Sausage and Eggplant Stuffed Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce

How was your Thanksgiving? I sure had a huge hiccup and Thanksgiving dinner almost didn’t happen!

We started our day at my in-laws’ home for lunch. My mom in-law made her famous Salvadoran Turkey sandwiches. The turkey was braised in a tomato sauce for hours. Tender and juicy! Put them with a nicely toasted French baguette with some vegetables. They were really the best sandwiches ever! I had to learn making them very very soon!

After that, we came home to start preparing the potluck dinner. I am never a fan of whole turkey. I can’t get over that dry and rough white meat, so I decided to do a braised turkey dish with dark meats. Searing, chopping, and boiling… When I just finished putting the turkey in the oven, I was about to sit down and relax for a bit. All the sudden, lights went out and oven was off. NOOOO!!! The power was out. Bryan went to check our circuit breaker box and everything looked fine. We saw a neighbor across the street walked out of her complex and wondered around. We yelled as loud as we could and found out that her power was out as well. At that point, we knew that it must be at least affecting the whole block. 5 minutes later, we saw 2 fire trucks flew by. Through twitter, we found out that a transformer close by explored.

OH MY! Power outage on Thanksgiving? That was something. Good thing was that it wasn’t dark out yet. We had some natural light and a couple of flash lights. Our stove is a gas one, so I can still use it. I just needed to light the burners with a lighter. I returned my turkey pot roast to the stove and continued braising. Bryan contacted the power company and let them know the situation. He also checked with our friends to come up with a backup hosting place. About 1 hour in, the power CAME BACK! Whew! Everything was back on track. Dinner remained at our place.

The dinner was a feast! Our friends brought tons of food over. Slow-cooked ham, braised turkey legs, mashed potatoes, cheese puffs, cheese platter, chips and salsa, stuffing, brussels sprouts, carrot, and corn. Just for desserts, we had 4 different ones, tiramisu, cherry pie, chocolate cream pie and pumpkin cheese cake. It was insane and we were all super stuffed! In our party, video game is a must. Wii U has some really fun party games, even great for people who are not gamers. Our favorites are Mario Chase and Luigi’s Ghost Mansion. They require team work and communication, in other words, screaming and laughing. They sure can draw everyone attention and take the party to another level.

This was the best Thanksgiving dinner ever! We had a wonderful time! Looking forward to next year! Before I talked about the new recipe, I want to share with you this cool video. Bryan did a time lapse for our dinner. It is very funny to see all of us span around the food and gathered around for pictures. 😉

[youtube id=”2anRJLZ-pww” width=”620″ height=”360″]

For today’s recipe, I have one word: BOMB

Savory sausage, earthy eggplant, fresh spianch and hearty cheeses all stuffed in jumbo pasta shells. Top with a creamy tomato sauce. Add more cheese and bake until bubbly. This is Emeril Lagasse’ recipe. For a long time, I thought he was just on TV and didn’t believe in his cooking. After we tried one of his restaurants, we are believers. His food are incredible! Like his said, BAM! Everything was pack of flavors. This recipe is no exception. Simply delicious…… Rich and comforting. You have to try this to believe it! 😀

Sausage and Eggplant Stuffed Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce

2 – 3 servings

Ingredients:

–  11 jumbo pasta shells

–  ¾ cup shredded fontina cheese

–  ¼ cup grated Parmesan

–  2 fresh basil leaves (julienne for garnish)

–  olive oil

–  salt

Sausage and Eggplant Filling:

–  5 ounces fresh baby spinach

–  6 ounces sweet Italian sausage (casing removed, separate into small pieces)

–  1 medium globe eggplant (cut into ½-inch cubes, about 3 cups total)

–  ½ medium onion (cut into small dices)

–  ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

–  ½ tablespoon garlic clove (minced)

–  ¼ cup ricotta or mascarpone cheese

–  ¼ cup grated Parmesan

–  1/8 teaspoon sugar

Sauce:

–  ½ medium onion (cut into small dices)

–  ½ tablespoon garlic clove (minced)

–  1½ cups canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes

–  ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

–  1½ cup heavy cream

–  2½ tablespoons fresh basil leaves (finely chopped)

Directions:

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Blanch the spinach until just wilted. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Squeeze out all the water and pat dry with paper towels. Separate in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil. Add the sausage and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Make sure they are in small pieces. Add eggplant and onions. Season with salt and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cook for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are lightly caramelized and very soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Transfer to a large bowl to cool to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water (salted) to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 – 12 minutes. stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.
4. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Lightly grease a deep 8 x 8-inch casserole dish. Set aside.
5. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil. Add and saute the onions until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Season with salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add heavy cream and cook until the sauce is reduced in volume by about 1/3, about 20 minutes, stirring often.
6. While the sauce is reducing, finish the filling. Add ricotta or mascarpone cheese, spinach, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and sugar to the sausage mixture. Stir to combine well. Stuff 9 pasta shells with sausage mixture.
7. Add and mix in the basil to the sauce. Pour 1/2 of the sauce into the prepared baking dish. Place the stuffed shells into the dish on top of the sauce. Pour the rest of the sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with the fontina cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and turn up the heat to 375˚F (190˚C). Continue to bake until the sauce is bubbly around the edges and lightly browned in spots, about 12 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.

Tips:

1. 9 shells are perfect for a 8 x 8-inch baking dish, but I cooked 2 extra just in case.
2. I couldn’t find crushed tomatoes. I bought diced tomatoes and mashed them with a potato masher.
3. Make sure the filling and sauce are both well seasoned before combining together.
4. Sausage and eggplant can be made ahead of time and keep refrigerated. When it is time, combine with cheeses and spinach.

(Adapted from Emeril Lagasse via Food Network)