Easy Recipes for the Grill & Cucina – Paggi Pazzo

Recently my wife suggested that I had not made homemade ravioli for some time and hinted that it would be nice to enjoy fresh pasta for dinner. I happily said yes after a recent trip to an Italian market after getting semolina flour, speck and fresh ricotta. What I forgot about however is how long the process can take but in the end, it all came out well so here is my recipe for homemade ravioli with speck, fresh ricotta, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes from Paggi Pazzo.

We start our homemade speck, fresh ricotta, and spinach ravioli recipe by making the dough which can be done in a bowl or cutting board but begin by creating a flour like volcano with the eggs cracked and nestled in the middle. I use Antico Molino Caputo tipo 00 and Semola di Grano Duro for best results and start off by beating the eggs slowly in the middle of the flour and piercing the flour until the pasta dough starts to firm. Once it begins to solidify, kneed the dough for at least 10 minutes and then put under a bowl to rest for another 30. For the filling I sauteed spinach in a pan with olive oil until it softened and then added to a bowl with the fresh ricotta, chopped Speck (smoked prosciutto) and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and whipped until the mixture spread out evenly. I refrigerated the filling and then began to make the ravioli dough by cutting 1 inch slices that I flatten by hand. Once thin enough I add the dough to the pasta machine at the lowest setting and continue to roll the dough repeatedly, increasing the levels until the dough is very thin. Take the dough and then place over a ravioli tray and pocket the pasta dough into the craters and press the against the edges. Now take your filling out of the fridge and add small spoonful dollops into the ravioli and cover with another thin pasta dough sheet. Press the ravioli dough against the trey, closing the filling by pressing and connecting the middle parts of the dough on the trey. Slowly, gently turn over the ravioli trey and remove the pasta then use a pizza cutter to evenly cut/make the ravioli shape (be sure to use a fork to make sure the edges are closed). Continue the process until you run out of dough or make the desired amount and my preference is to move the ravioli into the freezer until I’m ready to cook them.

A few nights later when I was ready to have a homemade ravioli pasta dinner with my family, I took the ravioli out of the freezer and began to make the sauce. For my wife and I, I made a white wine sauce with mushroom and garlic that went very well with the homemade speck, fresh ricotta, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes ravioli recipe, topped with grated Pecorino Romano. For the kids I made some fresh ricotta, spinach ravioli in a red sauce with meatballs which my daughter seemed to enjoy very much (but not so much my son, who has declared that he also doesn’t enjoy my homemade brick oven pizza – I will continue to try and win him over. True story – I bought a Bertucci’s pizza oven box and put my pizza inside and after 1 bite, he knew it was mine and said, “I hate daddy’s pizza – I will never eat it!” That scar hasn’t healed yet but I’m not giving up, hahaha!). For wine I opened a bottle of Sangiovese from California (say what?!?!?!?). A vineyard known as Petroni, whose owner was originally from Italy, produced the wine and it was very enjoyable. So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Homemade Fresh Ricotta, Speck, Spinach, Sun-dried Tomatoes Ravioli Recipe, buon appetito!

Fresh Homemade Speck, Fresh Ricotta, Spinach, Sun-dried Tomato Ravioli in a White Wine, Garlic, Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 1 hour 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hour 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 slices Speck (smoked prosciutto)
• 1 3/4 cups Antico Molino Caputo flour tipo 00
• 1 3/4 cups Antico Molino Caputo Semolina flour
• 4 eggs
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 4 ounces fresh ricotta
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/4 cup white wine (Orvieto or Pinot Grigio)
• 1 cup white mushrooms

Cooking Directions

1. To make pasta dough, place 3 1/2 cups of flour on cutting board or counter and shape into a volcano with an opening in the middle. Crack eggs into middle of flour (removing shells) and add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt
2. Slowly beat and stir eggs in a circular motion while slowly including flour into egg mix. After several minutes, egg and flour will come together creating greater consistency and become soft like dough mixture. Once thicker, use hands to press remaining flour into dough and push, flatten, and kneed until ready (add water to mixture if necessary)
3. Take pasta dough and cover with large bowl for 30 minutes
4. To prepare filling, add tablespoon of olive oil to pan then add spinach until sauteed softly. Add to bowl with fresh ricotta, and then chop sun-dried tomatoes and speck to bowl and stir until mixture is spread evenly. Place in fridge until ravioli dough is ready to be filled
5. To make ravioli, take pasta dough and flour on both sides, then use hands to flatten. Add dough to pasta machine at lowest level and continue to put pasta back in machine until pasta thins. Cut dough in half and use dough roller to flatten both pieces of pasta repeatedly turning pasta over until pasta is almost paper thin (this will require 10-15 minutes)
6. Using a ravioli maker, place one sheet of dough on top and pocket dough firmly to create space for filling. Add speckm fresh ricotta filling using a full tablespoon then add second sheet of pasta on top of ravioli maker, pressing doughs together to keep filling firmly inside and then turn over. Lightly brush the outside edges of the ravioli with olive oil and using a fork, press against the edges. Add flour to cooking sheet pan and add ravioli to freeze for at least 3 hours
7. To make sauce, chop garlic finely, add to pan with a two tablespoons of olive oil. Let simmer for 2 minutes then add mushrooms with a dash of salt and pepper. After the mushrooms begin to soften, add white wine and let cook for 15-20 minutes with pan covered at low heat
8. Boil water and when ready, add ravioli to pot. When ravioli rises, remove and add to pan of sauce
9. Saute gently for several minutes, then add grated Pecorino Romano over ravioli
10. Serve with a little more grated Pecorino Romano

On cooler spring evenings before the summer heat takes over my wife and I enjoy a nice ancient Roman recipe of Pork Saltimbocca alla Romana. This dinner is not over-filling and offers a flavorful contrast in ingredients with proscuitto di Parma and sage over a tender pork filet covered with a garlic and white wine sauce. It’s so good it will make you want to go David Lee Roth and jump right into it or get excited for a new suit the way Ron Burgandy and Brian Fantana do. I did not include the Pointer Sisters here but I think you get the idea.

The phrase saltimbocca translates in Italian to “jump in mouth” and was originally a Roman recipe “Saltimbocca alla Romana” where veal is used and rolled similar to how Braciola is prepared in Southern Italy. I prefer to keep the meat flat (pork, chicken or veal) as I can better control the tenderness of the filet throughout: we try to keep it tender and classy here at Paggi Pazzo! 😉

To prepare pork saltimbocca buy thin cut pork filets or flatten out with a tenderizer then lightly dress with salt, pepper and flour. With a toothpick add a slice of prosciutto di Parma and sage to top of pork and put on a frying pan with olive oil at high-heat. Cook for 5 minutes a side then remove pork and cover with foil before adding chopped garlic and white wine to the pan and cook at medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Once sauce is ready add the pork back to the pan and after 2-3 minutes remove and plate for serving. The prosciutto di Parma practically melts into the pork and the sage is ever so lightly crunchy which provides a great texture on top of the pork. You could substitute the prosciutto di Parma with Speck (smoked-prosciutto) for a slightly saltier flavor so basil might be a better option rather than sage for that version.

