Projo Football Food and Spirits

What sounds better with Genoa Salami, two kinds of cheese, olives and pasta? Very little indeed. Chef Mark Prece, corporate executive chef for Mueller’s Pasta, has put together some recipes for the football fan. They sound mighty fine for a Sunday night dinner.

TOUCH DOWN TAILGATE SALAD
1 box Penne Pasta or Whole Grain Penne Pasta
2/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 cup Genoa salami, medium diced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, medium diced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup black olives, broken
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup Romano cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. When pasta is al dente, put in colander. Rinse pasta until cool to the touch. Toss well to remove any excess water. Transfer pasta into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients to pasta and toss well. Chill and serve.

ROTINI FIRECRACKER PASTA SALAD
1 box Rotini (You can substitute whole-grain pasta for regular semolina if you prefer)
1 cup Yellow Onion, Diced
1 cup Green Bell Peppers, Diced
1 cup Red Bell Peppers, Diced
12 oz. BBQ Ham, Beef or Chicken, Diced
2 1/2 cups Ranch Dressing
1/3 cups BBQ Sauce
1/3 cups Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cups Grated Scallions, Minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook pastas according to package directions. When pasta is "al dente", drain in colander. Rinse pastas with cold water until cool to the touch. Drain well. Put pasta in large mixing bowl and add onions, pepper and meat and toss well. Next mix in all remaining ingredients and blend well. Chill, sprinkle with scallions and serve.
This is a great way to utilize leftover BBQ or Deli Meats.

KICK-OFF CASSEROLE NACHO-STYLE

1 box Rotini Pasta or Whole Grain Rotini Pasta
1 (16 oz) jar of salsa (mild to hot according to taste preference)
1 (19 oz) can Mexican chili beans (such as black, pinto or kidney)
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-style or Jack cheese (to liking)
1 (11 oz) can of corn niblets, drained
Tortilla chips, whole (such as blue corn tortilla chips)
Salt, Pepper and/or Tabasco sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rotini according to package directions. Drain.
Combine rotini, salsa and beans in a casserole dish and add ½ of the cheese. Add the remainder of the
shredded cheese and desired amount of tortilla chips (onto the top of the casserole to prevent drying) and bake for 20-30 minutes.
For a heartier dish, add 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken to the rotini, salsa and bean mixture before baking.

If desired, add the following before serving:
Sour Cream
Olives
Guacamole
Salsa
Tomatoes
Hot Peppers

Mary Ann Esposito and Ciao Italia, the longest running cooking show which appears on PBS, shared a savory World Series pasta recipe last month but it sounds good for football watching as well. It could make a nice dinner what with the Patriots playing yet another Sunday night game.

Find more of her recipes at www.ciaoitalia.com

Mary Ann said this about the recipe: "Millerighi, (meaning "thousand lines" because of the pasta's ridges), is a large, tubular, dried pasta that houses a savory stuffing. Similar to millerighi are the more familiar manicotti (meaning little muffs or sleeves) that are usually stuffed with ricotta cheese and served with tomato sauce. For a change, how about a savory prosciutto ham stuffing baked under a blanket of creamy white sauce?"

Tip: Soft cheeses like Fontina will cut more easily if you use a tomato knife, sometimes called an angel food cake knife.

Millerighi con Prosciutto Crudo
Pasta Tubes with Savory Prosciutto Filling

12 large tubular pasta either millerighi or manicotti

For the filling
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups diced prosciutto di Parma or cooked ham
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup grated carrots
Salt to taste
1/2 cup white sauce

For the sauce
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups hot milk
2 cups Fontina cheese, cut into bits
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt to taste

Cook the pasta in 4 to 6 quarts of rapidly boiling water to which 1 tablespoon of salt has been added. Cook until al dente, about 4 minutes; the pasta should remain a bit firmer than normal because they will be baked in the oven and it is much easier to stuff them if they are still firm.

Drain, cool them, and set them aside while making the sauce.

To make the sauce:
Melt the butter in a two quart saucepan over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, whisk in the flour and make a smooth paste. Slowly add the milk and continue whisking until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the Fontina cheese, thyme, and salt. Keep the sauce warm and covered.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and stir in the onion; cook until the onion begins to wilt. Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic softens. Stir in the prosciutto or ham; cook a couple of minutes. Stir in the carrots. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the cheese and 1/2 cup of the white sauce. Cool the mixture until easy enough to handle. Lightly butter two baking dishes.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Use a spoon or your hands to fill each pasta tube with some of the prosciutto mixture and place them in a single layer in the baking dishes. Cover them with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese evenly over the top.

