Every cook has more to do over the holidays than prepare extravagant meals on a nightly basis. Here’s a menu to ease some of that burden.
Pasta
Italian Sausage
Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
Texas Toast Garlic Bread found in your grocers freezer section
Dry White Wine – Pinot Grigio or Chianti Wine
Pasta
Curly pasta
3-4 plum tomatoes diced
¾ cup virgin olive oil
fresh basil leaves
1 clove fresh garlic pressed
fresh mini Mozzarella balls quartered
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta al dente. While its boiling sauté the garlic in the olive oil for 1 – 2 minutes. Don’t let it burn or your dish will be bitter.
Drain the pasta well. Add the oil/garlic mixture, Mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Toss well.
Serve the freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
The Meat
Italian sausage mild or hot – 1 link per person
Oregano
½ cup chicken stock
Olive oil to drizzle
Red and yellow peppers cleaned and cut into strips
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Lay the sausage in a baking dish. Add the chicken stock and bake covered for 25 minutes.
Lay the peppers across the sausage in any pattern you like. Sprinkle oregano across the top. Drizzle on a little olive oil. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.
Salad
Red leaf lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Head lettuce
Tomato chunks
Plan two leaves of each type lettuce and half a tomato per person. Combine in a bowl. Cover with a damp paper and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Creamy Garlic Dressing
1 ½ cups mayonnaise – it must be real mayo, not Miracle Whip
½ cup vegetable oil
Scant ¼ cup white vinegar
3 tbsp. chopped onion
¾ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 big gloves garlic pressed
Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Mix on high until smooth.
Keeps two week in refrigerator. Store on bottom shelf.
To serve either toss with your salad or arrange the salad on individual chilled plates and ladle a dollop on top.
