Christmas Spaghetti Food

CHRISTMAS PASTA

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay, and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute. Add meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes.
• 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.

CHRISTMAS PASTA

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.

CHRISTMAS SPAGHETTI PIE

Steps:

• Brown and drain the ground beef and sausage. Saute onion until tender and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt. Combine the meat mixture and the tomato mixture, set aside.
• Cook spaghetti and combine with butter, parmesan cheese and eggs.
• Press mix into a 10 inch buttered pie plate making sure it goes up the sides of the plate making a sort of "pie crust".
• Spread ricotta cheese over the spaghetti and fill with the meat mixture.
• Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
• Sprinkle with mozzerella and bake an additional 15 minutes.

CHRISTMAS EVE SPAGHETTI WITH ANCHOVIES

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil for the spaghetti. Cook till al dente.
• Meantime, heat a heavy skillet (cast iron)and saute the bread crumbs till golden brown. Remove and set aside.
• Heat oils till very warm. Add the anchovies to the warm oil. Turn up the heat and simmer till the anchovies disintegrate.
• Drain the spaghetti but leave very wet.
• Pour the oil/anchovy mixture over and toss.
• Sprinkle with the browned bread crumbs.
• My kids used to call this "dirty worms".