“I KNOW HOW TO BOIL WATER; I JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S DONE": October 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011

Autumnal Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells

22 oz. ricotta cheese

1 (15 oz.) can 100% pumpkin puree

3/4 cup Romano cheese, grated

1 large egg

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. crushed dried basil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 (26 oz.) jar pasta sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain and rinse.

In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup Romano and remaining ingredients, except pasta sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread sauce in bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Fill each pasta shell with ricotta-pumpkin mixture and arrange in pan.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and sprinkle shells generously with mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

When my husband heard his favorite stuffed shells were going to include pumpkin, he was a little leery. After tasting, he told me it's one of his favorite fall festive feast treats (after Thanksgiving, of course). Once your try it, you'll agree.

Enjoy! Elvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radost'!

Beve's Penne Alla Vodka

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped finely
6 slices prosciutto or pancetta, thinly sliced and cubed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp. sugar
12 oz. penne pasta
1 cup heavy cream
2 shots of vodka
1/2 tsp. crushed dried basil

Preparation:

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the prosciutto, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute.
Add the tomatoes and sugar and cook for about 15 minutes.
To the boiling water, add a tablespoon of salt and the penne. Cook until al dente.
Slowly and gently add the heavy cream to the sauce and fold in.

Stir vodka into the sauce.
Drain the penne and add to the sauce.
Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately.

This is a great alternative to my standard spaghetti sauce recipe that cooks slowly for 3 hours. The combination of crushed tomatoes and cream give the dish a savory blush sauce that never fails to delight even the most scrutinizing palate. Penne is also one of my favorite pastas because it absorbs the sauce inside and out. Serve this dish often, it will surely please the crowd. Great with homemade bread.

Enjoy! Elvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radost'!

Natural Resource

Beginnings

It was tradition in my family that soup was served almost every Sunday. There were only a handful of Sundays where soup wasn't part of the menu. On those days, we probably took a trip to Rivesville, West Virginia to visit with my Grandma, who usually had her own pot of soup on, and homemade bread to sink our teeth into. Sundays started with Mass, and after returning home, we would have breakfast. One of my favorite morning dishes was palachintas (yum). Mom would already have soup on the stovetop, and between noon and 2 o'clock it was time for the "soup feast." You could tell time at our house by the Sunday meal plan. A lot of them were based on the time of the football game, or other sporting event. Soup was always served as the noon time meal, followed by a hearty meatloaf, roast beef, stuffed cabbage, chicken paprikas, or the like, at suppertime (usually around 4 o’clock). It seemed like all we did on Sunday was eat and relax. You would wonder how you could be hungry for supper at 4 or 5 o’clock. Amazingly, you were. There were times I would remember that if there wasn’t enough roast beef to make you content, Mom would give you a slice of bread on your plate and cover it with gravy (Gravy Bread). What an added feast we thought we were getting. Little did we know, there probably wasn't enough meat for seconds, and who cared, because there was always plenty of gravy for that "oh so special" Gravy Bread. I really don’t remember a lot of desserts. I know we probably had them from time to time, but even if there were, I don’t know how one would find, or want to find, the room to fit it in. Well, all this talk is making me hungry. Go turn on the water and let’s get started!

Dedication

I dedicate this website to the 4 best cooks I know: My mother, who nourished me from the day of my first breath, both physically and spiritually; my mother-in-law, introducing me to her family favorites and customs; my husband’s grandmother, who had a unique, physical and verbal way of teaching me all her different techniques, to pass on traditional dishes; and last, and foremost, my heavenly mother, Mary, who is always by my side guiding me with spiritual intervention every step, and ingredient, of the way. It is with a deep love of my heritage that I also dedicate this collection of recipes to all the cooks who are just starting out and continuing the tradition of using recipes that are "family recipes." I hope that this website will serve to preserve some of my "family recipes" and to kindle an interest in traditional cooking among the younger families in a not always traditional way.

Enjoy!
With much love, Beve