Recipe(tried): Macaroni with Ragu of Pork, Arugula and Mandarin Oranges with Parmesan, Basil and Garlic Bread, Cannoli

Good Morning!!

You never know where you get divine inspiration for cooking a dish...I got mine from watching The Godfather I and II this weekend. Watching them slice garlic ever so thin and seeing the pots of sauce and people sitting at tables, well, I got in the mood for Italian food.

I decided on a a pasta dish with a rich meat sauce. This pasta dish originally was invented in Bologna, where they like to include meat into their sauces. If you notice, the hearty and truly delicious meat sauces always include some sort of pork rib or bone to flavor the sauce. Many of the Italian friends I have tell me, "My Nonni always told me to include a pork rib or pork chop in the sauce, it gives it flavor and depth".

Now, Italians calls their pasta, "macaroni", pronouned "macheroni". To us, macaroni means those little elbow-shaped noodles that come in the familiar blue box with the little packets of orange powdered cheese. But in Italy, all the different tubular shaped dried pasta are called macaroni. And believe me, there are literally hundreds of those little and big pasta shapes!

Ragu means sauce in Italy so this dish is called Macaroni with Ragu of Pork. It is fragrant and dense and delicious. Just perfect to have with a basket of decadent garlic bread to soak up any leftover sauce. Mama mia!!!

Alongside this dish, an Arugula and Mandarin Orange Salad with a sprinkling of Parmesan is perfect. And last, for dessert, I will serve Cannoli...these are the pride of every Neapolitan baker. Snowy white ricotta cheese is used and it is decorated with mini morsels of chocolate chips and candied fruit. Be sure to fill the cannoli shells just prior to serving so that the shells remain crispy, oh, and don't forget to dust them with powdered sugar. Now, won't this be a lovely indulgence for this Wednesday? A simple but hearty meal, what more can one ask for but to be in Italy? Buon apetito!

The Menu:

Macaroni with Ragu of Pork
Arugula and Mandarin Orange with Parmesan
Basil and Garlic Bread
Cannoli

The Recipes:

Macaroni with Ragu of Pork
serves 8
(lefotvers can be frozen)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 sweet Italian sausages with fennel
2 hot Italian sausages
2 lbs. pork shoulder or but cut into 2 pieces
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced fine
1/2 cup red wine
2 cans (28 oz. each) crushed tomatoes with juice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups parmesan cheese
16 oz. grooved-tube rigatoni pasta

Heat the oil in a large saucepot, add the sausages and pork and brown well, about 5 minutes or so. Remove and set aside.

Add the onion and saute til onion begins to turn golden, add the garlic, stir and cook 2 more minutes, then add the wine and stir for another minutes or so.

Add the tomatoes and their juices, salt and bring to a low boil. Return the sausages and pork to the pot, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for an hour and 45 minutes or so or until the meat is tender.

To serve, cut the pork and sausages into bite-size pieces and return to sauce. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain. In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the sauce and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese.

Arugula and Mandarin Orange with Parmesan
serves 4

1 can of mandarin oranges, drain save juices
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 small purple onion, chopped
1/2 cup black olives
2 medium bunches arugula, wash and dried
1/2 cup parmesan

Place mandarin juice in a bowl, whisk in vinegar, mustard, salt, garlic powder and cayenne til well blended. Whisk in the oil til nice and thick. Add the onion, olives and arugula and toss til well coated. Sprinkle on the parmesan just before serving.

Basil and Garlic Bread

1 loaf Italian bread, sliced lengthwise in half
1 stick softened butter
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
paprika for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350. Place the bread halves on a baking sheet.

In a small bowl, blend together the softened butter, garlic, salt, parmesan cheese and basil. Blend well and spread on the bread halves. Sprinkle with prapika and heat in oven for about 6 minutes or so. To serve, cut into slices.

Cannoli
serves 4

15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. mini choclate chip morsels
8 cannoli shells

In a bowl, mix together the ricotta and sugar til smooth. Stir in the zest and extract. Fold in the chocolatea chips. Fill a pastry bag without a pastry tip (or you can fill a baggy then snip off one corner with a scissor) with the ricotta cheese. Just before serving, pipe in the ricotta cheese into the cannoli shells and dust with powdered sugar.