Pasta Florentine

No matter what or how you celebrate, I think we can all agree that this is an exceptionally busy time of the year. During the entire month of December, I want to make cooking as easy for myself as possible. Yes, I will admit, Marie Calender is going to pay a visit one night, perhaps two, this week. And, I may end up carrying out from my favorite Chinese restaurant, but largely I intend to cook. During busy times, the crockpot gets put to good use, and pasta makes many an appearance.

 There is a lot to like about pasta. It's often a one-pot meal, it can be paired with both meat and meatless ingredients, and it goes together in a flash.  Tonight's dinner is going to be meatless, but will get protein from the inclusion of a healthy amount of walnuts. This is a great recipe to have at hand because it can double as both a main or side dish. I spotted it on the 12 Tomatoes blog and have made it numerous times since.  Use what you have on hand.  For example, I have swapped out the spinach for both leeks and kale, I have made it heartier by browning ground Italian sausage or slices of kielbasa to add to the dish, and have used everything from walnuts to pecans to even peanuts in the preparation.

Pasta Florentine

8-10 oz. penne pasta

3 cups crimini mushrooms, stems removed, sliced

3 cups fresh spinach

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium heat and sauté mushrooms, seasoned with salt and covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until softened.

Stir occasionally and reduce heat if mushrooms start to burn.

Add spinach to mushrooms and pour in lemon juice. Cook until wilted, then add walnuts.

Cook pasta according to packaging directions, or until al dente. Drain (reserving 1/2 cup pasta water) and set aside.

Add heavy cream to the spinach and mushrooms, stirring well, and mix in Parmesan cheese. If sauce is too thick, add pasta water one tablespoon at a time.

Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Pour drained pasta into the sauce and toss well to coat thoroughly. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes, or until sauce thickens and sticks to pasta.

Transfer to serving plates, garnish with more Parmesan and serve hot.

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Cheesy Baked Meatballs

I never much cared for anything with tomatoes when I was a kid. I opted for mustard over ketchup (making me a bit of a youthful neighborhood oddity), and would always forego any type of Italian food, including pizza. Tomato sauce always tasted bitter to me. As I got older and became serious about cooking, I learned about the wonders of bechamel sauce, and how beautifully it pairs with tomato sauce in Italian dishes, tempering the sauce, turning into a dish that is absolutely wonderful.

For this reason I have been stalking the Cheesy Skillet Meatball recipe that has appeared on both the 12 Tomatoes and View from Grand Island blogs. I love meatballs, and with one version of this recipe making use of bechamel, I figured they had to be good.  So I combined the two and came up with I think is probably my favorite meatball yet. I added a few more seasonings to the meatballs to give them a bit more of a kick, and baked them longer than either recipe suggested. We loved them! As an added plus, they reheat perfectly, and make the best meatball sandwich that I think I have ever tasted.

Cheesy Baked Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef

1 extra-large egg

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 Tbl. minced onion

1 tsp. onion salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp. Beef or Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 heaping Tbsp. ketchup

Pinch of cayenne pepper

16 oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce

(I use Paul Newman’s Sockarooni)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Sauce:

2 cups whole milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Set the oven to 350ºF.

Crack the egg into a large mixing bowl and whisk until blended. Add the meat, breaking it apart as you add it to the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the tomato sauce and the mozzarella cheese. Mix to combine everything well, using your fingertips. Don't compact the meat, and don't over mix.

Scoop out the meat into approximately 15 balls (I used a small ice cream scoop.) and roll the balls into nice rounds with your hands.

Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

After you put the meatballs in the oven, pour the sauce into a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish and place in the oven along with the meatballs for the last 10 minutes of cooking, to heat up the sauce.

While meatballs are baking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until roux is golden, smooth, and paste-like, 5-7 minutes.

While continuing to whisk, stir in whole milk. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in salt and nutmeg.

Remove both pans from the oven and transfer the meatballs to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Bake 15 minutes. Top with bechamel. Return the skillet to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes, if you made your meatballs smaller or larger, the cooking time may vary.

Remove the skillet again and top with the cheese. Return to the oven to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes.

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