Christmas Pasta Recipes

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium high heat.
• Add oil, garlic, bay leaf, and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute.
• Add meats and brown.
• Chop carrot, celery, and onions near stove and add to the pot as you work.
• Cook veggies with meat for 5 minutes and add wine.
• Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.
• Stir in parsley, allspice (or cinnamon), and season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Bring sauce to boil, reduce heat to medium low and cook 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
• Toss pasta with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top with extra.
• Top pasta with lots of grated romano cheese.

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and brown to render the fat. Transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. To the pan add the oil, and the meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and pancetta bits.
• Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.
• Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, minimum, before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.
• Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the pasta and cook to al dente, with a bite to it.
• While the water and pasta work, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon EVOO (1 turn of the pan). Add the pancetta to one half of the pan, the sausage, both hot and sweet, to the other. Break up the sausage into bits and brown while the pancetta renders, then combine and cook together another minute or so. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, then the beef and veal. Brown and crumble the meat into tiny bits and season with allspice, salt, and pepper. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic and cook another 5 to 6 minutes to soften the vegetables, then add sausage and pancetta back into the pan, draining away some of the fat. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up all the good bits with a wooden spoon. Stir in the stock, then the tomatoes. Check the seasoning. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve, at least 10 minutes. Stir in half the parsley to finish.
• Drain the pasta and add back to the hot pot. Ladle a few spoonfuls of the sauce over the pasta and add a couple of handfuls of cheese to the pot. Stir to coat the pasta evenly. Transfer to a large serving dish or individual bowls and top with the remaining sauce and parsley. Pass plenty of extra cheese at the table.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Add pesto and lemon juice to the orzo; toss to coat. Mix in tomatoes, mozzarella cheese balls, and pepperoni strips. Refrigerate for 8 hours to overnight.
• Mix in basil right before serving.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt.
• Add in the rigatoni; cook to al dente per package directions.
• While the water and pasta work, heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat.
• Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil; add pancetta to one half of the skillet, the sausage (both hot and sweet) to the other half of the skillet.
• Break up the sausage into bits and brown while the pancetta renders; then combine and cook together another minute or so.
• Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
• Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet; then add in the beef and veal.
• Brown and crumble the meat into tiny bits; add in allspice, salt, and pepper.
• Add in the carrots, onions, and garlic; cook 5-6 minutes to soften the vegetables.
• Add the sausage and pancetta back to the skillet, draining away some of the fat.
• Deglaze the pan with the wine, scaping up all the good bits with a wooden spoon.
• Stir in the stock, then stir in the tomatoes.
• Check the seasoning to taste and adjust.
• Simmer over low heat until ready to serve, at least 10 minutes.
• Stir in half the parsley to finish.
• Drain the pasta and add back to the hot pot.
• Ladle a few spoonfuls of pasta over the sauce and add cheese to the pot.
• Stir to coat the pasta evenly; transfer to a large serving dish or individual bowls; top with remaining sauce and parsley; pass plenty of extra cheese at the table.