Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (41 page)

5.
Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake the reserved stuffing until heated through, about 20 minutes.

6.
Meanwhile, discard any fat in the roasting pan. Place the pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits in the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the brown sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the sauce between two sauceboats.

7.
Using a long, sharp knife, starting at the center of the stuffing, cut the roast into 1-rib servings. Transfer the pork and stuffing to dinner plates, and serve, with the sauce passed on the side.

Tony Bennett’s Mom’s Secret Ingredient

At Tony Bennett’s eighty-fifth birthday, the main course was his mother’s lasagna, which had a hint of cinnamon in the sauce. The guests were buzzing about the “unusual” seasoning. I mentioned to Patricia, his sister-in-law, that I thought that the spice would have been nutmeg, not cinnamon. She whispered in my ear, “It should have been. The old girl made us swear never to give out the recipe, so we changed it.”

Meatball Lasagna

MAKES 12 TO 16 SERVINGS

Our lasagna makes an appearance at just about every Scognamillo family event, from Christmas dinners to birthday parties. When I made this on Martha Stewart’s television show, we had so many customers asking for it that we sold out every night for three months. Somewhat different than the one you are probably familiar with, it is cooked with a minimum of tomato sauce so the layers remain distinct when the lasagna is cut, and then it is topped with the sauce for serving. We insist on fresh pasta, so order it ahead of time from your source, or make according to the instructions on
here
. With four layers of mini meatballs, mozzarella, sausage, and ricotta, this very special lasagna is impressively thick, so you must use a pan that is at least 3 inches deep.

1¼ pounds sweet Italian sausage

3 pounds fresh lasagna sheets

Olive oil, for the pan

7 cups
Tomato Sauce

1 recipe
Meatball-tini

1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

1 cup chopped fresh basil chiffonade (see
here
)

2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes

2 pounds whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 large egg, beaten

1.
Position a broiler rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler on high. Broil the sausages, turning often, until browned and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a carving board and let cool. Cut crosswise into ¼-inch rounds.

2.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook (the water does not have to return to a boil) according to the manufacturer’s directions until barely tender. (If using the
Basic Egg Pasta
, just until barely tender, about 1 minute.) Do not overcook. Drain and transfer to a large bowl of cold water.

3.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13 by 3-inch deep-dish lasagna pan.

4.
Spread ½ cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. Cut 8 of the lasagna sheets to yield 16 strips about 8 inches long. (Any pasta trimmings can be used in the center layers of the lasagna.) Using your fingers, smear a tablespoon of the tomato sauce all over a pasta strip. Fit the strip diagonally into a corner of the pan, with about 2 inches of each strip hanging over the pan, and fitting the rest of the strip along the side and bottom of the pan. Repeat with the other 3 corners of the pan.

Place the remaining strips around the perimeter of the pan, first smearing each lightly with tomato sauce, with about 2 inches hanging over the pan, and fitting the remaining lengths along the side and bottom of the pan. Lay 2 full strips, cut to fit, horizontally into the bottom of the pan.

5. For the meatball layer, mix the meatballs, ¼ cup of the Pecorino Romano, and ¼ cup of basil in a medium bowl. Spread evenly in over the pasta layer. Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the meatball mixture. Top with a horizontal layer of pasta sheets, cut to fit, to cover.

6. For the sausage layer, in the same bowl, mix the sliced sausage and ¼ cup of the Pecorino Romano. Spread evenly over the pasta layer. Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the sausage mixture. Top with a horizontal layer of pasta sheets, cut to fit, to cover.

7. For the mozzarella layer, in the same bowl, mix the mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Pecorino Romano, and ¼ cup of basil. Spread evenly over the pasta layer. Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the mozzarella mixture. Top with a horizontal layer of pasta sheets, cut to fit, to cover.

8. For the ricotta layer, in the same bowl, mix the ricotta, the remaining ¼ cup Pecorino Romano, and the egg. Spread evenly over the pasta layer. Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the ricotta mixture.

9. Top with a final layer of pasta sheets, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges of the pan. Brush the top layer of pasta and the overhanging pasta strips with the remaining tomato sauce in the pie plate. Fold the strips into the pan, trimming as needed, so you end up with a neat border (resembling a picture frame) around the edge of the lasagna. Oil one side of a 9 by 13-inch sheet of parchment paper. Place, oiled side down, on the lasagna. Cover the pan tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil. Cover and refrigerate the remaining tomato sauce.

10. Place the pan in a large roasting pan. Place both pans in the oven and add enough hot water in the larger pan to come about halfway up the sides. Bake for about 2 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 160°F.

11. Let the lasagna stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Reheat the tomato sauce. To serve, cut into squares and transfer each to a dinner plate. Top with a spoonful of the tomato sauce and a sprinkle of the remaining basil. Serve hot, with more Pecorino Romano passed on the side.

Struffoli

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Christmas dinner is over. You have been eating for about twenty-four hours straight, starting with the Feast of Seven Fishes the night before. Dessert has come and gone, and you swear that you cannot eat another bite. And then, one of your aunts or cousins brings out a plate of her homemade struffoli, little balls of fried dough, glazed with honey, and you find that you can nibble just a bit longer. These go down very easily with an espresso or a glass of sweet wine, such as Marsala.