Neapolitan Style Lasagne

This is a fantastic recipe with great chef tips, Neapolitan food has always intrigued my palette and I hope you enjoy this recipe that was given to me as much as I have enjoyed it. You can find more recipes, I have learned by clicking here NEAPOLITAN 

Easy dish to make ahead for Thanksgiving! That is what I do.

Servings 8

For pasta

• 1 lb all-purpose flour
• 5 oz eggs
• ⅜ oz extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

For filling

• meat sauce
• pork sausage, sautè
• ricotta cheese
• egg, hard-boiled
• mozzarella cheese
• grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or grated romano and parmesan mix

Preparation

1 hour preparation + 40 minutes cooking

Step 1

In a small casserole, gently fry the chopped lard with the oil and the chopped vegetables. Add the minced meat. Meanwhile hard-boil the eggs. ( be very careful not to over boil the eggs, see chef tips below)

Step 2

Brown the mixture for a few minutes, pour the wine over it, sprinkle with the marjoram and season with salt & pepper.

Step 3

When the wine has evaporated, mix in a small amount of flour and leave to cook for some minutes. Then add the tomatoes and finish cooking for about 1 hour, if necessary thinning with a little stock.

Step 4

While the sauce is cooking, make the fresh pasta. Roll the dough out into a very thin sheet and cut it into 4x6 inches rectangles. Cook the rectangles in abundant boiling salted water. Once they are cooked, drain them and cool them immediately in cold water.

Step 5

In a buttered oven dish, arrange the pasta in layers, dressing each layer with the meat sauce.

Step 6

On top of the sauce, uniformly distribute the sausage (previously fried in garlic and parsley) cut into in small pieces, the ricotta, the hard-boiled eggs in wedges or slices and the mozzarella in cubes.

Step 7

Close off with a sheet of pasta and sprinkle grated Parmesan on top. Put the dish into a moderate oven (350°F) for around 40 minutes. Once it is cooked, well-browned on the surface, leave it to rest before serving.

Chef's Tips

The eggs must be immersed in boiling salted water and left to cook for 9 minutes. In this way the yolk does not become green.
Then they should be cooled immediately under running cold water, so that they can easily be shelled. When the pasta is immersed in boiling water it must be stirred immediately, to avoid the sheets sticking to one another. It is a good idea to leave the lasagna to rest after cooking, so that the pasta absorbs any excess moisture. In this way the portions may be cut more regularly and uniformly.

Food history

Carnevale (Carnival) is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent and is associated with catholic faith.
The Italian word Carnevale derives from Latin Carnem Levare (to remove meat): the forty days of Lent serve to commemorate the Passion of Jesus and many foods, such as meat, are forbidden.
Before Lent, people take a large celebration and Carnival recipes are generally rich and nourishing.

Sweet White Bread

Sweet White Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. (very important)
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. (make sure room is warm when rising your bread)
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Turtle Cake with Cream Cheese

This cake has got to be hands down a recipe I found and ran with it, and never stopped running! A great holiday favourite, and truly there are no turtles in it. So if you happened to be one of those kids (like me) and a couple others I have met online, who witnessed the Galloping Gourmet, Graham Kerr make turtle soup with a live turtle,  and then murder your brothers innocent turtle, all in the name of the art of cooking, well then this will make you grin for sure!

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
• 1 18.25-ounce box chocolate cake mix
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cut into pieces, room temperature

Frosting

• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 5 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup purchased caramel-flavored topping or dulce de leche topping

Preparation

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 13x9x2-inch metal cake pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pecans over bottom of pan. Combine cake mix, 1 1/4 cups water, oil, and eggs in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat at low speed until mixture is moistened, about 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour batter into pan.
• Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Gradually stir in powdered sugar (mixture will form clumps); stir in cream cheese. Whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour cream cheese mixture in large ribbons atop cake batter in pan. Using knife, swirl mixture into batter (do not overmix).
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center (in cake part only) comes out clean, about 50 minutes (bottom of cake will be very moist). Cool cake in pan on rack. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pecans over cake.

Frosting

• Mix sugar and cocoa in medium bowl. Bring milk and butter to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low; add powdered sugar mixture and whisk until melted. Add chocolate chips and whisk until smooth. Mix in vanilla.
• Drizzle warm icing over cake. Let stand until set, about 2 hours. Drizzle caramel topping over. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.