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| 25 new of 253 responses total. |
edina
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response 27 of 253:
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Nov 8 19:38 UTC 2010 |
So yesterday's Sunday gravy experiment went *extremely* well, even
though we didn't do homemade pasta. The recipe can be found here:
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=20291
but you have to have a log-in to see it, so I just cut and paste it
below:
Serves 8 to 10
We prefer meatloaf mix (a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal)
for the meatballs in this recipe. Ground beef may be substituted, but
the meatballs won t be as flavorful. Six tablespoons of plain yogurt
thinned with 2 tablespoons of milk can be substituted for the
buttermilk. This recipe makes enough to sauce 1 pounds of pasta. Our
preferred brands of crushed tomatoes are Tuttorosso and Muir Glen. The
sauce can be prepared through step 4 and then cooled and refrigerated
in the Dutch oven for up to 2 days. To reheat, drizzle cup of water
over the sauce (do not stir in) and warm on the lower-middle rack of a
preheated 325-degree oven for 1 hour before proceeding with the
recipe.
Ingredients
Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 rack baby back ribs (about 2 1/4 pounds),
cut into 2-rib sections
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 pound hot Italian sausage links
2 medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups)
1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano 3 tablespoons tomato paste 4 medium
garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4
teaspoons)
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (see note)
2/3 cup beef broth 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Meatballs
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread , crusts removed and bread cut
into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk (see note)
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves , chopped
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about
2 teaspoons)
1 large egg yolk 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red
pepper flakes 1 pound meatloaf mix (see note)
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto , chopped fine
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese , grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup olive oil
Pasta
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti or linguine
2 tablespoons table salt Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
1. FOR THE SAUCE: Adjust oven rack to lower- middle position and heat
oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high
heat until just smoking. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season
with salt and pepper. Add half of ribs to pot and brown on both sides,
5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer ribs to large plate and brown remaining
ribs. After transferring second batch of ribs to plate, brown sausages
on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer sausages to plate with
ribs.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and oregano; cook, stirring
occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomato
paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very dark, about 3 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add crushed
tomatoes and broth, scraping up any browned bits. Return ribs and
sausage to pot; bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook
until ribs are tender, about 2 hours.
3. FOR THE MEATBALLS: Meanwhile, combine bread cubes, buttermilk,
parsley, garlic, egg yolk, salt, and red pepper flakes in medium bowl
and mash with fork until no bread chunks remain. Add meatloaf mix,
prosciutto, and cheese to bread mixture; mix with hands until
thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 12 pieces; roll into balls,
transfer to plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until ready to
use.
4. When sauce is 30 minutes from being done, heat oil in large
nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs
and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer
meatballs to paper towel-lined plate to drain briefly. Remove sauce
from oven and skim fat from top with large spoon. Transfer browned
meatballs to sauce and gently submerge. Cover, return pot to oven, and
continue cooking until meatballs are just cooked through, about 15
minutes.
5. Meanwhile, bring 6 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and
salt and cook until al dente. Reserve cup cooking water; drain pasta
and transfer back to cooking pot.
6. TO SERVE: Using tongs, transfer meatballs, ribs, and sausage to
serving platter and cut sausages in half. Stir basil into sauce and
adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Toss pasta with 1 cup sauce and
reserved pasta cooking water so that sauce lightly coats pasta. Serve
pasta, passing remaining sauce and meat platter separately.
Ok...so fairly labor intensive, but I have to say, you definitely get
bang for the buck. Our only changes were to use homemade chicken
stock, not beef, and Nata had too much liquid in the meatballs. But
holy crap, tasty! And everyone loved it! Next time, we'll cook the
pork longer.
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mary
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response 28 of 253:
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Nov 8 20:04 UTC 2010 |
(Mary bows to a master chef who isn't intimidated by multi-step recipes
and lots of clean-up.)
Sounds wonderful, Brooke. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood where many
families were "right off the boat". This is how they cooked. I have
since seldom found Italian cuisine to come anywhere close to matching my
childhood memories of rustic Italian food.
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edina
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response 29 of 253:
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Nov 8 20:08 UTC 2010 |
I had a co-chef. Nathaniel and I are culinary soul mates (not just
culinary, but we share a bond over cooking that is unreal). So I
didn't do this alone. We're looking at Greek food next!
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mary
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response 30 of 253:
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Nov 10 15:04 UTC 2010 |
For a dessert last night we had vanilla ice cream with cherry sauce. Here
is a link to the recipe. Again, amazingly simply yet delicious. Except
for the part where I had to do a liquor store run for some cherry brandy.
;-)
http://tinyurl.com/23238bg
I used frozen, pitted cherries and left 'em whole.
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denise
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response 31 of 253:
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Nov 11 02:41 UTC 2010 |
Looks good!
