Spinach And Lamb Bacon Stuffed Raviolis

(Serves 4)

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
When it’s a dull and rainy day outside we like to come up with little activities to spend time as a family together. It’s ever so important to keep thinking of new things to do to maintain sanity, especially in the new Covid normal. Today was Ravioli day! Home made hand rolled raviolis stuffed with a spinach, crispy lamb bacon and cream mix!

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Gourmet Mushroom Pizza With Truffle Oil

(Serves 4)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

I recently bought a bunch of gourmet products from Regalis foods and a box of mushrooms was one of then. Beautiful fresh oyster, shiitake and trumpet mushrooms and a full 4 pounds of these beauties. Needless to say we have been eating a lot of mushrooms these last few days. A quick and easy Sunday brunch of pizza was my idea to start getting through the box. More mushroom recipes coming soon! 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms (I used fresh shiitake, oyster and trumpet mushrooms)
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/2 dried dill
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese 
  • 1 Cup fresh mozzarella Pizza dough (I bought mine from the farmers market but you can also make it from scratch with this recipe)
  • White truffle oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 420F. Sauté the sliced mushrooms with olive oil in a skillet on medium to high heat with the oregano, parsley, dill, salt and pepper till the mushrooms are slightly golden. Set aside.

Follow instructions on the pizza box to roll out dough on a pizza tray. Spread ricotta cheese and chopped mozzarella on pizza followed by mushrooms.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the dough is browned on the outer rim. 

Top with drops of white truffle oil and serve sliced. 

Chicken Tikka Pizza

(8 servings – 2, 14 inch pizzas)

Preparation Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

I guess Italian cuisine month deserves its pizza! And as usual I provided a touch of our own with a chicken tikka topping. What I love about pizza is you can get so creative with the toppings and even the style and type of crust you want. I went for a thin crust here with traditional pizza flour I picked up from Chelsea market. For the chicken tikka, if you do not want to make the ‘masala’ or spice mix from scratch, no worries. Buy a pack from the supermarket. I have seen these readily available in neighborhood groceries. If you are in NYC, Fairway has a few options.

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The Godfather (Rye Negroni)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

The traditional Italian classic – Negroni is made with Gin. However I’m not a big Gin fan, & I still had my bottle of Angel rye whisky that I wanted to use. So decided to try a variation on this classic cocktail. I would say this Negroni version is a close cousin to the ‘Manhattan’ cocktail and really simple and easy to make. You can whip this up really quick when you have friends over and look like a professional bartender doing his/her thing 😉

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Chocolate Espresso Truffles & Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Preparation time: 4 hours
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 4 hours 15 minutes

The last two days in NYC have been pretty dull & gloomy, but there is no better way to brighten up the mood with a good dose of chocolate! Keeping with Italian cuisine month I decided to make a batch of chocolate espresso truffles and chocolate hazelnut truffles. Made quite a few Think I’ll give them out to the kids on Halloween!!! 

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