Mazzaro's Italian Market - St. Petersburg FL

All great vacations must ultimately come to an end.   There are jobs, families and responsibilities waiting for us once we return home.   For the two of us, one of our favorite souvenirs is recreating memorable dishes that we’ve enjoyed during our various wanderings.   I consider such meals as travel photographs for the taste buds! It is a terrific way to stir fond memories of vacations past.

We don’t know when we’ll return to Italy, but we’ve discovered two Italian markets that make it a little easier to return to it’s fabulous cuisine.   Mazzaro’s Italian market is located in an area of St. Petersburg more focused on home design and remodeling centers than to culinary pursuits.   The 22^ndAvenue

Mazzaro's fresh pasta case

North location is dominated by the Home Depot and Lowe’s stores across the street from one another as well as various kitchen design centers and granite/marble stone distributors.   Nevertheless, a parking place on Saturday morning is a hard thing to find as you approach the Mazarro’s complex.

What started as a location for fresh roasted coffee and delicious deli sandwiches has exploded to become one of the Tampa Bay area’s favorite food destinations.   The very freshest meats can be purchased from their traditional butcher counter.   The cheese room maintains a staggering selection from not only Italy but all over the globe offering several selections from small farms that you will never have heard of.   When hosting family get-togethers, we frequently roll our own pasta and use the freshest produce picked up that morning at one of the farmer’s markets in our locale.   But honestly, our schedule is like any other household in America.   When you don’t have the time on a busy weekday to labor in the kitchen, it is reassuring to know that a neighborhood Italian market can supply fresh or dried pasta in every conceivable variety, fresh Italian sauces and olive oil. In fact, during our last visit two Saturday’s ago, it seemed that three out of four shopping carts contained Mazzaro’s delicious pre-prepared meals in them.   Those dinner guests may never know the difference and a lot of time was saved by the host!

Butcher counter at Eataly's - NYC

It has been my good fortune to eat at several fantastic Italian restaurants in New York City.   One of my favorites is the cornerstone of the Lidia Bastianich restaurant empire; Becco’s on 46^th street in the theatre district.   Thankfully, it is also kind to the business traveler’s per diem.   When I learned that she had teamed up with Mario Batali to introduce the 50,000 square foot Eataly Italian market in the New York City Flatiron district . . . well, I just had to check it out!   Eataly is part grocery store, part food court and even learning facility, this ambitious center is now the largest gourmet Italian food and wine marketplace in the world.   It has just celebrated it’s 1^st year in operation and people still line up to get inside.

If you can’t jump on a plane to Italy, the following classic recipes aren’t a bad substitute.

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Ziti

1 pound of ground beef or Italian sausage

1 pound of cottage cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

1 pound ziti

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 28 oz can of tomato sauce (or fresh tomato sauce)

1 tsp dried oregano

½ cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp sugar

Pepper

¾ tsp cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz mozzarella cheese cut into ¼ inch cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and Parmesan together in a medium bowl and set aside. Bring water to a boil, stir in pasta and 1 Tbsp salt. Cook pasta for 5 to 7 minutes. The pasta will not be done at this point but will finish cooking in the oven. Drain pasta and leave the pasta in the colander.

Brown ground beef in a 12 inch skillet.  When meat is almost cooked add garlic and finish cooking the meat and garlic.  Drain the grease from the skillet and add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add basil, sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in a small bowl, transfer this mixture to the now empty pasta pan.  Bring this mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato meat sauce, and ¾ cup of mozzarella, then stir to combine.  Add pasta back to pan and stir until pasta is thoroughly coated.

Transfer pasta mixture to a 13×9 inch baking dish and spread remaining meat sauce evenly over pasta.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover baking dish with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes covered.  Remove foil and continue baking another 30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.  Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Note:

You may make this dish up one day in advance before baking it.  Store in the refrigerator and bake for 40 minutes before removing the foil then 30 minutes uncovered.

It will also freeze well.

Manicotti

Cheese Sauce

¾ cup milk

½ cup whipping cream

3 cups Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil leaves

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb mild Italian sausage, casings removed

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup white wine

¾ cup frozen peas

½ cup ricotta cheese

12 manicotti shells

1 (26 oz) jar marinara sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

For the cheese sauce: In a medium saucepan bring the milk and cream to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Add Pecorino Romano and whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in basil. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil, add sausage, shallots, garlic and pepper. Cook until the sausage is cooked through, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the peas, ricotta and 1 cup of the cheese sauce. Remove from heat.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Drain pasta. Stuff pasta with sausage mixture.

Spread half of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining marinara sauce of top of the filled shells. Spoon the remaining cheese sauce on top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until it is bubbly and golden brown.

Note:

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you may substitute frozen chopped spinach for the peas. Squeeze the water from the thawed spinach.

-this recipe is based on a Giada De Laurentis recipe

Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce

1/3 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1-½ tbsp olive oil

1-15 oz can tomato sauce

1-6 oz can tomato paste

½ cup water

1-½ tsp sugar (more if needed)

¾ tsp oregano

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

In a heavy pan cook onion and garlic until soft. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste and rest of ingredients. Simmer for at least one hour. Remove bay leaf and stir in chopped parsley. Make approx. 3 cups of sauce.

Meat Sauce

Brown 1 pound of ground beef along with the onion and garlic. Drain grease from pan. Follow ingredients and instructions from above.

Meatballs

4-½ pounds of ground beef

1-½ pounds of ground pork or (¾ lb of ground pork and ¾ lb of mild Italian sausage)

3 cups fresh white bread crumbs

¾ dry bread crumbs

4 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

1-½ cups Parmesan cheese, grated

3 tsp salt

1-½ tsp pepper

3 eggs, beaten

Pulse white bread in food processor until you have fine bread crumbs. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using a ¼ cup ice cream scoop to evenly measure the meatballs. With wet hands roll into meatballs. Place meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in freezer until frozen. Remove meatballs from baking sheet and place in a freezer bag. Store in freezer until ready to use.

When you are ready to use the meatballs, brown in a skillet then place in sauce to simmer for 20 minutes.