I accompanied the pork saltimbocca with an arugula salad with strips of Reggiano Parmigiano in an olive oil and lemon dressing. For wine I enjoyed the Lazio favorite Cesanese, a nice red with a touch of spice and fruity aromas. There you have it Pork Saltimbocca alla Romana recipe from Paggi Pazzo, “in bocca al lupo!”

Pork Saltimbocca alla Romana Recipe

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 4 pork tenderloin filet
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper and salt
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 4 sage leaves
• 4 thin slices prosciutto di Parma
• 1/4 cup Antimo Caputo 00 Tipo flour
• 2 cloves garlic

Cooking Directions

1. Flatten/tenderize pork tenderloin filets then sprinkle with black pepper and salt
2. Cover pork lightly on all sides with flour then add slice of prosciutto di Parma with sage leave on top of pork with toothpick through both ends of pork tenderloin filets
3. Heat frying pan with olive oil at high heat and then add pork with prosciutto di Parma and sage to pan (prosciutto side down)
4. After 5 minutes turn pork onto other side and after another 5 minutes remove from pan and cover in aluminum foil to keep warm
5. Lower heat then add garlic and white wine to create sauce, after 7-10 minutes add pork back into pan with white wine sauce for 2-3 minutes
6. Remove from pan and serve

Timing may not be my strong suit and this post probably seems a bit out of season but bare with me, I’ve been wanting to post this for months so here it goes…. Days after Thanksgiving ends, there seems to be a never ending supply of turkey sandwiches and other fixings left over from our great American pastime. In order to put a little variety in these turkey menu variations I decided to mix things up a bit by creating a Thanksgiving pizza cooked in my brick oven and enhanced with a few extra ingredients. Today I’m sharing that pizza recipe that I believe was created when the Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, or was it San Diego?

To get started on our Thanksgiving pizza, I typically make the dough before hand and then freeze so whenever I need a few dough balls I always have a few handy. To make your own dough feel free to use this homemade dough recipe. For the toppings I will chop the turkey meat into little strips and make sure the squash is at room temperature because we want to spread like a sauce across the dough. Once we have the ingredients sorted, I start my brick oven pizza fire with a few sticks of kindling and a small log. I have a Alfa Forno pizza oven and it doesn’t require hours of fire building to get to 900 degree temps, in fact it can be reached in 30 mins so once the kindling is going strong add 2 large logs to really get the fire roaring (one draw back is the temp can drop fairly quickly so we want to keep the oven door slightly closed to keep the fire breathing and adding additional logs depending on how much food and company you have).

So our fire is roaring and it’s time to make the pizza. On a clean surface, stretch your dough by hand adding flour when needed to prevent sticking. Before adding your dough to the pizza peel, add semolina flour to again prevent any sticking (we don’t want a pizza in pieces, do we? Or is that how the Pilgrims did it? so confused….). Spread the squash across the dough and top with shredded turkey and any vegetables that you prefer (I added some mushrooms to this pizza). Then add your goat cheese in little chunks across the pizza followed by pieces of prosciutto di Parma and sage. Add a little extra virgin olive oil across the pizza and a sprinkle of Reggiano Parmigiano and now you’re ready to add the pizza to the brick oven. Make sure the pizza oven temp inside the oven is between 750-900 degrees for best results – the pizza will cook in about 90 seconds to 2 1/2 minutes so be sure to turn the pizza repeatedly making sure the pizza does not burn. So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Thanksgiving brick oven pizza, Happy Turkey pizza day to you and yours – time to nap on the coach.

Thanksgiving Pizza Recipe

Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon grated Reggiano Parmigiano
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• handful fresh sage
• 2 thin slices Prosciutto di Parma
• 1/4 cup chopped or shredded turkey
• 1 Pizza dough
• 2 ounces mashed squash
• 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms or asparagus spears
• 1 teaspoon Semolina flour

Cooking Directions

1. To make dough, click here
2. Build brick oven pizza fire with kindling and 1 small-medium size hardwood firewood log
3. Once kindling is burning hot, add 2 larger logs and once temps are close to 900 degrees, move fire to one side of the oven so pizza(s) can cook on the other side
4. Sprinkle semolina flour across pizza peel before putting dough on top
5. Roll out dough then put on top of pizza peel and generously lay squash across, add salt and pepper
6. Add shredded or chopped turkey across pizza and then top with chunks of goat cheese
7. Add pieces of prosciutto di Parma across pizza followed by fresh sage and a light dressing of olive oil, then grated Reggiano Parmigiano
8. When temp is between 750-900 degrees and pizza and turn throughout 90 seconds – 2:30 minute cooking process to prevent burning. Once dough has spotted char marks and toppings have melted (cheese turning an almost light brown), remove from brick pizza oven
9. Let rest for 5 minutes then slice and serve

When it gets to be super hot and muggy, reminding me of those sweltering Roman summers when I was a kid visiting family, there’s a nice tasty treat that will help cool you down. I’m talking about Caffe Granita! The shaved frozen espresso is a taste relief on those humid July and August days and I’ve added a twist to this recipe to make it a savory dessert. So sit back and enjoy Paggi Pazzo’s take on Caffe Granita that will cool you down faster than a hot cup of coffee or a big glass of milk(?)

To begin the Caffe Granita we need to prepare a cup of espresso and as I’ve mentioned in my Tiramisu recipe, Lavazza is my espresso of choice (could there be any other????). While the espresso is still hot add sugar and stir, this will help the espresso from becoming too bitter when it freezes. After the espresso cools down a little bit, add to a tray with a cover and put in the freezer. This is where the tedious part starts and be careful – for full transparency I lost about 2 spoonfuls after I scraped the frozen espresso too hard and it was “incoming espresso shrapnel”, so take cover! After 3 hours remove the espresso from the freezer and use a fork to scrape the espresso creating little crystallized chips. After the entire surface is scraped, put the tray (covered) back into the freezer and repeat every hour for the next 3 hours (that’s a lot to keep track of!). Truthfully if you do this at least 3 times, I’ve found you can let the espresso sit over night and then give another good scrape in the morning. Just remember to scrape the espresso again at least 2 more times before serving.

Now for the Paggi Pazzo Caffe Granita twist… the traditional and authentic recipe calls for whipping cream to be only served with espresso but I had left over biscotti so I decided to make an Italian Sundae of sorts :-). I would serve your Caffee Granita in a glass with vanilla flavored Gelato (if you do not have gelato, vanilla ice cream is a good substitute) then crumble biscotti on top of the gelato and add a thin layer of whip cream. Take the shaved espresso and generously pour on top of the whip cream and your Caffe Granita is ready to be served. So there you go, stay cool and keep it classy with Paggi Pazzo’s Caffe Granita! Salute “Don” Burgandy!

