Pasta and Sausage alla Lasagna

A while back I was cleaning out some closets when I came across a binder filled with cutouts of recipes from magazines I had tried or planned to try. While flipping through it, I found this recipe for "Pasta alla Lasagna". I had made this dish before but had completely forgotten about it. I was so excited to find it again because it's so good and easy (a Chef Mommy theme you might have noticed :)...perfect weeknight food the entire family will love!


Think of this hearty dish as lasagna without the assembly; it contains the same ingredients but is a lot easier to put together.


I love the ricotta mixture on the side! Perfect, built-in portion control!!


Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2 days. Just be sure to store the ricotta mixture and sauced pasta separately.

Ingredients:
2 cups chunky pasta (I used rotini)
1 (2 1/2 ounce) sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1 cup reduced-sodium marinara
1/2 part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 Italian parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
Pepper

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package instructions; drain and place in a serving bowl. Keep warm.

Heat a non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Crumble in the sausage and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Drain off any fat and add sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, parsley, Parmesan and pepper in a small bowl.

To assemble, toss the pasta with the sausage and sauce. Top each serving with a dollop of the ricotta mixture.

Makes 4 servings
Per Serving (1 cup pasta w/ sauce + 1 dollop of ricotta mixture)
258 Cal
8g Fat
323 mg. Sodium
3 g Fiber
13 g. Protein

Source: Weight Watchers Magazine

Blue Moon Pizza - Buckhead

Delicious Portabella Mushrooms topped with "Grandma's sauce", goat cheese and basil. A great first taste.

I was recently invited to check out Blue Moon Pizza, a local chain with four Atlanta area locations. Owners Kelvin and Mandy Slater have built a fun concept including a delicious variety of "specialty moons" (pizzas) as well as salads, "flatwiches" (sandwiches with bread made from pizza crust dough and appetizers. In addition to the Buckhead location (pictured below), there are locations in Marietta, Smyrna and now Sandy Springs as well. Click here for specific location information.

We had the opportunity to taste the mushroom appetizer (above) as well as several pizzas and one of the salads. Everything was good, with enough spice already added to make red pepper flakes a non-issue (at other pizza places we are always shaking those little glass bottles to try and get more flavor on the food!) I particularly enjoyed the portabella mushrooms, the Santa Fe style pizza and the Cobb salad. I look forward to trying more options on a future visit. We also had a fun time talking with Kelvin and Mandy, who are obviously dedicated to their concept of making Blue Moon "an everyday place that still feels special" for their customers. There is a loyalty program as well as a newsletter.

Casual, pleasing dining area adorned with special blue moon decor. The restaurant also features the amazing Coke machine with dozens of possible flavor combinations. I had fun trying out cherry Dr. Pepper - a rare treat!



Top half: BBQ chicken pizza; below: Jerk chicken pizza - just the right amount of spice!



Top half: Grandma's Pizza; below: my personal favorite, the Santa Fe featuring black beans, avocado and jalepenos - spicy and so delicious.



Calvin enjoyed a blue "moontini" - all locations feature a full bar with $5 martinis every Thursday.



Cobb salad - this is no ordinary salad! All salads at Blue Moon are served on pizza crusts - a neat touch.

Blue Moon also features a special gluten-free pizza crust, which can be used for all of the pies and for garlic bread. There is a list of gluten-free menu items and even a gluten-free chocolate brownie. Additionally, the restaurant offers lunch specials like a slice of cheese pizza, a side salad and a soda for $6.99.

Delivery is available within 3 miles of any location. Blue Moon also features Take-n-Bake: you pick up a pizza that is ready to be cooked in your oven at home. The pizza comes with a special baking tray to help you achieve that perfect crispness!

If you haven't already become a fan, give Blue Moon a try!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary

Alfredo's - An Atlanta Classic

Calamari.

Somehow I lived in Atlanta for more than four years before I dined at Alfredo's Italian Restaurant. I drive past it all the time and heard that it exemplified "old-school Italian" cooking so I'm not sure why I waited so long! One reason might be that the parking lot is always full and a reservation is a must on the weekend. Luckily when we had a friend visiting from out of town we reserved a table and had a lovely meal. It really is old-style Italian (and old-style Atlanta, having operated for more than 35 years), with wonderful, attentive service by men who appear to have been in the business for years and a head waiter/maitre'd who reminds me of some of the characters in stereotypical mafia films.

The signature sign on Cheshire Bridge Road.



Mussels appetizer.

For the amount of food you receive, the value is outstanding. Although I did not photograph the buttery garlic bread or the pickled vegetables that are brought out to every table, they were both delicious, the veggies very nostalgic and the bread great for sopping up all the delicious sauces presented throughout the meal - I think we ate four baskets! The above-pictured mussels are listed in the "Zuppe" section and do contain a delicious white wine/garlic broth that can be eaten as soup after consuming the delicious mollusks.

For entrees the three of us split two: the linguine pescattore and the veal three ways. Both were outstanding. More yummy sauce to eat with garlic bread!



Padrino (Godfather): veal three ways with spinach.

(Slow Cooker) Meatballs with Sauce

From meatball cupcakes to Crockpot meatballs....Enjoy (and sorry for the delay in posting. It's been a busy week!).

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:
3/4 lb ground beef
1 sweet Italian sausage link (casing removed)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

Remaining Ingredients:
½ large onion, chopped
16 oz (2 cups) of your favorite homemade or store-bought marinara sauce

Directions:

Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl using your hands. Do not over mix. Roll the mixture into balls roughly the size of a golf ball.

Scatter the onion over the base of your slow cooker.

In a nonstick skillet on med-high heat, add the meatballs (but don't overcrowd) and cook for about 1 minute, until they sear slightly. Add your meatballs to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce evenly over the top, making sure to coat everything.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Serve with pasta, grated Parmesan and basil.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Have you ever been to a California Pizza Kitchen and had their signature BBQ Chicken pizza? Isn't it the best?? So, when I found this recipe online I had to try it!

How yummy is this...grilled chicken, gooey cheese, red onion and sweet BBQ sauce on a PIZZA. This recipe is a great copycat version but feel free to swap out the Parmesan for smoked Gouda which is on the original.


This BBQ sauce was perfect for the pizza. It has just the right amount of sweetness. I don't buy BBQ sauce that often but I easily found this one at my local Super Target.


Above: homemade BBQ chicken pizza
Below: CPK's original BBQ chicken pizza



Ingredients:

1 batch of pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
1 cup grilled chicken strips, chopped
3/4 cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and turn on to 475 degrees.
2. Roll out your pizza dough onto a pizza peel.
3. Pour the Sweet Baby Ray's over the top of the crust.
4. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the top of the sauce.
5. Then the chicken...
6. Then the onions...
7. Then the rest of the mozzarella and all of the Parmesan cheese.
8. Dot the top with a little bit more of the Sweet Baby Ray's.
9. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the underside of the crust is golden.
10. Sprinkle the cilantro over the top and enjoy.

Source: JamieCooksItUp

Very Belated Birthday Post

Fruit tart from my lovely cousins - yum!

For my most recent birthday we ventured to Cobb County for a performace at the Cobb Energy Center. Before the show, Calvin researched and found a nearby Italian restaurant - Taverna Fiorentina - for us to try for my birthday. The space is small , which I liked although too many of the tables are near the kitchen, adding to the noise and decreasing the intimate ambiance. The service, although a bit slow (they were pretty full that night) was decent. The food we tried was a mixed bag. I loved the Caesar salad and the pasta and risotto dishes were tasty but the food felt heavier than it should have. I liked the grilled squid a lot but there wasn't much squid on the plate! The scallops were cooked perfectly and not overdone, which always makes me smile. I would like to give this place another try in order to taste more dishes from their menu. Unfortunately since there are so many new places to try, it might be awhile before that happens.

Seafood mushroom pasta.


Grilled squid with fruit jelly.

Stellar Caesar salad.

Risotto with Scallops.

Italian rice pudding.

NYC: Lattanzi Italian Ristorante

I'm nearing the end of the belated New York posts (one more!) and then we'll go to a few cooking posts and some more recent Atlanta and Charlotte eats. One day we bought half price tickets to In The Heights - at that time starring Jordin Sparks - and had some tasty dim sum (sorry no photos!) in Chinatown. Although the dim sum was tasty, it was not really better than what we have in Atlanta and definitely not good enough to make me want to wait an hour again! We did get to see my cousin Jason (yay) so that was fun and afterwards we walked through Washington Square Park, always interesting to see the street performers.

Later, before the show we headed to Lattanzi Italian Ristorante for some Italian goodness. The restaurant is downstairs, somewhat underground in the theater district. The ambiance is nice, not too loud with significant lighting and chandeliers. I enjoyed our meal but was a bit disappointed overall. Based on the reviews it sounded like this place would be outstanding and very memorable. I can't really remember much about the food so that is not a good sign! In any event, we enjoyed another meal with our wonderful hosts and had a great time at the show!

Arugula salad.

Pasta with white clam sauce.

Mushroom Ravioli.

Seafood Risotto.

Pasta with meat sauce.

Light cheesecake - with too much light!!

NYC: Sushi Hana and Veniero's

Giant sushi boat - I've always wanted one of these and with four of us, we handled it pretty nicely. Yum!

Calvin and I took a quick trip to NYC in November to meet with our wedding officiant. We were lucky enough to stay with my law school friend, Nathalie, and her husband Drew, who were both super hosts during our stay. Upon arrival we headed to Sushi Hana for a delicious meal including the fabulous sushi boat pictured above.

Seaweed salad, gyoza, shu mai and fried mushrooms - all delicious.

My law school buddy Nathalie and yours truly outside Hana. It was a bit chilly!

Economy Candy - I had to take a photo of this since it's one of my dad's favorites. Unfortunately it is closed or I would have brought him some candy.

Veniero's, a delicious pastry cafe our hosts recommended - we took ours back home.

Delicious pastries from Veniero's - regular and chocolate cannoli, hazelnut tart and fruit tart.

Fran's Filling Station - Charlotte

Huge salad with grilled salmon.

Fran's Filling Station is a relatively new addition to the Dilworth dining scene. Located on Park Road across the street from the American Red Cross, Fran's functions as a place nice enough to take company but inexpensive enough for a casual dinner anytime. Restauranteur and owner Fran Scibelli serves a varied, tasty menu including soups, sandwiches and salads as well as some heavier entrees. Having dined here twice recently, the second time indulging in dessert, I recommend Fran's wholeheartedly. Try the grapenut pudding if it is offered - a real New England treat not usually found down south.

Special fries plain and (back) with blue cheese.



Chicken sandwich - I can't remember which variety!



Greek salad with seared tuna.




Eggplant parmesan.



Burger with fries.