Sage & Basil Bread

Since working at the bakery at Eataly I've been wanting to embark on all kinds of bread adventures. This is the first, pretty basic, step. This bread recipe would work just as well turned into rolls (or whatever shape you like) or with a sweet, cinnamony center. 

 What You'll Need:

• 1 package yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• few tablespoons of butter
• basil, sage, salt

Put it All Together:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water, about 10 minutes.
• Mix dissolved yeast, sugar, salt, oil and 1 cup of flour together. (I used my Kitchen Aid with the bread hook attachment.)
• *Note: When you add flour, sift it in instead of just dumping it. It helps to aerate it and be less dense.
• Add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time making sure it's mixed well after each addition.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5-10 minutes. 
• Put the dough into a greased bowl, turning it to coat. (I just used cooking spray.) Cover with damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
• Make herbed butter by mixing a few tablespoons of butter (room temperature) with sage, fresh basil and a little salt. 
• After the dough has risen to about twice its size, remove from the bowl and smoosh it down into a relatively flat shape. Slather the herbed butter in the middle and then fold the dough over. I ended up making it into a circular, wheel shape because it was easier and just sort of happened.
• Put the dough onto a greased cookie sheet, cover and let it rise for about another 40 minutes.
• Bake at 325 for about 20-30 minutes. (Some butter will leak out, but don't worry.)

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Pasta e Fagioli

This is one of my favorite Italian dishes... It's got everything delicious: beans, garlic, bacon, onion, pasta -- It's really hard to go wrong. Unless you're my grandmother. She takes this dish in a completely different direction. She uses Boston baked beans and some kind of tomato sauce... very strange. But this recipe is not red: I don't believe in red pasta e fagioli.

What You'll Need:

• quarter package bacon, chopped
• diced onion
• chopped carrots
• chopped garlic
• chopped celery
• olive oil/butter
• red kidney beans
• cannelini beans
• chicken broth
• sage
• basil
• bay leaves
• elbow macaroni 

Put it All Together:

• Heat a skillet and add bacon first. Cook it for just a minute or two, to give it a head start. Then add some olive oil and a little bit of butter, onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Allow vegetables to soften.
• Sprinkle a bunch of sage over veggies, black pepper, 2 bay leaves and a few basil leaves torn up.
• Take about a half cup of red kidney beans and half a cup of cannelini beans and puree them -- this will make the "soup" thicker. (I used an immersion blender because it's all I have and it's super easy.) Add chicken broth, beans and bean... mush. Bring it all to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

• Add about 1/3 to a half box of elbow macaroni and cook until they reach desired tenderness. (I like more pasta and cooked really well... makes it less soupy and more dense.)
• Serve with grated cheese on top.

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Mascarpone & Basil Tomato Sauce with Chicken Sausage

You really can't go wrong with these basic ingredients, no matter how you combine them. But here's how I go about it:

What You Need:

• An onion, diced.
• Olive oil, a... dollop?
• A few cloves of garlic, chopped.
• 1 big can of crushed tomatoes with basil.
• 1/2 small can of tomato paste.
• Lots of fresh basil, chopped.
• Sun-dried tomato & basil chicken sausage.
• Mascarpone cheese!!

Put it All Together:

• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, add onion to soften. Add half your garlic when onions are almost done. (If you add the garlic with onion right away it tends to get bitter.)
• Pour tomato sauce & paste in. Add salt & crushed red pepper to taste -- as well as a sprinkling of sugar. Simmer for a bit.
• Add chicken sausage, cut into chunks.

• Add the rest of the garlic and lots of freshly chopped basil, turn the heat down low, partially cover and let it "simmer" for about an hour. (More like stew together.) Mix every so often.

• Just before serving stir in a few tablespoons of Mascarpone cheese (don't be shy) until melted.

Would have been even better with some freshly grated Romano cheese on top, but, alas... I had none. Nonetheless, it was delicious and super easy. 

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