Krispy's Tour of Italy

Alright, so it's not exactly a tour... Last year for Valentine's Day I tried to have a really amazing super for myself; I went Greek. It didn't turn out so well, not that the food didn't turn out, it was just a really bad time to realize I don't like cooked spinach. This year I'm going Italian.

Now that the day has come to an end and I have made a splendid lunch, dinner, and dessert, here is how it went down.

---Dare to Cook---

Lunch was a delicious Bruschetta Pizzaiola.

Before Baking

After Baking

And here is how you make it.

(From cookingchannel.com)

Ingredients

• 1 baguette, sliced
• 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 handful fresh basil, plus more for garnish
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

On a high heat, toast the bread using a stovetop grill, then set aside on a cookie sheet pan.

In a bowl, mix together the mozzarella and tomatoes, season very lightly with olive oil and salt and pepper. Stir well and top the bread with the mixture and place on the sheet pan.

Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and starts to crisp into a nice golden color, than place in a platter and allow to cool off for a few minutes before serving.

Dress with a couple leaves freshly picked basil, a drizzle of extra-virgin oil, salt, and pepper.

Dinner was a Italian Sausage Lasagna done in the crockpot, with garlic bread.

Ingredients

• 3/4lb bulk Italian pork sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cans (15 oz each) Italian-style tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 container (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (12 oz)
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles

Directions

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and salt.
2. In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese.
3. Spray 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Into cooper, spoon 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with 4 noodles, broked into pieces to fit. Top with half of the cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with 4 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with remaining 4 noodles and remaining sausage mixture.
4. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
5. About 10 minutes before serving, sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover; let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut lasagna into pieces.

For the garlic bread you will need a load of bread, a few cloves of garlic, butter, and olive oil.

Smash garlic cloves and place in small pot with butter and oil, heat on low to medium until the butter is melted. Allow the garlic flavor to infuse into the butter and oil mixture. Place cut pieces of bread on a cookie sheet, spread the butter, oil, and garlic mixture on top of the bread and place under the broiler until top is golden, brown, and delicious.

Here are some pictures to help you along the way.

And finally..................DESSERT!!

Pound cake with macerated strawberries and blueberries...

I must admit I cheated with the pound cake, it was a box mix... And the whipped cream was store bought this time...

However, to macerate the berries, quarter the strawberries and place the blueberries into a bowl with about a 1/3 cup of sugar, and if you want some additional flavor you can add some honey and a little liquor; Disaronno helped me stay with the Italian theme. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour until a sauce forms.

And here is what you get!

And of course to top everything off you have to have a nice Italian made drink.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!