Bacon Motivation

Pancetta is Italian Bacon, typically salt cured and seasoned with such spices as nutmeg fennel, peppercorns, dried ground hot peppers and garlic, then dried for at least three months. Associated with Italy, Pancetta varies by region.

It is often used in pasta sauces.

I had friends from out of town coming for dinner as they drove through eastbound with a request for "Italian" when I asked what they wanted.

And then I started creating. Stuffed shells, but not just shells covered with tomato sauce. Something rich, and cheesy, with a bite of Pancetta and herbs, perhaps some red pepper. When I was at the store, I saw these Kraft Cooking Creams. Flavored cream cheeses to be added to recipes in a number of interesting ways. I liked the idea. I looked at the ingredient dish. The lab has more recognizable stuff in it: carob bean gum, guar gum, tapioca starch, maltodextrin corn syrup, yeast extract (MSG?). I grew up a Kraft blue box kid, and have loved a lot of their products and creative ideas, but I wanted something simpler, with real ingredients, and cheaper to make.

Stuffed Shells with Pancetta and Garlic Cream Marinara. (Click on photos to enlarge.)


I started with frying up some Pancetta, to which was added a pound of ground turkey breast and a dab of shredded carrot for a hint of sweetness. With a sauce as rich as I planned, the turkey would be a a good choice to pair with the spicy Pancetta, more so than venison or beef.

Then, the sauce, a basic marinara using a base of jarred good quality basil sauce to which a number of herbs were added including fennel and anise, as well as a dash of crushed red pepper and a dash of wild honey. After that was slow simmered, a garlic cream sauce was made that included cream cheese, sour cream and fresh roasted garlic from the oven, warmed til creamy, then mixed with the marinara. Color wise, it was more of a vodka sauce look, almost pink, but the taste was incredible.


The shells were basic, partially cooked and stuffed filled with ricotta, Parmasan, eggs and parsley, then covered with the sauce and some freshly grated Parmasan and baked.

Too soon, guests headed out with the rest of the cream puffs in a cooler, waving goodbye, full and happy. I might have missed the blog meet, but it was a wonderful evening of food and friends.