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mary
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response 32 of 253:
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Nov 11 11:25 UTC 2010 |
I've always wanted to make a good chicken cacciatore. But mostly what I
ended up with was rather heavy with a thick tomato sauce over chicken with
a gummy coating. But last night I tried Giada's recipe and (finally) I
found a version that reminds me of the dish I remember from my youth.
I stayed pretty close to the recipe as presented with the only change
being I used 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs (no breast meat). For tomatoes I
opted for canned, diced, Muir Glen's fire-roasted. I found it needed more
like 30 minutes in the Dutch oven to be falling-off-the-bone tender.
http://tinyurl.com/58dw3y
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mary
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response 33 of 253:
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Nov 13 15:03 UTC 2010 |
A few weeks ago we visited Hidden Lake Gardens, out Tipton way. What a
gorgeous park. While there I played around with a bit of geocaching
without luck. I'm a beginner here.
Anyhow, while out that way we stopped at a little roadside diner called
Top of the Hill. It doesn't get less fancy but oh, my, the bbq was
incredible. So I decided to give pulled pork a try at home. No smoker
here which puts me to a disadvantage. Google kept giving Paula Deen's
recipe top honors, the reviews were great, but the seasonings sounded
excessive. But what the heck? All I could lose was a few hours and 4
pounds of pork. ;-(
Well, no loss. The pork was absolutely delicious. Moist, tender and
perfectly seasoned. The yield was 36 ounces of meat, which, to my
taste, makes 12 sandwiches. I froze a couple of packages and suspect
they will reheat just fine. Yesterday I served this as she suggested,
on toasted buns with a spicy bbq sauce drizzle and coleslaw topping.
Tomorrow I'll use the pork in quesadillas. Anyhow, here is the link:
http://tinyurl.com/5jhkgu
Closing snarky comment: If this recipe wasn't on an official Food
Network site I'd be skeptical of it being from Paula. I mean, where's
the butter? ;-)
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edina
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response 34 of 253:
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Nov 13 18:58 UTC 2010 |
Hahahaha! When asked what her favorite dessert was, her son Bobby
said, "Butter fried in butter."
And you were out my way! ;-)
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edina
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response 35 of 253:
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Nov 15 01:40 UTC 2010 |
Today is adventures in Greek cooking....homemade Spanokopita, found
here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spanakopita-spinach-triangles-or-pie-
recipe/index.html
and homemade Moussaka, found here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/eggplant-and-potato-
moussaka-recipe/index.html
A good time, and AMAZING food!!
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keesan
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response 36 of 253:
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Nov 15 03:44 UTC 2010 |
Spanak - spinach. Pita - bread? The Macedonians make similar dishes. You
can use leeks instead of spinach, or squash.
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edina
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response 37 of 253:
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Nov 15 04:36 UTC 2010 |
It's spinach and feta layered with phyllo dough. It turned out well.
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mary
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response 38 of 253:
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Nov 15 10:34 UTC 2010 |
Wow, that Spanokopita sounds wonderful. I've only worked with phyllo once
and my ego took a bashing. I suspect it takes the patience of a baker.
Now, puffed pasty is another matter. I can defrost with the best of 'em.
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mary
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response 39 of 253:
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Nov 15 10:48 UTC 2010 |
Last night I wanted to use the leftovers from the pulled pork from a few
days ago. I decided on quesadillas but I also wanted a quick soup to
serve with. I'd found this recipe for tomato soup and gave it a try. I
found it interesting for what it didn't call for - like onions or
oregano or cream.
http://tinyurl.com/2dhtog8
If you like Zingerman's tomato soup this is the closest thing I've found
to it both in flavor and texture. I suspect the brand of tomatoes is
important here. I used Muir Glen fire-roasted, diced tomatoes. The
hardest part was washing and chopping the fresh basil which took, maybe,
5 minutes of hands-on.
Next time I'll do it right and serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches.
I'm a dunker and this is rustic, dunking and swabbing soup.
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mary
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response 40 of 253:
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Nov 21 13:11 UTC 2010 |
I'm not a huge fan of altering a recipe to make it healthier if it means the
end product isn't just as tasty. I'd rather eat a smaller portion of the
richer dish. Or at least that's the theory.
But I came across this recipe for one of my favorite desserts, Key Lime Pie,
and decided to give it a try. Wow. It shaves about 1/3 of the calories off
the traditional recipe but without sacrificing taste, texture or look. And if
that isn't enough - it's dead easy to make.
tinyurl.com is down so I hope you can get this link to work.
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn
action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001206119
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mary
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response 41 of 253:
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Nov 21 14:17 UTC 2010 |
Too tedious. Try this:
http://tinyurl.com/23ebr7t
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slynne
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response 42 of 253:
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Nov 21 15:31 UTC 2010 |
mmm. That pie sounds delicious.
