Pasta e Formaggio AKA Italian Mac and Cheese

Belle and Liv make Pasta e Formaggio, Mac and Cheese with an Italian twist.

Liv and Belle learned to cook Italian food from their dad, restaurant critic and food aficionado Vince Gerasole. "We love everything Italian," says Liv. "You might say marinara is in our blood," quips Belle.

So we rounded up all the flavors found in a Pizza Margherita and adapted them for 30 Day 30 Way Mac and Cheese.

Pasta e Fromaggio - Italian Mac and Cheese

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) farfalle pasta, cooked and drained

2 cups of heavy cream

1/3 cup all purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Wisconsin Mozzarella Cheese

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 medium onion, grated

1/2 cup grated Wisconsin Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to directions on the box. While the pasta is boiling prepare your mise en place.

Chop the onion.

Seed and dice the tomatoes. Set them aside.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Start the white sauce. Pour the cream into a one-quart saucepan. Simmer over low heat.

Whisk in the flour until it disappears.

Add the butter and stir, until melted.

Add the Mozzarella.

Keep stirring so the cheese sauce thickens but doesn't burn. It will get a wonderful, stretchy consistency.

Whisk in the spices.

Put the pasta into a large bowl. Add the onions and pour in cheese sauce. Mix well.

Now add the tomatoes and onions. Fold in gently.

Pour the pasta mix into a buttered casserole dish. Use a spatula to pat the pasta into the casserole.

Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes or until the top starts to get golden brown patches.

Remove from oven and serve with a green salad.

Our whole family loves this Italian version of Mac and Cheese. Find dozens of other yummy macaroni and cheese recipes at the 30 Days 30 Ways Mac and Cheese.

Support Wisconsin's farm families by buying Wisconsin cheese.

Promo Video for Spatulatta at Kenmore Live Studio

Join us for a super holiday event. On December 20, 2010 at 5 - 7 PM at the Kenmore Live Studio, The Spatulatta Girls will be cooking up the Ultimate Christmas Morning Breakfast.

See the promo video!

Belle and Liv will be cooking up baked oatmeal, crispy bacon, a pomegranate and grapefruit salad and a non-alcoholic Mimosa. We'll be serving samples and generally having a blast.

You can reserve your spot until Friday, December 17, 2010.

If you can't make this event, don't worry!

We'll be back at the Kenmore Live Studio in March for a fabulous Mardi Gras Party. The Spatulatta Girls will be cooking up Yumbo Gumbo, Bread Pudding and Curly Creole Salad. We'll end the evening with a Mardi Gras costume parade.

Sign up now for the Spatulatta mailing list so you will get an invitation. Just scroll down on the lower left of our home page and enter your e-mail address.

Christina's Ham and Spinach Creation

Christina writes:

I love to experiment with new recipes at lunch time. This is one that I
thought was awsome. 
 
Melt 2 table spoons of butter in a shallow sauce pan. Drop 3/4 of a cup of spinach
leaves. Make sure it is packed really tightly. Rip or chop thin slices of deli ham
into small strips. put both spinach and ham into the pan before the butter starts to
burn. Then take 2 small handfuls of cheese and melt it over the spinach and ham
mixture. When the spinach is soggy and some what dark, remove from heat and serve
while it is still warm. 

By the way, this was a recipe I made up.

Spatulatta replies:

Hey Christina, thanks for your creative recipe!  We love spinach and ham.  
This is a great way to use holiday leftovers.

Keep cookin!

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted chestnuts are such a traditional winter treat that there's a song about them - sing along as you roast your own chestnuts.

Yield	4-6 servings
Time	30-45 minutes
Tools	knife baking sheet or cast iron pan clean kitchen towel
Ingredients	24 uncracked chestnuts
Directions	Preheat oven to 400. Have an adult carve an X into the flat side of each chestnut (otherwise they will explode) and place on the baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes, until pressing a chestnut cracks the shell open easily. Wrap chestnuts in a towel until ready to eat. Squeeze open the shell, peel off shell and nut coating, and enjoy.

Churchill Elementary Pics

On November 20th, the girls hosted a live cooking demo and book signing at Churchill Elementary School in Oswego, IL. The theme was Family Reading Night.

Click photos to enlarge

Churchill Elementary students and parents were excited for the cooking demo to start.
It was our first visit there and we felt so welcomed!

Churchill was nice enough to provide the cool projection screen below. The audience saw everything Liv and Belle cooked up. During the book signing, clips from Spatulatta and national tv interviews played on screen.

We love paparazzi!
Our gracious host, Pat Lofthouse, snaps photos of the girls.

Cocoa Rounds by Sophie

I LOVE spatulatta.com! I have a recipe you could do.
I have more cool recipes but my favorite recipe are cocoa rounds, the ingredients are,   

• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cups soft butter
• 1 egg

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Chill for 10 min. and bake at 375 f for 8-10 min.  

we like to roll them in powdered sugar after they're done.   

Love, 
Sophie ;-)

Spatulatta responds:
Hey Sophie, Thanks for your sweet recipe.  This could make a great treat during holidays.
Spatulatta loves you too!

-Team Spatulatta

Halloween on CBS 2 Chicago

Here are photos of Belle & Liv's Halloween appearance on CBS 2 Chicago. Pedestrians were able to see the girls in the studio from Daley Plaza, and on the CBS Jumbotron!

