If I can't ski, I'm gonna cook
Well I'm on the DL for a little while, so naturally I need something to prevent me from going insane. Especially since there's 22 feet of luciousness out there that I can't enjoy. So cooking has been a nice distraction...
Baked Ziti with Spicy Pork and Sausage Ragu:
http://www.epicurious.com/images/rec...tos/109165.jpg
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta,* chopped
2 pounds Boston butt (pork shoulder), cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
6 large fresh thyme sprigs
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 cups dry red wine
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes in juice, tomatoes chopped, juice reserved
1 1/4 pounds ziti pasta
2 cups (packed) coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and sauté until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to bowl. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add half of pork to drippings in pot; sauté until brown, about 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl with pancetta. Repeat with remaining pork. Add sausage to same pot. Sauté until no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onions, carrots, celery, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low; sauté until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add pancetta and pork with any accumulated juices; boil 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice. Cover and cook until pork is very tender, adjusting heat as needed to maintain gentle simmer and stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.
Uncover pot; tilt to 1 side and spoon off fat from surface of ragù. Gently press pork pieces with back of fork to break up meat coarsely. Season ragù to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over low heat before continuing.)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish or other 4-quart baking dish. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; mix into ragù. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper; transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle both cheeses over. Bake until heated through and golden, about 20 minutes.
*Pancetta (Italian bacon cured in salt) is available at Italian markets and in the refrigerated deli case of many supermarkets.
Makes 8 servings.
Bon Appétit
February 2004
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/re...s/views/109165
Arty's notes:
I actually prepared the Ragu a day ahead of time and refrigerated it. Unfortunately the fridge seemed to thicken up the Ragu just a touch. It was still really good, but I wish I had just cooked the whole thing together. It would have been even more scrumptious.
Also in the online notes for this recipe, one of the comments suggested inserting a middle layer of cheese when arranging the pasta in the baking dish. This would kick serious ass.
OMG!! You HAVE to make this!!!
Made this last weekend and it was amazing!!!
I used Yukon Gold pots and added carrots to the roaster at the time I flipped the chicken (cut them in half lengthwise). Oh yeah - I only used one chicken (4lbs. 5oz) which cut the cooking time down. Also - my chicken was low on fat so I used some butter to baste it during the initial roasting process.
If you don't have a roaster you can use th bottom of the broiler pan that comes with most ovens.
http://www.epicurious.com/images/rec...tos/108629.jpg
ROAST CHICKEN STUFFED WITH FENNEL AND GARLIC
Potatoes roasted with olive oil and chopped fresh rosemary are a nice accompaniment. What to drink: Poggio del Sasso.
3 large fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in resealable plastic bag
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 3-pound whole chickens
2 lemons, halved
1 cup Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine or other dry white wine
1/3 cup low-salt chicken broth
Cook fennel in large pot of boiling salted water until tender when pierced with knife, about 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons oil; garlic; 1 tablespoon each fennel seeds, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and marjoram; then 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix remaining 1 tablespoon each fennel seeds and herbs in small bowl. Rinse chickens inside and out; pat dry. Rub chickens inside and out with lemon halves, squeezing some of juice into cavities. Rub outside of chickens with 1/4 cup oil, then fennel seed mixture. Sprinkle chickens generously with salt and pepper. Loosely stuff chickens with some of fresh fennel mixture. Tie legs together. Place chickens, breast side down, in large roasting pan. Arrange remaining fresh fennel mixture around chickens.
Roast chickens 30 minutes, basting occasionally with pan juices. Combine wine and broth and pour over chickens. Roast 15 minutes. Turn chickens breast side up. Roast chickens until juices run clear when pierced with fork in thickest part of thigh, about 40 minutes longer. Transfer chickens and fennel mixture to platter. Pour pan juices into bowl; skim off fat. Pour juices over chickens and serve.
Makes 6 servings.
