Baked Angel Hair Timbale

I've had many inquiries about what is pictured at the top of this blog, so I thought I'd post it. From Giada De Laurentiis' book "Giada's Family Dinners", a book I highly recommend for several great recipes, this recipe is quite tasty. I've actually been pleased with all the recipes I've tried from her book so far. Check it out! Here is the Baked Timbale. It calls for eggplant, but I can't find the Japanese variety, which, from what I read, is more mild tasting than regular eggplant. My husband is not a fan of eggplant so I use zucchini.

1/3 Cup plus 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

6 Japanese Eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut into 1 inch cubes--or zucchini.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound turkey sausage, casings removed

1/3 cup dry red wine

3 cups marinara sauce

1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes

8 ounces angel hair pasta

1 (17 1/4 ounce) package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

1 pound mozzarella cheese, diced

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat 1/3 cup of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high neat. Add half of the eggplant cups 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 of oil and the remaining eggplant and garlic. Add to the bowl with the first batch.

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, about 8 minutes. Add the sausage, marinara, red pepper flakes to the bowl with eggplant mixture and toss to combine.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Drain. Toss the angel hair with eggplant mixture. Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface to a 13 1/2 inch square. Transfer to a 9 inch spring form pan, allowing the excess pastry to hang over rim.

Add the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to cooled mixture and toss to combine. Spoon mixture into pan. Roll out second pastry sheet to 13 inch square and place over pasta filling. Pinch the edges together to seal. Trim overhanging pastry edges to about 1 inch. Fold the remaining edge to form a decorative border. Cut a slit in the center for steam.

Bake until pastry is brown and puffed on top, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes. Remove sides of pan and serve!

Surf and Turf

A new post?!? No way! Ok, so I'm trying again......but I make no promises! These recipes I found this weekend and tried them out together for a fabulous Surf and Turf meal. They are both so incredibly easy. I got my steaks and big, beautiful prawns at Costco and was not disappointed! Great flavors!

Steaks

1 tablespoon McCormick® Grill Mates® Montreal Steak Seasoning or 1 tablespoon McCormick® Grill Mates® 25% Less Sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon McCormick® Onion Powder1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Oregano Leaves
1 pound boneless beef sirloin, porterhouse or New York strip steak
1. Mix Steak Seasoning, sugar, onion powder and oregano in small bowl until well blended. Generously season steak with spice mixture.

2. Grill over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
Test Kitchen Tip: Try with the newer cuts of steak available in the meat case, such as hanger steak, round sirloin tip center steak, shoulder top blade steak (flat iron), shoulder petite tender steak or shoulder center steak (ranch steak).

per servingCalories: 174
Fat: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Cholesterol: 54 mg
Sodium: 435 mg
Fiber: g
Protein: 26 g

Prawns
1 pound freshwater prawns in their shells
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled
Instructions: Clean prawns.
Combine cleaned prawns with lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary in a glass or other non-reactive bowl. Cover and marinate for about 1 hour in the refrigerator, stirring periodically.
Preheat a large nonstick over high heat. Transfer the contents of the bowl to the hot pan. Cook the prawns for about 2 minutes on each side, until the shells turn bright pink and the meat is opaque.
Remove to a serving bowl and set another alongside for shells.