The girls made two of their favorites: Monster Hands and Spider Sandwiches.

Click Photos to Enlarge

Briah's Macaroni Noodle Recipe

Thanks for sending us your delicious recipe, Briah!
- Team Spatulatta

Macaroni Noodles

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pepper
5 cups of tomato sauce
5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. boil your macaroni noodles until soft.
2. brown ground beef in a skillet.
4. add garlic powder,onion powder,salt,and pepper.
5. take the browned meat of of heat.
6. drain macaroni noodles in shrainer and put back in the pot.
7. turn heat up to hi add the browned meat to the macaroni.
8. then add tomato sauce and let it come to a boil.
9. final add cheddar cheese let the cheese melt in and serve. 

Delectable Dessert: Sweet Sushi

Our friend Donald sent us his recipe for sweet sushi. Thanks Donald, this looks so much fun to make!!
-Team Spatulatta

Sweet Sushi:

• Use Coconut milk with the water to make the sushi rice, usually 1/2 to 1/2 to 1.
  Meaning 1/2 cup of water 1/2 cup of coconut milk & 1 cup of sushi rice
  

• Cook the rice like you would sushi, then instead of adding vinegar you add coco, Lopez coconut cream, a little cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, not to much.

• For the wrapper I use a little cocoa in a crepe batter to make chocolate crepe and that's the nori wrap.
  

• For the fillings you can reconstitute some figs, dried cranberries etc, and for the wasabi fine ground pistachios until the were like peanut butter.
  

• Serve on a bed of sugar raked to look like a Japanese cloud garden with a few chunks of chocolate to be the mountain tops and there you go.

*Image from Family Fun Magazine

Pdiddy Brownies

This chocolatey recipe was emailed by Payton.
Indulge with a tall glass of milk! :)

2 sticks butter - softened
2 cups sug
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tea. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Mix Butter and sugar
Add eggs
Mix well
Add cocoa, flour, vanilla, pecans, chocolate chips.
Beat but, not too long
Bake 30 min. @ 350

Chefs at Play

Liv & Belle chillin' in the kitchen....

Jiaozi Recipe - Stuffed Chive Shrimp Dumplings

Our pal Yun from China sent her delicious recipe for jiaozi.
Feast your eyes on this Chinese dish (click images to enlarge).

Thank you, Yun. We can't wait to make jiaozi in the kitchen!
Team Spatulatta

P.S. Below you'll see Yun's original email, as well as Spatulatta's
interpretation - measurement conversions, etc. Plus we added
info on dumpling preparation. ;)

----------------
Original Email:

My  dear friends:
Today I want to tell you something about Chinese food.
You know that in China we always eat jiaozi during Spring festival.
Ok,let me show you how to make jiaozi: Chive shrimp dumplings stuffed

Zhuliao: Shrimp 150 grams, 150 grams of lean pork, fresh leeks 150 grams
Accessory: ginger adequate, appropriate condiments approach: lean pork cut 0.4
centimeters around the small, plus mirin, soy sauce adequate system of submerged
more than 20 minutes, Shrimp from shrimp lines and cut the meat with a small
amount of soy sauce Dingjia, mirin submerged system 20 minutes (meat Laochou,
shrimp-sheng pumping oh). Leek Qiemo will add ginger, salt, monosodium glutamate,
Wu Xiangfen a small, peanut oil modest, a small amount of sesame oil, submerged
good meat and shrimp stir evenly. . He! As simple as just filling the dumplings,
by the incomparably delicious dumplings taste ah
I wish that you can enjoy making jiaozi.

Yours,
Yun

---------------
Spatulatta's Interpretation:

My dear friends:  

Today I want to tell you something about Chinese food.  You know
that in China we always eat jiaozi during Spring festival.

Ok, let me show you how to make jiaozi (stuffed chive shrimp dumplings)

PREP TIME: 40 min.  

INGREDIENTS FOR 30-40 DUMPLINGS  

WRAPPERS: 
Fresh or Frozen dumpling wrappers from your local Asian grocery store.
*Be sure to buy dumpling wrappers, not wonton wrappers.

FILLING: 
5 oz. shrimp 
5 oz. lean ground pork
5 oz. fresh leeks (thinly sliced) 
1 inch ginger, scraped or chopped
3 tbsp mirin 
3 tbsp soy sauce 
1/2 tsp salt   

DIRECTIONS: 
Peel shrimp, clear veins if necessary and chop into tiny pieces. 
Combine all ingredients and marinate for 20 min.

After 20 min, add 3 tbsp peanut oil and 1/2 tsp sesame oil in frying pan and cook ingredients until done.  
Drain access liquid from pan.

STUFFING DUMPLINGS: 
First: Fill dumpling wrapper with 1 tsp of stuffing.
Secondly: Taking your index finger brush a small amount of warm water on far edge of wrapper opposite you.
Lastly: Fold wrapper over your fingers and seal to finish.   

STEAMING DUMPLINGS:
Steam Dumplings in a steamer until they're translucent.
You will see the stuffing showing through the wrapper!  

Hey! As simple as just filling the dumplings, by the incomparably delicious dumplings taste - ahhhhhh!
I wish that you can enjoy making jiaozi.                                            
 
Yours,
Yun