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mary
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response 43 of 253:
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Nov 23 03:15 UTC 2010 |
Tonight it was a pasta dish loaded with veggies and lightly sauced. I
doubled the sun dried tomatoes (love 'em) but otherwise followed the
recipe. It was good but not great. Something was missing and I think I
know what it was - a dash of red pepper flakes. Just a touch. Next time.
http://tinyurl.com/2drvny2
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omni
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response 44 of 253:
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Nov 24 01:06 UTC 2010 |
I have a killer recipe fot Tiropita, that is, cheese pie. No spinach.
I also have access to a Greek import store which has 3 kinds of phyillo
and 4 kinds of feta. I'm in heaven since they're within a brisk 10
minute walk. I'd share the recipe but it belongs to my mother who
developed it over many years and would come back to haunt me if I ever
released it.
Mary, Phyllo isnt hard to handle, but it does take patience and lots of
butter. ;) damp towels help too. This store also has baklava homemade
for $1 a slice. Resistance is futile.
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mary
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response 45 of 253:
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Nov 24 01:18 UTC 2010 |
I've worked with phyllo once or twice but never really got it right. It
ended up tasting greasy and heavy. Not what you get when the pros do it.
So I tend to stick with puff pastry which is idiot proof.
Feta is amazing - love it in eggs, on salads, on pizza. Never met a feta
I didn't like. ;-)
Lunch today was leftover pasta from yesterday. I did add 1/8 tsp (a
hearty pinch) of red pepper flakes per portion. Exactly right for our
taste and just what the dish needed.
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keesan
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response 46 of 253:
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Nov 24 03:19 UTC 2010 |
We want to make something with home-grown pumpkin and black walnuts and maybe
pear sauce, to impress the neighbors Thursday. They have seen the first two
growing. Also the rainbow chard but the kids don't seem to like vegetables.
I have red fennel - it resprouted after the drought ended and I picked most
of it today before the big freeze. We never base what we cook on recipes
but on what we have already. I also have coriander and dill and flax seed,
and assorted dry and shell beans (including tepary and runner). It will be
pretty, whatever it is. Red orange yellow green and purple.
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mary
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response 47 of 253:
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Nov 24 16:57 UTC 2010 |
I enjoy hearing about your diet and cooking strategy, Sindi. I can
remember a time long, long ago where food was seasonal. And when local
produce hit the market it was anticipated and appreciated. Tomatoes,
peaches, corn... Now, it's 365. I appreciate the easy availability and
choice though, so it's a trade-off. And I still look forward to peak
season goods.
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mary
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response 48 of 253:
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Nov 24 17:01 UTC 2010 |
Yesterday, the Google masthead had an open bag filled with Thanksgiving
groceries. Today, the banner displays food being prepared and if you
hover over the graphic up comes Ina Garten recipes. Those Brussel sprouts
will be part of our dinner tonight. But don't tell John - I'm going to
surprise him. He loves Brussel sprouts and I hardly ever make 'em.
http://www.google.com/
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keesan
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response 49 of 253:
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Nov 24 17:46 UTC 2010 |
Supermarket tomatoes and peaches are hardly worth eating. They are bred to
be tough and easily shipped. Garden lettuce is also a different creature.
Our little carrots are not at all bitter like the big ones. Real grapes have
10 times the flavor of the giants from California (though they are not doing
too badly with the giant strawberries). You can't buy half of what we are
growing - at least 20 types of beans (I dare you to find fresh shell beans
at Kroger, let alone runner beans, limas, tepary), 10 types of tomatoes (all
picked very ripe), three kinds of mustard greens all tasting different.
I think the lettuce and mustard and beet greens survived last night. Friday
may finish them off. Still also have arugula, carrots, beets, turnips,
radishes, fennel leaves. Today's lunch is a vegetable stew with green
tomatoes, the last of the purple beans, jerusalem artichokes, etc. I have
the refrigerator packed with bags of pea shoots and fava bean tops (there were
no bees but both were happily flowering all month). More Chinese greens.
Just picked the last of the fennel and flax seeds. I really cannot imagine
being stuck eating only what is sold at a supermarket.
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edina
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response 50 of 253:
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Nov 24 19:20 UTC 2010 |
Re 48 I have NEVER gone wrong with an Ina recipe.
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mary
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response 51 of 253:
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Nov 28 19:17 UTC 2010 |
I brought two desserts to a Thanksgiving gathering. Both were rich and
tasty and decadent. We're talking food coma for two days. ;-)
The first was this well received and dead easy fudge right off the Eagle
Brand sweetened condensed milk package:
http://tinyurl.com/2bhh8qz
The second was an amazing French Apple & Cranberry pie, from Simply
Recipes. For the brandy I used Calvados. Before baking my deep dish 9"
pie plate was piled so high I thought my oven would never recover. But
instead the crown dropped some with baking and even more when cooled so
the end results were nicely crowned. And for the very first time I
served a pie that stayed intact when cut instead of the filling
sloughing out.
http://tinyurl.com/27v9jo7
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