Proud Italian Cook

Stuffed Acorn Squash

November 3, 2010 by Marie 33 Comments

I’ve been stuffing lots of vegetables lately, cabbage, peppers and squash to name a few, I don’t know why maybe because it’s November, it’s cold out and I have that comfort food thing going on.

I actually made this tonight for dinner along with a spinach salad it was healthy, hearty and very comforting!

Some people get intimidated by squash with all the different shapes and sizes, don’t be, you’ll be missing out on such a treat! Just make sure your knives are sharpened when you cut into it! Here’s a quick video on how to cut one properly.

I love the shape of acorn squash with those scalloped edges, just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp then roast it in your oven at 375 degrees cut side down for around 40 minutes, after it cools a bit then take a spoon and scoop out some of the meaty flesh along the sides and bottom reserving that to add to your stuffing mixture.

The cooked squash then becomes your perfect edible bowl pretty scallops and all! You can get very creative in what you choose to stuff them with, the possibilities are endless.

For mine I used sauted onion, garlic and scallions, cooked brown rice, chopped fresh spinach, dried cranberries, a shredded cheese blend of asiago, fontina and mozzarella, grated parmesan, the scooped out squash I reserved, cooked and diced chicken sausage that was flavored with roasted garlic and fontina, fresh parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.

After you stuff them place them back in the oven for around 20 minutes or until heated through. We enjoyed every bite!!

This is the view of my back yard, I guess we have a ton of raking to do this weekend, winter’s right around the corner!

Buon Appetito!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

October 28, 2010 by Marie 33 Comments

I made this on the spur of the moment the other day after gazing upon a day old half of baguette that was sitting on my counter totally intended for breadcrumbs. The winds were 60mph here in the Chicago area so this was the perfect dessert for a cool crisp day!

I’ve been stocking up on canned pumpkin because I’m always hearing there’s a shortage of it so I had plenty of that along with all the other ingredients.

This was so quick to put together, the longest part was waiting for my raisins to soak up the bourbon, but oh it was so worth the wait!

Of course the bourbon is optional if you want to omit it just double the amount of hot water.

Add all your ingredients into one bowl, whisk it up and pour the mixture into individual ramekins, perfectly portioned for one.

The aroma is amazing, the warm spiced custard along with the bourbon soaked raisins will put a happy smile on your face! Feel free to put a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top if you wish.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Adapted from Martha

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for ramekins
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup hot water
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
One 12-ounce day-old loaf brioche, challah or rustic baguette cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter six 10-ounce ramekins or custard cups, and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, set aside on a baking sheet. Place raisins in a small bowl, and cover with bourbon, if using, and the hot water; let soak until plump, about 20 minutes. Drain; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, spices, and salt. Toss in the bread cubes, and stir gently to evenly coat; let stand a few minutes. Fold in the raisins. Divide among ramekins, pressing down slightly to make level.

3. Bake until custard is set in the center and top is golden, about 40 minutes. If bread browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Remove from oven; let cool slightly. To serve, un-mold onto plates; dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

33 Comments Filed Under: Desserts, Fall Tagged: fall dessert, pumpkin bread pudding, pumpkin dessert

Homemade Ricotta Cavatelli Made Easy!

October 20, 2010 by Marie 40 Comments

A few weeks ago my girlfriend let me borrow her cavatelli pasta maker it was the first time I ever used a machine, all I can say is wow, what a great invention! She has a brand that no longer exists but if you check on Amazon there are many well made brands that our very reasonably priced, just remember to get one that has the wooden rollers.

If you’re crazy about cavatelli, those shell-like ridged noodles that capture and hold the flavor of a sauce so well, then have no fear you can have these made, cooked and on your table in no time at all.

I was amazed at just how easy the process was, you simply feed a strip of pasta dough into the machine and turn the handle, the machine does the rest. The rollers send the dough past a drum set with two tiny blades which cut the dough into small pieces and presses them against the drum’s ridged lining. As quick as you can turn the handle is as fast as they come popping out, you’ll have trays of them done before you know it!

If you want to freeze some, leave them individually on the tray as shown above placing the whole tray in the freezer, when completely frozen you can then bag them up, mine took about a half hour to 40 minutes to freeze.

The ricotta dough is my favorite they turn out so light tasting, you won’t get that heavy doughy feeling at all I promise. They also cook up really fast, just place them into salted boiling water and when they rise to the top, which only takes a few seconds, they’re pretty much done and you can start scooping them out.

Whatever sauce you choose you can be sure that those deep ridges will catch it all!

A simple sauce made of olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and some of the pasta water was the perfect combination for the fresh cavatelli with shrimp and broccoli.

Tossing them into a light marinara sauce is my personal favorite, even my 14 month old granddaughter loved them, I cut them into thirds for her and she gobbled them up.

Here’s the food processor method for making the dough

Serves 4

4 cups of flour

1 egg

1 lb. ricotta cheese

1 t. salt

1/4 cup milk

Using the metal blade process the flour, egg, ricotta and salt together, pour the milk through the tube and process again until dough ball forms. That’s it!

At this point if you get the machine you’ll have instructions as to how thick the dough should be when you roll it out and cut it into strips.

If you want to make the cavatelli by hand without the machine (why would you?) you can still enjoy this recipe.

You might consider putting this on your Christmas list, I highly recommend it!

Buon Appetito!

40 Comments Filed Under: Fresh Pasta, Pasta Tagged: cavatelli pasta maker, homemade cavatelli, Homemade pasta