Cover the dishes with aluminum foil and bake them for 30-35 minutes; uncover the dishes and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the top is nicely browned. Serve 2 per person as a first course. Or use as a main dish for a buffet.

Serves 6

Mary Ann Esposito, host of Ciao Italia, the longest running cooking show on television, offered a savory dish for World Series eating. Apparently she doesn't know most of us are satisfied with hot dogs. But let's elevate for the World Series.

The dish is Millerighi con Prosciutto Crudo, Pasta Tubes with Savory Prosciutto Filling.
Here's what she says about the recipe:

"Millerighi, (meaning "thousand lines" because of the pasta's ridges), is a large, tubular, dried pasta that houses a savory stuffing. Similar to millerighi are the more familiar manicotti (meaning little muffs or sleeves) that are usually stuffed with ricotta cheese and served with tomato sauce. For a change, how about a savory prosciutto ham stuffing baked under a blanket of creamy white sauce?"

Tip: Soft cheeses like Fontina will cut more easily if you use a tomato knife, sometimes called an angel food cake knife.

Ciao Italia's World Series Pasta
12 large tubular pasta either millerighi or manicotti
Filling
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups diced prosciutto di Parma or cooked ham
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup grated carrots
Salt to taste
1/2 cup white sauce

Sauce
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups hot milk
2 cups Fontina cheese, cut into bits
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt to taste

Cook the pasta in 4 to 6 quarts of rapidly boiling water to which 1 tablespoon of salt has been added. Cook until al dente, about 4 minutes; the pasta should remain a bit firmer than normal because they will be baked in the oven and it is much easier to stuff them if they are still firm.

Drain, cool them, and set them aside while making the sauce.

To make the sauce:
Melt the butter in a two quart saucepan over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, whisk in the flour and make a smooth paste. Slowly add the milk and continue whisking until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the Fontina cheese, thyme, and salt. Keep the sauce warm and covered.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and stir in the onion; cook until the onion begins to wilt. Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic softens. Stir in the prosciutto or ham; cook a couple of minutes. Stir in the carrots. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the cheese and 1/2 cup of the white sauce. Cool the mixture until easy enough to handle. Lightly butter two baking dishes.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Use a spoon or your hands to fill each pasta tube with some of the prosciutto mixture and place them in a single layer in the baking dishes. Cover them with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese evenly over the top.

Cover the dishes with aluminum foil and bake them for 30-35 minutes; uncover the dishes and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the top is nicely browned. Serves 2 per person as a first course. Or use as a main dish for a buffet.

From the Colfax (Calif.) Record, near Reno, comes the simple signature dish of the new, upscale Bella Sera Italian Restaurant & Vino. If you're doing low carbs, this is your dish, using fresh vegetables or Dreamfields pasta. If you're avoiding fat, avoid this rich warm dip.

Bella Sera's Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
Crusty Italian bread or cut-up raw vegetables

In sauce pan melt ¼ cup butter over medium heat. When butter foams add ½ cup whipping cream and heat till very hot but not boiling. Add ¼ cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

Heat well, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve over pasta or as a bread dip.

Makes approximately one cup of sauce for topping pasta, or as a dip for crusty Italian bread, so double or triple it.

Roasting vegetables at high temperatures is great technique for bringing out deep, sweet flavors in produce by sealing in juices and caramelizing their natural sugars.

But taking it one step further by broiling and actually charring them not only gives you those deep sweet flavors, it also imparts a savory smoky dimension.

The eggplant flesh breaks down into a creamy puree that can be scooped out with a spoon and used in dips and spreads. The rich, creamy texture coats pasta well as in this recipe for rotini with smoky eggplant and red pepper sauce.

ROTINI WITH SMOKY EGGPLANT AND RED PEPPER SAUCE
1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthwise (about 1 pound)
3 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into quarters
8 ounces rotini or other small pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat a broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Place eggplant halves, cut-side down, in the center of the baking sheet. With a small sharp knife, prick through the skin of each half in several places. Arrange the peppers, cut-side down, around the eggplant.

Broil the vegetables until the pepper skins have blackened, about 20 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 10 minutes to loosen the skins.

Meanwhile, return the eggplant to the broiler and cook until the skin has blackened and the flesh is completely softened, about another 10 minutes.

While the vegetables cook, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the olive oil, parsley, lemon juice and garlic.

When the eggplant is done, let it cool slightly then use a large spoon to scrape the flesh from the skin and onto a cutting board. Chop the flesh to a chunky consistency and transfer to the bowl with the lemon juice and garlic mixture. Stir well.

Peel and discard the blackened skin from the cooled red peppers. Coarsely chop the peppers and add them to the eggplant mixture. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce and toss thoroughly to coat. Season with salt and black pepper.

-- Associated Press