Frank's Calabrian Fusilli

Calabrian Fusilli

     So this pasta is something we never grew up on. As far as I can tell, according to my mother, Grandpa may have made this once or twice, but he died a long time ago. The type of pasta is from his area of Italy and definitely will take a few more tries to get it perfected. The dough I used was also a traditional one with just flour and water with a little salt. I highly recommend using equal parts AP flour and Semolina but for this time I used only AP. Fusilli is a spiral type of pasta that sort of resembles a screw. The store bought kind are typically not what it looks like when homemade. I have been looking for the specific "ferro" tool used to perfect these but until then I used an old coat hanger. I combine a few specific flavors to the Calabrian region for the sauce and the outcome was AMAZING!. Frank's Calabrian Fusilli.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1 lb ground Italian sweet sausage
• 12 oz tomato sauce
• 1/2 diced white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup chopped green olives
• 1 cup white wine
• Pinch rosemary
• Pinch sage
• Salt/ pepper

Pasta:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 tsp salt

1. Make the Fusilli. Simply combine the flour, salt, and water into a ball. Kneed for roughly 5-10 minutes until dough is firm and soft at same time. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for over an hour.

2. To make the pasta, cut off chunks of the dough and roll into long slender snake like shapes. Pinch off about a 1/2 inch chunk and gently with a ferro, or in this case a coat hanger, roll and spin around to make the traditional spiral shape. Continue until all noodles are complete. Cook in boiling water for roughly 5 minutes. (See below Video).

3. Make the sauce. In a large saute pan brown the ground sausage until cooked through.

4. Add in chopped onion and cook until tender. Then toss in garlic.

5. Pour in white wine and simmer until reduced.

6. Add in tomato sauce, olives, sage, and rosemary and bring to a low simmer. Cover and cook about 10 minutes.

7. Toss with pasta and serve immediately. 

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2+

     This dish was just perfect and I am sure my grandpa would be proud. I definitely need to practice making this kind of pasta though. Practice makes perfect!

Grandpa Sainato's Italian Stuffing

Grandpa Sainato's Italian Stuffing

     So sadly I do not remember my grandpa Sainato.  The man with whom I share my birth sake, the man with whom cherished my mother, and as soon as he found out I was born on his birthday ran out and bought a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal to bring directly to my side.  My grandpa, according to my mother, was a gentle man.  He loved to cook, make wine, drink, smoke, you name it he did it.  I've been told he was more of the cook in the house than my grandmother.  Either way, I feel I have some great genes running threw my blood.  I don't remember this man as he passed away sadly right after my first birthday.  The good thing is that since we shared birthdays, he was able to spend the day at least once with his last grandson. 

     My mother tells the story of how grandpa used to make this stuffing mixture every holiday.  He was a butcher so he had easy access to some good cuts of meat in his younger years.  My uncle has continued to make this stuffing sometimes but I barely, if not at all, remember this delicious combination.  Last Thanksgiving I attempted to make this exact recipe based on what everyone told me was in it.  I even have a coworker with whom her family is also Italian and they made a similar dish as well.  I screwed up with the recipe by accidentally using savory versus sage, using too much bread, too much sausage, etc.  My mother was sure to tell me off the bat, "This just isn't like dad's".

     Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2013 and I was given "permission" to attempt this dish one last time. (I speak with a bit of humor in my voice).  I have that quintessential mother.  You know the one,  "stay out of my kitchen!"  She proclaims proudly.  She has made her turkey, stuffing, green beans, appetizers, sides, etc. etc. etc. the same every year.  "I have my own ways of doing this holiday and I like it that way!"  She states again.  I will give her this much, she allows me to test the waters at times.  One year I attempted to make a batch of pumpkin risotto, enough to feed about 10 people.  The bowl was huge on the end of the table.  Only a few were brave enough to attempt it, but we did at the same time.  Needless to say that bowl of risotto went straight to the trash.  My ego was crushed. 

     Anyways, I digress, as I was saying, my mother does give me chances, but only a couple.  If the dish is not good by the second time then it's no more.  This year I was allowed to attempt Grandpa's stuffing one more time as well as some rolls I found online.  So here goes, Good ole Grandpa Sainato's Italian Stuffing.

