Neighbors

On a sad note, our neighbor across the street isn’t doing very well.

He’s 83 years old, and has been in poor health for a year or more. Being the tight-knit bunch that we are, the neighborhood has taken shifts watching after him, making sure he’s alright, has groceries, etc. A couple weeks ago his 89 year old sister – who is, incidentally, the cutest old woman in the history of the world – moved in to help take care of him.

Some member of my family is over there at least once a day, at which point we’re usually told stories of growing up on the farm, working on the lines at John Deere, raising children, and random Italian family traditions which I LOVE. A few nights back, Lucille (his sister) invited us over for a family treat: polenta topped with parmesan cheese and marinara sauce. As we ate, Lucille told us about her father and how he would serve the polenta on a large linen-covered board in the center of the table. With a cloth napkin draped over his arm, he would serve his guests like a waiter in a fine restaurant, and they would all drink homemade wine and have a merry old time.

To return the favor (and to stock their refrigerator with leftovers for when they got hungry) I thought I would make stuffed shells.

I started with a pound Graziano Brothers Italian sausage (a Central Iowa delicacy), a third of an onion, a large teaspoon of fresh garlic, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes – well salted and peppered, browned, and drained. In a large bowl, I combined the sausage mixture with two pieces of bread-worth of fresh bread crumbs, a large beaten egg, and equal parts Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses – just enough so the mixture holds together well enough to fill the shells.

Boil half a pound of large/jumbo shell pasta in a large pot of salted water for 6-8 minutes – until softened but not ready to eat... they’ll finish cooking in the oven later. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a separate pot, combine two tablespoons of butter and three tablespoons of flour over medium-high heat. Wisk together and cook for two minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Gradually pour in a cup or two of warm milk or cream. Add a pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes if you like, and wisk occasionally to insure there are no lumps. The mixture will thicken to coat the back of a spoon, but add more milk if you feel it becomes too thick. After the sauce has had the opportunity to thicken, take it off the heat and add more grated Parmesan.

The best way to know if the end product is going to be any good is to taste the different components throughout the process. If the components are good, the result will be good too…unless it’s like that episode of “Friends” with the meat trifle..

The other component is marinara sauce. We happened to have homemade sauce in the freezer, but store bought will work just fine. If you’ve got an afternoon, make your own sauce and use it in this recipe, but no one will blame you if you don’t want to make your own marinara.

Spoon a ladle-full of the marinara into the bottom of a buttered 9x13” baking dish..enough to cover the bottom – this will keep the shells from sticking and will help finish cooking the pasta in the oven. Take a large tablespoon and fill each shell with the meat mixture. You can then fill in the gaps between the filled shells with remaining marinara and white sauce, making sure to cover the exposed portions of shells with sauce of some kind…otherwise the pasta dries out in the oven and can be kind of crunchy in spots.

Once you’ve drizzled your sauce over the shells, grate more cheese over top (including mozzarella this time), salt, pepper, oregano, and bake at 375 degrees until melty and bubbly.

Then, take the meal across the street to your neighbor and share it. I don’t care who you are, but this stuff if rich, filling, and awesome. If you don’t know your neighbors, invite friends over and make your own traditions! Mangia, mangia! J