BAKED LASAGNE

BAKED LASAGNE

Ingredients:
1 lb lasagna
1 lb ricotta
1 pint milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbl parsley, finely chopped
Salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ lb mozzarella cheese
Oil
1 lb ground beef
3 c tomato sauce
Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook lasagna in large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water to al dente stage. Drain and set aside, handling strips carefully to keep them whole.
Cream ricotta with milk (if ricotta is very liquid, less milk should be used.) Add beaten eggs, parsley, salt, and cinnamon. Dice mozzarella cheese into ½ in cubes, and add to ricotta mixture.

Sauté ground beef in oil until browned, and add 2-3 tablespoons of tomato sauce to it to moisten it.

Oil a rectangular baking dish and spoon some of the ricotta mixture over the bottom of dish. Star with a layer of lasagna, cover with ricotta mixture and ground meat. And sprinkle with grated cheese.
Continue with layers of lasagna and filling ending with lasagna strips.
Cover the baking dish with waxed paper cut to fit, oiled on the outside, and bake in 350 oven for 1 hour.
To serve, cut into individual portions and put a serving of tomato sauce, to the taste of the individual, over each portion. Fill a gravy boat with the remaining sauce, and pass as desired.

MANICOTTI WITH RICOTTA FILLING

MANICOTTI WITH RICOTTA FILLING
(crepe style)

This manicotti recipe was inspired by a dinner I had at Little Venice in Binghamton, NY. The manicottis are made with thin crepes not the traditional rolled out dough.

Ingredients:
3 med eggs
1 cup flour, sifted
1 ½ c milk
1 tbl oil
Dash of salt
1 lb creamy ricotta cheese
½ c parsley, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
¼ c grated parmesan cheese
2 c prepared tomato sauce

Directions:

To make the batter, beat eggs, which should be at room temperature and add flour gradually. Add milk oil and salt, stirring with a fork to make a smooth batter, don’t overbeat..
Heat a large skillet or seasoned skillet thoroughly, add a little oil to pan if needed. Place a heaping tablespoon of batter on the pan and spread and shape it as you go. Working rapidly. It only takes a minute or 2 for the crepe to cook. The finished crepe is about 5 in. in diameter and on a large skillet several can be made at one time. The pancakes can be larger if you choose, but the small ones make an attractive dish.

When the bottom of the crepe is lightly browned and it can be lifted up easily with a spatula, it is cooked.
Do not turn it, but transfer it, being careful not to break it, to a flat dish. As you stack the crepes, the cooked side goes on the unbrowned side- but don’t worry, they won’t stick together. This part can be done several days in advance. You will get about 24-28 crepes from this amount of batter. Just refrigerate them, don’t freeze, covered with wax paper.

The filling should be prepared on the day you plan to serve the manicotti. In a mixing bowl, beat ricotta with a spoon, add parsley, salt, and parmesan cheese. Then add beaten egg and blend thoroughly.
To fill, place a generous tablespoon of filling in the middle of the crepe on the uncooked side. Roll it up like a jelly roll, and place in the baking dish, seam side down. (Spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish first). This can be done in the morning and the manicotti refrigerated until you are ready to put them in the oven. Then cover them with a light layer of sauce and bake preheated 350 oven until bubbling hot about 20 minutes. Serve with rest of sauce, which should be very hot.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup
Ingredients:
1 small head cabbage, curly variety preferred
¼ lb spinach
¼ lb Swiss chard
2 beets with leaves
2 stalks celery
1 carrot
1 large potato
1 zucchini
1 onion
1 c fresh or frozen peas
8 c beef broth
1/8 lb prosciutto, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbl parsley, finely chopped
Oil
1/3 c uncooked rice
Salt and pepper grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Wash vegetables thoroughly and drain. Shred into ½ inch pieces the cabbage,  spinach, chard and beet leaves. Dice into ½ in pieces the celery, carrot, potato, zucchini, onion, and beets. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium, and add the shredded and diced vegetables and the peas.
Sauté prosciutto, garlic, and parsley in oil in a saucepan. Add with rice to the cooking vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes until rice and vegetables are tender. Serve with grated cheese and crusty pieces of Italian bread.

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients:
1 ½ qts strained rich chicken broth
½ lb ground beef
 ½ lb ground veal or pork
1 egg
½ c breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tbl parsley, finely chopped
½ c broth
Lard
1 c pastina

Directions:
Blend thoroughly the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, parsley, and ¼ c broth. Shape into marble size balls with your hands. Brown in lard and then drain on an absorbent towel.

Bring broth to a boil, add pastina and cook until pastina is tender. Drop in the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes until thoroughly heated.

Homemade noodle dough may be substituted for the pastina. Blend until smooth, 2 eggs with 2 cups flour and 1 tbl water. Roll dough into pencil size strips and cut into pea size pieces. Deep fry pieces in lard. Drain thoroughly and drop into hot chicken broth with the meatballs. Cook slowly for 20 minutes before serving.
Serves 4 -6

ITALIAN PIGS IN BLANKET

 Ingredients:

1 med. head cabbage

1 lb. Ground beef

2 eggs

Bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb. sliced onion

1 lg. can tomatoes

 Directions:

Parboil cabbage. Mix hamburger, salt, pepper, eggs, bread crumbs, and garlic. Grated cheese may be added if desired. Take 1 leaf of cabbage at a time and wrap the hamburger mixture in it. Wrap one slice of bacon around cabbage and secure it with a toothpick.

Arrange in a roasting pan. Pour tomatoes over it and bake in a moderate oven 1  1/2 hours or until cooked well.