Sausage and Sage Lasagna

I was looking for a way to create a new lasagna that focuses on sausage and sage, two flavors that I love together. I needed something to keep the filling from getting too dry but I didn’t want to make it too saucy either. I decided to add two chopped fresh tomatoes and that worked perfectly. I also didn’t want to use a traditional béchamel sauce; a milk-based sauce just didn’t appeal to me here. So I made a velouté, which is just like a béchamel except it uses stock (in this case, chicken stock) instead of milk. I was very happy with the results and this new lasagna has been added to my growing lasagna repertoire.

Sausage and Sage Lasagna (one 9” x 13” lasagna)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 10-12 sage leaves, chopped
• 1 ½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
• ¾ lb. mozzarella cheese
• Lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add half the sage and the sausage and sauté until the sausage begins to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked and the tomatoes have release their juices.
2. To make the sauce, melt 3 tbsp. of butter in a small saucepan. Add the rest of the sage and stir until it flavors the butter, about 1 minute. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and whisk to ensure no lumps form. Heat the sauce, whisking occasionally, until it thickens.
3. Spread 1/3 of the sausage mixture into a 9” x 13” baking dish. Cover with uncooked lasagna. Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the noodles. Place 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese on the lasagna.
4. Repeat the process two more times.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Shiitake-Pancetta-Spinach Quiche

My mother makes a fabulous shiitake mushroom quiche. Although mine are never as good as hers, I did make a variation adding pancetta and spinach to the shiitake mushrooms. I got lazy and used a store-bought pie crust but there is so much flavor in the filling that it doesn’t really matter. It looks like a heavy dish with so much cream but it’s very filling and a small slice is very satisfying.


Shiitake-Pancetta-Spinach Quiche (makes one 9” quiche)

• Pie crust
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 4 oz. pancetta, chopped
• 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 9 oz. baby spinach
• 2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups light cream
• 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Roll the pie crust until it is 12” across. Put the pastry it in a quiche or pie pan. Press some foil into the middle so it won’t puff. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil. Add the pancetta and sauté until it begins to crisp, 2-3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted. Remove from heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and cream together. Stir in the cheese. Scatter the mushrooms, pancetta, and spinach over the bottom of the pastry. Ladle the egg mixture on top. Bake until nicely browned, about 30 minutes.
   

Sausage and Kale Risotto

Even though the amazing asparagus changed my direction the other week, I still wanted to make the risotto that I had originally planned. This is a hearty and satisfying risotto. I happened to have some kielbasa in the freezer from another dish so I used that but you could use linguiça (which I love) or chouriço (if you want a spicy kick). You could substitute spinach, but I think the kale stands up very well to the strong flavor of the sausage.

Sausage and Kale Risotto (serves 6)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. sausage (kielbasa, linguiça, chouriço), cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 ½ lb. kale, stems removed, roughly chopped, and steamed

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and sauté another 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and toast, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated and has become translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add ½ cup of stock and cook, stirring constantly, until it is almost completely absorbed. Continue to add stock ½ cup at a time, stirring, waiting until it is absorbed before adding the next batch.
3. After all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked (it should still have a slight “bite”), stir in the kale.

Why Have Cheese When You Can Have Melted Cheese?

I love my little George Forman grill. I like making burgers and grilled chops on it. I also like to grill vegetables. But I use it mostly to make panini. Since I’ve been home a lot lately during the day, I’ve been having a panino every day for lunch. (In Italian, panini is plural and the singular is panino.) The combinations are endless – ham with gouda and baby spinach (photo), roast beef with Swiss cheese and arugula, salami with provolone, and tomato with dill havarti, just to name a few – and they are all tasty. Sure, they’d all be great as plain sandwiches. But when you smoosh them in the grill and the roll gets toasty and the cheese melts… Is it lunch time yet?

Linguini with Dill Cream Sauce

Sometimes you just want to throw together a quick dinner. This is one of those dishes. Even though it’s called “dill cream sauce” there’s no cream in it. I use skim milk so it’s very light so it’s nice as the weather gets warmer. I used frozen veggies but you could certainly use fresh; I would just steam them first.

Linguini with Dill Cream Sauce (serves 6)

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ¼ cup milk
• 3 tbsp. fresh chopped dill (don’t use dried, it won’t work here)
• 8 oz. frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 1 lb. linguini, cooked and drained

1. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the milk and stir to combine. Add the dill. Heat the sauce, stirring occasionally, until it thickens. Stir in the vegetables.
3. Toss the sauce with the cooked pasta.

My New Favorite Drink

A couple of weeks ago I felt like having a drink. I looked at my liquor shelf and, for some reason, the Campari bottle caught my eye. I have no idea why I have Campari; I have no memory of buying it and I really have no idea why the bottle was only three-quarters full. I had an orange so I thought I’d squeeze it and have fresh orange juice with the Campari. I took a sip and it was good, but it was a little too sweet from the OJ and a little too bitter from the Campari. I added some seltzer and took another sip. Now that’s fantastic. It’s a little sweet, a little bitter, and very refreshing. And since only one part of six is Campari, it’s not terribly alcoholic (which I like).

A week or so later I was watching Barefoot Contessa and the episode included a Campari Orange Spritzer. I was so surprised; her recipe was almost exactly the same as the one I had come up with!

Campari Orange and Soda (1 12-oz. drink)

• ¼ cup Campari
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¾ cup seltzer

1. Place the Campari, orange juice, and seltzer in a large glass with ice and stir.