Mambo Italiano

My beloved Big Man is Italian. Growing up, he had Sunday dinner at his grandmothers, with the cousins and extended family. Every so often, he waxes nostalgic, and feels bad that we live 1300 miles away from the Little Man's cousins and we only see them sporadically.

When this happens, I bust out  the Dean Martin and tie on the apron. I go into full on Italian housewife mode. 

I start with an antipasti platter. This one has fresh mozzarella ( it comes in a ball and us in the cheese section of the supermarket), prosciutto, capricola and salami. I added a variety of olives too.

For dinner, I made lasagna. Many years ago (like 20!), I knew the Big Man & I were serious when he had me spend an afternoon with his grandmother and learn how to cook family recipes. My lasagna isn't one of them, but I often think back to that day when I'm making lasagna.

You need:

Lasagna noodles ( I use the no boil to save time)

2 cans sauce

Garlic, minced

Ricotta cheese (16 oz)

1 egg

Basil

Dash nutmeg

2 tbsp red pepper flakes

1/2 c shredded mozzarella 

Preheat oven to 375. Mix ricotta, egg, garlic, basil, red pepper & nutmeg together. Layer noodles with ricotta mixture, mozzarella and sauce (noodle-ricotta-noodle-mozzarella/sauce, etc) ending with mozzarella & sauce.

Bake 45 minutes until melted and gooey.

On Top of Spaghetti

Every Italian wife has her own special recipe for both meatballs and sauce. I may not be Italian by birth, but after nearly two decades being around my husband's paesans, I've picked up a trick or two.
Spending the week in NJ, I remembered how much I love that food. It's not just the food, it's a cultural touchpoint. Food is the centerpiece of life: the kitchen is the heart of the home.
As it is in mine.
Between work, ministry and Mommydom, I don't always have time to make things from scratch. However when I do, it's oh so worth it.
To start with, you need to make the meatballs.

1 lb meat loaf mix (pork, beef & veal) if not available, ground beef is fine
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 c minced basil leaves or 1 tbs dried basil
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese
Dash salt
Heavy dash red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375. Mix ingredients together until they are well blended. Roll into balls. Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a lasagna pan. Place meat balls in. Bake for 20 minutes. At this point they can be frozen for later use or added to sauce. Note: they are not fully cooked at this point, they need additional cooking time.