Comfort Food

I mentioned that last weekend we cooked for the new parents. I didn't mention what we cooked. We cooked mostly comfort food and food that can keep for awhile or be frozen. Husband made homemade tomato sauce with sausage and meatballs as well as breaded chicken cutlets. He also made a sour cream coffee cake. I made Macaroni and Cheese and Sausage Pizza Dip. The sausage dip is super easy, but it does taste best when right out of the oven and hot. The Sausage Pizza Dip is pictured above and the recipe is below:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3/4 pound bulk Italian sweet or hot sausage
Half of an onion
Finely chopped 2 cloves garlic
Finely chopped 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup (about 4¼ ounces) shredded scamorza or mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (eyeball it)
2 pinches dried oregano
1 cup tomato sauce
1 loaf sesame semolina bread, sliced

Directions:
In a medium skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage, breaking it up into little bits with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain off all but a few tablespoons of fat from the sausage. Reduce the heat to medium, push the sausage to the sides of the pan, add the onion and garlic to the center and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Mix into the sausage and remove the pan from the heat.

Preheat the broiler with the rack set 8 to 10 inches away from the heat. Combine the cream cheese with half the scamorza and half the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir in the oregano and then fold the sausage into the combined cheeses. Spread the mixture into a casserole. Top with the tomato sauce and the remaining cheese. Cover with foil and broil for 2 minutes, then uncover and broil until bubbling, about 5 minutes. Serve with the semolina bread.