Gelato:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
- Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.
Lasagna:
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup (8-ounces) fresh ricotta
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 4 or 5 large fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for pasta water
- 1/2 batch Sunday Gravy with Sausages, recipe follows
- 1/2 batch Meatballs, recipe follows
- Salt
- 1 recipe George's Fresh Pasta, recipe follows, cut into lasagne noodles (4 to 5-inches wide by 12 to 13-inches long)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- 1 ball fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Put a bowl of ice water near the stove, and set out a few towels next to the bowl to drain the pasta.
Generously grease a 10 by 14-inch baking pan using 1 to 2 tablespoons of the butter. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, and parsley together. Rip up the basil leaves and fold them into the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and set aside.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the pieces of pork, sausage, and meatballs from the Sunday Gravy to a separate bowl. They will be coated with some of the tomato gravy. That's okay. Set the remaining gravy and bowl of meats aside.
Generously salt the boiling water and cook the lasagne sheets, a few at a time, at a rolling boil for 1 minute. The noodles will be very firm; they will cook further in the oven. Transfer the pasta to the ice water with a long-handled flat skimmer or strainer. As soon as they are cool to the touch- less than a minute- lift them out, shaking off excess water, and lay the noodles out on towels to drain. Repeat the process until all the pasta is cooked.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cover the bottom of the baking pan with a layer of lasagne sheets, allowing the pasta to hang over all sides of the pan. Top with another layer of lasagne sheets cut to fit the bottom of the pan without an overhang.
Cover the pasta with 1/2 of the reserved meats. Spoon over enough gravy to moisten well, about 1 cup. Sprinkle with a rounded 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano. Cover with another layer of pasta cut to fit without an overhang. Top with 1 cup gravy. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the gravy and top with half of the mozzarella and a rounded 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano. Repeat the pasta and meat layer and the pasta and ricotta mixture layer.
Cover with a final layer of pasta (you may not have used all the lasagne sheets) cut to fit the inside of the pan without an overhang. Top with the remaining gravy and Pecorino Romano. Bring up the overhang of pasta and fold over the top of the lasagne to enclose the filling. Dot with remaining butter and loosely cover with foil.
Bake the lasagne for 25 minutes, uncover, and continue to bake until very lightly browned and bubbling hot, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. To keep the top noodles soft without browning, bake the lasagne covered with foil for 35 minutes and uncovered for the last 5 to 10 minutes in the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Salad:
Generously grease a 10 by 14-inch baking pan using 1 to 2 tablespoons of the butter. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, and parsley together. Rip up the basil leaves and fold them into the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and set aside.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the pieces of pork, sausage, and meatballs from the Sunday Gravy to a separate bowl. They will be coated with some of the tomato gravy. That's okay. Set the remaining gravy and bowl of meats aside.
Generously salt the boiling water and cook the lasagne sheets, a few at a time, at a rolling boil for 1 minute. The noodles will be very firm; they will cook further in the oven. Transfer the pasta to the ice water with a long-handled flat skimmer or strainer. As soon as they are cool to the touch- less than a minute- lift them out, shaking off excess water, and lay the noodles out on towels to drain. Repeat the process until all the pasta is cooked.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cover the bottom of the baking pan with a layer of lasagne sheets, allowing the pasta to hang over all sides of the pan. Top with another layer of lasagne sheets cut to fit the bottom of the pan without an overhang.
Cover the pasta with 1/2 of the reserved meats. Spoon over enough gravy to moisten well, about 1 cup. Sprinkle with a rounded 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano. Cover with another layer of pasta cut to fit without an overhang. Top with 1 cup gravy. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the gravy and top with half of the mozzarella and a rounded 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano. Repeat the pasta and meat layer and the pasta and ricotta mixture layer.
Cover with a final layer of pasta (you may not have used all the lasagne sheets) cut to fit the inside of the pan without an overhang. Top with the remaining gravy and Pecorino Romano. Bring up the overhang of pasta and fold over the top of the lasagne to enclose the filling. Dot with remaining butter and loosely cover with foil.
Bake the lasagne for 25 minutes, uncover, and continue to bake until very lightly browned and bubbling hot, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. To keep the top noodles soft without browning, bake the lasagne covered with foil for 35 minutes and uncovered for the last 5 to 10 minutes in the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Salad:
Ingredients:
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- fine sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
- On a large platter, alternate and overlap the tomato slices, mozzarella cheese slices, and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.
