Spaghetti Pie

It only seemed fitting after Sausage Cake to present you with what I have now dubbed Spaghetti Pie! What can I say? I am on a roll, or not........ depending how you look at it.

Not only does Spaghetti Pie relate to the Sausage Cake in some weird Savory take on Sweet approach, but spaghetti always reminds me of my nephew IV of SghettiNoodleBeans. And IV got a great surprise yesterday - a brand new baby sister! I became an Aunt once again yesterday as my brother and his wife had their second child. It is my pleasure to introduce the beautiful Ella Cate:


Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant in a Puff Pastry
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 to 6 Japanese eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 pound mild pork sausage, casings removed
• 1/3 cup dry red wine
• 3 cups jarred marinara sauce (a full 1lb 10 oz jar)
  
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces whole wheat angel hair pasta
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 (17 1/4-ounce) package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

Heat 1/3 cup of oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the eggplant and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute the eggplant until it is golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium. Add half of the garlic and saute until it is tender, about 2 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant mixture to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the remaining eggplant and garlic.

Add the sausage and wine to the same frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine evaporates and the sausage is brown, breaking the sausage into pieces with the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes.

Add the sausage, marinara sauce, and crushed red pepper to the eggplant mixture, and toss to combine.

Meanwhile, add the angel hair to the boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until pasta is still slightly crunchy and undercooked. Drain. Toss the angel hair with the eggplant mixture.

Cool completely. Add the mozzarella and Parmesan and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface to a 13 1/2-inch square.

Roll dough around rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch springform pan by unrolling the dough onto the pan. Allow the excess pastry to hang over the rim.

Press the pastry sheet gently into the sides of the pan to ensure the dough won't break when you spoon in the the pasta. Fold creased pieces of the dough flat against the side of the pan.

Spoon the pasta mixture into the pan. Do this in four steps. Spoon about a quarter of the mixture and then press down the mixture with the back of the spoon to compact the pasta and filling. Repeat three times until you have spooned and packed all of the mixture. I thought that there was no chance of all the mixture fitting into the pan, but if you press down each layer it will fit perfectly.

Place the second pastry sheet atop the pasta filling.

Pinch the edges of the pastry sheets together to seal.

Trim the overhanging pastry edges to about 1-inch ( I didn't leave a one inch overhang and had a little trouble with the next step).

Fold the pastry edges in to form a decorative border. Cut a slit in the center of the top pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Bake until the pastry is brown and puffed on top, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the pan sides and serve.

Demure David?

My friend Jo just returned from a trip to Italy and she brought me the most colorful souvenir I have ever received! This isn't your run of the mill souvenir like a t-shirt, pencil or a key chain. She brought me back an apron from Florence. Now I understand that this might not seem so unusual. An apron seems like a fitting gift for a food blogger. But this isn't your typical apron - it has a life size image of the David from the neck down on the front of it. For anyone that is having trouble creating a mental image, feel free to Google images of The David to help you out. It is hysterical! However it is not G rated enough for me to photograph myself wearing it for my blog that is frequented by my father and several sets of our grandparents.

I wanted to show my appreciation for my very funny souvenir from Jo so I decided to cook a traditional Italian dish donning my non-traditional souvenir that boast a full frontal of the most recognizable stone sculpture in the history of art.

Chicken Parmesan
Recipe Courtesy of Cathy Lowe

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup flour, on a shallow plate
2 eggs, lightly beaten, in a pie plate
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
1 ball of fresh mozzarella thinly sliced

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound out to 1/2" thickness using a mallet or rolling pin. Combine bread crumbs, 1/4 cup parmesan, oregano, basil and cayenne in a pie plate. Coat each breast in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Dip each breast in the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture. Set coated chicken aside on a plate.


Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Carefully add chicken to pan, cooking three pieces at a time. Cook until golden on both sides.


Spread one cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and top with golden chicken breasts. Top each breast with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and top with layers of mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven


for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with whole wheat spaghetti and tomato sauce


I once heard Giada say on Everyday Italian that Chicken Parmesan is not something Italians in Italy would eat. She said they eat Eggplant Parmesan but Chicken Parmesan was really an Italian American dish. I am going to take her word for it, but I still consider Chicken Parmesan very Italian and I think it fit the bill for my homage to Italy. Thanks again Jo!