My good friend Crystal was in town this weekend for our 10 year High School Reunion and stayed with Jim and I for a few days. As a "Thank You" she wanted to make us dinner last night. This was no ordinary Monday night dinner, this was a go all out, "pull out the table cloth and cloth napkins" kind of dinner. I was her lovely assistant as we proceeded to make a homemade pasta sauce for the Baked Pasta, fresh Bruschetta as an appetizer, an awesome salad with homemade red wine vinaigrette, and for dessert: Ghiradelli Brownies with homemade whipped cream and freshly melted chocolate (none of that squeeze bottle stuff!). It was amazing!!
Bruschetta(Makes 18-20)
Fresh Baguette
2 Roma Tomatoes (chopped)
1/4 red onion (chopped)
1/2 ball of fresh mozarella (chopped into small cubes)
2 large cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
Splash of red wine vinegar
Couple leaves of Fresh Basil (finely chopped)
In a small bowl, add olive oil, splash of vinegar and fresh garlic. Then add tomatoes, onion, mozzarella and basil. Toss gently. Set aside and let marinade for an hour or two for the best flavor.
Slice the baguette into 1/2 slices. Brush the top and bottom of each slice with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and broil each side on high for one minute.
Top with tomato mixture and enjoy!
Baked Pasta(Makes a ton!)
Sauce:1/2 white onion
1 package fresh Bella mushrooms
(if desired)3 roma tomatoes
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 lb. ground beef
2 large cans of peeled stewed tomatoes with sauce
2 small cans of tomato sauce
Fresh Basil
Fresh Oregano
1 can beef stock
Salt and Pepper
Italian Seasoning and Savory Seasoning
Other Ingredients:1 lb box of your favorite shaped pasta (we used Penne)
Mozarella cheese
In a large stock pot, saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add ground beef and chopped garlic. Cook until beef is browned.
In the meantime, boil a small pot of water. After making a small "X" in the bottom of each roma tomato, place in boiling water to blanch. After a couple minutes, drain hot water and immediately place tomatoes in cold water to stop the cooking. The skins should practically fall off. Remove them and set tomatoes aside.
Beginning adding the rest of the ingredients to the stock pot with the beef mixture. Squeeze and pull apart the whole tomatoes, use the juice as well, do the same with the fresh blanched roma tomatoes. Add tomato sauce, beef stock, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and seasonings. Stir and bring to a boil. Let simmer and reduce for at least two hours. For best results, let simmer and reduce for 6-8 hours. This could be a perfect crockpot recipe as well.
Make pasta according to instructions on the box.
When pasta and sauce are completed, add pasta to the pot of sauce and mix. Transfer the pasta and sauce to a large casserole dish. Cover with mozzarella cheese and broil in the oven on low until cheesy is browned and bubbly. Keep an eye on it, the broiler acts fast!