Caffe Granita Recipe

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 hour
Total time: 8 hour 20 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup Lavazza espresso
• 8 scoops Vanilla gelato or ice cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 8 almond biscotti or Savoiardi biscotti
• 8 tablespoons whip cream

Cooking Directions

1. Make 1 cup of Lavazza espresso in a bowl and add sugar, stir for several minutes
2. After espresso cools a bit, add to a tray and cover putting into the freezer for 3 hours
3. After 3 hours, take frozen espresso tray out and scrape to make little crystals (repeat every hour 3 times)
4. In a small glass, add gelato then crumble biscotti and add whip cream on top
5. Scrape 2 tablespoons of the frozen, crystallized espresso and cover on top of whip cream
6. Ready to serve

Friday nights are usually pizza night and while I prefer to make classic Roman and Napolitana recipes, my daughter and wife have a special taste for pesto. My wife and I spent time in Liguria on our honeymoon and had a chance to enjoy pesto from where it was originated and while I’m not a big fan, I have to say it was really good. Since then I make pesto fairly often (as my Pesto Genovese recipe attests) but my daughter really loves pesto pizza and I love putting a smile on her face so today I’m sharing my Pesto Pizza recipe to get your pesto-on!

I prefer the indoor oven for making pesto pizza as the pesto bakes nicely on top of the dough. Now if you don’t want to make your own dough feel free to buy one at the store but look for dough’s that are not prepared with unnatural oils or unhealthy ingredients. If you plan on making your own here’s a homemade dough recipe I use often and feel free to make it the night before and keep in your fridge – or days before and freeze – or even that day but let it rest for a minimum of 4 hours before using. For the pesto I prefer authentic ingredients like Pecorino Sardo and Grana Padano with garlic, fresh basil, and pine nuts (Italian or European). If Pecorino Sardo and Grana Padano are not available substitute with Reggiano Parmigiano and Pecorino Romano. I use a food-processor to mix all of the ingredients as it’s much faster and easier but the traditional Ligurian way is to muddle them together. Now that can take a while and I have children, so waiting is not really an option.

Spread your dough and generously apply the pesto across then add chunks of fresh mozzarella on top with an extra sprinkle of grated Pecorino Sardo (or Romano). Now I cook the the pizza in a Roman style 495 degrees to give the bottom a nice crunch but you have to keep an eye on it as it will cook fast! After about 8-12 minutes the cheese and bottom will begin to brown so be ready to remove from the oven and then let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting. I prefer red wine with this pizza so if you want to stay Ligurian try Colli di Luni which comes from Sangiovese grapes or go with a nice table wine like a Chianti or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. There you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Pesto Pizza recipe– it’s Pesto Palooza time and now You know what to do!

Pizza with Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella Recipe

Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 3 hours 5 min
Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Sardo
• 3/4 cup grated Grana Padono
• 3-4 full cups fresh basil
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup Italian or European pinenuts
• 1 Pizza dough
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella

Cooking Directions

1. To make dough, click here
2. Grate Pecorino Sardo and Grana Padano into a bowl. If cheeses are not available, substitute with Pecorino Romano and Reggiano Parmigiano
3. Add tablespoon of olive oil to pan and add pine nuts, cooking for 5 minutes then let sit for another 5 minutes
4. Add fresh basil into food processor (but make sure basil is not wet after cleaning as the dryer the better for the pesto sauce), pine nuts, garlic, black pepper, salt, and 3/4 cup of olive oil
5. Use pulse option in Food processor for 10-20 seconds until pesto starts to cream then add grated cheese and remaining olive oil and then purée for 10-20 seconds
6. If pesto begins to take on a creamy consistency, then pesto sauce is ready. If still thick, add a little more olive oil and stir
7. Roll out dough and generously lay pesto across
8. Cut fresh mozzarella into small chunks and spread across pizza and then sprinkle with a handful of Pecorino Sardo (or Romano)
9. Set oven to 495 degrees and add pizza. After 8-12 minutes when cheese and bottom of pizza begin to brown remove from oven
10. Let rest for 5 minutes then slice and serve

What’s more American than apple pie? How about apple pie chicken wings?!!?!? Or, perhaps maybe chicken wings on the grill minus the apple pie? This past Super Bowl I was looking for something to enjoy during the game that was a little more red, white, and blue then some of the previous appetizers I normally create. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll enjoy bruschetta, crostini, empanada, or croquette under any circumstance or sporting event but I was feeling all-American for this occasion. What I decided on was some good old Chicken Wings on the grill but with a little twist that turned out to be a real crowd pleaser (and by crowd I mean myself and my wife). Nothing wrong with a few wings, a cold beer, and a Super Bowl game that was interesting for about one quarter of play. Ok, two out of three isn’t bad.

To prepare the grilled chicken wings, get a large bowl and dress lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper and then mix. In a different smaller bowl, add olive oil, garlic powder, crushed red peppers, fresh squeezed lemon, and a sprinkle of thyme and stir/mix (you can use real garlic if you wish rather than garlic powder but make sure it is minced). Get your grill started with lump hardwood charcoal and some apple wood chunks in a cylinder and once turned grey, dump into grill pit. Then oil the grates and add the chicken wings, over the high heat zone, turning once the wings begin to darken on the outside. After 3-4 minutes on each side, move to a medium heat zone. Once the wings are almost ready, lightly dress them with the olive oil, garlic powder, lemon, crushed red peppers, and thyme using a brush. Place again over high heat quickly on both sides and then move to a bowl adding the remaining mix to the wings and mixing well. Now it’s time to get all American up in here!!!

For a sauce or dip I used ranch and blue cheese but I imagine honey mustard would go nicely as well. Crack open an ice cold beer or enjoy a margarita (I know it’s not American but they, they’re our neighbors) and enjoy Paggi Pazzo’s grilled chicken wings, oh say can you see!!!!

Grilled Chicken Wings Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. chicken wings
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
• pinch thyme
• 1 lemon

Cooking Directions

1. Wash and clean chicken wings, then place in large bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper and mix
2. In a separate smaller bowl, add remaining olive oil, garlic powder, crushed red peppers, thyme, squeezed fresh lemon, and mix
3. Prepare grill by adding 1/2 chimney starter filled with wood lump charcoal and apple wood chunks, ignite and when coals turn grey add to grill pit
4. Oil grates and then place chicken wings on grill, turning after 3-4 minutes per side over high heat. Then move to medium heat zone
5. Lightly brush chicken wings with mix then place over high heat for another 1-2 minutes per side and then place in bowl
6. Add remaining mix to bowl and use thongs to distribute evenly to all wings, then serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing

Since my wife bought me a new pasta machine for Christmas I have been on a pasta making rampage!!! Pamplona bulls couldn’t slow me down as of late (or maybe they could) with new recipes for fresh ravioli, tagliatelle, linguine, etc… With some extra dough left over from making sausage, mushroom and fresh mozzarella stuffed ravioli, I decided to make some fresh tagliatelle and surprise my family with a tasty dinner of homemade pasta with pancetta and portobello mushrooms in a white wine sauce. It’s such a delightful dish that your family will enjoy it and may come up with some snappy new flattering nicknames for you to show their appreciation!

