Wines and Dining

[Scav]

I recently agreed to begin contributing a monthly column on wines and dining -- sort of an amateur critique on the Sacramento restaurant scene.

I will submit my first column this weekend.

Until then, I will come clean with the details of my own special dish. It's called Tortelloni Lasagne and the recipe is coveted by Buffy and Jackal...

Oops. Gotta run. Sorry to leave you hangin'. I'll pick up where I left off this evening.



[This message has been edited by Scav (edited 06-10-99).]

[LOVER]

I LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES. TO KNOW IS TO LOVE.

[Scav]

OK, I'm back. Anyway, the recipe for Tortelloni Lasagne is:

2- 16 oz blocks of mazzarella cheese

1- 6 oz container of dry, shredded paremesian cheese

2- 26 oz jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use 5 Brothers Oven Roasted Onion & Garlic)

3 to 4 - 9 oz packages of Contadina or Mallard's Tortelloni -- found near the milk in the dairy section at Bel Air.

2- 3 oz packages of California Sun Dry - julienne cut sun dried tomatoes

2 big red onions

1- 6 oz package of fresh portabella mushrooms

1- 6 oz package of fresh golden Italian mushrooms

6 to 10 peeled garlic cloves (Christopher Ranch sells these by the jar in the produce section at Bel Air)

2- 4 oz cans of sliced black olives

1/2 hot pepper (optional) I use half an habenero, but a serrano or jalapeno would work as well

3 tspn crushed basil

3 tspn crushed oregano

9 tblspn extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups red table wine

You will need 3 frying pans, a kettle, a cutting board and a casserole dish.

Place 3 tablspns of olive oil in each frying pan. Next, sprinkle 1 tspn of crushed basil and 1 tspn of crushed oregano into each frying pan.

Now, chop the onions into 1/2 to 1 inch sections. Place these into a frying pan.

Next, slice the portabella and golden Italian muchrooms. Place these into a second frying pan.

Next, thinly slice 6 to 10 peeled garlic cloves and dice the 1/2 pepper. Place these into a third frying pan, along with both cans of olives (drain the water) and both packages of sun dried tomatoes.

Now, place 1/2 cup of red table wine in each frying pan.

Place each frying pan on a seperate burner, crank each burner up to medium-high and saute.

You will have to pay careful attention during this process, constantly stirring the ingredients. Do this until the onions are a golden brown, the mushrooms are an earthy brownish/black and the sun dried tomatoes are a deep maroon color - partially hydrated (not squishy soft, yet not bone dry).

Once the saute in complete, place a lid over each frying pan and turn the burners off.

Next, fill your kettle with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Add all the tortelloni. Follow the cooking instructions on the packet.

When the tortelloni is cooked, drain it, pour 2 cups of cold water over it to cool it off, and cover the strainer with a paper towel.

Next, grate one block of mazzarella cheese. Cover the entire bottom of the casserole dish with this grated cheese.

Evenly spread one jar of spaghetti sauce over the cheese. Now grate the second block of mazarella cheese.

Next, place the tortelloni in the casserole dish and evenly distribute it over the sauce.

Now, evenly layer the sauted onions over the tortelloni. Do this again with the sun dried tomatoes/olives/garlic/peppers. Finally, evenly distribute the mushrooms on top.

Now, evenly distribute the second block of grated mazzarella cheese over the mushrooms.

Now, evenly spread the second jar of spaghetti sauce over this cheese.

Finally, evenly distribute the container of dry, shredded parmesian cheese over the sauce.

Place the casserole dish into your oven, preheated to 400 degrees and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

Periodically monitor it after 30 minutes. You will know it's done when the parmesian cheese on top is a crispy golden brown.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool -- and set -- for 30 minutes.

Serve this with some french baguette and a light garden salad. The main dish is very filling.

I would suggest pairing this tasty dish with a red wine of your choice. As I have previously stated, I am partial to Zinfandel and Sangiovese, but I have also enjoyed it with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Syrah and Pinot Noir.

You make the call.



------------------




[This message has been edited by Scav (edited 06-10-99).]