Maggianos Little Italy Spiced Pear Crostada Copycat Recipes

MAGGIANO'S LITTLE ITALY ITALIAN SALAD RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• In large skillet, heat corn oil and add prosciutto. Cook until it turns brown and curls. Drain on paper towel (and hide from the men in your family) For dressing, in med bowl, combine mustard, sugar, water, garlic, vinegar and salt. Whisk until combined, then whisk in oil in thin stream. Add pepper and oregano, whisking again. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more garlic or sugar if necessary. Refrigerate until serving. Place lettuce and the rest of the ingredients (except prosciutto) in large bowl and toss. Add enough dressing to lightly coat and toss and top with the proscuitto. Refrigerate any extra dressing.

MAGGIANO'S LITTLE ITALY SPICED PEAR CROSTADA (COPYCAT)

Steps:

• For the filling: Peel the pears and slice into 1/4-inch slices.
• Melt the butter until light brown in a medium hot sauté pan and add the pear slices. Simmer for a couple minutes until heated through and add the nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Continue to simmer until the juices thicken. Remove from the pan and chill.
• Take 4 ounces of the pie dough and roll out into a 9-inch circle, lightly dusting with flour to prevent sticking. Place 1/2 cup of the pear filling in the center of the dough circle. Gently fold the edges of the dough toward the center, forming 'pleats' in the dough as you move around the edge. Leave the center of the crostada open so that the filling shows. Repeat until the filling is used up. Chill the prepared crostadas before baking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the crostadas with heavy cream. Immediately sprinkle the crostadas with the granulated sugar so that the sugar sticks. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes until nice and brown.
• Serve while still warm alone, or with some vanilla ice cream.

MAGGIANO'S LITTLE ITALY RIGATONI DI GREGORIO AKA RIGATONI "

Steps:

• Chop up the onions. Put them in a large wok with a couple tablespoons olive oil. Cook on high for a few minutes until the onions are hot and starting to become translucent, then turn down the heat to medium low. As the rest of the steps progress, you'll need to remember to stir the onions every 8 minutes to keep them from burning. The onions will take a long time to reach the desired golden-brown color.
• Peel the outer, papery skin off two heads of garlic, but leave the skin that covers the cloves. Slice the tips of the cloves off the top, exposing each clove and leaving a flat top. Save the tips, which you'll toss into the onions when they're almost finished cooking. Drizzle the heads with olive oil, wrap them in foil, and place them in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes.
• Quarter the button mushrooms from top to bottom. Each mushroom piece should have part of the head and part of the stem.
• When the onions are approaching done (not the rich brown of fully caramelized onions, but getting there) add the mushrooms and leftover garlic clove tips to the cooking onions. Stir everything together and cook until the mushrooms are looking sautéed.
• With the onions, mushrooms, and garlic still in the pan, turn the heat up to high and add the wines. Scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure the sugars from the onions are released and integrated into the liquid.
• Add the chicken base. You can add a bit more to taste if you want. We're looking for a nice strong chicken flavor, but be careful of over-salting. At this point the sauce should taste pretty good.
• Cut up the raw chicken into scallop-sized pieces and put them in the pan with everything else. There's also no harm in using some leftover cooked chicken as well, as long as it doesn't have any incompatible flavorings. Let the chicken cook through.
• The next step is to add the pasta into the same pan. Before you do, make sure the amount of liquid is right. It takes some experience to eyeball it, but the idea is to just barely (or not quite) cover the noodles once they're in the pan. It's better to start with too little liquid than too much because you can always add some boiling water from a teapot after you've added the pasta, but you don't want to be reducing after the pasta is cooked, because the pasta will overcook and get mushy. As it cooks, the pasta takes on the flavor of the sauce and releases starches that thicken the sauce at the same time.
• Monitor the pasta as it cooks. When it's just reaching the perfect al dente, turn off the heat and stir in the heavy cream and grated Parmesan cheese. Cut up the butter into pieces and stir them into the sauce. Squeeze out the roasted garlic (don't burn yourself!), mash it up, and stir it in as well. Add freshly cracked black pepper to taste and serve.