Proud Italian Cook

Individual Butternut Squash Lasagna with Infused Bechamel

October 17, 2012 by Marie 26 Comments

Here is yet another version of a butternut squash lasagna in mini form, individually portioned. Round slices of butternut squash are layered in with a creamy ricotta and shredded mozzarella mixture and topped off with a sage, garlic and parmesan infused bechamel.
You can serve this as a main course along with a pretty fall salad, or as a side to something like a pork roast, so good! I’ve done it both ways. This recipe uses no pasta at all and you won’t even miss it, I promise!
I can’t explain how good this is, you’re going to have to try it for yourself!

To make this, look for a butternut squash that is pretty much the same width from top to bottom as in my photo, my slices were about 4 inches round. If you can’t find one like that, get one with a long neck and then cut the slices about 1/4 inch thick.
Then just peel the squash, slice, and roast the slices on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper at 400 F until tender when pierced with a knife.

Mix up a pound of ricotta ( depending on how many squash slices you get, you’ll probably have some left over ) with 1/3 cup of grated parmesan or romano cheese, a good handful of chopped fresh spinach, kale or parsley and about a cup of shredded mozzarella along with 1 egg, salt and pepper. This will be spread in between your layers.
I like using 3 slices of squash per mini lasagna using maybe a tablespoon or so of the cheese mixture in between the layers.

For the bechamel sauce, melt 5 tablespoons of butter, whisk in 5 tablespoons of flour, cook until it bubbles a little then add 3-1/2 cups of milk, 1 1/2 cloves of minced garlic, 4 sage leaves and a handful of grated parmesan, whisk until smooth and thickened.

Spoon a layer of the bechamel on the bottom of your casserole dish first, then place your first slice down, a dollop of the cheese mixture, another slice, more cheese on top then top it off with the last slice and spoon some bechamel over the top.

Bake at 400 until ricotta mixture is hot and cooked through. Garnish with a sage leaf.

Afternoon Espresso

October 15, 2012 by Marie 15 Comments

As a child I have vivid memories of my parents, aunts and uncles sitting around a table after a big meal smoking cigarettes, laughing, always having a cup of coffee in their hands.
A very close aunt and uncle lived on the next block over from our house and they would often just stop by for coffee, I remember my uncle would always say, “put the coffee on we’re coming over!”

Coming over for coffee was a reason to get together, it didn’t have to be a big meal all the time, coffee was enough, providing there was always something sweet to go with it, usually something homemade or purchased from a favorite Italian bakery.
One of the last memories I have of my favorite uncle Al was the week before he passed away, he was home and under hospice care at the time, on our way over we made a quick stop at the bakery to pick up a box of cannoli, he loved his sweets. Although he was weak and frail he insisted on us making a pot of coffee so he could sit at the table and have a cannoli with us. As he took a few tiny bites and sipped his coffee he talked about his family and how important we all were to him, he made us laugh and made us cry, he had such a positive attitude with no regrets, he was the best!

Maybe that’s why I’m crazy about all things coffee, it’s ingrained in me from childhood. As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing better than the smell of espresso brewing in my house, it makes me happy!
I can drink it in the morning and into the wee hours of the night, which I often do.

Even my friends and I meet together every Tuesday for coffee, we talk about each others lives and try to solve the worlds problems. My girlfriend Jean is a talented baker who specializes in Italian cookies, she often brings us all a goodie box filled with her sweet creations, recently she gifted me with her famous pizzelles, freshly made and crunchy!

Perfect timing because I had just received a brand new Philips Saeco Syntia Automatic Espresso Machine for review so I called my daughter who is an avid espresso drinker and suggested we get together for a little afternoon espresso.
This is a very sleek machine, it doesn’t take up much room and it looks absolutely gorgeous on your counter top, a far cry from my stove top moka pot!

It has all the bells and whistles you could think of, for one thing it’s easy to use, not complicated, no need to read a manual over and over again to figure it out. With a single touch you can have a shot of espresso, a long coffee, some steamed milk or hot water.
What I really love about this machine is that it automatically cleans itself, after each use you will find the compressed coffee disks right in the dump tray.
All the compartments are easily accessible, from refilling the beans and water to emptying the dump and drip trays.

You might be wondering what the quality and taste is like, well for one month now it has been consistently brewing rich, complex and well balanced cups of espresso with beautiful caramel colored crema on top!

The pressure on the steamer has also worked consistently well, I only wish that the water tank was a little larger as well as the bean hopper.

I enjoy having an occasional macchiato, which is basically a shot of espresso with a dollop of foam on top, the Saeco Syntia produces the perfect cup!

Is it a little pricey? Sure, but if you frequent those popular coffee shops on a regular basis, add up what you’re spending over the course of a year you might feel justified to be your own barista at home, plus you can share the love with all your family and friends!

If you’d like to know more about Philips Saeco you can visit their website, as well as their Facebook page.

If you’re craving homemade pizzelles after this post, here’s a link to one’s I’ve made.

Disclaimer; I was provided a Philips Saeco Syntia machine for review, my opinions are totally my own.

15 Comments Filed Under: Drinks Tagged: espresso, macchiato, Philips Saeco, Philips Saeco Syntia review, pizzelles

Warm and Cozy Fall Dinners

October 5, 2012 by Marie 49 Comments

The cooler weather is bringing out my urge to cook more comfort foods. When it’s damp, rainy and cold outside, like it happens to be today, a salad just isn’t going to cut it! I’m sharing with you two of a very long list of dinners that bring me comfort. Neither take too long to cook, so both would be great for a mid week meal as well as for the weekend.

Boneless Pork Chops in a Creamy Mustard Thyme Sauce with Mushrooms and Caramelized Shallots.
Sound fancy or complicated? It’s really not, providing you have some caramelized shallots or onions done ahead of time.

Season your chops with salt and pepper then brown them in a drizzle of olive oil.*** Remove chops, do the same with the mushrooms, then set aside as well.*** De glaze your pan with chicken stock enough to cover the bottom and let it bubble.*** Add two heaping tablespoons of grainy mustard, some fresh thyme and a cup or so of cream or half and half, whisking until smooth.*** Place the chops back in along with the mushrooms and simmer until meat is cooked through.*** Garnish with the caramelized shallots.

You’ll need to have something green on the side so, how about a little broccoli rabe? It goes very well with both the pork and the chicken. Here’s how I make it.

And speaking of chicken, I love making this Ricotta Stuffed Chicken. You’ll need a butterflied chicken, which means you need to remove the rib, back and breast bone of your chicken then flatten it out like a butterfly. I’ve tried to do it myself but it’s never a pretty site so I just let my butcher at Whole Foods do it for me, it takes him 2 seconds and it comes out perfect every time!

Gently loosen the skin all around the chicken with your fingers, be careful not to rip into it.

Saute in a small pan, 3 chopped green onions and 1 minced garlic clove.*** After it cools, place into a bowl along with 2 cups of drained ricotta cheese,*** 1/2 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil,***1/2 cup of grated romano cheese,*** the zest of 1 lemon,*** chopped fresh basil and parsley,*** salt and pepper. Mix it all together.

Take a spoon and shove the mixture all over underneath the skin that you loosened. Rub the outside of your chicken with olive oil and fresh herbs and roast in a 375 degree oven until internal temperature reaches 180.Get your sweater on and start cooking!