To make the fresh pasta, crack your eggs in a flour like volcano (or add to a bowl) and gently mix the eggs into the flour until the dough becomes elastic, then begin to kneed, push, pull, wrestle and bull-fight that dough until it’s good and ready. Set aside the dough under a bowl or wrapped in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes before cutting into a few small pieces to be fed through the pasta machine. Starting at the highest level, work your way down, folding over and thinning out the pasta. Once it’s nice and thin, feed the fresh dough again at the lowest level setting in your pasta machine and then select setting for tagliatelle shape. Place the pasta on a cutting board or long surface lightly flowered and after 15 minutes, place in a freezer bag and let sit overnight for best results. Now I have to tell you, before this pasta machine I used to make fresh pasta pretty much by hand and with a dough roller so I would have little patience and enthusiasm by the time I finished (hours later), so don’t be this guy – and that guy would be me!

For the sauce, finely chop the onions and heat in a pan with olive oil at low heat, allowing the onions to caramelize. In a smaller pan, add chopped pancetta into thick chunks as if making bucatini all’amatriciana with a teaspoon of olive oil at medium heat. After the pancetta begins to brown, remove and drain the fat before adding to the pan of onions. Soon after, add the Portobello mushrooms (cut into chunks or slices) with salt and pepper at low heat and after 5 minutes add white wine, increasing heat with pan covered for 15 minutes. While this is taking place, have a pot of water boiling for the fresh pasta (that will cook quickly so be sure to keep an eye on it) so once the pasta has been added and is ready, strain and add to the pan of sauce. Mix with a generous handful of Pecorino Romano and then celebrate because you’re ready to serve! There you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s fresh pasta recipe with pancetta and mushrooms, send out the newsflash to your friends and family that the pasta party is ready to begin!

Fresh Pasta with Pancetta and Portobello Mushrooms

Prep time: 1 hour 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hour 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 lb. pancetta
• 1 3/4 cups Antico Molino Caputo flour tipo 00
• 1 3/4 cups Moretti Semolina Flour
• 4 eggs
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1/4 cup Italian white wine (Orvieto or Pinot Grigio)
• 1/2 cup Portobello mushrooms
• 1 small onion
• 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano

Cooking Directions

1. To make pasta dough, place flour on cutting board, counter, or large bowl and shape into a volcano with an opening in the middle. Crack eggs into middle of flour (removing shells) and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt
2. Slowly beat and stir eggs in a circular motion while slowly including flour into egg mix. After several minutes, egg and flour will come together creating greater consistency and become soft like dough mixture. Once thicker, use hands to press remaining flour into dough and push, flatten, and kneed until ready (add water to mixture if necessary)
3. Take pasta dough and cover with large bowl for 30 minutes or put in plastic wrap and put in fridge
4. To make tagliatelle, take pasta dough and flour on both sides, then use hands to flatten. Add dough to machine at highest level continue to put pasta back in machine until pasta thins, flouring lightly on both sides
5. Add dough through pasta tagliatelle setting and then place on cutting board to rest, lightly covered with flour (for best results, freeze pasta over night).
6. To prepare sauce, chop onion into pan with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, let caramelize for 10 minutes
7. In a separate pan chop pancetta into chunks and add teaspoon of olive oil, removing and draining once browned
8. Add pancetta to pan with onions, then adding sliced or chopped Portobello mushrooms, cooking for 5 minutes before adding white wine at medium heat for 15 minutes
9. Bring pot of water to boil, then add fresh pasta which should cook quickly at 3-4 minutes
10. Add pasta to sauce with a healthy handful of grated Pecorino Romano, then toss and stir. Ready to serve

The holiday is upon us and along with that comes the wrapping of presents, congested traffic, road rage, whiny children screaming of the things they want for Christmas… and of course, fresh pasta and romance (you’re not feeling this?). With a few days off I took advantage of my wife’s new gift to me, an early Christmas present – a new La Marcato Pasta machine! Having a top of the line pasta machine was just what the doctor ordered and I put it to good use, so I’m sharing my homemade fresh tagliatelle lobster pasta recipe that will make you want to shake and bake!

We start our tagliatelle recipe by making the dough and creating a flour like volcano with eggs nestled in the middle. I would strongly suggest using Antico Molino Caputo tipo 00 and Moretti Semolina flour which are much finer then all-purpose and will taste sooooo much better but if you must, use what you got (although, nothing says romance like Italian flour, right??? Still not feeling this, are you?). Slowly beat the eggs while piercing the flour and continue until the pasta dough starts to firm. Once it begins to solidify, kneed the dough for at least 10 minutes and then put under a bowl to rest for another 30. For the lobster sauce, add San Marzano crushed tomatoes to a pan with sauteed garlic and shallots simmering in olive oil. Then finely chop fresh Italian parsley, add to the sauce and after 20 minutes at low heat, add chopped fresh lobster (you can have it steamed at the market unless you prefer to cook it yourself – and you’re just that cool and into excellence).

Once the fresh pasta has settled for 30 minutes, cut the dough into a few small pieces and feed them into the pasta machine. Start at the highest level working your way down, folding over and thinning out the tagliatelle. Once it’s nice and thin, feed the fresh dough again at the lowest level setting in your pasta machine to produce the tagliatelle shape (you can do spaghetti or fettuccine or whatever you like – it’s a free country and in the Geneva convention!) Place the pasta on a cutting board or long surface lightly flowered and after 15 minutes, place in a freezer bag and let sit overnight for best results.

We are almost ready to sit down for our fresh tagliatelle lobster pasta, and if you want to set the mood by saying grace like the Ricky Bobby family, try this rendition as some might say it’s romantic? Or twisted… I guess it’s really up to interpretation. Ok, back to the recipe… boil water and add the fresh tagliatelle pasta but remember it will cook pretty quickly after just a few minutes since the pasta is fresh and we want to keep the tagliatelle al dente. Drain the pasta when ready and add it to the lobster sauce and now your are ready for La Fiesta! I enjoy a hardy red with my red sauce pastas so if you have a Barbaresco, Brunello, or Barolo, really any of the B’s will do – I don’t imagine anyone is going to decline. So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s fresh tagliatelle lobster pasta recipe, romance your holidays and try not to flip off anyone in the mall parking garage – Buon Appetito!

