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Spaghetti Fridays: Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce & Garlic Parsley Butter

I recently read this wonderful article from Serious Eats on a fun tradition they started, to gather their friends and family around the dinner table and get people to talk, shut off their phones and really connect with one another. They call it "Friday Night Meatballs".

I loved the idea of gathering friends for an easy dinner party, with great food and not a lot of fuss. I've decided to try this idea out in my own little village here in Salt Lake and would like to invite anyone interested in attending to message me. "Spaghetti Friday's" are officially kicked off! I've had a few practice runs already with my roommates and last week when I was in Denver, we had a Spaghetti Sunday dinner to finish off a great weekend filled with comfort food. there's just something about pasta with a slow cooked batch of Sunday Gravy that is almost magical.

To make the first Spaghetti Friday a little easier on everyone, I'm giving you a semi-homemade version to get the ball rolling (and a day to prepare). I've tasted a lot of jarred pasta sauces in my day, great ones and really really bad ones. One of the best bottled sauces I've tried is from the famous Rao's restaurant in NYC. Since reservations are almost impossible to get at the NYC location, you can either dine at their Vegas location, or bring a jar of their famous sauce home.

Rao's has been featured in many movies and a few tv episodes. The most recent was in The Wolf of Wall Street. Jordan meets with Bo Dietl to discuss the ongoing FBI investigation into Stratton Oakmont as they dine amongst the wealthy, famous and infamous.

Spaghetti & Meatballs with Rao's Marinara

You will need:

1 box of spaghetti
1 packet of Aidells Caramelized Onion Chicken Meatballs
1 jar of Rao's Homemade Marinara
1 loaf of sliced french bread
1 batch of garlic parsley butter (below)
Parmesan cheese for finishing the pasta

Directions:

Fill a large pasta pot 1/4th of the way full, place on the stove and start heating the water on high. Make sure to salt the water, it should taste as salty as the sea. 

In a medium saucepan, combine the meatballs and the marinara sauce. Simmer on low while everything is cooking.

Turn the oven on low broil, line a cookie sheet with foil, set aside.

Once the pasta water is boiling, add your noodles. Set a timer according to the package directions for Al dente pasta.

While the pasta cooks, make your Garlic Parsley Butter. Slather a generous amount of butter on each slice of bread and set out evenly on the foil lined cookie sheet. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until golden brown.

Drain the pasta once cooked to perfect Al dente, add a cup of the sauce and stir. Let the pasta rest while the bread is cooking. By adding sauce to the noodles before serving, you will find you get much better flavor out of the pasta as the noodles will absorb the sauce, this also prevents the strands from sticking. Never ever add oil to your noodles or water when cooking pasta for spaghetti, it is a cardinal sin. The oil will prevent the marinara from soaking in and cause the sauce to slide off of your noodles.

Garlic Parsley Butter

Ingredients

• 2 cubes of butter, softened
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika

Spaghetti squash with chicken meatballs and Romesco sauce (Vegan and GF option)

On my quest to continue on my clean eating journey, I've been experimenting on textures and flavor combinations to liven up my healthy meals. My personal opinion is that the more flavor you are able to infuse into your healthy food, the less likely you are to cheat. 

Let's all be honest for a minute.. pasta is AmAzing! There is nothing better than a carb binge with more carbs on the side in the form of a piece of artisan bread slathered in garlic butter and toasted until golden brown. Mmm... oh ok sorry.. let me take a sip of my kale protein shake and get back on track... 

Spaghetti squash has  never been my favorite, unless it was covered in butter and cinnamon sugar. That was the case until I tried it with some left over Romesco sauce I had. Who knew all that was missing was a savory flavor combination for me to fall in love with this squash?! Adding the chicken meatballs is just another bonus to trick your brain into thinking you're having a Spaghetti night and not a nutritious, low carb and low calorie meal.

I've added notes below on making this dish Vegan and Gluten Free, so it truly works for everyone. Try it out, you'll be surprised on how good it truly is. I recently took some left overs to my office and let a few of my co-workers try it. Even the fast food loving, veggie hating non-dieters thought it was delicious.


