Adelia's Inside-Out Ravioli

'What is Inside-Out Ravioli'?  This is what I asked Adelia's son, Al, when he told me that his mom made the dish for everybody in his office during tax season. Adelia created a hearty crowd-pleaser by baking together pasta, spinach, and mozzarella smothered in her rich and meaty sauce. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds of shell pasta ('conchiglie')
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 boxes frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
8-10 meatballs, chopped  (recipe follows)
4-6 cups Adelia's Meat Sauce (recipe follows)

Cook pasta, drain well, and put into a very large mixing bowl
Add enough sauce to thoroughly coat pasta and mix well.
Add spinach and chopped meatballs.
Add more sauce and mix.
Add mozzarella cheese and mix it in.
Pour into a large baking dish (13x9) and top with more sauce.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.

Here are the Harsars enjoying Adelia's sauce at Sunday dinner in the early 1980s.
Sauce:
1 large can (28 oz) of Italian Sauce (such as Contadina or Dei Fratelli)
2 large cans (28 0z each) of regular sauce
1 medium can (15 oz) of Italian sauce
1 medium can (15 oz) of regular sauce
2 small cans or 1 large can of tomato paste
1/2-1/3 cup of olive oil

Put the tomato sauces in a large pot.
When it comes to a boil, add the paste and stir until it dissolves.
Lower heat and simmer.
Meatballs and Ribs (to be added to the sauce)
2 1/2 pounds of ground meat:  1 #ground pork, 3/4# ground beef, 3/4# ground veal)
2 eggs
2 handfuls bread crumbs
2 teaspoons of salt
Pepper and garlic powder to taste
2 or 3 western style ribs
Mix all meatball ingredients together.
Form into meatballs.
Should make about 25 meatballs.
To prepare: add 1/2 cup of olive oil to a large skillet.  When warm, add the meatballs and brown.
In a smaller skillet, use 1/3 cup of olive oil and add the ribs.
Season meat to taste and brown.
When meat is done, place the meatballs and ribs into the sauce.
Stir occasionally, simmering for 2-2 1/2 hours.

Printable version for Adelia's Inside Out Ravioli

French Onion Soup in the Crock Pot

Our 'cousin' Nancy Shullick Danese contributed this surprisingly easy-to-put-together recipe.  Nancy told me that this is a family favorite, particularly for her husband, Mario. They enjoyed it with steaks on the grill and a tossed salad for their 25th anniversary last year.
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons butter
4-6 cups of sweet onion, sliced thin
1 Tablespoon flour
5 cups beef stock or water
1 Tablespoon Worcestshire sauce
¼ cup white wine
Thick slices of French bread
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
   or provolone cheese
Fresh thyme for garnish (optional)
Method
In a large saute pan, melt 2-3 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add the 4-6 cups of sliced sweet onions. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes on the stovetop, or until onions are soft. Do not burn!
While onions are cooking, turn on crock pot. In the crock pot, mix 1 tablespoon flour, 5 cups water or beef stock, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to your taste, and ¼ cup white wine. Simmer altogether.  Add the onions to the contents of the stock pot, once they are cooked soft.  Simmer for 2-3 hours.
To serve: Ladle soup into individual serving mini-crocks. Place one thick slice of French bread on top of soup. Cover each with mozzarella and/or provolone cheese.Place under broiler until cheese melts and is golden brown in color. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve with more crusty bread.
French Onion Soup Printable Version

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore (pronounced 'catch uh tore' ay) is a dish that is known for its cold-weather heartiness. This version of 'Hunter's Stew' is from Rinaldo Freda. Grazie Rick Freda-when we asked for recipes, Rick  (Rinaldo's son) contributed several from his restauranteur family's collection. Compare Rinaldo and Iole raised a wonderful family-close and loving and kind to all. We served their chicken cacciatore with polenta as a side dish, accompanied by a rustic sourdough bread and mixed green salad. Our company loved it.

Ingredients
1 1/2 chickens, cut into quarters
1 stick celery, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 green pepper
12 oz jar mushrooms (I used fresh and cooked them down)
1 can black olives (I used Kroger brand kalamatas)
1 (16 oz) can whole tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can sweet peas
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 cup dry wine
salt and pepper
flour and oil (pancetta and olive oil work well)

Method
Wash chicken thoroughly and pat dry with paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Dip each piece of chicken in flour, and shake off excess.  Fry chicken in hot oil until golden in color on each side.  After it's fried, place chicken in baking pan.
Cover the chicken with tomatoes, celery, carrots, green pepper, onion, garlic, mushrooms, olives, parsley, bay leaves and dry wine.  Sprinkle salt and pepper to your taste.  Cover the pan and bake at 375* for two hours.  When chicken is half done, pour sweet peas over it and return the pan to the oven.. Serves 6.

Frank's Tiramisu

Tiramisu was my dad's signature dish. Well, maybe not so much a signature dish, as the only thing he ever actually made. I used to joke that to really enjoy it, you needed a spoon and a ride home-there was a LOT of brandy in Frank's version. When I told our lifelong friend Al Harsar that I was making the tiramisu this week in tribute to my dad (Frank's been gone 9 years now), Al wrote this, and it's perfect:  'The wonderful thing about your dad is that he literally enjoyed life and didnt care if he was with the President or the street cleaner.  He made me feel like such an important person-always a joyful greeting and genuine interest in what I was doing. 'Tiramisu' means 'pick me up' and my dad did that for all who knew him. Baci a te, Papa.

Ingredients
4 eggs
1/2 cup Tia Maria or brandy
1 pound mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 package of 24 stale ladyfingers
1/2 cup strong expresso
2 oz semisweet chocolate

Method
Separate eggs into two large bowls: add liquor to yolks and stir until blended.  Stir in mascarpone until blended.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. (I used a pinch of cream of tartar to help them hold their peaks.)  Fold half of eggwhites into cheese mixture; blend well.  Gently fold in remaining whites, set aside.
Dip ladyfingers quickly into expresso.  do not saturate.  Place flat side down in shallow baking dish. Add half of cheese mixture and smooth top. Grate half of chocolate over mascarpone mixture, covering surface.  Layer with remaining ladyfingers, mascarpone mixture and chocolate.
Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, several hours or overnight.
Note: Ladyfingers may be toasted at 375 degrees 15 minutes to stiffen.