Fresh Tagliatelle and Lobster Sauce Pasta

Prep time: 1 hour 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hour 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (1 1/2 – 2 lbs.) lobster
• 1 3/4 cups Antico Molino Caputo flour tipo 00
• 1 3/4 cups Moretti Semolina Flour
• 4 eggs
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 16 ounces diced tomatoes (San Marzano)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1 shallot
• 2 garlic cloves

Cooking Directions

1. To make pasta dough, place flour on cutting board, counter, or large bowl and shape into a volcano with an opening in the middle. Crack eggs into middle of flour (removing shells) and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt
2. Slowly beat and stir eggs in a circular motion while slowly including flour into egg mix. After several minutes, egg and flour will come together creating greater consistency and become soft like dough mixture. Once thicker, use hands to press remaining flour into dough and push, flatten, and kneed until ready (add water to mixture if necessary)
3. Take pasta dough and cover with large bowl for 30 minutes or put in plastic wrap and put in fridge
4. To prepare sauce, chop garlic and shallot into pan with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper, let simmer for 3-5 minutes and then add finely chopped fresh parsley and saute for another 10-15 minutes
5. Add San Marzano crushed tomatoes and slowly cook for 30 minutes at low heat before adding chopped lobster meat
6. To make tagliatelle, take pasta dough and flour on both sides, then use hands to flatten. Add dough to machine at highest level continue to put pasta back in machine until pasta thins, flouring lightly on both sides
7. Add dough through pasta tagliatelle setting and then place on cutting board to rest, lightly covered with flour (for best results, freeze pasta over night). For immediate cooking, boil water and then add pasta for 2-3 minutes
8. Add pasta to sauce, stir then ready to serve

From Picasso to Dali to Xavi and Iniesta, Spain has had it’s share of world famous creators and inspirators (what’s that? Xavi and Iniesta can’t hold a candle to Picasso and Dali? How many European and World cups did they win? Thought so!). However, when it comes to pizza most do not associate the Spaniards with this Italian classic but don’t underestimate the power of Spanish pizza as the Iberian nation’s traditional ingredients can make any entree or recipe a mouth-watering one. Today I’m sharing my Spanish style pizza with Manchego cheese, chorizo, and pimientos on the grill over pecan and oak charcoal wood, which may give you a new idea on how to prepare pizza with a Spanish twist (even if you don’t speak Spanish)!

To begin our Spanish style pizza, we need to prepare the dough and traditional Spanish pizza is much like Roman pizza, which means very thin. To make things easier I used my homemade dough recipe but purchased all Spanish products in chorizo, Manchego cheese, pimientos and added fresh Italian parsley since Spanish parsley is hard to find near where I live. If you can’t find Spanish chorizo it is better to use Portuguese Linguiça as it is more like it’s Iberian neighbors in texture and flavor than chorizo from Mexico or Central or South America. For the sauce I prepared a traditional marinara sauce but if you want to give it a little zest (like a Xavi-Iniesta golasso – you knew I was coming back to them, didn’t you?), add sweet Spanish paprika with fresh parsley, garlic and Spanish olive oil for several minutes before adding crushed tomatoes, cooked at low heat for 90 minutes-to-2 hours. Once we have our dough ready, lay out on the pizza stone and dress sauce, then add chopped fresh parsley before shredding Manchego cheese. Add chopped chorizo and pimientos (Spanish roasted red peppers) then a drizzle of Spanish olive oil and you’re ready to go!

Now get your wood charcoal fire going with hardwood lump charcoal and pecan and oak wood chunks. Once they’re grey, add to the grill pit and position your grates to hold the pizza stone evenly across the wood charcoal (you can manipulate the heat by opening your grill fans and changing the distance under the pizza stone from the fire). Close the grill and let the Spanish pizza cook for 20 minutes and once the crust becomes a golden brown on the bottom, it’s ready to be devoured! Let it cool for a few minutes and then you’re ready to serve. So there you have it, Spanish style pizza from Paggi Pazzo, Salud mi amigos!

Spanish Style Pizza Recipe on the Grill

Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 3 hours 25 mi
Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 14 ounces peeled tomatoes (San Marzano)
• 3 ounces Manchego cheese (imported)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
• 4 fresh parsley leaves
• 2 1/2 cups Molino Caputo tipo 00 flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon yeast
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 Spanish chorizo
• 2 tablespoons Spanish Sabor de Rioja pimientos (roasted red peppers)

Cooking Directions

1. In order to make dough, heat water in a pot for 2-3 minutes until warm then place in a bowl with salt and stir well for several minutes
2. Add yeast into the bowl and stir for at least 5 minutes until yeast dissolves
3. Add 2 cups of Molino Caputo tipo 00 flour to bowl, pouring slowly as you stir, then a tablespoon of olive oil and continue to stir for at least 10 minutes, until dough begins to turn into an elastic substance
4. Place dough on a cutting board or cooking sheet and cover all sides with a little flour then cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and place under a bowl for at least 3 hours
5. In order to make the sauce, add 3 tablespoons of oil to pan at medium heat for 2 minutes.
6. Add finely chopped garlic and fresh chopped parsley for 3-5 minutes
7. Place peeled tomatoes in a bowl and chop whole parts into chunks, then add to pan with salt and pepper and cook at low heat for 3 hours
8. After 3 hours, take dough and kneed for several minutes, covering with flour as necessary until all air bubbles are removed. Then take dough roller and roll, adding more flour when necessary, to a circular shape and creating a very thin crust similar to a Roman style pizza
9. Dress pizza stone lightly with olive oil then place dough on top, curling edges slightly to create outside crust
10. Add healthy amount of sauce on top of pizza dough and finely chopped fresh parsley
11. Shred Manchego cheese across pizza (do not cover all sauce with Manchego, if you do, you’ve used too much cheese)
12. Finely chop Spanish chorizo, and pimientos and also spread generously across pizza
13. To start your grill, fill two chimney starters with lump hardwood charcoal and pecan and oak wood chunks, ignited underneath by olive oil dressed paper towel or newspaper. Once wood charcoal is ready dump into grill pit
14. Create opening on grill by moving grates to sides and place pizza stone over wood charcoal directly, supported by outside grates
15. Grill for 20 minutes, covering grill and opening seldomly to make sure pizza is cooking evenly (or to pop air bubbles). If pizza is cooking to fast or too slowly, adjust distance between charcoal fire and pizza stone
16. After 20 minutes and crust is a golden brown, remove from grill
17. Add whole fresh parsley leaves for garnish if you’d like and let rest for 5 minutes
18. Ready to serve!

So it’s taken some time but I finally added a French recipe to my blog! Now for clarification, I’m a big fan of French cuisine so it’s a bit surprsing it’s taken me this long but good things come to those who wait… for French food (so I’ve heard). The French have provided many contributions to some of the world’s best cuisines but my rendition will probably not be one of them (if you can’t poke fun at yourself, who can you poke fun at?). Today I’m sharing my French style Grilled Steak Roquefort that stays on the healthier side but will delight you like a legendary Michel Platini down-hill slalom run to goal!

