Christmas Pasta

Looking for something to serve on Christmas day? Here's a flavorful sauce with pancetta, Italian sausage, veal, pork and beef!

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Intermediate
Yield: 4 servings


Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1/4 pound pancetta, thick cut, chopped into small bits (Italian cured pork, ask at deli counter)
1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1 pound combined ground beef, pork and veal
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup good quality dry red wine
1 cup prepared beef stock, paper container or canned
2 (32-ounce) cans chunky style crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon (a couple of pinches) allspice or cinnamon
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 pounds penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Grated Pecorino Romano, as an accompaniment
Fresh, crusty bread, for mopping


Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay, and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute. Add meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes.


Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.


Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.


Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.


From: foodnetwork.com

Beef Stroganoff

Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin fillet
* Salt and pepper
* 3 tablespoons butter, divided
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups beef consomme, available on soup aisle
* 2 teaspoons prepared Dijon style mustard
* 1/4 cup sour cream, eyeball it
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, 1 turn of
the pan in a slow stream
* 1/2 small onion, sliced
* 1/3 cup coarsely chopped cornichons
* 1 pound extra wide egg noodles, cooked to package directions
* Chopped parsley leaves, garnish
* Thickly sliced pumpernickel bread, optional

Directions

Slice meat into 1/2-thick by 2 -inch long very thin strips and season
with salt and pepper. Set in freezer.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and cook
with flour 1 minute. Whisk in consomme. Thicken 1 minute. Stir in
mustard and sour cream, thicken 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and
season sauce with salt and pepper.

Heat a second skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1
tablespoon butter, then add the meat and onion and cook over high heat
until brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Then add the chopped
cornichons and stir to combine.

Arrange meat on a bed of egg noodles and top with Stroganoff sauce and
parsley. Serve with thickly sliced pumpernickel bread.