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1/4lb ground Italian sausage
• 3 slices homemade bread
• 1/2 white onion
• 2 stalks celery
• Few leaves of fresh sage
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2-cup chicken stock
• 2 tbs butter
• 1-2 eggs
• Salt/pepper

     The night before you make this dice up your slices of bread into little squares and sit out on a baking pan over night to dry out.  The day of in a large sauté pan melt butter.  Dice up your onion and celery and toss into pan and sauté until translucent and tender.  Remove from pan and sit aside.  In same pan brown your beef and sausage until cooked through.  Drain off some of the fat.  Mix in your garlic, a small bunch of fresh-diced sage, the chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste.  Finally mix in your dried bread until incorporated.  Take your egg, (or two, something to play around with), and mix in with your hands in order to bind all the ingredients.  That's it.  Now all you have to do is stuff into your turkey and cook.  This stuffing is surprisingly very flavorful and loved by everyone.  Hope your watching Grandpa Sainato! Enjoy!

Grandpa and Grandma Sainato and mom

 

Sage Sour Cream Pork Chops

Sage Sour Cream Pork Chops

    

     It was a busy workweek and I needed to whip up something quick as I had gotten home late from work.  Living alone at times makes it a bit confusing to determine what to eat as well as the ability to make just the right amount for one person versus a couple.  I had laid out some pork chops because they are usually easy to fix.  I decided to do an old standby of breading them in Italian breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.  I had a little left over mushrooms in the fridge and decided to create a unique sauce to accompany them. I had some sour cream in the fridge, as well as some fresh herbs still growing in little pots.  Why not combine and make a simple sauce to go over these already delicious chops?  So here goes, my Sage Sour Cream Pork Chops.

 

Ingredients:

• 1/4-cup chicken stock
• 1/4-cup sour cream
• 2 tbs cooking sherry
• Handful mushrooms
• 1/4-diced onion
• 2 small sage leaves diced
• Salt/pepper

 

     After quick browning the chops in a large sauté pan in butter I removed them and placed them in an oven to bake.  In the same sauté pan I tossed in the diced onion and mushrooms and sautéed them over medium heat.  Next pour in the cooking sherry and scrape up the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Pour in the chicken stock and mix in the sour cream until incorporated.  Next, mix in the diced sage and salt/pepper.   Stir and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.  Viola!  Once the sauce has thickened a bit pour nicely over your cooked pork chops when serving.  This sauce was so smooth, silky, and a bit tangy that it accompanied the pork chops very nicely.  Enjoy.  Serves 2-4.

 

 

Wild Mushroom and Chicken Pasta

Wild Mushroom and Chicken Pasta

       So I decided to start my "bachelor" weekend with another great homemade pasta dish.  It is mushroom season where I live and many people are out digging for mushrooms.  Many different kinds are available during the springtime in WV.  I decided to cheat and go to the market and purchase some fresh wild mushrooms.  I know, take the easy way and just purchase them.  But hey, this blog is about "recipes to live by", and if that means taking the easy way out than so be it.  I was craving something earthy with the mushrooms.  I was also craving fresh pasta, which let's be honest, is typically at least once a week.  I didn't use any family recipes or one found on the Internet.  I created this recipe based on what I thought would taste great with fresh mushrooms.  

 

     I found a great combination of mushrooms in my local market.  I used the combination of cremini, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms.  That, combined with fresh sage, cream, white wine, garlic, some fresh grated cheese, and fresh pasta, what couldn't be better on a spring weekend. This dish was amazing and they flavors just melted together in my mouth.  Please enjoy my Wild Mushroom and Chicken Pasta. Serves 2-4.

 

 Wild Mushroom and Chicken Pasta

 Ingredients:

• 2-3 large chicken breasts
• 2 cups mixed mushrooms, (crimini, shiitake, oyster)
• 1/2 white onion diced
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 3 small fresh sage leaves diced
• Pasta of choice

     In a sauté pan with the butter brown the chicken on all sides and remove.  Add the olive oil and toss in the onion and sauté, then the garlic and the mushrooms until tender.  Pour in the white wine and simmer until reduced a bit.  Next add the chicken broth, the cream, sage leaves and the Romano cheese.  Stir, place back in the chicken diced, cover and simmer for at least 15-20 minutes.  Serve over your favorite pasta.  This dish was absolutely amazing.  The flavors were so complementary to each other that it was hard to not go back for thirds and fourths.  Creaminess from the cheese and sauce, earthiness from the mushrooms, and fragrant aroma from the sage and garlic made this meal a new classic in my house.