This dish was a regular growing up, and recently I decided to recreate the dish because of a what I call a memory food craving. It has now become a regular dinner dish at our house, and one of Eric's favorites. There are so many different variations that can be produced out of the basic ingredients:
15 Large pasta shells ( I always make this amount for leftovers for lunch or freezing for a lazy day meal) 1 jar of pasta sauce like Bertolli's or make your own sauce using a 15oz can ofwhole-peeled tomatoes 1 1/2 cps fat free Cottage Cheese 3/4 cp fat free Ricotta Cheese
Sauce Add-on's (choose one or more to add to simmering jarred or *homemade sauce):
3 handfuls of Spinach
Broccoli crown, medium
Bell peppers
*Yellow onion (or other sweet onion)
*Spices/Herbs: red pepper flakes, , paprika, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage (also add to cheese mixture)
*Garlic
*Sherry
Stuffed Shells with Red Pepper Pasta Sauce:
1. Make the sauce:
1 can of Hunts whole tomatoes - Drain 1/2 of liquid in can and squish with bare hands in mixing bowel (be careful they squirt) or put them in a blender (less messy but also not as fun)
1cp of red bell peppers (I raided my freezer for previously chopped and frozen veggies)
Garlic
Sage, Oregano, salt and pepper to taste (fresh herbs are best, I used dried herbs from my summer herb garden)
1/4 cp Sherry
Combine the above and simmer about 45min (stirring occasionally) to thicken the sauce
2. While the sauce is simmering, Cook shells, drain and wash off with cold water (for handling purposes)
3. Mix together the cottage cheese (1 1/2 cup) and ricotta (3/4 cp)
4. Add herbs (in this case: dried sage leaves, rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes) to the cheese mixture
5. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of sauce
6. Stuff the noodles with the cheese stuffing and layout along the bottom on the dish
7. Cover the noodles with remaining sauce and top with grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Oh my! It has been a while since my last entry, I found this waiting it the "Draft" section, a bit old, but still delicious:
Eric and I hosted a small Christmas dinner party and I decided to make roasted duck for the event. The dinner was potluck style, so the pressure to do everything was off my shoulders. I picked up two ducks at Wholefoods, to serve 7 people, and was faced once again with quartering one of the ducks for oven space purposes. Last Christmas I quartered a duck and it turned out quite well, this time not so much - my knives are horrible and I hope to gain a new set of knives when Eric and I "tie the knot" . . . anyway, it was quite the task, but in the end it was ok, just a little messy.
I first pierced the skin of the duck with several tiny holes using a toothpick, careful not to prick the meat of the duck. This is very important; duck is highly fatty and this technique allows the fat to run out, otherwise you will have a very greasy duck. I then lathered the whole duck with grape seed oil - this oil has a higher burn temperature, unlike olive oil which is quick to burn the skin in the oven if not carefully attended to, and with my brain in a scatter for the party I thought it best not to take chances. I then rubbed in fresh rosemary, salt and fresh ground pepper. I used a broiler pan to roast the duck, this allowed the fat and dripping to run off to the bottom of the pan so the duck does not cook it its own fat. I pre-heated the oven to 450F and when ready put the duck in at this temp for 20min, then lowered the temp to 350F. The duck was taken out when my thermometer read 170F and let rest for 30min (this took an hour).
All the while the duck was roasting, I turned my attention to the quartered duck - which I seasoned the same way as the whole duck. I also cut several long incisions into the skin to enable the fat to drain out. I heated my large All Clad fry pan with a drizzle of the grape seed oil and pan fried the duck (first skin side down, then turned over) until the skin turned a nice golden brown.
I then placed the duck in a glass pan and put it the oven on the rack below the whole duck - I left the quartered duck in for about 45min.
While the duck was in the oven, I worked on the sauce, based off a recipe in Cooking by James Peterson:
The rosemary infused raspberry sauce was a perfect compliment to the roasted duck. I simply simmered:
2 cups of fresh raspberries
3-4 Tbsp of confectioners sugar
4 Tbsp homemade veal meat glaze
One large sprig of rosemary
4 Tbsp of butter
1/4 cups of sherry vinegar
I added salt and pepper to taste, and served the sauce on the side.
The end result was tender, juicy duck meat served up with a delicious assortment of sides and wine brought by our guests!
Now, of course my bones, fat, skin and juices from two ducks did not go to waste! The next day I made Duck broth (see Chicken broth). I let the broth cool over night, and the next day I was so happy to see a two inch layer of duck fat congealed on the top. I scrapped that all off (2 cups worth) for a rainy day and have it stored in my freezer. Why you ask? Well, I plan to make Duck Confit (duckcooked in it's own fat) for a traditional French country dish - Duck Cassoulet.
The soup was bascially made up of anything I could find leftover in the fridge and pantry: carrots, onions, potatoes, and peppers. It was very warming for a chilly Sunday evening.