ROASTED SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH CHICKEN MEATBALLS & ROMESCO SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 medium sized spaghetti squash, washed and cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of Romesco Sauce
1 batch of Chicken Meatballs
1 handful of fresh Italian parsley, minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions for the squash:

·      Preheat the oven to 400°F: Preheat the oven while you prep the squash.

• Slice the squash in half: Use a chef's knife to cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise from stem to tail. Spaghetti squash are really tough and hard, so be cautious when cutting.
• Scoop out the seeds: Use a large spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy bits of flesh from inside the squash. Discard the seeds 
• Place the squash in a foil lined baking dish: Choose a size large enough to fit both sides of the squash, cut side down. 
• Bake for 30 to 45 minutes: Smaller squash will cook more quickly than larger squash. Check the squash after 30 minutes to gauge cooking.
• The squash is done when tender: The squash is ready when you can easily pierce a fork through the flesh all the way to the peel. The flesh will also separate easily into spaghetti-like strands. You can also taste it right now — if the noodles are still a bit crunchy for your taste, put the squash back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Scrape out the squash: Use a fork to gently pull the squash flesh from the peel and to separate the flesh into strands. The strands wrap around the squash horizontally — rake your fork in the same direction as the strands to make the longest "noodles."
• Serve the squash: Serve the squash immediately, tossed with a little butter or olive oil. Spaghetti squash will also keep refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

You can freeze the meatballs in portioned sized freezer bags to make future dinners a snap.

*To make this recipe Vegan, substitute the chicken meatballs for Morning Star Farms veggie meatballs and the cheese with this vegan parmesan cheese recipe from The Minimalist Baker.

*To make the recipe gluten free, substitute the breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup finely crushed Corn Flakes cereal and 1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning.

Italian Baked Mac 'N Cheese

August 25th is National Mac 'N Cheese Day! I love Mac 'N Cheese, which is quite hilarious to my family as I was such a picky child. I still do not love certain cheeses on their own, but I have always had a fondness for the Italian cheese varieties and grate Parmesan on my food almost as much as pepper. In honor of this foodie holiday, I am sharing my recipe for Italian Baked Mac 'N Cheese. 

The baked version of this dish give a little added decadence, in the form of the amazing crust that browns on the top and sides of the baking dish. You get the same rewarding crunch of cracking open the caramelized crust of a creme brulee with this pasta and dish out a heaping pile of the velvety, creamy pasta center below. I love to top mine with fresh thyme and ground black pepper, and always a sprinkling of parmesan cheese before serving. It's Mac and CHEESE after all, you can't have enough cheese!

When baking a pasta, I always slightly undercook the noodles so the sauce has a chance to soak in and finish cooking them to a perfect al dente.  Make sure to add enough cream to really coat the noodles. Depending on the day, I will even add a couple of splashes before the breadcrumbs, as pasta can be temperamental and absorb more or less of the cream sauce. Better to have extra, then end up with a dry dish. The extra layers of cheese will melt into the added liquid and thicken as it bakes. 

For a personalized twist, bake in individual ramekins so each person gets plenty of crunch from the crust and baked edges. With this method, decrease your cooking time by 5-10 minutes and watch closely for browning.

Italian Baked Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 Lb. of tube shaped pasta; Ziti, Rigatoni or Cavatappi
1/2 cube of butter
1/2 C flour
1 pint of half & half, warmed
1 T garlic powder
1 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 C. Panko bread crumbs
1 bag of Italian cheese blend
3/4 C. shredded applewood smoked cheddar
3/4 C grated Parmesan
(Blend all cheeses together)
fresh thyme

Instructions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot with salted water. Drain two minutes before cooking time listed to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce while baking.

While the pasta cooks, make the béchamel sauce:

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks to a light blonde roux. Add the warm cream, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add the garlic powder, nutmeg and white pepper, lower the heat, and cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese at a time during the last few minutes of cooking until thickened. Remove from the heat. 

