Eggplant, Sausage, and Ziti Casserole

Speaking of a New Year party, pictures like sexy pomegranate Champaign-tini , the heart-warming gift-exchange with close friends, delicious foods are flying in my head.

I like pasta, the traditional Italian touch with tomato, basil and sausages. I also like Greek food with the subtle earthy flavor from the roasted eggplant. This recipe seems like a perfect choice for the party. Good flavor, easy to make, and certainly can be done in advance.

Ingredients to assemble the Casserole
2 large eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch thick rounds
8 ounces ziti, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella

Ingredients for the red sauce
1 pound Italian sausage, removed from casings (I chose the spicy type, as we like spicy food)
1 green pepper
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 (28-ounce) can whole Italian tomatoes, crushed, and their juices
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for the creamy sauce
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Prepare Ingredients to assemble the casserole
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and set aside.
2) On a few cookie sheets, roasted eggplant at 375 degree for about 45 min.
3) Cook the ziti

Make the red sauce
Heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add the onion and sausage, and cook, stirring, until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, their juices, the Italian seasoning, black olives, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the crushed red pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer, uncovered, until the flavors marry and the sauce slightly thickens, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the basil and adjust seasoning, to taste.

Make the creamy sauce
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and forms a light roux, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and, whisking frequently, cook until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste.

Assemble the Casserole
1) Arrange half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the casserole, overlapping as necessary.
2) Top with half of the cooked pasta, then half of the red sauce and the creamy sauce
3) Repeat 1) and 2)
4) Top with the grated mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake for 1 hour at 375 degree or until puffed and golden brown on top.

Delicous Four Mushroom Pasta

This recipe, calling for 4 different types of mushrooms, is something else. By reading the recipe, I could have never imagined the rich flavor and unique aroma created by cooking up 4 different types of mushroom with a little bit onion, garlic. oregano, parsley and olive oil. This dish is simple, and yet elegant and delightful. If you love mushroom, you absolutely got to try this.

Mushrooms
1) 1/1/4 cups thinly sliced white mushrooms (Stems removed if preferred, but I did not)
2) 1/1/4 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
3) 1/1/4 cups thinly sliced oyster mushrooms
4) 1/1/4 cups thinly sliced chanterelle or porcini mushrooms
5) 1 medium size onion or red onion, finely chopped
6) 1 tps finely chopped chives
7) a few garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you prefer) finely chopped
8) salt and freshly ground white pepper

Making the Mushroom Base

In a large saute pan, add some olive oil or butter. Add the Add the chopped garlic and red onion Brown the garlic and the red onion under medium heat. Then, add white mushroom first and saute, stiriring for a minute, then add the shiitakes and stir for another minute; finally add the oysters and chanterelles. Cook the mushrooms until all their liquid has evaporated, about 5 to 6 minutes, or more. Then, add some chives. I did not have chive today, but used some oregano and parsley. It tasted the same good. Stir to mix well, sean to taste with salte and white pepper and remove it from the heat. It looks like the picture below.

Pasta Sauce
What complete this delicious pasta dish is the tomato source. I did not think the sauce would go well with the dish when I was reading the recipe. But, I followed the recipe anyway, and only pleasantly found out that the little sweetness and sidity from the tomato plays perfectly well with the rich earthy flavor from the mushroom.

1) 2/3 cup vegetable stock
2) Some olive oil
3) 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
4) 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5) Salt, white pepper, a little bit sugar

Making the Pasta Sauce

Add the olive oil and garlic. Add the tomato. Add the vegetable stock. Bring the mix to boil. Season with salt, white pepper and a little bit sugar to taste.

I assembled it into lasagna tonight, but believe this source and mushroom base could go same well with spaghetti.

Apple Sausage Pizza with Goat Cheese and Fresh Thyme

Shrimp Fennel Pizza

One of the most effective way to kill time while running on the treadmill is to watch foodnetwork and learn creative dishes. So, I learned this exquisite pizza.

recipe Shrimp Fennel Pizza