Now for full disclosure, I’m not a big blue cheese fan but with the right measure of ingredients, the grilled steak Roquefort can be mighty tasty if done correctly. For the Roquefort sauce, I use French Roquefort blue cheese (but other blue cheese will do), 1/4 cup of 2% milk, parsley, pepper, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Add these to a deep aluminum tray and place on the back of the grill for indirect heat. For my wood fire, I use hardwood lump charcoal with mesquite wood chunks and when they have turned a nice grey, dump them into the grill pit. Oil the grates and then place your steak filets, seasoned only with pepper and a pinch of garlic powder, again over indirect heat. One of my favorite French restaurants, Tout va Bien in New York City (with a menu influenced by the owner’s home city of Rennes) season their steaks with the perfect amount of pepper and sometimes nothing else so I’ve come to appreciate the simplicity of some regional French steak/beef recipes. I like to grill my steaks slowly so I don’t put them over the high-heat zones but rather let them slow cook for about 8-10 minutes per side, what can I say – I have patience; c’est la vie mon ami! This allows the Roquefort to slowly melt but we don’t want it to melt so thin that it loses it’s thickness, once it appears to – remove from grill and let settle.

Let the steak filets rest for 2 minutes before putting on a plate and then dress them lavishly with the Roquefort dressing. Now you’re ready to shout “Viva La France!” and break some baguette with goat cheese while enjoying your Grilled Steak Roquefort (or perhaps that’s just me who does that?). This being a French dish and all, it’s mandatory (yes mandatory) to have a glass of red as the French are world renowned for possessing some of the best vineyards. My choice would be a Bordeaux, Cabernet or Medoc (my personal French favorite) but the choice is up to you (although I did say it was mandatory). It’s not a difficult recipe and will take you little time, in fact the only time consuming part of the recipe is who you’re going to invite and what will the side dishes be. If you have difficulty with that, give me a call, I’ll be more than happy to share your steak Roquefort!

Grilled French Style Steak Roquefort Recipe

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 6 oz Steak Filets (2)
• pinch garlic powder
• 3 teaspoons black pepper
• 3-4 ounces Roquefort blue cheese
• 1/4 cup low falt milk
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley

Cooking Directions

1. Clean Steak filets and then place on a plate
2. Season both sides of steak with 2 teaspoons of pepper and a pinch of garlic powder
3. In deep aluminum foil tray, add Roquefort cheese, milk, tablespoon of pepper, and parsley
4. Prepare charcoal grill: Add lump hard wood charcoal with mesquite wood chunks to chimney starter with paper towel brushed with olive oil.
5. Light olive oiled paper towel under chimney starter to start fire.
6. Once wood charcoal is a nice grey color, remove charcoals from chimney into grill pit
7. Place grates back on grill and use long grill fork to oil up grates paper towel dressed in olive oil, back and forth.
8. Add steak filets to grill indirectly away from high-heat zone and after 4-5 minutes give a quarter-inch turn for another 4-5 minutes before turning steaks over (and repeating). At same time, add aluminum foil of Roquefort sauce away from heat on grill to slowly mely
9. Once Roquefort sauce is melted but not too thin and steaks are medium-to-medium rare, remove from grill and allow Steak filets 2-3 minutes to cool
10. Place steaks on plate and serve with Roquefort dressing generously added on top
11. Ready to serve!

When summer time comes around, you can expect to see me outside grilling quite a bit (or for that matter during the winter, spring, fall, etc…) and when it comes to preparing fajitas, I don’t need to wait for Cinco de Mayo to get my grill on! Today I’m sharing my Mexican Style Grilled Steak Fajitas recipe that brings a nice spicy taste from our Central American neighbors to your backyard and kitchen.

So to get my Mexican style grilled steak fajitas, I season the steaks with cilantro, olive oil, and garlic powder and let marinade overnight. For the peppers and onions I dress lightly with olive oil and then add Goya Adobo seasoning. Get your grill nice and hot and throw those bad boys on there until nice and tender. Then take them off the grill and let cool before slicing the steak, peppers, and onions into long strips. Prior to, prepare all your other ingredients that you like in your fajita, whether it’s cooking beans or chopping tomatoes, etc… While the grill is hot, throw your tortillas on until they are slightly crispy (turning quickly for both sides) as you don’t want them to turn into a hard taco shell.

Now it’s time to throw your Mexican style grilled steak fajita together. I like to add salsa and lime on top of my finished steak fajita recipe but if you prefer guacamole or sour cream – by all means, indulge! The toppings that I prefer of tomatoes, shredded cheese, kidney beans (black will do as well), salsa, and lime provide a nice spicey-sweet burst of flavors, like Mexico’s legendary Hugo Sanchez sending fans into delirium from an incredible golasso! I enjoyed a nice, ice cold Corona with the fajitas but if you’re in the mood for something sweeter, try this margarita recipe. So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Mexican style grilled steak fajitas recipe, Salud Amigos!

Mexican Style Grilled Steak Fajitas with Peppers, Onions, and Salsa

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 4-6 ounce Steaks (New York Sirloin, Boneless Rib Steak or Strip Steak)
• 1 Spanish onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1/4 cup Kraft Mexican Style Four Cheese Taco Blend
• 1 dash salt
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Goya Adobo seasoning
• 1 cup Goya kidney beans
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 6 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 cup mild salsa
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Cooking Directions

1. Marinade steak over night with fresh cilantro chopped finely, garlic powder, and olive oil
2. Season pepper and onion with olive oil and Goya seasoning
3. Add lump hardwood charcoal to 1 chimney starter with cherry wood chunks or chips, when charcoal turns grey, dump into grill pit
4. Dress grates with olive oil on a paper towel and then add steak to grill over high-heat zone, giving a quarter-inch turn after 2 minutes and turning over after 5 minutes (10 minutes total). Pepper and onion will take a little longer to cook to place them over direct high-heat, turning once each side darkens
5. Once steak, pepper, and onion are done, remove from grill and let cool for several minutes. Then cut into steak thin strips, peel burnt or darkened skin from red pepper and onion and chop them into thin strips as well
6. Chop lettuce into shreds, dice tomatoes, and warm kidney beans for 5-10 minutes in a pan over the oven. While the beans warm, heat a pan and add wheat tortilla, turning over after 2-3 minutes at high heat
7. Once tortilla and beans are ready, add steak to tortilla topped with pepper-onion mix, kidney beans, shredded taco cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and topped with salsa
8. Wrap tortilla and indulge – ready to enjoy!

We start our homemade sausage and mushroom ravioli recipe by making the dough and creating a flour like volcano with eggs nestled in the middle (use Antico Molino Caputo tipo 00 and Moretti Semolina flour for best results). Slowly beat the eggs while piercing the flour and continue until the pasta dough starts to firm. Once it begins to solidify, kneed the dough for at least 10 minutes and then put under a bowl to rest for another 30. In the meantime, add garlic to a pan and heat for a few minutes before adding the sausage meat (removed from the casing). Let the sausage begin to cook and then add the mushrooms (chopped) and saute for close to 10-15 minutes or until the sausage meat is cooked throughout, then place in a bowl to cool. After about 10 more minutes, add chopped fresh mozzarella into the bowl and mix before putting into the fridge to chill….WORD!

