles evenly. Add prosciutto ribbons and toss to evenly distribute them. Mangia!

We eat fish on Christmas Eve, no meat allowed. After Midnight Mass, all bets are off! We make this sauce for Christmas Day: you can't fit another meat in the pot! As many times as you reheat it, it just gets that much better, so if people are coming and going throughout the day, cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time -- half a pound for every 3 people.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1/4 pound pancetta, thick cut, chopped into small bits (Italian cured pork, ask at deli counter)
1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1 pound combined ground beef, pork and veal
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup good quality dry red wine
1 cup prepared beef stock, paper container or canned
2 (32-ounce) cans chunky style crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon (a couple of pinches) allspice or cinnamon
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 pounds penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Grated Pecorino Romano, as an accompaniment
Fresh, crusty bread, for mopping

Serving suggestions:
Caprese Salad, recipe follows
Five-Minute Fudge Wreath, recipe follows

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay, and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute. Add meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes.

Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.

Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.

Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.

The sauce will cover up to 2 pounds of pasta. If you are making this full menu, prepare the fudge and chill while your sauce simmers and before you prepare your salad. When you are done eating your 30 Minute meal, the fudge will have chilled for 45 minutes and will then be firm enough to slice. Happy Holidays and Merry Eating!

Caprese Salad:
3 vine-ripe tomatoes, 1/4-inch thick slices
1 pound fresh mozzarella, 1/4-inch thick slices
20 to 30 leaves (about 1 bunch) fresh basil
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Coarse salt and pepper
 

Layer alternating slices of tomatoes and mozzarella, adding a basil leaf between each, on a large, shallow platter. Drizzle the salad with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: none Ease of preparation: easy

Five-Minute Fudge Wreath:
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate morsels
9 ounces (3/4 of a 12-ounce bag) butterscotch morsels
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can walnut halves
1/2 cup (a couple of handfuls) currants

8-inch cake pan, lightly greased with softened butter
Candied cherries, red and green, for garnish, optional

Place a heavy pot on the stove and preheat it over low heat. Add chips and milk and stir until chips are melted and milk combined. Save the empty condensed milk can. Stir in vanilla and remove fudge from heat. Add nuts and currants and stir in immediately.

Cover empty condensed milk can with plastic food wrap and center it in the greased cake pan. Spoon fudge into pan around can, making sure to recenter can if it drifts.

The fudge will set up almost immediately. Garnish can only be added in the first minute or 2 the fudge is in the pan, so work quickly. Decorate your wreath with "holly" made from cut candied red and green cherries. A wreath left plain can be garnished with a pretty fabric bow when serving. Chill covered in the refrigerator and slice fudge very thin when ready to serve, a little goes a long way.

Yield: 32 servings (2 pounds) (...before you eat it. Go for it! You can hit the gym in January.) Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes Ease of preparation: too easy!