Puff pastry seems to be a relative of the Middle Eastern phyllo dough. References to puff pastry appear before the 17th century indicating a history that originated through Muslim Spain and was converted from thin sheets of dough spread with olive oil to laminated dough with layers of butter, perhaps in Italy or Germany. Traditionally, however, credit is given to the French painter and cook Claude Gelée, who lived in the 17th century, for the discovery. The story goes that Gelée was making a type of very buttery bread for his sick father, and the process of rolling the butter into the bread dough created a croissant-like finished product.
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Italian sausage and onions in puff pastry
Italian sausage in puff pastry is a fun way to have all the flavors you enjoy in an italian sausage hoagie wrapped up in a little mini-package.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While puff pastry dough is thawing, saute onions in oil and cook sausage links thoroughly. Cut the sausage links into 1/2 inch slices and set aside.
Roll out Puff Pastry on a lightly floured surface, into a 15'x15" piece. Cut pastry in 3" squares.
Place a tablespoon of carmelized onions and one slice of sausage in the center of each square. Brush edges with water.
Bring edges together to form a pouch, pinching the edges to seal. Brush with butter. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Notes Any type of sausage can be substituted for the Italian sausage and sautéed green peppers can be added for the authentic Italian sausage sub flavor. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
“The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”
Orson Welles
No one really knows where this fabulous elixir originated, the most popularly accepted account is that it was invented in Florence, Italy in 1919, at Caffè Casoni, now called Caffè Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni invented it by asking the bartender, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. The bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano to signify that it was a different drink. One of the earliest reports of the drink came from Orson Welles while working in Rome on Cagliostro, where he described a new drink called the Negroni, “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.”
However, Noel Negroni, a member of the prestigious Negroni family recently researched the family archive and discovered there never was a Count Camille Negroni. According to Noel it turns out that the true inventor of the Negroni is Pascal Olivier de Negroni de Cardi , Comte de Negroni, Noel’s fourth cousin. According to Noel Negroni, since Corsica is much closer to Italy than France it’s not a huge leap to presume that Comte Pascal would have been very familiar with Italian gastronomy.
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Negroni with burnt orange zest
An Italian cocktail made up of gin, vermouth and compari, garnished with fresh orange and flamed orange zest.
Instructions
put ice in a shaker with gin, vermouth and compari and shake till cold. Pour into glass over ice. Take a slice of orange zest off an orange and light it for 5 seconds to warm up the oils. With the lighter still on the zest, squeeze it so it flames then run it around the rim of the glass. Garnish with orange segments.
Recipe Notes
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Panna cotta, Italian meaning cooked cream, is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk, and sugar and gelatin. It is believed to have originated in the Northern Italian region of Piedmont, although it is eaten all over Italy. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts. Earlier recipes for the dish did not directly mention gelatin, but instead included a step in which fish bones were boiled; this is now known to extract collagen from the bones, which turns to gelatin.
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Panna Cotta with honey and berriesFrom: GalleyChef.org
Light as a feather, creamy and easy. This is a dessert that will satisfy that sweet tooth.
Instructions
Place the half and half in a heavy saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves but the milk does not boil, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, honey, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour mixture through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Grease 4 ramekins. Pour mixture into ramekins. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours. Remove the panna cotta from the ramekins onto a plate. Spoon berries over the top and serve. Decorate with chocolate drizzle or honey if desired.
Recipe Notes
© Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
Pappardella are large, very broad, flat pasta noodles, similar to wide fettuccine. The name derives from the verb “pappare”, to gobble up. Pappardelle is a well-loved type of pasta in Tuscany. Tagliatelle, tagliolini, pappardelle, tortellini, and lasagne are some of the pastas made from sfoglia, the “leaves” of egg-and-flour dough. Tagliatelle which simply means cut pasta is a pasta wider than fettuccine but narrower than pappardelle. Legend has it that the tagliatelle shape–strips of pasta about a half inch wide, was invented in 1487 by Maestro Zafirano, a cook from the village of Bentivoglio, on the occasion of the marriage of Lucrezia Borgia to the Duke of Ferrara. The cook was said to be inspired by the beautiful blond hair of the bride. Despite the appeal of this romantic notion, it seems likely
that the invention of tagliatelle in Italy is earlier. Not only do we have pictorial representations of tagliatelle before this date in the Tacuinum Sanitatis, an eleventh-century Arab health manual translated into Italian that was first illustrated in the fourteenth century, but in the Compendium de naturis et proprietatibus alimentorum, a list of local Emilian nomenclature for foods compiled in 1338 by Barnaba de Ritinis da Reggio di Modena, the entry for something called fermentini indicates that it is cut into strips like tagliatelle and boiled.
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Papardelle with Leeks and Bacon From: GalleyChef.org
Creamy, pasta with smoky bacon. This is the best pasta I've ever had!
Instructions
Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring often, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 5-8 minutes. Add leeks and season with salt. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until leeks begin to brown, 5-8 minutes. Add cream, tarragon, pernod and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 5-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Add pasta, Parmesan, and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce and stir to coat. Increase heat to medium and continue stirring,adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta.
Recipe Notes
© Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
This pasta salad has all the flavors of puttanesca sauce.
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Pasta Salad Putenesca
This salad has the salty bite of feta cheese and kalamata olives with the briny flavor of capers and lemon resulting in a delicious puttanesca - ish taste.
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain. While pasta is cooking, combine all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. When pasta is done and drained and still warm, add dressing and tomatoes, olives, cheese and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Notes Add cooked and cooled shrimp for a more substantial salad. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
Crunchy, savory little snacks that are perfect for game day or an after-school snack. Make them ahead of time, freeze, and reheat for a quick and easy bite.
Crunchy, savory little snacks that are perfect for game day or an after-school snack. Make them ahead of time, freeze, and reheat for a quick and easy bite.
Instructions
Saute spinach 1 to 2 minutes until wilted. Add mozzarella cheese and basil leaves and stir till cheese is melted. Fill fillo cups with mixture.
Top each cup with a thin slice of tomato .
Add a Pepperoni slice. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Recipe Notes
Make these tasty treats in advance and freeze them for a tasty 10 minute pizza snack any time. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
This sauce originated in Naples, Italy. It is said that the Prostitutes (puttana’s) needed to make something quick and nourishing between “appointments”. This sauce was created for just this reason. It has the flavors of Southern Italy – very intense, chunky and rich in flavor.
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PUTTANESCA SAUCE
Ragu bolognese originated in Belogna, Italy. This variation of the recipe uses ground lamb to really give the sauce a meaty flavor.
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Ragu with ground lamb
Instructions
Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and lamb and cook on high until brown. Add the tomato paste and cook 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and half and half and cook for 10 minutes. Add the wine, nutmeg and parmesan cheese rind, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 hours. Season with salt.
Recipe Notes
This is delicious with any shape pasta, however, traditionally it’s served with Tagliatelle. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved