Kymberly Burgess -Pasta and Cannoli's

Cranberry Lime Drink

100 % Cranberry juice

Sprite

Limes, sliced or cut in wedges

Equal parts juice and Sprite, or start with Sprite and add juice until you feel good about yourself. 

Watermelon, Mint, Feta Salad

½ medium watermelon

½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 handful baby greens

Cut the watermelon into large dice, or approximately ¾-inch cubes. Sprinkle with crumbled feta, baby greens and mint leaves. Combine the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and whisk until combined. Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

Creamy Balsamic Vinegar Pasta 

1 lb. Italian sausage or turkey sausage

8 oz. mushrooms

1-2 butternut squash, peeled & cubed

1 bundle spinach

2 TBSP olive oil

1 lg onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt & Pepper

8-16 oz. penne pasta

1 c heavy cream

1/2-3/4 c milk

2 tsp. sage

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1/2 c parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375⁰ . Coat roasting pan or glass dish w/ olive oil. Place squash, onion, garlic in pan & season w/ salt & pepper. Roast for 30 mins. to 1 hr., or until squash is tender. 

Cook sausage, add mushrooms. Once mushrooms are cooked, add cream, milk, sage, garlic, cheese & vinegar. Combine well, but do not let too much liquid cook off. Toss in roasted vegetables.

Make a bed of fresh spinach; add cooked hot pasta to wilt spinach, and then top with sausage sauce. 

Cheesy Garlic Bread Rolls 

1 TBSP yeast

1 ½ c warm water

1 ½ TBSP sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 TBSP vegetable or canola oil

1 egg yolk

5 ½ c flour

Combine the yeast, water and sugar and let stand 10 mins, until yeast is bubbly. Add salt, oil and yolk, then up to the 5 ½ c flour. Dough should be soft, and barely sticky. Knead for 2-3 mins. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour. Mix up your butter mixture. 

½ c butter, softened

1 ½ TBSP garlic bread seasoning ( ¼ c parmesan cheese, 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1 TBSP garlic powder, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. marjoram, 1 tsp. parsley. Keep this in the fridge and use it often.)

When dough is ready, roll it into an 18x6” rectangle on a lightly floured or Pam sprayed surface. Smear butter over entire surface and cover with 1 ½ c shredded mozzarella cheese (I use a bit more.)

Roll up dough jelly roll style and use dental floss to cut into 12 or more equal slices. Place in two greased pie pans or greased muffin pan. Cover with cloth and allow to rise while oven is preheating to 350⁰. When the oven is ready and the rolls look like a good size bake for 18-22 mins. Lightly place a sheet of foil over them if the cheese starts to brown too much. 

Stuffed Strawberries

2 lbs strawberries - Use fresh, firm berries. Leave the leafy cap on. Wash & slice them from the tip almost to the stem, and slice again 90⁰ away (make a plus sign in the bottom of the berry). Lay them out to air dry on a flour sack towel while you prep the filling. They need to be thoroughly dry, and can’t be filled a day in advance, or the berry starts to weep.  

Combine:

8 oz cream cheese, beat smooth

¾ c powdered sugar

1 tsp. almond flavoring (can use any flavoring – vanilla, orange, lemon are also good)

Fill decorator bag and pipe the mixture in the berries. 

Cannoli

Cannoli shells:

1 ¾ c unsifted, all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

2 TBSP granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 TBSP firm butter, cut in small pieces

¼ Sauterne (white wine, so I used white cooking wine)

Sift flour with salt and sugar. Make a well in the center; add in egg and butter. Stir with a fork, working from the center to moisten mixture. Add wine, 1 TBSP at a time until dough begins to cling. Form into a ball, cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

Roll out dough on floured surface 1/16” thick. Cut into 3 ½ circles, and roll with a rolling pin into very thin ovals. Wrap around cannoli forms, seal edges in the middle with the egg white, and flair the ends slightly. 

Heat oil to 350⁰ and fry a few at a time until golden, about a minute. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels, cool a few seconds and slip the form out of the shell. Proceed with the rest of the dough. Cool shells completely before filling.

Ricotta filling:

4 c ricotta (2 lbs) (Drain ricotta overnight for a thicker filling.)

1 ½ c powdered sugar

4 tsp vanilla

¼ - ½ c lemon and orange zest 

¼ chopped chocolate or mini choc chips

Blend ricotta until smooth. Fold in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in lemon and orange zest and chopped chocolate or mini choc chips. Chill mixture for several hours or overnight. Pipe filling in shells, and garnish with chocolate. 

These shells are yummy with other fillings as well, cream cheese mixtures, mascarpone mixtures. Look up cannoli recipes, there are hundreds of variations. Shells can be made in advance and stored in a dry container on the counter. The filling can be made in advance, but do not fill them in advance.