Pour the drained pasta into the béchamel sauce and stir to coat. Layer the pasta into a large ramekin or baking dish that has been prepped with cooking spray, alternating a layer of pasta and a layer of cheese until all the pasta is packed into the baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs, lightly sprinkle with smoked paprika and a final layer of cheese.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is browned and bubbly.
Garnish with chopped fresh thyme and freshly ground black pepper before serving.

Chicken Pesto Lasagna Rollatini

I had quite a bit of pesto and ricotta left over from my last blog post on bruschetta, so I started looking at a few other items I had on hand.  Bottled marinara and Parmesan are always a given in my fridge, I had 2 large grilled chicken breasts, the ricotta, basil and pesto. The wheels started turning, I always like to picture myself as a contestant on Chopped and think of what I would whip together in 30 minutes if $10 grand and my dignity depended on it. So I thought.. Italian ingredients.. pasta.. what do I have? Lasagna noodles.. hmmm... Rollatini! And just like that they all melded together into this delicious twist on a white lasagna. I think this recipe would get me through to the dessert round, but try it out yourself and tell me what your Chopped judges at home think.

Chicken Pesto Lasagna Rollatini

12 lasagna noodles
4 C. of well shredded chicken. (about 2 large breasts)
2 C. part skim ricotta
2 C. Italian cheese blend or mozzarella
1 C. spinach, shredded
1 C. pesto
1 jar of high quality bottled marinara
1 small bunch of basil leaves for garnish, chopped
shredded parmesan for plating


Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling and salted water until al dente. Drain the water, reserving a few inches in the bottom to keep the noodles from drying out or sticking as you work. Set aside off of the heat.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and oil a large glass baking dish.

Use the time while the pasta cooks to make the filling. Mix the shredded chicken, ricotta, one cup of the Italian cheese blend, spinach and pesto together until well combined. 

Assemble the rollatinis by laying each noodle onto a cutting board, spread a thick layer of the filling onto the noodle, leaving an inch gap uncovered on the end to hold it together. Roll the noodle into a pinwheel and press the end to enclose the filling. Place the rollatinis into the greased dish, seam side down. Once all of the rollatinis are in the dish, spoon marinara sauce over the center of each and top with more cheese. Place in the oven uncovered and bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Broil the last few minutes to brown the cheese if desired.

Plate with a 1/2 C. of marinara in the center of the plate, topping with a rollatini and garnishing with chopped basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

"Zoodles" with Marinara and Chicken Meatballs

I was so happy to get my Amazon shipment today with this little baby inside! Like all culinary addicts, I needed my latest kitchen gadget fix.The GEFU Spirelli Spiral Cutter  tool creates long ribbon "Zoodles" (zucchini noodles) for low carb, yummy pasta. You can also use it to make ribbons out of yellow squash and Julienne carrots or parsnips. It was easy to use and dishwasher safe for easier cleanup.

I made a batch of chicken meatballs to portion out and freeze for future use, in easy, healthy meals in a hurry. they went perfect with the veggie pasta. And you can't beat the smell of these in the oven. Mmm!

Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chicken grill seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and lightly mist with cooking spray.

Place ground chicken, egg, 1/2 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and grill seasoning and olive oil in a medium bowl.

Knead the mixture gently with your hands until just combined, being careful to not overwork.

Form the mixture into 1-inch balls with your hands and place evenly spaced on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and add to your favorite sauce. You may simmer for a few minutes longer in the sauce while your pasta cooks, or serve the meatballs plain.

For an added time saver, pick your favorite jarred red sauce. I thought spicy was in order this time to fight the cold weather.

Isn't this dish pretty? I sautéed the veggie noodles in a dash of olive oil for about 3-5 minutes until they were Al dente. I find my wok works great for this. Add the meatballs, sauce and toss until well coated. Plate and add a sprinkling of aged Parmesan cheese to top it off. Enjoy!

Tips: Play around with this. Add mushrooms or julienned bell pepper. You can also add a small amount of cooked wheat angel hair pasta to help smooth over the dish for picky eaters. The pasta helps to create a more traditional spaghetti texture.

This recipe can also be made vegan/ vegetarian by using Morning Star Farms veggie meatballs.

*You may purchase a GEFU Spirelli Spiral Slicer from Amazon.