Birthday Pie!

Tom's birthday was last month, and as tradition, he got a labor-intensive meal as his gift. Cooking instead of getting something material is also great since I'm unemployed! 

I don't remember where I first saw Rigatoni Pie, but Tom has always wanted it. I usually would defer the idea since it's pretty labor intensive, but as it's a gift, I decided it was worth the extra effort. 

Using a Martha recipe, I embellished the meat sauce to my liking. I also injected EVERY NOODLE with seasoned ricotta cheese. The recipe calls for a 9" springform, but as I only have a 10", I used an extra half pound of pasta. My back killed me when I was done, but it looks like a pasta birthday cake, and it was totally delish. I'll definitely make this again for special days. 

On a [Sausage] Roll

Today we're making a Grandma recipe, from Scratch!

Sausage Rolls!

Truthfully I didn't like these at all when I was a kid, but now I don't make them often because I just want to eat the whole batch when I do. 

Typically the EASY recipe is:

Sausage Rolls

• 1 lb pack of Italian Sausage, Sweet, Mild or Hot. Get the formless forcemeat, it's easier than cutting it out of casings
• 1 bag of Pizza Crust Dough
• Olive Oil
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Anise or Fennel Seed

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, lightly grease a cookie sheet
2. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, somewhat thin.
3. Rub it down with olive oil.
4. Season it with red pepper flakes and anise or fennel seed if you want.
5. Evenly spread little sausage nuggets across the oiled surface. It's messy.
6. Roll tightly and slice into 1.5" pieces
7. Set onto the cookie sheet, cut sides vertical.
8. Bake for 25 minutes? or until golden brown.
9. Eat em hot or cold!

Or be like me and buy a meat grinder attachment for your KitchenAid. I used the Italian Sausage recipe from The Wurst of Lucky Peach (use link below to help me financially! I'm unemployed!)

I didn't like them :| Tom did, because the sausage wasn't overly-italian-y. It was a good exercise in learning how to grind meat, but in the future I'm going the lazy route and just buying a styrofoam tray of sausage. At least until I get better at homemade sausages.

And if you're a fan of Sausages AND Video Games, check out Stephen's Sausage Roll!