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post of making homemade lobster ravioli, having a pasta machine will make this process a whole lot easier (I should know since I still haven’t bought one). If you don’t, slice the dough in half and flatten with a dough roller for about 15 minutes or until the dough is very thin but if you do have a pasta machine, start from the highest setting until you get the dough extremely thin to the lowest setting. Once the dough is thin enough, lightly dress with olive oil and place the dough over the ravioli maker and pocket the dough so the sausage and mushroom filling can be pressed in firmly. Take your ravioli maker and turn it over so the sausage and mushroom ravioli are flat and use a pizza or pasta cutter to get your square ravioli shapes, then use a fork to close the edges (for best use, freeze the ravioli for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight). True story, I let the dough rest for maybe an hour and 15 minutes (far too long for all natural purpose flour) and when I finally was able to roll enough of the dough for one sheet of ravioli, my son who is just learning to walk approached the dough and accidentally knocked it into the kitchen sink and dirty pots. It was my fault for leaving it where he could reach it, but that was deflating nonetheless – so don’t do what I did. But I digress…back to the recipe, shall we?

Now for the sausage, mushroom, and fresh mozzarella ravioli sauce, heat garlic in pan with olive oil and mushrooms, adding white wine after 5 minutes or so when the mushrooms begin to turn soft (I prefer Orvieto but Pinot Grigio will work just fine). Slowly cook the sauce for 15-20 minutes and in another pot, boil water for the ravioli and keep in mind they will cook quickly so once they float to the top, gently add them to the white wine sauce and cook for a few more minutes before serving with a sprinkle of Pecorino Romano (for added taste) and dried parsley (for garnish). So good you’ll want to invade others personal space for seconds! There you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Homemade Fresh Sausage, Mushroom, and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli, buon appetito!

Fresh Homemade Sausage, Mushroom and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli in a White Wine Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 1 hour 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hour 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 sweet Italian sausages
• 1 3/4 cups Antico Molino Caputo flour tipo 00
• 1 3/4 cups Moretti Semolina flour
• 4 eggs
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/4 cup white wine (Orvieto or Pinot Grigio)
• 1 cup white mushrooms

Cooking Directions

1. To make pasta dough, place 3 1/2 cups of flour on cutting board or counter and shape into a volcano with an opening in the middle. Crack eggs into middle of flour (removing shells) and add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt
2. Slowly beat and stir eggs in a circular motion while slowly including flour into egg mix. After several minutes, egg and flour will come together creating greater consistency and become soft like dough mixture. Once thicker, use hands to press remaining flour into dough and push, flatten, and kneed until ready (add water to mixture if necessary)
3. Take pasta dough and cover with large bowl for 30 minutes
4. To prepare filling, chop 2 garlic cloves and 3/4 of a cup of mushrooms finely (save some mushrooms for the sauce) then add tablespoon of olive oil to pan. Add chopped garlic and remove casing from sausages, and add sausage meat to pan. Add salt, pepper and then after a few minutes of the sausage meat starting to brown, add mushrooms. Cook for 15-20 minutes at medium heat until sausage is cooked
5. Remove sausage and mushroom filling from pan and place into a bowl and let cool down for 10 minutes
6. Add chopped fresh mozzarella to sausage and meat filling, stir and then place in fridge until ravioli dough is ready to be filled
7. To make ravioli, take pasta dough and flour on both sides, then use hands to flatten (if using a pasta machine, add dough to machine at highest level of 10 and continue to put pasta back in machine until pasta thins to level 2). Cut dough in half and use dough roller to flatten both pieces of pasta repeatedly turning pasta over (and flouring lightly) on both sides until pasta is almost paper thin (this will require 10-15 minutes)
8. Using a ravioli maker, place one sheet of dough on top and pocket dough firmly to create space for filling. Add sausage and mushroom filling using a full tablespoon or ice-cream scooper then add second sheet of pasta on top of ravioli maker, pressing doughs together to keep sausage and mushroom filling firmly inside and then turn over. Lightly brush the outside edges of the ravioli with olive oil and using a fork, press against the edges. Add flour to cooking sheet pan and add ravioli on top to freeze for at least 3 hours
9. To make sauce, chop remaining garlic finely, add to pan with a two tablespoons of olive oil. Let simmer for 2 minutes then add remaining mushrooms with a dash of salt and pepper. After the mushrooms begin to soften, add white wine and let cook for 15-20 minutes with pan covered at low heat
10. Boil water and when ready, add ravioli to pot. When ravioli rises, remove and add to pan of sauce
11. Saute gently for several minutes, then add grated Pecorino Romano over sausage and mushroom ravioli
12. Serve with a little more grated Pecorino Romano and a dash of dried parsley for garnish

There are so many things one can do with lobster (and I’m referring to cooking with them just to be clear – as I haven’t spent much time with them socially outside of the kitchen) and one of my faves besides preparing Lobster Ravioli is baked Lobster and Ricotta Arancini balls. The delightful taste and texture of these arancini are great for appetizers or snacks, depending on how big you make them of course. Today, it’s Paggi Pazzo’s Baked Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini balls, thus no time to waste, let’s bake!

To get started with our baked lobster and fresh ricotta arancini balls, we need to prepare the filling. My father-in-law graciously gave me some lobster meat fresh from Nova Scotia so if you don’t have that kind of connection (who does right? I call it my French-Canadian Connection) buy a steamed lobster and remove all the lobster meat and place in a bowl. In a pan, add olive oil, finely chopped shallots and let simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Then add finely chopped fresh parsley and place at low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Then add lobster meat, salt and pepper and saute for 5-10 minutes at low heat. Once done, let the pan cool down for about 10 minutes and place in a bowl with fresh ricotta, stirring repeatedly and then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Now that the lobster and fresh ricotta arancini filling is ready, place your breadcrumbs on a plate and use a spoon or ice cream scooper and dip into the filling to get a good size scoop. Shape into a round ball and then place into the breadcrumbs, rolling left to right and back and forth. You can use egg wash to dip the filling before the breadcrumbs step which will help hold the arancini together better or you can fry the arancini as well. I prefer to do neither to limit the cholesterol and fat to the recipe, but keep in mind it can flatten out the arancini a little bit. Heat the oven at 425 degrees and then place the arancini onto a pan lightly dressed with olive oil. After about 15 minutes your arancini will be ready to devour (after you’ve let it cool of course). Trust me that your guests will thoroughly enjoy this and you’ll feel rewarded as if you were the world’s top surfer (calling Jeff Spicoli!!!). My mother-in-law enjoyed this recipe so I’ll have to add this to my regular rotation of appetizers! There you have it, Baked Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini from Paggi Pazzo, Bon appétit mon ami!

