Tortellini in Mushroom Sauce

Using frozen tortellini makes this a quick meal option!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (1/3 of a 16-ounce bag) frozen cheese tortellini
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps halved and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 cup water
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon cold butter
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook tortellini according to package instructions; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender, about 7 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add tortellini, Parmesan, butter, and parsley. Toss to coat; serve.

Note:

If you find fresh tortellini, you can use that instead of frozen; cook in a pot of boiling salted water until the pasta floats to the top, about 3 minutes. The mushroom sauce can also be tossed with plain pasta, such as fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti. Cook 2 ounces of pasta, and add 2 more tablespoons of Parmesan.

Antipasto Kabobs

Ingredients

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

40 pimiento-stuffed olives

40 large pitted ripe olives

3/4 cup Italian salad dressing

40 thin slices pepperoni

20 thin slices hard salami, halved

Fresh parsley sprigs, optional

Directions

Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the tortellini, olives and salad dressing. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. For each appetizer, thread a stuffed olive, folded pepperoni slice, tortellini, folded salami piece, ripe olive and parsley sprig if desired on a toothpick or short skewer. Yield: 40 appetizers.

Sausage, Red Onion, and Wild Mushroom Pizza

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce ball purchased fresh pizza dough

2/3 cup finely grated Piave or Parmesan cheese

2 1/4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Coarse kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 1/2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

7 ounces fresh wild mushrooms (such as stemmed shiitake, oyster, and chanterelle), thickly sliced

1 3/4 cups coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese (about 7 ounces), divided

Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Lightly flour 2 baking sheets. Place dough on work surface; let stand until room temperature, about 20 minutes. Divide dough in half. Press and stretch each piece out on lightly floured surface to 5-inch round. Sprinkle each with 1/3 cup Piave cheese, 3/4 teaspoon rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper; sprinkle with coarse salt. Roll each piece of dough out to 10-inch round, pressing in seasonings. Transfer dough rounds to prepared baking sheets.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage. Sauté until brown, breaking into 1/2-inch pieces with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to bowl. Add onion to skillet. Sauté until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; transfer to plate. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and remaining 3/4 teaspoon rosemary; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Leaving 1/2-inch plain border, top each dough round with 3/4 cup mozzarella, then onion, sausage, and mushrooms.

Bake until crust bottoms are crisp and brown, reversing sheets after 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total. Using large spatula, transfer pizzas to work surface. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons mozzarella, then parsley, if desired.

Test-kitchen tip:

Pizza-wheel cutters can drag toppings, so use a large chef's knife to cut pizzas into wedges.

Ingredient of the Week: Bacon--Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon, Garlic, and Parmesan

Today's recipe comes from SavoringTheThyme.com.  I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen, so I started cookin'! These were great with my Roasted Rosemary Chicken and some long grain & wild rice.  Try as a side dish for Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

3 pounds red skinned gold potatoes (‘baby’ or about 2 inches wide)

4-6 slices Uncured bacon, cooked, halved lengthwise and chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

salt and ground black pepper

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch chunks and place in a bowl. Toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper and scatter over the baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

2. Place a cooking rack in a baking sheet and evenly space the bacon on the rack.

3. Place the bacon on the lowest rack and the potatoes above it and bake. Being with 3 minutes increments watching the bacon carefully. Remove the bacon when cooked to your liking.

4. After the potatoes have baked for 20 minutes, add the garlic to them, toss and bake another 5 minutes.

5. Remove the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Grate fresh Parmesan over the potatoes and scatter the parsley and bacon on top.