Episode Seven

Lasagne alla Bolognese

Lasagne alla Bolognese is just one of the many examples of what you can do with your very versatile ragu sauce that you have made! Lasagne in Italy is made very different than the lasagne in America. Traditionally in America you make lasagne with ricotta and maybe very unfortunately cottage cheese, sick! So instead of ricotta Italians use what is called béchamel or just put and a on the end of it and thats what the Italians call it! I remember the first time I had Lasagne in Italy, I was in the first city that I lived in while I was there. It was just a very small town called Mantova. It was exactly what I thought Italy was going to look like, very pretty and very old world. Anyway getting back on subject, I remember it being very different and I was not sure what to think of it. But the more I tasted it and the more that I had lasagne while I was in Italy, the more I realized how much better lasagne was the Italian way! Lasagne, also can be done in hundreds of different ways. You don't have to be restricted with what I show you in this episode. Just remember to replace you ricotta with béchamel and then go from there. It will take you some practice to get a good béchamel sauce down, but once you do your lasagnes will forever be happy!

Ingredients :

Ragu sauce

Box and a half of lasagne 

Béchamel:

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 cup flower

Four to Five cups milk

Parmigiono four to five cups or more

 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Episode Six

This is one of my favorite dishes I ate while I was living in Italy! I saw this dish made many different ways from the different regions that I lived in. From the Venito which is the region that venice is in, all the way down to La Spezia, which is where Genova is. You can find carbonara where ever you go in Italy, and its possibilities are endless. My personal favorite way to eat carbonara is the way I make it on this episode. It is simple and very elegant, and if seasoned right it can be an explosion of flavor in your mouth! Megan's favorite way of eating carbonara is with tortellini instead of spaghetti, and with cream in it as well. But the best part of this dish is that it is very very easy to make, and takes maybe twenty minutes at the most. 

Episode Five

Ragu

This episode easily is my favorite dish in the whole world! Ragu! Ever since I first tried while living in Italy I have loved it more and more every time I have made it. What makes this sauce so amazing to me is it can be done ten thousand different ways. I do not think I have made this sauce the same way one time in the many times that I have made it. It is a bit time consuming, but don't worry spend a saturday making it with the wife, or your kids, or your fiends, or who ever. Have fun with this dish and be creative, and your patience will be well rewarded. 

Ingredients:

2 sweet onions

3 celery stocks

3 large carrots sticks

1 lb ground beef

1 lb bacon

1 lb ground lamb

6 ounce can organic tomato paste

2-3 cups wine, white or red

1 cup cream

Salt/ Pepper

Episode Four

Spaghetti and Mussels

This episode we are diving into the ocean! We were at my future sister in-laws apartment with some friends and family. I made a simple spaghetti and mussels dish that will have your head spinning! It will only take you about thirty minutes and you will be able to impress all of your friends. And hey if you don't like sea food thats ok, we have those other episodes for you to watch and many other episodes to come!

Ingredients:

Pound of spaghetti

2 pounds of mussels

4-5 garlic cloves

28 ounce can chopped organic tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

Bundle of parsley

1-2 cups of white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

Episode Three

GNOCCHI
Most people probably have never had home made gnocchi, but once successfully tried you will never want to go back to store bought or even restaurant gnocchi ever again. In this episode we visit the home of our good friends Ryan and Puddle. We had a great time making home made and a bacon, ham, and cream sauce. By the time we were plating up the gnocchi our mouths were watering! This is such a good recipe, and I totally recommend for all of you to set aside a night and try and make this dish, you will not regret it.

Gnocchi:

Three medium potatoes

1/2 to 1 cup of All purpose flower

Salt and Pepper 

Sauce:

Two cups heavy whipping cream

Five strips of bacon

16 ounces of ham

1 cup of parmigiano

1 cup white wine

Episode 2

French Toast

Megan and I had the opportunity of going camping this past weekend in Jackson Hole Wyoming, with two of our friends. For breakfast I made my own version of what I believe is the best french toast in the world!!! One day it dawned on me while I was eating french toast at home that there had to be a better way of eating french toast. So through a combination of eating it at restaurants, watching the food network, and my own ideas, I came up with this recipe. It really is a simple meal to make, and to make it even easier you can make the batter the night before along with the whip cream. Another thing that we discovered as we were camping, the day after we filmed this episode we tried the syrup again, but this time we used whipping cream, and we discovered that it was even better than with the buttermilk. So feel free to use ether one. But this is a must try recipe, your saturday morning breakfasts will forever be changed!

Ingredients:

French Toast Batter:

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbs vanilla

Cinnamon/nutmeg to taste

dip thick french bread into batter

Whipped Cream:

2 cups whipping cream

2-4 tbs sugar

1 tbs vanilla

fresh fruit

Syrup- "Breakfast Glaze":

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk or whipping cream

1 tbs corn syrup

1 tbs vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

Episode One

This is our very first episode, how to make a basic authentic red sauce for your pasta!

Ingredients:

Garlic

Fresh Basil 

Canned Organic Tomatoes, Chopped or Whole

Salt, Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pasta

Cayenne Pepper