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What a delicious and easy weeknight meal. The sauce was creamy and enrobed the gnocchi with a rich and flavorsome sauce.
Another delicious one pan pasta meal is from one of my favorites, Melissa Clark of The New York Times. Ms. Clark’s Cheesy Baked Pasta with Sausage and Ricotta has you browning the meat, making the sauce then adding dry pasta to all the components to create a baked one pan dish meal. For the recipe you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey), fresh garlic, dried oregano, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, 14-ounce can crushed or strained tomatoes, bay leaves, kosher salt, 12-ounces dried small shape pasta, fresh mozzarella, whole milk ricotta, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves and freshly ground black pepper. I used Italian turkey sausage. As I was making half a recipe, I used one 28-ounce can of Wegmans Italian Classics Whole San Marzano tomatoes. They were a little more expensive, but as I was making half a recipe, the 28-ounce can was a perfect size and, when I can, I prefer to use San Marzano tomatoes. Using an oven-proof skillet, I took the sausage out of its casing, broke it up with a wooden spoon. While the meat was browning I added thinly sliced garlic, fresh oregano from my cold frame, crushed fennel seeds and red pepper flakes. I then added the can of tomato’s and broke them up using my spoonula, fresh bay leaves off my plant, and salt. Next, the dry pasta is added along with a cup of water. The mixture simmers for two minutes and must be stirred to avoid the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The pan is removed from the heat, bay leaves removed and pieces of mozzarella stirred in with the pasta. More mozzarella goes on top along with dollops of ricotta. Parmesan cheese garnishes the top before going into the oven for 18 to 22 minutes. I garnished with fresh basil that I recently added to the cold frame. What a delicious meal, the pasta was cooked al dente, the sauce was plentiful but not overbearing and the sausage added texture and protein to the dish. If you lay out your ingredients ahead, it takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. I think even my granddaughters would eat this. This baked pasta, will reminiscent of baked ziti, gave you that same taste, but with lower proportions of cheese. By the way, I had some of Lidia Bastianich’s Light Egg Pasta Dough leftover from my Fresh Pear and Pecorino Ravioli. I decided to roll out some spaghetti and dress with homemade pesto. Oh my, if I can, I will try to make fresh pasta as often as I can. I found the spaghetti to be so light and not heavy on the stomach. I’ve been watching “Pasta Grannie” videos on Instagram and those ladies made many shapes of pasta by hand such as cavatelli and used a grass stem to shape pasta. These videos encourage me to try my hand at doing the same. Turkey burgers are a great alternative to beef. Andy Baraghani, from The New York Times/NYT Cooking, has developed a simple and moist burger that’s ready in 30 minutes. For the burger you’ll need mayonnaise, ground cayenne, smoked paprika and ground turkey. There’s an accompany slaw that goes on top of the burger that’s made with mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic, iceberg lettuce, salt and pepper. Garnishes are sliced red onions and bread and butter pickles. I scaled the recipe down a bit as I had one pound of ground turkey. The opposite would be true if you purchased a 20-ounce package of meat, scale up slightly, I also made half a recipe of the slaw. All of the burger ingredients are added to the meat and using a fork mixed the meat. Slightly dampen your hands to more easily shape the burgers. I added a tiny bit of butter to a skillet to brown the burger buns and kept them warm while I cooked the burgers. With oil added to the pan, the burgers sautéed for four minutes per side. I used my instant read thermometer to make sure the meat was fully cooked. I cut two 1/2-inch slices off my iceberg lettuce. In a large bowl combine the mayo, lemon juice and minced garlic to make the slaw dressing. Add the lettuce, salt and pepper and coat the ingredients. Place the burger on the bun, top with sliced onion, pickle and slaw. While I have about a half dozen or so turkey burger recipes, this one had the fewest ingredients, yet yielded a moist and juicy burger. Though a bit spicy from the cayenne pepper, you can adjust up or down to taste. We enjoyed them and the lettuce slaw was a nice contrast against the juicy burger. If we eat beef once a week, it’s a lot, but every now and then I crave a juicy steak. At Perrotti’s Quality Meats in Cranford, I found their 100% natural beef steaks to be tender and juicy. I decided to change things up a bit by making Strip Steak with Dijon Sauce for dinner. I found the recipe by Sue Li on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website. The Dijon sauce is made with finely chopped shallot, finely chopped garlic, white wine vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard and olive oil. If you grate the garlic, it will be more aggressive, therefore, I minced mine with a knife so it wasn’t so pungent. The shallot, garlic, vinegar and sugar are combined in a bowl and sit for 10 minutes. After the time passes, olive oil and mustard are whisked in and seasoned with salt and pepper. To cook the steak, take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes ahead so it comes to room temperature and cooks more evenly. I preheated a cast-iron skillet for a minute before adding a tablespoon of butter. The steak was added and cooked for 2-3 minutes per side allowing a brown crust to develop. The pan was then placed in a preheated 425° oven and cooked for several minutes more until it reached a medium rare doneness. I let it rest for five minutes before drizzling the Dijon sauce on top. My, my what a fabulous steak dinner. The meat was juicy and tender. The sauce enhanced the steak, but didn’t overwhelm the flavor. The sauce had a nice balance of flavors with the small addition of sugar to soften the Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. It was definitely a steakhouse quality meal.
Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi
By Liz Mervosh Food & Wine Magazine, December 2024/January 2025 Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided 2 (12-ounce) packages refrigerated skillet gnocchi (such as Rana), divided 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 cup heavy cream 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 3/4 cup) 1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated (about 3/4 cup) Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Crushed oven-baked Parmesan cheese crisps (such as Parm Crisps) (optional) Directions
Cheesy Baked Pasta with Sausage and Ricotta
By Melissa Clark, The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total time: 45 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ¾ pound bulk hot or mild Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey) 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon dried oregano ½teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed Pinch of red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving (optional) 1(28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices 1(14-ounce) can crushed or strained tomatoes 2 bay leaves Kosher salt 12 ounces dried pasta, such as small shells, farfalle or other shaped pasta 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-size pieces 6 ounces whole-milk ricotta (about ¾ cup) ⅓ cup grated Parmesan ¼ cup basil leaves Black pepper, for serving Preparation
Spicy Turkey Burgers
By Andy Baraghani The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total time: 30 minutes Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Servings: 4 burgers For the Burgers 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon ground cayenne 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1¼ pounds ground turkey Salt 4 soft buns 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil For the Slaw and Assembly ⅓ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 small garlic clove, finely grated ½ head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced (about 4 cups) Salt and pepper Sliced red onions and bread and butter pickles, for serving Preparation
Strip Steak with Dijon Sauce
By Sue Li, The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hour Servings: 2 servings (plus ¾ cup Dijon sauce) Ingredients 1 boneless New York strip steak (about 12 ounces) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large shallot, finely chopped 1 large garlic clove, grated 1tablespoon white wine vinegar ½ teaspoon sugar ¼ cup Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Preparation
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