Manicotti

IMAGE Credit: Landon Nordeman

ENLARGE IMAGECredit: Landon Nordeman

SERVES 6-8


Thanks to Saveur for this recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, minced
5 tbsp. tomato paste
⅓ cup finely chopped parsley
⅓ cup finely torn basil leaves
1 (28-oz.) can whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 oz. deli ham, finely chopped
4 oz. mozzarella, cut into ¼″ cubes
1 cup ricotta
¾ cup finely grated Parmesan
4 eggs
1 cup flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the sauce: Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tbsp. parsley, basil, tomatoes, and ½ cup water, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Make the filling: Combine 2 tbsp. parsley, ham, mozzarella, ricotta, ¼ cup Parmesan, and 1 egg, season with salt and pepper, and stir until smooth; set aside.

3. Make the pasta: Whisk together remaining eggs, flour, salt, and 1 ¼ cups water until smooth, and let sit for 20 minutes. Heat an 8″ nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tbsp. batter, and swirl skillet until completely covered; cook, turning once, until set but not browned, about 1 ½ minutes. Invert pasta circle onto a sheet of wax paper, and set aside to cool; repeat with remaining batter to make about 16 pasta circles in total.

4. Heat oven to 350°. Pour half the sauce over bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish; set aside. Working with 1 pasta circle at a time, place about 2 tbsp. filling down the center of each, and roll the pasta circle around filling into cylinders. Transfer cylinders, seam side down, to dish; pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake until filling is heated through and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley

Wiener Schnitzel

This is by far my favourite veal recipe. Veal is very easy to find in Europe - no that much in the USA it seems. You could substitute pork fillet - that would be the closest to veal. This is a really great dish!!

Wiener Schnitzel is originally made with veal. The meat is coated in breadcrumbs and fried in a pan. Schnitzel is found on all the menus in Germany and is a popular dish to be made at home.
You can also use this recipe to make a pork Schnitzel or a chicken Schnitzel if preferred.

A Wiener Schnitzel is only original when made from veal. When made with pork (Schweineschnitzel) is known as "Schnitzel Wiener Art".
Wiener Schnitzel is served with lemon slices that  you squeeze over the meat. Anchovies and capers can also be served.

Ingredients
4 veal fillets (approx each 200g) or use veal rib eye if fillet is unavailable
salt and pepper
1 cup flour
3 eggs
150g breadbrumbs preferably made from stale French or Italian bread
Butter or lard (clarified butter* is actually the best here)

Method
Flatten the meat with a rolling pin or meat hammer. It is very important that the meat is almost paper thin.It's best to have the butcher pound the meat thinly for you, but if you want or need to do it yourself, position the 5-ounce piece of veal between 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Gently at first, then more forcefully, use a flat-bladed meat pounder to pound the veal into a fairly round shape 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
First coat the seasoned meat in flour, then dip into beaten egg. Lastly coat in breadcrumbs.
The schnitzels can be covered and left for 1 to 2 hours at a cool room temperature before cooking.
Heat oil in a pan and then fry the Schnitzel on both sides until brown and the meat is cooked through. Use enough butter or lard.During cooking, press the Schnitzel lightly with the back of a spoon. Cook for aprox. 2-4 mins on both sides.
Once cooked serve straight away.

*To clarify a pound of butter, heat it slowly over low heat in a medium saucepan. After it has melted, let it stand for 10 minutes, then use a spoon to skim off the foamy solids on the top. Pour off the clarified butter, leaving the watery residue in the pan (a fat-separator cup can be helpful for this). Pour the cooled butter into a plastic container, cover and refrigerate. The butter may be used a second time after frying a batch of schnitzel: Pass it through a fine-mesh strainer to eliminate any solids, then cover and refrigerate as above. Use within 1 month.

Kransekage

Thanks for FOODISTA for this recipe!

Traditional Scandinavian new years delight

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 1/2 lb. (3 cups) almond paste

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 egg whites, slightly beaten

For the frosting:

1 egg white

3 or 4 drops vinegar

Enough powdered sugar to make a thin icing

Preparation

1

Making the dough and rings:

2

Break almond paste into small chunks, add sugar and egg whites. Mix ingredients together thoroughly using an electric mixer. (Note: If you are using a standard home mixer, it is advisable to mix only half or one-third of the mixture at a time.)

3

Fill a 12" or 14" pastry bag equipped with either a tip #806 for plain rings or a tip #826 for a ridged effect. Squeeze the dough into alternate rings of the Kransekage set. Be sure to grease the kransekage rings well before filling.

4

Bake in a preheated 325° F oven for approximately 20 minutes or until surface is crusty and golden brown. Three rings on one plate can be made at one time or just two rings -- the outside ring and inside ring. if all three are made at once, the baking time should be increased from 20 minutes to 20-25 minutes. If dough is too stiff to push through pastry bag, add more egg white but only up to 2 Tbsp.

5

Remove from rings as soon as cooled completely. Use the point of a paring knife to loosen the outer edge of cake ring, then loosen the inner edge. It will loosen immediately if baked thoroughly. When making three rings at once, after they are baked and cooled, turn out onto cooling rack. Carefully separate rings in places where they have baked together. There will be only a few places. Care must be exercised in handling large rings as they are tender. Frost and tier as directed below.

6

For the frosting:

7

Mix frosting ingredients together until smooth and well-blended. Place icing in decorating bag into which a small plain icing tube has been inserted. Make drizzles and scallops on top and sides of each ring. This icing holds the tiers together so after the largest ring has been iced, place the next largest ring on it immediately while the icing is soft. Continue to frost and tier the rings according to size, placing a dab of icing here and there to keep rings from slipping. A top decoration may be added, if desired, and decorative scrolls may be fastened to sides here and there, held in place with icing. Sometimes colored sugar bells are added or a tiny wedding or anniversary ornament.