Baked Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini Recipe

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 20 min

Total time: 50 min

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

• 1 small lobster
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-6 ounces fresh ricotta
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1 shallot
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Cooking Directions

1. If cooking lobster, boil water and place lobster in water for 15 minutes and remove when ready
2. Remove lobster meat, clean and place into a bowl
3. To prepare lobster filling, chop shallot and fresh parsley finely and add olive oil to pan. Add salt and pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes at low to medium heat. Add lobster meat and saute at low heat for 5-7 minutes then remove to cool for 10 minutes
4. Add fresh ricotta to a bowl with lobster, shallot, parsley filling and mix for several minutes. Then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes
5. Add breadcrumbs to a plate and scoop large balls of lobster and fresh ricotta filling, rolling over breadcrumbs until all parts of the filling are covered and add to cooking sheet, lightly dressed with olive oil (repeat until filling is gone)
6. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees and let lobster and fresh ricotta arancini cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown
7. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes and then ready to serve

Occasionally when I grill steak there may be some left over (this rarely happens by the way) and when this actually does happen (did I mention it’s very rare?), I like to make steak and cheese subs. It might not be Philly-style and if I were to suggest it was better, it might just get me “Hextall-ed” outside the Wells Fargo Center! BUT…(and I am a sucker for a big BUTT and a smile – I really wanted to get Boyz II Men in the post but Bell Biv Devoe seemed so apropos for this, don’t you think?) this cheesesteak has proven to be a mighty tasty treat or at least my wife has told me so. Today I’m sharing my Grilled Steak and Cheese that will have you channeling your inner-Philly and ready to throw down like the Broad Street Bullies, or sing the Eagles fight song, or get all fired up like Dennis Reynolds over milk steak…. Or, maybe….. just sit back, relax and enjoy the cheesesteak with a beer? It’s really your call, I’ll let you decide.

Now I’ve had a real Philly cheese steak before and I can legitimately say…. this is not a Philly Cheese steak. But, the Paggi Pazzo steak and cheese throws together a nice mix of sweet and salty flavors to make this a hardy lunch time meal (dare I say that this recipe is as brilliant as the invention of kitten mittens?). We start off by slicing the already grilled steak into thin strips that were grilled over a wood fire and seasoned with garlic powder, pepper and salt by adding a splash of Worcestershire sauce and wrapping it in foil before allowing it to heat in the oven for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. Then chop your onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and sauté for about 15 minutes until all of the ingredients become soft and caramelize together.

Once the steak strips are done, add them to the pan of peppers and onions at low heat and then stir. After a few minutes, add the sliced provolone cheese on top and once it melts, you’re ready to go to town on your steak and cheese! For bread, I prefer a ciabatta loaf but you can also try a baguette or any other soft bread (toast yours for a nice crunchy flavor). To go with my steak and cheese I enjoyed some tortilla chips and an ice cold Corona, now that’s a lunch that even a philanthropist can enjoy! So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Steak and Cheese sub recipe, a real American classic!

Grilled Steak and Cheese recipe

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 4-6 oz. Steak (New York Sirloin, Boneless Rib Steak or Strip Steak)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 Spanish onion
• 1/2 red or green pepper
• 4 slices American Provolone cheese
• 1 dash salt
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 French baguette or Italian ciabatta

Cooking Directions

1. Season steak with garlic powder, salt, and pepper
2. Add lump hardwood charcoal to 1 chimney starter (you can add cherry or mesquite wood chunks or chips if you prefer) and when grey, dump into grill pit
3. Dress grates with olive oil on a paper towel and then add steak to grill over high-heat zone, giving a quarter-inch turn after 2 minutes and turning over after 5 minutes (10 minutes total)
4. Once steak is done, remove from grill and cut into thin strips then wrap in aluminum foil with a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce then place on low-to-medium heat zone of grill (heating indirectly)
5. *Your choice from here to continue to cook on grill or cook indoors with your stove – Chop onions, peppers, and mushrooms and add to pan with olive oil, sauteing for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are soft.
6. Add steak strips to pan and saute for 5 minutes, adding provolone cheese on top until it melts then remove from grill or stove
7. Cut baguette or ciabatta in half and slice into sandwiches, add steak and cheese saute to baguettes. Ready to enjoy and serve.

When it comes to a favorite dish for my wife, there are few that can compete with Chicken Parmesan. Italian-American restaurants (and many other kinds) all over the country have their own renditions, styles, and recipes and my wife absolutely loves this classic dish. To keep her happy, I try to play nice and make Baked Chicken Parm with Fresh Mozzarella with a healthy twist that may have you trying this at home and leaving the restaurant version behind – dare I say, a taste of betrayal?

To make our baked chicken Parmesan with fresh mozzarella, I start by cleaning the chicken breasts and trimming all the fat off. After, I pound down the chicken to thin out the filets and help them cook evenly (this is an important step to keep the chicken tender throughout). I like to use my pasta sauce for this dish which consists of garlic, onions, bay leaves, basil, carrots and olive oil as a base followed by crushed San Marzano tomatoes slow cooked for 3-4 hours. Now if you don’t have the time or have your own sauce, feel free to substitute or you can make a quick sauce with San Marzano crushed tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Now, rather than add an egg to help keep the breadcrumbs sticking to the chicken, I prefer to lightly brush the chicken with olive oil or run the chicken under water (this helps cut out some of the additional fat you might find in a restaurant version). Once the breadcrumbs have been added, add sauce to the baking dish and then place the breaded chicken filets on top. Add another layer of sauce (thicker if you prefer) and thin slices of fresh mozzarella (you can add finely chopped basil leaves on top as well). Then add a little more sauce on top with a sprinkling of grated Reggiano Parmigiano.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and add your baked chicken Parmesan, covered with aluminum foil for 45 minutes. It’s a really simple recipe with an excellent result. My wife is a big fan of this recipe so I’m sure I’ll be preparing this again very soon in the near future. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as she does! So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Baked Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella, enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella Recipe

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• (2) 8 ounce chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano
• 12 ounces crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion
• 1 small carrot
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Cooking Directions

1. To make sauce, chop garlic, basil, and onion finely (if you have sauce, skip this part and go directly to adding sauce to the baking pan)
2. Add olive oil to pot with garlic, onion, pinch of basil, pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes at low heat
3. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and carrot (I usually cook my sauce for 3-4 hours but 45 minutes is acceptable in this case as the sauce will cook another 45 minutes in the chicken parmesean)
4. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
5. Clean chicken cutlets and then slightly flatten to thin out, then cover in breadcrumbs on both sides
6. Add sauce to oven pan and smooth around base, then add chicken cutlets on top
7. Add a light layer of sauce over chicken cutlets and then slice fresh mozzarella over sauce.
8. Add another thicker layer of sauce over fresh mozzarella and then spread Reggiano Parmigiano over cutlets
9. Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in oven for 45 minutes.
10. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutes then serve