A la carte: Primo Italian!

Nothing is easier (or cheaper) to cook than Italian food. My friend Matt recently made a pasta dish that outdid regular noodles and sauce. After hearing rave reviews about the dish for weeks, I finally

Heather Holland

got the chance to taste it myself. The spiciness of the sausage is complimented by the creaminess of the homemade sauce.
Because I was short on time, I made a quick batch of no-bake cookies for dessert. Given the chance, I would’ve made an Italian inspired dessert that doubles as a drink, like the gelato cooler recipe below.

Matt Taylor’s Spicy Pasta

Heather Holland / Western Herald

12oz. bow tie pasta
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs. olive oil
28 oz. can whole tomatoes
1 lb. spicy sausage (soy varieties also work well)
1/2 tps. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Boil pasta. Sauté onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Drain juice from canned tomatoes, and break up tomatoes with hand into onion mixture. In a separate pan, brown sausage and add to tomato mixture when cooked. Add red pepper flakes and heavy whipping cream to mixture. Simmer until creamy. Stir over drained pasta.

Garlic Bread
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 loaf crusty bread, split
3 tablespoons grated cheese, Parmigiano or Romano, optional
Chopped fresh parsley
Combine garlic, butter, and oil in a microwave safe dish or in a small saucepan. Heat garlic and butter and oil in microwave for one minute or in a small pot over moderate-low heat for three minutes.
Toast split bread under broiler. Remove bread when it is toasted golden brown in color. Brush bread liberally with garlic oil. Sprinkle with cheese, if using, and parsley. If you added cheese, return to broiler and brown 30 seconds. Cut into chunks and serve.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato Cooler
2 cups Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato, recipe follows
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua), or coffee
4 cups crushed ice
1/4 cup chopped chocolate-covered coffee beans, plus more for garnish, optional
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Pour into glasses, sprinkle with chocolate covered coffee beans, and serve with a straw. Makes 4 servings.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish
In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves.
Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to freeze.
To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.
Yield: about 4 cups gelato.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=5399

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Apr 2 2009. Filed under Recipe, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com